Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 113 113. The Tragedy of Bob Hill, Yao Ming's Change!

Since the start of the game, the Timberwolves have increased their winning streak to six games. At present, the Timberwolves, Pistons and Spurs are the only three teams in the league that have not yet lost.

The strength of the Timberwolves in the new season exceeded the expectations of many fans. Compared with the Heat who made a big move in the offseason, the Timberwolves did not seem to have performed too many shocking operations during the offseason.

In addition to getting Magloire from the Hornets through a trade, he signed "Glove" Payton and Wang Zhizhi, who has no ball to play, in the free market.

As a result, at the beginning of the new season, the fighting power shown by the Timberwolves has caught people's eyes. They started the game with 13.8 wins and [-] losses, with an average margin of [-] points per game.

In addition, the performance of the rookie player Monta Ellis has attracted a lot of media attention. Currently, Monta Ellis ranks second in the rookie rankings with an average of 13.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game. position, second only to Chris Paul, who performed explosively.

Monta Ellis's stats may not be too good alone, but considering the team Monta Ellis is on, as well as Ellis' playing time and offensive usage rate, Ellis's The efficiency is shocking enough.

Even the famous NBA "Flying Pig" Barkley said greedily: "If you put Monta on a bad team, Monta Ellis in his rookie season is likely to average 20 points per game."

"Even if Monta still needs to improve in many aspects, Monta's offensive firepower is really sufficient, and he can definitely be ranked in the top three in this year's draft."

Monta Ellis' outstanding performance made many fans talk about the vision of coach Luke.

Last season's Salmons, this season's Monta Ellis, even Gortat, who was selected in the middle of the second round, also delivered a good individual performance at the beginning of the season.

Averaging 6.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game is definitely far away from competing for the best rookie, but for a backup center who averages only about 18 minutes per game, this performance is convincing enough.

What's more, Gortat's draft pick is only in the middle of this round. It is a bloody profit to be able to select a player like Gortat in this pick, and it also proves the vision of head coach Luke.

As for the average playing time of Chinese player Wang Zhizhi after the start of the game, except for the garbage time appearance, the regular rotation Wang Zhizhi basically can't stand up, and he can play about 8 minutes per game on average.

At present, the Timberwolves have sufficient internal configuration, and the players have not suffered injuries. Both Gortat and Eddie Griffin on the bench are more useful than Wang Zhizhi.

Sometimes Luke even puts Szczerbiak in the fourth position to play the fifth junior, so Wang Zhizhi's playing time will only increase when the victory is already determined.

However, Wang Zhizhi's shooting ability outside the three-point line is unmatched by others. Now he can contribute 4.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game, and can hit 0.8 three-pointers per game. The three-point shooting rate is as high as 41.3%. .

If it weren't for Wang Zhizhi's ability to be too weak on the defensive end, Luke really planned to roughly include him in the regular rotation.

It's a pity that this Timberwolves team is based on defense. Even if they are generally outstanding on the offensive end, Luke can only use it appropriately.

At least before Wang Zhizhi raises his defensive level to the league average, his average playing time should not be higher than 10 minutes per game.

The deficiencies on the defensive end are generally clear in his heart, and he usually actively trains with the help of defensive coach Raymond on weekdays. All this is naturally seen by the head coach Luke.

Luke appreciates Wang Zhizhi's positive behavior very much, because only in this way can he have a chance to gain a firm foothold in the NBA with his strength.

Luke can provide Wang Zhizhi with opportunities to play, but what kind of answer sheet he can deliver in the end depends on how much effort he is willing to put in.

Wang Zhizhi's skills are definitely considered outstanding among NBA insiders. Whether it is his shooting skills or his dreamy dance steps, Wang Zhizhi, who once had no ball to play, can always be ranked above the middle.

Compared with offensive skills, what Wang Zhizhi needs to improve most is the gap in defensive experience and stature. These are defects that can be made up for through acquired efforts.

As long as Luke is willing to give him some time, and is generally willing to sweat in private, it is more than enough to stay in the NBA and seek a substitute contract like Novak.

…………

On November 11, the Timberwolves faced the Houston Rockets at home.

The Rockets have made some lineup changes this season, but to be honest, the two core players, Yao and Mai, are still there, and they even acquired the "streetball king" Alston through a trade. It stands to reason that the Rockets should be even stronger. Floor, at least it won't get worse.

But in fact, the Rockets' record this season is a bit bad. Currently, under the leadership of the new head coach Bob Hill, the Rockets only have a record of 1 win and 4 losses.

This record puts a lot of pressure on the Rockets' current head coach Bob Hill. The Rockets laid off head coach Jeff Van Gundy during the offseason and hired SuperSonic assistant coach Bob Hill instead. This was originally a gamble.

If Bob Hill can lead the team with a better record than Jeff Van Gundy after taking office, Bob Hill will be able to stand firm in the position of head coach and completely get rid of the hat of assistant coach.

But once Bob Hill's coaching record is very bad, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to be hired as the head coach of the team in the future.

In fact, the Rockets' poor record this season can't be blamed entirely on head coach Bob Hill. It can only be said that this guy is even more unlucky than Jeff Van Gundy.

In the new season, Yao Ming's competitive state is still very stable, even under Bob Hill, Yao Ming's performance is even better than last year.

It is worth mentioning that Yao Ming successfully lost weight with the help of his trainer during the offseason, and he was more than 30 pounds lighter than last season.

And Bob Hill, as the assistant coach next to McMillan, was originally an offense-oriented coach, which also made Yao Ming more flexible after losing weight, and no longer could only be a ruthless low post like last season machine.

Now Yao Ming's offensive methods are becoming more and more comprehensive, and he even plans to snatch the title of the league's No. [-] center from O'Neal!

The bad thing is that McGrady's game state has declined seriously in the new season. With the average playing time reduced by 3 minutes, McGrady's shooting percentage has actually dropped to 39.6%, and his three-point shooting percentage is only 30%.

This kind of efficiency doesn't look like a league super giant.

At the same time, the "streetball king" Alstom, who had just been traded by the Rockets, also made a fool of head coach Bob Hill. His 36% field goal percentage was as exciting as playing streetball.

The poor performance of McGrady and Alston's two main players directly caused the Rockets to fall to the bottom of the Western Conference.

If it weren't for Yao Ming's average of 23.1 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks per game, the Rockets wouldn't even be able to win the only game.

McGrady's low efficiency has a lot to do with his injuries. As for "Streetball King" Alston, head coach Bob Hill failed to find his instruction manual.

Even though Alston has never been sure in his entire career, he seems to be a strange thing from the streetball background.

But in any case, Bob Hill was really cheated by McGrady, and he is currently under tremendous pressure to challenge the defending champion Timberwolves as a guest in Minnesota.

If the Rockets lose again in this game, the record will come to 1 win and 5 losses. At that time, Bob Hill does not know whether McGrady will be sprayed to death by the fans. is no longer far away!

(End of this chapter)