NBA: I am the card dealer

At this time, Twitter was already exploding.

"Two losses in a row at the start of the new season, haha! ESPN's predictions are really accurate."

"The only thing Xue Liancheng has to do now is to apply for a deal. Without a big shot, there's really no way forward!"

"They always say he was unrivaled in the playoffs last season, and was known as the Cosmic Xue. But what happened? He lost two games in a row during the regular season."

"The Cavaliers don't have Irving! They can't even beat the Nets. Are the Nets really that bad?"

"Three consecutive championships to catch up with Jordan? Haha... You can't even make the playoffs, what a joke."

"Since Jordan debuted, except for his performances with the Wizards, has he not made the playoffs in any year?"

"Do you still think three consecutive championships are valuable? Without a big shot, you are nothing but the best in the league."

These voices of criticism are loud, but they are not mainstream, and many media outlets are still willing to believe Xue Liancheng.

After all, winning three championships in three years is not something that can be achieved by just bragging. It requires real skills. Honors don’t lie, statistics don’t lie, but words can lie.

Regarding this point, the media is still very positive about Xue Liancheng.

But Xue Liancheng's fans were anxious.

Many people went to Frank's Twitter account on FOX Sports and left a message:

“Is there really no hope for the Nets this season?”

"Can the Nets still make the playoffs?"

"If the Nets fail to make the playoffs, does it mean that Xue Liancheng's momentum accumulated from winning three championships in three consecutive years has collapsed?"

"Xue Liancheng was so strong in the playoffs last year, averaging 40+ points per game. Why did his numbers drop in the regular season? Why is that?"

"It should be easy for Xue Liancheng to lead the team into the playoffs, so why is the new season like this?"

Everyone is worried, after all, these two games in the new season are too demoralizing.

Especially the game against the Cavaliers.

Irving didn't even play, but they still lost.

The weak performance is extremely disappointing.

Frank quickly responded: There will be absolutely no problem with the playoffs, no need to worry at all.

Before the start of the new season, ESPN predicted that the Nets would finish tenth in the Eastern Conference. At that time, Frank did not speak out, and Xue Liancheng's fans did not jump out to attack.

The reason is actually very simple. They treated ESPN as a mad dog, and the Nets' lineup was indeed poor.

When the Nets' two games in the new season were so disappointing, Xue Liancheng's fans reacted violently.

Because lies don't hurt, the truth is the sharpest knife.

The Nets' two consecutive losses hurt their hearts.

Now that Frank has finally spoken out, Xue Liancheng is reassured.

result.

The next day.

This reassurance pill exploded.

The Nets were badly beaten by the Magic in Orlando, losing the game 121:125, suffering their third consecutive loss since the new season.

The situation is the same as the previous game against the Cavaliers.

Anunoby kept turning the ball over.

He set a new record in this game, committing a total of 6 turnovers.

One person made 6 turnovers in one game, and Anunoby was not the main offensive core with the ball. He just passed the ball, but he made 6 turnovers. You can imagine how frustrated Xue Liancheng was at that time.

But there is no way.

This is how newcomers are. They will make mistakes during competitions. What he needs to do is to train them patiently and encourage them with heart.

As a last resort, he activated his 100% hit rate skill to cover for Anunoby.

And Sabonis kept committing fouls and sending others to the free throw line.

His playing time was further reduced in this game, he only played for 21 minutes, and he fouled out again, sending the opponent to the free throw line for a total of 6 points.

Not only did you fail to make any contribution, but you also held the team back, which is really disheartening.

Xue Liancheng once again had to use his 100% hit rate skill to keep the Nets alive.

And it's not over yet.

Crabbe kept missing three-pointers.

In this game, he only made 11 of 2 shots and 8 of 1 three-pointers, and only scored 5 points. It was really terrible!

In order to make up for the three-point vacancy left by Crabbe, Xue Liancheng used his third 100% hit rate skill.

So much so that the final score difference was just a little bit, but it was so out of reach.

Throughout the game, Xue Liancheng made 24 of 14 shots, 11 of 5 three-pointers, and 9 of 8 free throws, once again scoring 41 points, in addition to 14 assists and 10 rebounds, a super triple-double, but failed to exchange for a victory.

The main reason is that there are too many undercover agents around us.

Dinwiddie, who performed well in the last game, just shot 5 out of 0 and ended up with a big zero.

In addition to 6 turnovers, Anunoby's shooting was not very good, making 12 of 5 shots, and 5 of 1 three-pointers again, scoring only 12 points.

Joe Harris, Trevor Booker and others also turned into huge pits, while Powell did not play in this game and avoided being dragged into the meeting room.

Carroll performed well in this game, making 11 of 5 shots, 4 of 2 three-pointers, and 5 of 5 free throws, scoring 17 points.

Longhorn Jefferson was also very good, making 9 of 6 shots overall and 8 of 6 free throws, scoring 18 points.

The two of them got to enjoy the cake that Xue Liancheng had carefully prepared.

In the same passing situation, he will give priority to Lonjo Jefferson and Carroll.

The purpose is of course self-evident. He needs these two people to show their value so that it will be convenient for him to carry out the next step of reinforcement.

It is commonly known as feeding the ball and increasing the ball size.

And the Magic.

Tobias Harris went wild, scoring 16 points on 11 of 36 shots.

Fournier scored 15 points on 9 of 28 shots.

Vucevic had 12 points and 9 rebounds.

DJ Augustin also scored 12 points.

The situation of Lonzo Ball, who they had high hopes for this year, is not optimistic. He made 13 of 4 shots and only scored 11 points. However, he did have 7 assists and showed a very good vision. He still has potential, but the shooting situation is so bad!

Really indescribable.

And this time.

All the Nets players have been pulled into the conference room for criticism.

"Anunoby thought he had a bright future, but this is the result?"

"Damn it! He made so many mistakes. He's several levels worse than Lonjo Jefferson."

"Sabonis is even worse! He fouled out and graduated."

"You got 7500 million in salary, but you only made 11 of 2 shots. How can you be so useless and get paid so much?"

"This Atkinson is really old and confused. Anunoby is obviously not good enough! If there weren't so many mistakes, it shouldn't be a problem to win this game."

"Without initiating a big trade, it seems like the Nets really have no hope."

"After three consecutive losses at the start, I thought our record would not be ideal, but I didn't expect it to be this bad."

"Xue Liancheng really tried his best in this game. He had a strong desire to attack, but in the end, he still couldn't beat these idiots."

The entire Nets official forum was filled with grief.

They anticipated that the Nets' situation was not optimistic, but they did not expect that they would suffer three consecutive losses at the start.

The next opponent is the aggressive Knicks, the city’s arch-rival.

Although Oladipo's departure has greatly reduced the Knicks' strength, their foundation is still there anyway.

We have played three games this season and won all of them.

It is currently the most powerful team in the Eastern Conference.

If the two teams meet in this situation, the Nets will be in real trouble!

They couldn't believe how low the players' morale would be if they suffered four consecutive defeats.

to this end.

Atkinson also came to see Xue Liancheng.

Atkinson: "Xue! We have lost three games in a row. If we lose again in the same city matchup, the consequences will be disastrous. We... cough! Should we adjust the lineup and win some games first so that we can catch our breath."

Now is the Internet information age, so he naturally knows the details of how he was scolded online.

There is no doubt that he has felt the huge pressure on him.

Xue Liancheng smiled bitterly: "This is just the beginning. If we want to go further, we must remain patient and slowly accompany them to grow. Losing is normal and within my expectations, of course! The most important thing is that adjusting the lineup will not make things better, because our rotation is scattered and chaotic, and the starters and substitutes are closely intertwined. Adjusting the lineup will not bring about any substantial changes."

Atkinson obviously didn't believe it: "Lonjo Jefferson played very well overall, and cooperated well with you on the court. I think it is still necessary to adjust the lineup, at least to face the opponent's top players."

Xue Liancheng opened his mouth, but ultimately did not refute: "Okay! You can try it."

Three losses in a row!

Doubts came flooding in, and the media's criticism was like a knife stabbing into the heart of the Nets.

This is the backlash of the traffic and attention brought by Xue Liancheng.

Now when the Nets are training and rehearsing, there are countless reporters surrounding them. This is the most direct and intuitive pressure.

As a coach, Atkinson naturally needs to take the responsibility for the team's defeat, especially when Anunoby and Sabonis Jr. both performed poorly, the head coach undoubtedly became the target of public criticism.

After all, it was you who arranged the starting lineup. You actually put a rookie and last season's indescribable quasi-rookie in the starting lineup. Are you crazy?

and so.

He was still very considerate of Atkinson.

Since Atkinson wanted to give it a try, he couldn't say anything more.

of course.

Regardless of whether it works or not, he will support Anunoby and Sabonis Jr. He needs to get rid of their immaturity in these two months and let them truly grow.

Only in this way can they achieve something.

result.

Unexpectedly, Atkinson not only adjusted Anunoby, but also replaced Sabonis Jr. with Lopez Jr., so their lineup became: Xue Liancheng, Crabbe, Carroll, Lonjo-Jefferson, and Lopez Jr.

With two players without three-point shooting ability, doesn't this lineup mean we're back to the preseason?

The result is.

Extremely tragic.

They lost by 86 points, 107:21, and were beaten badly.

薛连城只上了半场，10中6，三分5中3，拿到了20分5助攻3篮板的数据。

Why only played the first half?

Because there is no need to play in the second half.

At halftime, they were trailing by 35 points at 68:33.

Damn it!

On his way back to the locker room, Xue Liancheng felt extremely desolate and could only hold back his roar.

He never thought that when he was leading the team, they would be beaten without any chance of fighting back.

He had even used the 100% hit rate skill three times in advance, so one could imagine how badly the others performed.

If he hadn't held on, they probably wouldn't have scored 30 points in the first half.

What does it mean to have less than 30 points in the first half?

It's simply despairing to death!

And the whole audience came down.

Crabbe scored 8 points with 2 of 7 shots.

Carroll made 5 of 1 shots and scored 3 points.

Longhorn Jefferson made 8 of 2 shots and only scored 6 points.

Lopez Jr. also scored 4 points with 3 of 6 shots.

These are all the points scored by the starting players after the adjustments. It really felt like having a blindfold on the head and then being beaten with a stick.

The bench managed to save some face in the second half.

Anunoby scored 6 points with 4 of 12 shots.

Sabonis Jr. scored 8 points with 4 of 10 shots.

Joe Harris made 6 of 2 shots, made two three-pointers, and scored 8 points.

It was they who gave the Nets the final dignity.

Otherwise, they will lose even more miserably.

The reason why they lost so badly was actually very simple. Lopez Jr. and Ronho Jefferson had no three-point shooting skills and could not create space at all, while Crabbe and Carroll were not in good shape. The combination of the two led to this tragic disaster.

This also indirectly shows that the offensive method imagined by Atkinson is completely unfeasible.

As for the Knicks.

Lopez went crazy, scoring 24 points and 13 rebounds with 30 of 9 shots. He is good at bullying his younger brother.

詹姆斯19中10拿到了25分8篮板7助攻的全能数据，这场比赛算是打开心了，报了上赛季总决赛的一箭之仇。

The performance of other role players was average, but it was much better than the Nets' poor performance.

The first moment after the game.

The Nets official forum exploded.

"This rubbish coach should just resign right here!"

"I really didn't expect that we only scored 35 points in the first half. Are you ashamed?"

"You have the best player in the league, but you can't even play like this. I admire your coaching ability."

"Xue Liancheng has been with three teams. This is the first time I've encountered such a useless coach and such useless teammates."

"Hurry up and start the trade. This Nets team is beyond saving."

"I don't understand what the Nets management is still thinking, get to work!"

"I never expected such a rubbish performance."

"Xue Liancheng was so angry that he didn't want to play in the second half."

And Atkinson was undoubtedly the target of criticism again.

It was such a tragic loss!

In the showdown with the mortal enemy in the same city, they were beaten without any chance to fight back, and suffered a four-game losing streak at the start, which was really tragic.

No wonder they reacted so violently and angrily.

Just as the fans complained: You are the best player in the league, but you led the team to play like this. You would be letting down the fans if you don't commit suicide!

In the post-match interview.

Xue Liancheng was calm: "We are a brand new team. We have just played four games together. I think any mistakes can be forgiven. We just need to be patient. I believe we can definitely make it out of the Eastern Conference."