Pick Westbrook

Chapter 389 It's Not Me

Because the Pelicans almost played the Rockets with a massacre attitude in this game, the Rockets were helpless, and the highlight of the game immediately appeared in the major sports media immediately after the game.

Not only in the United States, but even the Chinese sports media reported this incident.

"This game is the first time that the NBA chose to hold a preseason game in Asia, and it has attracted countless people's attention before the game started."

"But you're good. The Rockets played completely autistic at the beginning of the game and couldn't score any points. Do you think the fans are here to watch the Pelicans defend the Rockets?"

"Brother, the fans like to watch football. It's not a few big guys fighting on the court. It's a boxing match."

Adam Xiao Hua said very dissatisfied.

Li Lai knew from the beginning that Adam Silver was an NBA executive who strongly advocated the development of basketball in the offensive direction.

Because during the small ball period of the Bucks, the NBA Finals viewing record and the Eastern Conference Finals viewing record have been refreshed, and a wave of small balls has also emerged around the world.

This wave of rhythm has given the NBA a very wide-ranging influence all over the world.

Terby is the FIBA ​​of the International Basketball Federation. Also because the wave of small balls is moving closer to the rhythm of the NBA, fans also obviously prefer offense to defense.

Gone are the 70-point games.

But Li Lai is now building a defensive team, which makes Adam Silver very unhappy. It is you who created the small ball era, and now it is you who have returned to the defensive era.

Li Lai suddenly asked, "Adam, what is the purpose of holding the preseason game in Asia?"

Xiao Hua was startled, and said without hesitation: "Because the Chinese men's basketball team defeated the Spanish men's basketball team in the London Olympics and successfully won the Olympic medal."

"The whole world is impressed by this country and this place, so I moved the preseason game here, and let Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian and you all appear on the court at the same time."

"I just want to keep the heat of this matter to the end. At the same time, China is still a big market. Although I was successfully elected as the NBA president at the round table meeting, I will not officially take office until next season."

"This season is the last year for Mr. Stern and the bosses of the league to inspect me. I must make achievements."

Li Lai said, "So what's the situation now?"

Xiao Hua put his head in his hands and said: "It's terrible now, the whole world is watching our jokes, talking about how unbearable the Rockets are in this preseason game, and they were almost prevented from being constipated by the Pelicans. Turning on the phone is almost full of videos of you Pelicans bloody Rockets."

Li Lai chuckled and said, "Isn't this what you want?"

Ok? !

Xiao Hua suddenly calmed down, and quickly realized this in his heart.

Indeed!

Now the whole world is talking about the game between the Rockets and the Pelicans. Of course, the whole of the United States is also talking about the Lakers losing their first preseason game.

Regardless of the heat or the atmosphere, all fans have turned their attention to the NBA, which is an excellent warm-up for the upcoming regular season.

"So you've thought of this a long time ago!?"

Xiao Hua was a little surprised and said: "I just said how can your head make the players fight like this on the court. It turns out that there are considerations in this regard."

"Just now I also sent the current ticket sales of each team to my desk, which has increased by 5% compared to last season."

"Terby is your Pelicans team. After changing the name, the ticket sales price has increased by 20%, and all season tickets and monthly tickets have been sold out. This season, your regular season ticket revenue may be able to squeeze into the top ten in the league. .”

During the regular season last season, the Pelicans ranked 21st in the league in ticket sales, which is indeed a big increase in comparison.

Li Lai breathed a sigh of relief, the butt was finally wiped clean.

Xiao Hua continued: "Brother, in order to continue the heat and help me consolidate my position as the president of the alliance again."

"I think you have to continue to beat the Rockets to death in the next game. It is best to beat a league record. Then fans all over the world will be attracted by this matter again."

10 month 8 day.

The Pelicans locker room.

Li Lai stood on the carpet in the middle without saying a word. Veteran Rashad Lewis naturally guessed what was going on, so he slightly elbowed Jimmy Butler.

Butler could only bite the bullet and stepped forward and said, "Coach, I was wrong for stealing your microphone at the post-match press conference last time, but this matter has changed."

"Let's talk about who we are with."

"On the court, they are mentors and apprentices. Off the court, they are good buddies, the kind who carry guns."

"And the Rockets coach Kevin McHale is so provocative and arrogant, he is looking for shit."

JR Smith stood up at the right time and said: "Coach, I think Gee is right."

Jordan also stood up and said, "Coach, I also think Jiba did the right thing."

The thick eyebrows on the side looked at the two of them with great joy. The last time the locker room took off their clothes were JR Smith and Jimmy Butler, and of course Carter Old Glass who took off his pants.

Not only did he take off his pants, but the bastard Butler also asked the thick eyebrow to buy puffs for him in the middle of the night.

Nongmei really wanted to say, I bought you a ghost, where could I buy puffs at that time, obviously I was a second-year show, but it was great to bully a first-year show here.

So at this time, the thick eyebrows are completely gloating.

"The Pelicans locker room is so much fun."

Li Lai raised his hand and smiled, and JR Smith and Jimmy Butler, who saw the coach showing a kind smile, immediately became happy.

Li said: "I know you can't wait for the regular season to start, and I also know you can't wait to show your talent to the world."

"You are hungry and impatient, and you want to beat the Rockets on horseback."

"Now, I give you this chance."

"Tonight, you can play as you want. I only have one request. If I lose tonight's game, all of you will have to practice extra for me in the regular season this season!"

A smile appeared on Leonard's robot face, and JR Smith jumped happily.

Jimmy Butler smiled back at Anthony Davis.

"Nongmei, who were you gloating at just now?"

"Hold!"

Jingbei, MasterCard Center.

Kevin McHale folded his hands and looked forward to the court.

He would like to say that the Pelicans are really a very good sharpening stone in the preseason.

In the last game, at the beginning of the first quarter, the Pelicans used Jimmy Butler and Leonard to double-team the defense, as well as the inside Anthony Davis' help defense, which really brought a positive impact on the Rockets' offensive tactics. Here comes the big limit.

Outside players can't get in, and it's hard for Yao Ming inside to get one-on-one offensive opportunities.

Kevin McHale summed up the problems of the last game and reworked the Rockets' offensive tactics in this game.

Let Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian appear on the same side more often, and at the same time, before catching the ball for Yao Ming, the tactical arrangement of clearing one side should be carried out in advance.

In this way, if the Pelicans dare to double-team Yao Ming again, they will inevitably let Yi Jianlian on the outside.

"Last season, Yi Jianlian averaged 40% of his three-point field goals per game, and his open three-point field goal percentage reached 47%."

"With such a stable and efficient perimeter high fort on the court, I don't believe that the Pelicans dare to double-team Yao Ming."

"As long as Yao Ming can get one-on-one offensive opportunities, he is invincible on the court!"

Game start.

As soon as the Rockets came up, they played a tactic of emptying one side of Yao Ming's inside singles, but the process was a bit different from Kevin McHale's imagination.

When Kevin Martin moved around the baseline to clear one side, Leonard suddenly stopped following!
Turned to double-team Yao Ming in advance, and at the same time, Kevin Martin on the strong side was assisted by Jimmy Butler.

Because Chandler Parsons and Tony Douglas are still standing on the strong side at this time, the strong side is too crowded, so the Pelicans only need two people to participate in assisting and switching defenses.

In this way, Yi Jianlian hesitated a little, and a large horizontal pass would be easily intercepted by DeAndre Jordan and Jimmy Butler in the air.

Yao Ming inside didn't have any chance to catch the ball at all.

Yi Jianlian, who has developed the awareness and ability to pass the ball one by one in the NBA, made the most correct judgment at this time.

He directly used the cleared side for individual singles.

Yi Jianlian raised his hand to shoot a feint, took a low-handed dribble and made a breakthrough to the basket, and got a very good shot at the middle distance.

Duang!

"how can that be!"

In the last game, Yi Jianlian was able to beat Anthony Davis alone, but in this game, the opponent had obviously figured out Yi Jianlian's playing habits, and blocked the shot with his long arms. Mid-range shot.

The Pelicans made a fast break.

Jimmy Butler made a one-handed layup.

"This defensive round we played beautifully!"

Stevens nodded in admiration.

In the locker room, Li Lai has been teaching Nongmei how to defend Yi Jianlian, especially explaining Yi Jianlian's playing habits and methods.

There are also very detailed reminders on the shooting hotspots.

It is precisely because of this that when Yao Ming occupies space in the interior, Nongmei is very sure that Yi Jianlian will shoot from mid-range, so he is already prepared to directly block the shot.

Even if he didn't finish blocking the ball, he would definitely be able to interfere in time.

Du Feng said: "It's not just defense. The players always remember the offensive and defensive transition we emphasized in the training camp."

"Because the Pelicans are built on defense and have created a very complete internal and external defensive system, they will definitely allow the opponent to make multiple shots on the court."

"This time is a great test of our ability to grasp the transition."

"Because we are not a team that plays three-point push and flexible offense. If we want to be dominant on both ends of the offense and defense, we must carry out more defensive counterattacks on the offensive end."

"That way we can keep up with the offensive firepower of those flexible teams."

Stevens really wanted to applaud Coach Li Lai at this time.

Everyone knows that the Pelicans are built on defense, but after every game everyone will find that the Pelicans seem to be more than a defensive team.

The reason is that the Pelicans will catch conversions and defensive counterattacks many times in a game to increase the team's offensive firepower.

At the same time, the Pelicans' bench lineup is full of firepower!
This also further enhanced the offensive ability of the Pelicans.

"Perhaps it is difficult for the Pelicans to rely on such a lineup to stand out in the regular season, because the regular season's whistling standards are slightly stricter, and the league is also promoting the development of offensive teams."

"So the defensive Pelicans are not pleasing, and they may not be welcomed by the fans."

"But once it gets to the playoffs, the Pelicans will let everyone know what real horror is."

Rockets coach.

Kevin McHale looked at the 14:4 score on the court, and was so angry that he tore off the tactical notes in his hand and fell to the ground.

In the last game, the Pelicans at least restrained their defense, and did not assist in defense and double-teaming in the middle.

But in this game, the Pelicans almost never double-teamed defense.

Kevin McHale, who was a player in that era, wanted to say: The Pelicans' defensive rotation and double-team speed are really fast. It can be seen that they have established a very mature defensive system and conducted a lot of defensive drills in the training camp.

But the crux of the problem is that the Pelicans are playing Kevin McHale at this time, almost making the Rockets cry.

At this time, Marshall said in a timely manner: "In this preseason Asian tour, the referees have significantly reduced a lot of unnecessary calls, so it is beneficial to the aggressive defense of the Pelicans."

"But they may not be able to play with such intensity in the regular season. Why don't we use this opportunity to hone our offensive rotation."

"After all, integrating Yi Jianlian into the system as soon as possible is our top priority and the key to how far the Rockets can go in the playoffs."

Kevin McHale nodded, applauding Marshall's insight.

In fact, since the opening of the training camp, Marshall has made Kevin McHale very eye-catching in terms of video editing, tactical analysis, offensive and defensive arrangements, and player comfort.

He is also increasingly inseparable from the best and most convenient assistant coach since he coached.

But when he thought that Marshall was a member of the coach brought out by Li Lai, Kevin McHale couldn't help but spit.

"This kid really deserves to be the No.1 young coach recognized by those famous coaches."

In the subsequent games, the Pelicans did not treat the Rockets as human beings at all, and the Rockets no longer paid attention to the score, and began to try their best to help Yi Jianlian integrate into the team.

In Beijing North MasterCard Center Gymnasium, all the fans are cheering for the Pelicans and Li Lai.

This was the first time Yao Ming felt that he was playing against the visiting team since he was in the Chinese division.

At the end of the game, the Pelicans created the largest point difference in an NBA preseason game in 15 years.

125: 72.

The 53-point difference also created the Rockets' largest preseason difference in history.

Post-match interview.

A reporter mentioned what Kevin McHale said in the last game, to give the Pelicans some color in this game, and they will definitely win this game.

But the result.
After hearing such a question, Kevin McHale cursed and quit the group chat.

Pelicans postgame interview room.

“吉米，今晚你上场了23分钟，拿下了17分4篮板2助攻1抢断1盖帽的数据，其中中距离投篮10投7中。”

"There is no shortage of mid-range shooting masters in the league, such as Kobe and Nowitzki. You seem to have completed this evolution this season."

Jimmy Butler took the microphone and said confidently: "I will become a master of mid-range shooting at the same level as Kobe and Nowitzki. Someone said this to me before, and I believe it very much."

At this time, all the media reporters turned their attention to Li Lai curiously.

Li Lai shrugged and said, "It's not me, but I can be sure that that person must be more qualified than me to say this."

For a while, various media reporters were whispering to each other, discussing who is more qualified than Li Lai to say this sentence.

They guessed for the first time.

"Could it be Kobe?"

"How is it possible? The Lakers lost the game again tonight. They are in a mess now. How can Kobe have the energy to evaluate Jimmy Butler."

"Who's that, Nowitzki?"

"Because of participating in the London Olympics, Nowitzki is still recuperating in Dallas until now, and it is even more impossible to have contact with Jimmy Butler."

"Could it be CIC King Richard Hamilton?!"

(End of this chapter)