unfinished glory

Chapter 262 Rookie
After losing to the Lakers, the Grizzlies fell slightly behind in the competition for the top spot in the Western Conference.Of course, the Lakers cared about winning the Grizzlies, and played casually against other teams, and did not grab the first position.

When the head coach of the All-Star Game was determined, the Spurs capped, and Popovich took the position of head coach of the All-Star team after many years.

The eastern star team is led by Howard, James, Anthony, Wade and Rose, with Bynum, Bosh, Luol Deng, Iguodala, Granger, Rondo and Deron Williams as substitutes.

The western star team starts with Yao Ming, Durant, Griffin, Li Chongxiao, and Kobe, and the substitutes are Gasol, Love, Nowitzki, Roy, Paul, Westbrook, and Parker.

This is the Grizzlies still have two players into the All-Star weekend, Gasol Jr. is second only to Yao Ming in the center voting, but the data is not good, he was not selected by the coaches, which made him very frustrated.

Li Chongxiao still did not participate in other competitions other than the main race.Although the league has been tirelessly begging him to return to the dunk contest for years, he has never let go.

At his level, there is really no need to use the slam dunk king to make a name for himself.But for the skill competition, Li Chongxiao was still a little bit tempted, but he didn't want to play because of the shortened season.

Returning to Popovich's banner again, Li Chongxiao didn't feel any disturbance in his heart.My ex has been having a bad time these years, and I am getting better and better. If I say I feel uncomfortable, it should be because the other party has this mentality.

Li Chongxiao has long forgotten the previous time, but the Spurs and Popovich still can't let it go.

According to Duncan, the team chose a rookie who resembled Li Chongxiao.Body shape, height, wingspan, weight, etc., all follow Li Chongxiao's model, and even the training method is the same as before.

It's just that in Duncan's view, there is still a gap between this kid named Kawhi Leonard and Li Chongxiao.The level of effort is not bad, but the physical fitness is obviously not as good as it is.

Hard indicators such as bounce, agility and flexibility are not good enough, but shooting talent and learning ability are much worse.

And Leonard's character Duncan doesn't like it too much, it's too dull.This kind of boredom is not pure or unsociable, but the kind of introversion with too many thoughts.

But for the sake of the Spurs, Duncan is still helping him as much as possible. Even if he can't replace Li Chongxiao, becoming the next Durant is a huge victory.

……

Durant has become the No.2 scoring list for two consecutive seasons, and won this All-Star MVP.

With both Li Chongxiao and Kobe playing only 10 minutes, Durant is the most powerful attacker of the Western Stars.He was energetic and played long enough, so he naturally got the highest score.

Anthony is also very ambitious, he greeted James, Wade and others, and went all out to compete for the All-Star MVP.But he opened up the relationship with the Eastern Stars, but he couldn't prevent them from losing.

In fact, there is nothing surprising. The combination of Yao Ming, Li Chongxiao, Durant, Kobe and Paul at the decisive moment is definitely stronger than the combination of Howard, James, Anthony, Wade and Rose.

In the last five rounds, the players of the West Star team scored a goal one by one, and Anthony made one of three shots, handing over the victory and the MVP.

……

Taking advantage of the All-Star Game, the Grizzlies also took advantage of the team's situation and prepared for the next sprint.

The games in the new season are very intensive, with many back-to-back games, and even three games in three days.Especially in the second half, physical reserves are particularly important.

This requires players to be more conscious, prepare for tough battles, and learn to use and control their physical output reasonably.

If every game is played like Durant's opening game, it is estimated that everyone will fall apart in a few days.

In addition to the self-regulation of the players, the preparation of the team is also very important.On the one hand, there are lineup reserves, and there must be sufficient backup candidates for each position.

On the other hand, it also depends on the head coach's ability to control the field, such as substitutions during the game, and various rests must be arranged.Simply this kind of problem is handled well for Carlisle,
Although none of the players in the team are too old, Carlisle used a lot of rotations and appropriate rest out of the concept of protecting players.

For a strong team like the Grizzlies, the regular season record is important, but the playoffs are the key. It is worth sacrificing a small result in exchange for the health of the players.

The first is the inside players. The playing time of the Gasol brothers fell below 34 minutes, and Big Ben, Przybilla, and Cunningham all got more time.

Small forwards and positions are the most rotated. Battier has not started half of the games. Barnes and Thompson take turns to share this time.

Thomas Jr. also gradually proved himself in the game and got a chance to play for a certain period of time.

It can be seen from the previous games that this rotation situation is more comfortable for rookies because they can get more playing time.

Of the three rookies, only Butler didn't get enough minutes.When the other main players were on and off, only Li Chongxiao maintained a strong energy to lead the team.

This is not his willful behavior, but the behavior allowed after long-term follow-up and observation by the team doctor.

The playing time of the main players is reduced, and the lineup changes brought about by the newcomers, Li Chongxiao has to take on more tasks.

The cultivation of rookies is also an important part of the Grizzlies. Li Chongxiao is very optimistic about the prospects of the team's three rookies.He is well-known as a good teacher, and he naturally spares no effort in cultivating newcomers.

Thompson's physical fitness is between that of Battier and Li Chongxiao. He can't learn the defensive ability based on Li Chongxiao's physical condition, but he can learn a lot in terms of skills.

In addition to Li Chongxiao, he also humbly asked Battier for advice, thinking of combining the two defensive abilities of "Spiderman" and "Batman".

Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, this attitude of willing to bow your head and learn to defend is worthy of recognition.I don't know how many rookies look above the top and look down on the dirty work of defense.

Both Thompson and Butler are very willing to accept the defensive training of the two seniors, and other players who are willing to listen are also receiving training on the sidelines.Even Thomas is following and learning, but limited by his height, there is limited room for improvement.

Offensive ability is Li Chongxiao's specialty, especially his stable and outrageous shots. I don't know how many players envy and hate him.

It's just that this kind of ability is a talent, and it cannot be made up for by training the day after tomorrow.Kobe has trained hard enough. After playing reasonably in the past two years, his shooting percentage this season is only 48%.

And Li Chongxiao has been shooting at this rate since he entered the league. The more he takes shots in the past few years, the shooting rate has increased instead of falling. This season, it has already reached 53%.

Talent cannot be taught, but skill can be taught.Thompson himself has a good shooting talent. Once he learns, he quickly masters the skills. Butler and Thomas are slightly worse, but they are very hardworking.

Li Chongxiao saw the potential of All-Star players from Thompson and Butler, and had to sigh, what kind of panacea did the Grizzlies take these years to get so many good seedlings.

(End of this chapter)