This Forward is Not Serious

Lin Ying did not go to South Africa in the end.

This summer, he turned into a "training hall bug" and spent most of his time in the training hall.

It's a bit similar to last summer, but this time he's mostly alone.

Jokic started training with him for a while, but soon returned to Serbia.

Then Zhou Qi was called and beaten by him for a while, and he was also dragged to China.

Really want to count the most training time with him, or the team's second-year player Caruso.

The "Bald Mamba" didn't get many opportunities with the Nets last season. Originally, Durant and Kobe left the team one after another. It was his opportunity, but the addition of Crabbe made him still need to face a fierce competitive environment.

He is also stubborn.

Of course, most of the time, because of Lin Ying's training intensity, he was alone after finishing training.

Don't tell me, he still couldn't get used to it at this time. Sometimes he turned his head and shouted Kevin, only to find that Durant was no longer there, so he could only laugh bitterly.

He didn't feel this way before Durant came to the Nets, but it's been a long time since he's been with the Nets, and he really needs time to get used to it.

time, fast.

Fast forward to the end of September.

The training camps for the new season of the teams have started one after another.

Lin Ying also met all of his teammates at the Nets' training camp.

The changes of the Nets this season are not big, but they are not small.

The biggest change came from the backline, where Bradley and Ariza were both poached by other teams with premium contracts.

Coupled with Kobe Bryant's re-retirement, there were only Rose and Carter among the remaining rotation guards last season.

Oh, yes, old Carter did not choose to retire, and extended his contract with the Nets for another year.

It's not all about winning another championship, but he likes the atmosphere of the Nets.

And his enthusiasm for basketball has never subsided, and staying with the Nets is the best choice for him.

However, it is definitely not enough to rely on these two people alone. The Nets also replenished the guard line in the summer.

One of the most important and controversial is that they signed Lance Stephenson to a two-year, $6 million contract with a team option.

Stephenson has always had the strength to play in the NBA, and he did well with the Clippers last season.

However, because of his personality, most teams regard him as a locker room bomb, and the popularity of the free market is very low.

The Nets have been trying to sign back Bradley and Ariza, but have been unsuccessful, and Stephenson is one of their options.

In other positions, the most important signing or trade of the Nets is to use the trade exception obtained from the Durant trade before, and then add some draft picks to get Rudy from the Spurs. Gay (2 years, $20 million, second-year player option).

So now the Nets' 15-man roster:

Point guards: Rose, Caruso, McAfee;

Shooting backs: Allen Crabbe, Stephenson, Carter;

Small front: Lin Ying, pj Tucker, Anfernee Simmons;

Power Front: Rudy Gay, James Johnson, Anunoby;

Center: Jokic, Zhou Qi, Nene;

As can be seen from the roster, the decline in the strength of the Nets is even greater than expected.

Moreover, the departure of Durant and Kobe Bryant directly took away two-fifths of Lu's tactics.

If Lin Ying wants to lead the Nets to complete four consecutive championships, the difficulty is obvious at a glance.

…

At about the same time as the training camps of each team, ESPN, like in the past few years, couldn't wait to start the strength prediction.

It's interesting that the columnist who wrote the prediction list for espn this year directly used the content of the chat between rich Paul and James.

First, the Lakers

The Lakers will be the most competitive player this season, or the next five years.

When a team has LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul, DeMarcus Cousins, you really can't imagine what other team can beat them.

Even if Kevin Durant hadn't left the Nets, this Lakers team would still have the upper hand.

We might be able to shout that the era of LeBron James has come.

Expected starters: Paul, Jr Smith, James, Davis, Cousins;

Projected rotation: Payton Jr., Seth Curry, Shumpert, Kyle Kuzma, McGee.

Second, the Hornets

Larry Bird, who left the Hornets for personal health reasons, recommended his successor for Jordan before leaving.

Judging from the current performance, Kupchak's performance exceeded everyone's expectations.

Recruiting Kevin Durant will earn him this year's GM trophy and give Michael Jordan a taste of what it's like to be an owner.

It is worth mentioning that this year the Hornets have paid the most luxury tax since entering the league, and you can fully feel Jordan's confidence in this team.

Expected starters: Terry Rozier, Jimmy Butler, Durant, Horford, Tyson Chandler;

Projected rotation: Tony Parker, Jeremy Lamb, Dwayne Bacon, Kaminsky, Cody Zeller;

Third, the Nets

We don't know exactly what motivated Kevin Durant to leave the Nets, maybe it was, as he said, to take on a different challenge, or maybe it was because he wasn't willing to play a second-in-command role, but The decline of the Nets' strength is inevitable.

But there is one thing we can't ignore. Even if the Nets' strength declines, they still have Lin Ying and Nikola Jokic. They still have enough strength to complete an amazing four consecutive championships.

However, to do this, they are very difficult, the Hornets and the Lakers will be their biggest opponents.

Expected starters: Rose, Crabbe, Guy, Lin Ying, Jokic;

Expected rotation: Caruso, Carter, Stephenson, Tucker, Nene.

Fourth, the Warriors

The Warriors lost a lot this summer. Pachulia was out for the season, and McGee switched to the Lakers. Their already weak inside team faced further challenges.

But the good news is that Hayward's injury recovery is much better than expected, and they are still the Lakers' biggest opponent in the West.

Expected starting lineup: Curry, Thompson, Hayward, Draymond Green, Kevin Looney;

Projected rotation: Quinn Cook, Livingston, Iguodala, Jordan Bell, Andrew Bogut.

Fifth, the Raptors

We're not sure if it's appropriate to put the Raptors in this position, but the Raptors' roster has certainly been something to be reckoned with this season.

The only question is how much more Kawhi Leonard can get back to.

Once he gets back to 70-80 percent of his pre-injury level, the Raptors are going to be an amazing team next season.

There is no doubt that the new season will be a risky gamble for Toronto, but the rewards are equally enticing.

Expected starters: Lowry, Danny Green, Leonard, Siakam, Ibaka;

Expected rotation: VanVleet, Norman Powell, Deron Wright, Ed Davis, Valanciunas;

6. Timberwolves

7. Pelicans

The Pelicans' reinforcements are methodical, and they're building on the next step in David Griffin's run.

Although the operation of acquiring Anthony in the trade is full of controversy, Anthony has only one year left on his contract.

That means they have enough cap space to join the pursuit of Leonard next summer.

The combination of George and Leonard's forward line will be a lineup that suffocates opponents.

Expected starters: Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Paul George, Anthony, Howard;

Projected rotation: Tim Fraser, Antoine Moore, Darius Miller, Nikola Mirotic, Jason Smith.

Eighth, the Bucks

With the Nets falling from the altar, the East will be very chaotic this year, and the Bucks have a chance to climb the ladder of chaos.

Giannis Antetokounmpo disappeared from the public eye this past summer, but we know from the only reports he's been in the gym almost every day.

His strength continues to improve, but the Bucks' achievements and his efforts are not directly proportional.

But the Bucks management doesn't seem to be in a hurry. Their moves this summer are not big, but every stroke is very targeted.

First they signed Brook Lopez on a super cheap (one-year, $3 million) deal, the former All-Star who played badly last season.

But they signed Lopez for a very clear purpose, a big man who has developed the 3-pointer over the past two seasons.

And compared to the average big man with 3-point shooting, Lopez also has defense and support, which is definitely an underrated signing.

Then they landed Ilyasova on a three-year, $21 million contract.

These signings all show that the Bucks are building a "one-star" roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo, and it may surprise people in the new season.

Expected starters: Eric Bledsoe, Brogdon, Middleton, Antetokounmpo, Lopez;

Projected rotation: Dellavedova, Tony Snell, Pat Connaughton, Ilyasova, John Henson.

Ninth, 76ers

The 76ers made two key operations this summer. One was to keep the team's outside shooter JJ Redick. In exchange for Tobias Harris.

Prior to this, the Suns had always regarded Harris as Lin Ying's successor, who also showed scoring talent and was hailed as "little melon" by fans.

It’s just that the Suns have stopped in the playoffs for years after year, and Harris is mediocre in other aspects except for scoring. After selecting Trae Young, they immediately pressed the button for another round of team reconstruction.

But for the 76ers, getting Harris means they also form a Big Three lineup.

Harris is good at scoring, both off the ball and with the ball, and is definitely a perfect complement to the 76ers.

Of course, it is still Simmons who really decides the upper limit of the 76ers. This summer, he has been showing three-point training from time to time, and his three-point performance next season is very exciting.

Expected starters: Simmons, Redick, Covington, Harris, Embiid;

Expected rotation: Fultz, Shamet, Wells Chandler, Saric, Boban Marjanovic.

10. Celtics

The Celtics were also one of the most active teams this summer. They let go of Howard, whose state had declined significantly and his contract expired, and instead signed DeAndre Jordan on a one-year, 24 million contract.

The signing essentially did not improve the Celtics' internal strength, and was seen as a step in the free market next year.

But at least, they maintained their internal strength.

And then most importantly, they upgraded their starting point guard from Rozier to Kemba Walker, an All-Star level player.

At the same time, they also signed back Rajon Rondo, the core point guard of the Big Three era.

Expected starters: Walker, Smart, Tatum, Sabonis, Jordan;

Estimated rotation: Rondo, Chandler Hutchison, McGigi, Daniel Theis, Aaron Baynes.

…

The Lakers and Warriors are still strong, but in this wave of ESPN predictions, three of the top five teams are from the East, and seven of the top ten teams are from the East.

ESPN's prediction is not completely accurate, but it can be seen from these simple statistics that the pattern of strong west and weak east has been broken again.

This is directly related to Durant's departure.

Before that, most Eastern Conference teams were reluctant to invest because it was clear that no one could beat the Nets.

But this season, every team is trying to make a lineup, obviously wanting to take this opportunity to win a championship!

As for why the Nets have become weaker and the Lakers, actions are more convincing than words. They don't think the Lakers have the strength of the Nets before.

The theme of the new season of Super Smash Bros. is becoming more and more obvious.

…

In the blink of an eye, in late October, each team has ended their preseason journey one after another.

The Nets did not play well in the preseason, with 5 wins and 2 losses in 7 games.

Because the team's lineup has changed a lot, Lu gave the new players a lot of playing time in the preseason.

But the new recruits are not doing well.

Lu arranged for Gay to start, but Gay seems to have not recovered from his struggling performance last season, and his hand is very sluggish;

The compatibility problem between Stephenson and Rose is also obvious. "Junior Brother" seems to be very unsuitable for playing without the ball. Although Lin Ying is there, he dare not show his thorny attributes, but he struggles very much;

Crabbe's shooting performance is good, but he really doesn't have any ability to hold the ball and attack, let alone the third-leading team of the championship team, even the third-leading team of the average team is not qualified.

Not only new players, but veteran players like Nene have also slowed down a lot because of their age.

After this preseason game, many fans felt that the Nets were finished.

Some radical fans even attacked Durant on social media, believing that Durant ruined everything.

"We were supposed to go to sleep and wake up to the news that the Nets won again, but now, we have to worry about whether the team can win!"

It is against this background that the curtain of the new season kicked off.

The Nets also ushered in their first opponent in the home opener of the new season: the Celtics.

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