NBA: I am the card dealer

Chapter 289 shows a long-lost smile!

But in the outside world, it had already exploded.

"Haha... three consecutive defeats in the beginning is really shocking."

"Let's just say that Xue Liancheng was mythized last season. Without Wade and Gasol to back him up, he was just a data brush."

"The lineup is actually not bad, but it's like this."

"After three games, I averaged 22.3 points, 7.3 assists and 8 rebounds per game. The data does look good, but I just can't win."

"You averaged 5.3 turnovers per game and didn't even mention it!"

"This assist-to-turnover ratio is simply eye-catching."

"What's a three-game losing streak? It's going to be a four-game losing streak right away. Going to Cleveland to challenge the Cavaliers away from home. Is it possible for the Knicks to win?"

"With the Knicks in such a desperate state, there is a high probability of another disastrous defeat."

"Is this the strength of double MVPs?"

"ESPN even mentioned him as third on the player strength list, which is really funny."

"I think the Knicks' hope for the playoffs this season is slim. With a four-game losing streak at the start, it's really hard to see hope."

The Knicks suffered a three-game losing streak at the beginning, and there was no doubt that they immediately received a wave of ridicule. Everyone was badmouthing the Knicks, thinking that the Knicks were having another bad year this season.

As the head star of the Knicks, Xue Liancheng was directly stepped on the ground, and everything was said.

of course.

The reason why the momentum is so huge is mainly because of the extra points from Warriors fans and Cavaliers fans. These two are Xue Liancheng's bitter rivals. Last season, Xue Liancheng once embarrassed them to the point where they couldn't hold their heads up, especially James.

Now that you have the opportunity, why don't you mock Xue Liancheng like crazy?

Finally, step on your feet crazily.

Dolan was once again labeled as a fool with too much money.

And even if Xue Liancheng doesn't surf the Internet much, he can still feel the overwhelming pressure from the team atmosphere and interview questions.

This made him begin to understand why some stars were still racking up statistics after the game lost suspense.

Because after the game, he can give some explanation to the fans who support him!

For example, by improving his shooting percentage and raising his scoring to another level, he will be more confident when facing the outside media and fans.

If you stretch your hips and the team hasn't won yet, then as a star player, who will the media and the public criticize if they don't criticize you?

of course.

Xue Liancheng had no such thoughts.

Now he only wants to do one thing, and that is to win, no matter what, he must win the game.

Only victory can bring him respite.

……

……

cleveland.

The last training session before the game.

With a grimace on his face, Tyronn Lu looked around again and said, "I'll say it again, clearly understand your position and do the job you should do."

"First of all, we have only one tactic next, and that is to use Xue Lai as the starting point of the attack. You just run, get out of position, and wait for the ball. If there is a great opportunity, don't hesitate to take action immediately. If the opportunity is not good, Then don’t hesitate, immediately find a way to return the ball to Xue and let Xue handle it.”

"Also, remember one point. If you have a fast break opportunity or get a rebound in the backcourt, pass it to Xue immediately. You just need to rush to the frontcourt quickly and wait for Xue's call."

After a pause, he turned his attention to Will Barton, "Then, Will, your task is very clear, that is, as the second ball carrier and Xue's connecting point, when Xue encounters double teams and obstacles, , you have to go to respond as soon as possible, and if you can, make some breakthroughs and pulls. You should have watched Dwayne's video of last season a lot in the past two days, he is your role model."

Will Barton responded repeatedly: "Understood!"

It shouldn’t work!

Tyronn Lue has issued a military order. If anyone messes up on the court, then go back to the bench and contribute by waving the towel.

After all, the team had lost three games in a row, and everyone felt a sense of depression.

In fact, not only Xue Liancheng was criticized, but all New York players would be criticized as long as they played. It was just that Xue Liancheng was criticized.

This is a bad thing about a team with high attention.

All the media and fans watch their games with magnifying glasses. If their performance is unsatisfactory, they will really be spit out.

and so.

Under such tremendous pressure, no one dared to slack off.

Tyronn Lue looked at PJ Tucker and Crowder again, "You two are wandering outside the three-point line, always ready to catch the ball. Your position is to defend and shoot three-pointers. If you have the opportunity, you can Go straight in and make a cut, but the speed must be fast. If you find there is no chance, immediately withdraw from the three-point line."

PJ Tucker and Crowder also nodded, "Understood."

Tyronn Lue finally set his sights on Lopez, "Cruz, your first task is to set up a pick-and-roll, block people, and then look for opportunities to take action. If there is a mismatch opportunity, or a perfect opportunity is blocked, Position, just indicate that you want the ball, and Xue will find a way to give it to you."

Lopez also responded, "Clear."

Tyronn Lue: "This is our fourth game of the season. We are facing the Cavaliers in the Big Three model. I don't need to say much about how strong they are, but I know them very well. What you have to do is, before James When holding the ball, attack from a double flank as soon as possible. Don't give James any chance to easily break through. At the same time, block the inside line, especially Lopez. You must play your role in protecting the frame and give James a powerful shot when he is advancing. The sense of pressure gave him huge physical contact and interfered with his shooting."

"When Irving holds the ball, there is no need for a double attack. You can use your body to wear him down on your own. When he breaks through and enters the penalty area, we can work together to suppress him."

In fact, it is similar to the Heat's strategy last season, which was to stick to James.

As for Irving?

Just defend yourself. If you can, just kill me.

This defensive strategy was proven to be effective last season. As for whether the Knicks' current lineup can be effective, it is difficult to say.

After all, Gasol's defensive awareness and frame-protecting ability are still better than Lopez's. The best defensive player is by no means a wasted title.

After clarifying everyone’s position.

Tyronn Lue said some passionate words again, nothing more than a few words: We have the best players in the league, we have one of the best centers in the league, our strength is by no means more than this, and the next step is to prove it. own time.

This rhetoric has been repeated many times, but it has little effect.

But in fact, this is the truth...

However, as the team lost consecutive games, the truth began to drift away.

When the training session ended, a large number of media reporters came in, all rushing to Xue Liancheng.

Reporter: "Xue, do you still remember the bold statement you made last season? You said you would beat James once you met him. Do you have the confidence to beat him in our first encounter in the new season?"

The grievances between the two not only did not ease as they met in the Eastern Conference finals last season, but also escalated to the point of a fight to the death.

Now that the Knicks have lost three games in a row, the group that likes Xue Liancheng the most is undoubtedly the Cavaliers fans.

They were finally proud.

of course.

If they win this game and send the Knicks to their fourth consecutive defeat, they can have even more fun.

Xue Liancheng gave his own answer: "We are confident that we can beat any team. The first few games are just a matter of running-in."

Sometimes I really can't say enough.

In last season's Christmas war, he was scolded to a pulp, and he succeeded in massacring the knights like a subordinate, and he only let go of such bold words in high spirits.

At that time, the Heat were the Big Three in the initial stage, and their strength was also very strong.

He has the capital to be awesome.

But now what?

The newly arrived Knicks had his head covered and was beaten so hard that his neck was almost broken and he was speechless.

At this time, it can only be installed hard.

But I don't know why, he actually has a psychological advantage against the Cavaliers.

Maybe it was the history he created last season of letting 3 chase 4 that gave him the confidence.

Maybe last season when the two sides faced each other, he never lost a game, which made him feel confident.

Anyway, he just didn't feel that he was afraid of facing the Cavaliers, let alone James. Instead, he was extremely excited to meet the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The reporter just thought Xue Liancheng was being tough and sneered, "If you lose, what are you going to say?"

Xue Liancheng raised his eyebrows and asked, "What explanation do I need? They didn't win a game last season and didn't give an explanation. They led three games in the playoffs last season but were reversed and were nailed to the pillar of shame. You haven’t even given me an explanation. If I lose a game and you want me to give an explanation, what explanation should I give?”

The reporter was speechless and blushed for a moment.

really……

James lost the Eastern Conference finals and never showed up again, never mentioning the shame he suffered last season.

If others want to ask, James's answer is: This is a thing of the past, we need to look forward, you will see a brand new Cleveland Cavaliers in the new season.

and so……

James lost like this and didn't give an explanation.

Now that the Knicks haven't lost yet, reporters want him to give an explanation...

Give it to your big daddy...

Reporter: "JR Smith said he was very excited to meet you, and he said he would let you try what it feels like to be slaughtered."

Xue Liancheng: "He is a great player, but I hope that next time you ask a question, it can be said that James said, I am not interested in anything JR says."

He found it meaningless to argue with a role player.

If you want to face off, let James come out in person.

James, on the other hand, is smarter. He still doesn't mention him much in public, and generally avoids his name appearing.

<divclass="contentadv">Once his name comes up, James refuses to answer.

This feels very deliberate.

Everyone knows that the two sides have broken up. Basically, from the parties involved to the fans, they are treated as opposites, competitive relationships, and even enemies.

James never mentioned him. Isn't this intentional?

It seemed like he was escaping, but also like he was deliberately creating that kind of disdain.

But the problem is, last season's Eastern Conference finals were beaten out of shit and nailed to the pillar of shame. What right do you, James, have to be dismissive?

Both sides are players of the same level. Since they are obviously enemies, they should stand up and show off.

Whoever loses has no right to breathe.

Whoever loses will lower his head and be spurned.

It's that simple.

But James refused to fight. Instead, the Cavaliers' three strong men, J.R. Smith, TT Thompson, and Dellavedova, stayed with him during the interview and danced very happily.

He didn't know if these warriors were under James's hints and instructions, but they were definitely on James' side, playing the role of guards with swords to protect me, King James.

There is no player with such a role around Xue Liancheng.

PJ-Tucker is relatively reserved, and Tucker is not good at scolding and showing off.

Qian Moss and Xue Liancheng were not at odds with each other at first. Although they had bowed their heads and surrendered, due to the conflict of positions, the relationship between the two was actually not that close.

Ennis wanted to jump in and scold me, but his presence was too low. The media didn't give him many opportunities to show his face, and he didn't have enough weight.

Players with enough weight are not in the Knicks. For example, Ibaka and Marcus Morris are warriors, good at talking, and practical.

And Crowder, Jeff Green and others have not yet gotten involved in the feud between the two superstars.

and so……

The Knicks were relatively deserted before the game.

As for the knights, those few have transformed into teddy dogs who want to break free from the chains and rush out. They are really jumping and jumping, and most importantly, they are barking very loudly.

And the game started in such an atmosphere.

Lopez wins with a jump ball.

The Knicks executed the first attack.

Xue Liancheng pushed over and his teammates lined up.

After these few games, coupled with Tyronn Lue's super-intensive positioning role drills, they have gradually found their position.

PJ Tucker likes to squat in the bottom corner, and now he lies on the baseline.

Crowder wandered in the bottom corner and weak side on the other side.

Will Barton started running through the ball.

Lopez happened to be brought up, and Will Barton took advantage of the situation.

The latter accelerated and went straight to the basket.

Xue Liancheng immediately captured this opportunity in his mind and threw the ball directly.

And the position of the ball is very accurate.

This is due to the improvement of the golden thigh that won the championship last season, and the ability to predict is synchronized with the images in the mind.

In other words, the images in his mind also have the ability to predict things.

This makes his passing more accurate and his sense of catching opportunities more sensitive.

only……

The adjustment to the new season is really bad.

He didn't understand the physical fitness and technical characteristics of his teammates. According to the image in his mind, he could get the ball, but when his teammates jumped up, something went wrong.

Like, out of reach.

For example, when a teammate gets the ball, he suddenly stops there.

These things were beyond the predicted time range, so they made him feel very uncomfortable.

Because the ball has already been passed, he can't change anything.

At most, he could predict a mistake and quickly call his teammates back to defend, but he couldn't do anything else.

Even more frustrating is...

It was obviously a good opportunity, but his teammates couldn't convert it into a score, so that's it. It even turned into a mistake, which is very frustrating.

As for this ball, Xue Liancheng passed it very elegantly.

Because he learned that Will Barton had a bad habit. After running straight in, he would look back for the ball when he took off.

If he is distracted from looking for the ball when he takes off, Will Barton's jump height will not be very high, and most of the impact will be lost.

In this case, a low penalty pass is required.

Xue Liancheng didn't know that at the time, so he estimated Will Barton's takeoff height, always high on the edge of the rim.

Will Barton successfully got the ball, but he couldn't dunk it. He could only fall freely and lost the first opportunity to attack.

then.

He was surrounded by the opponent on the inside, and he had to either force himself up or pass the ball outside to reorganize.

A position that was wasted.

This is just Will Barton's personal cutback problem and the consequences of bad habits.

There are many, many other problems that are hard to describe.

However, after this period of observation, Xue Liancheng has roughly understood various small details of his teammates.

So Xue Liancheng passed the ball ahead of time, so that when Will Barton looked back for the ball, the ball's landing point was already very low.

Will Barton can catch the ball smoothly, then rush up and complete a dunk directly.

It's like feeding it to your mouth.

This time Will Barton finally did not disappoint and successfully hit the basket.

Tyronn Lue on the sidelines was very excited and shouted loudly, "Please keep it up, you must keep it up, we want this effect."

Look back.

James waved for a pick-and-roll, and after passing the ball, he started to rush forward.

Lopez's tonnage is actually not small, but his defensive awareness is indeed poor. In addition, without Ibaka to set up a second pass to help defend, James went straight to the basket.

Under Lopez's confrontation, he forced the ball to hang in the air.

scored!

Beep!

The whistle blows.

2 + 1

This is purely a matter of frame protection ability and defensive awareness, and it cannot be copied.

Lopez's defensive effect is not as good as Gasol's, that's for sure.

So……

What needs to be strengthened now is the flanking attack after the pick-and-roll to delay James' impact. In this case, Lopez's frame-protecting effect under the basket may be much better.

So when James stepped to the free throw line.

Xue Liancheng took the opportunity to summon Crowder and Will Barton: "When LeBron takes the ball or picks and rolls, the flanking attack must be more decisive. We cannot give him the slightest chance. At the same time, after the flanking attack is completed, if it cannot be blocked, it will completely form a defense switch." , don’t chase people, we have an unlimited defense strategy.”

He has said this many times.

But this group of new teammates will subconsciously chase their defenders, or they will not understand each other when switching defenses.

If you are fast and the other is slow, there will be problems.

The unlimited defense strategy becomes full of loopholes, and it is easy for opponents to seize scoring opportunities.

But this time, James took advantage of Claude's hesitation and rushed forward.

As a result, Lopez could only force an interception under the basket and was beaten 2+1.

James stepped to the free throw line and made a solid free throw.

Xue Liancheng's facial muscles twitched slightly. It seems that James is in good condition for this game!

A free throw goes through the center of the net, which is not a good sign.

Off-site attack and defense.

As Xue Liancheng's old rival, the knight still knows Xue Liancheng very well.

This time they did not choose to attack immediately. Instead, they used the same defensive strategy as the Warriors in the finals. They waited for Xue Liancheng to break through before attacking from the flank.

And after Xue Liancheng's pick-and-roll.

Suddenly retreat and shoot directly...

No hit rate bonus...

Just to try out the feel.

Swish!

Enter!

Xue Liancheng finally showed his long-lost smile.