Capítulo 56: Preseason Begins, Finally Facing James
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After a long offseason, it's October, and the long-awaited NBA 2003-04 season is finally here.
Before the regular season officially begins at the end of October, the league will, as usual, hold preseason games. On one hand, these games allow teams to adjust and adapt to the rhythm of the game. On the other, although the preseason games don't count toward the regular season standings, they help sell tickets and generate revenue for the league and team owners.
On October 7, the Lakers are set to face the Golden State Warriors in their first preseason game.
The game venue is neither in Los Angeles nor in Oakland, the Warriors' home court, but rather a third-party location—Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, USA.
"Hot and spicy Hawaii! I'm here to enjoy it!" exclaimed O'Neal as he stepped off the plane and felt the sea breeze blowing toward him. He was in a good mood.
The Lakers players got off the plane one after another. Unlike most first-year rookies who would be at the end, carrying everyone else's backpacks, Wang Chong walked behind O'Neal with swagger. Aside from his own backpack, he only carried O'Neal's bag.
It's an unwritten rule in the league that rookies get hazed by veteran players when they first enter the NBA. Even the chosen one, LeBron James, had to carry Ricky Davis's bags when he first joined the Cavaliers. Of course, Ricky was soon traded away from the Cavaliers, and his infamous comment, "I thought James was here to assist me," became a classic.
Wang Chong was certainly no exception to the rookie rule, but thanks to his good relationship with O'Neal, who wanted to use Wang Chong to suppress Kobe's influence on the team, he was well protected. Wang Chong's status in the team was high; basically, no one dared to mess with him. Even veterans like Malone and Gary Payton wouldn't provoke Wang Chong, out of respect for O'Neal.
It feels pretty good to have the protection of Big Brother.
It is worth mentioning that Kobe did not travel with the team for the preseason game against the Warriors. At this moment, he was likely still en route to Eagle County.
To be precise, Kobe would have to travel to Eagle County frequently over the next year to cooperate with local police investigations. This would be a long and drawn-out battle, with significant impact on Kobe.
Because of this, in Kobe's absence, Wang Chong got plenty of opportunities to shoot.
In the game against the Warriors, Wang Chong made 9 of 17 shots and 5 of 6 free throws, scoring a game-high 24 points and grabbing 6 rebounds, helping the Lakers secure a win.
Of course, since it was a preseason game, O'Neal, Malone, and Payton only played the start of the game and for a brief period, with each playing less than 20 minutes.
Besides Wang Chong, most of the game time went to a group of Lakers role players, including Devin George and Rick Fox, who would be Wang Chong's competitors in the new season.
But there was no doubt that among all the players, Wang Chong, with an overall ability rating of 83, was definitely the standout.
His 24-point, 6-rebound performance in his preseason debut temporarily silenced many people who had been skeptical of Wang Chong before the game.
At the end of the summer league, Wang Chong's reputation became polarized due to his exceptional personal stats and his one-sided victory over Carmelo Anthony.
A large number of die-hard Lakers fans believed Wang Chong was immensely talented and had the potential to follow in Kobe's footsteps as the No. 13 rookie.
However, there were also people who continued to doubt Wang Chong's abilities. Some were fans of James or Anthony, feeling that Wang Chong, a relatively unknown player before the draft, was a threat to their own stars and instinctively sought to belittle him.
Of course, there were also those who simply disliked Wang Chong, maybe because of his Chinese identity or for other reasons.
In any case, Wang Chong hadn't officially entered the NBA yet. Having some good performances in the summer league didn't really prove anything.
What they meant was that Wang Chong had to truly prove himself in the NBA to be considered a genuine talent.
Then came Wang Chong's 26-point preseason debut.
Although the intensity of preseason games is different from that of regular-season games, all participants are serious NBA players, which is completely different from the summer league.
Moreover, while the main stars of each team do not play seriously in the preseason and mostly just go through the motions, the substitute players and those in the rotation fight hard. Everyone hopes to put in a standout performance in the preseason to earn more opportunities and playing time during the regular season.
Therefore, the intensity of preseason games is not low, and the level of physical confrontation can be even greater than in the regular season. The difference is merely in the players' overall skill level.
Wang Chong's ability to score 26 points in the preseason indicates that he also has the potential to score 20+ points in the regular season.
Although this was only the first preseason game, it was enough to silence some of his critics.
The Lakers stayed in Hawaii for three days, as they had a second game against the Warriors. After the two games, the Lakers returned home for a two-day rest before heading to Phoenix to play against the Suns.
It wasn't until the fourth preseason game that the Lakers finally got to play at their home stadium, the Staples Center.
Their opponent in the fourth game was the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by the newly crowned No. 1 pick, LeBron James.
In terms of team strength, the Lakers, who reached the division semifinals last season, are in a completely different league compared to the Cavaliers, who were at the bottom of the standings.
In terms of lineups, the Lakers, with their unprecedented super F4 lineup, also crushed the Cavaliers.
No matter how you looked at it, the Cavaliers did not have the capacity to compete with the Lakers, even in the preseason, where neither team would be giving their all.
The only highlight of this preseason game was the matchup between 2003 No. 1 pick LeBron James and No. 13 pick Wang Chong.
There were quite a few people in the league who were interested in this matchup.
On one side was LeBron James, the strongest rookie of the 2003 class, hailed as the "Chosen One," who was expected to dominate the league in the future.
On the other side was Wang Chong, who had shown outstanding potential and had twice defeated Carmelo Anthony, who was almost as famous as James.
Both happened to play the small forward position, so what kind of sparks would fly when they collided on the court?
Wang Chong had been looking forward to this for a long time.
After his battle against Anthony, he really wanted a shot at James. If he could step over James and rise to the top, his position as a key player for the Lakers would be even more secure.
As for what James was thinking, Wang Chong wasn't quite sure.
However, before the game, a reporter managed to catch James for a brief interview.
When asked who he was most looking forward to playing against in this game, James blurted out without hesitation, "Kobe Bryant, of course."
End of this chapter
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