In the game against the Lakers, the Clippers played the opponent in the regular season, and then played against the Jazz. After two games, Li Ao discovered the biggest problem with his mid-range shooting at this stage - insufficient supporting skills. good.
His mid-range shooting-related skills are not enough to unleash his full mid-range shooting strength, which has been raised to 91 with the support of the full-level 'catch and shoot expert'.
So this afternoon he added additional training content - emergency stops, turns, and lying back.
Treat headaches, treat head and foot pains, and sometimes there's nothing wrong with it.
In fact, there is another thing he wants to practice, but he can't do it alone - adjusting the habit of running and catching the ball.
Reduce position movement, increase screening and circling, and enhance the ability to catch the ball while moving, etc.
But we just played a game yesterday and there is another game tomorrow. It’s a bit inhumane to ask teammates to practice together... Hey, wait a minute.
Aren’t my former teammates quite free...
He trained until 4 o'clock in the evening, but received no response to the text message he sent, and no one came. He practiced in the 'blacksmith room' for another half an hour angrily.
After resting for a while and taking a shower, he was about to call his former head coach. The Clippers' new press officer, Jordan Kyle, came. He first accepted an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated.
When asked about the fact that the Grizzlies "regret" not selecting him with the second overall pick, he replied:
"I like Vancouver. It is my dream city. I have loved snowball fights since I was a child... Doesn't it snow in Vancouver? Ahem, come again. I hate snow the most. I like the warm and comfortable climate and Vancouver's livable environment. So fascinating..."
"I used to be willing to play for the Grizzlies, but now I'm not willing to do it, and I won't be willing to do it in the future. I'll never consider it."
"The reason why I chose jersey No. 0? Because I was not the first overall pick."
"Who is the second pick? Sorry, I'm not good at geography."
…
After the interview, Li Ao invited the middle-aged handsome man to dinner.
After the meal, Li Ao asked his old teammates to help him train when both parties were free.
Henry Bibby knew that this meal would definitely not be free of charge, and after expressing his unwillingness, he agreed.
During the offseason, he found a talented high school student who was extremely talented but a little conceited and not very interested in basketball. He could let this kid show that kid what talent is.
By day two, Staples Center was buzzing.
Li Ao's first regular season home show as a rookie!
Although they lost to the Jazz the day before yesterday, Clippers fans are quite tolerant and it is enough for Spider-Man to play well.
The shooting percentage is a bit low, but he has more advantages. What fans pay most attention to is not his shooting and passing, but his blocking of pie-eating insiders.
Coincidentally, tonight's opponent is an insider who has no scoring ability other than eating cakes and making secondary attacks.
At 7:40 pm, Staples Center, Grizzlies players entered the court.
As the second overall pick, despite poor performance in the summer league, preseason, and opening game, Grizzlies head coach Sidney Lowe still gave Swift a chance to start.
Although in the game the day before yesterday, Swift only had 2 points and 3 rebounds in 15 minutes, his 2 steals and 2 blocks were not bad, and his physical fitness was extremely strong.
When Swift entered the stage, fans present sent their thanks and blessings.
Most people were mocking and ridiculing, but there were still some people who were sincerely grateful that Swift was selected by the Grizzlies with the second overall pick.
Otherwise, where would they have the chance to intercept Hu from the Lakers?
No, Kobe Bryant, who came to the scene to watch the game, was annoyed to death, but he was just annoyed. As for Swift, he hated this high jumper who only had physical fitness. Without this guy, the Grizzlies knew they couldn't keep him. People will also try to choose the big spider.
Kobe learned from the logo man that if the Grizzlies really chose, they would definitely choose Stud, but they made a bet that the Grizzlies wouldn't choose, and this is the result.
Later, they also tried to find a stud from the Clippers, but the other party asked them to trade for O'Neal.
Swift felt like the world was full of malice.
When the Clippers entered the stadium, Swift was envious and jealous when she saw Li Ao, who was the first to appear, sparking cheers from the fans.
After the lights came on, Swift, who had been staring at Li Ao, saw that the other party was also looking at him.
Then even more angry!
That contemptuous sideways glance stung Swift's fragile self-esteem!
Swift was roaring in his heart - I am a frontline shark!
In response to Swift's hostility, Li Ao decided to target him in the game.
We had grudges when we were in college, but when we got to the NBA, we just laughed away the grudges?
Of course it's impossible.
It's so tolerant and generous.
He glanced at the evaluation of the starting players on the opposite side... "Good guy! What a good guy!"
The Clippers are the team with the most first-round players in the NBA.
Then the opposite side is the winner of the lottery area!
In the starting lineup, Mike Bibby, Michael Dickson, Raheem, Swift, and Bryant Levis, 4 of the 5 players were lottery picks. The only one who was not was Michael Dickson, who was also the 14th pick in 1998. order.
There is also Mohammed Rauf, the third overall pick in 1990, on the bench.
Except for Swift, these people all have their personal talents, but their record is shockingly bad. The best record since the team was founded was only 22 wins.
Whenever this is mentioned about the Grizzlies, it's time for the Magic to be laughed at.
The history of the Magic is actually very successful. The team was founded in 1989 and drafting O'Neal in 1992 was like stepping on the accelerator. O'Neal led the team to 41 wins in his rookie season, ranking eighth in the Eastern Conference, and then got lucky and got the No. 1 pick. , selected Webber in exchange for Anfernee Hardaway, and reached the finals in the 1994-95 season...Tianhu started.
From the draft, to the introduction of powerful stars, to the matching of role players, the magic management operation is perfect.
Until the operation reaches its peak...
But after all, the Magic took the lead, and the Grizzlies couldn't say anything.
After briefly analyzing the opponent's evaluation report, Li Ao walked towards the opposite side. When Kobe saw him coming, he moved aside and turned his head.
Who would have thought that Li Ao didn't go in the direction of Kobe at all, but went to the two Bibis. Kobe was so angry! He thought of a lot of things to say to Li Ao, but he couldn't use them anymore!
Li Ao walked up to the two Bibbys and said hello: "Hey, coach, are you showing the deep love between father and son with Mike?"
Henry Bibby is ready to hit people - can't you see that I've been talking about this unfortunate son for a long time and he didn't even say a word to me?
Mike Bibby made a point of getting to know Li Ao, ignored Li Ao's teasing, stretched out his hand and said, "I'm Mike Bibby. It's a pity that I can't be your teammate."
So direct. Li Ao likes direct people. He also said directly: "If they choose me, I will definitely come, but now even if they kneel down and beg me, I can't be teammates with you."
Mike Bibby nodded: "I understand."
Li Ao really liked this response. He turned around and said, "Coach, Mike is much better than you."
Henry Bibby was not angry at all, but said slightly proudly: "Of course, he is my proudest son."
Mike Bibby made a "cut" sound, turned around and left.
After Li Ao said hello to the hospital assistant, aunt and others, he returned to his own half to shoot hot shots.
At 7:58, the two teams started playing.
Li Ao came to the field and the task prompt came.
“Third pick: Rookie season assignment.
Goal 1: In games against Kenyon Martin and Stromire Swift, the host must complete at least one block or dunk on the opponent in each game and use their best ability to defeat them.
Reward: 500 achievement points will be awarded for each block or deduction.
Goal 2: Facing the teams of Kenyon Martin and Stromire Swift, the hosts need to maintain a complete victory.
Reward: Pie Eater (skill). "
Li Ao's eyes lit up, he was about to play against the second-place pick, and there was also a task to get skills, so he was doubly happy!
Soon, the game started, Swift beat O'Neal to win the jump ball, and the Grizzlies took the lead.
Swift let out a strange scream, and winning the jump ball dispelled the fear of the game that he had developed in the past few days, and then rushed out as if there were transmitters installed on the soles of his feet. O'Neal was unable to stop him from moving as soon as he landed.
Although Mike Bibby has long been rebellious, he still pursues his own career. He is still dedicated and conscientious during the game. When he sees an opportunity for Swift, he immediately sends a long-distance lob.
He is worthy of being a talented point guard who averaged 8+ assists per game in his second year. His long pass is very beautiful.
Mike Bibby was a little proud of himself. He was going to appreciate Swift's dunk. Although he despised Swift, this guy's dunk still made him envious.
But when he saw the man's movements, he had no other thoughts and quickly shouted: "Pass the ball!"
Swift didn't hear it. He looked at the basket in front of him, one step away from the free throw line on the left side of the three-second zone, and took off, as if taking off. His shoulders were higher than the backboard, and his whole head was on the horizontal line of the basket. On the top, he stretched to the extreme and hit the ball towards the basket with a gliding dunk...
He seemed to have heard the shocked exclamations of the fans at the scene... No, why were they cheering?
Just when Swift dunked the ball, Li Ao flew up and slapped the ball away with all his strength!
The ball hit the empty seat on the sidelines hard, and Kobe reacted quickly to avoid it.
He looked at Li Ao. Although he knew it was impossible, he just felt that the big spider did it on purpose.
There is no evidence, but that’s what I believe!
The fans at the scene were in a carnival!
Spider-Man's start detonated the audience!
Seeing the No. 2 pick who fell to the floor and rolled around in a complete circle, many fans shouted after cheering: "Stand up, N0.2, stand up! Don't be defeated by Spider-Man!"
Swift's body is really tough. It doesn't matter if he falls, he gets up and continues to fight.
Moreover, his psychological quality is inexplicably tenacious, and I still think that he just has a "bad chance."
The Grizzlies continued to attack, and their tactics... there were no tactics. Mike Bibby had no leadership skills, and Raheem was soft-tempered and easy to talk to. As time went on, their style of play was to take turns playing singles and sharing the ball.
This time it was Raheem who played the singles, the nominal boss. The first singles had to be given to him.
Rahim was very good in mid-range and short-range singles, but he made a wrong choice and pulled a step forward to shoot... When he encountered interference from Li Ao, Rahim widened his eyes and quickly leaned back, narrowly avoiding it. Li Ao's block was not powerful enough and was short, no touch!
Seeing O'Neal easily blocking Swift to grab the defensive rebound, Rahim's thought as he stepped back was - what a big spider!
It turns out that No. 8 didn’t lie to him! He can't hit in the mid-range. He doesn't have top-notch emergency stops and bullet speed like No. 8.
In the transition between offense and defense, Odom held the ball from the outside, seized the opportunity to break through, and distributed the ball... Li Ao cut in to catch the ball and smashed the ball into the basket before Swift rushed in to cover the defense.
When choosing to dunk, he was not worried about the second overall pick, but worried about the opposing center Bryant Levis. As a result, this talented center from the 1995 class who started paddling after receiving a tens of millions of dollars in contracts didn't even bother to stretch his hands, so he just put his hands on his hips.
Li Ao turned around to retreat and passed by Swift, but he didn't stop for a moment or talk trash or anything. Instead, he ran to Odom and gave him a high-five to express his gratitude.
Li Ao has been surprised to find since the preseason that Odom is very focused at the beginning of every game. Although he disappears from time to time later, at least he has not been undercover.
The reason why Odom is focused...
If you don’t do bad things, you won’t be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door, but if you do bad things, everyone will look like a ghost.
If one day the violent handsome guy finds out about him taking the basin of water, considering how serious he is about playing football, he will at least beat him a few times less, right?
When the Grizzlies attack, Rahim breaks inside.
Li Ao defended very well and created conditions for teammates inside to cover up defense. However, Rahim's power forward-level confrontation and small forward-like speed and flexibility made O'Neal jump laterally and throw up when O'Neal was about to cover up. The shot hit the board.
Li Ao remembered what the young blacksmith who would become famous in the future said about Rahim when talking about players of his generation - a super skilled player with all the means to score, who was the player of his generation that he was most jealous of when he first entered the league. He also hoped that he could With such sophisticated technology.
Then O'Neal Jr. took Li Ao's pass and hit a layup.
It was the Grizzlies' offense again. Raheem's single attracted O'Neal Jr. to move in advance to cover the ball. He passed the ball to the right baseline. Li Ao turned around and wanted to block...Bryant Levis didn't move his feet at all, halfway outside the right sideline of the three-second zone. He didn't even step forward for a layup, he just caught the ball and shot directly...
In!
Li Ao let out a quick breath, put aside his distracting thoughts, and ignored the shot for now, he was a little distracted.
This team is a bit strange.
He originally thought that the Grizzlies were so bad that no one would play well.
However, even Bryant Levis moves very well on the offensive end, always in the shooting position where he is good at, rather than watching the play like on the defensive end.
Michael Dixon on the outside is working hard to find opportunities, Mike Bibby is also working hard to sort out the offense, and Raheem can also see that he wants to win... Even Swift, although he only wants to catch the ball and dunk, Also very positive.
Li Ao put away his undue contempt.
They don't have the capital to underestimate their opponents.
If he really lost to this opponent, no matter how badly Swift was beaten, he would feel embarrassed.
Li Ao devoted himself to the game, played hard, and stopped thinking.
In the following time, the game fell into a tug of war.
Just like Li Ao's actual feeling, this opponent is not that easy to deal with.
The style of play is a bit like the Mavericks in the Young Generals era, taking turns playing singles while others move and coordinate.
However, compared with that Mavericks team, the strength of the Grizzlies stars is obviously far behind. Their personal scoring ability, Mike Bibby, Michael Dixon, and Raheem, no matter how you look at it, cannot compare with Terry and Josh Howard. , compared with Nowitzki.
Moreover, the Mavericks' unlimited singles and teammates' movement and coordination have routines and tactics. For the Grizzlies, I don't know whether it is a coach's problem or a player's problem. They are all subjective movements and the response effect is average. Not to mention the Mavericks team. Compared with the Clippers, the running position is much better.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 29 to 28, with the Grizzlies leading by 1 point.
Li Ao, who was replaced after playing for 8 minutes, was secretly thankful that he didn't do anything unnecessary.
Bibby with a rating of 85 and Rahim with a rating of 88 are really hard to guard against!
But the Grizzlies were very poor on the defensive end. McGinnis was able to compete with Mike Bibby after he came on the court. In the second half of the first quarter, the Clippers relied on McGinnis on the outside and Sean Lue, who came on the inside as a substitute. Knicks had a back-and-forth game with the Grizzlies.
In the second quarter, after playing for two minutes, Li Ao was replaced by Gentry.
Gentry re-introduced the Trojans' small-scale star coordination tactics, with Boykins and Li Ao as the main attackers, and the supporting point - Big Q!
The opponent's defense was poor and there was basically no outside defense. Gentry chose to give Big Q this opportunity to level up.
As for Piakowsky...he is 30 years old, so he should play more when playing against strong teams.
This is a kind of trust.
Back on the court, Li Ao performed better on both offense and defense.
During the rest of the game, he was not idle. He recalled what he did well and poorly in the first quarter, observed the performance of his teammates, and made adjustments.
The adjustment is very simple. On the offensive end - play more decisively, shoot when you need to, and cut in when you need to. The continuity of the opponent's defense is very poor.
On the defensive end - let Maggette or Odom guard Rahim. With a body size of 206 cm + 111 kg, he has no problem preventing shots, but it is difficult to prevent breakthroughs, so he chose to switch to the assist defense mode.
After Li Ao adjusted his playing style, he added a new strength to the Clippers on both offense and defense.
In the next 10 minutes, Li Ao got two blocks, one for Raheem and one for Swift...This time it was really not against Swift, just a regular contraction of defense to complete the block.
In addition to blocking two shots, he also successfully interfered with the opponent's cutting-in shots from the wings and inside three times.
On the offensive side, Li Ao scored two mid-range shots and a three-pointer in a single quarter, a cut-in to catch the hook, and a counterattack that resulted in a foul and two free throws. The big Q on the wing showed his shooting talent and the wide gap. In the next game, he scored a three-pointer and a long two-pointer. He played 7 minutes in the second quarter and scored 5 points. His performance was quite good.
The Clippers have greatly improved, but the Grizzlies are still the same.
In the first quarter, the Grizzlies' three major outside stars had good physical strength and led the team to score 29 points in a single quarter. However, as usual, in the second quarter, their singles efficiency began to decline as their physical strength declined. They also encountered Li Ao's inside defense. The score plummeted in the quarter and only scored 18 points!
Relying on Li Ao's 11 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 2 blocks in a single quarter, the Clippers defeated the Grizzlies 30-18 in a single quarter and ended the first half with an 11-point lead 58-47!
They had an advantage and had a chance to win their first win of the season. In the third quarter, the Clippers team played extremely hard.
Mike Bibby and Raheem tried to lead a counterattack in the third quarter, but were quickly held back. The Clippers scored 28-22 in a single quarter, extending their lead to 17 points.
At the end of the quarter, Li Ao continued to play. After he stopped taking on the role of single defense in the second quarter and played more simply and crisply on the offensive end, his physical exertion decreased a lot. Now he feels pretty good!
The teammates cared about the rookie Little Spider very much, and kept feeding Li Ao the ball after leading by 17 points.
Li Ao was so stretched that he couldn't eat anymore. He actually made 12 shots in 9 minutes!
In response, Gentry took the initiative to adjust his tactics when he entered the pause stage to try to give Li Ao more chances to take action.
However, his accuracy was pretty good. He made 5 of 11 shots, including 1 of 3 three-pointers. He also got fouled on a three-pointer. He made 3 of 3 free throws and scored 14 points in a single quarter!
Although the Clippers' team score plummeted in the last quarter, scoring only 18 points, and the Grizzlies narrowed the gap by 5 points, which scored 23 points, but it is not important!
At 10:25 pm, the final whistle sounded.
104 to 92, the Clippers defeated the Grizzlies by 12 points and won their first win of the season!
The fans at the scene don't care so much whether they win or not.
What they care about is that Li Ao went berserk tonight!
6 points in the first quarter, 11 points in the second quarter, 10 points in the third quarter, plus 14 points in the final quarter, Li Ao scored 41 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 6 blocks!
Seeing Spider-Man's handsome face and statistics posted on the big screen, the fans at the scene went completely crazy!
40+ in a single game!
When was the last time their star had 40+ points in a single game?
Even the old Clippers fans don’t remember!
Some people are happy and some are annoyed. There is an unnamed No. 8 player on the sidelines who is a little unhappy - Sharif, can you do it? After all, you are the object of my envy... I will also get 40+ when I beat you! No! 50+!
(End of chapter)
