Pick Westbrook

Chapter 11

After two days of training, the Bucks finally ushered in the first game of the summer league.

Bucks vs. Grizzlies at Thomas & Mack Center.

Because this is the first game of the Las Vegas Summer League, there are extremely many spectators present, and the entire arena that can accommodate 18776 people is full.

There are countless news media broadcasting and reporting the game.

Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, the second of TNT's three commentators, explained the game live.

"The Grizzlies' starting lineup is point guard Mike Conley, shooting guard OJ Mayo, small forward Dante Green, power forward Darrell Arthur and center Kyle West."

Seeing the lineup of the Grizzlies, Kenny Smith shook his head. I am afraid that this can be regarded as the strength of the top three team lineups in this summer league.

After selecting OJ Mayo, the Grizzlies have formed a starting lineup with Mike Conley + OJ Mayo + Rudy Gay + Marc Gasol. They may become an emerging force in the league after the start of the new season.

On the other hand, the Milwaukee Bucks on the opposite side, the topic of the off-season continued. Not only did the team's No. [-] pick and scoring champion be packaged and dealt with cheaply, but the city of Milwaukee also staged a bloody soap opera with fans rioting.

Big Mouth Barkley laughed and said: "The Grizzlies can quickly rebuild and rise in the same bad league, but the Bucks are getting worse and worse.

I really want to see how they will play in the new season, the last record in the league? "

On the court, the spotlights flickered, and the fans cheered one after another.

Li came to the center of the court and shook hands with Grizzlies assistant coach Dave Jogel.

Dave Jogel, who is only an assistant coach now, will also be the head coach who can lead the Grizzlies to a breakthrough in the West in the future, and has also been named the best coach of the month in the West.

Dave Jogel is a typical coach who is good at training defense, especially in the arrangement of interior defense. The black and white double bears he personally created made all the insiders in the league feel scared at that time.

"It's a pleasure to compete with you, Coach Dave." Li Lai said with a smile.

Dave Jogel was stunned. It wasn't that he was surprised that the young man in front of him could call his name so accurately, but... he didn't know who the other party was at all.

"Um...um...um...hello."

Bucks starting lineup: point guard Westbrook, shooting guard George Hill, small forward Anima Brown, power forward Villanueva and center Austin Croshere.

Game start.

The 213cm Kyle West made a successful jump ball and the Grizzlies launched an offense.

Looking at the Bucks lineup on the court, Kenny Smith was like seeing a ghost.

The 208cm Austin Crohill plays the center, and the 211cm Villanueva plays the power forward?
The key is that neither of them has the ability to protect the frame. How do the Bucks plan to defend the Grizzlies' inside offense?
"The head coach of the Bucks, Li Lai, is really an amateur!"

OJ Mayo held the ball from the outside, and Westbrook deliberately switched defenses.

The two had already faced each other in the college league, and now they face each other again, OJ Mayo will naturally avenge that time.

"You're the guy who rose from outside the 10th pick to the 4th pick on the back of my fame!
If it wasn't for the game you defended, maybe I would be the number one pick! "

call!
Facing Westbrook's defense, OJ Mayo accelerated straight to the basket.

Barkley couldn't help saying a good word with excitement.

With the Bucks obviously having big problems in their interior defense, OJ Mayo's breakthrough undoubtedly hit the opponent's weakness.

"As expected of Tanhua Lang!"

It's just that OJ Mayo was interfered in time by Westbrook who was following up when he made a layup, and the basketball was slightly off track.

OJ Mayo shook his fist regretfully.

"This goal was almost scored."

Villanueva received the rebound, and before the Grizzlies could react, he made a long pass to Andre Ingram.

Anima Brown and Westbrook made a double-line fast break and played a classic three-man counterattack tactic.

OJ Mayo desperately returned to the defense, Andre Ingram threw the ball into the sky, and Westbrook leaped high and dropped a standard tomahawk dunk.

boom!
The fans and commentators at the scene were dumbfounded.

"You can jump so high! You can play ball like crazy!"

Dave Jogel on the sidelines was a little surprised by Westbrook's defensive ability and physical talent, but this is just the first ball, and nothing can be proved.

"The Bucks are playing fast!" Dave Jogel said with burning eyes.

Westbrook, who scored the goal, swears and high-fives his teammate Andre Ingram, looking extremely arrogant.

"University League, I can prevent you to death, and now I can still prevent you to death!"

Next, the Grizzlies changed their offensive tactics, and Mike Conley, a second-year student with one year of NBA experience, organized the offense with the ball.

In this way, the Grizzlies' offense immediately became organized. Mike Conley hit the ground and passed it to OJ Mayo who cut in, and the latter scored a layup!
Originally, OJ Mayo wanted to give Westbrook a dunk, but Villanueva's defense was too timely, so he had to settle for a layup.

After seeing this scene, Dave Jogel finally sat on the coaching bench with satisfaction.

Although this is just a summer league, the outcome of the game is meaningless, but both the management and the coaching staff of the Grizzlies are taking it very seriously.

They want to see if OJ Mayo has the potential to grow into a star!
Another thing is that after the Grizzlies left Gasol, the team now urgently needs to grow and rebuild quickly, and they also need to let the fans see hope as soon as possible.

OJ Mayo is their hope.

After having Mike Conley, OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol and many other good players, Dave Jogel is full of confidence in the new season of the Grizzlies.

Swish!
There was a clear sound of a basketball hitting the net on the court.

Villanueva received a breakthrough pass from Westbrook and made a steady three-pointer.

The Grizzlies power forward Darrell Arthur who defended him was helpless, and the Bucks slipped inside to shoot a three-pointer. Should he stay inside to help defend Westbrook or go out?
"Well, the Bucks aren't just playing fast!"

Dave Jogel frowned slightly.

He has never seen the Bucks' style of play where the inside line completely runs out and stands outside the three-point line. Even in the Princeton system of the Kings, the center is pulled outside the three-point line as the axis, and their inside line also needs to stand. players.

"Don't say it, the Bucks' offensive tactics are actually quite organized.

Their inside Villanueva and Austin Crosher both have three-pointers, and the Grizzlies really dare not let them go completely. "

Barkley echoed from the side: "But what's the use of not shrinking the inside defensive advantage of the Grizzlies inside?

They might as well vacate the penalty area like the Bucks did, giving Mike Conley and OJ Mayo more room to break through. "

However, the Grizzlies don't have any big players who can shoot threes.

The unexpected situation on the court finally aroused the interest of the fans. They suddenly discovered that the Bucks team did not seem to be as weak as the outside world said, and that rookie coach Li Lai seemed to have two skills.

In the next round, Westbrook broke through again with the ball.

This time, the rest of the Grizzlies completely jumped out and did not give the Bucks a chance to shoot a three-pointer from the outside, but this gave Westbrook a big shot inside and no one in the penalty area.

boom!
Westbrook flew up to the free throw line in two steps, and staged a wave of explosive dunks.

This buckle once again shocked all the fans at the scene.

"Is he really the No. 4 pick? How do I feel that watching him play is like watching the No. [-] pick Rose play!"

"Don't say it, the Bucks' draft vision is really poisonous!"

"Everyone be quiet, it's only two or three rounds before a game is over, why do you all seem to have seen God.

Jordan is the eternal god, and everyone else is scum! "

Seeing that Westbrook could play a tactical system that suits him in his first summer league game in the NBA, Li Lai smiled comfortably.

In his previous life, Westbrook did not play well in his first season with the Thunder. Although he averaged 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game, his shooting percentage was only 38%, and his three-point shooting percentage was even worse. %.

That is to say, in the rebuilding team of the Thunder, changing teams will never allow him to take frequent shots with such a shooting percentage.

The most fundamental reason for such a dismal shooting rate is that apart from Westbrook's lack of shooting ability, the Thunder also has a big problem with its use.

They used Westbrook as an outside defensive gate to share the pressure on Durant, and did not design more offensive and breakthrough tactics for him with the ball. Instead, they let him wait for Durant's pass on the outside and mid-range It's no wonder that the hit rate is not low!

Westbrook, the effect will only be maximized when the ball is in his hands, rather than letting him act as an outside shooter.

On the court, relying on his teammates to pull away Westbrook to score consecutively, OJ Mayo, who was defending him, was almost stunned.

"Aren't you a defensive player, why do you charge up and score so hard!"

(End of this chapter)