The Supersonics defeated the Nets and their record increased to 7 wins and 1 loss.

Some people feel regretful that the Nets are in a clear rise and hope to see them play the defending champion.

But the Nets lost, and people were not surprised.

It was Zhang Hao who said before the game, "I hope the Nets will become the strongest team in the East," which helped the Nets attract a lot of hatred in the East.

Then after the game, he said he wanted to 'destroy the Nets' confidence'... it was really too cruel.

76ers, Bulls, Bucks, Raptors...will these teams not focus on the Nets because of Zhang Hao's words after the game?

Of course it is impossible.

Once again, people felt the broad mind of a great gentleman.

In the first half of the month, the East was the Bulls with 8 wins and 0 losses, the second was the 76ers with 6 wins and 2 losses; in the West, the first was the Supersonics with 7 wins and 1 losses, and the second was the Lakers with 7 wins and 1 losses.

At the beginning of the new season, the NBA is still very strong in promoting popular teams, and there is definitely a certain tendency to call, but within the reasonable range of the "Star Whistle", the main schedule.

The top two teams in the East and West are exactly the "NBA Championship Seed Team" that people complained about when the schedule was announced on September 20.

The Lakers started 8 games and predicted that the opponents with a win of more than 50 wins are the Kings and the 76ers.

The 76ers started 8 games, and the only opponents who were predicted to have a 50-win victory were the Lakers.

The Supersonics started 8 games, and the only opponents predicted to be more than 50 wins.

The Bulls started 8 games and predicted opponents with a 50-plus win...no.

Iverson, Duncan and McGrady are all mid-zodiac players, and Kobe's new generation players are very young. Iverson, the oldest, is only 26 years old. He has just entered the golden period of his career and is more powerful than the two top giants in the West.

But in fact, it was not much different. At the beginning of half a month, all four teams only had back-to-back one time, and the strong team's opponents beat the sky.

After half a month of fighting, I can see some things more or less.

For the Bulls, McGrady averaged 14.4 points and 10.5 assists at the start, ranking second in the league in assists, second only to Kidd, who averaged 11 assists since the start. Kobe averaged 28.5 points per game, and Malone averaged .4 points per game, with a strong performance.

Olajuwon's performance frustrated many old fans, and the middle-class contracts were also a little lost. He averaged 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1.5 blocks per game so far. Although his shooting percentage was the lowest in his career and his data in all aspects were also the lowest in his career, he was still able to play as a substitute. He was not good at offense and could not withstand people after losing weight. However, he cooperated with Malone with a good defense. Malone's tonnage was the best, and Olajuwon, who had a good movement, was OK to play as a power forward.

Moreover, the continued progress of Bulls center Brad Miller has become the key support point for McGrady Malone's pick-and-roll combination, able to shoot outside the three-point line and have high-level support ability... Many people think it is comparable to Weber and Garnett!

In his 28 minutes of playing time, Brad Miller scored 8.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, and his defense was very smart.

He has a thick body, good defense skills, has a ball player, can shoot, grab boards, and passes... At present, he is 25 years old, and many teams are ready to provide Brad Miller with a big contract to grab people in the summer of 2003.

If we talk about the arrival of Malone, the adjustment of McGrady's style of play, and Kobe's reduction in holding the ball and shooting in a more relaxed way, it is the key to the Bulls becoming a top team.

Then Brad Miller's progress in the new season is definitely the second key point.

As the only unbeaten team at present, the Bulls' next performance is highly anticipated.

For the Lakers, there have been some wonderful changes in the new season.

Pierce averaged 26.5 points per game, O'Neal averaged 27.5 points per game. Pierce made too fast in the last year of his rookie contract, averaging 3 three-pointers per game in the first 8 games, with a 41.1% three-point shooting percentage.

But Pierce cannot enter the free market. Even if the Lakers do not have his matching rights, his four-year contract was signed in June 1998, because Pierce reached a starting salary of US$10.07 million with the Lakers as early as last season and a total of US$80 million in six years, and was renewed according to the salary cap last season.

Payton also performed well in the new season, averaging 16 points, 9 assists and 2 steals at the beginning.

The three superstars performed well, but the problem is that the veteran is older...

Especially Richmond, who was only able to compete with the Lakers and the Supersonics, averaged 16 points per game last season, and averaged 24 minutes of playing time in the first four games of the season, only scored 6 points and a 33% shooting percentage. He was also injured in training and would take two weeks to return.

Rick Fox played his worst season since joining the Lakers, and Hores Grant was OK and maintained his form.

But Samaki Walker and Devin George two big forward substitutes... What should I say? O'Neal, who was in his year of playing, was at least two defending at the basket. Both of them couldn't get any points when they partnered with O'Neal, fortunately they could defend.

This season, the Lakers have been overwhelmed by O'Neal, 24-year-old Pierce, and 33-year-old Payton, which is worthy of the team, only the team defense created by Carlisle.

Anyway, the Lakers' strength is to exert the strength of the three superstars to the extreme.

The 76ers...it makes people feel that the hidden danger is very big. In addition to losing to the Lakers, it was also a shot by the Heat.

In terms of the Supersonics, it is more than good.

It gives people the feeling that not to mention the Supersonics' start with 7 wins and 1 loss, even if they lose 1 wins and 7 losses, they will be praised to the sky...

...

The season continues. For the Supersonics, after five consecutive away games, there are still 8 games in November. Not counting the opening match on October 30, 15 games in November are very good, and there are not many opponents of strong teams.

There are 4 strong teams, or possible opponents to become strong teams.

On November 18, he played against the Mavericks and defended the ball well against the Mavericks. Bai Chocolate had 6 assists and 6 turnovers, which made the Mavericks only scored 90 points in this game. The Supersonics won easily 107-90.

On November 24, he played against the Suns. Zhang Hao scored 37 points and was very efficient. However, Jordan, who was so desperate, only scored 18 points in 18 shots, and Cassel only scored 11 points. Although Artest and Anthony Mason Jr. both scored in double digits, the Supersonics team only had 101 points, while on the Suns, three players scored 25+, Anthony Hardaway scored 26 points and 8 assists, Hu Weidong scored 25 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Grant Hill scored 25 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, and the three outsiders led the team to score 110 points, and the Supersonics lost 101-110.

On November 28, the Pacers played against the Pacers. Jermaine O'Neal, Reggie Miller and Jaylen Ross started to soar. The Supersonics lost 98 to 104...

On November 30, the Supersonics narrowly defeated the Timberwolves 103-98 at home, ending their first game month.

In the entire first month of the game, the 50+ win-win opponents predicted before the season started, the Supersonics only had three, Kings, Mavericks, and Timberwolves, all won.

Although there were three losses, the record of 13 wins and 3 losses at the beginning is still ranked first in the Western Conference.

After the first month of the game, the strengths and weaknesses of each team were clearly differentiated.

In the East, the Bulls played the lead, with 13 wins and 2 losses in the league first, the 76ers lost 11 wins and 5 losses in the second, and the Nets lost 10 wins and 6 losses in the third. It is possible, but it is only possible that there are only three teams that can win 60 wins.

In the West, the Supersonics are the first in 13 wins and 3 losses, the Kings are the second in 12 wins and 4 losses, the Lakers are the third in 11 wins and 4 losses, and the Mavericks are the fourth in 12 wins and 5 losses, and there are 4 teams that may win 60 wins.

It seems that 7 teams may win 60 wins, but in fact, in the end, only one or two teams may win 60 wins, and maybe even none of them may not be there.

The top seven in the Western Conference looked like they could win 60 wins in the first stage of last season, but in the end, only the Supersonics and the Lakers won.

On December 1, the league announced the first month's best awards.

Coach of the Month, East, Bulls coach Larry Brown, West, Timberwolves coach Philip Sanders.

Rookie of the Month, East, Pacers rookie Jamal Tinsley, West, Grizzlies rookie Paul Gasol.

Player of the Month, East, Bulls player McGrady, West, Timberwolves player Garnett.

Kwame Brown averaged 28 minutes per game in 17 games, scoring 6 points, 8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.3 blocks, and the Magic won it at the second pick, which was regarded as the most correct choice for the three high school students.

Eddie Curry averaged 17 minutes per game in the first month, scored 6 points and 4 rebounds. He was talented, but after just one month of playing, his reputation for laziness came out. The traffic commander-style defense was criticized, but his offensive talent was indeed very good.

In comparison, Tyson Chandler of the Supersonics averaged 14 minutes per game, scoring 3.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 1 block, which was much better than Eddie Curry.

Tyson Chandler immediately communicated with his teammates whenever he had any problems during the game. He was very active on the defensive end, although he lost a little bit at the basket and was often eaten by the centers who frequently appeared in the 120+ kg class in recent years.

However, the agility of being able to switch to the outside line and 6 cm are destined to become a real big center in the future, and are highly anticipated.

Jamal Tinsley, the best performer in the Eastern Conference in the first month...that is, the combat power is really not comparable to three high school students. He averaged 9.4 points and 9.2 assists per game. He replaced Mark Jackson as he entered the NBA and became the Pacers' new outside core.

Jamal Tinsley led Reggie Miller, Jermaine O'Neal and Jaylen Ross to defeat the Supersonics in a game that was quite coquettish.

Paul Gasol... This person is very different from other rookies this year. He has a Brand averaged 9 rebounds per game. Gasol averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2 blocks per game in the first month.

It is obvious that Paul Gasol is the kind of rookie from the last century.

Overall, the 2001 rookies played in the first competition month, which gave people a lot of surprises!

The Western Conference also has Bathir, who averaged 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game, Jason Richardson, who averaged 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game, Arenas, who averaged 12 points, 3 assists per game, and Richard Jefferson, who averaged 11 points, 6 rebounds per game, who has good combat power.

The East is more talented rookies.

Compared with the initial evaluation of the "Replica 00th Edition" has indeed given people a lot of surprises.

Only two players in the 2000 class averaged double-digit points per game in the rookie season, which was really miserable.

Garnett actually led the team to a record of 10 wins and 7 losses in the first month, ranking fifth in the West. This is quite surprising. The average of 27 points, 13.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.6 blocks per game is also extremely explosive!

Garnett wants to maintain this data until the end of the season, and people think it is unlikely that Garnett's first-month shooting percentage will be 65%. To maintain such a shooting percentage, it is impossible for an inside player who uses shooting as the main scoring method.

Chamberlain can't do it without talking about others.

McGrady's side, after the first month, averaged 14.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 10.6 assists, 1 steal and 1.6 blocks per game, which was so slutty!

If he partnered with Malone, if he switched the block to steal, he would have thought that the two evil spirits would go to the Bulls together.

In fact, if Stockton does not renew the contract with the Jazz, the Bulls rely on the rookie contract between Kobe and Desmond Mason and Brad Miller's salary of 4.5 million US dollars, can also earn Stockton's annual salary of 7.5 million, and it will not affect signing Olajuwon with the middle class exception.

However, the Bulls won the 97th genius Ron Mersell with a three-year, $20 million contract, and the sixth player averaged 11.9 points per game, which is also very good.

McGrady's performance this season was explosive, overwhelming Kobe, Zhang Hao, Webber, Duncan, Garnett... and others. After playing in the first month, she became the number one hot MVP selected by ESPN Sports Column.

...

In December, the Supersonics began to make adjustments in the rotation playing time.

Ewing, Dan Marley and Dell Curry will get more playing time, and rookie Parker will also get more playing time accordingly.

The running-in in the first month was relatively smooth, but this was based on a fixed rotation lineup.

Kirilenko, Steve Smith, Anthony Mason Jr., Jason Williams, Tyson Chandler, these five players were substitutes with more than 10 minutes of playing time in the first month.

The other four substitutes of the Supersonics either have no chance to play or rarely play.

As for things, we have to go step by step. Last season, eight players left and seven came. Compared with last season, the lineup changes of only 5 players, it will be much more difficult to get it done.

The gap in strength among veterans is also a problem.

But fortunately, Kassel, Jordan, Artest, Zhang Hao, and Ben Wallace's lineup is stronger than last season. The basic structure is to build a rotational system around them. Play more players who play well, and if they don't play well... they will be overwhelmed.
To be continued...