Chapter 41: The Timberwolves' Insider

McHale's office is not overly lavishly decorated, and the interior is simple and clean.

As a player-turned-coach, McHale has always maintained a player's self-discipline, and on his desk, you can see the neatly arranged team planning report.

"What do you want to drink, coffee or tea?" McHale asked, looking back.

"Tea, thank you!"

Li Shihao reached out to take the tea made by McHale, and his eyes stared at McHale through the steaming mist, wanting to see what the head coach who had high hopes for him would have to say.

"Look at this report!" McHale threw a document report to Li Shihao, and drank coffee quietly.

This is a report on the players, and it is none other than the upcoming Marc Gasol, a young centre-forward from Spain.

Marc Gasol was originally drafted by the Lakers in the second round, and the young Spanish center was not reused by the Los Angeles Lakers and was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade shortly after.

In that trade, he and his all-star brother swapped clubs and traveled to faraway Memphis, where instead of enjoying his brother's popularity, he was greeted with the hostility and abuse of fans.

It is precisely in this way that the MVP of the Spanish league is provoked to anger, he is not a bad breed, his brother can do it, he can do it too!

His rookie season was phenomenal, averaging 11 per game. 9 points 7. Four rebounds have put him in the spotlight and won the hearts of some sane fans, and his value is much more than a second-round pick!

This detailed player report describes Marc Gasol's playing style, technical characteristics, and even down to the offensive and defensive habits on the field, etc., and the detailed player report concludes with the following evaluation:

"Future All-Star Center! There is even a chance that he will be the best center in the league! ”

A trace of surprise flashed in Li Shihao's eyes, this evaluation is not low, the best center in the league, now that the dominance of Warcraft Howard is getting stronger and stronger, if you want to get the position of the best center in the league in his hands, will this judgment be a little too unrealistic!

He flipped to the last page of the player's report, and the signature there shook his heart.

"McHale!"

He raised his head and glanced at the head coach who was silently sipping coffee in disbelief, the writer of this player report was actually personally inspected by head coach McHale!

He looked through the player report again, and he found that Marc Gasol's technical characteristics are not outstanding, but they are comprehensive, but this does not mean that he can become an All-Star!

After being silent for a while, Li Shihao asked in a deep voice: "Mike, are you optimistic about Marc Gasol?" ”

McHale nodded, pondered for a while, and said: "Bruce, you know, I was a power forward when I was a player, I also had a great career, as a head coach who was an interior player, I have a sharper judgment ability for those interior players, I can see that Marc Gasol has great potential, and will be one of your indispensable helpers in the future." ”

The words were very sincere, since McHale chose Li Shihao as the core of the team, he naturally gave great trust and respect to Li Shihao.

"It's true that you have a very prescient vision for interior players, but can Mark come to the team and fill the void of Ayer perfectly, you know, our team's offensive and defensive system has just been established, and now suddenly losing an All-Star player is probably going to have a huge impact."

"I've taken that into account too, but there's one thing Bruce is wrong about! Marc Gasol will fit our system better than Ayr! ”

McHale shook his head, and his words denied Li Shihao's concept.

"Ayer's offense is really good, his low post attack has been a big help for the team on the offensive end, but his defense has always been problematic, he is not tall enough, and when he moves him to the center position this season, his performance will be greatly reduced, and he will often not be able to defend against the opposing center forwards."

Li Shihao was silent, this is not wrong, when playing against the Trail Blazers, Al against Oden, can be described as a little struggling, in the face of Oden the Great, who is much taller than himself, Al was frequently exploded, becoming a huge hole in the team's defense, and on the offensive end facing the defensive center Oden, his offensive efficiency is not too high, and he often needs the support of Lefou.

If it hadn't been for the team's change of offensive tactics, perhaps their matchup with the Trail Blazers would have ended in failure.

"Love is a player that I personally looked at, I noticed him when he was at UCLA, Love will be a good helper for you on the inside, he can give you a lot of support on the rebounding and offensive end, but he still doesn't do well enough on the defensive end, and Marc Gasol is the one to solve that!"

"Mark is a versatile player, he's able to build a solid barrier on the defensive end, and he's the same as his brother, he's a great player for the triangle attack, they have a very good game, and I'm sure he'll fit in perfectly with the triangle attack!"

Li Shihao nodded, he still believes in McHale's vision of interior players, as the best big forward in the history of the league, he has the most right to evaluate the merits of an interior player.

Think about Garnett, Ayr, Lefou, these people have either become famous, or have great potential, I believe that the future of Marc Gasol will not be bad!

"Also, Bruce, you need to hone the offense and defense of our team's bench during this time, if you want to make a run for the playoffs, it's not enough to rely on the strength of the starters, you need more help!"

Li Shihao nodded, the strength of the Timberwolves' starting lineup can be assured for the time being, and now it is more important to pay attention to the strength of the team's bench.

Dacomi Mirisic's strength is still good, this 03-year-old show, although he was named "parallel goods", but his potential is still worth looking forward to.

His technical style is quite comprehensive, as long as he is given a certain amount of playing time, the Timberwolves' bench lineup cannot do without him, but this former proud son of heaven has gradually become remote and weird after spending a long dark period with the Pistons, and how to run in with him will be a difficult point.

This requires him to spend more energy to explore, and since he is the leader of the team, he naturally has to shoulder the rise and fall of the Timberwolves, and how to make his teammates better is something he must learn!

The conversation lasted for more than an hour, and McHale and Li Shihao discussed the Timberwolves' offensive and defensive system for a long time.

McHale is not a traditional academic coach, he has always taken a listening attitude to the opinions of the players, and it is clear that the players often see on the field are often a little different from the head coach, and Li Shihao after two weeks of regular season has also made him quite moved by some suggestions for the team.

When Li Shihao left, he clearly heard McHale's words full of trust:

"Bruce, I chose you! Don't hesitate, I'm sure you can do better, and the future of the Timberwolves is up to you! ”

Li Shihao was stunned, and then walked out of the head coach's office, walking firmly and steadily.

He is not afraid of the unknown future, he has always believed in his "paranoia"!

As the footsteps faded away, the office fell silent again, and McHale reached for his temple, looking gloomy and lonely.

Whether the Timberwolves can go further in the West today depends not only on the strength of the players, but also on the planning behind him.

He's not a master tactician, and he often has to stay up all night thinking about a game.

McHale looked at the photo of himself winning the championship as a player on the wall, his eyes were distant and serene: "You were unremarkable, I wouldn't have chosen you, but Don Nelson's proposal moved my heart, and I believe that the old madman's vision, his vision for defenders has always been ahead of his time." ”

"I didn't expect you to be able to explode more, but I understand that it's much more than that, you can become stronger! That Don Nelson guy will never value you just because of your current strength! ”

"Now that I've chosen you, I want you to lead the Timberwolves back to glory!"

A sigh came from the empty and silent office, unable to hide McHale's deep exhaustion.

The future is unknown, but there is a glimmer of hope!

In the following time, the Timberwolves faced the Rockets, who were also short of major generals, in the absence of starting center Al Jefferson, but unfortunately the team felt cold, and in the face of the hot hand of the Rockets' five doubles, they could only reap one defeat.

On the evening of November 22, the Timberwolves rushed to the Portland Rose Garden to play against the Trail Blazers, which was the third matchup with the Trail Blazers this season.

Unfortunately, the game ended up losing, the team suffered two consecutive defeats in Portland, and Li Shihao's two consecutive 27+ performances came to naught.

On November 24, the Timberwolves played against the Clippers in Los Angeles, and the champion show Griffin was reimbursed for the season due to injury, and he could only watch his teammates fight on the court.

At this point, the Timberwolves are seventh in the West, with a 9-4 record behind the Utah Jazz and a somewhat shaky playoff spot, and they are about to face the Denver Nuggets, the team that reached the Western Conference finals last year, on November 26.

Fortunately, on November 25, Marc Gasol passed the player's physical examination and successfully returned to the team that morning, and the Timberwolves started five tigers and were ready to go!