Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 227 227. Take the initiative to resign!Get out of class by surprise!The first coach in history to voluntarily apply for dismissal after the opening game
"It's unimaginable that the Grizzlies are still nearly ten points ahead of the Timberwolves when their offensive efficiency is so low."

"I really don't know whether to say that the Grizzlies are too strong in the new season, or the Timberwolves have become too weak."

"Especially for Kevin. After the injury, Kevin's competitive state has declined visible to the naked eye. Originally, everyone was expecting Kevin's performance in the new season, but now, it may be difficult for Kevin to return to the peak."

In the studio, the commentator Barkley said with a complicated expression.

Many fans are very clear that Barkley doesn't like Luke very much, mainly because Luke made the Timberwolves an undefeated team a few years ago, which made the league lose the original taste of competitive sports.

That's why Bagley has an aversion to the Timberwolves.

But seeing with his own eyes that Luke built the Grizzlies into a team that could compete with the Timberwolves in just one summer, Barkley only felt that his mood was a bit complicated.

"I have said long ago that Lu will definitely bring surprises to everyone in the new season, but looking at it now, what Lu brings is not just a surprise, but more like a shock."

"Although the Timberwolves lost two defensive stars Gary and Gerrard during the offseason, the Timberwolves lineup still maintains a historical level of defensive strength."

"It is not difficult to see from the first quarter that the Timberwolves' defense still created a lot of trouble for the Grizzlies."

"But what is really amazing is the Grizzlies' defensive approach and offensive toughness. If the game continues in this way, the Grizzlies are likely to usher in a big victory in the opening game."

On the other side, his partner Kenny Smith had a smile on his face, as if Luke's surprise and even Kenny Smith had followed suit.

Smith and Barkley are TNT's famous Lu fans and Lu Hei respectively. What's even more ridiculous is that they are also called golden partners by the outside world.

This also led to whenever the two sat together to explain Luke's game, their opinions would always collide, even though most of the time it was Kenny Smith who had the last laugh.

But this time Barkley obviously lacked confidence. As the coach who also coached the Timberwolves last season, after Luke left, the state of this Timberwolves has simply declined.

On the other hand, the Grizzlies have changed from a team at the bottom of the league to an existence that can compete with the Timberwolves in one fell swoop.

Even Barkley was convinced by this almost magical method.

If it weren't for the effect of the show, Barkley would have wanted to join Smith's camp every minute. After all, Barkley's commentary remarks in the past two years have been ridiculed by netizens.

As for the number of slaps in the face, there are countless times. If it is not thick-skinned, Barkley feels that he can no longer get along in the commentary world.

.........

Back in the second quarter, the two sides replaced the substitute lineup to start a contest. The depth of the Timberwolves' lineup this season has dropped seriously.

With "Glove" Payton and Gerald Wallace leaving the team one after another, Iguodala was reluctantly put on the starting lineup. Now the Timberwolves are only able to play on the bench. Sapp two people.

As for Ariza, he chose to jump out of the contract and switch to the Orlando Magic this year, while "Penny" Hardaway was also in a sluggish state, even averaging only 3.4 points per game in the preseason.

In this situation, the only thing the Timberwolves can really rely on is the starter.

In fact, the depth of the Timberwolves' lineup has not been outstanding since last season. In many cases, even Luke, who likes to rest, has to increase the playing time of the main players.

The playing time of Iverson, Daben and others is as high as about 40 minutes.

As soon as the second quarter came up, the Timberwolves could barely close the score with the pick-and-roll of Spanoulis and Millsap.

But as the game continued, the Grizzlies gradually opened up the situation.

First, Mike Miller made two consecutive three-pointers from outside the three-point line, and then "Little Flying Squirrel" Stoudemire assisted his teammates consecutively in the fast-break counterattack.

It wasn't until just over four minutes into the second quarter that Kapono made a shot two steps away from the three-point line, helping the Grizzlies directly to a 15-6.

The strength of the Grizzlies' rotation was obviously beyond Jafaroni's expectations, so Jafaroni had to call a timeout shortly after the opening, and after the timeout, the main players were brought back to the field.

Even though Iverson and Garnett's offensive touch is also very bad, for Jafaroni, this is the only way he can think of.

The end of the Grizzlies' main players still freed up a good offensive environment for Iverson and Garnett. Compared with the first quarter, Iverson played more calmly in the second quarter.

However, the Grizzlies' lineup has never relied on defense to expand their score, but the ubiquitous shooting threat on the offensive end.

In the second quarter, Luke did not use Milicic, who played a lot of time in the preseason, at the center position, but Chris Webber, who has excellent court experience.

The Timberwolves do not have an excellent offensive center inside, so Chris Webber is good enough to defend at the fifth position.

After all, when Chris Webber is on the court, the Grizzlies will become smoother on the offensive end, and the three shooters of Mike Miller, Kapono, and Novak can also come up with more shooting opportunities.

If Kapono and Novak's offensive methods are relatively single, most of the time they stand outside the three-point line and act as off-ball shooters.

Then Mike Miller, who is also famous for his three-pointers, can be regarded as a scorer.

上个赛季米勒场均能够贡献18.5分5.4篮板以及4.3次助攻，其中投篮命中率为46%，三分球命中率高达40%。

Is the entire Grizzlies in addition to Pau Gasol's second scorer.

Although Mike Miller, who became a substitute in the new season, can no longer shoot freely like last season, Mike Miller is still the team's main offensive point on the bench.

In the positional battle, the Grizzlies' main offense was initiated by Stoudemire and Mike Miller. As for Chris Webber, he played more of a transfer role.

As Mike Miller made consecutive shots on the offensive end, Luke, who was sitting off the court, was not in a hurry to switch back to the main force, but watched the game with great interest.

It wasn't until the red-eyed Miller began to encounter the two-person attack of the Timberwolves on the court. Due to his mediocre coping ability, Miller made consecutive mistakes on the offensive end, and Luke calmly brought the main force back to the court.

With Mike Miller's performance of 11 points in a single quarter, the Grizzlies have extended their lead to 22 points at halftime.

Seeing that the Timberwolves, who had just won the championship last season, trailed the Grizzlies by a full 22 points at halftime, the home fans seemed to be in disbelief like a dream.

And it wasn't until this time that the fans reacted. No wonder the outside world has been rumoring that the Grizzlies' lineup that really opened the score was not the starter, but the "civilian killer" hidden on the bench.

At first, fans thought it was just a joke. After all, all offenses that rely on touch to score now seem to have a touch of luck.

But now the outside world has clearly recognized through this opening game that the Grizzlies have made a complete offensive system for the bench lineup.

The three-point tactics implemented by the three top shooters of Mike Miller, Kapono, and Novak with other players are not luck as the outside world thinks, but an offensive method that can really kill the game.

Thinking of this, even Charles Barkley in the studio gasped.

"There are no teams in NBA history that rely on the bench to grab points, but it is the first time that they can do it as cleanly as the Grizzlies."

"I think I should take back the remarks before the start of the season. The goal of the Grizzlies in the new season is indeed not as simple as reaching the playoffs."

"From this team, I have already seen the hope of hitting the championship."

Shaking his head helplessly, Barkley felt a bit bitter at the corner of his mouth when halftime was over.

Back in the second half of the game, Jafaroni also made some adjustments to the lineup and style of play.

However, because the Timberwolves' play system is too traditional, especially in front of Luke, there is almost nowhere to hide, which also led to the Timberwolves' adjustment effect in the second half being minimal.

With the end of the three quarters, the Grizzlies, who had a 31-point advantage, clocked out early and basically announced that the game had entered the garbage stage.

Jaffaroni, who was 31 points behind in the last quarter, did not seem to intend to give up. After all, this was the first game of Jaffaroni's coaching career.

And it's an occasion like the NBA opener. Even if they lose, Jafaroni hopes that the team will lose less.

Relatively speaking, Luke seemed much more relaxed about the occasion of the opening game. In the last quarter, he simply replaced all the main players and used the substitute lineup to compete with the Timberwolves.

Even though the point difference was recovered by the Timberwolves using the main lineup, as the game ended, the Grizzlies still beat the Timberwolves by 25 points in the away game.

From the moment the game ended, the entire Timberwolves home court sounded mixed voices.

Listening carefully, you can still tell that what the fans are yelling is to let Jafaroni get out of get out of class.

There are not a few coaches in the NBA who lost the first coaching game of their careers, but the coach Jafaroni who was called out by fans in the first game is definitely the first.

Hearing the looming sound of the end of get out of class at the home court, Jaffaroni's face was so gloomy that he could drip water, and even wanted to turn around and leave the stadium as soon as possible to escape from this horrible environment.

However, the last sliver of reason still made Jafaroni forcefully squeeze out a smile, shook hands with Luke on the sidelines and exchanged a few words of greeting before quickly fleeing the scene.

Until he walked into the player tunnel, Luke's words still echoed in Jafaroni's ears.

"I understand the urgency of the rookie coach to get ahead, but taking over the Timberwolves is not a rational choice."

"Now this team is no longer the team that didn't taste the taste of a championship. Coaching in such a team, all you can get is pressure and doubts about your career prospects."

"Many people know that I have rejected the invitation of the Bulls management many times before joining the Timberwolves, but few people understand why I am unwilling to join the Bulls in that capacity."

"Your choice is destined to start your career more difficult than others. Great rewards mean greater challenges. To this I can only say, good luck."

Luke's tone was not ridiculed or gloating at all, but more of teaching Jaffroni by precept and example as a person who had experienced it.

But I have to admit that this game gave Jafaroni a blow to the head, and even made Jafaroni question his coaching ability.

If the time can be repeated, Jafaroni will definitely not choose to provide his resume to the Timberwolves during the offseason, let alone set his starting point so high.

To paraphrase Luke's words, "Often great rewards also mean greater challenges."

In this game, the Grizzlies beat the defending champion Timberwolves by a full 25 points in the first opener in team history. The biggest contributors were not McGrady and Pau Gasol, but the pitchers sitting on the bench.

In the first game of the season, the Grizzlies hit 17 three-pointers to break the team history record.

The combination of Mike Miller, Kapono and Novak alone hit 17 of 10 three-pointers.

And Mike Miller scored a team-high 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists as a substitute player.

That's right, 19 points is the highest in the Grizzlies in this game. The Timberwolves' defense can be called a historical level. Even Tracy McGrady and Gasol only handed over 18 and 15 points.

According to statistics, the Grizzlies' starting lineup did not have much advantage when facing the Timberwolves' starting lineup.

After the first three quarters, the Grizzlies only won by 6 points against the starting lineup.

In other words, 19 points in this game are the advantages accumulated by the Grizzlies' bench.

This kind of team that relies on the bench to grab points is not uncommon in history, but a team like the Grizzlies that flexes its muscles outside the three-point line is extremely rare, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is unprecedented.

除此之外，面对老东家的杰拉德华莱士也贡献出了11分7篮板3助攻2抢断以及2封盖的数据。

Wallace is quite special in the Grizzlies' tactical system. Compared with the tactical core of McGrady and Pau Gasol, Wallace, who is also called a giant by fans, is more like a butt wiper.

On the offensive end, he actively grabbed offensive rebounds and used every opportunity to cut inside. On the defensive end, he made up for teammates who lost their defensive positions many times. Participating in assisting defense became a common occurrence for Wallace on the court.

If you only look at Gerald Wallace's playing style, few people can guess that Wallace is an All-Star player.

But it is this unpretentious style of play that Wallace has won the respect of all fans and the trust of head coach Luke.

From the perspective of honor, Wallace is not the most successful group of players in the league, but from a personal perspective, Wallace is a proper winner in life.

The championship ring, the All-Star, the best team, and the best defensive team are all honors that Wallace has fought for with his wild and active style of play.

It's hard to say whether Wallace will get better in the future, but playing under Luke, Wallace will definitely not get worse.

With a bit of luck, Wallace may even have a chance to enter the Hall of Fame after retirement.

…………

At the press conference after the game, Timberwolves' new head coach Jafaroni looked frustrated.

Facing the aggressive attitude of the reporters, Jafaroni, unable to bear the enormous pressure, said something that shocked everyone at the scene.

"The Timberwolves are a very good team, with an enviable cultural heritage and a shortcut to success."

"At the same time, the fans in Minnesota are also very enthusiastic, but right now my ability is not enough to be the coach of such a team."

"I can hear all the cries of the fans at the scene. In the next few days, I will submit a resignation application to the team management and give an explanation to all the disappointed Timberwolves fans."

After saying this, Jafaroni stood up with his hands on the table, and then bowed deeply to the live camera.

However, the reporter found from the corner of Jafaroni's mouth that at this moment, Jafaroni actually laughed.

But following the brief silence, the scene immediately became restless.

No one thought that Jaffaroni, who had just become the head coach of the Timberwolves, would publicly announce to the media that he would resign as the head coach of the team after only coaching the team for one game.

It is not unheard of in NBA history for a coach to be forced to leave after just one game.

But it is the first coach to resign from Jaffroni.

It doesn’t matter if Jaffaroni can’t bear the huge psychological pressure, or whether Jaffaroni knows that he can’t control the Timberwolves. Maybe resigning is the most sensible choice for Jaffaroni to preserve his coaching career. .

However, some reporters have already begun to prepare the next material in their minds, because once this matter is announced to the outside world, it will definitely be a shocking news with rich colors in the eyes of fans.

"He was beaten by Luke himself in the first game of his coaching career!" "

"The first coach at the end of the season was just because he played a game with Luke! "

"Another coach who was dismissed by Luke joined the Timberwolves just because of the offseason! "

"..."

(End of this chapter)