start with scouting

Chapter 256 The Secret Butterfly Effect

The outside world is talking about the five-on-five operation, but the Thunder has not been affected at all internally, and they rested and trained step by step.

On the contrary, those outrageous doubts about Su Yang gradually disappeared.The main starting five of the Thunder played poorly in the opening stage of the third game, showing that they were not invincible, and then let the fans and the media once again see Su Yang's ability to adjust on the spot.

Even if the ups and downs are just a blind cat meeting a dead mouse, Su Yang is better than many coaches who dare not make changes in the face of difficulties, especially those coaches who are biased in on-the-spot coaching, like to pinch watches and rotate or use dead grass as the main force, such as George Karl and Thibodeau.

ESPN reporter Windhorst tweeted: "As far as I know, the voting for the best head coach has not yet ended, but this year's selection of the best main force will definitely become the most controversial year in NBA history. Su Yang led Ray to tie the record 72 wins, and coach Tom Thibodeau helped the Bulls improve by as many as 20 wins, no matter who they choose has reason and qualifications..."

Many fans complained about Su Yang. After all, with such an outstanding record, there is no doubt that someone else would win the best head coach.

Fans think that Su Yang suffers from long-term excellence, a bit like those generals who wiped out wars in the bud, but their reputation is not as good as those generals who often win battles, especially insisting on rotation so that players can rest to avoid injuries, and they don’t hesitate to risk losing casually. The main force can get 72 wins, even at the expense of having a disagreement with the boss, which almost caused an unpleasant quarrel.

At the end of the training on the 24th, Su Yang took Westbrook to watch the video, focusing on analyzing the rounds when Westbrook was intercepted by Conley.

Those were all low-level mistakes. Westbrook looked embarrassed and kept silent.Su Yang pretended not to notice, and reminded: "You are born with super high passion, which brings you a lot of vitality, but when faced with a burning situation, there are better ways to deal with it..."

In Su Yang's view, Westbrook is the kind of player who is naturally unrestrained and loves freedom. Coupled with his strong physical fitness, he can often play brilliant performances without using his brain, but when encountering anxious situations, he is easy to get ahead and give up thinking completely.

Especially in the playoffs, when encountering a tough defense, Westbrook will become impatient, and then start playing blindly.

Similar situations have happened many times. Su Yang always taught Westbrook to be patient before, and this time he decided to hit the pain point directly.

He suddenly made up his mind, and he also secretly felt that it would be too late if he didn't remind him, and it would be difficult to find a more suitable opportunity to speak in the future.

"You need to strengthen the basic skills practice, just like James and KD, use muscle memory to remind you how to play, if you carefully observe those successful point guards in NBA history, such as Oscar Robertson, Irvin Johnson, such as Iraq Siah Thomas, and John Stockton, and even two-time MVP Steve Nash..."

Between the words, Westbrook looked even more embarrassed.

As a starting point guard in the NBA, it is a shame to be told by his head coach that his basic skills are too poor.

Fortunately, other teammates have left, and I know that Su Yang is not the coach of PUA players like Larry Brown.

"After I finished the series, I asked Phil to make a training plan, starting from the most basic dribbling, and strive to improve as soon as possible..."

Su Yang smiled and nodded: "Don't worry about it. After all, he is as strong as Michael Jordan. He also had basic skills defects a few years before he entered the league. He became the strongest form after winning several scoring titles. Your situation is very close, just keep improving. "

There are historical reasons for Westbrook's basic difference. The main reason is that during the summer vacation from high school to college, he grew too fast. After entering UCLA, he played as a backup shooting guard in the first year. In the second year, he didn't practice point guard skills seriously. The time was too tight. .

After talking about offense, the two talked about defense again. Su Yang still used the same old saying: Don’t give priority to defense for certain statistics. Steals and blocks are good. Getting rebounds and pushing fast breaks is also very good, but those are not as good as precision. The income brought by the station is higher.

On the 25th game day, the Thunder was once again rushed to the FedEx Arena to start the fourth game of the series against the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies, who were fighting to the death, made a bold change. Rudy Gay returned to the starting lineup and scored two mid-range shots in the opening game.

Relying on tough physical confrontation, the Grizzlies briefly took a 6-2 lead. In a blink of an eye, Durant and Westbrook teamed up to overtake them 6-0, and then the two teamed up with Ibaka and Chandler. , Helping the Thunder lead 17 to 10.

The Grizzlies struggled to score for a long time, and head coach Hollins could only ask for a timeout. Unfortunately, the players' momentum plummeted to no avail.

After the first quarter, the Thunder led the Grizzlies 24-14.

After the start of the second quarter, the Grizzlies had five starters, only Tony Toni was replaced by Battier, and the other four starters continued to play at the risk of losing a lot of physical strength, but after four and a half minutes, they still failed to reduce the score Difference.

Su Yang didn't know what the Grizzlies coach Hollins was thinking. He only knew that Gasol and others were obviously stiff and relied on their physical hardware to play. The defense was good, but it was premature consumption. Even if the point difference was narrowed, The second half is bound to collapse.

The Thunder team rotated as usual, and the half game was over in an instant, and the Thunder led the Grizzlies 44 to 38.

It's nothing to lead by six points, but Westbrook made zero turnovers in the half. Su Yang made a point of praise when he returned to the locker room.

In the third quarter, the game started immediately. The Grizzlies, who were in a desperate situation, miraculously made 5 of 4 three-pointers under the Thunder's defensive strategy of blocking the paint. 7 points, continue to maintain the suspense of the game.

During the timeout between quarters, assistant coach Brian said: "I suggest adjustments, don't give the opposite side so many small open shots to shoot three-pointers..."

Su Yang shook his head slightly: "No need, they will collapse soon..."

The game started in the fourth quarter, and the Thunder generals and the three assistant coaches closely watched the situation on the field. The result was just as Su Yang predicted. Significantly severe lack of physical strength.

Harden and Green took the opportunity to lead the team to play a 9-1 attack wave. In the last 6 minutes, which is the time when the main players returned to the schedule, Su Yang directly used Ibaka to play the center five small lineup, a wave of double-teams and fast breaks , Completely seal the victory.

At the end of the game, the Thunder defeated the Grizzlies 103 to 89 and swept the series 4-0 to advance.

杜兰特狂砍37分6篮板5助攻，而威少全场15分11助攻0失误1犯规。

The Thunder became the first team in the league to advance to the second round. The potential opponents, the Mavericks and the Nuggets, have yet to play the fourth game. The key point is that the Mavericks are leading 2-1 for the time being. It is very likely that they will have to play six games to decide the winner. , It will take a long time to meet each other.

The 21-[-] result made ESPN's [-] expert predictions a bit ridiculous. Many commentators tweeted that they underestimated the strength of the Thunder. Most of them believed that without Wesley Matthews, the Thunder would encounter great trouble in outside shooting.

But the Thunder, uncharacteristically, focused on pick-and-rolls with the ball, hitting the weaker part of the Grizzlies defense, and after the Grizzlies focused on pick-and-roll defense, it only took half a quarter to complete the adjustment, and the Grizzlies couldn't make it at the same speed. Adjustment.

Throughout the entire round of the series, Su Yang, as the head coach, defeated Lionel Hollins and the Thunder defeated the Grizzlies.

Fans from all walks of life also joined the discussion, holding the attitude of "winning and bragging", and crazily praised Su Yang for his good coaching, which made those who questioned what was done by aliens and laughed at Phil Jackson incidentally, which was actually opened up The opponents forced it to a 2-2 tie.

Compared with the wanton discussions of various well-known commentators on Twitter, a part-time reporter named Shams Charania broke the news on the official website of the Chicago Tribune: Because TMZ broke the news twice in a row about the rift between Su Yang and the owner of the Thunder, the Golden State Warriors management The selection of the new head coach has been suspended, and it is ready to wait until the season is completely over before continuing.

(End of this chapter)