Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 26 Hot Topics
The intensity of the summer league is already relatively low. Of course there is defense, but most of them are single-defense. After all, each team is a new composition.

And in a ten-man game, no matter how tight the one-on-one defense can be, it stands to reason that calling a pick-and-roll to create a dislocation can solve the problem by individual ability, so this time is actually to see which team and which player can better grasp the opponent's weakness.

In fact, it is even more so in official NBA games, especially in the playoffs. If you have a weak link in defense, you will inevitably be caught and beaten by your opponent.

But in that video, Antetokounmpo hit a good shot and recovered a little and then got blocked soon. His disadvantage of unstable shooting and confrontation was infinitely magnified.

And Antetokounmpo even became a little bit avoiding confrontation in the end. Although this didn't look so embarrassing, it was obvious that this behavior was a cowardly performance in O'Neill's eyes.

No matter what your career is like, most players will brag about themselves after retiring anyway, and exaggeration in words must be indispensable.

It is common for some people to confuse black and white. Anyway, most of the fans just watch it for fun, and most of them in this circle will not compare the truth. After all, the matter has passed. As long as it does not harm their own interests, let him talk about it.

Although O'Neal was often swept away as a player, changed teams frequently in his career and collected "rainbow jerseys", and won several championships with the two super guards of Kobe and Wade, it did not prevent him from always claiming to be the number one center and the most dominant big man in history.

Not to mention that it does not prevent him from standing on the moral high ground and "basketball itself" to comment on today's junior players and some so-called phenomena.

In fact, in this video, there are suspicions of intentionally intercepting poorly performing passages and ignoring good parts, but editing of this kind of program is unavoidable, and people are only one-sided and cannot be called "disrespecting facts". After all, Antetokounmpo's performance in the first game is indeed not good.

However, he is definitely not the only rookie who performed poorly. He is a young year. How can we expect rookies to break out? At least Antetokounmpo can still have some bright spots.

But why is the topic of the Thunder now very hot because of Li Sheng, and there are rumors that Antetokounmpo was chosen by the new coach Li Sheng, and even went to the summer league to guide him.

The result is such a result?
This is the rookie that this rookie coach seems to attach great importance to. He thinks that he can stabilize his handsome position—there is a saying in the market, who knows how—the lottery rookie?

O'Neill smiled again at this time: "Maybe I should announce in advance that he will be awarded the top five Jons of the Year in advance. I can foresee that he will be a regular guest on my show."

The Big Five is a spoof NBA entertainment program launched by TNT. O'Neill is the host. This program is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people because of its entertainment and the effect of the big shark program.

There is never a shortage of funny moments on the court, such as some bizarre mistakes, outrageous fouls, and some showy operations.

Later, McGee, who was reborn in the Warriors and the Suns, was once O'Neal's "favorite", a frequent visitor to the top five, known as "囧基", because he often did some unbelievable behaviors on the court because he couldn't concentrate.

Of course, McGee has personal reasons. This should be understood. O’Neill frequently made fun of him, especially after expressing his dissatisfaction several times, he still went his own way. To a certain extent, it can even be said to affect McGee’s employment.

But this fat man is a person who "bullies the good and fears the evil" and has the same small mind as there, so it's not unusual to have such an operation.

At this time, Kenny Smith, as the "square", will naturally come out to defend himself. He thinks that it is not unusual for a rookie to have some problems in his first game, and Antetokounmpo has never played in the United States. Some "unacceptable" is normal.

Even if his performance is not good this summer, there is still a whole offseason for him to grow, and it won't be too late to see how good he is when he plays with the team in the preseason.

In addition, O'Neal only mentioned one rookie, but in fact this time the Thunder picked four rookies, and the performance of the other three was not bad.

Ennis was the best performer in that game except for Gomez, showing the potential of a 3D player; Gobert's rebounding was also very eye-catching, as well as Robertson's defense and air cuts.

"What I agree with the most is the starting point of Coach Li's selection. Everyone can find that the physical fitness of the four Thunder rookies has advantages in both static and dynamic aspects. This aspect is difficult to rely on later training. Talent is talent, just like me and Charles' big ass..."

"Hahahaha..." Barkley and O'Neal laughed exaggeratedly, especially O'Neal was still winking.

Regardless of whether he really thought so in his heart or not, Kenny Smith basically said all the reasons that the affirmative could find out.

Barkley immediately retorted: "I won't argue with you whether these people will play, we all know that this is not a coach can decide, not to mention whether Li can continue to work in this position is still unknown.

"I hope he will at least work longer than these four rookies, and don't leave the team earlier than the rookies..."

……

The summer league game is still going on, and the Thunder did not triumph. After a difficult victory over the Brooklyn Nets in the second game, they lost to the Utah Jazz in the third game.

In these two games, Antetokounmpo's performance not only did not improve compared to before, but actually got worse each time.

There was no need to think about it this time, and there was no need for Jia Lun's reminder. Li Sheng immediately determined that Brother Antetokounmpo was more deeply influenced by public opinion.

TNT's program aroused widespread heated discussions on the day it aired. Of course, Li Sheng also noticed it. He felt bad at the time, but it turned out that the impact was immediate.

This is also something that can’t be helped, he can’t control him not to watch TV, and it’s natural and normal for rookies to want to see the media’s evaluation after the game, and no one can and has no reason to stop it.

In this way, Li Sheng, who originally planned to see if Brother Antetokounmpo could figure out the adjustment, also knew that it would be impossible for him not to have a good talk with him.

It's also a good thing that the show doesn't come once a day, otherwise Brother Antetokounmpo might be in the midst of "criticism" for these three days, and the situation would be even worse.

The continuous output of public opinion pressure, if a young man bears it alone, it is really possible to crush him, and maybe his entire career will be ruined like this.

So after returning to the hotel to announce the dissolution, Li Sheng stopped Brother Antetokounmpo directly and asked him to go to his room.

However, he did not talk to Brother Antetokounmpo first, but discussed the arrangement with Uduka and Collins first.

There is nothing to say about the team's tactics. In this situation, there are no precise tactics. It mainly depends on whether the experience of the rookies is in place. While bringing out their advantages, they must also see their shortcomings.

It is not a bad thing to have shortcomings, and they can be supplemented in a targeted manner. In fact, the training of the players is to make up for their shortcomings as much as possible. After all, it is often easier to make up for the shortcomings than to lengthen the advantages.

(End of this chapter)