Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 93 Two consecutive victories

Getting off to a good start is always a good thing, at least temporarily shutting down some people's mouths.

Slapping those who are not optimistic about themselves can always make people feel refreshed.

Then there will be a two-day rest in the middle, and there will be the next game, which will be an away game, with two consecutive away games at the beginning, but because the opponents are not very strong, I am not dissatisfied with this arrangement.

However, there will always be people who come up for no reason to spoil people's good mood. Li Sheng was interviewed during training, and was asked what he thought of the statement made by his opponent and the Timberwolves coach in the next game. He didn't know what the statement was.

Unexpectedly, he found a report about the Timberwolves coach saying "good luck, the Thunder will give us a victory". After thinking about it carefully, he felt very curious, because in his impression, Adelman is not the kind of person with a big mouth.

Of course, you can't look at people with old eyes, and you can't think that people are static.

Not to mention the butterfly effect that I may bring, my own identity may itself be a point that is likely to cause some people to question and prejudice.

Some so-called elegant people may also have unacceptable expressions under the influence of such deep-rooted arrogance and prejudice.

Anyway, he watched a lot of news about the NBA in his previous life, and Li Sheng was very accepting of this.

Of course, acceptance is one thing, tolerance is another.

But after he asked Udoka about it, he smiled and asked himself to search for Adelman's original interview on the Internet.

Li Sheng knew that there might be something hidden in it, and then found out, but it was an interview during the training period of the Timberwolves. Adelman was asked about Li Sheng by the reporter.

"Li Sheng? I've heard of him..."

"Do you think you are lucky to meet such a Thunder team in the next game?"

"Maybe, maybe they will send us a victory. But I think the game is always uncertain, so before the result, I will not be careless to any opponent. Besides, the Thunder should not be underestimated. They performed very well in the last game..."

Li Sheng muttered suddenly: "Isn't that a pretty good statement?"

Uduka immediately shrugged and said, "You understand the pissing nature of those media. They just took things out of context and deliberately wanted to stir up topics and wars."

Li Sheng shook his head, laughed and said: "However, it can be seen that Mr. Adelman's situation is not very good."

Of course it’s not good. Rick Adelman is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. He has won No.2 in the selection of the best coach four times and led the Blazers to the finals twice.

In September 11, Adelman took over as coach of Timberwolves. Unfortunately, this famous coach could not save the mess of Timberwolves. In the past two seasons, Timberwolves missed the playoffs.

In fact, they will also not be able to enter the playoffs this season. In the end, Adelman will sadly announce his retirement and end his coaching career.

It can be said that the Timberwolves made Adelman heartbroken. At this time, he is also feeling uncomfortable. After all, what team did he lead before and what players are he leading now? Can these people play?

The strength on paper doesn't look bad, but the attendance rate can't be guaranteed. Can he be the coach to replace them?

No matter how good his tactics are, there is nothing he can do if no one fights.

Compared with the ups and downs of the Jazz, after the Timberwolves sent Garnett away, they have been a stable team in the West over the years.

It is precisely because of this that although the data of the team's top star Kevin Love has risen year after year, and he has even been promoted as a representative of the new generation of power forwards, he has always been considered a data brush.

In fact, the brush of this kind of weak team generally has several characteristics. One is that they only care about their own data and only focus on the offensive end. The other is that they are not good at defense.

The current Love, the future Westbrook, and even someone from the Lakers in the future all have such characteristics, so the Lakers are nicknamed "have two brushes".

Defensive statistics are not easy to reflect intuitively, and the defensive attitude is even more so. Sometimes blocking, pressing, and interference that can only be seen by watching the game are not what everyone is willing to do.

Of course, Love is not actually a matter of attitude. If you really want to say that he still has the willingness to defend, but his consciousness is too poor. In addition, the white players themselves have insufficient running and jumping talents. On the offensive end, they can still rely on soft touch. But defensively, as an insider, he is too slow to keep up.

Facing the same poor defensive team, the Thunder beat the Timberwolves 129:102 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, even though it was an away game.

In this game, Durant scored a game-high 31 points in only 14 shots, 8 of 5 three-pointers, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. He continued his good state and won the MVP of the game.

Among the remaining players, Ibaka had 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, Reggie had 13 points and 5 assists, Lamb and Antetokounmpo both had 11 points, and Ennis had 10 points.

Six members of the team scored in double figures and clocked out of get off work in three quarters.

For the Timberwolves, Love scored 24 points and 13 rebounds. He didn't have a single offensive rebound, which is also a miracle.

With such a leading wolf, the other Timberwolves players were also excited. In the first half, they were still a bit defensive. In the third quarter, seeing the score getting bigger and bigger, they started to play tacitly with the Thunder, performing what is called "happy brushing".

Wolves want to win the most here is actually head coach Rick Adelman!
This is also helpless, who told him to argue with Li Sheng before the game? Although the media deliberately picked things up, he did fall into the trap.

But the one who flirts first is cheap, now Lei Ting has slapped him in the face with practical actions.

And when he went to shake hands after the game, Li Sheng didn't forget to step on his foot again, "Thank you, thank you for giving me a victory."

This is to give back the original words he said before. Although he knew that the media was involved, he did say what he said. I guess he really doesn't like a rookie like Li Sheng in his heart.

Adelman's face was a little embarrassed. As a veteran coach in the NBA, his previous reputation can be said to have been completely lost in the two seasons of the Timberwolves.

Originally thought that meeting a rookie coach could make a difference, but unfortunately the gap in team strength was too great, and in the end it was my own face.

But there is no way, competitive sports are winners and losers, and Li Sheng just returned his words.

When the post-match press conference was still attended by Li Sheng and Durant, the generals naturally praised each other.

"There is no doubt that KD is the best scorer in the league. I am very happy that when Russell is recovering from injury, other people on our team can stand up to help him. This allows KD to take away the game without exerting too much effort. This is what I hope the team will go the right way in the future..."

"I am very satisfied with the current situation of the team. Although we have not cooperated for a long time, I can feel that Mr. Li is a good coach. He is creating a better playing environment for me. I can feel that we are gradually becoming like a whole.

"Scott and Lee are two types of coaches. I can't compare them, but they have done what they should do in their respective fields. I respect them both..."

What Durant said was not against his will. Although the two opponents are not strong at present, he played these two games quite comfortably, but he was not enjoying himself enough.

As for the comparison with the coach, he certainly wouldn't be so stupid as to step on one, after all, he hasn't changed to a trumpet now (no).

(End of this chapter)