I'm not really a brutalist striker

Chapter 226 226. The new season opener!

In the preseason, the Eagles' starting strength did not increase but decreased, which caused dissatisfaction among some fans. The team called out to defend the title, but there were obvious flaws in the lineup, which made many fans who supported the Eagles uneasy.

They hope that the management can facilitate the transaction as soon as possible in the early stage of the season, and strive to trade a few stars from other teams, so that the fans will feel at ease about it.

In this day and age, the main factor to measure the overall strength of a team is to see how many stars the team has. Team basketball has not yet entered the era of blooming flowers. People only believe in individual heroism. Individual scoring puts the team on its shoulders.

Many people can see the flaws in the Eagles' lineup, but stars are not so easy to find, and having more stars does not mean that the team will be very strong.

The Lakers last season is a good example. "Glove" Payton, Kobe, Karl Malone and "Shark" O'Neal are all well-known stars in the league. As a result, the luxurious battleship composed of four people failed in the finals. In the last game, they were beaten helplessly by the Eagles, and their performance in the tie-break was even worse. No one could stand up and take over the game.

Because of this round of the series, Payton was scolded to death by Los Angeles fans. Even if "Glove" Payton announced his retirement in the league one day, it is estimated that Lakers fans would still yell at this guy.

Players who can be selected as NBA All-Stars must have good personal strength, but more stars does not mean good chemistry, and a team with fewer stars does not mean that the team is weak.

The Eagles this season are a bit like the Memphis Grizzlies in the 21-22 season. Although the team has only one All-Star player, Morant, the team's chemical reaction is surprisingly good. The regular season has a record of 56 wins and 26 losses. The league's second, second only to the league's first Phoenix Suns.

And the Eagles also strengthened the coaching staff this summer, signing former Suns head coach Frank Johnson as the Hawks' chief assistant coach for the new season.

In the past three years, Frank Johnson has been the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, with a coaching record of 63 wins and 71 losses, and his performance is quite satisfactory.

Frank Johnson is not a great offensive coach. On the contrary, what he has instilled in the team has always been the concept of team and defense-oriented unlimited defense.

It's a pity that this set of tactical concepts is not very practical in today's era. In a team that lacks superstars, an overly team-based style of play can easily collapse in the final quarter.

In addition, the inexperienced Frank Johnson failed to establish his own coaching prestige, which also led to the Suns being a mid-range team in the league for several consecutive years, and they have never been able to make further breakthroughs.

Until the middle of last season, Fran Johnson was forced to dismiss get out of class due to record reasons, and instead "running and bombing master" Mike D'Antoni served as the new head coach of the Suns.

Johnson has been idle at home after get out of class. General manager Rick Sander took the initiative to sign this underappreciated coach this summer because of his accomplishments on the defensive end. I hope his team philosophy can help Mike in the new season. Woodson helped the Eagles successfully defend their title in the new season.

Mike Woodson also likes this young coach who is only in his 40s. During the offseason, the two often discuss the team's new season's style of play in the office. After a long discussion, Woodson found that Frank Johnson The failure of the Suns is not because of his poor coaching ability, but because the Suns' lineup configuration is not suitable for his tactical thinking.

Frank Johnson's ability to lead the Suns to a record of 02 wins and 03 losses in the 44-38 season has proved that he is a capable coach. However, a series of brain-dead transactions by the Suns management intermittently ruined this team. Team.

Before ushering in Steve Nash, the Suns had no absolute offensive backbone, and could only let the "little bully" Stoudemire to brush up the data, which is undoubtedly a disaster for a team coach.

To paraphrase Frank Johnson's own words, perhaps a few years later, the decision to leave the Suns will become a turning point in his rebirth.

Suter did not know Frank Johnson as a coach. Frank Johnson in the parallel world did not succeed in the NBA. He was invited to his alma mater NCAA Wake Forest University as a coach after the Suns finished class.

So Suter knows very little about him. He only knows that Frank Johnson is a coach who focuses on moving the ball and assisting defense rotation. With 02 steals and 03 blocks, Frank Johnson's tactical thinking can be described as a great contribution.

As the head star of the Eagles, Suter also found time to meet with Frank Johnson twice this summer. Through simple conversations, Suter found that Johnson is indeed a capable coach, not the kind of useless wood that only talks on paper .

As the chief assistant coach of the Eagles in the new season, the arrival of Frank Johnson may make this Eagles, which is slightly less star-flavored but has further comprehensive strength, soar into the sky.

On October 10, local time in the United States, the NBA opener officially kicked off.

The league arranges some topical games every year on the day of the opening game, and the Eagles, as the defending champion, will face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year.

The overall strength of the Knicks is naturally not as good as the Hawks. A large part of the reason for being able to become the opponent of the defending champion in the opening game is that the Knicks pursued Suter this summer, but in the end Suter decided to stay with the Atlanta Hawks. It also made Knicks fans dissatisfied with Souter, thinking that Souter is a fool who refused the pursuit of the Knicks management.

The Knicks flew to Atlanta, thinking that this was a good chance to get off to a good start, and the Hawks' roster seemed to be weakening in the new season, at least it seemed.

The bad news is that if they lose, it seems that it will be even more embarrassing. Souter just rejected the Knicks' pursuit this summer. If they are beaten by the Eagles led by him in the opener, the Knicks may become a joke in the league. .

Before the start of the game, the Eagles held an event at the Phillips Arena, which included three parts: the presentation of the championship ring, the display of the championship flag, and the new season launch ceremony.

Fans who bought tickets wanted to be able to watch this historic scene and feel the feeling of being there. The opening game will start about an hour after the end of the event.

Everyone was very excited when the team first won the championship, but now it has been several months since the team won the championship. The Eagles players were very calm when receiving the championship ring, not as excited as when they just won the championship last season.

And the new players who joined the Eagles are very envious, and hope that one day they can also wear the ring issued by the league.

After the event, the Eagles players returned to the locker room to rest for a while, and then appeared on the court on time. Suter's starting pick was naturally the finale of the team. As soon as he played, he won the applause of the fans. How big is it? The veteran Brent Barry looked envious, as if he was imagining that he could experience this kind of treatment one day.

ESPN will broadcast the game live, and commentator Charles Barkley said: "Since the vulture played a great season last season, his status in the team has been completely different. core, then this season's Vultures have enjoyed superstar treatment."

Partner Kenny Smith laughed: "After the preseason, the Eagles players were full of praise for the vulture's performance in interviews. Even though he didn't play much time in the preseason, everyone generally believed that vulture's personal Stronger than last season."

Charles Barkley said: "It is estimated that no one in the Knicks can defend him today. Except for Kurt Thomas, the entire Knicks have no players who are good at defense. However, it is said that the Vulture will transform into a swingman in the new season. If that’s the case, there’s no outside Knicks player who can stop the Vulture’s footsteps.”

What the commentator can see, the Knicks coaching staff is naturally aware of it, but the old coach Wilkens doesn't have much way to adjust it. There are only so many cards in his hand, and he can't find it after searching over and over again. The right guy to go against Souter.

Although the Knicks signed a number of strong players in a row during the offseason, none of them can match Suter's strength.

During this offseason, the Knicks not only renewed the contract of Tim Thomas, who had a poor performance in the playoffs last year, but also signed the "nervous knife player" Jamal Crawford, and also got the "Jackson" from the Suns through a trade. Penny" Hardaway can be regarded as a reinforcement to the lineup.

However, Hardaway today is no longer the "successor of Jordan" back then. When the average score per game is less than double digits, Hardaway's annual salary is as high as 1400 million US dollars. The Knicks management is really stupid and rich.

Counting Hardaway, the Knicks will have four players with an annual salary of more than [-] million yuan this season, namely Alan Houston, Stephen Marbury, Hardaway and Tim Thomas.

The combined salary of these four players is close to 6000 million, which is higher than the total salary of more than half of the teams in the league, let alone Crawford, Kurt Thomas and Shanton Anderson. Tens of millions of dollars in salary.

Spending the most money and hitting hardest, this is probably the truest portrayal of the New York Knicks.

Compared with the wealthy Knicks, the Hawks seem to be much poorer, but the players signed by the team this summer are all extremely cost-effective. If there are media ratings for signings in this era, then the Knicks must be negative.

Only buy the expensive ones and not the right ones. I really don't know what the Knicks management has in mind.

In the new season, the Knicks' outside line still has obvious weaknesses, that is, the defensive ability is too poor, and they are afraid of teams with strong outside impact.

Marbury, Crawford, and Alan Houston are not good at defense, and they still need the ball on the offensive end. It's a scene where no one can prevent each other from throwing blame at each other.

The Hawks are such a team with a strong impact. Suter’s personal style of play restrains the Knicks. The Knicks are very reluctant to play against the Hawks in the opening game, but the league usually arranges a game with a gimmick for the defending champion. The opponent of the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, the Knicks, the "big wronged species", couldn't be more suitable.

After the players warm up briefly, the game is about to begin.

Mike Woodson focused on offense, allowing the players to open up space to create singles opportunities for Suter. He believes that handing the ball to Suter is the most efficient. As long as one-on-one singles are opportunities, no one in the Knicks can. Guard him.

The Hawks' starting five in the home opener are: Tyronn Lue, Suter, Stephen Jackson, Josh Smith, and big center Drobiak.

Since Suter played well in the second position in the finals last year, the "sewer play" with him as the core is even more efficient than when he played inside, so in the new season Woodson decided to let Suter transform into a forward position. Man, leave the power forward position to Josh Smith.

As for why it is not Al Harrington with stronger overall strength, because the Eagles are a team that is good at playing fast breaks. The Hawks need a player like Josh Smith to break through the defense and work with Suter to attack the rim with a two-pronged approach.

And Josh Smith, who is only a rookie player, has a very good defense ability. When Tyronn Lue, Suter, Jackson and Josh Smith are on the court at the same time, the Hawks' defense and double-teaming capabilities will become very good. fear.

Especially when the big center Drogbiak itself has a tonnage and can withstand the opponent's heavy center one-on-one, the Eagles' defensive efficiency in the new season will definitely improve visible to the naked eye, and they may even have a chance to break into the top five in the league.

Knicks starters: Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Allan Houston, Tim Thomas and center Muhammad.

The center forwards of both sides stood together, and Drogbiak looked extremely tall, like a savage from ancient times.

At the jump ball, Drogbiak used his height advantage to easily win, helping the Eagles get the first wave of possession.

Tyronn Lue dribbled the ball to the three-point line and passed the ball to Suter, who was running from the left baseline to the upper line. Josh Smith blocked Thomas, causing the latter to stand still and fail to follow up in time. superior.

As long as his teammates can block the defender for half a second, it will be a good shot for Suter. He took the ball without any fake moves, and immediately changed direction and walked in the middle, relying on his speed to pass Crawford who was chasing him. .

He just glanced at Crawford to determine that the opponent is at a distance that can interfere with his shooting, but it is difficult to adjust his center of gravity by moving laterally with a sudden brake.

Crawford moved forward because of the inertial center of gravity, and Suter immediately swayed out of his half position as soon as he started, and took another step forward to attract the attention of Timothy Mars, who came up to defend and block the breakthrough route.

Suter entered the basket with a skillful European step, facing Thomas' defense with a one-handed pass to Josh Smith, who was cut on the left, who took the ball and took off with both hands to dunk, 2:0.

Josh Smith's explosive power is very strong, and the dunk is so fast that Tim Thomas has no time to turn around, and even Muhammad under the basket has not been able to react in time.

The experience of young players is naturally not as good as that of veterans, but as a rookie, Josh Smith also has his own advantages, that is, faster speed and stronger explosive power.

Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers, and dare to dunk when they receive the ball, regardless of whether someone in front of him will pose a danger to their safety. Suter likes a newcomer like Josh Smith, who dares to fight and fight hard, just like him when he first entered the league. Looks exactly the same.

Charles Barkley yelled: "Beautiful! Beautiful dunk! Josh Smith hit the Eagles' first goal of the new season. This time the score came from an assist from Suter."

Kenny Smith said: "In last year's Finals, the Vultures played like this all the time. After taking the ball, they broke through to the inside, attracted the defense and then distributed the ball to teammates. Even a fringe center like Rebrascia could be fed by him. It has become a pie-eating machine, not to mention that Josh Smith, who is in charge of the air cut, is more physically fit and explosive."

Charles Barkley said with a smile: "Although Tim Thomas's mobility is not bad, he is not good at defense. When an explosive striker like Josh Smith rushes up, he can't defend against it at all." A violent dunk."

The Knicks attacked, Josh Smith defended Thomas, and Drogbiak played against Muhammad.

Tim Thomas quickly proved that not only could he not defend against Smith's dunks, but he could not even beat the beast offensively. Despite his superior height, weight and experience, Josh Smith's lateral movement Too fast and explosive, Thomas couldn't run out of space facing his close defense, and could only be forced to dump the ball to his teammates.

After repeated passes several times, Marbury and center Mohamed played a pick-and-roll, moved laterally to the left and hit a jumper with an emergency stop, 2:2.

The Eagles attack, Suter gets the ball from outside the three-point line, attracting Tim Thomas to help defend, Crawford sticks close to him from behind, even Suter's passing route is blocked, but he doesn't panic Not busy, he dribbled the ball laterally and passed it to Stephen Jackson who responded inside the three-point line.

Jackson took the ball at 45 degrees on the right side and didn't pass it inside. He feinted and made a jumper against Alan Houston's defense, 4:2.

Charles Barkley said with a smile: "Sure enough, the Vultures have to take on more organizational tasks in the new season. Steve Nash's departure still has some impact on the Eagles' tactical system. Tyronn Lue and Nash are not the same type of players. , Vulture needs more assists for his teammates."

Kenny Smith said: "The Vulture has a strong ability to break double-teams. He had 24 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists in the finals last year. The coaching staff has reason to believe in his coping ability and let the Vulture take on more responsibilities in the new season. .”

The Knicks attacked, and Suter was responsible for defending Crawford. As soon as the opponent received the ball, he was close to him. Crawford couldn't get rid of the ball, so he had to pass the ball to the supporting teammate.

Suter is 10 cm taller than him, fast and strong, and Crawford can't beat him one-on-one.

Stephen Marbury hit the pick-and-roll and passed the ball to Tim Thomas. The latter was double-teamed and passed the ball to center Muhammad. Muhammad did not have long-range shooting ability, and he couldn't shoot directly when he was open. He took a step to the basket Another shot, but was successfully interfered by Josh Smith who turned around, and the short-range shot missed.

Josh Smith's help defense is very fast. When Muhammad thought he had a chance, Smith was already stuck in his offensive line.

Drogbiak grabbed the backcourt rebound and passed it to Stephen Jackson. Jackson quickly advanced to the frontcourt and passed to Suter, who was at the forefront.

The cooperation between the two was very tacit. Suter ran from the right to the center, just ran to a comfortable angle, and leaned against Alan Houston with his body.

The timing of Jackson's pass was just right, almost sending the ball to Houston's scalp.

Suter took a step, took the ball with both hands and forcibly hit the basket, Houston pulled people from behind and failed to stop, Suter easily picked the basket with one hand and scored, the referee whistled 2+1!

Suter clenched his fist and yelled at the Knicks bench. The home fans were also infected by the Eagles' sharp fast-break counterattack, and they applauded excitedly.

After hard training this summer, Suter's free throw percentage was much better than last year's finals, and the extra penalty was steadily hollowed into the net, 7:2.

Coach Wilkens feels very headache. He thinks that Suter is the most difficult player in the league at this stage, even more difficult than defending "Shark" O'Neal.

His speed is too fast, there is no way to double-team him on the counterattack, one-on-one Knicks and no player can guard him, this is simply an unsolvable problem with no answer.

The Knicks' offense is still a simple pick-and-roll cooperation. Marbury assisted Tim Thomas to catch the ball and score a mid-range jumper, 7:4.

The Eagles also played a pick-and-roll in the positional battle. First, Josh Smith covered without the ball and helped Suter receive the pass from the left side, and then Suter held the ball in the middle and played a pick-and-roll with Drobiak.

Thomas didn't keep chasing Suter, but turned around and chased Josh Smith. Suter took a step into the three-point line, made a 45-degree emergency stop on the left and stepped back, facing Crawford with a long two-point jumper Hit, 9:4.

Charles Barkley shouted excitedly: "The Vulture has started to dominate the game. He played like this a lot in the preseason. Through the cover of his teammates, he always chooses to create damage in the weakest defense. Crawford His physical fitness is average, and it is impossible to block his shots from the front."

Kenny Smith said: "The vulture's personal ability is really powerful. If Thomas insists on double-teaming, he has to empty Josh Smith. The latter is not a player who can easily empty, especially when he cuts to the basket. "

The Knicks attacked and still played a pick-and-roll. Tim Thomas caught a jumper in the middle and missed the basket under the interference of Tyronn Lue.

The Eagles switched defenses, and Tyronn Lue and Thomas kept a distance. They could both defend the breakthrough and interfere with shooting. The benefits of defense, no matter under any circumstances, players don't have to worry about being in the dilemma of fighting alone.

The rebound was grabbed by Suter. After Drogbiak joined the Eagles, the area covered by the penalty area became larger. The latter is very strong. People roll out of the restricted area.

In the positional battle, Suter started from the right bottom corner and ran to the left. Drobiak helped him block Crawford. At the same time, Tyronn Lue and Josh Smith played a pick-and-roll in the middle, leading The ball was passed to Suter.

Suter raised his hand after receiving the ball, and Crawford subconsciously raised his center of gravity and jumped out. He didn't take off, but raising his center of gravity was equivalent to shaking. Suter changed direction to the right and stepped back with his right foot. Open distance, mid-range emergency stop jump shot.

It was impossible for Crawford to block the shot from the side, and Suter made a steady mid-range shot, 11:4.

(End of this chapter)