Paul's talent and immediate combat ability exceeded Liu Mang's expectations.

"Chris Paul, ability evaluation 82, offense 84, defense 78, passing 90, three-pointer 65, mid-range shot 86, layup 87, speed 94, strength 86..."

This ability evaluation is actually for a rookie!

The focus is on CIC!

When Liu Mang watched a live broadcast of a Hornets game, he felt that Paul's half-volley throw after his breakthrough was very accurate. In small and large games, a small forward who was twenty centimeters taller than him could also achieve close to 100% success in the mid-range.

Forty hit rate.

Liu Mang predicts that Paul will become a first-class star after his rookie season!

However, when Liu Mang thought that in the 2007-08 season, third-year Paul could compete with Kobe for MVP and be selected for the first and second defense, he felt that this seemed normal!

Liu Mang believes that in 2008, before Paul's left knee cartilage ruptured and his meniscus suffered a devastating injury, and his explosive power and speed had not declined, he should have had James-level talent.

James is in his third year, and he’s not good enough to compete for MVP!

Of course, a large part of the reason for this is because James was only 21 years old at the end of last month, and Paul was already 20 years old during his rookie season. There is only a five-month gap between the two, and James entered the NBA two years earlier.

Liu Mang felt it was such a pity. Why was Paul in the west?

If the Hornets hadn't moved to the West, they would have been able to play Paul for one more year.

Mission goal of natal position suppression 2: The 2005 NBA draft is a rare year for point guards, allowing rookie point guards to feel that the host is invincible.

Liu Mang took a look at this task. Originally he just wanted Paul to feel the "warmth" of the NBA, but Paul is quite awesome!

For ordinary-level stars, that is, stars before the 70-79 ability evaluation, superstars can basically crush their opponents if the star is not a player with a single function, such as a pure defensive player.

But if you have the strength of an 80-year-old quasi-first-class star, then you have a chance to do something.

Liu Mang called McGrady, Prince, Josh Smith, and Kwame Brown to his room, plus Iguodala, to discuss how to play... No, how did he and Paul fall in love with each other?

Lin Si and several others are all "colleagues" in the same company. It's their first time meeting each other, so they have to take good care of their little brothers.

…

The Eagles came to Oklahoma City, and Oklahoma City fans went crazy. When Liu Mang, Tracy McGrady and others appeared on the street waiting for the scheduled taxi, they attracted a large group of onlookers, and then there was a traffic jam...

…

In the summer of August, New Orleans encountered a hurricane, which turned New Orleans from a very wealthy seaside tourist city in the southern United States into ruins.

New Orleans has begun rebuilding, and the Hornets will spend the next two seasons in Oklahoma City.

The Hornets have a miserable schedule this season. On the day the Hawks came to Oklahoma City, which was the 2nd, they played the Mavericks in the first game of back-to-back games and the Hawks on the 3rd.

Since the Chinese New Year is in January this year, the Eagles' schedule in January is more brutal than in the past three years. There must be many games for Chinese fans to watch to boost ratings.

After the highlight game against the Lakers rekindled fans' enthusiasm, there are still 16 games in January, many back-to-back.

The Hawks played the Hornets and Timberwolves back-to-back. Originally, the Hornets were used to wear down the Hawks before they played the Timberwolves, making the match between the Hawks and the Timberwolves more intense. Liu Mang and Garnett, the superstars of the two teams, are still very attractive.

The Timberwolves only have Garnett, so the league needs to create some trouble for the Hawks so that the Timberwolves, who are at home, can have more advantages.

Unexpectedly, the Timberwolves really failed to recover, even worse than last season. The Hornets became a strong team and competed for seventh or eighth place in the Western Conference in the third tier of the Western Conference.

The Hornets' schedule this season is regarded as a bad team that is destined to win. It is very pitiful, playing the Mavericks and Hawks back-to-back...

In the afternoon, Liu Mang discussed with several teammates who might be useful in defending Paul, and then took a break. At 6 p.m., Liu Mang and Tracy McGrady, Kwame Brown, Iguodala, and Josh

- Smith and a group of five people went to the Ford Center, which was temporarily converted here, to watch the game between the Hornets and the Mavericks.

We originally invited Prince, Jason Terry, Rasheed Wallace and others to go watch the game together, but since it was their first time in Oklahoma City, most people chose to go shopping in the evening.

If you can’t play, you can still go play in the afternoon.

Know yourself and know your enemy and you will never be in danger. Liu Mang is going to study on the spot how Paul can bring a team that was second to last in the league and first in the Western Conference last season to ninth in the Western Conference.

Liu Mang and others got rid of the overly enthusiastic fans and arrived at the Ford Center Arena. The Hornets staff were already waiting. Liu Mang asked Schwartz to make a call, and the Hornets general manager immediately agreed to give them tickets.

When the group arrived at the Ford Center, it was already half past six. When they checked in and entered the stadium, the entrance ceremony for the two teams was about to begin.

The fans at the scene were very enthusiastic. There has never been a team in the four major leagues in Goose City. Although it only has a temporary team now, the fans are still very excited and enthusiastic. After Liu Mang and others came to the sidelines and were discovered by people, the scene became restless.

!

The Hornets are unlucky but lucky. Last summer, Nike and Air Jordan held an event together. Liu Mang took Paul with him to promote in the imperial and magical cities of China. Similar to the summer of 2004 when he brought James, some domestic fans got to know Paul.

, Paul played so coquettishly in his rookie season and attracted much attention domestically.

Paul also has a very good image and is valued by David Stern. When being interviewed by a Chinese reporter and asked who could pose a threat to Liu Mang in the future, David Stern always listed Kobe, James, and Paul.

The more times he put it on his lips, the more Paul became known to others.

Although the Hornets' two back-to-back games were not broadcast live across the United States, they happened to be broadcast live on the Imperial TV on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Liu Mang and others met today's commentator on the court, Xu Jicheng of Xinhua News Agency, on the sidelines.

"Director Xu, long time no see. Will you come to live broadcast tomorrow's game for us?" Liu Mang asked as he stepped up to shake hands.

"Ou, Ace, I just said that Zi Qidong is coming today. It turns out that you are here to watch the game live, Ace. Of course, I have grabbed the opportunity to broadcast your game live tomorrow. I can't always let Director Zhang enjoy watching your game live.

What fun!" Xu Jicheng laughed.

"Coach Zhang must have been a little depressed recently, Kobe... no, it was Zen Master who lost again, and I got a quadruple-double." Liu Mang was a little excited to say bad things about people behind their backs.

"Haha, Ace, when Director Zhang heard this, he had to deny that he was a Kobe fan. Oh, the players are about to enter the stadium, and I have to do a pre-game interview." Xu Jicheng saw that the lights dimmed and the spotlight had already hit the visiting team players.

He walked into the tunnel, said sorry, and went to wait at the home team's bench.

NBA regulations have stipulated that starting from 2006, the head coach and players of both teams can be interviewed before the game, during breaks, timeouts, etc. The interview must first obtain the consent of the head coach.

There were also cheers when the visiting team players came out. The Mavericks played very well this year. After the Lakers lost to the Hawks, they returned to third place in the Western Conference. Their record of 24 wins and 11 losses was half a game ahead of the Lakers.

Although the fans in Oklahoma City are very enthusiastic about the Hornets, they do not regard the Hornets as the real home team. When a strong team comes to visit, the place is completely neutral, and you can cheer for whoever you like.

Nowitzki came out and received loud cheers from the fans.

The home team players entered the stadium, and Chris Paul was the first to come out, which immediately sparked cheers again.

Paul is not yet the best player of the Hornets. The best player of the Hornets is David West of the 2003 generation, a strong contender for the Most Improved Award.

In terms of function, Paul is definitely better than David West, but he is still a rookie, so he keeps a low profile and does not compete for the boss position from the beginning.

But... Liu Mang and Iguodala's eyes widened when they saw Paul running out and high-fiving the substitutes.

The training uniform that Paul wore was a little different from the others. It actually had a number on it!

And it's not the number 3 worn by Paul, but a two-digit number.

The right breast is 5, the left breast is 8...

Liu Mang and Iguodala looked at each other and quietly came to the Hornets bench. Paul came out and was interviewed by Xu Jicheng.

Xu Jicheng was also curious about what the two numbers on his chest meant.

"No. 58, this is Ace's encouragement to me. He hopes that I can become a player like Kidd and Bryant. I am ready to take this as my goal and a symbol to inspire myself to move forward. One day I can be like

Like Kidd and Kobe, he became Ace's opponent." Paul said seriously.

On the one hand, he does regard this as a motivation to motivate himself. On the other hand, anything related to China can attract the attention of Chinese fans. After discussing with Schwartz, Paul decided to do this. There is another

On the one hand, Liu Mang is coming to watch the game tonight, and Paul knows that. Although Paul has no intention of changing his jersey, he likes No. 3, but if Liu Mang is satisfied with the training uniform, Paul is still willing to do it.

There was a bit of a rush today. Originally, Paul was going to ask someone from the team's clothing department to embroider the number on his ball in Chinese red.

When Liu Mang heard this, he and Iguodala quietly disappeared before the lights came on...

Liu Mang returned to the bench and murmured: "If one day in this world you are still beaten by 58 points, don't blame me! It wasn't me..."

…

After the players from both teams finished playing, Paul, David West, two Hornets stars, Nowitzki, Stackhouse, Crawford and many other Mavericks stars came to meet with Liu Mang, Tracy McGrady,

Kwame Brown and others say hello.

Top current players came to watch the game, and the players from both teams were very motivated.

However, when Paul and Liu Mang hugged, he felt that Liu Mang was a little too enthusiastic, as if he "owed" him, and Paul was a little puzzled...

There was not much suspense in this game. In this game, the Hornets were beaten by the visiting Mavericks.

The Hornets were no match for the Mavericks from the beginning, and there was a huge gap in strength between the two teams.

But Paul's performance was very impressive. He didn't look like a rookie at all. He had a steady style of play, accurate mid-range shooting, and great passing skills.

By watching the game live, Liu Mang knew why Paul had an ability evaluation of 82 and was hailed as the successor to Kidd and Nash.

It is so comfortable to watch Paul play. He has excellent scoring ability, but he is not like another 183 player who only focused on his own offense during his rookie period and organized the offense tightly. If his teammates hadn't just finished last season in the Western Conference,

The No. 1 team, only David West has improved from 6 points per game to 18 points per game. Paul has no other helpers, not even a few pitchers. The Hornets will be better!

McGrady, Iguodala, and Josh Smith all praised Paul's offensive organization, but from the perspective of offensive organization, the three of them agreed that Paul was better than Liu Mang.

However...Liu Mang felt a little regretful when he saw Paul's style of play where he almost held the ball without letting go.

This style of play can guarantee the team's lower limit, but it is difficult to make a difference in the playoffs!

But...it does look good!

The Hornets' cooperation is very smooth. Apart from the inability to make outside shots, there are no other shortcomings. They lack a big center who can eat cakes under the basket and a few shooters. With Paul as a passer and David West as
To be continued...