This season, Green has gained a lot of playing time, and most of the time in the center position, so the playing time he occupies is exactly what Whiteside has done.

This easily aroused Whiteside's hostility towards him.

Unlike Jordan Jr. and McGee, Whiteside has great talent and ambitions much more than the other two.

After two years off the bench with the Wizards, he finally became a starter and did even better than the first two centers, and Whiteside felt he deserved more playing time.

But this is not the case.

Although Whiteside's rim protection ability is good, it is still on the same level as Joe Dankey Jr., Jordan Jr.'s defense is slightly better than him, and McGee's mobility is incomparable to Whiteside's.

As a 2.13m center, Whiteside's speed is only in the upper middle of the center, and it is not enough to keep up with the Wizards' fast-paced small-ball tactics.

With this alone, it is impossible for Wang Xiao to let him stay on the court for a long time, which will greatly affect the offensive rhythm of the Wizards.

The current Wizards team is infinitely close to or even surpasses the future Warriors team with three championships in four years, and it is almost impossible for a tall center to play more than 30 minutes in this team.

In fact, since the championship season in '15, not a single interior player on the Warriors has played more than 25 minutes.

David. Lee didn't, Bogut didn't, McGee & West didn't.

Now Wang Xiao has not only collected the three core players of the Warriors, Curry, Thompson and Green, but also grabbed George and Leonard, in this case, how can he give up his roots?

……

"That...... Coach, I want to talk to you. ”

One day, after the daily training was over, Whiteside plucked up his courage and found Wang Xiao.

Looking at Whiteside, Wang Xiao nodded. "Okay."

As for what Whiteside wants to say, Wang Xiao actually has points in his heart, even if Whiteside doesn't look for him, he wants to take some time to talk to the other party.

Whiteside has been noticeably more grumpy in the locker room these days, and is said to have had several skirmishes with Green.

The so-called skirmish is more like Whiteside bullying first-year rookie Green using his seniority in the league for three seasons.

Because of Jamison, Jimmy. Butler is a veteran of the two veterans, so it doesn't happen much, but these two don't always happen to be in the locker room.

When Wang Xiao heard about this from other players, he was quite surprised. Green actually has times when he is bullied by other players?

But after thinking about it, although Green is also a hot-tempered player, as a rookie who has just graduated from college and entered the league, he obviously lacks experience and confidence, especially at this time Whiteside has just won the championship with the team and became the starting center, which is the time to be high-spirited.

Wang Xiao wondered if Whiteside would pop out the phrase "We were champions before you came" when spraying Green. "That's the case.

As for why Whiteside hates Green, Wang Xiao also knows that it is nothing more than playing time.

In another time and space, Whiteside is a player who values playing time very much, and has also publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with his playing time in an interview, and offended Heat head coach Spoelstra for it.

Green, a newcomer, will definitely be unhappy if he steals his playing time as soon as he arrives.

……

In the general manager's office, Wang Xiao sat on the leather chair after work, looking at Whiteside calmly, while the latter sat opposite Wang Xiao, looking a little nervous.

Although he can bully his juniors as a veteran in the team, Whiteside is only a 23-year-old young man, not one of those old fritters who have been in the league for many years.

And Wang Xiao is by no means a head coach in the ordinary sense, as a rare or even unique head coach in the league with draft and trade rights, Wang Xiao has great power in the Wizards, "Coach, I feel that my competitive state is very good recently, and I can help the team protect the restricted area and rebound well. ”

Whiteside had already figured out what to say before looking for Wang Xiao, so it was very smooth to speak.

'So I need more minutes to play my form and now I'm playing a little bit too little in the game......

"That's right." Wang Xiao nodded, "Then how long do you think you should have playing time?" ”

Whiteside thought for a moment, then said, "About 32 to 35 minutes." ”

Wang Xiao couldn't help but smile slightly when he heard this.

Whiteside's demands are not excessive, as he is now averaging around 28 minutes per game, and increasing to 32 minutes is just four more minutes.

However, these 4 minutes have to be deducted from Green's playing time.

Moreover, Curry and George, who currently play the most minutes on the Wizards, only play about 34 minutes per game.

"Hassan, you should know what the Wizards' system is now, it's hard for you to keep up with the team's pace on the court."

"But I can protect the box and rebound for the team!" Whiteside said hurriedly.

Wang Xiao just smiled.

The ability to protect the frame is indeed very important for the Wizards, but if it is by sacrificing the offensive rhythm to enhance the frame defense, then Wang Xiao would rather give up the defensive ability of the frame.

"Hassan, believe me, your minutes are the best fit for your current state, too much playing time is not good for you, as long as you keep playing as you are, you will definitely get a contract with a maximum salary at the end of this season."

"Another ......"

Wang Xiao looked at Whiteside, his eyes full of deep meaning. "There's a really good atmosphere in the Wizards' locker room, every player is positive and working hard, and I don't want anyone to spoil that atmosphere."

Whiteside stiffened slightly, then nodded. "Okay, Coach, I got it."

It is not very appropriate for the coach to mediate the conflict between the players, and it is better for the players to resolve it themselves.

However, according to Wang Xiao's experience, there are very few situations where players can solve conflicts by themselves, and many times small conflicts will evolve into big contradictions, and eventually become irreconcilable.

For example, after the end of this season, Kobe Bryant and Howard are coming to the end of the friendship boat.

So he just clicked and didn't say anything more.

……

Wang Xiao could see that Whiteside was not satisfied with his answer, but even if he was not satisfied, it didn't matter, the center position was really irrelevant to the Wizards, who mainly played small ball tactics.

It's not that the center isn't important, but a blue-collar center like Whiteside, who lacks offensive ability and whose only offensive means is to grab rebounds in the front court for a second offense, is not important to the Wizards.

Because of similar interior lines, a large number of them in the league, even if they are not as strong as Whiteside, are enough for the Wizards to use.

For a team with a small-ball strategy like the Wizards, the ideal interior player is Anthony. Davis is a player who is proficient in multiple offensive methods, can play inside and outside, and is very mobile, like the Heat's Chris. Bosh, Kevin of the Timberwolves. Lefous are more suitable.

But these players are all All-Star caliber and won't be easy to get, and this type is just icing on the cake for the Wizards, not a necessity.

All in all, Wang Xiao has made up his mind that if Whiteside does not listen to his advice and continues to embarrass Green, then he will trade the other party in the middle of the season, and Green is much more valuable to the Wizards than Whiteside.

……

The regular season is still in full swing.

Halfway through December, before you know it, it's December 25th, one of the favorite sessions of American fans, the Christmas War.

This year's Christmas War, the alliance arranged is also very meaningful.

The four matchups are Wizards vs. Lakers, Heat vs. Trail Blazers, Knicks vs. Spurs, and Nets vs. Thunder.

From these four games, you can see the league's general judgment and expectations for this season.

The Wizards and Lakers are the most favored teams in the East and West to emerge from their respective divisions before the start of the season.

Both teams are known for their luxurious lineups, the Wizards' bench is unmatched in the league, and the Lakers' starters are at the top of history.

Heat VS Trail Blazers, is to meet the imagination of many fans, the long-lost James and the rising super scorer Kevin. Who exactly is Durant's first man at the small forward position.

As for the Trail Blazers vs Spurs, and the Nets vs Thunder, they are also strong team matchups and full of highlights, on the one hand, the Big Three VS traditional strong teams, and on the other hand, the showdown between Jeremy Lin and Westbrook, two new generation of point guards.

The only fly in the ointment is that people probably didn't expect the Lakers' F4 record to be so bad.

By the time of the Christmas game, the Lakers had won only 12 of their 26 games.

The 12-14 record is already the Lakers' worst record in recent years, and after two months of anticipation, the Lakers' F4 duo still hasn't shown any chemistry.

In this case, against the Wizards, who have the best record in the league, even if they are playing at home, what resistance can the Lakers have?

On the day of the Christmas game, Lakers fans watched a complete slaughter at Staples Arena.

The game was completely one-sided from the start, with the Lakers' offense unstructured and completely unable to keep up with the Wizards in terms of speed.

There is no way to do this, the twin tower combination is to sacrifice mobility to increase the lethality of the interior, but the lethality of the Howard + Gasol combination is extremely limited.

In the whole game, the Lakers only Kobe Bryant scored 41 points, and no other player scored more than 15 points, not even Howard.

The unsuspenseful game was very disappointing to the fans, which in turn turned into disappointment with the Lakers.

"An ugly game, the Lakers have the most luxurious roster in the league, but they have no resistance against the really best team in the league, and it seems that having good players does not mean getting great strength."

"Howard doesn't deserve to be called a superstar, and his poor offensive ability is exposed in the Lakers."

While complaining about the stars, the fans also angered the coach.

"The Lakers made a terrible decision at the start of the season to fire Mike. Brown, poaching D'Antoni from the Knicks, it turns out that D'Antoni is not much better than Brown, and the Lakers' management should be digging Wang Xiao. ”