Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 88 Preseason

Westbrook is probably not very optimistic about his injury, and feels that the new season may not help Durant a lot, so he went to talk to him, and it turned out that Durant comforted him, and only then did he come out later.

But it seems that Durant did recognize the performance of Li Sheng and the rookies, so he still maintains an optimistic attitude towards the future of the team.

And Presti heard that Robertson beat Westbrook in the competition, and he was a little surprised by the result. As a manager, he would occasionally come over to see their training situation, and he also knew a little about Robertson's level.

In terms of defense, his talent and potential can be seen, as long as he accumulates experience, he can bring great help to the team.

As for shooting, although according to Li Yong, he has improved a lot compared to the beginning, it is still difficult to play a 3D role.

If it becomes a drag on the offensive end, the value of defense will be greatly reduced.

After all, no matter how good your defense is, people can avoid you to play, but if you are emptied on the offensive end and have not been released, it will do a lot of damage to the team.

No matter how Westbrook is, he hasn't reached the point where people can let people go. Besides, as long as the ball is passed to him, he still has the ability to break through, not just shooting.

If Robertson's shooting is really more stable than Westbrook, as long as he can show it a little in the game, it will definitely have a positive effect on the team's offensive end. After all, role players can hit open positions steadily, which can greatly relieve the defensive pressure on the core.

And the core output environment is better, and the team's offense will be smoother.

"Today, he should still perform a bit beyond normal, but according to his current progress, I believe he will become more and more accurate in the future."

Hearing what Li Sheng said, Presti still felt a little unbelievable. After all, Robertson should be the one he knows best about the team's four rookies. After all, he had already picked him up before the draft, and he knew his characteristics.

If there is anything special, it is probably because Li Sheng arranged to go to San Antonio this offseason to practice with the Spurs' shooting coach.

In fact, it's not just Robertson who has made significant progress, Antetokounmpo and Ennis are also becoming more and more stable.

Is that guy really so amazing, do you want to find a way to dig the opponent into the team, so that you can continue to train rookies for the team in the future?

If every rookie can make a big improvement in shooting after being trained by him, then the Thunder can really become the "West Point Military Academy" of the NBA.

"By the way, are you sure you don't want to make any adjustments to the team's lineup? We still have a middle class exception, do we need to use it?"

To be honest, I have been used to careful calculations in the past. Every season, Presti thinks about how to spend a small amount of money to achieve big things. Although he basically failed, he has never been able to determine the team's lineup as easily as this season.

Although this has something to do with the fact that the main players are all under contract, but when one of the core players is injured and only rookies are added, Presti also feels a little uncertain about the team's lineup.

However, Li Sheng has become more and more confident in the team's performance in the new season after seeing everyone's progress, especially the performance of the tactical bonus BUFF in training.

In the following preseason, we will practice again and find out the problems. When the regular season officially starts, we can show a new look of the team.

In fact, although he used to be a fan of the Shuangjun, he really didn't like to watch the Thunder's games, because he basically watched the performances of the Shuangxiao, because compared with the team basketball of the Spurs and Warriors, the excitement is really not enough.

Even if it is the Heat, their extreme defensive pushback will make people addicted. The short-term Poke ability of the top three giants to affect the situation is really not a bragging—the Dragon King may be a bit mixed, but he plays a different role, and the effect is still there.

Now let's see if what Li Sheng instilled in this new Thunder team can be played out.

……

The NBA normally arranges preseason games every season, except for the shrinking season caused by the lockout caused by the labor agreement. This is an abnormal situation.

The preseason is naturally a warm-up for the new season, so compared to the summer league, the stars will generally play, and the team coach sometimes tries to properly show the team's personnel and tactical arrangements for the new season in this kind of game.

At the same time, the preseason games are also for fans to watch, so although the outcome is not that important, the core players have to play at least a dozen or 10 minutes, and perform well to make the audience feel that it is worth the price.

After all, there has been no competition for more than two months, and some fished early even half a year later.

And the last team game in this arena was the fifth game of the second round of the playoffs last season. Under the witness of the disappointment of the home fans, they were eliminated by the Grizzlies.

The team experienced a coaching change during the offseason, and ushered in four new faces. The new season will bring fans' concerns and outside doubts. This first preseason game will always make people see some clues.

However, the opponents arranged for the Thunder were too weak. Although the Fenerbahçe basketball team performed well in the local league, they were going to challenge the dominant basketball team in the highest league.

Li Sheng didn't let Durant play for a long time. He only played 24 minutes, scored 17 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in a near triple-double.

Durant showed an excellent competitive state. Relying on his offensive containment force, his teammates also opened up, and the Thunder's blocking and cutting tactics naturally played extremely smoothly under the influence of this single-point blast.

On the defensive end, they showed more tacit understanding than on the offensive end. In fact, Durant has always had a strong willingness to defend, but what he thought was to inform the game at both ends of the offense and defense at the same time, without considering his physical strength.

Or thought about it, but he thought he could do it.

But in fact, whether it is from the perspective of probability or physical exertion, it is impossible for players to maintain a high-efficiency and high-level performance in a game, especially when the opponent will make targeted arrangements when you perform well.

If you are smart enough and willing to sacrifice for the team's victory, you will be willing to become a bait at this time.

But there are not many star players who can do this. Kobe has a theory called "teaming contract period players". In fact, this trick of double-teaming the biggest star player in the team may also have miraculous effects.

In this case, if you want to play forcefully, the efficiency will definitely not be high. The result may be that the personal data becomes better, but the team loses.

So when watching the game, you can often see that the team's trump card is not so efficient, but it still has to hold on to the shot, and the fans explain that if he doesn't make a shot, no one can make a shot, but in fact this is sometimes just to add data.

Especially if you always have the ball in your hands, the opponent's targeting should be able to achieve good results.

On the contrary, if you can play off the ball, it may have a greater impact on the game.

(End of this chapter)