NBA: I am the card dealer

Xue Liancheng didn't have time to pay attention to these things. They played very badly in the first preseason game, losing to Digital Man 87:112. They had no power to fight back throughout the whole game and were almost hung up and beaten.

薛连城上场了二十分钟，16中8拿到了26分10助攻7篮板，再次展现顶级实力。

But the course of the game left him feeling powerless.

For example, he finally made a three-pointer to stabilize the situation, but the other side immediately made a mistake and gave away points.

For example, when he arranged the positions, someone suddenly appeared out of nowhere and disrupted their deployment, disrupting the entire offensive rhythm.

For example, during a fast break, someone had a very stubborn head and encountered a steel plate in front of him, and he actually used his head to hit it.

There are too many examples of this to count.

no doubt.

The team currently has a lot of problems, so many that it is dizzying and impossible to count them.

The most important problem is that there are huge flaws in the starting lineup.

Xue Liancheng, Carroll, Crabbe, Lonzo Jefferson, Lopez Jr.

One adult and four children, it seems quite normal.

But if you dissect it carefully, this lineup is simply nonsensical.

First of all, Lopez Jr. and Ronho Jefferson have no three-point shooting ability, which greatly restricts Xue Liancheng's performance and the inside space is infinitely compressed.

Just one point, Embiid standing in the penalty area made them very uncomfortable, let alone other things.

The three small guys Xue Liancheng, Carroll and Crabbe are all over 1.9 meters tall. Their lack of leadership and athletic ability makes it impossible for them to do a good job on defense.

After all, the lack of athletic ability means that you lack energy on the court, and assisting defense will be a big problem.

Apart from anything else, they couldn't stand Ben Simmons carrying the ball and breaking through.

Therefore, this lineup has huge problems in both offense and defense.

If the root is damaged, no amount of adjustments will help.

But he didn't know how to tell Atkinson these words.

After all, he had just arrived and had only played one preseason game before he said that the coach's arrangements were unreasonable. That was an open challenge to authority, and it was obvious what the entire coaching staff would think.

And in the second preseason game, the same lineup was used.

Xue Liancheng felt sad and felt that something was wrong.

It would be a huge disaster if a head coach does not have the ability to correct mistakes quickly.

The first preseason game can be said to be an experiment. It is normal to use any lineup combination, which is understandable.

After all, you can only know the effect by playing on the field. Practice makes perfect, while fantasy breeds empty talk.

And it turns out that it doesn't work.

You only got 87 points in the whole game. You are too depressed.

Among them, Xue Liancheng alone scored 26 points and 10 assists.

What is this concept?

Almost half of the points are related to Xue Liancheng.

The most terrifying thing is that Xue Liancheng only played for twenty minutes. What's the difference between this and Mount Tai falling on Xue Liancheng's head?

The Nets scored 87 points in the whole game. Obviously, there were big problems with their offensive efficiency and rhythm. The media immediately predicted the bad luck after the game and made extensive analysis on why the Nets were so defeated.

The answer is also unanimous: there is a problem with the Nets' starting lineup.

Na...

Even the media has noticed it. As the head coach of the team, can’t you see it?

If you really didn't see it, that's too bad. It means that your awareness is very, very poor, or in other words, you are so slow that it is difficult for others to accept it.

If you see it but don't change, that's also your problem: stubbornness, being too self-centered, and taking things for granted.

In this way, you will miss a lot of opportunities and even lead the team into an irretrievable situation.

and so.

No matter what the situation is, if you still use this lineup in the second game, then Atkinson will be in big trouble.

seriously.

Xue Liancheng was very disappointed with Atkinson's performance.

The result of the game is also self-evident, they lost to the Charlotte Hornets 93:107.

This time I made progress and scored 93 points.

But the problem is that Xue Liancheng only played for almost thirty minutes, made 17 of 11 shots and scored 31 points and 12 assists. Throughout the game, Xue Liancheng was the only one fighting, so one can imagine how badly the others performed.

To sum it up in one sentence: You can't get in at all.

Xue Liancheng was able to score so many points by making sudden breakthroughs after running into position. In addition, it was a preseason game, so the defense was not that strong. With his offensive ability, he was able to break through.

And what about the others?

What ball handling abilities do Carroll and Crabbe have?

Dribbling is quite strenuous.

Lonjoe Jefferson can hold the ball, but if the opponent shrinks the defense, you will have no way to stop him and you can't break through at all.

And Atkinson's rotation also has big problems.

Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Trevor Booker, David West, Jarrett Allen, these people have entered the regular rotation.

The new players traded in, such as Powell, Anunoby, and Sabonis, were not trusted at all and were only given a few minutes of playing time.

What a stubborn old man!

Sometimes Xue Liancheng would be confused when he saw Atkinson making substitutions.

Trevor Booker and Jarrett Allen are both in the regular rotation, but high-draft players Anunoby and Sabonis Jr. don't have much playing time. This is really the Nets playing with the old lineup!

Instead of training these talented newcomers, you use the old hands who are destined to guard the water dispenser. Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?

He really couldn't understand Atkinson's train of thought.

Logically speaking, to be able to gain a foothold in a team and become the head coach, doesn't one have to have some real skills?

At least during routine drills, we can see which player is good at what, not good at what, what characteristics they have, what position they are suitable for, and what their shortcomings are?

At the very least you should know which players are good and which are not, right?

result.

Atkinson gave him the feeling that he was playing like the Nets of last season. There was no pattern at all, just a mess of operations, which made people nervous.

perhaps……

In Atkinson's mind, his performance may not have met Atkinson's expectations.

That's right.

Just so outrageous.

He took on the team's offensive banner and did everything he was supposed to do, but Atkinson disagreed with his offensive choices and the tactical play he required.

This can actually be felt from the conversation.

Atkinson kept emphasizing: Xue! You should do this and that, not that and that. We want the overall effect and the team to play well…

And so on.

Atkinson, a head coach who had only coached for one season, actually denied the playing style of a superstar who had proven that he could lead a team to a championship.

Isn’t this the Liliyuan score?

He didn't know where Atkinson got the courage from. Maybe it was because he was a young and inexperienced person who was not afraid of tigers. He always felt that he was the chosen one.

In fact, there is nothing wrong with this. Which coach doesn't think he is talented?

After becoming the head coach, you naturally want to construct and build a team based on what you have learned, but the problem is that you can display your talents so arbitrarily in a bad team.

But you can't be the head coach of a team that is aiming to make the playoffs or even win the championship!

As for the head coach, that is only one aspect.

The players have a lot of problems, too many to mention.

Players like Lonjoe Jefferson feel that he should hold the ball more often. After all, his three-point shooting has neither quantity nor quality, and his roaming role is limited to surprise cuts.

This is also a normal idea.

But if you don't improve your three-point shooting, but choose to compete for the ball with the team's core superstar, that's outrageous.

For example, Powell felt excluded in the Nets, so he joined forces with the frustrated Anunoby and Sabonis Jr. to form a small group.

This is also normal.

After all, you are a newcomer and need to find other outsiders to survive together.

But the problem is, you can't bring your emotions to the court or into training!

There is also Lopez Jr., who needs someone to do more assisting defense, and he has emotions and opinions.

There is also Dinwiddie, who thinks he should be able to play shooting guard and be the second ball handler besides Xue Liancheng.

There are many, many more...

To sum up, the Nets are currently in disarray from top to bottom.

The situation is more serious than when I was in the Knicks.

At that time, his solution to break the deadlock was actually very simple, that is, he was also a young and inexperienced person, and if Fisher did not meet his expectations, he naturally could not let it go.

Will Barton has an opinion?

Then you go.

When Phil Jackson wanted to call together his old teammates, he was naturally the first to disagree. If he offended them, it was an offense, and he was not afraid.

And now.

He has a lot to consider.

Because when the Knicks replaced Fisher with Tyronn Lue, it was the first time he changed head coaches in his career, and the impact was not too bad.

When he came to the Lakers, he replaced Walton with Mike Brown, and the impact was much worse.

For first-time offenders, the media is still tolerant.

This is your second time, so Xue Liancheng will immediately be labeled as a ball bully. If he hadn't led the team to dominate the playoffs, he would really be criticized.

Besides, it is well known that he and Walton have a bad relationship.

As a player, you interfered with the management and even replaced the head coach. Aren't you a ball bully?

And if he changes his coach for the third time now, the criticism from the outside world will be absolutely unprecedented.

He is now the spokesperson for many brands and also has his own sports brand. He still needs to pay attention to his image and maintain his reputation.

Without it!

Image and reputation are tied to him personally. How much his name Xue Liancheng is worth depends on his achievements and his image, with reputation being a plus.

The second is that the conditions are different.

When he was in the Knicks, he had a first-class inside player in Lopez, as well as Ilyasova, Jeff Green, David West and other players who averaged more than 10 points per game, as well as defensive big man PJ Tucker, and emerging quality role players such as Crowder and Will Barton, Tyler Johnson, Galloway, and Chalmers. He was confident.

He believes that with such a lineup, he can lead the Knicks to go relatively far.

And when they came to the Lakers, their conditions were not bad either.

George is known as one of the top four small forwards. He is in his prime and has absolute All-Star strength.

Randle, Clarkson, Marvin Williams, James Johnson are all players who average 10+ points per game, and with Courtney Lee, Joe Johnson, Glenn Robinson, and Larry Nance, it can also be said that there are many strong players.

He also felt that he could achieve something by leading such a lineup, so the external disturbances had little impact on him. After all, in the sports world, winners take all, and he could completely shut them up with his strength.

And with the Nets' current lineup, he really has no idea what to do!

Powell.

He knew he could definitely succeed, but his current offensive choices and skills were a real mess.

Dinwiddie.

In his impression, he has always been inefficient, but after actually getting in touch with him, he found that Dinwiddie's shooting is really outrageous. Dinwiddie is not the kind of crazy person who is outrageous, sometimes there is efficiency and sometimes not.

I was just too scared to go in, and it would be natural not to go in.

There are definitely not many players in the league who can give him this feeling, and Dinwiddie is one of them.

As for Anunoby and Sabonis Jr., he knows their path to rise, but they are still very immature now, so immature that they are always ready to make low-level mistakes.

This may also be the reason why Atkinson dare not train them with all his strength.

After all, the head coach also has a lot of pressure.

Especially the head coach Xue Liancheng. He won three championships in three years, but after coming to your Nets, you played like shit. Then your head coach is naturally the first to bear the brunt of the blame. Sabonis Jr. and Anunoby have been making mistakes. How dare he entrust them with such an important task!

As for the ceiling of Carroll, Crabbe, Lopez Jr. and others, it is clear at a glance. They are pure role players who can provide a little help on the defensive end or in opening up space. The limitations of functional players are very obvious. If you count on them, then one thing is certain - it's doomed...

And one of them can be discovered, at least at this stage.

That's Joe Harris.

Joe Harris's defense is indeed at the level of being poked by everyone, but this guy is now really accurate in three-point shooting. He had a 38.5% three-point shooting percentage last season, and if he remembers correctly, it has remained above 40% in the following years.

Three point shooting percentage!

If they can score 2-3 goals per game, that would be incredible and could become a killer weapon in their offense.

If you add Crabbe's three-point shooting ability, their space is very wide.

This is a huge benefit for Xue Liancheng.

If defense is really limited, they can completely use offense to defend, which is a new way out.

of course.

Just a thought.

The current Nets lineup is far behind the Knicks and Lakers, and he no longer has the confidence.

If Atkinson is fired, what if the team doesn't make the playoffs?

That's really oh my god!

The whole world will curse you as much as they can.

He could have foreseen this.

After all, there are so many people who want to see him fail, so many that if everyone spits at him, he would be drowned.

But before the third preseason game, a turning point occurred.

Atkinson suddenly seemed like a different person and walked up to Xue Liancheng to ask for advice.

At this moment, Xue Liancheng was extremely surprised.