i have a coaching book

Chapter 250 The battle for the top spot
On December 2004, 12, at 17:8 p.m. in the Key Arena, Seattle head coach Nate McMillan pushed open the door of the home team's locker room and shouted confidently, "Guys, are you ready? Ready to grab the opponent's top position in the regular season? Let everyone's eyes be on us, not the orange storm that the media reporters are touting!
No.2 will never remember, and will not get any glory, this will not be an honor, but a shame!

So, I decided, let's work harder to pull down the Suns who sit at the top of the list. The first place should also be replaced!You say I made the decision privately, okay?Do you agree or not? "

"Okay! Kill the Suns!"

"Agreed, I don't want to try my best to win No.2, only to find out that this is not an inspirational story, but a sad one!"

"The Suns only lost one game less than us. Dragging it into the water tonight and killing the top of the list is just a piece of cake."

"..."

Watching the Supersonic players look excited, their emotions were mobilized.

McMillan nodded and gestured for everyone to be quiet.

"Okay! Guys, I'm not disappointed with your attitude, No.2 is indeed a sad story.

However, it is our No.2 record that is most qualified to challenge No.1 in our former West.

The Suns are really strong, with the best offensive firepower in the league. They have a record of 19 wins and 3 losses, and only lost three games. The 6-second bombardment and diamond tactics played well and became famous.

To be honest, it is not easy to beat the Suns, this is a tough battle.According to the media reporters, this is a [-]-[-] championship battle! "

When McMillan said this, he paused, and glanced at one of the players, and found that his disciples did not flinch, but were full of fighting spirit, which made him very proud.

In any case, this supersonic team was built by him alone, and he has the joy of enjoying the harvest.

"However, I don't think it was a [-]-[-] game. The Suns only lost three games, but they lost to the Kings, Lakers, and Timberwolves. To put it bluntly, the Suns are not good at fighting tough battles. Losing both, and the Suns have a good schedule, with few matches against any good teams, which gives him a game lead over us.

On the other hand, our team, although we lost 4 games, we lost to the Clippers, the Celtics, and the Trail Blazers twice. Three teams in the four games are all in the playoffs.Rather than saying that we lost to them, it is not that we lost to ourselves. We underestimated our opponents so much that we gave them a chance to win.

Moreover, our schedule is very difficult. We played against the Spurs twice, the Kings, Timberwolves, Pacers, Lakers and other strong teams, all of which we won. "

"We have almost never lost in tough battles! If the Suns are a strong team and an elite team, our Supersonics will be an elite team, and we will defeat a strong team!!

So, facing the Suns, I am a little worried. What I am worried about is that the Suns are a pseudo-strong team. His record is too watery. The position is kicked down! ! "

Seeing head coach McMillan's solemn and worried expression, the Supersonic generals were stunned for a moment, but they didn't react. After all, their heads were filled with muscles, and they thought their head coach would spoil their own prestige with others' ambition!

Fortunately, there are still some smart players in the Supersonics, and they did not speak, but applauded vigorously in a cooperative manner.

It's just because what the head coach said speaks to their hearts.

That's right, the Suns, let him do whatever he wants!

Our supersonics are really strong teams, and generally weak teams don't like supersonics! !

The other players also reacted one after another, applauding and cheering, as if the Suns will definitely win tonight.

"Okay!" McMillan waited for the players to relax, and immediately stretched out his hand to press down, motioning to stop, and continued: "Strategically, it is easy for the opponent, but tactically, we still need to pay attention to the opponent.

It is not easy for the Suns to achieve such an outstanding record. Next, I will announce the starting lineup for tonight. "

"Point guard Luke Ridnour, Nash will be handed over to you, his breakthrough pass is very threatening, but, I believe you can be qualified for this position, give Nash some color!!"

"Don't worry, leave it to me! I'm not afraid of anyone!!" The 188cm tall Caucasian boy stood up and responded.

Ridnor of the Platinum generation in 03 is only a second-round pick, but he has been improving. This season, he can contribute 11.5 points and 6.2 assists in the first game. , He was not afraid at all, but full of fighting spirit.

McMillan nodded and continued: "Shooting guard Ray Allen, you are behind Nash in the MVP rankings, and you are only ranked fifth. Occupy the best evaluation advantage, I hope you can seize the opportunity!"

"Ok!"

Ray Allen's face was stern and handsome, without a trace of expression, but his eyes were shining with an inexplicable light, and he clenched his fists tightly. He must cherish the opportunity, and there are not many honors in his entire career!
He must fight hard!
The head coach is right. He averaged 25.6 points, 5.1 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game this season. He also led a newly rebuilt team with a record of 18 wins and 4 losses, ranking first in the league during the regular season. No.2, but in the regular season MVP rankings, he ranked fifth.

Not to mention Duncan, are Nash, Garnett, and Nowitzki better than him?

It's not because he has strength, but his personality is relatively monotonous, and his popularity is not as high as theirs.

As long as the Sonics led by him beat the Suns and grab the No. [-] spot in the regular season rankings, others will have no excuse not to vote for him, right?

Honest people will get angry too, just wait for me!
"The small forward position is played by Reggie Evans. Reggie, you played from an undrafted player to the starting player position. I know you have talent and work hard. It almost doesn't matter on offense. You use your defense to freeze opponents. They underestimate your opponents, you must have a headache!"

"Yes! Boss, I will never let my opponent score points easily!" Reggie Evans responded excitedly. The difficulty of this, no one feels that kind of feeling.

Although his stats are not high, averaging 5.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, he can work hard on defense.

"Rashad Lewis, power forward, I'm really surprised that other team managers are so blind and forget you in the black room at the draft. I don't know how you felt in the dark room How? It must be hard.

If you still feel aggrieved, use your offensive shooting skills to knock down the Suns, stand at the top of the league, and look at those who don't choose you, how will you feel?That must have been a lot of fun! "

"I will!!" Rashard Lewis said words like gold, with a cold face on his face. He will not forget the draft in 1998. He didn't know how long he waited in the small green room, but there was no team. To choose his meaning.

There were no lottery picks or first-round picks that he was looking forward to. Although the second-round pick was picked up by the Sonics, he will never forget the historical record he set that day, and he will become a joke.

This season, he averaged 21.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, which reversed the joke.

Moreover, he didn't mind stabbing a few more times to make the content of this "joke" stronger and stronger.

"The center position is Jerome James!" McMillan continued with a smile on his face, "You must be very surprised, why would I pick a high center? After all, the Suns' 7-second running and bombing and diamond tactics There is a very good style of play, how to get a high center forward, if the speed can't keep up, the Suns may use the extreme speed to form a 5-on-4 situation in the offense. How is this different from sending a kill in defense? ?”

"I don't know why, but I will work hard and use all my energy!" Jerome James said condescendingly. With a body of 213cm, he is considered the tallest player in the Supersonic Speed. However, his weight is 136kg, which makes his The speed can't keep up.

At present, he can score 3.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, which is completely for playing soy sauce.

Originally, his tactical position was to have four pitchers on the Sonics, plus a rebounding insider. Now, the point guard Ridnour and small forward Evans sent by the head coach are not pitchers, and it seems that they have been strengthened. The meaning of defense!
Playing the No. 1 Suns in the league's offensive firepower, there is nothing wrong with strengthening defense.

It's just that the Sonics are all about attacking and winning.

Head coach McMillan is suddenly fighting defense in this crucial battle, is it really good?

"Okay! In fact, Jerome played a fake starter."

McMillan went on to talk about the next tactical play, "Why is it arranged this way? It is because if the Suns play a 7-second run and bomb, we can let Ridnour entangle Nash, so that the Suns can't increase their speed. Except for the direct matchup Ridnour, in our team, whether it is Ray Allen, Evans, or even Lewis, they can use speed and defense to interfere with the Suns' shots and play fast breaks, so if they play run and gun, one more Jerome , and one less Jerome, the difference is not big."

"The reason why Jerome was placed at the starting center was because of the diamond tactics of the Suns.

The beauty of the diamond tactical play is that the two flanks are restrained by three-pointers, so that the opponent's defense does not dare to shrink.If it shrinks, it will face the Suns' three-point rain.

Therefore, as long as the Suns' inside line is pulled to a high position and they play pick-and-roll cooperation, there will be a lot of offensive space to attack. "

"In my opinion, the offense of the Suns is divided into two layers. The outside shooting is the first layer of attack, which is the shooting ability of Richardson and Joe Johnson. The second layer is the pick-and-roll of Nash and Stoudemire. Cooperate with the attack.

Through the analysis of the Suns' intelligence in the previous games, we found an interesting phenomenon: the Suns' first-tier offense is the most unstable, especially in the first quarter, which shows that Richardson and Joe Johnson are a bit slow.

However, the Suns' second-tier offense is very stable, and its performance is becoming more and more obvious, which shows that the Suns are most dependent on the dislocation offensive ability of Stoudemire and Nash.

Especially in the last game against the Jazz, in the second quarter, Nash and Stoudemire almost beat the Jazz together.

Joe Johnson's stats are better, but it's just because of the individual singles in the second half, which has nothing to do with the victory of the game. "

"So, in the first quarter tonight, we will first encircle and suppress the Suns' second-tier offense and let the Suns shoot from the outside. Jerome's appearance is not only to grab rebounds, but also to strengthen the basket and protect the basket. I am firmly nailed in the penalty area, and I believe the Suns' inside offense will be easily cracked!!"

Speaking of this, McMillan clapped his hands vigorously with a victorious expression on his face, and shouted to boost morale: "Our Supersonics are not afraid of any strong team, and we play elite players!

We will win this duel!Kicking the Suns off the top spot, we mean it! !come on! Come on! !Supersonic must win! ! "

"Come on, come on! We will win at supersonic speed!!"

.........

(End of this chapter)