Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 19 Forming the Coaching Staff

Because he played point guard at the beginning of his contact with basketball. In fact, Antetokounmpo's ball-handling skills are already good. What he needs more now is to hang meat and practice confrontation.

In the rise of Antetokounmpo in the previous life, the existence of one person cannot be ignored, that is, the legendary star is not comparable to... the favorite (love) favorite (black) Jason Kidd.

Antetokounmpo also played as a point forward in Greece in his early years. Earlier, he played as a point guard. Later, he became taller and taller, so he could only switch to a forward.

So in fact, he has always had organizational ability, but Kidd has been magnified and cultivated in this correct direction, which can also maximize his ability.

His biggest weakness should be shooting. Hey, what a coincidence, isn't it? Kidd is also not good at shooting, even though he has made a lot of three-pointers in his career.

They are also pass-oriented point guards. Kidd and Nash are like the two opposite sides of the coin. I believe many old fans have heard of the names "Basic Attack" and "Nash Defense".

Brother Antetokounmpo is now a piece of rough jade. Although his personal efforts cannot be ignored, without good guidance, Li Sheng is not sure whether he can still achieve the same achievements as in his previous life.

Now that he has been selected, it is natural to lead him on the right path as much as possible-of course, he must be led on the right path in terms of the game, but he can't step on it anymore.

This is not a pity, although James and Durant have actually done this kind of thing, and even Curry has been suspected, but they either have the power of the media to help clean up, or the "technique" does not hurt people.

For example, Brother Antetokounmpo hurts people and is still a highly popular player, and after making direct profits without the help of the media to wash it repeatedly, he is destined to be remembered by a generation of fans for a lifetime.

Even if he won the championship, he still can't convince others, although these people won't accept it, it won't affect him to win the championship and improve his historical status.

The winner is the king and the loser is Kou, maybe in another dozen or 20 years, after a change of fans, the champion will be able to cover up this crime. At most, he will post a post on the forum and some "old fans" will come out to popularize how dirty it was at the time and what happened to IF.

Anyway, in Li Sheng's view, it should be the task of the "bodyguard" next to the star to engage in actions to hurt people, not the star himself.

For example, the reputation of Duncan and Curry is good, it is leopard print, chasing eggs, and slag are carrying the burden for them, tears...

Keeping clean is of course the best thing to do, but objectively speaking, when playing in the NBA, especially in the playoffs, if you don’t have a "tough guy" on your team, you will easily become the one being bullied.

As long as you don't feel like you are being cursed by hurting others and yourself like Paul, these so-called dirty and rough things can act as a deterrent.

Anyway, it is also a lottery pick, and Presti naturally supports Li Sheng's idea of ​​cultivating Antetokounmpo.

With his cooperation, Li Sheng's work will be better, and he also decided to invite a suitable retired star to be an assistant coach in order to train Antetokounmpo well.

Kidd was the most suitable, of course, but Kidd was picked by the Nets when he just announced his retirement this month and signed a four-year coaching contract.

In fact, Durant, who is also a big man, can give Antetokounmpo a lot of pointers in terms of ball possession alone.

Many people think that Durant is too tall and has a high center of gravity, so he is unstable in dribbling and prone to mistakes. Especially after a serious injury, his athletic ability has dropped sharply, and his ability to control movement has naturally weakened, so his original weakness has been magnified.

But in Li Sheng's view, with such a height, this dribble is already unbelievable. In the case of outstanding advantages, the accompanying risks are also acceptable.

And if Antetokounmpo can learn shooting from Durant again, even if he only learns [-] to [-]%, this offense will be enough.

Then before Westbrook returns, the Thunder's lineup can have two sets of play, one set of main players around Durant, and one set of substitutes around Antetokounmpo.

If a team can have multiple points of domination of the ball, can have multiple ways of domination of the ball, with more options, the probability of being blocked will naturally be lower.

In fact, with Durant's height, if he really wants to be a point forward, he doesn't need to follow the breakthrough route of Westbrook and James, just hold high and play like the Warriors Green.

With his height and vision, isn't it better to stand there and wait for the double-team pass than to dribble around and then distribute the ball?
If he does not double-team and directly pulls out, few people can prevent him with his shooting ability.

Originally in the previous life, the next season was Durant's MVP season, because Westbrook only played more than half of the games, and Durant was also developing in the direction of a forward with the ball.

It's a pity that after Westbrook came back, Durant was injured next season. After returning from the injury, the ball began to be concentrated in Westbrook's hands. Durant lacked the opportunity to continue to exercise and strengthen his pass control ability.

Of course, if there is another organization core in the team, for example, if Antetokounmpo starts to practice in the future, it is naturally a better choice for Durant to be the end point.

"Except for Joe and Dwight, they have all left. I'm afraid your assistant team needs to be formed by yourself."

Naturally, it is impossible for a team to have only one coach, and there is more than one assistant coach. Except for the head coach, everyone else will have a clear division of labor.

Joe Sharp is the daily training coach, Dwight Dab is the physical fitness and strength coach, and the previous assistant coach team, with Brooks fired, is also scattered.

Some of them came here because of Brooks' relationship, and they advanced and retreated with him, while some were not optimistic about Li Sheng's coaching, and did not want to take the blame.

Of course, if Li Sheng's coaching does not go well, as an assistant coach, there is hope to directly step up, which is also an opportunity, but obviously, at that time, in their opinion, the Thunder will become a mess, and few people are willing to take over.

It's hard to say if there was a racist element to it, but Presti certainly wouldn't.

Li Sheng didn't really care about this, but he felt better, because if he had someone with more seniority and possibly stronger ability than him, it would make him a bit more difficult when coaching.

It's better to find some new players on the same team as himself, and Li Sheng already has a goal.

"Looking at you, do you have a plan?"

This is the most unbelievable thing for Presti. He has never seen such a rookie, as if everything is well planned, but he has only been in the NBA for a year, so he seems to know everything.

Li Sheng smiled and did not answer, but only asked him: "What do you think of our four rookies?"

Presti shook his head and said, "Looking at the training, it's like watching the highlights of the stars. I'm afraid everyone is LeBron, Kevin, and Dwayne. You have to go to the court to see it. But they are indeed of good quality and have potential. The premise is that they are trained well."

"Isn't that what we're good at?"

Although none of the three young players has won the MVP yet, the league recognizes their strength, at least they live up to their own rankings, so this series of drafts is also Presti's proud work.

"As for the game, let's go to the summer league first. But others can say that Giannis has to watch, so you better lower your expectations. But I promise you won't be disappointed in the future..."

"Um, are you going to go to Xialian in person?"

(End of this chapter)