I just want to play healthy basketball

Chapter 209 The new season lineup, borrow a knife to kill!
As the preseason is about to start, the Bucks' 15-man roster for the regular season is about to be finalized.

Although the preseason is a stage of training and grinding the lineup, during the preseason, the Bucks will spend some short-term contracts to sign some undrafted picks, older picks, and veterans who cannot find a contract to try and see if they can pan for gold.

But what is basically certain is that the Bucks' previous championship team must be retained.

Point guards: Sam Cassell, Ralph Alston.

Shooting guards: Ray Allen, Michael Reid.

Small forwards: He Li, Glenn Robinson.

Power forwards: Anthony Mason, Mark Pope.

Centers: Joel Przybilla, Elvin Johnson.

This list alone occupies 10 spots for the Bucks.

In addition, rookie Carlos Boozer, veteran Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley occupy the Bucks three more positions.

Then there are two positions left, and there is not much room for manipulation.

There is no doubt that these two positions must be used as a guard.

After all, the Bucks are full of strikers, and there is no special need to reinforce the inside, so the guards must be considered.

It is worth mentioning that when the Bucks made a deal with the Sonics before, the Sonics gave their backup point guard Salmond Williams as one of the trading chips to balance the salary structure.

Salmond Williams was a second-round pick in 98, but signed an average annual mid-level contract of 200 million with the SuperSonics last year.

Although the contract period is only two years, which means that it will expire after this season.

But after all, Salmond Williams' contract is paid by the Bucks.

If it is only for the release of this part of the salary next season, it will ensure a healthier salary structure next season.

So it's really unnecessary for the Bucks to carry 200 million in vain this season.

Because the Bucks' 10-man championship lineup alone has already taken up 4200 million salary space.

In the next 02-03 season, the salary cap is 4027 million, and when the team's salary exceeds 4615 million, the luxury tax will be triggered.

Interestingly, after the Bucks signed Boozer, Ewing, Barkley and traded for Shamond Williams, they triggered the luxury tax.

Next, whoever signs the contract will also have to pay taxes.

It is normal for the Bucks to pay luxury taxes in order to defend the championship.

Also in order to ensure competitiveness, the Bucks did not use the middle class special case to sign Ewing and Barkley, in order to be able to reinforce in time in the middle of the season.

However, the Bucks boss is willing to pay a luxury tax for the team. A big contract like Salmond Williams can't be wasted if it's not dealt with.

In fact, if it is for tax avoidance, it is not impossible to deal with Salmond Williams' contract now.

But last season, the Bucks swept the championship and became the public enemy of the league. If they want to deal with a contract like Salmond Williams, the Bucks have to pay at least two first-round picks.

After all, the defending champion team's first-round pick is worthless.

As for the contract of Salmond Williams, which can be successfully released next season, the Bucks still choose to be dumb and eat coptis, and they can only slowly digest it internally.

Having said that, in addition to Salmond Williams, the Bucks also signed Eric Strickland with a basic salary of less than 60.

Eric Strickland is an undrafted shooting guard who played for the Celtics last season.

Eric Strickland has played in the league for 7 years, with mid-range shots and three-pointers, basically 40% mid-range shots and 35% three-pointers, and 86% free throws.

Simply put, this is an extremely suitable pitcher for the Bucks.

After Eric Stricklando came to the Bucks this season, as long as he strengthened his tactical running position and fixed-point three-point shooting, and signed him with a basic salary of 60, the Bucks would definitely not lose money in this deal.

Closer to home, the Bucks have basically determined the 15-man roster as early as the preseason.

The main reason is to ensure a more stable record in the new season.

Even if someone is injured in the middle of the season, there will be situations where someone comes in at the right time.

As long as the team is absolutely core and He Li is not seriously injured, then basically the Bucks will have no problem reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.

As for whether they can defend the championship, it depends on how strong the Bucks' opponents are.

Time soon came to October 10th, the first game of the Bucks preseason, a guest in Minnesota, against the Timberwolves.

Now the Timberwolves lack Garnett, the iron-blooded and tough wolf king, and their mental outlook seems to be very different.

The new wolf king is Antoine Walker, who was traded from the Celtics, although Walker was also the boss of the Celtics before.

But this kind of power forward who floats outside and shoots three-pointers is really hard to be liked.

Even if He Li also played like this, did He Li suffer less criticism?
Not a lot!Since He Li no longer frequently shoots iron-blooded big jumpers on the inside and focuses on the outside, He Li's soft playing voice has become more and more popular.

Even if He Li led the Bucks to win the championship, such voices did not stop, but tended to intensify.

Not to mention, Walker first arrived in the Timberwolves, and his predecessor was Garnett who relied on a tough style of play to attract fans.

It is not unreasonable for the Timberwolves not to wait to see Walker.

As for the second master of the Timberwolves, it is the chief culprit who caused the Timberwolves to be punished by the league-Joe Smith.

As the No. 95 pick in the [-] draft, Joe Smith must have talent.

It's a pity that since entering the league, his luck has not been very good, and he has been wandering all the time. Although he got some training a few years ago when he first entered the league, he was very unlucky after coming to the Timberwolves.

Not to mention the notorious yin-yang contract, just because the Timberwolves already have a stronger power forward than him, it is destined that Joe Smith will not be able to play in the Timberwolves.

But this season, Joe Smith can be regarded as a blessing in disguise.

Although Walker, the head of the Timberwolves this season, is also a power forward, Walker's style of play can be compatible with Joe Smith.

Walker is a power forward who plays on the outside. Joe Smith is a classic power forward who mainly plays inside and starts out as a defensive player.

Today's Joe Smith is still young. After Garnett leaves, Joe Smith, as the second in charge, will also have more opportunities to perform.

Besides, Joe Smith is in his contract year.

If he didn't work hard, after leaving the alliance, his savings might not be able to support him to live such a comfortable and comfortable life for a long time.

And, fortunately for Joe Smith, because of He Li, the trading price of forward players has skyrocketed since the offseason.

For example, Rashad Lewis, who was picked by the Supersonics in the second round, was actually recognized as a challenge to the Supersonics management during the offseason not long ago, saying that he wanted to sign a maximum salary contract with an average annual salary of 1000 million.

If it weren't for Lewis' outrageous words, the Bucks wouldn't be able to send Tim Thomas to the Sonics so easily.

But even so, the Sonics are still stupid and rich, and signed an average annual maximum salary of 800 million with Lewis.

Defensive strikers like Joe Smith, if some Eastern playoff teams need it, also have the opportunity to get a maximum salary.

But the problem is that the number of times the Timberwolves have played against the Bucks in a season is limited, and now that He Li is playing small forward, it is difficult for Joe Smith to officially match up with He Li, so as to reflect his defensive value.

Instead, Antoine Walker had the chance.

"Yo, isn't this Walker? I haven't seen you in a few months, why are you so lazy?"

Hearing He Li's trash talk to Walker, Joe Smith felt a little uncomfortable: "I really hope that I am the one who was humiliated!"

"Walker, why have you gained weight too? But you can't do it, your shooting is still not stable enough! Look, see clearly, what is shooting!"

The preseason is also called a warm-up match. When He Li meets a "heavyweight" All-Star player like Walker, he also needs to test the results of the off-season in due course.

Sure enough, after He Li gained weight, his outside shots became more stable. Even against players of Walker's tonnage, he didn't suffer at all in confrontation.

While making fun of Walker, He Li was also quite proud.

But Walker on the opposite side was quite touched: "I just couldn't control it, I ate more, and I just gained weight! Did you also eat Hesse during the offseason?"

Walker was traded to the Timberwolves, obviously giving up on himself.

Seeing He Li who is "fat" at this moment, I thought everyone was the same kind of person.

It's just that He Li's lack of "self-discipline" may be because he slacked off after winning the championship.At least that's how Walker sees it.

When He Li heard this, he didn't explain it to Walker.

It's just the preseason, just to practice.

In this game, He Li only played 23 minutes, made 11 of 6 shots, 7 of 4 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, and easily scored 19 points in a small test.

He Li gave more game time to Boozer, Barkley and others. They are the players who really need time to integrate into the team.

Sitting on the bench, He Li can also watch the game more clearly from the audience, find out their shortcomings, and try to provide them with some pointers.

Not to mention that Barkley is a veteran, he has eaten more cakes than He Li scored goals.

But Barkley doesn't have a championship, doesn't that explain the problem?

Besides, Barkley has been sitting on the commentary table with "high eyes but low hands" for two seasons. When he really gets started playing, Barkley's understanding may not be so deep and thorough.

The fact is indeed the case. Barkley has not regained the feeling of playing with only two months of training in the He Li training camp.

In this preseason game, Barkley played 15 minutes and made a total of 7 shots, including a second attack after grabbing an offensive rebound, but the 6 ball possessions passed to him alone were quite a lot.

However, Barkley's final hit count?Only a pathetic 3 times.

As an inside player, he only shot less than 43% in the preseason, which is definitely not qualified.

Obviously, Barkley, who is not yet familiar with the basic tactics of the Bucks, is incompatible with the current Bucks.

And with two months of training, which is not considered hard work, Barkley couldn't keep playing for more than 20 minutes in regular games.

Compared with Barkley, Boozer's performance is actually better.

The two played about the same amount of time, but Boozer was 5-of-3 offensively.

In addition, there are 5 rebounds and 1 block. Boozer's frame protection and defense are not completely absent.

Basically, it can be confirmed that Boozer lacks time and experience.

Under the training of He Li and others, Boozer will become stronger and better, which is predictable.

As for Ewing, Shamond Williams and Eric Strickland, this preseason game also got seven and eight minutes, trying to better integrate into this Bucks and become a part of the championship team.

Time soon came to the 11th, and the Bucks returning to Milwaukee continued to maintain a winning posture.

Even though the Mavericks in the new season look more gorgeous and more deterrent in the lineup, the Bucks still hold the home court very well.

He Li still didn't put in too much effort in this preseason game, and even played less time and scored less than the last game against the Timberwolves.

However, the Bucks still repelled the Mavericks with a 107-95 advantage of a total of 12 points.

"Dirk, you can actually try to gain some weight.

Your height and speed are sufficient, and proper weight gain can increase your resistance.

You have many helpers, what the team needs is not your regular scoring, but scoring at critical moments! "

He Li gave Nowitzki a "friendly" advice.

He Li knew that Nowitzki would gain weight, this was learned from memory.

Nowitzki probably started to gain weight in 06, and the flying style gradually became the floor style. Before that, the league's number one back forward was indeed well-deserved.

Before gaining weight, Nowitzki's style of play was even stronger, but only Nowitzki, who has a smooth floor after gaining weight, is the real Nowitzki.

With Nowitzki's height and shooting threat, even if he breaks through slowly, he still has many opportunities to reach the basket. After all, just a fake shot can easily send people flying.

That being the case, why must rely on speed to complete the breakthrough?
On the contrary, after gaining weight, he strengthened the internal confrontation and the shooting stability under the confrontation. Nowitzki can score more calmly and ensure the scoring required by the team at critical moments.

Today's He Li is heading in this direction.

As for why He Li took the initiative to disclose to Nowitzki the way of weight gain and enhancement?

Of course it was to borrow a knife to kill someone!
There is still time now, and Nowitzki has a few months to gain weight and become stronger.

Once Nowitzki relies on weight gain to become stronger, the Mavericks will naturally become stronger.

At that time, the West will become more chaotic, and the consumption between the playoff teams in the West will also be greater.

Because of weakened opponents, the Bucks' hopes of defending the championship will also become greater.

Compared with Garnett, who is better at defense, He Li still hopes to meet Dirk Nowitzki, who is strong in offense and weak in defense.

Not to mention, Garnett's teammate is the peak Kobe.Nowitzki's teammates are unstoppable!
Nash is about to usher in his peak period, but his body size is too small and he is easy to be overwhelmed by the Bucks guard.

In the regular season, the Bucks may not have an obvious advantage against the Mavericks, but in the finals, once the defensive strength comes up, the Bucks will definitely have an advantage against the Mavericks.

On the contrary, it may be more difficult for the Bucks, who are better at attacking, to win if they play the Lakers with Kobe Garnett's internal and external defensive gates.

One thing to say, the regular season has not yet started, He Li has started to study the opponents of the finals again!
(End of this chapter)