"But it doesn't matter, I'm all ears."
Xu Xin understood immediately.
"Butler is very hardworking and has a strong competitive spirit. In addition, he is still a child of Houston. Returning to his hometown team to play for him makes him even more motivated.
After the game last night, only he and Jeremy Lin stayed for extra practice. "
McHale talked about the advantages first.
"But Butler lacks shooting ability and cannot open up the space on the court. This will affect the performance of Harden and Jeremy Lin. This was the case in last night's game."
"It's just a matter of time before Butler can practice shooting. Let's put him on the bench first.
You can designate more tactics for him to attack with the ball. His efficiency in attacking the basket is still very impressive. As he slowly builds confidence and presence, his shooting will also be greatly improved.
By the way, he must also be assigned the task of catching the ball and shooting three-pointers. This cannot be neglected. He has strong defensive ability. As long as he can practice shooting, he will be Harden's best helper. "
Xu Xin gave his own opinion. He had already expected Butler's struggles in shooting at this stage.
"Okay, that actually works."
McHale nodded.
"Although the team has lost two games in a row, we can't lose our morale. You have to motivate these young guys at all times so that they have the confidence to defeat any opponent."
Xu Xin said.
"I can, this is what I'm good at."
McHale smiled.
"In the starting lineup, let Parsons return to the 3rd position, and let Ariza take the lead at the 4th position first.
In the last game, Parsons was under too much pressure on the defensive end, which caused him to feel cold on the offensive end. It is better to let him play a good offense in a familiar position first. "
Xu Xin continued.
"Heroes see the same thing, but Ariza playing power forward is not a long-term solution. The team also needs a pure power forward."
"Don't worry, I will soon upgrade the team to the power forward position."
"One more thing, Shaun Livingston will come for a trial later and I plan to sign him."
"Livingston, he is not in good condition. After the serious injury, he has almost no breakthrough ability. Can he do it?"
McHale had his doubts.
"Livingston needs to change his style of play, he is really not suitable as the core point guard anymore.
But if he plays at this stage and uses techniques such as low post mid-range shots as a common end point, I think the effect will not be bad. "
Xu Xin has long thought of a solution. Referring to the Warriors' instruction manual for Livingston, an offensive method based on empty-handed running and back-up mid-range will give Livingston a new lease of life after a serious injury.
"I plan to use two completely different offensive systems for the starters and substitutes."
Xu Xin continued.
“The starters use the personal abilities of Harden and Jeremy Lin to create opportunities for their teammates through pick-and-rolls and breakthroughs, and they can also choose to play alone.
The substitutes can revolve around Butler and Livingston, and focus on strengthening defensive aggressiveness, seizing quick counterattack opportunities, and making the offense simpler and more efficient. "
"Does Harden and Jeremy Lin's playing time still need to be staggered?"
"If necessary, Jeremy Lin will be with the substitutes more often, taking on the task of organizing and positional warfare assaults when counterattacks fail."
“After these few games, Tony Douglas and Cole Aldridge have been in bad shape.
I plan to use a shortened rotation lineup and a 9-man rotation, which can ensure to the greatest extent that the team will not be at an absolute disadvantage for a certain period of time. "
Eight games into the season, and for more than half a month, McHale gradually became clear about the status and abilities of each player.
"In addition, I still think that Harden should be given more on-ball tactics. Harden himself has told me this several times."
McHale continued.
"Yes, but no matter what, Harden must contribute on the defensive end and distribute his physical energy reasonably.
He is not required to dominate the offense during regular periods, but he also has the physical strength to finish at critical moments. You can refer to the way the Lakers used Kobe in 10 years. "
Xu Xin thought for a while and gave his opinion.
He had previously thought about asking Harden to play like Curry and continue the Thunder's off-ball style, but this style of play really restricted Harden's performance. Harden can only play his greatest role with the ball in hand.
Furthermore, the Rockets do not have a historical pitcher like Thompson, nor an inside player like Green who can deal from the top of the arc.
But Xu Xin is confident that the lineup can be extremely close to the lineup of the 2010 Lakers championship season.
Another crucial point is that the league has not yet fully embraced small-ball play, and many teams are still willing to use heavy centers.
If the Rockets rashly use a small lineup and have no punishing mismatched players except Harden, it will be quite difficult to face these teams.
The two chatted for a long time until a tall and thin figure walked into the arena.
None other than Shaun Livingston.
He looked at this sad man. It was in this arena that he learned the news that he had been laid off a month ago.
Xu Xin and McHale walked toward the sidelines with anxious expressions.
He did his homework before coming and knew that the young Chinese man in front of him was the acting general manager of the Rockets.
Xu Xin and McHale also stepped forward to greet him.
"Hello manager, hello coach!"
Livingston was a little uneasy.
"Hello, how are you feeling?"
Xu Xin responded cheerfully.
"I feel good and ready to start training at any time."
"Relax, it's just a simple test."
McHale is very encouraging.
Livingston nodded, put on his training clothes and started to warm up.
After Xu Xin discussed with McHale, they eliminated the static test and mainly examined physical fitness, movement control skills and shooting ability.
Next, McHale arranged for Livingston to join the bench group and join other Rockets players in a full-court 5v5.
Before the game started, Xu Xin walked to Livingston and encouraged:
"The coaching staff and I have no requirements for you. You just need to play the way you are best at, be yourself, and play your own basketball."
Livingston was shocked when he heard the words, "Be yourself." This sentence was so unfamiliar. He hadn't heard it for a long time.
He nodded and said firmly:
"I will do it, no matter what, without any regrets."
Both teams wear red and blue training uniforms.
The red team is the main lineup of the Rockets, Harden, Jeremy Lin, Parsons, Ariza, and Asik.
For the blue team, Butler, Motiejunas, Delfino, Greg Smith, Livingston.
Among them, Greg Smith was Xu Xin's suggestion. In my impression, this short and stocky center with rough skills was brave enough to play hard in the few playing time of the Rockets. He had a tough style of play and performed quite well.
Jump ball in the center circle.
Asik jumped the ball easily. Compared with Smith, he is taller and has a longer wingspan. Although he lacks jumping ability, he still has the advantage in jumping balls.
Jeremy Lin dribbled to the frontcourt and dominated the team's opening offense as usual.
Harden slid along the baseline to attract the defensive attention, and Parsons came out on the other side to create an open opportunity.
