The Paper's reporter Hu Jie
The Nets still failed to withstand the Bucks' offense. This article picture CFP
In the NBA opener, the theme of the Nets and Bucks is undoubtedly revenge.
On the morning of October 20, Beijing time, the two teams launched a confrontation, and the Nets failed to get revenge, losing 104-127 to the Bucks, giving the opponent the opening of the new season.
"The league always arranges interesting showdowns in the openers and it's very exciting to be able to test ourselves against the defending champions on the night of the openers." When it comes to the opener, Nets coach Nash also feels that watching the Bucks award the ring will give the player extra motivation.
In last season's playoffs, Irving's weak foot made the Nets fans grumble, Harden's hamstring strain and Durant's long-range shot in the last moment of the line also made the Nets leave the game. Throughout the offseason, both Harden and Durant expressed their goals for the title in public, but Irving became a "missing person."
Due to New York's vaccine policy, Irving, who was reluctant to be vaccinated against the new crown, could not play in all home games of the Nets, so the Nets finally decided that Irving would not train or play with the team until he could fully participate in the team's activities.
This undoubtedly brings more uncertainty to the Nets.
Originally, Nash had set a rotation for the new season, starting as Irving + Harden + Joha + Durant + Griffin, but after Irving was unable to play, the team was forced to try different starting rotation combinations in preseason.
They brought in Mills and Millsap in the offseason, and the return of Griffin and Ade was also a shot in the arm. While Irving's farce casts a shadow over the team's prospects, with healthy Durant and Harden, the Nets remain the biggest favorites to win the championship.
For the Bucks, being the defending champion doesn't require too many adjustments.
They essentially retained last season's title-winning squad in the offseason, losing Tucker to Ojele, replacing Forbes with pitcher Grayson Allen, point guard George Hill replacing Jeff Teague and adding guard Hood. Holliday, Middleton and alphabet brothers are also in their prime.
Before the game, the NBA released the first 25 of the 75 biggest stars in the history of the league, and Durant, Alphabet Brother and Harden were all selected, and Nets coach Nash was also among them.
The two teams' fighting style began before the game, and when asked by reporters about Nash's start, Nash declined to disclose, while Budenholzer predicted that Mills would join the Nets to start. Although Nash chose Joe Harris in the nets' starting lineup, Mills became the "savior" of the Nets' halftime.
At the beginning of the game, alphabet brother led the Bucks to wreak havoc on the nets' interior line, alphabet brother grabbed 8 rebounds in the first quarter, and directly hatped Clarkston, who was preparing to dunk.
Budenholzer said as early as pre-season that the new season will make Alphabet Brother play more of the fifth position, "This combination is good for us, you have to be able to line up such a lineup, this lineup can be very dynamic on the offensive end." ”
Obviously, Alphabet Brother's ability to rush for rebounds did give the team the lead, and the Bucks once led by 18 points in the first half. Nash sent Mills, who made all three of his three-pointers in the first quarter and two more three-pointers in the second quarter to score 15 points on 5-of-5 half-time 3-pointers to help the team make it 59-66 at halftime.
Five three-pointers made Mills the first Nets bench player to hit at least five three-pointers at halftime without conceding a shot after Carrid Livers on Nov. 1, 1996 (5-of-5 from a 3-pointer in the second half).
For the Bucks, the first half was smooth, but Holliday withdrew from the game after suffering a right heel contusion on a layup and scoring 12 points in 17 minutes.
In the second half, the Bucks opened the gap again, and even though the Nets let Durant and Harden lead the team separately, the Nets were always in double digits. Until the final quarter, the Nets were unable to launch a threatening counterattack, and finally lost again in this revenge battle.
Almost at the same time as the nets and Bucks' openers ended, another focus game on the first game day of the NBA's new season was also announced, ushering in a head-on confrontation between the Lakers and the Warriors. In the new season, the Lakers with James, Westbrook and Davis are also big favorites to win the championship.
Editor-in-Charge: Pu Yaolei