At noon the day after playing the Grizzlies, Li Ao left Los Angeles with the team and flew to Houston, followed by two consecutive visits.
Li Ao flipped through the schedule, feeling happy.
Although excluding the opening game, they also had 15 games in November, which is not as few as their next-door neighbor plus the 14 games in the first game month of the opening game.
But including their opening game against the Lakers, they only played 6 away games in the first month, 10 home and 6 away.
The Lakers started with 6 home games and 8 away games, and the two-time defending champion Purple and Gold Legion started the game with a 'parade' to attract box office.
He saw that Lakers fans were very proud to say that this was the NBA official's post-911 effort to boost the market for the less popular team and drive ticket sales during a period when people's consumer desire was low.
This is what happened, but if you insist that the schedule was arranged because of 911, then there is no need. The schedule was announced on September 1st.
The Internet bubble burst in the first half of the year, and there was no 9/11. People in the Eagle Family also had low consumer desire. The main consumers of football tickets, the grassroots people, had no money in their pockets. The expectations of the football market were already very low, and 9/11 only made the situation worse.
In addition to this, when Li Ao, Vivian, and Liam discussed the reasons for the schedule, they felt that the league wanted to help the Clippers compete for the Los Angeles ball market.
At the beginning of the game, most of the Lakers' games are away from home, while the Clippers have 10 home games in 30 days. The more people watching the game, the greater the discussion, which will inevitably attract more fans' attention.
It's not to step on the Lakers, the Lakers' basic base is there, but to attract fans in the greater Los Angeles area who don't like the Lakers, and passerby fans who watch no matter who plays the 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. Tyson Chandler, this year's second overall pick, who grew up in Hanford next door to Los Angeles, hates the Lakers. After being selected, he was asked who he wanted to beat the most. He didn't name the player, but said the Lakers.
In the past, the ball market in Los Angeles was very solid. With competition, the ball market can become more active, which is beneficial to both the Clippers and Lakers.
The starting schedule was sweet, but in December, the Clippers' schedule became difficult, with 17 games, mostly on the road, and a wave of 6 consecutive away games.
But in January, there were only 14 games, and most of them were home games.
Compared with last season, the schedule is already quite good.
When he arrived at the hotel in Houston, Li Ao received the news that he had won the first Western Conference Player of the Week award in NBA history!
Before the start of the season, the league announced the adjustment of awards for the new season. Starting from this season, the Best of the Week and Best of the Month awards will be divided into separate awards for the Eastern and Western Conferences.
When this adjustment was first announced, it caused a lot of controversy. Countless people complained about a certain star who did not win the Player of the Month award.
The media also bluntly stated that the subsequent decline in the value of the Best of the Week and Best of the Month awards was a product of the league's efforts to "create stars."
However, NBA officials ignored the fans' protests and implemented the new award selection rules after the first week.
Li Ao won all four games in the first week, averaging 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.75 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.25 blocks per game. He also shot 49% from the field, 37% from three-point range, and 88% from the free throw line. He averaged 35.6 points per game with 2 wins and 1 loss. Kobe Bryant and Nash, who averaged 25.5 points and 7 assists per game with 3 wins and 1 loss, won the first Western Conference Player of the Week.
The Eastern Conference Best of the Week was won by Raheem of the Hawks, with 2 wins and 1 loss, averaging 30.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.
When Li Ao was browsing the news online to see what the media was saying about the opening performance of the Clippers, he saw a news headline, "The top pick in the 1996 draft won the Player of the Week for the first time in his career." He felt that this top pick was too miserable, having averaged 20 per game. A season of +10+3, a season of 23+7+3, but he never got the Player of the Week award once.
However, when you see the Best of the Week examples listed below, the list of stars who may win the Best of the Week for the first time after dividing the Eastern and Western Conferences includes Brand, Alan Houston, Pierce, Rasheed Wallace, Nowitzki...
It seems that Rahim has not won the league's best game of the week, which is normal.
After the Player of the Week award was announced, the league's division of the Player of the Week and Player of the Month into the East and West has once again aroused people's discussion.
But things are a done deal, and the excitement is not as high as it was during the preseason.
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 three games in the NBA were remarkable, especially when he faced the Bulls with the No. 2 overall pick. He scored 24 points and 11 rebounds, and was evaluated - finally there was another No. 1 pick worthy of being the No. 1 pick.
Moreover, compared with Olowokandi and Brand, the media and fans believe that Gasol has better prospects. The top picks in the past three years have not been able to serve as the core of tactics, but Gasol can.
Unexpectedly, Gasol, who averaged 19+10+3 in the first three games, would be so miserable against the Clippers. Fans were very curious about how Gasol performed.
After some media exposed the details of the game, some sympathized with Gasol, while others watched the excitement and did not mind the matter, and the topic became hot.
Before the Clippers left Los Angeles this morning, Gentry was interviewed and answered the question about unlimited double-teaming of Gasol.
"Sniping the first overall pick is our tactical preparation. We know that he is the Grizzlies' best player. As long as we limit him, we can win more easily."
Fans obviously don't believe this statement. Is that called tactics? It's obvious that he's bullying a rookie.
Some fans speculate that Spider-Man still resents the Grizzlies for not selecting him with the second pick.
This statement has been widely recognized. In their minds, Spider-Man is indeed such a broad-minded person.
It's okay that Gentry didn't come out to explain. With his explanation, he was sympathized with - 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 any problem between the Clippers and Li Ao. In the world of sports competition, the jungle is strong and the strong eat the weak. Using basketball prowess to torture the weak on the court is something that fans like to see.
…
After resting for a while, at 3 p.m., Li Ao came to the visiting team training ground at Toyota Center and practiced shooting for an hour, passing and controlling for half an hour, and reverse running and cutting for half an hour.
With the addition of 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 role, and maybe the shooting percentage could be improved again.
Eating pie is actually a tactical role that requires the cooperation of teammates. If you rush blindly on your own, you may rush in but not catch the ball because the passer is just in the right position.
He needs awareness and ability in this area, a tactical role, and actual combat training before he can continue to improve his abilities in this area.
After a night's rest, the Clippers came to Toyota Center to challenge the Rockets away from home.
When he came to Houston, Li Ao saw a lot of interesting news.
With the blessing of three seconds of defense, Francis broke through and scored more easily, becoming an average scorer of 20+ per game.
Old Cat Mobley also benefited a lot. Francis' breakthrough scoring became stronger. He used mid-to-long-range shooting as his main scoring method. He also had more opportunities to catch and shoot. The improvement in three-pointers was particularly obvious. His three-pointers hit in the beginning. rate soared from 35% last season to 43%.
But the Rockets have a miserable record, starting with 1 win and 3 losses, completely missing the performance of the teams competing in the playoffs last season.
Olajuwon finally left and joined the Raptors in three years.
Another starting big man, Maurice Taylor, is gone this season. While going to the movies in the offseason, he accidentally tripped by a passerby, fell to his knee, and tore his cruciate ligament.
The Rockets' starters tonight are Kevin Cato, who averaged 4.7 points and 4 rebounds per game last season, and rookie Eddie Griffin. Two inside players who should be on the bench for weak teams have played a few games. Called by the media as the worst starting big men in the league, Cato, who averaged 7 points and 6 rebounds per game, and Griffin, who averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds per game, are not as good as the data of a single player on some teams.
The progress of Francis and Mobley is completely insufficient to offset the loss of strength caused by the loss of the two starting interior players.
In addition, the Rockets also sent away high-quality role players such as Shanton Anderson and Matt Bullard in exchange for Glenn Rice and Kevin - whose contracts will expire in 1-2 years. Willis.
There are rumors that the Rockets owner does not plan to sign any more players this season, because if he signs another player, even if it is just another basic salary, the Rockets will have to pay taxes.
The purpose of sending away high-quality role players and replacing veterans is to ensure that the salary will not exceed the luxury tax threshold after Mobley and Francis renew their contracts.
Li Ao recalled that in Yao Ming's seven-year career, the Rockets never paid a luxury tax. Instead, in the 10-11 season after Yao Ming retired, they paid $800,000 in luxury tax.
He remembers this because the figure of $800,000 is so impressive. This is the total luxury tax paid by the Rockets 10 years after the luxury tax was implemented.
At 7 o'clock in the evening, the Clippers' away game against the Rockets started.
Without Maggette, the Clippers can't defend Francis very well.
Francis saw Jordan and played very hard, making 10 of 20 shots, plus 5 of 6 free throws, and scored 25 points and 7 assists.
But Mobley met Li Ao and made 8 of 24 shots, a tribute to Los Angeles.
Kenny Thomas is playing well. He is the beneficiary of losing the starting two towers inside.
Francis fed the ball to Cato and Eddie Griffin. Neither of them could eat it. Eddie Griffin, the No. 7 pick, was considered a waste. Francis chose to pass the ball to Kenny Thomas. He scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting tonight.
However, apart from these three people, no one else on the Rockets scored in double figures.
For the Clippers, Li Ao took the initiative to cut inside tonight to cause damage, and the effect was good. Facing the Rockets' weak inside group, he dunked 3 times in position battle, thus compressing the Rockets' defense and creating better opportunities for his outside teammates. shooting conditions.
Li Ao played 35 minutes and scored 20 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks. The blocks were all given to Cato, Eddie Griffin and Kevin Willis.
Jordan scored 21 points and 4 assists, Bibby had 12 points and 7 assists, O'Neal Jr. had 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Big Q and Piakowsky both scored 11 points.
106 to 92, the Clippers easily defeated the Rockets and won their 5th consecutive victory!
…
At noon the next day, the Clippers left Houston and came to Portland.
After arriving at the hotel, Gentry called the coaching staff and several core players to his room for a meeting.
Gentry opened: "After we play the Trail Blazers tomorrow, we will have six consecutive home games, two consecutive weeks at home. We must grasp this schedule and make adjustments to our existing shortcomings.
After playing 5 games, we can clearly feel that other teams have gradually adapted to the new rules and gradually improved their tactics, and our advantage in this regard is gradually shrinking.
I'd like to ask if you have any ideas, and if so, you can give me suggestions. "
Jordan was the first to speak: "I don't suggest that we make too many adjustments. It is inevitable to understand the rules faster and use the rules to take advantage of them. Alvin, you can't overreact. Our current rhythm is just right. I know you We want to continue to lead, but we still have too little experience. Now that we have a clear direction forward, we need more patience than thinking about what to do and having a long-term plan."
Although he was scolded, Gentry was not angry at all and responded: "Michael, you are more experienced, I am too anxious..."
He quietly gave Doug Collins a thumbs up.
Still an experienced coach.
Originally, the team members were not called in for this meeting, but Doug Collins suggested calling Jordan in. If he had nothing to do, he would find something for Jordan to do. This guy was going to act like a monster again.
Gentry agreed, but since he was going to call Jordan, he had to call a few more people, otherwise it would appear that they were too purposeful.
"However, although we have to be patient, we still have to seize this opportunity and make adjustments to the shortcomings of our tactical details. Michael, do you have anything to suggest?"
Jordan was very proud to be recognized after a good performance. After thinking about it for a while, he said what he felt was not done well from a tactical level.
Jordan is very professional in this regard, but he usually doesn't like to say these things. He just said whatever comes to mind now that he's in a good mood.
This was an unexpected surprise for Gentry. Jordan looked for shortcomings from the perspective of a championship team, which seemed like "picking a thorn", but Gentry was not afraid of hardship or tiredness. He was afraid that he could not find the shortcomings even though he was not strong enough. To the direction where progress can be made.
Li Ao also took this opportunity to tell the coaching staff about his desire to get the tactical end-point 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 about not having a strong off-ball contact point with strong athletic ability. We have the conditions to create air-cut scoring opportunities, but after Maggette left, we The forward movement ability is insufficient, and only Matt and Lafonso can assume this role, but Matt is responsible for flank screening and long-range shot containment, and only Lafonso is dedicated to this.
We are considering whether to trade a physical inside man back, but rather than a physical inside man, we want to bring in a meat shield center. We are worrying about how to choose. You played shooting guard this season, and we actually forgot about you. , we have failed in our duty.
In this case, we will temporarily cancel the plan to introduce physical insiders, and we will arrange a trainer for you to help you develop your abilities in this area. "
After getting the tactical role of the Pie Eater, Li Ao said happily: "Then I will practice cutting without the ball in the next few days. Alvin, you guys have to prepare the tactics quickly. I will practice the cutting in a few days, but you haven't made the tactics yet." get ready."
Not to mention the coaching staff, even Jordan's fists clenched after hearing this.
It's simply arrogant! Arrogant! arrogant!
But there is no way to refute it!
His talent is good, his ability to learn new things quickly, and his progress are faster. Let’s not talk about post-up play, but only focus on three-pointers. Last season, Li Ao averaged 1 three-pointer per game with a 30% three-point shooting rate. He was... The media laughed at him and said he should stop thinking about three-pointers and shoot mid-range shots like Jordan.
As a result, in the first 5 games of the season, this guy averaged 1.8 three-pointers per game, with a shooting percentage of 35%+. Over the summer, while developing his back to the point where he could be used as his main means of singles, three-pointers also became a regular practice. Shooting style!
(End of chapter)
