start with scouting

Chapter 446 The King of the Last Section
Before facing the Nets, the Kings had three days to prepare. Su Yang watched the training and talked to Thomas Jr. at the same time.

Instead of going to the office, I found a seat on the sidelines and sat down, mainly taking advantage of the node of losing to the Trail Blazers to naturally cut into the topic.

"Thomas, I noticed that in the last game against the Trail Blazers, your personal performance was mediocre. You shot 14 of 5, not as efficient as 10 of 6, and you made more mistakes. If you encounter any problems, tell us and we will find a way to solve them together. .”

Su Yang originally wanted to directly talk about the topic of substitutes, but when he was about to speak, he decided to ask Thomas Jr. for his own thoughts.

In case Thomas Jr. himself thinks that way, there is no need to take the initiative to speak up. The nature of the whole matter will change from 'the coach asks to be a substitute' to 'Thomas Jr. takes the initiative to substitute'. Gossip.

"Coach, I..."

Thomas Jr. hesitated to speak, paused for a moment and continued: "Since I joined the Kings, I have gone through three head coaches including you. Responsible for helping Tyreke Evans dribble half court, sometimes partnering with Fredette as shooting guard, role and ball possession have never been fixed...”

Su Yang nodded frequently in response. At this moment, little Thomas has not yet fallen into the embarrassing situation of "I don't accept anyone", and his own analysis is quite reasonable. The king first took a fancy to Evans, and then tried to scratch the lottery Fredette. Point guards such as Aaron Brooks and Tony Douglas were acquired in the trade, and they didn’t say anything about renewing the contract before changing the boss. Anyway, Thomas Jr. was not regarded as a long-term point guard plan, and Su Yang himself, because the potential starting point guard looked for Curry, There is no such thing as an early contract renewal.

For Thomas Jr., he only discussed with Sam Hinkie, Snyder and others about the positioning of the team, which is the team's fourth offensive option, after Cousins, Gay, and Millsap. In the future, I plan to sign or trade at a low price.

"So, I'm hoping to be able to be the backup point guard and get the ball and have some plays built around me."

Thomas Jr. finished speaking and stared at Su Yang sincerely. He seemed very confident about those proposals, but he could also see a trace of nervousness. After all, those proposals were really bold, especially considering that adjusting the team rotation would require a certain price.

Su Yang was very happy when he heard the words. He thought it would be a waste of time, but he didn't expect the conversation to be so easy, even in one step.

Of course, Thomas Jr. has the strength of the starting level, but the premise is to design tactics around it and find a way to reduce the disadvantages on the defensive end. Just like the Celtics in the previous life, every time Thomas Jr. attacks, he first makes two off-ball screens to help Thomas Jr. successfully got rid of the defender, and played Thomas Jr.'s shooting around screens and super rushing ability to maximize his offensive ability.

But the group of starters in front of the king is not the group of recruits and role players of the Celtics. Let Millsap, Gay, and Cousins ​​start off the ball for Thomas Jr., and once or twice is naturally okay. , I will definitely get impatient a few times.

There is no way, the ability of the three to attack independently is not bad.

"Your request is very reasonable. I can agree to you. I will design a few off-ball tactics for you later. The routines are very simple. You can use them when you play the Nets in a few days. You don't have to have a psychological burden. Your choice , can better help the team..."

Su Yang agreed on the spot. After all, let Covington, Jason Thompson, Xavier Henry and other players run around Thomas Jr. without the ball to cover. They will not be bored because of the disparity in status, and it can further narrow Thomas Jr.'s defensive disadvantages.

The reason why he mainly runs off-ball screens is that Thomas Jr.’s offensive level with the ball is relatively average, far inferior to his attack after receiving the ball. If it weren’t for trying the lineup at the beginning of the season, Su Yang would have let Thomas Jr. serve as a substitute from the beginning .

And Vazquez's first start can slightly improve the defense, and by the way meet his contract year data needs, and get more assists.

"After you serve as a backup point guard in regular time, don't relax. When the game hits a critical moment, especially in the fourth quarter, we will need your offensive ability. In short, you just need to remember that you can play as a substitute. It’s because the overall income is higher, not that you are not strong enough to start, you have to call yourself Manu Ginobili of the Kings, everything is possible…”

Between Su Yang's words, Thomas Jr. nodded excitedly. He heard the hint that he planned to sign him for a long time. He was more happy to value his ability to attack tough moments at critical moments. come on.

After chatting for a while, Su Yang waved at Gobert again, asking him if he hadn't appeared much recently, and if he had any thoughts.Gobert said that he knew that more practice was needed, followed by Covington, who first praised Yitong for his performance in the first few games, and then urged him to continue working hard.

In a blink of an eye, November NO.13, the Kings face the Nets.

The Nets were awesome in the off-season, and they brought Garnett and Pierce in a shocking trade, and they were about to hit the championship. However, after the start of the game, they were 2 wins and 4 losses. Even a bad team like the Cavaliers can lose, but because they once beat the Heat, they still Favored by fans and media.

When the game started, Su Yang pulled the whole team and emphasized again: "The biggest advantage of the Nets is their rich experience, but they are older than O'Neill's grandma, just hit them with speed, they had four days of rest before, and they will be biased when they enter the state. slow…"

The Kings generals led the field, and Vazquez started instead of Thomas Jr., crushing Deron Williams in height and weight.

The Nets won the jump ball, and the first attack was a simple pick-and-roll. Garnett hit Millsap in the low post, and he couldn't move but a jumper.

The basketball hit the iron, Cousins ​​grabbed the rebound, the King pushed a fast break, and a pass went directly to the center line.Antetokounmpo took the ball and ran wildly, so Pierce doubted his life. It was too late to make a tactical foul in advance, so he could only watch Antetokounmpo run long distances and score with dunks.

Easy to attack the Nets, Lopez mentioned the top of the arc to do a pick-and-roll for Deron, then disassembled to catch the ball, and scored a mid-range jumper.

Turning around, the Kings attacked again. Vazquez used a screen to break through for a layup, but was intercepted by Pierce. The main basketball was exposed too early.

The overall defense of the Nets is not bad. Garnett still has the power to sweep the paint area. When he is full of energy, he should not be underestimated. And Lopez is also a good frame protector. With the height of Joe Johnson, the awareness of Deron and Pierce, four games Losing did not lose too many points.

The first quarter ended quickly. The Kings led 23 to 19. The biggest problem for the Nets is that it is difficult to score efficiently. They have to take care of the face of each big name and have no simple tactics. Kidd is quite organized as a player. A little bit blind.

The same type is also Nash. When he was a player, he ran tactics like crazy, and when he was a coach, he relied too much on stars.

Su Yang sighed, and the game entered the second quarter. The king came up and made a double screen for Thomas Jr., Xiaotuo started from the bottom corner on the right side, and the right wing used Guy to cover to throw off Livingston, and then borrowed Gobert at 45 degrees from the right side Cover, get rid of Livingston completely, and then receive a pass from Covington at the top of the arc, suddenly accelerate and start the first step, ignoring the encirclement of the Nets, and directly hit the basket.

Nets center Mason Plumlee chose to squat to protect the frame, but Thomas Jr. was only 175, but his big arm muscles looked like LeBron's. It was not a disadvantage to fight Plumlee in the air. He turned around and hooked his left hand. Shoot, hit the basket and score.

Su Yang immediately stood up and applauded, and the audience cheered and shouted. In fact, designing tactics for Thomas Jr. was a very basic "Iverson cross-cut", but Thomas Jr. is not Iverson, and there is no such coquettish operation, and there is no Iverson. Ferson is so flexible, he can find space to score in the paint by tossing and turning, and Thomas Jr. is more about using his body to fight hard.

The halftime game ended quickly, and the Nets still had difficulty scoring, with only one three-pointer. The Kings led 1-52.

There was no change in the third quarter. The king's defense accelerated and counterattacked quickly, and it was difficult for the Nets to score. In addition, the Kings were fully blooming, and the lead became 21 points. The Nets did not give up. Livingston and Lopez continued to chase points efficiently. There is a style.

However, the Kings did not pull the span, and Thomas Jr. took control of the stage as a substitute, making 5 of 3 shots, 2 assists and 3 rebounds.

It was not until the last 2 minutes that Kidd requested a timeout to withdraw all the main players. The Kings finally beat the Nets 107 to 86.

Throughout the game, Thomas Jr. made 12 of 7 shots and 7 of 7 free throws. He scored 23 points and 6 assists with only 1 turnover.

In the post-match press conference, when talking about the replacement of Thomas Jr., Su Yang said: "I was too conservative before and only aimed to reach the playoffs. Now I have changed my mind. We have Thomas, the king of the last quarter, and we will at least play in the playoffs." second round…"

(End of this chapter)