NBA: I am the card dealer

In the next preseason game, Atkinson finally put aside all his pride and built a new starting lineup according to Xue Liancheng's advice.

Point guard Xue Liancheng, shooting guard Crabbe, small forward Carroll, another forward Anunoby, and finally the center is Sabonis Jr.

When the DJ called out their names, the audience was extremely shocked.

Not only were the fans shocked, but other people on the team were also shocked. Even Anunoby and Sabonis Jr. themselves looked incredulous.

The live broadcast comment area was directly overwhelmed.

"Is this Atkinson a jerk?"

"The Nets management is idiotic, the head coach is also idiotic, it's over, there's no hope."

"You let two rookies start, you really don't want to make it to the playoffs!"

"Xue Liancheng really jumped into a big fire pit this time."

"This coach should be fired. Even my 90-year-old grandmother wouldn't make such a stupid arrangement."

It goes without saying who are the people who are madly criticizing Atkinson.

After all, the Nets don't have many fans.

The reason why the Nets have attracted so much attention in the new season, and even the preseason games are sold out, is because of Xue Liancheng's arrival.

This shows how great Xue Liancheng's influence is.

Now seeing this new starting lineup, they really can’t stand it anymore and are starting to get anxious.

Little did they know that the Nets' series of mysterious operations, and even the current changes in the starting lineup, all came from Xue Liancheng's hands.

If they knew, they would be dumbfounded.

As the scapegoats, Atkinson and Sean Marks really have a hard time speaking out their opinions.

And this time.

Anunoby and Sabonis Jr. came on the court timidly, constantly looking back at the head coach, trying to find answers.

At the same time, he kept glancing at Xue Liancheng out of the corner of his eyes, as if seeking help.

Xue Liancheng saw this and encouraged them, "Don't worry, you just need to adapt to the rhythm of the game and the intensity of the competition. Don't worry about anything."

During the offseason, he took the two of them to practice extra for this day.

The purpose is to let them get familiar with the intensity of the game in advance, and know what they should do on the court and their position.

Now it's time to test the results.

Anunoby was naturally flattered: "Xue! I will definitely not let you down."

As a rookie, and a rookie picked at the end of the first round, he should not have many opportunities to perform. He will only try to stay on the court for a while longer after he continues to hone his skills with the team and adapts to the intensity of the game.

And now, he is directly in the starting lineup, which is simply a blessing from heaven.

of course.

He knew clearly that all this was thanks to Xue Liancheng.

After all, they had trained together for so long during the offseason and everyone was basically familiar with each other. At that time, he actually had a vague feeling that the team was focusing on training him.

Otherwise, how could it be possible that only he and Sabonis Jr. stayed to accompany Xue Liancheng for special training?

Some of them were required by the team, while others were selected by Xue Liancheng.

And now the results show that it is the latter.

Sabonis was also encouraged: "I will definitely try my best."

Last season with the Magic, he didn't have many opportunities.

It's better since I came to the Heat.

In addition, the Heat's training intensity was very high, and Gasol Jr. taught him by example, which allowed him to learn a lot. Although he still couldn't adapt to the confrontation in subsequent games, his talent for high-post coordination was magnified.

He has also slowly found his position, at least as a substitute for Gasol Jr., he is absolutely qualified.

But overall, his performance last season was very bad, averaging 40.something points per game and a shooting percentage of %, which was really a mess.

Even with such a poor performance, Xue Liancheng still devoted himself to cultivating him, so he was naturally grateful in his heart.

Now he has been pushed into the starting position, and the gratitude in my heart has reached an unparalleled level.

But it's a pity.

The result of the game was still not ideal, losing to the Boston Celtics 102:113.

Xue Liancheng played for 13 minutes, made 8 of 25 shots and got a double-double of 11 points and assists. His performance was still impressive, but he couldn't save the Nets.

The performance of others is indeed difficult to describe.

First up is Crabbe.

10投3中，三分6中2，拿到了8分。

His three-point shooting is indeed accurate to a certain extent, but his mediocre physical condition makes him have neither explosiveness nor impact. Apart from gambling-style steals, his defense is also seriously overrated.

Most importantly, his three-point shooting lacks continuity and he can only shoot three-pointers.

Another point is that Crabbe has been in the league for four years. Since he emerged in the 15-16 season, other teams have also done some research on him.

After doing research, you will have certain defensive experience.

After all, every player who can start will be highly valued. Crabbe has scored 10+ points for the Trail Blazers for two consecutive years and is an important rotation member of the Trail Blazers. Other teams will naturally study Crabbe's offense.

Crabbe's offensive characteristics are now basically transparent.

To put it bluntly, as long as you keep a close eye on his offensive techniques of shooting after catching the ball and shooting after one step after catching the ball, you can basically say that he is defended.

That's right!

It's just so vivid.

Crabbe couldn't even take two more steps to shoot from mid-range. He really hasn't made any progress at all.

If you fail to develop new skills, you will quickly become stuck.

This is Crabbe's current situation. If he continues to play like this, he will soon have no ball to play.

Because when you can no longer provide any other help besides three-pointers, you are not far from elimination.

Unless your three-point shooting can reach Curry's level, no, even Korver's will do, as long as you maintain quality and quantity and don't become a defensive sieve, you can still gain a foothold in the league.

And Crabbe is clearly overrated at the moment.

If Xue Liancheng were to judge, he would think Crabbe is not even qualified to start.

It's that direct.

The main reason is that Crabbe has no other remarkable points on the offensive end except shooting three-pointers. You can't even dribble two steps and make a pull-up jump shot because you can't get rid of him at all.

In addition, his defensive ability is not very good, and his defensive attitude is not active. He retreats quickly, but it is useless. He is easily overtaken by others. Except for gambling steals, he cannot have any impact on the offensive players.

Can this be a starter?

Obviously it can't be done.

Now, Carol.

7 out of 2, only 5 points.

Brother!

This is the preseason!

It's really surprising that you, who was once a top 3D artist, have become like this now.

When he was with the Hawks, Carroll was indeed good enough to play a very positive role on both offense and defense. In the field of 3D, he was considered a leader.

I don’t know if it’s because he’s out of Budenholzer’s discipline, but since he joined the Raptors, he has developed a bad habit of taking two steps after catching the ball.

You can't get rid of it, so what's the point of taking those two dribbles and then making a strong shot?

This is very unfriendly to the offensive rhythm of the entire team.

And that's just the offense.

The defense was even worse.

Carroll's speed is actually very average, and his lateral movement is not outstanding. He makes up for these shortcomings by positioning himself in advance and having a proactive defensive attitude.

it's good now.

The positioning is no longer advanced and the defensive attitude is no longer active.

If you use the method of changing direction in front of your body to dodge him, he will not chase you.

What the hell...

No wonder the Raptors wanted to get rid of Carroll even though they were bleeding. It’s really hard to describe!

If there is neither 3D nor D, what are you for?

Then there's Anunoby.

本场比赛上场23分钟，9中5，三分5中2，拿到了15分，外加有6篮板1助攻1抢断1盖帽，表现相当不错。

However, he made as many as 5 turnovers, which is the price he has to pay as a rookie.

You can't adapt to the intensity of the game. Your basic passing skills are not good, and you still retain the passing habits from college. It is normal for you to make this mistake.

This cannot be criticized, but it seriously hurts the team's morale.

When you are trying your best to catch up, you suddenly make a mistake and the opponent counterattacks and succeeds. Would you be frustrated?

and so.

Anunoby urgently needs to improve in this area.

In other aspects, it is very good.

Offensively.

His athleticism and impact are much greater than imagined, especially his jumping speed, which greatly unleashes his finishing ability. He is a good player in both defensive counterattacks and fast breaks.

Xue Liancheng had worked with him during the offseason, so he did not appear unfamiliar. It can be said that Anunoby is a very important part of their fast break.

Secondly, he has a good awareness of cutting to the air, is very agile in positioning, has a strong impact, is fast, and jumps high, which really makes him very suitable for playing in the finishing position.

In the end, his three-pointer was amazing. After running out of space, his shooting point was high enough, which made him very calm when shooting the three-pointer, and his three-point performance was also impressive.

Most importantly, he is very active in defense, helping out, covering, and doing all the dirty work. His fighting spirit is unmatched by other players.

Especially when leading the defense, he sticks to the opponent like a plaster.

no doubt.

Anunoby is better than expected.

of course.

It may also be related to the special training. Xue Liancheng let him know his position in advance, what to do on the court, and adapt to high-intensity confrontation training.

Now that I have the opportunity all of a sudden, there will naturally be no particular discomfort.

In addition, Xue Liancheng's passing is very accurate. As the league's top passing master, he can greatly enhance Anunoby's offense.

That’s why there is such an outstanding performance.

Finally, it’s Sabonis Jr.

He played for 18 minutes in this game, made 8 of 4 shots, scored 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. His overall performance was good. He protected the rebounds effectively and showed his vision in high-post assists.

But he also had three turnovers and four fouls.

This is where Sabonis Jr. is disappointing.

With 3 turnovers, you can say that he just came to the Nets and hasn't had a good run-in yet. Plus, he's only a sophomore and the player who touches the ball the most at the top of the arc. He was nervous for the moment, so he made 18 turnovers in 3 minutes. People can still give him a certain degree of understanding.

But it is hard to accept that you had 4 fouls in just minutes of playing time.

This means that even if you have been in the league for a season, you still cannot adapt to the intensity of the league's competition.

Remember, this is only the preseason.

Even though you are the starting player facing the opponent's elite players, you cannot accumulate this number of fouls!

If you can't improve it, then in the regular season, won't you be forced to foul out after playing for 20 minutes?

This not only hurts the team, but also makes you lose your own value. If you can't stay on the court to play, no matter how important your role is, it's useless!

This is the area that Sabonis needs to overcome the most at the moment.

but.

In other aspects, Sabonis Jr.'s performance is still remarkable.

First of all, he has excellent positioning skills in the penalty area. He can not only protect the backcourt rebounds, but also grab the frontcourt rebounds. His attitude towards fighting is as positive as Anunoby.

Maybe he was too aggressive and couldn't control his body movements, which led to serious fouls.

In addition to this, his high-post support has indeed perfectly solved the weakness of other people's inability to hold the ball. He has a broad vision and excellent passing skills. He can occasionally rely on singles, and with his height and wingspan, he is able to protect the ball well.

On the offensive end, he is good at low-post hook shots and turnaround jump shots, and his occasional long two-point shot from the high post can catch people off guard.

of course.

The most important thing is that Sabonis Jr. has a very high basketball IQ. His ability to judge the situation, sense the court, and handle the ball are much better than that of ordinary players.

As for the bench.

Dinwiddie's old problem remains. After more than ten minutes of playing time, it seems that he has not yet warmed up and has not entered the offensive state at all. This is Dinwiddie's shortcoming. His slow warm-up and unstable shooting may be due to this.

Powell?

He is as reckless as ever, but his current ability does not seem to be up to the level of recklessness, and his offensive skills need to be improved.

Joe Harris was a pleasant surprise. His shooting felt very stable and he felt like he could make the shot as soon as he took it. He could also dribble past the defense or cut in and suddenly make a layup.

He has not yet really established himself in the team, so his defensive attitude is very positive.

However, due to the limitations of his physical talent, his defensive effect is naturally needless to say. Anunoby has to clean up his mess countless times.

But among the current Nets players, Joe Harris is definitely usable, at least much better than Crabbe and Carroll.

His three-point shooting is more accurate than both of them, and his defensive attitude is more aggressive than both of them. His overall performance and adaptability should be at a level higher than both of them.

Lonjo Jefferson.

He was in a bad mood in this game and seemed unhappy with his position. He played for 17 minutes, made 4 of 1 shots and scored 2 points. It would have been fine if he had just performed poorly, but he also looked grim. Xue Liancheng had secretly taken note of it.

This person cannot stay. If he stays, it will easily destroy the atmosphere in the locker room. Most importantly, you don’t have much ability, but you have a bad temper.

Needless to say, Lopez Jr. and West Sr. have very clear positioning and are the screws of the Nets.

As for the others, there is basically no need to say much.