At the beginning of October, the NBA's preseason finally kicked off, which meant that the offseason was completely over, and the teams were about to compete for the 2007-2008 season. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoBefore the start of the regular season, the preseason will be a good opportunity for teams to experiment with lineups, tactics, and players to adjust their form. On October 7, the Minnesota Timberwolves traveled to Turkey to play against the Turkish Basketball Super League team Efes, and since then, the preseason games of other teams have also been scheduled.

The Phoenix Suns' first game is scheduled for October 12 as they kick off their season with an away trip against the Sacramento Kings. Before the game, speculation about the Suns' style of play in the new season was already rampant, and Korlo's column not only did not quell the speculation, but instead increased the compliments from all sides. The reason is simple, because if Leon does not bring new playing styles and changes to the Suns in the new season, but just continues to attack and improve efficiency, how can the Suns make a breakthrough in the new season?

After all, many people believe that the Suns have achieved the ultimate on the offensive end in the past three seasons, and the Suns' more problems are still on the defensive end, and if the defensive problems are not solved, the Suns will not be able to break out of the West. Whether it's the Spurs or the Mavericks, they are strong enough on the defensive end, only the Suns are seriously lame. However, judging from the summer signings and drafts, the Suns did not focus on the defensive end.

Not only did they lose Barbossa, the best sixth man, but they also let go of Kurt Thomas, the only defensive expert in the low post, and brought in some old, weak, sick, disabled, poor and ugly, and the Phoenix people have expressed their pessimism about the Suns' performance and future in the new season. The Boston Celtics continued to rank first in ESPN's Championship Expectations Survey on October 11, and after successfully trading Reed for Ray Allen, the Green Army finally put together a super three-headed monster that was comparable to the acquisition of Kevin Garnett in the summer of 2003.

Defending champions Spurs are not far behind, and after comfortably winning the 2007 title, the Spurs will always have the strength to compete for the title as long as the trio led by Tim Duncan and Popovich are retained. The Dallas Mavericks, also from Texas, continue to maintain championship contenders, although they suffered a heartbreaking Black Eight, but Nowitzki is still at the top, and with a boss who will spend money, the Mavericks are still favored by many.

The fourth spot, which used to belong to the Suns, has been reserved for LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers this year, who impressed with their amazing performance in the Eastern Conference playoffs last year. Many believe that the East is about to enter the era of the James-Boston Triumvirate, and that the Cavaliers will have what it takes to win a championship if they do it right.

In fifth place, the Suns' name appeared on the list, and it was clear that the evaluation of the Suns was in a slightly pessimistic attitude, "Nash is a year older, Stoudeyer still won't let go, Marion still can't shoot, Bale still can't attack, Dio can do anything and it seems like nothing, and they also lost Barbossa." The only good thing I can think of is that they have Fox Leon, but it doesn't look like his summer performance is as amazing as it was in 2003, when I almost wanted to take off my pants and give him my. ”

At this time, ESPN's famous Viper expert Bill Simmons commented on the Suns and Leon in his column, as a native Bostonian and die-hard Celtics fan, Simmons has been a die-hard fan of Leon in the past. But when Leon left the Celts and went to the sun, his viper power could no longer be hidden. But even so, Simmons expressed a cautious bullish view of the Suns, suggesting that "Anyway, I think Leon's arrival may bring the soul of a champion to the Suns, and don't forget that the last person who led the Phoenix to glory was also from Boston." ”

What Simmons said Paul Westphal, the underwhelming player in Boston, took the team to the Finals in both the Suns player and coach positions. But Leon is not the same as Westfaal, he has really led the Celtics to a revival.

It was with such controversy that Leon continued to insist on leading the team to high-intensity training. At the end of the session, Leon asked everyone to participate in the team's post-practice group activities, including dinners, gambling trips to Las Vegas, and visits to the Grand Canyon, in which Leon showed his erudite and attentive side. It's not like the players haven't been to these places before, but it's still different to go alone and travel with the whole team.

In Nash's words, it felt like we were back in college, high school, where the players had to work together, train together, take classes together, play together. Of course, all the expenses for the tour are paid by Leon alone, and his third-hand Toyota will not be able to keep it, and sometimes Leon has to ask for money from his family. Khomemenez also complained to Leon, saying that he had been a coach for several years, and he didn't make much money, and now he is still sticking upside down.

Leon said bluntly that he was going to have money soon, and he was going to be rich soon. Holmenez doesn't know how rich Leon is right away, but the agency is getting bigger and bigger, she doesn't care about the travel fee, she just hopes that when the sun comes to California next week, Leon can go to Los Angeles to have a look, after all, Khamenez's belly is getting bigger and bigger, and the due date is in March next year.

Leon said yes, and then on October 11, he flew to Sacramento with the whole team, and they will take on the Sacramento Kings on the night of the 12th to fire the first shot of the season.

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Leon remembers his first coaching experience in the preseason when he was an assistant coach in Boston, pretending to be a head coach on the sidelines, and he remembers playing at home against the Milwaukee Bucks. Years later, Leon still values preseason as much as he values summer league. Leon has always believed that in the long NBA season, every stage is very important, and the reason why many seemingly strong teams with a strong roster cannot make it to the end in June must be because of something wrong and bad in the course of this long season, which led to the final result.

So, no matter how inconspicuous the game, Leon will be fully prepared. In a game like pre-season, where the outcome doesn't matter, León sets goals for the team and players before the game, asking them to achieve the goal in the game, while not focusing on the result.

At the pre-game preparation meeting on the morning of the 12th, Leon first set a goal for Steve Nash, that is, he will score 30 points in this game. Hearing this request, Nash was a little surprised and said, "It's not a joke, right? You've always said let me win a scoring title, is it a preseason scoring title? ”

Leon said: "No, I'm serious, you should be able to feel it in recent training, I'm increasing your chances of attacking individually, why do you think this is happening?" ”

Nash replied, "Allowed me to kill the game in the final moments of the game. “

Leon shook his head and said, "I really want you to win a scoring title, after all, you work so hard." ”

Leon's words made Nash incomprehensible, and the other players were equally confused, Nash wanted a championship more than a scoring title. And what does he want to score the best scorer? He's already got the assist king, and his style of play is a pass-first defender. Leon has been emphasizing Nash's need to increase his aggression in recent practice, and everyone thinks that Leon wants the Suns to have a reliable firepower point in key moments, and now it seems that he really wants Nash to be the team's top scorer? So who will pass the ball?

Nash is 33 years old, his body is only declining faster and faster, and he has never appeared in the league as a scorer, and in the eyes of many, Nash's scoring ability is just icing on the cake.

However, Leon did not explain too much, and he assigned tasks to others, such as Boris Dior must complete three blocks, Stoudamire must hit more than five mid-range jumpers, Bale must complete three driving layups, and Sean Marion must grab more than 10 rebounds. For the pros, this is a bit ridiculous because people play for wins, not stats, but since preseason doesn't matter about wins, then it doesn't matter about stats.

In the afternoon, the team did another simple shooting drill, and now Leon also has a role with the Suns, which is the team's shooting trainer. While at the Celtics, Leon learned a lot about shooting from Sigfried, and since Auerbach's death and Leon left the Celtics, Sigfried has chosen to retire again. Now that he's back in Cleveland, Leon often calls to greet him. Leon knows how important shooting is for an offensive team.

After training, Leon asked the players to go out on their own to relax and get ready for the evening's game. He himself went to dinner with D'Antoni, and during the meal, D'Antoni asked: "Why did Leon give them a task, I think it's like teaching high school players to play, yes, I feel like you're leading a high school team during this time." But it seems that they are still very obedient. “

Leon nodded, "I'm teaching a high school team, so I'm going to teach them now if I play in a way that suits me and the team." ”

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