At noon on the second day after playing the Grizzlies, Li Ao left Los Angeles with the team and flew to Houston, followed by a wave of two consecutive visitors.

Li Ao flipped through the schedule and was in a happy mood.

Although in addition to the opener, they also had 15 games in November, which was not as few as the next door neighbor plus the 14 games in the first game month of the opener.

But counting the opening game against the Lakers, there were only 6 away games in the first month, 10 home and 6 away.

The Lakers started with 6 home and 8 away, and the two-time defending champion Purple and Gold were sent out to 'parade' to pull the box office at the beginning.

He saw that Lakers fans were proud to say that this was the NBA official after 911 in order to boost the market of less popular teams, and to drive ticket sales during the period when the Hawks had low consumer desire.

That's the thing, but if you insist that this schedule is arranged because of 911, then you don't have to, the schedule was announced on September 1st.

In the first half of the year, the Internet bubble burst, there was no 911, the consumption desire of the people of the Eagle Sauce family was also low, and the main consumer group of football tickets, that is, the grassroots people, had no money in their pockets, and the ball market was expected to be very sluggish, and 911 only made the situation worse.

In addition to this, when Li Ao discussed the reason for the schedule with Vivian and Liam, he felt that there was also the idea that the league wanted to help their Clippers compete for the Los Angeles ball city.

In the opening stage, most of the Lakers' games were on the road, and the Clippers had 10 home games in 30 days.

It's not about stepping on the Lakers, the Lakers are basically there, but to attract fans in the greater Los Angeles area who don't like the Lakers, and passers-by fans who watch anyone's game.

In the greater Los Angeles area, although the Lakers are the most popular basketball team, there are also many fans who don't like them, this year's Jackie Eye Show Tyson Chandler, who grew up in Hanford next door to Los Angeles, just hates the Lakers, and when he was drafted, he was asked who he wanted to beat the most, and he didn't say the name of the player, he said the Lakers.

In the past, the ball market in Los Angeles was very solid, and with competition, the ball market can be more active, which is good for both the Clippers and the Lakers.

The schedule was sweet to start with, but in December, the schedule for their Clippers was difficult, with 17 games, mostly on the road, and a wave of six consecutive road trips.

But in January, there were only 14 games, and most of them were home games.

Compared to last season, the schedule is already quite good.

When he arrived at the hotel in Houston, Li Ao received the news that he won the first Western Conference Player of the Week award in NBA history!

Before the start of the season, the league announced the new season award adjustments, starting this season, the best of the week and monthly awards are divided into separate awards from the Eastern and Western leagues.

When this adjustment was first announced, it caused a lot of controversy, and countless people complained about the star who did not win the Player of the Month award.

The media also bluntly said that the decline in the gold content of the weekly and monthly awards was a product of the alliance in order to "make stars".

But NBA officials ignored the protests of fans and implemented the new award selection rules after the first week of play.

Li Ao won all four games in the first week, averaging 22.5 points, 7.5 boards, 4.75 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.25 blocks per game, with a shooting rate of 49%, a three-point shooting rate of 37%, and a free throw shooting rate of 88%, beating Kobe Bryant, who averaged 35.6 points per game with 2 wins and 1 loss, and Nash, who averaged 25.5 points and 7 assists per game with 3 wins and 1 loss, and won the first Western Conference Weekly Awards.

Eastern Conference Weekly Awards, won by the Hawks' Raheem, 2-1, averaging 30.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.

When Li Ao went online to watch the news to see how the media boasted about their Clippers' opening performance, he saw a news headline 'The 96th Tanhua won the best of the week for the first time in his career', and felt that this Tanhua Lang was too miserable, playing an average of 20+10+3 seasons and 23+7+3 seasons per game, but he didn't get a weekly best award.

However, after seeing the later division of the Weekly Awards, the list of stars who may win the Weekly Championship for the first time is Brand, Alan Houston, Pierce, Rasheed Wallace, Nowitzki......

It seems that Raheem has not won the league of the week, which is also a normal thing.

After the Player of the Week award was announced, the league divided the Player of the Week and the Player of the Month into East and West, which once again aroused discussion.

But it's a foregone conclusion, and the heat isn't as high as in the pre-season stage.

The most lively discussion among fans today is that Gasol scored 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 3 turnovers against the Clippers.

Gasol's first 3 games in the NBA were remarkable, especially against the Bulls, who scored 24 points and 11 rebounds, and was evaluated - finally there is a champion show worthy of the status of the champion.

And compared to Olovo Kandi and Brand, the media and fans feel that Gasol has a better prospect, and the top picks in the past three years have not been able to play the tactical core, but Gasol can.

I didn't expect Gasol, who averaged 19+10+3 per game in the first three games, to play the Clippers so badly, and fans were very curious about how Gasol played.

After some media exposed the details of the game, some sympathized with Gasol, and some didn't think it was a big deal to watch the excitement, and the topic was hot.

Before the Clippers left Los Angeles this morning, Gentry was interviewed and answered about the infinite flanking of Gasol.

"Sniping the No. 1 pick, it's our tactical preparation, we know he's the best player for the Grizzlies, and as long as we limit him, we'll have an easier win."

This statement, the fans obviously don't believe it, that's called tactics? It's clear that it's bullying rookies.

Some fans speculate that Spider-Man is still resentful of the Grizzlies for not using the list to sign him.

This statement is widely recognized, and in their minds, Spider-Man is indeed such a big-hearted person.

It's good that Gentry didn't come out to explain, and he was sympathized with with this explanation - coaching Spider-Man is not an easy job, right? Not only do you have to worry about being beaten, but you also have to take the blame.

However, even fans who sympathize with Gasol don't think there is anything wrong with the Clippers and Li Ao, the world of sports competition, the law of the jungle, and the abuse of vegetables with basketball strength on the court is something that fans like to see.

…

After resting for a while, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Li Ao came to the away team training ground in Toyota Center and practiced shooting for an hour, passing control for half an hour, and running for half an hour.

With two more passers, Bibby and Jordan, he felt that he should discuss with the coaching staff to add a little bit of his pie-eating scene, and maybe the shooting percentage could be mentioned again.

Eating cakes is actually a tactical role, which requires the cooperation of teammates, rushing blindly, and it is possible that you can't catch the ball even if you rush in, and the passer has to be in the right position.

He needs to have the awareness and ability to do this, he needs tactical roles, and he also needs actual combat training to continue to improve his ability in this area.

After a night's rest, the Clippers traveled to the Toyota Center to take on the Rockets.

Coming to Houston, Li Ao saw a lot of interesting news.

With the blessing of defending for three seconds, it was easier for Francis to break through and score, and he became an average scorer of 20+ per game.

The old cat Mobley also benefited a lot, Francis broke through to score stronger, with mid-to-long-range shooting as the main means of scoring, he also had more catch-and-shoot opportunities, especially the improvement of three-point shooting, his three-point shooting rate soared from 35% last season to 43%.

But the Rockets had a miserable record, with a 1-3 start and a complete lack of performance from last season's playoff contenders.

Olajuwon eventually left, and joined the Raptors in the middle class for 3 years.

Another starting interior lineman, Morris Taylor, is also gone this season, accidentally tripping over a passerby while going to the movies in the offseason, falling to his knee and tearing his cruciate ligament.

The Rockets' starters tonight are Kevin Cato, who averaged 4.7 points and 4 boards per game last season, and rookie Eddie Griffin, two interior players who should play off the bench on weak teams, played a few games, and were called by the media - the league's worst starting interior line, Cato who averaged 7 points and 6 boards per game, Griffin who averaged 8 points and 5 boards per game, and not as good as the data of a player on the team's interior line.

The progress of Francis and Mobley is not enough to offset the loss of strength caused by the loss of the two starting interior players.

In addition to this, the Rockets also sent away quality role players such as Shanton Anderson and Matt Bullard in exchange for Glenn Rice and Kevin Willis, whose contracts are set to expire in 1-2 years.

Rumor has it that the Rockets owner does not plan to sign any more players this season, because if it is just another base salary, the Rockets will have to pay taxes.

Sending away high-quality role players and swapping them back for veterans is intended to ensure that Mobley and Francis don't exceed the luxury tax threshold after they re-sign their contracts.

Li Ao recalled that in Yao Ming's 7-year career, the Rockets did not pay a single luxury tax, but in the 10-11 season after Yao Ming retired, he paid 800,000 US dollars in luxury tax.

He remembered this because the figure of 800,000 dollars was too impressive, which was the total amount of luxury tax paid by the Rockets 10 years after the implementation of the luxury tax.

At 7 p.m., the Clippers' away game against the Rockets began.

Without Margeti, the Clippers can't defend Francis.

Francis saw Jordan and played hard, shooting 10-of-20 from the field, plus 5-of-6 free throws, to score 25 points and 7 assists.

But Mobley met Li Ao on his side, shooting 8 of 24, paying tribute to Los Angeles.

Kenny Thomas played well, and he was the beneficiary of the loss of the interior starting twin towers.

Francis fed the ball to Cato and Eddie Griffin, both of whom couldn't eat it, Eddie Griffin's No. 7 pick was water, and Francis chose to pass the ball to Kenny Thomas, who scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting tonight.

However, apart from these three, no one else on the Rockets scored in double figures.

On the Clippers' side, Li Ao took the initiative to cut to the inside line tonight, creating damage, and the effect was good, facing the Rockets' weak interior group, he dunked 3 times in positional battles, and then compressed the Rockets' defense, creating better shooting conditions for his outside teammates.

Li Ao played 35 minutes and got 20 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks, all of which were given to Cato, Eddie Griffin, and Kevin Willis.

Jordan had 21 points and 4 assists, Bibby had 12 points and 7 assists, O'Neal Jr. had 14 points and 14 boards, and Big Q and Piakowski both had 11 points.

106-92, the Clippers beat the Rockets lightly and won 5 consecutive wins!

…

At noon the next day, the Clippers left Houston for Portland.

Once at the hotel, Gentry summoned the coaching staff and a few key players to his room for a meeting.

Gentry began: "We've got six straight home games after the Trail Blazers tomorrow, two weeks in a row, and we're going to have to take advantage of that schedule and adjust what we're lacking.

After playing five games, we can clearly feel that other teams are gradually adapting to the new rules, and the tactics are gradually improving, and our advantage in this area is gradually shrinking.

I'd like to ask you if you have any ideas, and if you have any, you can give me suggestions. ”

Jordan was the first to speak: "I don't recommend that we make too many adjustments, it is inevitable to understand the rules faster and take advantage of the rules to become smaller, Alvin, you can't overreact, we are in the right rhythm now, I know you want to continue to lead, but you still have too little experience, after we have a clear direction forward, we need to be more patient, not think of what to do, to have a long-term plan." ”

Although he was counted down, Gentry was not angry at all, and responded: "Michael, you are experienced, I am too anxious......"

He quietly gave a thumbs up to Doug Collins.

Or the old coach is experienced.

Originally, this meeting was not called for the team, but Doug Collins suggested calling Jordan, and if there was nothing to do, there was nothing to do for Jordan, and this guy was going to be a demon again.

Gentry agreed, but since he was going to call Jordan, he had to call a few more people, otherwise it would seem that they were too purposeful.

"However, despite the patience, we still have to seize this opportunity to make adjustments to the shortcomings of our tactical details, Michael, do you have any suggestions?"

Jordan was very proud of the recognition after a while, and after thinking about it, he said what he felt he didn't do well from the tactical level.

Jordan is very professional in this regard, but he usually doesn't like to talk about this, but now he is in a good mood and thinks of what to say.

This is a surprise for Gentry, Jordan finds shortcomings from the perspective of the championship team, and looks like a 'thorn', but Gentry is not afraid of hardship or tiredness, but he is afraid that his strength is obviously not strong enough but he can't find a direction to improve.

Li Ao also took this opportunity to tell the coaching staff the idea of wanting to get the tactical endpoint role of cutting into the frame without the ball.

Gentry's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Leo, your suggestion is very good, we are actually worried that there is no athletic off-ball receiving point, we have the conditions to create open cutting scoring opportunities, but after Margeti left, our forward line is not athletic, only Matt and Lafonso can take on this role, but Matt is responsible for flank cover and long-range containment, only Lafonso is dedicated to this."

We're thinking about whether to trade a physical interior back, but we want to bring in a meat shield center more than a physical interior lineman, and we're struggling with how to choose, and you've been playing a point guard this season, and we've forgotten about you, and we're derelict in our duties.

In that case, we will temporarily cancel the plan to introduce a physical fitness insider, and we will arrange a trainer for you to help you develop this ability. ”

When the tactical role of the cake eater was in hand, Li Ao said happily: "Then I will practice more without the ball in the next few days, Alvin, you have to hurry up and prepare the tactics, don't I cut in a few days, your tactics are not ready." ”

These words, not to mention the coaching staff, even Jordan tightened his fists when he heard it.

It's arrogant! Arrogant! Arrogant!

But there's no way to refute it yet!

People are talented, they have the ability to learn new things quickly, and they make faster progress, not to mention back playing, just look at three-point shots, Li Ao averaged 1 three-pointer per game with a 30% three-point shooting rate last season, and was ridiculed by the media Don't think about three-pointers, shoot as well as Jordan.

As a result, in the first 5 games of the season, this guy averaged 1.8 three-pointers per game, and the shooting rate was 35%+.

(End of chapter)