NBA backer king

Chapter 209 Leadership Ability
Returning to the locker room, seeing Wang Tiejun feeling downcast and not soaking in the medicinal bath, sitting there in a daze, Kevin Johnson comforted him: "Old K, don't be depressed. The Magic played the Hornets the day before yesterday. O'Neal, who averaged 39 points per game in the first three games, was defended by Mourning on 15 of 6 shots. Like you, he only made 4% of his field goals. Plus he only scored 19 points from free throws. His performance is no better than yours."

"You're right, Kevin, my confidence is back."

Hearing that O'Neill suffered from being double-teamed, Pharaoh instantly felt relieved, nodded, patted Kevin Johnson on the shoulder, stood up and went to take a medicinal bath.

Liu Changfeng had already put a lid on the medicine bucket, and only his head was exposed. After putting a towel on his neck, there was no smell of medicine coming out. He didn't have to hide in any utility room, he just soaked in the bathroom.

In this game, Wang Tiejun thought he would be bombarded by the media, but he was wrong. Most of the media did not target him, but directed at the management, accusing the management of giving up Barkley as a stupid decision.

For him, under the double-teaming of two superstars + a meat shield, he was either double-teamed or triple-teamed. Although his performance was low, many media affirmed it.

The Los Angeles Times published an article by the famous basketball commentator Max on the headline of the sports section. Max said in the article:

"Barkley and a tank teamed up to encircle Old K, and when Dameng frequently defended on the weak side, mobilizing half of the team's defensive strength, it only shows one problem, Old K is strong on the offensive end.

The reason why the Suns lost so badly was that old K, who is the core of the team, naturally had a great responsibility, but the biggest responsibility should be borne by the coaching staff. They did not come up with a timely solution, and sat and watched old K being double-teamed and the team lost without doing anything. "

The Suns still have an away game against the Warriors on the 16th. The team arranges to leave for San Francisco in the afternoon and will stay there for three nights.

After breakfast, Wang Tiejun asked for leave to go out, and went to Chinatown in Houston with Liu Changfeng.

He came once last season and bought some CDs, and this time he purchased a batch of Chinese medicinal materials for refining medicinal oils and medicinal baths.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the team arrived in San Francisco.

He tried to make an appointment with Roberts, but unexpectedly the girl agreed, and the two went to the private hotel where they had a private meeting last time.

"Old K, can you win the championship this season?" After a lot of ups and downs, Roberts lit a cigarette and asked casually.

He hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "The Bulls have such a strong lineup now, even if we make it to the finals, the outside line from the first to the third position will all be defeated, and the inside advantage is not as great as last season, it is very difficult.

And even in the west, we want to rush out, the Mosaic level is also very sad, we just lost to them. "

"Then you shouldn't trade Barkley at all," Roberts said.

"I can't help it. The team wants to train me, and Barkley is not old yet. How could he be willing to be a green leaf? If he wants to stay, it is obvious that I will step on him. Just like you, are you willing to play a supporting role for a starlet? No matter how good your friendship is, it won't do." He laughed.

"Looking at how confident you are in front of the media, it turns out that your acting skills are so good now? Tell me, which woman in Hollywood taught you?" Roberts teased.

"Who else? Roberts is beautiful."

He laughed and said, "Although there is little hope for this season, we still have to work hard. What if it succeeds?"

That's what I said, but I really don't know much about it.

Judging from the current start, the team's own lineup is good and bad.

The state of Kevin Johnson at the No. [-] position is not bad, even a little bit better than last season. It is worthwhile for him to conduct extra training during the offseason and maintain a very good state.

In the second position, Dan Marley's potential is limited. He averaged 16 points per game and couldn't make it up.

The third position, whether it is Ceballos or Horry, is average in strength. No matter how good they play, they can't meet the standard of a star, but the level of a role player.

At the [-]th position, AC Green is currently the starter. His attitude towards playing is really hard, but his talent is only average. He can't play at the level of a star on both offensive and defensive ends, and the tonnage is too light, so he can't help him much on the defensive end.

And he himself is still a bit immature. When he encountered a super insider combination like Dameng and Barkley, or even just a double-team of Barkley + meat shield, he was caught blind.

The bench lineup is a bit stronger than last season, with Oliver Miller + Otis Thorpe on the inside, one of Ceballos and Horry on the outside, plus Danny Ainge, not too weak.

But with such a lineup, it is difficult to successfully defend the title, and it is difficult to break out of the West.

This season is no better than last season. Both the Bulls and the Mosaics have strengthened. Relatively speaking, the Suns have weakened, rising and falling, and their strength has been stretched by a distance.

The next morning, the two were lingering in love again, and then they left the hotel one after another and went their separate ways.

16th, game day.

At 07:30 in the evening, the two sides announced the starting list.

Suns: Wang Tiejun, AC Green, Horry, Dan Marley, Kevin Johnson

Warriors: Victor Alexander, Chris Webber, Billy Owens, Latrell Sprewell, Avery Johnson

The Warriors did not make the playoffs last season. They were lucky in the lottery and got the No. [-] pick. They completed a deal with the Magic in the draft and got the No. [-] pick Chris Webber.

This is a talented inside player, and his current skills are very comprehensive, and he is gorgeous, and his golf quotient is quite high.

Originally, the Warriors had a lot of confidence in this season, but they didn't expect Tim Hardaway, a bug, to collide with his teammates in a team training game before the start of the regular season and tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee.

But in general, the Warriors still have confidence in the playoffs, and the lineup is not bad.

There was no national broadcast of this game, and CCTV did not broadcast this game. It was only broadcast in the San Francisco area. The two on-site commentators were Swell Dog and Philin Rambis.

Doug said at this time: "In order to fight against the two behemoths O'Neal and Old K, to be precise, against Old K, because O'Neal is in the East and has little to do with us, unless we can reach the finals, so the team let Alexander gain weight, and we have our own meat shield.

The Mosaic team has limited the performance of old K well through the containment effect of the meat shield. I hope we can also limit him tonight. "

Rambis said with a smile: "I believe in the tactical ability of old Nelson, a generation of tactical masters, he is better than his opponent tonight by more than 100 meters."

"Haha..." The two laughed loudly.

At eight o'clock, the game officially begins.

Wang Tiejun and Alexander stood in the middle circle, ready to jump the ball.

Alexander is 206 centimeters tall, and his original tonnage was 120 kilograms, but he gained 130 kilograms in a few months.

He was the No. 91 pick in the first round in 11, but his strength and potential were mediocre, and now he has become a meat shield for the Warriors.

In fact, meat shield players also need to be talented. First of all, your knee joints must be strong enough, and your feet must be strong enough, otherwise such a heavy weight will not last long at all.

Players like Alexander will not have a long career after gaining weight. The Warriors are simply squeezing his potential value. The possibility of losing him when he runs out is very high. Anyway, the NBA has never been short of people. There are countless people who want to enter this league to make a lot of money.

"post!"

The whistle sounded and the referee threw the ball up.

"Snapped!"

The tonnage was too large, and Shanda, who had no bouncing talent, couldn't jump at all. Wang Tiejun successfully pushed the ball away.

AC Green opened up on the right wing, and No. [-] pick Webber learned Dameng's defensive strategy, took a step, and stood one step outside the right waist in the paint, retaining the opportunity to return to the basket.

On the left wing, Horry ran back and forth on the three-point line, Billy Owens let him take a step, and kept a step away from Wang Tiejun, who was in the low post on the left wing.

The left wing is low, and Alexander takes top defense.

Zhang Lili and Su Qun were in the media seats behind the baseline. The former said in a low voice, "Judging from the Warriors' defensive formation, Old Nelson copied the defensive strategy of the Mosaic team."

"Bring it to doctrine!" Su Qun complained.

"It works."

Shaking his head, Zhang Lili said again: "But the Warriors can't copy the defense of the Mosaic team. The No. [-] pick Webber is not a big dream, and small forward Billy Owens is not Barkley.

Especially Owens, who is in charge of the main defensive double-team. Like Chris Mullin, he is a swingman. Although he is 203 cm tall, he weighs only 100 kg.

This kind of tonnage wants to double-team Wang Tiejun. Think about Mario Elli, the main small forward of the Mosaic team who was broken in the last game. He also has a tonnage of 100 kilograms, so Owens might end up like that. "

"It's possible, hehe..."

The two were talking in low voices, and the attack on the field had already started.

When the ball at the top of the key flew to the low post on the left wing, the Warriors' double-teaming began.

On the weak side, Weber quickly returned to the basket according to the tactical requirements to prevent Wang Tiejun from slipping to the bottom to attack the basket.

On the strong side, the small forward Billy Owens, who was only one step away from Wang Tiejun, jumped down quickly, and he was in place with one step, and the double-teaming speed was very fast.

On the three-point line, Horry opened his hand to ask for the ball. He was empty, but his action was ignored by Wang Tiejun.

"Oh!"

When Owens rushed forward, Wang Tiejun's left foot did not move, and his right foot suddenly went out. Under a fierce iron mountain impact, the former grunted. Under the powerful impact force and reaction force, his 100 kg body was directly thrown backwards.

"Good job!" Su Qun exclaimed excitedly from behind the baseline.

"Oh!"

In the second Tieshan hit, Wang Tiejun knocked away the meat shield Alexander.

Gaining room to shoot, he stopped attacking the basket, got up and hit a frontal hook, and Alexander, who was knocked away, failed to make a defensive move.

"brush!"

Almost open, the ball fell into the basket with great precision.

"Billy, are you all right?"

On the sidelines, Old Nelson shouted.

"It's okay." Owens got up with some difficulty.

He felt tightness in his right chest after being hit, and he had to open his mouth to breathe, but the bones should be fine, without the tingling sensation of broken bones.

"You do your job," Nelson instructed.

He nodded, the head coach canceled his double team.

The Knicks regretted copying the Mosaic team's defensive strategy. He didn't have Barkley in his hands, and Barkley's fat body was hard to get hurt even if he was hit by the old K. Moreover, he had too much defensive experience and was too slippery. He would not easily give the old K a chance to hit him.

But the tonnage of ordinary small forwards is too light. It is very disadvantageous to double-team a particularly ferocious role like Old K. If you are not careful, you will be injured. Owens is lucky this time, but if you continue to fight, you may be injured next time.

"Chris, be careful," he yelled at Webb again.

This is to tell Webber, don't try too hard on defense, let's focus on offense, use offense to overwhelm the Suns, and we can still win.

Under such a guiding ideology, the two sides started an offensive battle.

The meat shield Alexander played only 23 minutes in the game, and he committed six fouls. He was beaten down by Wang Tiejun. The Warriors became weaker and weaker, allowing him to get whatever he wanted.

But Webber is worthy of being the No. 12 pick. He made 9 of 75 shots on Green's head, a terrifying 21% shooting rate, and scored [-] points.

Including Webber, the Warriors scored 20+ points in total. The future madman Sprewell scored the Warriors' highest 23 points.

In addition to Alexander scoring 4 points, the five teamed up to score 90 points, and future Hall of Famer Chris Mullin scored 14 points off the bench.

But the Warriors are a strange thing. Not counting the substitute Chris Mullin, the other five substitutes played a combined 29 minutes of playing time. They made 5 of 0 shots. Three of them did not get even one shot.

In the end, 116:104, the Warriors, whose substitute lineup was too rubbish, lost the game at home. No matter how strong the main lineup was, they could not save the fate of failure.

Wang Tiejun played 45 minutes, 20 of 13 shots, 65% shooting, 10 attacks at the basket, reaching 50% of the proportion, 8 shots, 10 missed shots, 5 shots in the past two points, [-] shots, which is not bad.

加上11罚6中，他在这场比赛中拿到了32分15篮板3助攻3盖帽1失误3犯规的数据。

In the first 6 games, with 5 wins and 1 loss, the Suns ranked third in the Western Conference, second only to the Mosaics and the Sonics who won all 6 games.

Next, the Suns will return to Phoenix for four consecutive home games, including one back-to-back. The No. 19 and No. 20 will battle against the Trail Blazers and Cavaliers.

On the morning of the 17th, Comrade Wang and Roberts had another date, and then boarded the plane with the team in the afternoon.

On the 19th, the Suns defeated the bad team Trail Blazers, but in the back-to-back on the second day, they played poorly and lost to the bad team Cavaliers.

6 wins and 2 losses, still third in the West.

Mosaic has 7 wins and 1 loss, ranking second in the Western Conference.

This team had just lost to the Knicks in an away game. Barkley came back from an old injury and played only 23 minutes.

Last season, the Suns' opponents in the Western Conference finals, the Supersonics, won all eight games and are still No. [-] in the Western Conference.

In the fourth grade, Payton has become more mature, and his offensive and defensive strength has improved rapidly. In addition, he has introduced German insider Schramf, and his strength is stronger than last season.

In the east, the Bulls are the best, also winning all eight games.

Jordan lost three consecutive championships, failed to create a dynasty, and his father was shot dead by two gangsters. Under the double stimulus, this season was murderous from the beginning. He averaged 35.6 points per game in the first eight games, ranking first in the league.

He won his seventh scoring title last season, but only averaged 7 points per game. This season, he has a stronger desire to score. No one knows what records he will create this season after being stimulated.

On the 24th, after four days of rest, the Suns ushered in the challenge of the Nuggets.

I had rested for a few days, and I should be in good condition, but I was too relaxed and played too casually. I just took the ball and threw it. Instead, I lost the game.

Kevin Johnson, who has been off to a good start, suffered a big defeat this time, making only 16 of 5 shots, scoring only 12 points and 6 assists.

Dan Marley also made 14 of 3 shots and only scored 8 points.

The outside line was shooting wildly and the pace was too fast. Wang Tiejun ran pointlessly at both ends, wasting his energy in vain, and didn't get many opportunities. He made 14 of 8 shots and 6 of 4 free throws. He just scored 20 points.

Head coach Westphal went into a rage, and in a rare case of anger in the locker room.

His ability is average, but he is very gentle in dealing with the relationship with the players, but this time he was really angry, and even the team leader Kevin Johnson was said a few harsh words by him.

He questioned: "Kevin, do you know that you only had three breakthroughs in the game, and the other 13 were all outside jump shots. Have you forgotten what you are good at? Did you practice extra training during the offseason just to make wild shots on the court? Can't you see old K asking for the ball inside?"

"Coach, I will pay attention next time."

Kevin Johnson blushed and immediately admitted his mistake.

Westphal questioned Marley again, asking, "And you, Dan, what's your hit rate tonight?"

Dan Marly said, "Probably... [-]%."

"No, it's only 21.4%. It's more than that at my age." He mocked.

"I see." Dan Marley's head almost dropped to the floor.

Westphal squirted at Robert Horry again: "Horry, you got seven passes from Kevin tonight, only one you gave to old K, and the other six times you shot against the defender yourself, but only hit two.

Now tell me, are you hungry for shots?Who allowed you to shoot indiscriminately?Don't you know what your abilities are? What you are good at is open jumpers, not attacking with the ball. "

Horry's black face couldn't see the color, but his head was almost on the floor like Dan Maer's.

But he complained aggrievedly in his heart, can this be my fault? Old K would rather be double-teamed than give me the ball after he got the ball. He doesn't trust me at all. I am a superfluous in the starting lineup.

"Green, you are sleepwalking tonight, do you want to see a doctor?" Westphal sprayed Iron Man Green again.

Green had nothing to say, he was really out of shape today.

"Today I want to praise the substitute players. You played well. Some people who play hard should be rewarded...Otis, Ceballos, you will start next game."

Westphal saw that the attitude of several starting players was not bad, so he let them go, and began to praise the substitute who played well tonight.

"Yes, coach." The two replied excitedly.

The two people who were removed from the starting lineup lamented in their hearts, and they didn't know when they would be able to come back.

"hey-hey……"

Seeing that the head coach didn't mention him, and the other starters were all sprayed, Comrade Wang smiled smugly.

"Old K, what are you laughing at?"

Seeing his smile, Westphal burst into anger again, and immediately sprayed: "As the core of the team, as the leader cultivated by the team, when you saw your teammates making wild shots, did you stop them? Did you say a word?"

"..."

Lao Wang is speechless, does the core want to do this job?But when Barkley was here, he didn't do these things either.

He has only been a core player for a few days, so he doesn't know how to be a core player, and no one taught him. Barkley and Kevin Johnson are not qualified leaders, and everything is still being explored.

The core of the team is very important to the meaning of the team.

A leader with average leadership ability, no matter how strong the team lineup is, can't be twisted into a single rope, but a leader with top leadership ability can twist the entire team into a single rope and stimulate the team's morale.

For example, Jordan is the top team leader, and Pippen grew up in his persecution and trash talk.

However, Ewing of the Knicks is far inferior to Jordan in this regard. The leader of the team is actually the villain Charles Oakley.

Even David Robinson can't handle Rodman, and his leadership ability is only average.

Colangelo observed the players on the side, and he found a problem. The attitude of some old players was not as good as last season, and he was a little slack.

But this is also the phenomenon that the team should have after winning the championship. After the honor is won, some players just want to dawdle after getting a big contract.

With 6 wins and 3 losses, the Suns are still third in the West, but tied for third, and the Jazz have the same record.

Just so, the Suns will face the Jazz at home on the 27th.

(End of this chapter)