Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 92 First Battle
"Oh?" Kenny Smith was very interested in Barkley's words, "What is this?"

Barkley explained that Li Sheng was also mentioned in their previous program, and he was "harassed" by Li Sheng's phone call for more than an hour that night.

This made everyone find it interesting, and O'Neill shrugged, pointed at the camera and said: "Hey, Li, listen, if you are like this, I promise to block you immediately. I'm not like Charles. I haven't seen RING (double meaning of ring/telephone ringtone), so I'm curious like a child every time..."

"Oh, here we go again..." Barkley felt a little helpless, but he was used to it.

The reason why he has been at a disadvantage in the verbal battle with O'Neal is that the lack of a championship is a very important factor.

And he didn't keep a team unchanged, and he could boast that he was "one man, one city". In his later years, he went to Houston in pursuit of a championship, but he still failed.

This is probably why he later invented the "bus driver" argument. He probably envied and despised Durant's way of hitchhiking to win the championship.

But of course this is just a joke, and it has even gradually formed a funny routine, and the audience knows how they will react, but they still enjoy it. They like to see O'Neill stretch out four fingers, and they like to see Barkley with a shrunken face.

In the end, Kenny Smith got back to the topic, "We all know that Lee is actually a very interesting person. Of course, we also hope that there will be some new faces who perform well in this league. However, regarding the situation of the Thunder, we still have to use actual performance to speak.

"I wish our friend good luck. I think if everything goes well, he should still be able to get a good start."

"Hahaha..." O'Neill knew right away that he was talking about the Thunder's schedule. The Thunder's schedule is indeed relatively easy at the beginning, and they are all weak teams.

Although the Thunder lost Westbrook, the defensive team is still there, and Durant is still there, so they are not without the power to fight.

Of course, in the regular season, it's okay to say that the Thunder's lineup is definitely not a big problem in the playoffs. Even if the competition in the West is fierce, they still have a basic set, not to mention that Westbrook may come back at any time. The problem lies in the playoffs.

Westbrook's injuries and the mentality of the rookies will become a hidden danger in the playoffs.

So in the new season, everyone is more optimistic about the defending champion Spurs with a stable lineup, and the Houston team with Warcraft coming. Of course, the East is the Heat and the Nets.

Of course, if Li Sheng could really hit the face with Thunder, they would also welcome it. This would at most lose a little face, but the popularity can make a lot of money.

Of course, Li Sheng didn't bother O'Neill at night, because he didn't have the heart to watch any programs at all, and he was still simulating tactics in his mind.

This is a "simulator" that he bought after rummaging through the mall for five points after careful consideration. The main purpose is to simulate the game before the game to see what kind of tactical arrangement is the most suitable and most sure of winning.

Of course, this is based on the fact that both sides remain in a normal state. In this way, we look at tactics first, and second, we look at hard power.

This kind of simulation that is really unbeatable is estimated to be possible to win only once out of ten times, not to mention the fact that there is such a thing as the on-the-spot state. If the opponent's state explodes and his side is sluggish, then even if the strength is stronger, he will overturn.

So this simulation is actually not as useful as imagined. The main reason is that it can make Li Sheng more organized in the formation of troops, and simulate a few more different situations, which can also make him mentally prepared, and the on-the-spot reaction will be faster.

Another thing is to ask for peace of mind. If the simulation results are not bad, I will be more confident in my heart.

……

The Thunder's first game of the new season was an away game against the Utah Jazz on the second day of the NBA opener.

The Jazz's lineup for the new season has been adjusted. The current team's starting point guard is rookie Trey Burke. Except for Hayward, all other positions in the starting lineup have been changed.

The second position is Box, the fourth position is Derek Favors, and the fifth position is a traitor who is strong and weak.

In fact, the overall offensive power of this lineup is still good, and they played quite well in the preseason.

But such a completely new lineup, compared to the Thunder's side, is only slightly weaker at the first position, and naturally it has already fallen into a disadvantage before the start of the game.

The Jazz this season actually has no hope. After such a major reshuffle, it is a bit of a dream to say that the goal is to make the playoffs. After all, other teams in the West are not easy to play with, so their goals for the new season are almost botched.

Generally speaking, NBA teams have only one ultimate goal, which is to make money, but there are many ways to make money, because this is a closed major league with no relegation system, and if you want to maintain the normal operation of the league—especially the transfer period, the league president will do everything possible to maintain a balance.

Just like the emergence of the luxury tax, the original intention is to restrict those rich clubs from spending money to accumulate lineups, especially those teams that can win consecutive championships. Objectively, this has achieved results, making it more and more difficult to achieve consecutive championships after the new century.

As for individual stars, unless you change teams frequently, it is also not easy for you to maintain a competitive lineup.

However, although NBA teams do not have a relegation system, they have a draft system that can inject fresh blood into the league at any time. For teams that have always been poor, if they can select a star worth cultivating through poor performance, it goes without saying that the box office will follow.

Because powerful stars can not only bring fans, but also bring results, and then add fans to the team in a disguised form. To put it bluntly, in the world of competitive sports, most of the fans outside the local area are fans of winning. If you don’t win and want to have fans, what’s the point?

It's a pity that Gobert, one of the foundations for the Jazz's rise in the future, and the core defensive core, is currently in the Thunder, and their current lineup can compete with other teams, but they often score as many points as possible.

In fact, the first opponent is such a team, which is also a good thing for Li Sheng. He can have enough time for the team to experience the game of the new season first, so that the rookies can have more opportunities to experience the official NBA game.

In fact, from the perspective of the schedule, the Thunder can be regarded as the darling of the league. There are only two games scheduled for the first week. The Jazz and Timberwolves are currently weak teams in the West that can stably score points. Then the Suns, Mavericks, Pistons, and Wizards are not strong players.

This kind of schedule, on the one hand, allows the Thunder to go through the initial running-in period in a stable manner, and on the other hand, it also allows them to train well, adapt and enter the state.

Even if Westbrook wants to come back, he can choose a team from them, which will help him find his own rhythm.

In fact, the NBA's schedule has always been like this. The difficulty of each team's schedule is different, and it can also be seen which team the league really supports.

Lei Ting has always been treated fairly well, but what he can achieve depends on himself.

Moreover, the league's schedule is generally arranged based on the results of the previous season. Sometimes the transfer period changes, and some strong and weak things may happen. In addition, some teams will not live up to it.

(End of this chapter)