At the beginning of the second half, Li Kaiming came up and gave Varejao another dunk.
Maybe Sanders found that he was very excited tonight, or he wanted Li Kaiming to go up and take revenge, so he gave the latter more playing time.
Li Kaiming and Nick Young brought several substitute players on the court to face the Cavaliers' starting lineup, and the point difference became wider and wider!
Nick Young became a forward in this lineup, shooting guard Sun Yue, power forward Yi Jianlian, and Li Kaiming returned to his familiar center position.
However, although his position on the court is center, he is definitely the person on the Wizards who touches the ball the most time and times.
Among the substitute players, there is no one who can be regarded as the core, so the ball control of this lineup is centered on Li Kaiming.
After several months of training, Sanders also gradually explored the playing style of the second team with Li Kaiming as the core.
Other players were in favor of the move with both hands and feet.
The first is the starting lineup of Arenas and others. They need a certain amount of shot and ball rights. In addition, Nick Young is a black hole of ball rights, and they also need to cultivate Li Kaiming as the core inside line. One ball is obviously not enough to score points.
So someone must be the one to lead the bench, and the person who leads the bench must first be able to pass the ball, which excludes Nick Young. The second one must be able to play for a long enough time.
Arenas has suffered from knee injuries in recent years, so his playing time must be controlled. The glorious and arduous task of leading the second team naturally falls on Li Kaiming's shoulders.
Li Kaiming naturally did not disappoint Sanders and his teammates. After he showed his strong ability to drive his teammates, the Wizards players were surprised to find that the substitute lineup played very smoothly!
It is like a precise instrument, making the most correct choices in every move. The players always appear where they should appear, and the atmosphere of team basketball is gradually established...
With Li Kaiming as the core, the rest began to move around Li Kaiming.
Varejao, who was facing Li Kaiming, was confused after a few rounds. He missed several people under the basket and was dunked twice by Li Kaiming. The point difference quickly reached 20 points.
Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott immediately called a timeout. If this continues, his starting lineup will be defeated by the opponent's substitute...
He could see clearly off the court that the Wizards' No. 1 pick was absolutely top-notch in passing, so the best way to defend this lineup was to guard others and give Li Kaiming singles, and don't let him drive his teammates!
After the timeout, the Cavaliers players, who received Scott's guidance, quickly woke up and began to strangle their opponents.
This method is indeed good, but the second team led by Li Kaiming can only play other substitutes at most. It can be a fool's dream to win the starting lineup.
In particular, the substitute lineup is not as physically gifted as the starting lineup. If the opponent really defends seriously, with the physical fitness of Sun Yue and others, it will be almost difficult to hit against the defense. If there is a slight interference, the shot will miss the basket.
Although this method narrowed the point difference, it made it easier for Li Kaiming to complete the task. He could almost eat Varejao alive one-on-one!
Poor Varejao was dunked twice by Li Kaiming again before leaving the field at the end of the third quarter!
Not surprisingly, after going down this time, he would never come up again.
Seeing that the opponent was the first to win the starting lineup and raised the white flag to surrender, Sanders also used up a timeout, then took off Li Kaiming and Nick Young, replaced them as pure substitutes, and went up to compete with the opponent's rookie.
After the final game, the Cavaliers recovered some of the point difference and lost to the Wizards 99-108 by 9 points, which was acceptable in terms of face.
Li Kaiming played for 31 minutes, scoring 41 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists on 16-of-20 shooting. This was also his first triple-double after coming to the NBA!
Arenas only played less than 20 minutes in the half, scoring 15 points and 4 assists on 6-of-12 shooting.
Sun Yue's efficiency was a bit low. He struggled a bit against opponents who were physically better than him. He played for 18 minutes, scoring 5 points on 2-for-5, and also made 3 turnovers.
Yi Jianlian's performance tonight was also somewhat unsatisfactory. The Cavaliers' accumulation of insiders did not cause trouble to Li Kaiming, but made Yi Jianlian suffer a lot.
He played for 24 minutes and only made 4 of 12 shots. He scored 10 points and barely reached double figures. However, he protected the rebounds well. He got 10 rebounds and got the first double-double of his Wizards career. Although It's from the preseason.
For the Cavaliers, Mo Williams was outstanding, scoring 26 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals in 30 minutes. The data was very balanced.
Varejao, who was taught a lesson by Li Kaiming, also performed very poorly tonight. He scored 6 points and 10 rebounds on 2-of-7 shooting. It was a great shame to be taught the opposite by a rookie...
After the Wizards' second preseason game, Li Kaiming's performance once again became a hot topic in basketball circles.
Because after the first game, many fans and reporters believed that John Wall was in the lead in the competition for the best rookie.
Because Li Kaiming only played half of the first game, and his statistics were very average, although his efficiency was still abnormal.
But most people still like to look at basic data, just like they only look at kda when playing games.
Wall's outstanding performance in the first game coupled with very good data made some fans start to advocate for him.
Some of Li Kaiming's anti-fans even started shouting, "Li Kaiming is a fraud! He deceived the Wizards' management and the NBA! The No. 1 pick belongs to Wall!"
What's even more ridiculous is that this kind of embarrassing comment has actually gained a lot of recognition from some people!
But immediately, Li Kaiming shut these guys up in the second game!
You like to look at data, right? The labor and management data are much more beautiful than 20+10. Do you still look at data?
Of course, this game is not the result of Li Kaiming deliberately brushing up the data to slap the scumbags in the face, but the result of a combination of various factors.
There are some factors in the media's prediction of the game that he will be restricted by the Cavaliers inside, there are also factors such as system tasks, and factors such as Varejao provoking him, etc...
In the eyes of some people, the Cavaliers, a team of interior defenders, were beaten by Li Kaiming alone, who scored 40 points and a triple-double with a shooting rate of more than 70%. This was something that no one expected, even those who were optimistic about Li Kaiming before.
"No. 1 pick Li Kaiming scored a 40+ triple-double in the second preseason game. Do you hear anyone questioning me? 》
After this battle, Li Kaiming also became the first rookie in the NBA to score 40+ triple-doubles in the preseason, achieving his first historical achievement in the NBA!
Memphis, inside a single-family house.
After retirement, Leonard's life is very regular, but he still maintains a habit related to his career. After all, this is something he has worked hard for for decades.
The old man skillfully pressed the remote control of the TV set, and the channel was playing sports news.
"In the just-concluded NBA preseason, the Washington Wizards defeated the host Cleveland Cavaliers 108-99. Washington Wizards player Li Kaiming performed well and scored a triple-double of 41 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, which became NBA history. The first player to get 40+ triple-doubles in the preseason of his rookie season..."
Listening to the announcer's words on the TV, Leonard stared at Li Kaiming's highlights on the screen and couldn't help but smack his lips!
"This kid is much better than he was in May. The speed of progress is really scary..."
