In the second game, the Grizzlies were taken, and the Pacers gnawed a hard bone.

After the shower at the end of the game, the team got on the bus and immediately headed to the airport for a flight to Atlanta, where the Pacers will have their first road trip of the season and back-to-back games.

On the way to Atlanta, Li Liang took a nap.

It was a fierce and costly night.

It's really a lot harder to play on the inside than on the outside.

But playing inside does have the fun of playing inside.

That kind of high confrontation under the basket will make people's blood pump.

The feeling of sweating is even more comfortable.

After arriving in Atlanta, the team had a light training session at the training gym during the day the next day.

Bird finally stopped sitting on a stool and drinking tea and watching a play.

He picked up the whistle and participated in the team's offensive and defensive drills.

Together with Mike Brown and Vogel, he began to direct the team's system.

In training camp in October, although Bird has been the manager, he is not in a daze, but thinking, thinking about what kind of ball the team is going to take this season.

After having Li Liang, the Pacers' real strength increased.

But sending George to the Knight did make the Knight stronger.

In yesterday's game, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Bulls on the road, with James and George combining for 50 points, plus Irving's 21 points, the trio scored 71 points.

It can be said that Li Liang's honey operation in the summer has inexplicably raised a monster for himself and the walkers in the east.

Bird now has to face this monster created by Li Liang.

The Pacers' original solid lineup is clearly showing signs of degradation.

The injuries to West and Hill are all signs of a possible decline to follow.

West is 34 years old, and this age can decline a little younger, and he is already Amitabha.

West's scoring has started to drop significantly last season and will certainly drop again this season.

Hill still has room to improve in terms of age and ability, but his injury is not very optimistic.

He should not be back until the end of December.

Throughout November, and for most of December, the Pacers will have a hole in the guard line.

As for Hibbert, it has been inexplicably declining since the second half of last season, and the first game of this season to bully Noel and the 76ers is okay, and it will languish as soon as it encounters the black and white bears.

In the entire fourth quarter, he was only allowed to play in the last three minutes, and only scored 4 points and 2 rebounds in the whole game, which is really pitiful.

So, the situation for Pacers is much more dire than many people see.

Li Liang's joining the Pacers is completely different from his joining the Clippers last summer.

The Clippers have a neat lineup, and in the rising period, the players are healthy, and the coach is changed, so to speak, and it can be said that they have a new look, and they have played a 70-win record.

The Pacers are at the end of their game, and if they want to produce results this season, they must change their lives.

The pressure on Bird's shoulders was not small.

Yesterday's game, after careful consideration, implemented the Li Liang center tactic proposed by Mike Brown, and the effect turned out to be good.

So this time in training, Bird asked for two groups to confront, and once again let Li Liang lead a lineup as a center.

Li Liang suddenly discovered, what does this mean?

Lao Tzu plays center on a regular basis?

Believe it or not, I won't jump if I want to jump the ball?

But in team training, you still have to listen to the coach.

So Li Liang played a 15-minute confrontation with the second lineup.

As a result, Hibbert led the first team and was beaten by Li Liang......

Hibbert couldn't match Li Liang in defense at all.

Li Liang is to shoot three points from the outside line, if you want to pounce, I will definitely break through.

Hibbert became clunky in front of the nimble Li Liang.

What's more, in the offense, he can't beat Li Liang in the low post!

It's deadly, you can't defend against it, you can't score when the offense is out of position......

Hibbert was hurt, and the strange feeling and form he had since last season had been haunting him for a long time.

After the training was over, Hibbert left the gym without saying a word.

Bird looked at Hibbert's gloomy look and knew he shouldn't be in the Pacers for long.

Li Liang found Mike Brown after training and asked, "Mike, did you tell Bird to let me play center?" Are you still a little bit human? ”

Brown spread his hands and said, "No, it's not me!" Yesterday you obviously wanted to play center! ”

Li Liang was right when he thought about it, I wanted to fight it myself.

"But you've definitely proposed to Larry the tactic of letting me play center, and we'll be practicing in October."

This time Brown didn't deny it, and said, "Yes, Bruce, but don't you think it works very well?" You can change the league, you know? ”

"I've changed the league."

"But it changed again."

"If I change it, I'm going to put him out of business."

"It's not something you have to care about, in short, you can become more unique."

Li Liang understands what Brown means, in fact, it is really interesting to play center.

But in addition to worrying about rhythm and foul problems, Li Liang is also worried about his body, he is already strong enough in the small forward position, and it is far from enough in the center position at the beginning.

In fact, Li Liang's height is enough to play center, and Big Ben's kind of center forward with only 206 hair is not flying.

The key to the center position is weight and strength.

Not having enough weight means that you have to push and squeeze under the basket, which is very tiring.

You're like O'Neal or Barkley, you don't need to force yourself in the position, you stand there, and lean back.

Defenders, you squeeze, push, you push me out and count you as winning.

Li Liang has gained 15 pounds in the summer, and if he wants to stabilize the center position, his muscle mass will need to rise.

Knowing Li Liang's doubts, Brown patted Li Liang on the shoulder and said, "Okay, from today onwards, you will improve your strength a little more." ”

"How to improve?"

"Of course you trained Bruce well, I believe in you!"

Brown finished speaking and left, anyway, he said it, he said it, Li Liang will definitely be able to practice.

Li Liang thought to himself, he has to become stronger, what should he do?

The strength task in the [Physical Fitness] dimension is getting more and more difficult, and Li Liang feels that he can't practice anymore.

It's getting tougher and harder to play against the beast forwards of the '90s like Anthony Mason and Larry Johnson at every turn.

It's okay to say that the key is not completed, and the next day is so tired that I can't compete.

What should I do?

Li Liang thought about it, as if he remembered something in his mind.

……

That night, at the Phillips Center in Atlanta, the Pacers took on the Hawks on the road.

As one of the league's most tepid teams, the Hawks have put a lot of effort into their roster this year.

Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Korver, Jeff Teague, Carroll, the starting five are all very quality players.

Although there is no superstar, the configuration is very balanced.

And it's an undersized small-ball lineup.

Horford plays center, but his actual height is only about 208, which is the height of a power forward.

Not to mention Millsap, known as 203, whether there is 2 meters or not is a question.

Horford has mid-to-long range ability, and Millsap is a small steel cannon in the third and fourth positions.

It's a very flexible lineup, and it's not easy for the Pacers to deal with it.

The course of the race proves this.

In the opening game, the Pacers began to use the original starting lineup, with Hibbert playing center.

As a result, they fell behind in the opening game because the Pacers couldn't defend themselves against the Hawks' offense.

The head coach of the Hawks is Budenholzer, a coach of the Spurs.

He has been Popovich's assistant coach since 1996.

Since coming to the Hawks, he has brought some of the Spurs' philosophy to the team.

The Eagles looked like Spurs in every way, including defending against Li Liang.

Millsap kept an eye on him, while there were always people around Li Liang to rear-end him.

The Hawks basically adopt the defensive strategy of letting go of Hibbert and Scola, playing with you in the low post, blocking and dismantling the empty cut as you like, and grabbing the rebounds in the front court.

Anyway, give the Pacers plenty of room to play inside, and then bet you don't use it.

The Pacers' inside line is really useless, and they can't kill anyone.

In the second half, Bird once again used the lineup of letting Li Liang play as a center forward.

The Pacers once closed the gap and tied it, and relied on Li Liang's three-pointer to overtake the score.

But after the Eagles survived this wave of attacks, they stabilized the situation and played steadily.

Horford continued to beat Li Liang in the low post, and also cooperated with Millsap, two people attacked the basket, causing Li Liang to foul.

Li Liang, who was struggling to support himself, was fouled five times in the last two minutes.

Bird had to substitute Hibbert on the court again, and then the Pacers' offense and defense collapsed.

With Li Liang missing a three-point shot in the final moments, the Pacers lost the last chance to equalize.

Li Liang had already used the three-point shooting percentage improvement post at the end, but he still didn't shoot.

There is no way, the consumption is a bit large, and the feel is not so good.

At the same time, the Eagles' defense is really on point.

Everyone knows that Li Liang will definitely score three points, and he will definitely go far three points.

Therefore, Li Liang was defended very hard, and in the end he was able to shoot, and the ball was almost thrown, which had already scared the Eagles players into a cold sweat.

In the end, the Pacers lost to the Hawks by a 3-point deficit of 98-101 on the road.

The winning streak lasted only two games before the first defeat was ushered in.

Of course, Li Liang was very frustrated after the game, and losing is always unpleasant.

The game was surrounded and intercepted by the Hawks, and he still scored 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting, as well as eight rebounds and three assists.

Li Liang only had 3 assists tonight, not because he passed the ball less, but because he passed it out, and his teammates couldn't shoot it!

What about the first place in the East?

What about the perennial league powerhouse?

said that the lineup of the five tigers, one Li Liang will take off?

Damn, Bird is a liar.

Now I have to lie to Lao Tzu to play center.

Li Liang thought about it, he still had to rely on the help of his son in the system.