Chapter 076: Super Rookie
(Actually, this should be chapter 75.,I missed it in a hurry yesterday.,Passed 76 ahead of schedule.,Sorry)
Perhaps considering that Curry did not take on too many offensive tasks, D'Antoni did not replace him, knowing that the opponent's mustache was not in good shape, wanted to give his disciples more time to exercise, as Li Chen said, to give rookies a chance.
In the preseason, Curry and Thornton won the recognition of fans with their excellent performances, especially Babyface, with his special status as the No. 6 pick, he quickly became the new favorite of New Yorkers, and the results also proved that Curry has the ability to become the right-hand man of the Big Apple.
In contrast, Thorton is not so lucky, even if he can always do the best possible in his short playing time, but he is still a substitute after all, congenitally, he is weaker than Curry, but for this second-round show, the attitude of local New York fans is still quite good, in the two rookies, they see the future of New York.
Considering that the Big Apple and the two rookies are both in their early twenties, even though David Lee is one of the young talents, fans have always been steadfast in their love for the team despite the Knicks' mixed records.
Just like the Thunder in the West, they believe the Knicks have a bright future, and in comparison, New York doesn't seem to be much worse than the Thunder, who are eighth in the West, and maybe they could have done better if it hadn't been for the suspension caused by the brawl.
But one day, things suddenly changed. The Big Apple went from being an assist master to a lone hero overnight, and the rookie who lost a large part of the ball seemed to have lost his former feel, even though the Knicks were getting better and better under Li Chen's leadership. But Curry's performance is getting worse and worse, and Sotton, who has been consistent, is more reassuring by comparison.
No one can say that it is a mistake for the Big Apple to take the offensive power alone, because it turns out that this will be better for the Knicks, and everyone knows that the reason why Li Chen chose to fight alone is also because his teammates are not mature, and the sense of crisis of losing makes him have to shoulder the offensive power of the team.
Li Chen has talked to Curry more than once about the team's situation. The rookie's positioning does not meet the common requirements of D'Antoni and Li Chen, in short, he can't adapt to the rhythm of the current Knicks. On the premise that the chances of making shots are declining, it is difficult to be satisfied with the play of the baby face whose mentality is affected.
Now, many people, including Li Chen, also know that Curry has hit the so-called rookie wall. Unlike Thorton. The treatment of the starter and the special status of the No. 6 pick inevitably put more attention on him, and to a certain extent, it also put more pressure on him, so Thorton can quickly come out of the rookie wall, but Curry has been stuck in it.
As a coach, the mustache knows very well that now he can only expect the rookie to wake up on his own, and he must recognize his position in the team and understand the coach's tactical expectations for him. At the same time, it is necessary to learn how to maximize the benefits with the least resources, and this is not a university alliance. The team will only revolve around more talented people, and this person in the Knicks is Li Chen.
Keeping Curry on the court alone, in addition to hoping that he can have more time to practice, D'Antoni also hopes that his disciples can take advantage of this free time to regain a little offensive confidence, which is very important for a rookie.
Just like the parallel traders in the team, if it weren't for the fact that his self-confidence in his rookie season was completely destroyed, he wouldn't have gotten to the point where he is now in such a bleak state, you know, there were many people who swore that his talent was no less than James's, but now, one has reached the top of the league pyramid, while the other has to worry about whether he will be given up by the team from time to time.
Compared with the trident combination on the Mavericks' side, the substitute on the New York side is not shabby, after Harrington's end, the parallel goods list has completely secured the position of the main substitute, because the training has always been carried out under the supervision of Li Chen, Milicic's strength has improved a lot compared to the beginning of the season, and his performance in recent games has also proved that he can serve as the team's substitute position.
Hunter in the big front position is a full soy sauce party, D'Antoni just let this guy buy a little more rest time for other players, if there is a problem, I believe that the mustache will definitely not hesitate to promote Battier to the big forward position, and then pick out a person from the guard line to play a big and four small tactics, but at present, Hunter's soy sauce is still playing well.
Battier on small forward is New York's strong point, and considering Terry, the Mavericks' super sixth man on the bench, Mustache did not hesitate to hand over the defensive task to Battier, no matter what the situation, Batman will always be a player to trust.
The back line is full of unknowns, and the special combination of the No. 6 show and the second round show makes one have to suspect that D'Antoni intends to use this time to train, of course, this does not mean that such a combination is weak, it is just unpleasant to watch, especially for the fans in the field, the arrangement of the mustache is clearly to despise them.
God knows how wronged D'Antoni is, he just thinks that this lineup is good, of course, the training is also a small part, the big score lead of the main lineup gives him the confidence to experiment tactics, and the boos of the field make him firm in his thoughts.
"Believe me, you're going to surprise you!" Li Chen patted Curry on the shoulder like a big brother, he didn't care at all that his actual age was actually younger than Curry, and the stubborn idea that strength determines status made him feel like a senior when facing two rookies.
Of course, you can't be eccentric as the boss, at least not on the surface, Li Chen and Suoton slapped their hands, and the performance of the second round show was still very reassuring, "Come on, kill them, just like we killed their main force!" ”
After the official timeout, the bench battle officially began, and the Mavericks, who were behind, had the first right to tee, and the main play made their pressure increase sharply, although they had always been tasked with crushing the opponent's substitute in the past. But this time the gap is still a bit big, and if they can't complete the task well, then the difficulty of winning can be imagined. Even though it's only the first quarter, a lot of things on the basketball court are predestined from the first quarter.
The new hacker Marion can't wait to prove his worth, he made a decisive shot on the first attack, he can advance and retreat, he can easily play the defender's Hunter completely unable to find the north, what about the urinal like posture, as long as he can score, the hacker uses a stable score to wash away his grievances.
The Mavericks' bench got off to a good start. That's good news for Dallas, and as much as the form of the main team today is worrying, as long as the bench stays the same. The game is still played.
Is that really the case? Is the Knicks' bench so powerless? That was clearly not the case, and Thornton started the offensive first, and although Curry was the main player, he was in the bench. Thorton, who was already a fish in water, was far happier than Curry. Because he knew exactly what he had to do.
The pull-up jump shot hit steadily, and the performance of the rookie couldn't help but make the Dallas people a little unhappy, there were so many second-round shows, how could the Knicks choose this one so powerfully, thinking of the rookie in his team who couldn't get on the stage at all, the Mavericks fans had an unspeakable jealousy.
Glider Terry was the heart of the Mavericks' bench, something that even Marion couldn't shake if he wanted to perform well, with the help of Barria's quick cover. Terry cut into the Knicks' box, and the weakness of the opponent's interior made it clear to Terry what to do. After attracting the defense, he cleverly split the ball, and the follow-up Barria made a layup.
Two consecutive offenses were scored, the Mavericks' momentum rose for a while, and the Knicks' subsequent mistakes allowed the Mavericks to seize the opportunity to counterattack, the three points in the fast break were not Li Chen's patent, Terry also chose this offensive method, and he successfully helped the team get back 3 points.
"I should do something!" A corner of the field that is not noticed, Terry's play has made the rookie understand something, it is not for nothing that the mustache put him on the bench, the player called the glider in front of him knows very well that the former Hawks ace, now the Mavericks sixth man, the change of position did not bother him much, he has to contribute his strength as always, sharing the love of the fans.
Others can, why can't you yourself? The self-confidence cultivated in college has helped the rookie a lot, despite the recent bad form, Curry has not lost confidence in himself, everyone is telling him to find his role, and he has indeed been looking for it, and his cooperation with Li Chen has always made him fall into a misunderstanding, he just wants to know what Li Chen wants to do, but completely ignores what he can do.
From John Terry, he saw the wisdom of a professional footballer, and the rookie tried to make some changes.
"He seems to be going to do something?" Off the court, the mustache paid attention to the performance of his disciples, and unlike in the past, when he would unnaturally hand the ball to the main offensive point as soon as he received the ball, this time Curry seemed to notice his value.
Compared to Barria, Curry still has a height advantage after all, and in the position of control, he can almost see the whole picture. After signaling to Thornton, Curry quickly dribbled the ball in the direction of his teammates, and just as Barria wanted to bypass Thorton, the second-round show suddenly ran straight to the Mavericks' inside line, and Curry hoisted the ball in.
It didn't end there, Curry didn't follow the trend after the pass, he was smart enough to choose a counterrun, and his opponent Barria was distracted by the defense just now, and Curry easily got the open opportunity.
The two originally planned to do so, Thorton didn't intend to be greedy, attracting the defense and then passing back to teammates, the second-round pick managed to brush up an assist for himself, and Curry also added a three-point to his record.
The offensive power was once again in the hands of the Mavericks, and the opponent's performance did not have any impact on their side, and Terry meticulously carried out the coach's tactical requirements, using the impact of Marion and others to maximize the success rate, and now it seems that this is the most worry-free way.
After Barria missed the shot, the hacker grabbed the offensive rebound, and then passed to Drew Gooden, who hit the board, and the Knicks' two immature interior players became ornaments in this defense, and it seemed that their reaction was always one step slower than their opponents.
Curry once again found an opportunity, did not hesitate after receiving the inside pass, and the swiftness of the ball allowed him to get rid of a lot of defense, because of Li Chen, the three-point strength of the baby face has not been paid much attention, but in fact, his ability is definitely far beyond the NBA average.
One minute later, the opportunity to press the whistle found Curry again, and the precision of the horseback archery two steps outside the three-point line was not disturbed in any way, and the basketball plunged into the basket amid the exclamations of the audience.
"Well done!" On the bench, D'Antoni was pleasantly surprised by his disciple's outstanding performance, and no matter what happens after that, the rookie's self-confidence is at least back again, and if he learns how to better help the team, then the Knicks will have a much better road ahead.
The boxing king touched the baby-faced bald head like a big brother, "Stephen, good job, the strongest bench lineup in the league has been killed by you!" ”
31:16! In just one quarter, the Knicks already led by 15 points, and Curry's three-point shooting completely ruined the Mavericks' plan to rely on the bench to steal points. Being forced into such a depressed situation in the first quarter, the Dallas people were unprecedentedly sad! (To be continued......)