Chapter 55: The Timberwolves' Variant
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In the basketball world, everyone knows that players are divided into five big positions, but few people will pay attention to the different characteristics of each position, organizing guards, many people will think that this is a position of the team's brain, and the main responsibility of players in this position is to organize the team's offense, such as the former Magic, Isaiah Thomas, now Stockton, Kidd, they can average more than 10 assists per game, these people are called passing masters, classic point guards, But just as a small forward will appear as an organizational small forward, a point guard will also appear as a scoring point guard, which is not common now, but will become more and more in the future, and there is another type of point guard besides scoring point guard and organizational point guard that is not well known.
That is the control playmaker represented by Billups, this type of point guard rarely sends more than 10 assists in a game, and rarely scores twenty or thirty points a game, such point guards are responsible for controlling the rhythm of the team on the court, they are not the brain of the team but the heart of the team, the metronome of the team, they can easily put the team in the most favorable rhythm for themselves, such a type of playmaker is difficult to reflect its value in terms of data.
This is also the reason why Zhuang Fei said that the trouble is coming, the current Timberwolves and Nuggets, like a full load of fast cars, both cars have no brakes, more importantly, the two cars contain each other, one is fast, the other is also fast, now the car with the lowest configuration is about to be dragged down, at this time, the car with a low configuration is replaced with a transmission and brakes, and can control its own speed, while the other fast car with a high configuration will be slowed down.
That's what Billups did when he came on the court, with the Nuggets finding the rhythm that worked best for them and the Timberwolves being held back. Nash wanted to speed up, but Billups kept pressing him, neither slow nor fast, which was the most bad rhythm for the Timberwolves but the most beneficial for the Nuggets. Now Nash has met his nemesis.
Seeing that the Nuggets were back on track after replacing Billups, Nuggets head coach Dan Yissel on the sidelines also smiled. This is not an unexpected bonus.
"Nash can't slow down and can't go up fast now, how to look at the road feels awkward, the Nuggets' wave shooting point guard has a strong sense of presence, and he has a good combing of the team, and Nash is too bad in this regard" D'Antoni also saw the problems on the court now.
Zhuang Fei can naturally see that Nash does not have the level of later generations, now he is just a newcomer who has been on the bench for two years, whether it is experience or ability, he can lead the team quickly, but if he encounters a master like Billups who controls the rhythm, it will be difficult for him to do it. It's fair to say that Billups is the nemesis of this current Nash.
Regardless of this, Zhuang Fei is not worried, he has prepared for such a situation before the game, and he will be surprised if the game does not appear in this situation. Nash has a nemesis, and so does Billups.
"After the Nuggets replaced last year's No. 3 pick Billups, the speed of the whole game immediately dropped, and the Nuggets' score gradually caught up, not good, Timberwolves point guard Nash made a passing error, Billups counterattacked, beautiful, a very easy layup, Nash can only look at the ball and sigh." Narrator El Michaels shouted excitedly.
Zhuang Fei was a little frowning on the sidelines, even if he knew that as long as Nash fell into the position, his mistakes would increase, but Billups found out too quickly, how long has Billups been on it? Has this found a way to deal with Nash?
"What a strong insight" Even D'Antoni on Zhuang Fei's side couldn't help but admire, did Billups show sè? Statistically, he only scored 2 points and 0 assists on 1-of-2 shooting, but the Nuggets recovered 6 points and suppressed the Timberwolves. That's where the data doesn't tell.
When the game is eight-and-a-half minutes into play, the two sides have their first regular rotation. The score was 28-22 and both teams scored well, making it an unguarded game.
"Catino, do you know what I want to tell you" Looking at the old cat who was still young, Zhuang Fei asked solemnly.
"Coach, don't worry, I know" Mobley nodded firmly, Zhuang Fei has been treating him very well since he entered the team, originally he thought that he would be cut by Zhuang Fei, after all, there are too many talents in the team's scoring guard, Pierce, Jackson, Anthony Piller, Chris Kyle, these are not comparable to him, he is just a small second-round rookie, he was ignored by other teams due to his height, until he was selected by the Bucks in the second round and traded to the Timberwolves, But what moved him very much was that on the first day he came to the Timberwolves, Zhuang Fei handed him a 3-year, 3 million fully guaranteed contract, which is a contract that only first-round rookies can enjoy, at that time he had not played a game in the Timberwolves, and he had not even trained with the team.
Although he won the contract, Zhuang Fei was also very strict with him, and Mobley still remembered Zhuang Fei's words clearly at that time.
"Catino, you're a great shooting guard, you're scoring great, I'm happy with you, I'm very clear with you, you're going to be the core of the team's second team for the new season, but I want you to change a little bit at the Timberwolves, I need you to be able to score and play with your teammates, you need to be a scoring duo."
Dual-energy bits? Mobley had never thought he'd be a two-way guard before, his threes were good, his pace was fast, his breakaways were good, he was a finisher, but now he's willing to make changes for the sake of Zhuang Fei's expectations and the centerpiece of the team's second team. And Zhuang Fei has been fixing him in the team's point guard position since then.
Looking at Mobley's determined back, Zhuang Fei was also thinking deeply, not knowing if his approach would work, in Zhuang Fei's heart, he wanted to transform Mobley into a player who was at ease in organization and scoring like Ginobili of the Spurs in the future. Zhuang Fei also knows that not everyone can become like Ginobili, but Zhuang Fei is not fooling, Mobley does have this potential, his three-point, breakthrough, and shooting are all very good, but he lacks some overall vision. With a little practice for a season or two, Mobley can definitely become another demon knife that only belongs to the Timberwolves.
"Zhuang, do you think Catino can meet your requirements?" asked D'Antoni curiously.
Zhuang Fei thought about it for a while, and then said in a deep voice: "Whether it can be done or not, it is not a big problem for the Timberwolves, it is okay to do it better, it doesn't matter if it can't be done, his score can also achieve the effect of changing the rhythm of the team, in the case that Nash can't master the variation, he is our variant" After listening to Zhuang Fei's explanation, D'Antoni nodded thoughtfully.
After Mobley came on the court, the rhythm of the Timberwolves was indeed different from when Nash was on the court, and it was more obvious than Loops's senses, the Timberwolves' new point guard was too aggressive, and the offensive breakthrough, shooting, and the pace and pressing when defending made Billups, who was used to Nash, a little scrambling.
"The Timberwolves' backup point guard Mobley performed very eye-catching, and the Nuggets' Billups was passed again, so fast, Danny Foster couldn't make up for it, and Mobley was like a civet cat to the basket and scored a layup" The commentator exclaimed again.
"That's what you want, right?" D'Antoni said.
Zhuang Fei nodded and replied softly: "That's right"
Billups, then Mobley is Billups. This is Zhuang Fei's confidence.
Soon, Dan Iser saw that Billups was about to lose control, and decisively took Billups down, Billups is indeed not very good at dealing with players like Mobley.
"If you can give Billups a little more time, he will definitely be able to find a way to deal with Mobley, but Dan Iser will not give him too much time to make mistakes" Billups is not the core of the Nuggets, he will not have much room for mistakes, and if you want to play the best role of Billups, you must put him as the core. This is also the reason why Billups sank in constant team changes, and it wasn't until he went to the Pistons that he shone his brightest.
If it weren't for Billups's high ranking, Zhuang Fei would have wanted to poach him a long time ago, a No. 3 pick, and the minimum annual renewal after the rookie contract expires is 6 million. The current Timberwolves certainly can't afford it.
After solving Billups' trouble, the Timberwolves quickly took the lead in the second lineup, and Zhuang Fei also saw the end of the game.
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