Chapter 122: Crazy Wizard
The Washington Wizards are known to be a crazy team that does crazy things all the time.
In 1998, they gave it to Zhu Wan? Howard 7 years 1. $0.5 billion contract, which is also the NBA's first $100 million contract. The reputation of the "Michigan Five" made Howard, but unfortunately, Howard only attacked, not defensive, and after receiving this contract, he was obsessed with everyone, and his contract has since become something that has been avoided by the teams he has wandered in.
And then the basketball trapeze Michael? Jordan joined the Wizards' uniform team and selected the famous parallel champion Kwamei? Brown, missed Tyson? Chandler and Paul? Gasol has two excellent inside lines.
What's even crazier is that Jordan actually chose to make a comeback with the Wizards. And until now, Jordan is not happy when he talks about that comeback. Originally, he had a perfect basketball career, retired after winning the championship, and the Wizards almost stepped down from the altar after not making the playoffs for two years.
"I must have been crazy at the time, and at the end of my career, my biggest mistake was to come back and play for the Wizards, and I thought it might help me manage it, but it wasn't, and I trusted some people a lot, and they let me down," Jordan said. I don't know why anyone would say that my management was a failure because when I took over the team they were in $35 million in debt, and since then they have started to make profits. ”
This year, the Wizards did another crazy thing, giving Arenas, who was reimbursed for a serious injury, a huge contract. This is a three-time All-Star and scored 60 points against the Lakers. But these were enough for him to get 6 years 1. A $1.1 billion renewal? He hasn't been able to play a few games this season, and it's unknown what level he will be able to play when he returns.
In this game, Wizards head coach Eddie? Jordan has another crazy lineup, they don't have a point guard!
Antonio? Daniels didn't play well, so he simply didn't let him play. Stevenson plays the No. 1 position and dribbles the ball across the halfcourt, and the shooting guard is last season's rookie Nick? Young, Butler plays playmaking forward, power forward Jamison, and the interior is Blecher.
Jordan has a total of 229 wins and 278 losses in his coaching career, including 97 games with the Kings from 1997 to 1998, and is now in his sixth year leading the Wizards, making him the third-longest tenured head coach in the NBA, surpassed only Jazz head coach Sloan (20 seasons) and Spurs head coach Popovich (12 seasons). His traits are somewhat similar to that of Nelson Sr. and he is a fan. He values offense and dares to experiment on the pitch.
The Warriors are still the starting lineup on the court, and the two teams have launched a fierce attack as soon as they come up.
Zhou Xuan has no problem against Stevenson, although Stevens is taller than him, the offensive means mainly rely on fixed-point shooting. But Randolph in the No. 4 position against Jamison is an obvious weakness.
The Wizards won't let Stevenson lead the offense, and when he gets to the frontcourt, he passes to Butler at the top of the arc. This is exactly the playmaking style of play, invented by Nelson Sr., and Eddie's arrangement is entirely a tribute to his predecessors.
The Wizards also used a double pick-and-roll, with Jamison and Bleche both pulling out to bypass Jackson's defense and focus on the interior. Once the offense is blocked, the ball is passed to Nikny Young for a second pick-and-roll.
The five people on the floor of the Wizards can all shoot, Zhou Xuan is at the top of the arc against Jamison or Blecher, the difference in size is too big, he tried to use gambling steals to defend, and successfully broke two to fight back, but the opponent began to play high with a long heart, and the pass was changed to hanging high, and he couldn't help it.
Jackson was always blocked by pick-and-rolls and couldn't match Butler. Others are not good at guarding against it. Morrow is too thin, and Azubuuk is a little taller. Jamison also gave the Warriors a headache, the small forward play, the score is almost all jumpers, and Randolph is most afraid of this.
Even without Arenas, the Wizards still have two All-Stars.
Caron? Butler was an all-round fighter, and people used to take him and Paul? Pierce compares them to the fact that they are just as strong and have an extraordinary ability to run and jump. However, there is still a considerable gap between him and Pierce, who is known for his all-round and gorgeous offensive skills. Butler's former experience as a power forward has honed Butler's skillful low-post offensive skills, and he has the best back-frame ability among outside players, and he has a good shooting touch and is quite accurate when open opportunities arise. The defensive end is also good, in addition to averaging two steals per game, he can also contribute 6 rebounds, which is quite impressive among outside players, and is the defensive core of the Wizards.
Jamison, on the other hand, is a star player with little historical status, and his stats are beautiful, but he has not won any accolades except for a sixth man of the year. He inherited the path of the North Carolina forward: all-round skills, can shoot from the middle and long range, can turn his back, and has excellent feet in the low post. When he was young, he played small forward for a period of time in the Warriors, and at that time he could basically be regarded as the second largest small forward in the league, the first being Mashburn. He is also an excellent scorer who can adapt to various systems, but in addition to scoring, his containment and response ability are very ordinary. His defense is also a bit terrible, with poor confrontation in the fourth position and slow speed in the third position.
His most glorious time was in 2000 when he scored back-to-back 50+ points against the SuperSonics and Lakers, and scored crazy points with Kobe.
The Warriors continued to expose their defensive weaknesses, and although they played well on the offensive end, the opponent scored more points, and the Wizards scored 77 points in the half. Not only two stars, but also Bletche and Nick Young also played well.
Especially Blecher, this interior defense is not very good, but his shooting is really accurate, and he dares to shoot when he receives the ball in the high position, a bit like Villanueva of the Bucks. Such a person is very difficult to defend once he throws confidently. And Billings was still thinking about how to grab rebounds and make his rebounding stats more beautiful, and he didn't stand too far outside when he defended the pick-and-roll, giving Bleche a chance.
The two interior guards were not good at blocking and dismantling, which also made Nelson Sr. very dissatisfied, and he fell through at halftime.
The coaching staff spoke to Biedrins long before the game began, and Nelson Sr. repeatedly stressed that he had to defend himself and block the opposition's pick-and-roll. If both he and Randolph want to grab a rebound, the opponent can easily get a shot with a single screen. Biedrins made a save this time, but Randolph couldn't stand under the basket, and Jamison withdrew further than Bletcher.
Randolph and Biedrins are fundamentally overlapping inside, both of them are used to being under the basket, and the defense is the biggest flaw in the Warriors' current roster.
Zhou Xuan was also a little depressed. Originally, he looked at the data and found that the Wizards' defense was terrible, and he thought that he would win. Only now do I realize that I have thought too simply, and my analysis has been wrong. The Warriors' defense is also terrible now, and the two teams can only fight offensively, depending on whose lineup can restrain each other. Bletche and Jamison just restrained Biedrins and Randolph.
In the second half, Zhou Xuan continued to complete the task arranged by the coach, and there were a lot of assists in this game, Jackson and Randolph's hand style was relatively smooth, and the two sides played until the fourth quarter to determine the winner. Jamison and Nick Young each hit a three-pointer to extend the deficit to 14 points in the final two minutes to seal the win.
In the end, the Warriors lost the game 109-121, losing for the first time in the new season.
The Warriors scored five double-doubles, Zhou Xuan had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 15 assists and 3 steals, Jackson had 18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, and Randolph had 23 points and 10 rebounds. Morrow 16 points and Azubuuk 15.
Biedrins was out of sorts, with only four points and seven rebounds.
On the Wizards' side, Jamison, Butler, and Bleche scored 20+. Jamison had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Butler had 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Bleche had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and he was the most surprising of all, scoring the star stats.
After taking a shower in the locker room, Zhou Xuan was the first to get dressed and sit in the lounge waiting. He's a little depressed, he's lost all the games against the Wizards, can he win away against the Celtics? I don't feel confident when I think about it.
If you lose again, you will lose three times in a row, Zhou Xuan sighed faintly. I remember some details of the game, the team was terrible defensively, and the offensive end was not perfect. The Wizards' weaknesses are obvious, whether the backup center is Bleche or Javier, who came off the bench? McGee, the defense is not very good, and Jamison is also stronger in offense than in defense, but they can't grasp these weaknesses. The Wizards compressed the defense with one move, leaving them with only a jumper from the perimeter.
Biedrins is not good at singles, and Randolph will cover the opponent in the low post as soon as he singles, and he can compress the defense and apply pressure without a clamp. Randolph's quality is undoubted, but in this game, he exposed more problems. First of all, Randolph didn't have that many ways to crack the bag. He scored 8 points in the first quarter, and the Wizards had obviously seen the power of Randolph and knew that the Wizards needed to contain him, but Nelson Sr. did not adjust accordingly, and if someone could step up and attack, the Wizards would not have a chance to contain Randolph. In the big picture, the Warriors haven't been able to give Randolph enough support tactically.
Randolph actually has the ability to crack the bag. He had three assists in the game, including some of the passes that were packed, one of which was a three-pointer from Jackson, but Randolph's assist limit didn't seem to exceed three per game, and after three passes, he was reluctant to do any more work.
Maybe I should talk to Randolph and persuade him to pass the ball more? Morrow and Jackson shoot from the perimeter, as long as Randolph can pass more in the game, he doesn't have to shake the opponent's bag, then he can also save some energy, work the defensive end, and play more lethal in the fourth quarter. If Randolph can really strengthen his ability to break bags, then the crown of the league's No. 1 forward may fall on his head.
However, talking to the players is the job of the coaching staff. Zhou Xuan thought about it and decided to talk to Old Nelson first and express some of his views on techniques and tactics. If it's not right, Nelson Sr. can laugh it off and correct his mistakes, and he can learn something. The coach doesn't blame him, and his willingness to give advice is a positive sign.