Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 265 265. The New Spurs Coach, Eddie Jordan Crazy!

In the next few preseason games, Luke will be more about training the young Roy Hibbert, and matching different lineups to see if they can work wonders.

As for the starting lineup, most of them go through the motions in each game, and the average playing time basically does not exceed 15 minutes.

But even so, after the first four preseason games, the Grizzlies still have a record of four wins and zero losses.

The Grizzlies bench headed by Michael Reid is a powerful firepower, and all the teams that have played against the Grizzlies in the preseason are miserable.

Mavericks coach Carlisle, who lost 26 points in the first game, was even more bitter. He said at the press conference after the game that the Grizzlies lineup is too strong, and the other 14 Western Conference teams in the new season are destined to accompany them.

Many fans in the outside world are amused by the way Rick Carlisle obviously has opinions, but dare not mention them.

The strength of the Grizzlies naturally does not need Carlisle to prove it, but fans with long eyes know how luxurious the Grizzlies lineup is this season.

Even the former Bucks star Michael Reid can only play as a substitute in the Grizzlies. This kind of lineup depth is unique in the entire history.

Even ESPN published an article comparing the Grizzlies this season with the Timberwolves, who won 74 games that year.

After comparison, it is found that the Grizzlies this season are more terrifying than the Timberwolves in terms of lineup depth.

Back then, the Timberwolves relied on defense to win, but this season the Grizzlies rely on offense.

To make matters worse, the Grizzlies this season are not only strong offensively, but also rank first in the league in defense.

Both Artest and Marc Gasol are the gates of the best defensive player level.

Although Chris Paul on the back line is only 1.8 meters tall, it is easy to suffer when facing tall defenders, but Paul also has the defensive efficiency of the best defensive team level.

You know, under normal circumstances, Paul has been selected to the All-Defensive Team nine times in his career, and he is definitely one of the best defensive players among point guards.

Today's Chris Paul is just young, but since last season, Paul has grown into the league's top player.

With Artest and Marc Gasol in the new season, Paul is likely to be selected for the best defensive team, replacing Kidd as the league's most defensive point guard.

In the last game of the preseason, the Grizzlies lost to the Portland Trail Blazers when the main players played only a few dozen minutes.

"Lightning" Fernandez hit 8 three-pointers in this game and scored 31 points to help the Blazers beat the Grizzlies, becoming the first team to beat the Grizzlies in the preseason.

Luke didn't take this loss to heart. As a role player, Fernandez couldn't feel hot in every game, and once the regular season is entered, the playing time of the Grizzlies' main players will not be so scarce.

The fact that the Blazers beat the Grizzlies in the preseason doesn't explain the problem. If the two teams meet again in the regular season, when the Grizzlies go all out, Luke is confident that they can beat the Blazers by more than 15 points.

Even though this Trail Blazers has many outstanding players such as "Yellow Mamba" Roy, Aldridge and Oden, the Grizzlies this season are definitely a team that everyone fears.

Especially when the Grizzlies, who are already bursting with offensive talent, meet the "bombard master" D'Antoni, this is destined to be a season that will shock everyone's jaws.

For the little old man D'Antoni, Luke originally had the impression that he was one of the best offensive coaches in the league, but the coaching method was too extreme to be elegant.

But as the two teamed up to build the Grizzlies' offensive system in the new season, Luke discovered that D'Antoni's accomplishments on the offensive end were far more than that.

Especially the large-scale ball transfer tactics in the positional battle caused Luke to think deeply.

In the five preseason games, the Grizzlies averaged a terrifying 124 points per game even though the main players did not go all out, ranking first in the league.

How terrifying a Grizzly bear going all out would be, Luke had thought about this question before.

But as the preseason kicked off, Luke found that he still underestimated the team he built himself.

Even for a moment, Luke felt that he was no longer needed as the head coach. With D'Antoni, this Grizzlies would definitely win the championship.

However, whenever Luke thinks that the epic Nets led by Nash and D'Antoni in later generations, which consisted of Irving, Harden and Durant, failed to win the championship, Luke dismissed himself and retired to the second line. Management's thoughts.

Although D'Antoni's offensive attainments are indeed very high, the polarized coaching philosophy is really not guaranteed.

If the Grizzlies lineup fails to win the championship this season, it will definitely become the biggest laughing stock in NBA history.

Maybe the only one in the active league can hold D'Antoni down. After all, he has a tactical theory that has been ahead of the league for more than ten years.

If it weren't for this, it would be impossible for D'Antoni to be so convincing in the position of assistant coach.

With five preseason games played, the Grizzlies finished all preseason games this season with a record of 4 wins and 1 loss.

Next, we only need to wait for the start of the new season, and strive to create another miracle in the long 82 regular season games.

As the defending champion, the opponent of the Grizzlies in the opening game of the new season is the Spurs, which caused a lot of trouble for the Grizzlies in the playoffs last year.

The Grizzlies met a total of four opponents in the playoffs last year. Except for the Spurs, the other three series played very easily.

Even if they faced the dark horse magic in the finals, the grizzlies swept easily 4:0 without feeling the pressure at all.

Now the Grizzlies are making a comeback with a reinforced lineup, while the Spurs are one year older and only barely made some weak reinforcements through the draft and the free market.

In the draft, the Spurs got George Hill. Although he is a good defender, it is difficult for the young George Hill to pose a threat to the Grizzlies.

The only player who can be strengthened immediately is Roger Mason, who signed a mini-middle class contract from the free market.

Mason played for the Washington Wizards last season, averaging 9.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game as a substitute.

Although it looks good, with such a reinforcement, it is undoubtedly very difficult for the Spurs to overthrow the Grizzlies in the new season. At least the outside world is optimistic that the Spurs can beat the Grizzlies. The support rate is only 7.2%.

The 7.2% support rate also includes the black fans who hate the Grizzlies, otherwise the Grizzlies' support rate will reach a terrifying 95% or more, forming a crush.

What's worse for the Spurs is that Bruce Bowen's defensive efficiency has declined at this point. As the most important player on the Spurs' defense line, Bowen's existence is definitely the foundation for the Spurs to be tough in the playoffs.

However, in the new season, Bowen will be 37 years old, and his physical confrontation and speed will be greatly reduced.

Facing the young and energetic Artest, Bowen is likely to be beaten into a pig's head.

The only thing that makes the Spurs management feel gratified is that the "French Sports Car" Parker's performance in this year's preseason is very strong, and he vaguely means to enter the peak of his career.

With Tim Duncan getting older and Ginobili's scoring ability slightly inferior, Parker's rise will become the driving force for the Spurs in the new season.

Otherwise, not only did the Big Three fail to improve, but they all regressed one by one. I believe Spurs owner Pete will be very angry at such a scene.

It is worth mentioning that the former Spurs meritorious coach Popovich officially announced his dismissal during the offseason. The new season's Spurs coach is Eddie Jordan, who served as the head coach of the Wizards last season.

After unemployment, Popovich was not in a hurry to find a next home. Although many teams offered an olive branch to Popovich, Popovich still chose to wait and see. It seemed that he did not want to experience being ruled by Luke again. of fear.

Unemployment is a small matter, but the psychological trauma has caused tons of damage to Popovich.

Although the Spurs have not changed much in terms of lineup in the new season, after undergoing a coaching change, I believe that the Spurs will have a lot of changes in their overall style of play.

Eddie Jordan led the Wizards to a record of 43 wins and 39 losses last season and ranked fifth in the East.

Compared with Popovich, who has a more rigid coaching mindset, Eddie Jordan's talent on the offensive end is obviously better, but his defensive ability is very weak. He can be regarded as the "poor man's version" of D'Antoni.

Eddie Jordan's position has made many fans doubt whether the Spurs can play better under his leadership in the new season.

You know, although Popovich has led the Spurs to no progress for many years and was beaten all over by Luke, he can be regarded as a relatively good coach in the entire league.

Cutting Popovich, the Spurs boss Pete obviously made a very big determination.

Eddie Jordan's arrival wasn't so much a promise to make the Spurs better than a signal that the Spurs were looking for change.

In recent years, the outside world has been calling the Spurs the San Antonio retirement team, which made Spurs owner Pete very dissatisfied.

Apart from the fact that the average age of the Spurs is too high, the reason for the pension is mainly because the Spurs' style of play on the court is too old.

The positional style of play and Popovich's resistance to three-pointers make the Spurs look like a group of old people who can't run.

Eddie Jordan, as a pure offensive coach who once coached the "Wizards Three Musketeers", will bring essential changes to the Spurs in the new season.

However, although Eddie Jordan has relatively good coaching ability, his mouth smells like shit.

As early as during the Wizards period, Eddie Jordan often had conflicts with the "General" Arenas and Butler, which is why the Wizards boss fired Eddie Jordan during the offseason.

Knowing that he can't stand up in the Spurs, and his influence is far from that of the former head coach Popovich, Eddie Jordan has released harsh words just after he took office. A pie drawn by San Antonio fans.

Especially after the new season's schedule came out, Eddie Jordan satirized the Grizzlies in front of the media as a paper tiger with a seemingly strong lineup but an empty interior.

He also said that the Spurs he led in the new season will definitely play better than the Grizzlies.

It seems that he wants to use this method to improve his status in the eyes of San Antonio fans.

For Eddie Jordan's nonsense, most fans regard him as a clown. If it weren't for the huge gap between the East and West in the past two years, the Wizards' record of 43 wins and 39 losses last season could not even make the playoffs in the West.

The fans don't know who gave Eddie Jordan the courage. He talked like he drank gasoline and lit a cigarette with a lighter.

Eddie Jordan's stinking mouth has not attracted the dissatisfaction of Grizzlies coach Luke, but he was ridiculed by Lakers coach Casey and Suns coach Gentry.

To ridicule Eddie Jordan for not knowing the heights of the sky and the earth, struggling so hard even when the Wizards hold the Big Three lineup, I don't know where the confidence can lead the Spurs to challenge the Grizzlies.

Both Casey and Gentry served as assistant coaches under Luke last season, and they both found their homes in the new season. Seeing that Luke was underestimated before the game, they knew Luke's strength. The two naturally felt amused.

Looking at Eddie Jordan's ignorant look, Casey and the others seemed to have seen the scene of Eddie Jordan crying bitterly after being dismissed from class in advance.

(End of this chapter)