Coach, I don't want to retire yet

Chapter 399 Jokic

Jokic has not played any game in the NBA since he was suspended for beating James during the regular season.

As a No. 1 draft pick, Jokic is the first in the NBA to be almost retired for the season without any injury.

So far this season for the Lakers, many of the criticisms have been reversed.

For example, Wade, Garnett, Seth Curry, Pierce and Barkley are signings that have been criticized since they came to the team this season.

Now each one has become the key to the Lakers' success.

It can be said that Coach D's dark spots in selecting and employing people have all been cleared up since the playoffs started. It has not only been cleared up, but has been beautified.

Only Jokic, the No. 1 pick, is still lying there quietly.

Only Jokic is still the biggest parallel draft pick in NBA history.

Even when Popovich led the Lakers, fully took over the assets left by Coach D, and fully reused the players that Coach D reused, Jokic, a young center who was originally highly valued by Coach D, was not able to get Popovich's Reuse.

Not to mention reused, even Popovich has never used it.

The Lakers' path to the playoffs is very dangerous.

It's understandable that Popovich doesn't dare to use Jokic.

Against the Warriors, even Garnett was almost crippled by Yi Jianlian.

How could Popovich dare to use Jokic?

The Western Conference Finals were useless. How could a player with no experience in the playoffs be included in the Finals?

Popovich has no special feelings for Jokic.

He did not treat Jokic coldly or ridicule the parallel import No. 1 pick in his usual training.

Similarly, he didn't because Coach D loved this young man so much that he even asked Ebanks to take him hand-in-hand during training, and let players such as Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming, Barkley, and Garnett work with him one-on-one. Provide guidance.

This investment of resources shocked Popovich.

But despite being shocked, Popovich ultimately chose to ignore it.

Jokic also tried to prove something to him on the training ground.

Jokic does have some advantages now, such as good shooting and excellent passing. He is not a real parallel import.

but……

The Lakers' opponents are too strong.

If he doesn't dare to use it, he just doesn't dare to use it. He is a conservative person, and he does not dare to bet on a rookie player like Jokic who has never played in the playoffs on his shocking promotion road.

He also couldn't imagine Jokic being caught and beaten by Nowitzki and Yi Jianlian.

In the Lakers' road to promotion, the inside line is the top priority for the Lakers, and it is also the target of key attacks by opponents. Even Garnett couldn't stand it when facing the Warriors. How could Popovich dare to play a game that has never been done before? A rookie player who has played in the NBA playoffs?

Just because he performed well in training?

If you perform well in training and you can gain the trust of the coach, then Novak will definitely go to heaven.

No pain, no itching, no concern.

This is Popovich's attitude towards Jokic in the Lakers.

This kind of attitude is actually the most despairing.

In the end, Jokic was indeed desperate.

If Ebanks, Kobe, Tracy McGrady, Garnett and Barkley hadn't been coaching and supervising Yao Ming every day in the team training, he would have felt that there were still people in the NBA who continued to support him, and he would have been ready to return. Europe.

It's better than being in jail in the NBA.

Now, the team has reached the finals under the leadership of two famous NBA coaches, Coach D and Popovich, and he still has no chance.

This made Jokic's patience somewhat exhausted.

And at such a desperate moment, he actually got a call from Coach D, which really shocked Jokic beyond measure.

"Nicola, the coach has always seen your hard work. Don't be discouraged. As long as you keep working hard, there will always be a stage for performance."

Along the way, Nash was still very friendly and encouraged Jokic.

Jokic is the top pick, and the entire Lakers have an ambiguous attitude towards him.

The coach really likes him.

And it's really hard for them to like Jokic.

Because of Jokic, the Lakers lost Wiggins.

What a loss this is.

If the Lakers have Wiggins this season, then the Lakers' road to promotion will definitely not be so difficult. Even if it is difficult, at least there will be a player of Wiggins' level available.

When the Lakers are facing despair, I don't know how many people are thinking about how great it would be if the team had a player like Wiggins at such a moment.

When he was cornered by the Warriors, Popovich could even dream that the Lakers would select Wiggins with the No. 1 pick in the summer draft, not Jokic.

Wiggins not only performed well in the regular season this season, but also performed well in the playoffs.

That talent, that fighting spirit, that ability that is visible to the naked eye is really eye-catching.

So Lakers fans and the Celtics regret Wiggins the most this season.

Both teams could have had Wiggins at one point.

But the Lakers gave up Wiggins for Jokic.

The Celtics traded Wiggins for thick eyebrows.

Well, Celtic fans are pity at best.

As for Lakers fans, it is really heartbreaking.

Such a player who makes the Lakers feel heartbroken is just because Coach D likes him. He has never encountered any discrimination in the Lakers.

Even because of the incident of beating James, he became the number one figure in the entire NBA. Many James regarded Jokic as their benchmark.

Jokic has also become the player in the NBA whose strength and reputation are most mismatched.

And such players are always very embarrassed.

Everyone generally has only one attitude towards such players, that is, to stay away from them.

Just like Nash's attitude now.

There will definitely be no shortage of good things to say.

However, this kind of extremely polite official language really doesn't arouse any interest in people.

And Jokic definitely doesn't want this.

Now, he himself is not sure what he wants, whether the Lakers can provide it to him, and whether Coach D really believes in himself.

Or maybe it means that Coach D also keeps a distance from himself, just because he beat James violently and made the entire NBA, Lakers fans, and Coach D feel bad?

As an NBA player, there is no ball to play in the NBA, which inevitably makes people think a lot.

Especially when his teammates were celebrating wildly for their incredible victory, Jokic suddenly found that he had become an alternative to this team.

The entire Lakers team, everyone else has played, only him, not.

This feeling is very uncomfortable.

Even a player with an extremely mature personality like Jokic finds it difficult.

Jokic's character and style of play are very mature, not as mature as his age.

But he is also a player with a very violent personality and playing style.

In such an uncomfortable atmosphere, the only reason why he was able to insist on training hard with Ebanks at the training ground was because of Coach D.

In his heart, he also hopes for one thing, that is, he will still be useful to Coach D.

Coach D has made people train him so seriously during this period, and even train him additionally. He should not just be used as a mascot.

"I hope so..."

With great anxiety, Jokic came to Du Kang's office.

Jokic was very nervous when he saw Du Kang again.

Coach D was the savior of his NBA career.

Because of Coach D, he can continue to stay in the NBA.

Coach D was also his boss. He was selected with the No. 2014 pick as the successor of Yao Ming under the strange eyes of the world. Even though the market for centers in the NBA draft was extremely high because of Yao Ming, his market was actually at a decline at that time.

Even Embiid has declined due to injuries.

Embiid's sudden injury seems to constantly remind everyone of the biggest hidden dangers of a center, especially the biggest hidden danger of playing an organizational center.

I was chosen because I was not that much like Yao Ming. I didn’t feel that my No. 1 pick was a waste, nor did I feel that I was deceived. Instead, I continued to invest a lot of resources in cultivating myself. This friendship is really unrequited. No one among the rookies participating in the NBA draft dares to say that they are honest. Everyone has more or less done what Yi did back then, shooting at chairs.

This is not deceiving the team, this is self-packaging.

Yao Ming is very popular, and all centers are trying to package themselves like Yao Ming.

Some are really similar, some are not similar at all, and some are just a little bit similar.

Players don’t have to practice martial ethics.

Of course the team can do that too.

For example, when Yi went to Milwaukee and was found to be very different from the player Milwaukee imagined, Yi's status in the team and his importance in the minds of the top management almost disappeared, and he was eventually traded after one season.

If Yi could have been trained by the Bucks, he would not have been able to shine in the hands of coach D.

In the Lakers, he, the parallel import No. 1 pick who is ridiculed by the world, should be in a worse situation than Yi was in the Bucks, and the Lakers have more reason to give up on him directly.

But Coach D didn't do that.

Therefore, he now has the opportunity to stand in front of Coach D.

Jokic looked at Du Kang anxiously.

Du Kang looked at Jokic with a smile.

"Nikola, your recent training has been very good. I heard from Devin, Yao, and Bryant that they rarely praise a player so much at the same time. I will recommend it to Bobo and let him play in the upcoming games." The finals give you a chance to prove yourself.”

Jokic was stunned when he heard what Du Kang said.

Jokic wasn't the only one stunned.

Even Nash next to him was stunned.

He knows very well that in this Lakers team, after giving the team to Popovich, their great coach D has never interfered in the team's affairs.

This is respect for Popovich.

Even after the Lakers took a 3-1 lead and were cornered by the Warriors, Du Kang never gave Popovich any instructions.

Is it really necessary to break the tacit understanding between yourself and Popovich for a mere Jokic?

In Nash's view, the tacit understanding between Coach D and Popovich is worthless at all.

They even wished that Popovich and Coach D would fall out, and then Coach D would directly come out to drive Popovich away.

However, they really don't want Coach D to create something to talk about for Popovich.

Since the power has been completely delegated to Popovich, then give Popovich all the power. Only then will Popovich be convinced of the defeat when he cannot beat God's basketball, and will he be respectful when the team is in dire straits. Respectfully ask Coach D to come back.

Within the Lakers, all players and coaches are still looking forward to the return of Coach D.

They know God’s basketball best.

No one in the world knows better than them what God's basketball is like.

Popovich felt confident and thought he had a chance.

In fact, Popovich had no chance at all.

The real reason why the Lakers players are so excited and high-spirited now is that the finals are here and their great coach D is finally coming back!

As long as Popovich can truly see the power of God's basketball, Popovich will know how to advance and retreat.

As long as coach D comes back, they are not afraid even if they fall behind 0-3.

Therefore, Nash and the Lakers players are really willing to let Popovich try.

This is a tacit understanding of Popovich that the Lakers coaching staff and players spontaneously formed.

Therefore, Du Kang took the initiative to ask Popovich for Jokic's help because of Jokic's matter, which definitely disrupted the tacit understanding between the Lakers players and Popovich.

"coach!"

Jokic is still stunned.

After Nash came to his senses, he already wanted to stop it directly.

However, before he could finish speaking, he was stopped by Du Kang.

"No one in this world is willing to step into the same river for the second time. We will not, and others will not think that this year's finals will be more difficult than last year. Every game, even every round, is very difficult. Importantly, I want the team to win the championship. If you win the championship under Pop and I win, both will be the Lakers’ championship.”

Looking at the smile on Du Kang's face, Nash certainly respected him to the extreme. The great coach D is a completely selfless person for the team.

In no way can they compare to this level.

but!

Nash is still very unwilling.

When Jokic came back to his senses later, he was shocked.

In Coach D’s mind, am I even the key to winning the championship? !

In Coach D's mind, am I even the key to the Lakers' championship? !

My goodness!

Jokic felt that his whole body was covered at this time, and his head had exploded.

All his previous worries were in vain?

In Coach D’s mind, I am really not a dispensable mascot!

In Coach D's mind, I really don't have such a status just because I beat James violently and vented my anger for everyone!

In the finals between the Lakers and Celtics, the biggest problem for the Lakers now is the inside.

Barkley can only play one game and rest one game.

Garnett needs an inside partner next to him.

It's a true inside partnership, not a guest appearance like Antetokounmpo and Ebanks.

Even the Lakers have to deal with the difficulty of Garnett and Barkley being unable to play due to foul crises.

They all did that to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the Finals, they will only become more crazy and will not restrain themselves.

If you want to whitewash James, you naturally need to make James' championship seem natural. There must be a bottom line.

But this bottom line is superficial.

As for the private bottom line of not taking action against superstar players, they can completely ignore it.

In the past, even if Xiao Hua played a black whistle, he would be open to the superstar, and the superstar's whistle could still be slightly different.

Now, they have no problem disobeying it.

Oden was killed in one session.

You can kill Oden in one session, but you can't kill Garnett and Barkley in one session?

In the NBA, there are always whistles to look for.

Perhaps their bottom line in this finals is that the Lakers have at least five players on the court, so that James' championship will seem natural and not be said to be a gift.

Therefore, every player on the Lakers now is important.

Especially Jokic, who is recognized as the most trashy player on the Lakers. Jokic may be the player who stayed on the court the longest in the Lakers Finals.

They need to give James a spotlight to make fans forget about the black whistle gimmick.

Is there any bigger stunt than taking revenge on Jokic and beating Jokic violently on the court?

After Jokic left, Du Kang looked at the newspaper in his hand.

"They are already reviewing the news footage of James being beaten in series..."

This is cruel to James personally.

No one likes to see pictures and videos of themselves being beaten.

but……

Jokic

Capacity: 89

Potential: 99

"Bobo, don't let me down, I really hope you can win the championship with the Lakers..."

Lakers practice facility.

hang up the phone.

The look on Popovich's face wasn't very good.

But soon, Popovich's expression returned to normal.

"Nikola... Jokic."

(End of this chapter)