The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 17 The Rookie's Battlefield

Zhang Xiaotian did not continue his performance because Popovich replaced him.

There is no suspense about the outcome of the game, it depends on the team's satisfaction with the performance of those people.

Zhang Xiaotian played exactly 10 minutes, not too long but not too short, and there were seven players who played less than him.

Taylor Wilkerson, who is also a striker, only got 3 minutes of performance opportunities in the final garbage time, which seems to be in danger.

In the following training, group confrontation increased, mainly young players and fringe players.

Zhang Xiaotian was only in a group with Leonard once, and the rest of the time he defended the opponent. He didn't have any complaints, as long as he could stay on the team, he could even be a sparring partner.

Because only by staying in the team can he have the opportunity to show himself in the NBA and gain recognition.

On the 10th, the Spurs faced the Eagles, and the team arranged for a GDP truce, which was clearly a further investigation of the players.

Cory Joseph got a chance to start, along with Eddie Curry and Derrick Brown.

It's no need to think about Zhang Xiaotian starting. The Spurs still have to hone Leonard. The other two starting positions are Leonard and Danny Green.

The Eagles are also scouting players, but star stars Josh Smith and Al Horford still start together.

The Spurs' starting lineup made it clear that Leonard was the core, but the preseason game was not the summer league after all. Leonard's lack of offensive methods was exposed. The team started and let the opponent play 12:2.

Popovich saw Leonard's serious expression, and couldn't tell what he was thinking at all.

Leonard is also expressionless, and he doesn't know if he has been hit.

As soon as the rotation time came, Popovich replaced Leonard. Stephen Jackson was the first to play. You stick, no matter what, you have to find out how much skill he has and how much he can contribute to the team in the regular season.

At the back, Nando De Colo was the first to get his chance.

Not to mention Parker's hometown, he was also selected by the Spurs before, and he has been training in Europe. This time, the team must have more expectations of him than Zhang Xiaotian.

Then there is Gary Neal, who is also an undrafted player. He has been with the Spurs for two years. This year is a contract year, and the Spurs also need to judge his value.

Then there are the inside players, Zhang Xiaotian belongs to the second batch of players under investigation, and finally got the chance to play in the middle of the second quarter.

When he was on the court, the Hawks had Kyle Korver come up to try his hand.

The Hawks obviously didn't let the main players rest directly like the Spurs, they just disrupted the order of playing, so Zhang Xiaotian met the opponent's starting third position.

This kind of shooter players say they are easy to defend, as long as they pay attention to their shots, and they are not good at defending, as long as one is not careful, the opponent may hit.

In the summer league, Zhang Xiaotian's defense against Adam Morrison was not so smooth at the beginning, not to mention Korver, who has completely established himself in the league.

Zhang Xiaotian knew that the Spurs were most concerned about his defense. After he went up, he stuck to Korver, constantly looking for physical confrontation. He didn't think about assisting defense and other things, and he didn't even look at where the ball was. He just followed Korver. I don't let go.

Korver didn't expect that the Spurs' small substitute would be so difficult and desperate. He originally wanted to try Xia Tian's enhanced offensive methods, but he hit the iron a few times, and finally relied on his teammates to catch the ball and hit a three-pointer.

When he was replaced, Zhang Xiaotian obviously felt the exhaustion of his energy.

He didn't know what his performance looked like in the eyes of the coach, but he did his best.

During the intermission, Leonard seemed to be in a low mood. Zhang Xiaotian wanted to go over to comfort him, but the other party didn't want to talk, so he had to stand silently by the side and listen to the coach Popovich's brief introduction. Serious speech.

At the beginning of the second half, Leonard was replaced after only a cutscene. Finally, a trace of displeasure appeared on his face.

Stephen Jackson deserves to be an old fritter. He usually doesn't see much in training. In the third quarter, he and Gary Neal made consecutive hits, showing their attacking ability.

However, their defense and atmosphere were not much different. The two teams led each other, and the scene was very good, but Popovich was not satisfied. This is not the Spurs' basketball, so Zhang Xiaotian got a chance at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

In fact, the Spurs currently only have Leonard and Stephen Jackson at the third position. Among the players who have not received guaranteed contracts, he, Wesley Witherspoon, Derek Brown, and Taylor Wilkerson are all three. No. [-] player, which shows that the Spurs still need at least one player in the third position.

Zhang Xiaotian clenched his fist, absolutely wanting to seize the opportunity.

The current lineup of the Eagles is that Jeff Teague is leading a group of rookies, mainly attacking two rookie insiders Keith Benson and Mike Scott. Zhang Xiaotian's opponent is John Jenkins, whom he met in the summer league.

Zhang Xiaotian locked John Jenkins on the field, but it didn’t help the Spurs’ defense very much. Under Jeff Teague’s feed, the Eagles played well in the two inside lanes, and their lead expanded. the trend of.

The current defender of the Spurs is Nando De Colo, who is also eager to perform. Fortunately, European players are not as independent as American players. After Zhang Xiaotian ran out of position, the ball was still passed.

Facing John Jenkins who was following him, Zhang Xiaotian jumped up high and beat him up.

John Jenkins' complexion suddenly turned ugly, and the small substitute in the summer league even provoked him.

When the Eagles were attacking, he tried his best to move, but Zhang Xiaotian followed him closely, and the ball still didn't reach him after running for two laps.

The Eagles made a mid-range shot, and Zhang Xiaotian turned around and received the rebound extremely sharply. Under the surprised eyes of John Jenkins, an acceleration was wiped out.

Outside the three-point line, the chasing three-pointer hit, 83:83, the two sides drew.

However, at this time, Nando de Colo did not pass the ball to Zhang Xiaotian. It is estimated that he felt the pressure on him. The opponent either did it alone or passed the ball to the inside. Zhang Xiaotian had no choice.

The preseason is when the players are inspected, and the coach will not ask the players how to play at all.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Keith Benson made two inside shots, and the Eagles took another lead by 1 point.

The team requested a timeout, and what Zhang Xiaotian was most worried about at this time was that Popovich would replace him.

Fortunately, the old man just replaced all the players on the court with new faces. Zhang Xiaotian and Nando De Colo stayed on the court. The Eagles also replaced Jeff Teague. The winner of this game will be determined by the rookie to decide.

(End of this chapter)