I'm good at basketball too

Chapter 118 Nirvana
For the first time, Li Ran felt that as an uninvited guest, he had already begun to have a profound impact on the alliance.

Take a look at the huge rosters where the Nuggets have been in and out this season and historically.

Centers: Shaquille O'Neal, Nene Hilario, Marcin Gortat.

Power Forwards: Chris Anderson, Yi Jianlian, Reinaldo Buckelman.

Small forwards: Carmelo Anthony, Wally Szczerbiak, Desmond Mason.

Shooting guards: Li Ran, JR-Smith, Sonny Weems.

Point guards: Chauncey Billups, Jason Williams, Sean Livingston.

Buckleman and Wilms were signed by George Karl to make up the numbers, and they had almost no chance to play.

On the first day Ah Lian came to the Nuggets, Li Ran invited him to dinner at his apartment.

Li Ran fully respected the only face in the Chinese basketball circle in the post-Yao Ming era.

He cooked the kitchen himself and prepared a table of authentic Chinese food, and the two ate heartily.

Facing Li Ran, Ah Lian was not so restrained, the two talked and laughed freely, and the relationship quickly became harmonious.

"Brother Lian, don't worry. After you come, you will definitely have the opportunity to play. Let me analyze it for you. Now the team seems to have a lot of people inside, but O'Neal doesn't play much time and often has physical problems. He is really suitable His stage is in the playoffs, George himself told me."

While showing off his food, Li Ran analyzed the current situation of the Nuggets to Yi Jianlian.

"Hilario is an old player of the team. He is in a stable state and plays well. As long as there are no major problems, he will be the core insider of the team."

"Anderson only defends but doesn't attack. He protects the frame well, but he can't stand up when the team needs to score."

"Then there are you and Gortat. One of you is inside and the other is outside. You are still a center and a power forward. The playing time will not conflict too much."

"Besides, you are the only real power forward on the team. If O'Neal doesn't play, you and Hilario should start."

Li Ran is right. Whether it is Hilario or Anderson, they are both center forwards at the fourth position. They are true purebred power forwards. The Nuggets are really the only one in the United Arab Emirates.

One-pass analysis helped Ah Lian to let go of the confusion and anxiety of being a newcomer, and Li Ran was very satisfied with the effect of his chicken soup.

Sure enough, under the condition that O'Neal continued to pretend to be dead and did not play, the next day, when the team played against the Kings at home, George Karl sent Hilario and Yi Jianlian to partner inside as Li Ran said.

On the perimeter, because Anthony still has about ten days to return to the game, George Karl arranged for Billups, Li Ran and Szczerbiak to play.

It is more suitable for JR to play the sixth man. This is the experience summed up by George Karl in recent games.

He started the game. Although the team seemed to have a stronger offensive power, he needed the ball, which undoubtedly conflicted with Li Ran and Billups.

In this case, it is not as good as Szczerbiak, who does not need players.

The king's record this season is extremely poor, and they went straight to the No. 10 pick. In the middle of the season, they only won ten games. The current record is 31 wins and [-] losses, ranking first in the bottom of the Western Conference.

In this case, it is most appropriate to train the newcomers who have just come to the team and let them integrate into the team faster.

Li Ran wanted to make a wedding dress for Ah Lian this time, and he also told Billups in private, and Billups readily agreed.

In this game, UAE's opponent is Jason Thompson, who is 2 meters tall. He is a rookie this year, with the 11th overall pick, just above Li Ran's head.

And his rookie season is also very good, so far this season he can average 11+7 per game.

But the United Arab Emirates is not in vain.

Jason Thompson belongs to the kind of traditional power forward who has a mid-range shot, but basically no three-point shooting ability, and relies more on back shots and air cuts from the inside to score.

More importantly, Ah Lian is not inferior to him physically.

In the first attack, Billups passed the ball to Li Ran, and Li Ran directly handed it to Ah Lian who pulled it beyond the three-point line, indicating that he would complete the first attack.

Ah Lian was a little surprised. Looking at Li Ran who had already run near the bottom line, his eyes were full of emotion.

How could he not know that this was Li Ran's intention to give him a chance.

Holding the ball in a high position, facing Jason Thompson, the UAE is not afraid at all.

Hit back, turn around, break through.

When Ah Lian jumped up and dunked the ball vigorously with both hands, Li Ran looked even more excited than him.

George Karl is also very satisfied. The Nuggets do not lack tough guys who stand in the low post and dig in. On the contrary, they lack inside players like Yi Jianlian who can open up space.

This can enrich the Nuggets' offensive system.

The more tactics there are, the less likely it is to be targeted by the opponent. This is also an important reason why Li Ran and Anthony can coexist harmoniously this season.

The core of the Kings is Kevin Martin, a guard with a weird shooting posture but extremely accurate. He has a thin body and is better at playing without the ball than with the ball.

And his defensive ability is weak.

Li Ran likes to fight against such an opponent the most, he can give the opponent enough "respect" regardless of the offensive and defensive ends.

The outside core of Mosaic in the future, an important bargaining chip to trade James Harden, was almost lost by Li Ran.

Attacking, Li Ran was like a piece of brown sugar, he couldn't find a suitable opportunity to attack.

Defense, Li Ran crossing him is like crossing the road at four o'clock in the morning, if you really start, you won't be able to find anyone.

Li Ran had no reservations in this match, and he was extremely ruthless.

He knows that opponents like the Kings are hard to find, after all, there are only two bottom ones in the league.

So he wanted to get the game into garbage time quickly.

Ah Lian was stunned by Li Ran's super scoring ability.

He has never seen a Chinese player with such a strong physique.

"If Li Ran went to the Olympics last summer..."

Ah Lian sat off the court, staring blankly at Li Ran's arrogant pass of Kevin Martin, into the inside lane, and successfully dunked on the head of his opponent, Jason Thompson, with some regrets in his heart.

In this game, Jason Thompson caused a lot of trouble to the UAE, but in front of Li Ran, he seemed as fragile as paper.

In just half of the game, the Nuggets established a 20-point lead. When they were off the field, George Karl gave Li Ran a thumbs-up without any trace.

Well done, in this way, he can send substitute players without any scruples in the second half.

In the third quarter, Gortat, Ah Lian, Li Ran, JR and Livingston came on stage.

Livingston dribbled the ball calmly, observing the running positions of his teammates.

He thought his basketball career was over, but he didn't expect that in his darkest time, the Nuggets chose him.

The scars on his legs are still shocking, but this does not prevent him from standing up again to pursue his basketball dream.

That's what Livingston told himself on the day he recovered from his injury.

I am no longer a magician's successor.

I was just an average player who almost couldn't play.

My name is Sean Livingston, and I want to prove myself again in this league.

(End of this chapter)