Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 24 Reasons for Underperformance

Li Sheng can't remember how Antetokounmpo performed in the summer league in his previous life. After all, he was not in the spotlight at that time, nor was he in a popular team, and it was not easy to find data resources later.

But according to his estimation, Antetokounmpo's performance should not be so bad. After all, this is only the summer league. In his rookie season, Antetokounmpo can come off the bench and be selected to the best rookie team.

Then he pondered carefully and repeatedly, especially reviewing Antetokounmpo's performance on the field in his mind, and finally came to a conclusion-it was not a technical reason, nor was it entirely due to poor physical confrontation, but more like a psychological problem.

Is it because of becoming a lottery pick and being placed under the spotlight with high expectations, so the pressure is a lot greater?
After all, he is still a boy under 20 years old, no matter how precocious his mind is, how can he be calm?

No matter how much I have experienced before, it is also in Europe. How can the attention there be compared with the NBA?

Even if it is the summer league, because the draft has just passed, the media is still in a frenzy of excitement, waiting to see the performance of the new rookie, so there will be a lot of concentrated attention.

"Li, what do you mean..." Hearing Li Sheng's conjecture, Uduka asked a little strangely: "Is it because Giannis saw the report about him, that's why he was nervous?"

Li Sheng nodded, and then Collins next to him suddenly said: "If I remember correctly, it seems that the "Oklahoman" did mention him the day before yesterday. As for whether he saw it, I don't know."

Both Li Sheng and Udoka were taken aback, and they didn't care that the Thunder was falling behind on the field, so they hurriedly asked him what was going on.

Only then did I know that the local "Oklahoman" in Oklahoma City the day before yesterday gave a section to the Thunder Lottery rookie, and then revolved around his selection to demonstrate how unreliable Li Sheng, a rookie assistant coach, is secretly.

Regarding the selection of rookies, Presti said in an interview that Li Sheng made the decision. This cannot be said to be an attempt to throw the blame, but mainly to show that the team attaches great importance to Li Sheng, and at the same time let the players know that Li Sheng is an authoritative coach.

But in the eyes of the media, this does not seem to be a good choice.

It’s no wonder that even the scouts of various teams don’t pay much attention to Antetokounmpo at this time, let alone these local media. The useful information they can get is just some data from physical tests and performance in European leagues.

Obviously, as a super potential stock, Antetokounmpo has not shown crazy talent now, and compared to the team's current urgent need to supplement the center position, it is obvious that Adams is the better choice they think-here again Gobert is taken for granted.

Of course, the newspaper's remarks appeared to be aimed at Thunder's rookie, but in fact they were of course aimed at Li Sheng.

But no matter who it is aimed at, the players and coaches of their own team, it is really a bit... not something.

As soon as Li Sheng heard the name of the newspaper, he was quite familiar with it. He thought about it again, hey, isn't this the paper media that called Durant "Mr. Unreliable"?
In the future, many people will criticize Durant's choice of transferring to the Warriors, and even taking him away from the Thunder is also called "betrayal."

However, in Li Sheng's view, it is definitely inappropriate for Durant to transfer to the Warriors. He will not say "surrender to the enemy" or "join if you can't beat it". As a player who is determined to become No.

James’s decision has some reason to say that he is going to team up with brother basketball, hometown basketball, school district basketball, and there may be father-son basketball in the future, and he said "poverty alleviation" can really be said to be poverty alleviation. At least before joining and after joining, his record and achievements have indeed been greatly improved.

It's just that James, as the first crab to eat crabs (not), being shot to death on the beach by the back waves will not change his special status as a "first mover", so it is unnecessary to use Durant to wash James;

But just for Durant's decision to leave the Thunder, it really can't be wrong.

If Durant joined the Celtics or any team other than Qiyong after leaving the Thunder, the controversy of public opinion would not be so great.

Because it is almost inevitable for Durant to leave the Thunder, this is not a single incident, but the accumulation of many things, including the origin of this "Mr. Unreliable".

After the loss to the Grizzlies, the local media used this kind of remarks to target the star of their own team. If it is just for motivation, it is obviously unreasonable.

And at that time, most of the Thunder's honor was brought by Durant. Isn't this "I think people are ugly after masturbation"?

In addition to the media, the team also seems to have some disrespect for Durant as the core. Not to mention the so-called "halal meal" incident that is difficult to distinguish between true and false, it did not fully respect his opinions on the issue of Battier and Harden.

It's true that Durant is sensitive, and it's true that I'm sorry for the fans' feelings and expectations, but for the Thunder, I really can't say I'm sorry. Is it because he didn't sign first and then trade, leaving a so-called legacy to the team?

After all, "busness is busness", the relationship between the company and the migrant workers, there is no need to add so much drama.

In this league, loyalty is commendable, and there is nothing to be ashamed of leaving. The embarrassment of James and Durant is not the departure itself, but the inconsistency between their words and deeds.

Getting back to the topic, this newspaper's "backstab" Li Sheng is not surprising, but it is clear that Antetokounmpo was implicated by Li Sheng this time.

Because of the coaching change, coach Brooks, who had a lot of supporters in the local area, dismissed get out of class. Li Sheng, a rookie, stepped forward. Some extreme fans naturally didn't like him, and even the four rookies who were said to be selected by him on his own initiative were not popular.

The first to bear the brunt is naturally Antetokounmpo, who has taken up a spot in the lottery show. Although there are only three places between 15 and 12, it is a different concept.

Of course, this year is a small year, if it is placed in the big year, the lottery lottery is guaranteed to be snatched.

Brother Antetokounmpo saw such reports. On the one hand, he might be worried about his future in the team. On the other hand, he could not help but worry about Li Sheng, who had selected him. If Li Sheng couldn't persist, he would of course be implicated.

For a rookie, it is easy to be liked by local fans, but it is difficult to be hated by local fans, but at this time, Brother Antetokounmpo can be said to have done it to a certain extent.

Of course, a mere piece of paper media cannot represent the local fans. In fact, on the day of signing the contract and selecting the number, the physical fitness shown by Antetokounmpo in the arena made many fans exclaim, and some fans discussed privately whether the team "copied" a KD.

After all, judging from the current style of play, the two really have some similarities - of course, it may be more due to the similarity in size.

But Antetokounmpo certainly can't follow Durant's path. After all, the future has proved his success on another path. Perhaps that is the most suitable one, and Li Sheng has no intention of changing him.

The problem now is that Antetokounmpo's mentality has affected his performance, and his performance has further affected his mentality, and then formed a vicious circle.

Originally, Li Sheng didn't intend to intervene, because he thought he could adjust himself and believed in his mentality.

But his mentality is about to collapse first, and this situation is different.

However, he was still not in a hurry, and he still had to observe and see again.

(End of this chapter)