NBA opening draw to twilight Shaquille O'Neal

Chapter 386 Orsi's Melancholy

After all, I am still old, although my heart is still there, it is ok, I clearly feel that I am unable to do what I want.

Garnett's first performance tonight only stayed in the first two quarters, but in these two quarters, Garnett seemed to be blooming like an old tree, showing a little edge of his peak period.

Garnett played 19 minutes in the first half, made 9 of 6 shots and 4 of 4 free throws, scoring a game-high 16 points and 8 rebounds with amazing efficiency.

In the end, the Blazers won the game and won two consecutive victories.

With a score of 112:105, the Timberwolves lost by 7 points.

However, in terms of shooting percentage, the Trail Blazers shot 51.7% and the Timberwolves 46.9%, and in terms of rebounds, the former had 17 more rebounds than the latter.

It can be seen how many shots the Timberwolves made tonight (iron)!

In this game, Lillard worked hard in the second half of the game and started the crazy scoring mode. He scored 20 points in the half and 11 points in the first half. He scored 31 points and 10 assists in the game, and was named the best in the game.

Naturally, Wang Zelin did not attend the post-match press conference.

Tonight, he positioned himself not as the protagonist, but as an assistant, so he focused more on the defensive end and organizing the offense. He played 27 minutes and scored 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.

In contrast, Lillard is really working hard in order to have a chance to play in the All-Star Game. Wang Zelin and other teammates are all watching, and everyone has played for him tonight.

Maybe Garnett didn't play in the second half. In addition to confirming that the Timberwolves are hopeless, there are also considerations in this regard.

Therefore, for the Blazers tonight, Lillard alone will resist the long guns and short guns after the game.

……

……

Easily defeated the Timberwolves, won two consecutive victories, and the Blazers improved their record to 36 wins and 6 losses, continuing to lead the league!

However, their schedule at the end of January is not over yet. Just one night later, the Blazers will go to Oklahoma the next day to play a back-to-back game with the Ting.

The next day, the Blazers got off the chartered plane in a daze, checked into the away hotel in Oklahoma, and couldn't wait to catch up on sleep.

When I woke up again, it was already past one in the afternoon.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the coaching staff and management will hold a meeting to discuss the February schedule.Main players such as Wang Zelin and individual important rotation players should also participate together.

For the young Trail Blazers, physical fitness has never been their biggest test in the long regular season. The stability of the players is what Coach Terry and the others are most worried about.

Fortunately, both Wang Zelin and Lillard have made some progress this season, especially the former, who has directly become a popular discussion object for the regular season MVP.

Of course, although Lillard's improvement is not as great as Wang Zelin's span, his defensive energy and ability to read the game have improved a lot compared to his rookie season.

At the same time, it is also inseparable from this summer's reinforcement plan.

The joining of Garnett and Mo Williams made up for the thickness of the Trail Blazers' bench.

Garnett, in particular, was convinced by all the players regardless of his qualifications or strength. After becoming the new leader of the Blazers' locker room, this experienced veteran can always give the team a group of hot-headed young people a shot of tranquilizers at critical moments.

Therefore, the coaching staff and management initiated this meeting mainly to alert the team, rather than to make major changes.

There are 4 players on the inside and 5 players on the outside. The Trail Blazers' role player lineup is what they want. The outside line can be attacked and the inside line can be defended.

This year they gradually dropped the title of "the second Thunder team" given by the outside world last season, and became the most feared Portland Legion in the league.

At the meeting, when Coach Terry was analyzing the opponents scheduled for February, Neil Orsi looked at Wang Zelin and other main players with anticipation.

Among the starting five, Aldridge, the oldest, is only 5 years old, followed by 28-year-old Matthews, 27-year-old Batum, and Wang Zelin and Lillard, who are just in second grade, the team's two post-25s.

For the first time since taking over as general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers, Neil Orsi sees the team's ultimate hope of reaching the top.

While looking forward, he couldn't help feeling a little melancholy.

Aldridge has only the last year of his contract left. At the age of 29, as the strongest player on the team, he has just reached the peak age of an inside player. It is impossible for the Trail Blazers to let him go easily next season.

Renewing Aldridge will be the Blazers' top priority next season.

In addition, the contracts on Batum and Matthews are the same as Aldridge's, with only the last year left.

Although the Blazers' current team structure is obviously built around Wang Zelin, Aldridge, and Lillard, all three of them can be said to be not for sale.But if a team wants to go further in the playoffs and complete the final summit, an important puzzle to win the championship is indispensable.

Matthews and Batum, who are excellent in offense and defense, are standard 3D players in the words of later generations, and they are indispensable and important puzzles for teams aspiring to win the championship.

Therefore, the contract renewal of the two of them will also become a major problem that will plague Neil Orsi next season.

Although the team's current team atmosphere is excellent, Neil Orsi believes that no one is willing to struggle with money.

If the contract handed over next season is not satisfactory, no one can guarantee that Matthews and Batum will not choose other teams' contracts.

As the general manager, he is very clear about the current market situation of the five starters of his team in the current trading market.

Take Wang Zelin as an example, not long ago, the trading market.There was a rumor on the field: The Heat wanted to trade Bosh for Wang Zelin, or a one-for-one kind.

It can be seen that Wang Zelin has a great reputation now and seems to have a bright future, but his potential cannot be taken for granted. Compared with an All-Star like Bosh who has gone through the test of time in his prime, his trading chips may not be able to surpass him.

And this is not over yet, there was a piece of news about the Lakers not long ago: the Lakers management wants to use Pau Gasol to trade Wang Zelin, if necessary, the two sides can also have private discussions.

It wasn't until this time that many fans realized for the first time that second-year Wang Zelin possessed a super high transaction value.

However, Neil Orr is certainly not stupid. He hasn't had enough time to cultivate such a cornerstone of a team that is rare in ten years. How could he be so stupid as to trade the other party? I really thought he was the king's management!
It is conceivable that several of the team's main players will renew their contracts next year, and he feels a headache again.

(End of this chapter)