Simmons is seriously injured, Ingram is mediocre, and Roy is out of place with the whole team, which is the comment given by the major media after the first preseason game of the three rookies.

The media is competing to sing the praise, even the fans don't have many good voices, pre-season is a mirror, if a player can't play in pre-season, then it's basically qualitative.

Obviously, if Roy and Ingram can't put in a convincing performance in the next preseason, the hat of the weakest rookie in history will undoubtedly be on their heads.

And after playing against an NBA team for the first time, Roy finally experienced the power and cruelty of the NBA.

Judging from his first experience, the intensity of the NBA game was much more intense than he expected, and Roy originally thought that his intra-team training game was fierce enough, but he didn't expect that the game would be so difficult with real guns.

It's no wonder Roy doesn't feel the intensity in practice, who makes the Knicks' defense the lowest level in the league.

On the other side, the Rockets, although they are not known for their defense, are extremely resolute in their defensive attitude, especially Beverley, who was assigned by D'Antoni to guard him. The perimeter player, nicknamed "Black Bey", is at least 89-93 after Roy's "scouting tools" observation.

That's what NBA-level players are, who may not be well-rounded or flashy, but who are all skilled.

Beverley's stubborn defense punctured Roy's beautiful bubble for the NBA, and he sobered up, the NBA is the NBA, this is the real world's top professional basketball league, and he is just a rookie high school student, no matter how much the outside world touts it, this can't change, so he must work harder.

In the next two days of training, Roy was noticeably more engaged, and he and Porzingis, Vujacic, Holiday and Hernangomez also formed a small training team to practice after each day's training.

On the other hand, Anthony slowly reverted to his old self after being stimulated by Roy for a few days, lazy and listless, and it seemed that there was little training to lift his spirits other than practicing his fixed-point shooting every day.

In this regard, Hornacek is also quite helpless, he does want to be strict with the army, but the current situation of Anthony may restrict his coaching philosophy.

In order to give full play to the characteristics of Anthony and Roy, he also racked his brains.

For example, let Anthony play off-ball? This possibility is basically non-existent, unless Anthony suddenly short-circuits his brain, he will not let go of his arrogant stature.

So what about letting Roy play off-ball? After thinking about it for a long time, Hornacek found Roy.

The two met and exchanged views on the team's long-term development and tactical system.

To Hornacek's surprise, Roy's knowledge of tactical theory is as knowledgeable as a veteran coach who has been in the NBA for many years, and he even felt that it would be okay to let him replace his assistant coach, Kurt Rambis.

The conversation finally turned to Roy's style of play, and Hornacek bluntly told Roy that he might continue to serve as a backup at the beginning of the NBA season, although this is not because of his ability or the lackluster performance in the first preseason game, and Hornacek wants Roy to change.

For example, learning to get up from the bench and play a role when Anthony is not on the court, leading the benches to play the ball-based offense that he is used to.

Another example is when you're on the court with Anthony, trying to play off-ball.

Roy has no sense of approval at all with the suggestion of "Poker Face" Hornacek, although he knows that he is still a little immature, but he is very unhappy to let himself make way for Anthony "Ball".

Why play a deputy for a guy who dominates the ball, doesn't defend, and is lazy in training? Just because he's a famous star in the league? It's not fair!

Roy couldn't figure it out, he just wanted to make a piece of the sky on his own, and if someone put a big lid on that sky, it would undoubtedly make people feel very uncomfortable.

But Roy couldn't change Hornacek's mind.

In the next five preseason games, Roy also failed to find a rhythm with the whole team, and his offense either couldn't get the cooperation of his teammates, or he lost his touch in the opponent's high-intensity defense.

He also tried to lead the bench to play with momentum, but Jennings, O'Quinn, Thomas and others simply couldn't get him to play well.

He also reluctantly played Anthony off the ball, but then the ball really didn't come to him.

Both of Hornacek's proposals proved unhelpful.

Now Roy has to worry about whether he will be buried in the Knicks.

After all six preseason games, the Knicks won just one, and Roy averaged 8.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks in 22.4 minutes per game.

With this change, the media that saw the wind made the rudder immediately change their tone.

The media that touted Roy has changed its face almost completely in less than a month, and their tone is now "Roy's ceiling may be a good role player, he can be a 3-and-D star like Sean Battier, and that's it......"

……

"What a bunch of unscrupulous media." After experiencing the bombardment of the media during this time, Su Dong couldn't help but complain.

He returned to China a few days ago to deal with Roy's sneaker endorsement, and thought that he would receive a wave of praise when he returned to the United States, but he didn't expect that what was waiting for him and Roy was the collective backlash of the media.

In the mainstream sports media in the United States these days, the praise of Roy has gradually subsided, replaced by skeptical voices.

Even ABC TV, the Los Angeles Times and other media outlets that held Roy in the palm of their hands before the draft have begun to defect, and now there are few American journalists who are optimistic about Roy's prospects, except for the sturdy domestic media.

But what can Su Dong do? Does it make the domestic media tout the story of the "8-point ball king"?

Apparently Roy is in trouble and he needs some help.

In this case, Roy and Sudong find Bill Duffy, and perhaps he is now the one who can give Roy the best advice.

Still in Bill Duffy's company, the three of them sat together again.

"Roy, I've seen the media reports and know your current situation, I think you're here to ask for help today, right?" Bill Duffy gets straight to the point, he's a straightforward guy and doesn't like to go around corners and turns, which may be a disadvantage for an agent, but it's a good friend if he's a friend.

"That's right, Mr. Duffy, I'm not happy with my current situation."

"I guess your Knicks teammates don't quite fit your beat, do they?"

"You're right, Mr. Duffy, this Knicks team is probably the least motivated team I've ever been on a team."

"So what are you going to do? I guess you should have your own ideas, right? ”

"Mr. Duffy, in your presence, I also don't want to hold any opinions, if possible, I want to propose a deal, I want to leave New York."

"Oh." Hearing Roy's words, Duffy suddenly fell into thought.

"Roy, have you ever wondered what to do if your next team is still so undesirable to you?"

Duffy's words touched Roy's heart at once, and he was silent.

"If, after the trade, you still can't integrate with the team, what do you do? Do you choose to trade again? You know, the NBA is a business, and once a player is traded, his value will undoubtedly decrease. Besides, as a rookie in Tanhua, your request for a trade at this moment is undoubtedly a sign of weakness, are you willing to tell others that I can't overcome difficulties? ”

As Duffy's enlightenment, Roy's expression gradually became firm, and Duffy continued.

"Roy, do you know what the Bulls' record was when Michael Jordan first came to the Bulls? Do you know how Kobe Bryant joined the Lakers and how he got those old guys to recognize him? There are no natural superstars in this world, but there are indomitable people who work hard to change the opinions of others, and I believe that with hard work, you can change everything......"

"I know what to do." Roy got up, and by this moment, he had found the answer......