Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 263 263. Returning to the team training went well

As the Grizzlies' 15-man roster for the new season is full, Luke can finally usher in his own vacation this summer.

The operations of the Grizzlies throughout the offseason were all in the hands of Luke. From the draft, to the trading market, to the free market where the 15-man roster has just been signed, Luke has been busy from start to finish, definitely the busiest in the league. basketball coach.

Thanks to the help of Chris Wallace by his side, Luke only needs to plan out the next plan, and Chris Wallace can do the rest.

Otherwise Luke will surely die of exhaustion this summer.

Taking advantage of this hard-won vacation, Luke first took a good night's sleep at home and didn't go out for two consecutive days. Then he took the little girl Katie to the famous Miami Beach to enjoy the skin satisfaction brought by the sun bath.

In the past few days when Luke was playing wildly, many reporters have photographed that Luke has been following Katie and Ruth Williams.

Katie is Luke's goddaughter, and it's normal for Luke to take his goddaughter with him when he goes out to play.

But Ruth Williams stayed with Luke the whole time, and some reporters even photographed the two staying in the same hotel at night. This incident reveals a bit of intriguing taste.

Many fans are speculating whether Luke and Ruth Williams are in a relationship, otherwise how could the two stay together like glue.

Although for outside speculation, Luke and Ruth Williams have come forward to refute the rumors.

Said that Ruth Williams is Katie's first coach, and this trip brought Ruth Williams, just to express my gratitude to Ruth.

However, outside fans didn't quite believe Luke's statement. Instead, they started booing on the Internet, which made Luke, who was far away in Miami, a little dumbfounded.

.........

However, the happy time is always short. In the blink of an eye, it came to September, and the teams began to contact players to return to the team for training to prepare in advance for the upcoming new season.

As the defending champion, the Grizzlies are no exception. Although the core framework of the Grizzlies has not changed much in the new season, they have added a lot of new faces in personnel changes.

Chris Paul and Kevin Martin are both one of the best defenders in the league, but when the two are about to cooperate in the new season, it is still unknown what kind of threat the two guns in the backcourt can play.

Fortunately, Paul is a player with a very high basketball IQ. No matter who his teammates are replaced by, Paul has a way to integrate into this team.

Martin is a player who can play his offensive threat with or without the ball, and Chris Paul can also play off the ball at some stage.

This also allowed Paul and Martin's backcourt double guns to perform well in the team's training in September, and there was no difficulty in running-in and mutual exclusion that were questioned by the outside world.

As for Artest, who also just joined the Grizzlies this summer, he got along with the team more smoothly.

Artest's style of play is more suitable for this Grizzlies than Gerald Wallace. Through the observation of two team training games, D'Antoni is very satisfied with Artest's integration, and even has a little surprise .

In this Grizzlies whose offensive talent has reached the historical ceiling, Artest's most important task is to defend, and secondly, he only needs to stand in the corners on both sides and wait for his teammates to pass the ball, and hit those open three-pointers that are not too difficult.

In fact, the 29-year-old Artest is not only in the golden age of players, but also has a certain offensive ability with the ball on the court.

However, the most stable method for Artest to attack with the ball is to use his muscles to force his opponents under the basket.

This style of play is simple and rough, but once it enters the playoffs, it is easy to be targeted by the opponent, which is why Artest has never been able to go further.

Last season, Artest was able to shoot 38% of his shots while averaging four three-pointers per game.

For a player whose defensive ability can be called the top in the league, this shooting percentage is already very impressive.

In the new season, Artest's positioning in the Grizzlies is very clear, he is a standard 3D player, but compared with other 3D players in the league, Artest's 3D is indeed a bit fierce.

Even Artest's cut to the basket is very efficient, but in the Grizzlies, Artest doesn't need to be as versatile as the Timberwolves. He only needs to be the ultimate in defense and three-pointers. Biggest help for the Bears this season.

Compared with Gerald Wallace, who played for the Grizzlies last season, Artest's shooting ability is better, and he can create more offensive space for other teammates on the field. This is what makes both D'Antoni and Luke very satisfied place.

The Grizzlies' backcourt double-gun Chris Paul prefers to end the offense in the middle distance, while Kevin Martin takes the most shots on the outside and close to the penalty area.

When Artest, a defensive champion, can open up space on the offensive end, the Grizzlies' offensive methods will refresh the perception of all teams in the league.

The smooth run-in of the starting lineup made the Grizzlies coaching staff in a good mood, and Louis Williams and Michael Reid on the bench also had a clear division of labor, but compared with Paul and Martin, they still need a certain amount of time to run in with each other.

It wasn't until this time that the chief assistant coach D'Antoni felt fortunate that the deal Luke accepted during the offseason was Michael Reed, not "Martial Saint" Jackson, otherwise a basketball would not be enough for the Grizzlies bench to play.

Michael Reid is an outside star who is very good at playing off the ball. In a sense, he completely released another player in the backcourt, Louis Williams.

Otherwise, once they both need the ball on the court, plus Kapono and Novak who are standing outside and waiting for the pass, the Grizzlies will definitely look very bad when they play off the bench.

Fortunately, Luke seems to have thought of this when building the team, so he rejected the offer from the Golden State Warriors and chose to reach a deal with the Bucks.

Looking at Luke who was standing on the sidelines supervising Hibbert's training one-on-one, D'Antoni couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder the outside world compares him to the hand of God. In terms of team building, Luke is indeed the leader I have seen." Best coach ever."

Hearing D'Antoni's exclamation, Lambiel, who was talking about some bad things with Artest, turned his head, "After a long time, you will find that Lu is not only excellent in building teams, but also in training players. A good hand."

"I have imagined more than once that if Lu chose not to become a coach, then he must be the best scout or trainer in the league now."

Regarding the conversation between D'Antoni and Lambiel, Luke is naturally unclear.

Since players have returned to the team for training in September, Luke has focused most of his training on rookie Hibbert.

The Grizzlies selected a total of two players in this year's draft, but in the end only Roy Hibbert remained in the team.

As the only rookie in the team who had just entered the league, Hibbert was naturally taken care of by Luke.

Luke is very aware of the playing style of these players at their peak, so Luke's suggestions can often help players avoid many detours.

Let players find the position that suits them best as soon as they enter the league, so as to avoid things that are muddled and can't find their direction.

Hibbert is not a center with particularly good offensive ability. Even at his peak, Hibbert just used his height of nearly [-] meters to send the ball to the basket.

Instead of using specific offensive skills to end the game, but relatively speaking, Hibbert has a fairly soft turn and throw and turn back.

Although the offensive distance is limited, but with a height of 80 meters, Hibbert can basically ignore more than [-]% of blocking interference when standing in the penalty area.

Knowing this well, Luke greeted the trainer in advance and asked Hibbert to mainly practice turnaround throws and rollovers on both sides of the basket, and to practice less things that are not used in the game.

As for the defensive end, what Hibbert needs to do at this stage is to try to control fouls as much as possible and avoid being taken off by the opponent's center.

The spare time is interspersed with some strength training, trying to make the body stronger.

Whether it is upper body strength or lower body strength, the current Hibbert is all lacking, and there is no need to set an upper limit standard.

Defense is not something that can be qualitatively changed through training. To become an excellent defensive player, body, experience and experience are indispensable.

Now Hibbert only has a physical advantage, but lacks game experience and defensive experience.

The NBA league is different from the NCAA. In the NCAA, Hibbert can become a low-post killer to dominate one side by virtue of his height.

But in the NBA, height is no longer the only criterion for a center player. In addition, Hibbert also needs to improve his skills and strength.

Once Hibbert's strength in the new season can reach the average level of the league, the height of [-] meters to the basket will be a big mountain.

Except for Yao Ming and a few other centers, it is difficult for other centers to turn a blind eye when facing Hibbert.

As for players like LeBron James who are good at scoring breakthroughs, Hibbert's presence is even more useful than Gasol Jr.

Throughout September, the Grizzlies team has been conducting targeted training.

The main training focus of each player is different. According to the plan that Luke made in advance, the Grizzlies trainers strictly implemented it in an orderly manner.

For players like Kapono and Novak, in addition to three-point shooting training, other aspects of training can be completely reduced.

Whether it's a mid-range shot or a breakthrough layup, Kapono and Novak don't need to do it. After all, these two can't do anything except three-pointers.

On the premise of frantically training three-point shooting, Kapono and Novak trained most on physical fitness.

Judging from the unshakable static talents of the two, Luke does not expect the defensive ability of the two to reach the average level of the league, but as long as they improve a little compared to last season, it is already a surprise.

Since players like Kapono and Novak rely on three-pointers to make a living in the NBA, Luke does not dare to let them gain too much weight in terms of strength training.

Otherwise, the sudden increase in strength will seriously affect the feel of the two when they shoot. This situation makes the Grizzlies trainers have to deal with it carefully.

While allowing the two to hang on as much as possible, they must also maintain an optimal tonnage that does not affect the shooting feel.

It is worth mentioning that after a whole summer of hard training, Pau Gasol has also developed a three-point shooting. Development boost.

The Grizzlies' starting point guard in the new season is Chris Paul, who just won the league's assists leader last season, which means that other Grizzlies players will get more offensive opportunities.

Pau Gasol is to allow himself to finish shots from any position on the court and avoid dragging down the team's offensive end. That's why he has to shoot 1000 three-pointers every day while other players are eating, drinking and having fun in the summer. feel.

What makes Pau Gasol train hard is not to taste the sweetness of the championship, but that some fans outside have compared Pau Gasol with Tim Duncan.

This made Pau Gasol, who had never dared to think about it before, feel a different kind of pleasure.

The team has added new players in the new season, and Pau Gasol is not far away from his second championship in his career.

Coupled with the transfer news of Kevin Garnett this summer, everything made the Spanish insider work harder.

Whether it is to beat Tim Duncan in terms of career honor after retirement, or to avoid being pulled too far by Chris Paul and Kevin Martin in the team.

Pau Gasol felt a pressure, a pressure that as long as he does not improve, he will be eliminated by the league sooner or later.

Especially what happened to Kevin Garnett, almost made all the stars in the league start to cherish the present.

The former No.1 in the league was traded by a team that he had played for more than ten years because of a torn Achilles tendon. Even with the new club, the Celtics, Garnett is no longer the No.1 in the league. , but just a defensive machine assisting Paul Pierce.

Garnett's decline has made many players see the facts clearly, and there is quite a feeling of sadness.

No one knows when the injury will come to the door. In the face of injury, players often have not much to do, but they can work hard to improve when they are healthy. To a huge contract enough to retire.

…………

At the end of September, the running-in of the team became more and more smooth. Before the new season came, the team held a press conference.

At the press conference, the outside world is still quite interested in the luxurious lineup that the Grizzlies have assembled for the new season.

In particular, the fact that former Bucks star Michael Reid actually played as a substitute for the Grizzlies has become the hottest topic in the league.

When the reporter asked Paul why he left the Hornets to join the Grizzlies during the offseason, Chris Paul's answer still surprised many people.

"Leaving the Hornets is not because I have conflicts with the team management, nor is it because coach Byron Scott is not good enough."

"In fact, Coach Byron Scott is someone I have always been grateful for. He taught me a lot during the Hornets period. Without his help, I would not have grown to this stage."

"Joining the Grizzlies is not something that needs too many reasons. I like what Coach Luke said when he recruited me." Paul's expression became serious, as if to imitate Luke's tone of voice. "Join the Grizzlies, and I will teach you how to succeed."

"I have never seen a coach who is as confident as Lu. When he recruited me, he said very little, but the strange thing is that I am convinced of every word he said."

After Paul left the Hornets, the Hornets management often scolded Chris Paul behind his back as a white-eyed wolf, and even involved the firepower on the Grizzlies, believing that the Grizzlies were suspected of illegal recruitment.

However, after a secret investigation by the league, this matter is still unsolved, but the Hornets management does say a lot of bad things behind their backs.

Under such circumstances, the young Chris Paul still did not choose to publicly bombard his old club. Instead, he just praised the Grizzlies coach Luke. This youthful and mature mind made many reporters look up to him.

In comparison, Doc Rivers, who scolded the team just after leaving the Celtics this summer, is more like a young man.

Especially the mutual slander with O'Neal, the two have not stopped until now, and they taunt each other online from time to time, which has brought a lot of fun to the league.

"Coach Lu, there is a lot of criticism from the outside world about the Grizzlies putting together such a luxurious lineup during the offseason. They think that the Grizzlies' grouping behavior should be resisted."

"There are even many active stars who think that the Grizzlies' approach is gradually ruining the league. The Celtics in the East are a good example. Do you have any opinions on this?"

Luke had a sneer on his face as he looked at the reporters who were busy pricking up their ears.

"What do I think? Relatively speaking, I want to know who are the active stars you mentioned?"

Luke's words made the reporters in the audience fall into silence. The ghost knows who these stars are, and he just said it casually.

But if you want to talk about the typical ones that everyone knows, "The Flash" Wade must be indispensable. After the Grizzlies and the Celtics successively put together a terrifying luxury lineup, Wade can be said to be talking about it on the Internet.

He took the lead in resisting the grouping between the Grizzlies and the Celtics, and received support from many people at the time.

"Dwyane Wade once took the lead in resisting the grouping of the Grizzlies and the Celtics, but the alliance did not intervene in it, but the matter about the grouping trend brought about by the Grizzlies still caused heated discussions on the Internet."

"I don't know if you have any personal opinion on this matter, Coach Lu."

Looking at the young reporter who sold out Wade as soon as he opened his mouth, Luke stretched out his hand and loosened his tie, with a sneer on his face.

"Stupid people always like to justify the reasonable reinforcement of the Grizzlies as a team. The Grizzlies only made two transactions during the entire offseason, and they got two outstanding players, Chris and Michael."

"The outside world only saw that the Grizzlies got two stars from it, but they never paid attention to the bargaining chips that the Grizzlies paid."

"No team is willing to do charity, and no team is a real idiot. Since the Grizzlies can get Chris and Michael through a trade, it is enough to prove that this is an equivalent exchange. "

"As for the free market, it's the player's personal choice. Whether it's Ron or Louis, they both gave up the signing contracts offered by other teams and chose the Grizzlies instead."

"The reason is very simple. When a piece of cake and a piece of shit are placed in front of you, I believe no one will choose that piece of shit."

Luke's words left many reporters in the audience speechless.

Thinking about it carefully, although the Grizzlies got Chris Paul and Michael Reid through the trade, the Grizzlies also paid a very generous bargaining chip in these two transactions, which is indeed an equivalent exchange.

Relatively speaking, the Celtics in the East are more like newspaper groups, especially Marbury joined with a basic salary after being bought out, which is simply a naked reality.

"As for Dwyane Wade, his brain has never been very good, so I don't blame him for making such remarks. I even want to help him repair his brain in the new season." He tapped the table with his palm firmly, Luke's words made the reporter pray for Wade in advance.

At the same time, Wade, who was far away in the mansion in Miami, slammed his mobile phone on the ground, "Dog! Reporter! He even used me to block the gun! He is really retarded!"

(End of this chapter)