NBA: I am the card dealer

In the next few preseason games, their offense finally improved greatly. Xue Liancheng maintained a playing time of just over 20 minutes, and did not monopolize the ball and take crazy shots. Now he was more focused on passing the ball to his teammates, providing more screens and cooperating with them.

The effect is not bad.

Anunoby's mistakes began to decrease gradually, and his performance on the finishing end became more and more confident.

Sabonis Jr. is still troubled by fouls, but fortunately the season has not started yet and he still has plenty of time to adjust.

The most important thing is that Xue Liancheng can wait.

Carroll is still the same, completely reduced to a veteran on the court, neither salty nor bland on the offensive end, and neither fast nor slow on the defensive end.

Xue Liancheng really wanted to talk to Carol, but he quickly gave up the idea.

Because Carroll was traded recently, if he wants to be traded again, he has to wait two months after the regular season starts. Now Carroll is fearless and is ready to play badly.

In this case, what he needs to do is to keep feeding the ball to Carroll during this period, so that Carroll's overall statistics will be better and his trading value will be expanded. That will be the time for him to have a talk with Carroll.

If we can come to an agreement and he is willing to fight hard for the championship, then we can consider keeping him.

What if we can’t reach an agreement?

Then press the trade button, you play your shit, I fight for my championship, and we part ways peacefully and say goodbye.

Crabbe faced the same problem.

The difference is that there is nothing wrong with Crabbe's playing attitude, but his defensive loopholes are much bigger than Xue Liancheng's. Once he misses the three-pointer, he will have a completely negative effect on the court.

Moreover, Crabbe is very difficult to handle. His 4-year, 7500 million contract and annual salary of nearly 10 million are larger than Carroll's contract, but he only averages points per game. This is only the second year of his big contract, and there are still two years left. Who is willing to take over?

The other players on the bench were fine, but Lonjo Jefferson was really upset. Whenever he got the ball on the court, he would not pass it at all. He would just rush in with his head down, completely disregarding whether his teammates could bear it or not.

And it is in this state that the new season begins.

The Nets' first game is against the Pacers in Indiana.

It is not known whether it was intentional arrangement by the league to let Xue Liancheng and his former partner Oladipo meet in the first game.

The expectations are still full.

After all, one is the best player in the league and the other is a leader among shooting guards. The competition between them will continue the fierce competition of last season's finals.

Another point is that both of them have joined new teams, and they are eager to get off to a good start and give a gift to the fans who support them in the new season.

to this end.

ESPN specially dispatched the classic live broadcast combination of Mark Jackson + Brin + Jeff Van Gundy to broadcast this game.

As the players were warming up, Breen gave a pre-game review: "Preseason games don't represent anything, but at least they illustrate the problem. The Nets played seven preseason games and their performance was quite average. We can't see anything specific about them that deserves praise. If we have to mention one person, it's Anunoby. This rookie is very competitive, very active on defense, excellent at three-point shooting, and explosive at the rim. So far, the Nets' trade of sending Jeremy Lin away is not as bad as imagined."

"As for the Pacers, they really showed great momentum in the preseason. The improvement on the offensive end was really visible to the naked eye. Oladipo's personal offensive power was really maximized. His arrival injected a strong winning factor into Indiana."

Jeff Van Gundy: "Yes! But I still choose to believe in Xue Liancheng. No matter what, as long as Xue Liancheng exists, the Nets will not be a weak team that can be bullied by everyone."

Mark Jackson: "But the Nets' lineup really doesn't have an advantage in the league, especially Sabonis in the interior. His rim protection ability is not as good as Lopez's, and his pick-and-roll effect is also unsatisfactory. Apart from high-post coordination and receiving, I really can't see what special role Sabonis has."

The three of them began to analyze and dissect.

But they only talked about the lineup structure and did not actually conduct in-depth research on the specific situations of the two teams.

This is also normal.

The season has just begun, and any team that undergoes major changes will experience a wave of ups and downs, and it will take some time to observe before the tone is set.

The Nets have undergone tremendous changes in the new season, almost to the point of a major overhaul.

In this case, it is naturally impossible to define the tone for them. ESPN's prediction is also a rough prediction based on their paper strength. In fact, the accuracy is estimated based on the performance of the players last season.

But the problem is that every player is not in a fixed state. Some of them have declined significantly, while others are still making continuous progress.

So it’s hard to predict this thing.

The fact that there are dark horse teams making a strong run every year speaks volumes.

Breen: "Let's take a look at the starting lineups of both teams. The Nets have point guard Xue Liancheng, shooting guard Crabbe, small forward Carroll, power forward Anunoby, and center Sabonis. Hey! They're the same starting lineups from the preseason. Atkinson is very courageous. He dares to use so many new players."

Mark Jackson: "Not many, but all. The Nets' starting lineups are all new players who joined the team this season. This is a patchwork lineup! It's really doubtful where you can go!"

If a team's starting lineup is all rookies, it would be very worrying.

After all, there is no tacit understanding between them, and they don't understand each other's playing characteristics. People always feel unfamiliar when they meet for the first time, let alone playing basketball, which is a team sport.

That's what they're worried about.

Jeff Van Gundy: "This is a huge change. They will need a long period of time to adjust. Especially for a top star like Xue Liancheng who mainly passes the ball, he needs a longer time to adapt and observe. He needs to understand his teammates and master their dynamic and static talents, as well as their playing characteristics."

Mark Jackson: "Xue Liancheng has changed teams twice. I believe he will be able to adapt quickly."

Breen continued, "Let's take a look at the Pacers' starting lineup. Russell, Oladipo, Bogdanovic, Thaddeus Young, Turner. This lineup is also very young, but if we only look at the strength on paper, the Pacers are obviously much stronger."

There is no need to say much about Oladipo's level. He has already entered the ranks of the league's top scorers.

Russell averaged 15.6 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game last season. His overall performance was definitely good enough to match his No. 42 pick. His efficiency was just a bit low, with an overall shooting percentage of only 35.2%. Fortunately, his three-pointers made up for it, with a 2.1% three-point shooting percentage and three-pointers per game, which greatly increased the value of space. His overall performance made him a qualified starter and he has a tendency to impact the All-Star game.

Turner is also a rookie in 15, but his overall performance is much more stable than Russell. Last season, he averaged 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, with a shooting percentage of 51.1% and a three-point shooting percentage of 34.8%. Although his three-point production is not high, he can shoot.

Although his defensive role is average, his offensive performance is already quite outstanding. There is no doubt that he can become the mainstay of the Pacers' inside line.

Then there is Thaddeus Young, who averaged 11 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season, with a shooting percentage of 52% and a three-point shooting percentage of 38%. However, his output was not high either, just about the same as Turner.

However, Thaddeus Young can play three or four positions, has excellent athletic ability and is very impactful.

Finally, there is Bogdanovic, the Croatian athlete, who is also a rookie of the same class as Xue Liancheng and also a second-round pick. However, Bogdanovic is much older, born in 89, and is already years old this year. His combat effectiveness is beyond doubt.

After three years of hard work in the league, he has demonstrated European technology to the fullest.

He is not fast and looks slow, but he is very steady whether he is shooting three-pointers or driving to the basket.

Last season, he traveled between the Nets and the Wizards, but he was still able to contribute 13.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 44.5 and a three-point shooting percentage of 36.7%. He was also good at creating space.

This is the paper strength of the Pacers' starting lineup.

All of them scored in double digits, and Oladipo was the top scorer with 20+. After two years of baptism in the finals, his strength has long been recognized by everyone.

With such a lineup, the offensive power can be said to be maximized, and it is no joke to say that they are far better than the Nets.

Mark Jackson suddenly smiled and said, "Does the Pacers not plan to train Ingram?"

That's right!

Last year's No. 2 pick is also sitting on the bench, and his talent is visible to the naked eye.

Oladipo, Russell, Ingram, Turner, and Thaddeus Young are all high-draft players, and they naturally have good physical talents.

Jeff Van Gundy: "Oladipo's arrival has confirmed the team's first core. They need to produce results this season, and Ingram needs to fight for it."

In addition to Ingram, the Pacers also have Joseph, Stephenson, Leaf, and Al Jefferson on the bench.

Among them, Al Jefferson, a former All-Star, averaged 12 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for the Hornets last season. He was an absolutely powerful inside player, but now he can only stay on the bench of the Pacers.

You can imagine how strong the Pacers' current lineup is.

ESPN's prediction that the Pacers will make the playoffs in the new season is still well-founded. At least on paper, the Pacers are definitely a tough guy in the Eastern Conference.

And the game starts soon.

As the referee whistles, jump ball.

The Pacers got the first attack.

With this first ball, the Pacers let the Nets know how powerful they are. Oladipo went straight in and connected with Turner, who received the ball and made a gliding slam dunk.

The drawback of Carroll's defensive laziness came to light.

There was no interference to Oladipo at all. After Oladipo passed by, they were too lazy to even chase him and didn't even pretend to do anything.

This directly increases the pressure on interior defense.

Sabonis' rim protection and defensive reaction ability are average to begin with. In this situation, he simply cannot react correctly.

All they could do was watch Oladipo and Turner cooperate with each other.

Xue Liancheng sighed in his heart, it turns out that cheap goods are always bad!

The Raptors had to throw away this stuff, but you thought you found a treasure?

Can't count on it at all.

In his mind, Carroll and Longho Jefferson have been blacklisted, and if there is a suitable opportunity, he will get rid of them immediately.

but.

At present, a swingman who can contribute on both offense and defense is not that cheap, and it is unlikely that others will be willing to send him away.

After all, transactions can only take place when there is mutual benefit.

No one will give him warmth.

As for the bargain hunting operation?

He has not yet thought of any unknown top 3D player who has not been discovered.

Therefore, the best strategy is to enhance their value. Only when other teams become jealous, will someone naturally be willing to give away their real treasures.

Xue Liancheng calmed himself down and signaled Sabonis to serve the ball.

He moved forward quickly as usual.

As expected, it was Oladipo who led the defense.

Oladipo was in high spirits at this moment, and said with a smile: "Xue! I didn't expect that we would meet so soon."

Xue Liancheng: "It's really fast. Thanks to the alliance for the arrangement."

As he spoke, he suddenly accelerated and rushed forward, but Oladipo had anticipated this and moved sideways very quickly.

The two separated after the collision.

Oladipo's smile grew even brighter. "Xue! I knew you were going to do this again."

Xue Liancheng: "It seems that you have grown a lot. At least you are very focused."

Oladipo: "After being apart for so long, it seems that you really don't know me well enough. This is definitely not the only thing I'm strong at."

The two of them were entangled in verbal battles as they crossed half the court.

Xue Liancheng didn't want to waste time with Oladipo at all. Seeing that his teammates were already in position, he passed the ball directly to Sabonis Jr.

Then he ran forward, suddenly turned back and passed the ball hand to hand with Sabonis Jr.

He got the ball again, then used Sabonis' huge body to accelerate, drive straight in, and easily make a layup.

The other Pacers players also didn't react much.

This instantly made his originally depressed mood much better.

It turned out that Carroll was not the only one who was slacking off. The defense of other Pacers players was also out of touch.

No one came to assist in defense, and no one provided backup defense. The only one who filled in the gap, Turner, just extended his hand symbolically.

This level of defense is no problem for Xue Liancheng.

After passing Oladipo, there was no physical contact with anyone else.

Mark Jackson discovered this problem: "Xue Liancheng broke through and entered the game as easily as crossing the road. What's going on?"

Jeff Van Gundy explained: "The Pacers' lineup doesn't have any decent defense. Russell, Thaddeus Young, Bogdanovic, and even Turner are not traditional defensive stalwarts. Their defense relies more on the defensive system. In terms of individual defense, they are much worse than the Nets."

Breen: "I think the biggest problem is that they are not very aggressive defensively."

Mark Jackson: "In fact, in the first round just now, Oladipo broke through easily, which shows that the Nets' defense is not very reliable."

Brin: "It looks like this is going to be a big offensive battle!"