Chapter 1027 The Scalp of the Showman Is Numb (Second Update!)

The new season is about to begin, and ESPN has also conducted a strength prediction ranking for the new season as in previous years.

But what all fans didn't expect was that ESPN ranked the Cavaliers at the top of this list!

1. Cavaliers

The departure of Kyrie Irving and the joining of Paul George have made this team's strength rise instead of falling. The wings of George and LeBron will be the strongest wings in the league, and the joining of "Flash" Wade has made the team stronger. They are stronger than their opponents in every position!

This is probably the strongest team in NBA history, and we can't ignore Shumpert, J.R. Smith, Korver, Tristan Thompson, Jeff Green and others on their bench.

They are likely to make the new season lose the suspense, and they will become the most popular team for the championship.

2. Warriors

With four All-Stars, the Warriors are looking forward to what kind of performance they will perform in the new season after going through the grind last season.

Warriors head coach Cole revealed during the offseason that he will use Curry and Durant's pick-and-roll offense more in the new season, which will allow the two superstars to create the greatest chemical reaction.

Moreover, their offseason reinforcements are also very targeted. They signed Nick Young and McGee to strengthen their internal and external players. They will be the team that will have the biggest impact on the Cavaliers in the new season.

3. Pelicans

The addition of Butler and Walker makes the Pelicans look stronger than ever, but this is their first season, and running-in and chemical reaction will become their biggest problems, and Walker's defense will be worse than the previous Holiday. A big problem.

Of course, the biggest problem is the style of play. All four of them play with the ball. To use the most popular saying, one ball is not enough for them to score. Considering Butler's prickly personality, this team ended up being very difficult. The result may be 1+1+1+1<4.

Whether it is Tang, the other three people, or the Pelicans management, the new season is their opportunity to complete the dynasty, and it is also their biggest test.

4. Mavericks

Losing Butler seems to have greatly reduced their strength, but the real situation is that they traded away the team's biggest thorn in the side and acquired Holiday, who may be the most simple All-Star player, as well as a player with unlimited future. Jokic.

Carlisle is the second-best coach in the league after Popovich. He has proven this in the past. Just imagine the 2011 championship journey. Now that the Mavericks have an unprecedentedly strong lineup, Carlisle will usher in the richest season of his coaching career. .

Perhaps compared to the Pelicans, they are the team that is more capable of competing for the championship.

5. Rockets

Cousins' season-ending injury made them appear to have dropped out of the first tier, but Capela's outstanding performance in the preseason showed that he is ready.

And compared to Cousins, Capela is more mobile, and behind them is Zhou Qi, who is very talented.

Plus Ariza was traded during the offseason.

This team seems to be less talented, but the lineup is more reasonable. We have reason to believe that they will perform better.

6. Thunder

7. Bucks

8. Trail Blazers

…

When this strength ranking came out, social media exploded instantly.

"Holy shit, the Pelicans are ranked third?! ESPN are you serious?!"

"It's not that I want to complain, it's that you are so blind! Are you telling me about tacit understanding and chemistry? They beat the Bucks for 30 minutes at halftime, are we watching an NBA?!"

"Still stabbing Butler, you are talking nonsense with your eyes wide open! Butler is Don's fanboy! If you haven't watched the game, why don't you go watch the preseason video!"

"What's even more ridiculous is that the Warriors are still ranked ahead of the Pelicans. The Pelicans won with a lineup like last season, so they are ranked first and second!"

"Isn't the funniest thing about that saying that the Mavericks have less chance of winning the championship than the Pelicans?"

"The Rockets will perform better than last season..."

"Guys, don't panic, it might just be ESPN's website being hacked!"

"I think there's nothing wrong with this list. You keyboard warriors, please stop comparing yourself!" A statement from a Harrell fan.

"That's it, these keyboard warriors only know how to talk on paper and don't care about running-in and tacit understanding at all. Wade and LeBron are brothers, and Durant is more integrated into the team. They are already better than the Pelicans!" from a West fan speak.

"That's right, that's right, and the Pelicans' contracts for Walker and Butler will expire next year, and both will have maximum salaries. Such fans will explode next year, and they will definitely have to fight for the ball in the contract year, and it will definitely be a mess by then!" From Forbes fans speak.

…

"Fxck!"

Durant couldn't help but get angry when he saw the discussion on social media.

When he first registered for a series of trumpets, he discovered that the Pelicans' role players had been registered.

These alts have been active since the offseason and are now popping up again.

His previous alt accounts were speculated to be his, and he rarely used them. Now I don’t know who it is, and they are obviously blaming him!

But he can only suffer a secret loss in this kind of thing.

But it's not entirely a bad thing. At least the media ranking the Warriors ahead of the Pelicans gave him some relief and gave him confidence.

He failed last season. If he can defeat the four-star Pelicans, he will definitely be happy for a long time.

…

ESPN's predictions triggered a new round of public opinion storm, and amidst such discussion, the curtain of the 2017~2018 season officially opened.

Because of the strength of the Pelicans, and also because of ESPN's prediction, fans have paid unprecedented attention to the Pelicans.

You must know that in the eyes of fans, ESPN is just a gimmick, and there is simply not enough to watch other teams except the Pelicans in the new season.

The Pelicans' opponent in the first game was the Thunder.

In ESPN's strength list, although the Thunder did not form the Big Three, they still ranked sixth after signing Griffin, higher than the Bucks.

The Bucks were beaten by the Pelicans in two preseason games, and fans are looking forward to the opening game.

On the night of the game, according to statistics from ESPN and TNT, the ratings for the Pelicans' opener broke a record high before the game even started.

Correspondingly, almost no one watched the other opening games.

The Pelicans really focused everyone's attention and took away all the interests of other teams at once.

This level of attention is to be expected.

There has never been such a strong lineup of the Pelicans in history. No matter how ESPN deliberately blackmails it, the fans are not blind.

Tang Tian defended one after another, the best in the league.

Butler defended one after another, and the top ten in the league were close to the top five.

Davis plays three teams and two defenses, ranking among the top 20 in the league and close to the top ten.

Walker is in the third team, top 20 in the league.

Not to mention the strength and tacit understanding, the personal honors last season alone are unparalleled.

Not to mention the four preseason games, Siakam, Dedmon, Bojan, Brogdon, Kuzma, Harrell and others have all proven their strength.

And the regular season is not the preseason. In the preseason, the Pelicans abused the Big Three of the Bucks. Now the opening game against the dual-core Thunder is exciting just thinking about it.