Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

Chapter 175 Strong Return!Your uncle is still your uncle!
On October 10, the Sonics ushered in the new season's home opener, and their opponent was the Golden State Warriors led by the famous coach Nelson.

The Warriors have made a lot of efforts to return to the playoffs in the past two years, but the lineup with Monta Ellis as the core is seriously lacking in competitiveness. It has always been ranked in the middle and lower reaches of the division, with an average record.

In this year's draft, the Warriors used the No. 7 pick in the first round to pick Stephen Curry, a 1-meter-tall, 91-kilogram point guard who looks like an underage point guard.

Golden State fans didn't feel that Curry's arrival could make the team rise. They only thought that Curry was a young man who assisted Monta Ellis, so they didn't hold much hope.

Only Lu Yong knows that Curry in the first few years of his career was really mediocre. It was not until the fourth year that he averaged 20+ points per game, but in the future he will be the three-pointer leading the advent of the small ball era. Alice is much more reliable.

Lu Yong is also very interested in this opening game. He wants to see what kind of level Curry can play in his rookie season.After all, Curry's performance in the first few years of his career was mediocre. If he used other teams to cover up their eyes and ears and engage in three-party transactions, he really didn't believe that the Warriors management was determined to cultivate Curry into the cornerstone of the team.

During training in the morning, the Supersonic players were in a relaxed mood. Accompanied by their trainers, they practiced shooting, and their mentality was not affected by the opening game at all.

The success of winning the championship last season built confidence for the young Sonics. Everyone thinks that the Sonics are the top team in the league. Facing an underdog like the Warriors, worry is unnecessary.

The players are relaxed, and Lu Yong, the head coach, is even less nervous.

Although Warriors head coach Nelson is a lunatic who often makes some incredible lineups and has good coaching skills, in the face of absolute strength, Lu Yong firmly believes that the Supersonics will win.

The core players such as Durant, Jackson and Boozer did not have a lot of training before the game. They mainly practice shooting to maintain their state, and they don't need to show the momentum of fighting their opponents.

Compared with the stars, the Warriors are far worse. The most famous player in the team is Monta Ellis, the most improved player in the 06-07 season, and there is still a gap between the All-Stars.

The worst thing is that Delfino, the core outsider, also accidentally sprained his ankle in the preseason game. He is expected to be absent for about a week and cannot play the opening game.

The disparity in the lineups of the two sides is visible to the naked eye. The media generally believe that this is a game without suspense. The biggest highlight is instead the battle of wits between Lu Yong and Old Nelson. After all, the two employing styles are very bold and belong to the lunatic type. coach.

At seven o'clock in the evening, players from both teams played, and Monta Ellis was booed by the Sonics home fans.

In the regular season last year, after Ellis was blown up, he posted an angry post on the Internet to insinuate the Supersonics. As a result, he was bombarded by Supersonics fans, and finally had to delete the Twitter content in despair.

Although Ellis's original message has been deleted, the rift between the Supersonic fans and Ellis has also been settled. Whenever Ellis is a guest in Seattle, he will be booed by the fans at the scene, and the treatment is better than that of superstars in the league. The star is still high.

Listening to the boos of the fans at the scene, Monta Ellis practiced shooting with headphones on his head, pretending to be indifferent, but in fact only he knew how aggrieved he was.

In the four years since he entered the league, he has never led his team to the playoffs, nor has he won any personal honors. On the other hand, his former right-hand man "Martial Saint" Jackson not only won the championship after joining the Supersonics, he was even worth more than him Quite a lot, which made Ellis extremely depressed. He hated the supersonic management's blindness. Why didn't he choose to trade him in the first place?

Fortunately, Lu Yong who was standing on the sidelines didn't know what Ellis was thinking, otherwise he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

In terms of scoring ability alone, "Martial Saint" Jackson is indeed not as good as Ellis, but if a championship team wants to trade for a championship puzzle, at least 9 out of ten teams choose Jackson, and Ellis is alone. The style of play is doomed that he will not be a good piece of the puzzle, and he needs a lot of possessions to play a role.

It's a pity that this guy has the disease of being the boss but he doesn't have the life of being the boss. A series of reasons such as lack of self-discipline, poor shooting, poor defense, and lack of leadership are all stumbling blocks that limit his career development. If he is willing to be like Crawford Also accept the role of the sixth man, perhaps already on the way to success.

It is a pity that Monta Ellis only accepted the core role of the team, which made the team who wanted to get him have to think carefully, and finally fell to the point where he had no ball to play at the age of 32, even if he scored at the time The ability is still very strong.

Rookie teammate Stephen Curry was stunned when he heard the boos of the fans, and turned his head to look at Monta Ellis, who was practicing jump shots with headphones, his immature face was full of puzzlement.

Curry obviously couldn't understand how a player who couldn't even make it to the playoffs would arouse the frantic boycott of defending champion fans. This scene was simply too dramatic.

Before the start of the game, the league first held a championship ring awarding ceremony at the Sonics home court. Players lined up to receive the rings, enviing the Warriors players on the other side of the field.

Players who left the team in the summer will not receive rings until they come to Seattle to play away games. Veteran Michael Finley, who announced his retirement, arrived at the scene. warm applause.

The players warm up and the game is about to start.

In the domestic CCTV5 live broadcast game, the commentator Zhang Guidance introduced: "The starting lineup of the Supersonics tonight is surprising. The point guard is unexpectedly played by "Martial Saint" Jackson, the second round pick Budinger is the starting No. [-], and the other three People are Durant, Boozer, and Noah."

Partner Yu Jia said: "Jackson has good organizational skills. He really has no problem as a point guard, but in this way, the pressure on the Warriors rookie Stephen Curry will be greater. He is 1 meters tall and 91 meters tall. , It is estimated that even shooting is not easy. I think the Sonics will probably get a good start to the season today, and at least beat the Warriors by double digits."

Warriors starting five: Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, Toliver, Biedrins.

Tolliver was the undrafted pick in the 07 draft. Originally, Lu Yong put him in the European League to wait for an opportunity to sign. However, with the depth of the Sonics' championship lineup, Tolliver, who is of average strength, let him go. It is not worth being alone. A spot wasted.

After all, Tolliver shot poorly in the early stages of his career. He is 2 meters tall and short for the fourth position, which is a bit tasteless.

Lu Yong knew that the old Nelson was a crazy coach who focused on offense, but he didn't expect that Nelson would let Tolliver play the starting power forward. He didn't know what Tolliver used to defend against Boozer. Your weakness.

Noah won the jump ball and the game started.

Jackson received the ball and dribbled it to Durant across the half court. The players opened up and left the middle for Durant to play one-on-one.

It is an unspoken rule of the league to make the first goal of the new season for the leading star to find his touch in singles. Although not every team implements it, Lu Yong doesn't mind letting Durant come up and play two more goals.

Last season, Durant just won the MVP of the regular season. In the playoffs, he faced a defensive intensity of at least two people. Against Corey Maggette, a player who has suffered a serious injury, he has a great speed advantage. .

Durant held the ball in the middle and dribbled continuously under his crotch. When he found the opportunity, he suddenly accelerated and went to the left to break through.

Maggette's ball was completely swayed, and no one interfered in front of him. Durant made a solid mid-range shot and scored steadily, helping the Supersonics score their first point of the new season. Wow! 2 to 0.

The Warriors attacked, Ellis and Biedrins played pick-and-roll in the middle.

Walking on the right, he suddenly was interfered by Durant who came from the weak side to help defend, observe, and quickly transferred the ball to the outside.

Tolliver only played 19 games with the Spurs in the first season of his career. He shot 29.2% from the field and scored only 2.7 points. inside.

Curry is at a disadvantage against Jackson's defensive height, and the jumper is just looking for a cap. He has not yet practiced the ultra-long three-pointer that ignores interference. Facing Budinger's defensive emergency stop and missed a jumper, the rebound was protected by Noah.

The Warriors' lineup looks good on paper, but Curry is a rookie who has just played in the NBA, and Maggette has experienced a serious injury and his state has declined. After careful calculation, only Monta Ellis can score in singles for the Warriors. Too few points, even the supersonic defense line is difficult to break through.

"call!"

Accompanied by Monta Ellis' jump shot, the supersonic fans on the scene burst into cheers, and the atmosphere was more lively than playing in the playoffs.

The Supersonics attacked, Jackson dribbled the ball across half court and passed it to Noah's central organization.

The Supersonic's passing and cutting tactics are not complicated, but it is difficult for defensive players to make judgments in advance, because Noah may not know where to pass the ball in the next second.

After the run-in in the preseason, Budinger is quite familiar with the passing and cutting system of the Sonics. Without the ball, he moves vertically along the three-point line, looking for opportunities to catch and shoot.The others also have their own characteristics. They know where they should appear after the pick-and-roll, and they are very proficient in tactical running.

Durant ran from the right side to the upper line, successfully got rid of Maggette's pursuit with the help of Boozer's pick-and-roll, received the ball from the top of the arc and dribbled a step under his hip to open up space, and then made a mid-range jumper! 4 to 0.

Before the 06 season, Maggette was a perfect combination of strength and speed. No matter he was facing a muscular man like James or a monster like Durant, he could handle it. Getty's athletic talent has declined severely, and now there is only strength left, and it is difficult to keep up with youngsters like Durant in lateral speed.

Lu Yong thinks that Maggette is very similar to the famous retired Eddie Johnson. They are both muscular men in the swing position. They are suitable for dealing with James, a striker who is good at using his body to break through.

The Warriors attacked, and Curry dribbled halfway to find Monta Ellis, and asked him to single out the first-year rookie Budinger of the Supersonics according to the coach's intention.

It seems to be a good opportunity for a star to face a rookie, but the old Nelson has ignored that Budinger is not an ordinary rookie.

He played in college for three years before participating in the draft. He is no longer a young man in the conventional sense. His athletic talent can beat Ellis by two blocks. He is not at a disadvantage in height, strength and weight. What he lacks is experience and polishing. later technology.

Since Lu Yong dared to arrange Budinger to play against Ellis, he was relieved. From a common sense, it seems more reasonable to let Jackson play against Ellis and Budinger to play against Curry. However, the purpose of Lu Yong's arrangement is to train Ba Dinger has cultivated his confidence since the beginning of the regular season. Only by laying a good foundation in the early stage can he go further in the future.

Sure enough, Ellis' one-on-one breakthrough with the ball was successfully defended by Budinger, and the terrifying explosive power was clearly visible, firmly blocking Ellis' breakthrough route.Ellis' jump shot will not be good, so he can only distribute the ball to the outside.

Maggette received the ball from the outside, forced Durant through the pick-and-roll, faced the weak side Boozer's help defense and threw the iron, and the rebound was grabbed by Noah.

After landing, Noah looked up at the frontcourt and threw a long quarterback pass to find Chase Budinger who was about to play, and the rookie made a fast break.

Ellis patronized the offensive end to get rid of the running position. When Budinger ran down quickly, he couldn't catch up at all when he started again.

Budinger cuts in the middle to receive the pass, jumps up in the three-second zone with all his strength, and smashes the ball with a domineering one-handed tomahawk.

"Bang!" 6 to 0.

Director Zhang shouted: "Beautiful! The white rookie of the Supersonics staged a tomahawk dunk! This dunk is too exciting, and it has locked the top five shots of the day in advance!"

Yu Jia said: "Budinger's athletic talent is really not blown out. After all, he was a genius who was as famous as Durant in high school. He is really relentless when he has a chance. No wonder Lu Shuai will start the new season with him."

"Boom!"

After landing, Budinger slapped his chest hard. To him, this kind of dunk was child's play, but it felt so different in the NBA arena, and he was completely excited at the moment.

The Warriors attacked, Ellis' head was congested and his eyes were blinded by anger, one-on-one singles Budinger rushed inside, was cut 45 degrees from the left and almost lost the ball, fell to the ground and saved the ball to Corey Ma Getty, the latter caught the ball and scored from the corner. 6 to 2.

Although the Warriors scored in this round, they stumbled and almost made mistakes. The court felt chaotic, and they did not have the tactical execution and calmness of the Sonics.

Director Zhang said with a smile: "Maggette scored a mid-range shot. The Warriors only scored their first point of the season in the first 2 minutes. Ellis singled out rookie Budinger and was almost robbed. The scene was simply too chaotic."

Yu Jia nodded and said, "It can be seen that Ellis really wants to prove himself in singles, but the more impatient he is, the easier it is to make mistakes. If Maggette happened to be by his side, this ball must have been a mistake."

Jackson dribbled the ball and passed it to Durant. Durant immediately accelerated to break through the middle, attracting power forward Tolliver to help defend, and turned around in the air to find Boozer who followed behind.

The right side of Boozer's free throw line was emptied, and he used the iconic "carrying the cannon" action to shoot a jumper.

The positions on both sides of the free throw line are not only Boozer's shooting hot spots, but also Boozer's favorite rhythm of the game. He catches the ball and shoots, just like a weakened version of Karl Malone.

In the next second, swish!The ball hits the net hollow. 8 to 2.

The Warriors attacked, and Monta Ellis was blocked by a pick-and-roll breakthrough. He stopped in the three-second zone and distributed the ball to Curry who responded from the outside.The latter received the ball from outside the three-point line and threw it, but was interfered by the 2-meter-tall Jackson reaching out and missed the basket.

Noah stuck Biedrins tightly under the basket, took the ball off with one hand by virtue of his positional advantage, and immediately passed it to Jackson to launch a counterattack.

After all, he is an All-Star center. As a blue-collar player, Noah is almost a ceiling-level player. It is not difficult to deal with Biedrins, and he will never lack passion on the court.

Jackson catches the ball and quickly advances forward, passing it to Budinger who is on the other side.

Monta Ellis' weight of 84 kg was too thin, and he was almost knocked over by Budinger in the physical confrontation while moving. Seeing this, Tolliver could only immediately go forward to help defend.

Budinger showed his good basketball IQ at this time, observed his teammates while running, and passed the ball to the right 45 degrees.

Durant just appeared in this position at this time, and hit a three-pointer with a wide-open jumper, whoosh! 11 to 2.

The fans stood up and cheered one after another. The Sonics played an 11-2 climax in the first quarter, and the game was about to end.

Director Zhang shouted: "Durant hit the first outside three-pointer this season. This goal came from Budinger's assist. He was very calm in the counterattack, and he didn't look like a rookie at all."

Yu Jia said with a smile: "Now I begin to understand why Lu Yong was optimistic about Budinger before the start of the season. In addition to his explosive athletic talent, he also has a maturity and stability beyond his peers. As a second-round pick, his opening The performance during this period was impeccable, and Lu Yong's vision of people is too accurate!"

"I don't know if the teams that had the opportunity to pick Budinger will regret it. When scouts observe players, they pay too much attention to the potential of rookies. Age is an unavoidable hurdle. But it has been proved that older rookies sometimes show great potential. Maturity is easier to help the team, especially a championship team that has no time to train young players." Director Zhang laughed.

The Warriors players were stunned at the moment, and they were beaten to a climax in a short period of time, and the morale of the team began to drop.

Old Nelson sat calmly on the sidelines. After this season, he plans to enter the management team. Instead of leading the team to achieve results, he wants to evaluate the potential of young players and plans to observe another round.

The Warriors attacked, and Monta Ellis started the singles mode again. With the ball, Budinger was stunned. He changed hands in the air for a layup and was blocked by Noah, who came from the weak side and slapped the ball. In the hands of Durant.

Durant held the ball for a fast break and was pushed by Maggette. He changed direction in front of his body and walked to the other side to advance with the ball. Boozer followed up from the side.

Boozer received the ball and made an air cut. Curry, who stepped forward to defend, did not dare to foul. The difference in strength between the two was too great, and the foul could only pay for an extra free throw.

Accompanied by Curry's active avoidance, Boozer took off in the three-second zone and completed a powerful two-handed dunk! 13 to 2.

Old Nelson couldn't sit still this time, and finally got up and asked for a timeout.

Not only did Durant score in singles at the beginning of the Supersonics, but the rest of the players gradually found their touch and continued to play. The Warriors may be nailed to the pillar of historical shame tonight.

Taking advantage of the timeout, the Warriors made a substitution. Mickey Moore, nicknamed "Snake Man", came on the field and replaced Toliver, who had no effect on both offense and defense.

Moore is one of the most famous homeless men in the NBA. He has changed 13 teams in his 9-year career. Except for the Detroit Pistons in the first four years of his rookie season, he will change a team almost every year after that.

This guy is 2 meters tall and weighs only 11 kilograms, so he can only play the power forward position. Because of his flexible and silky defensive end, he was nicknamed "Snake Man" by fans.

He reached his peak when he was 31 years old. In that season, due to the reimbursement of the Nets center Krstic for the season, Moore unexpectedly became the starting center. He played 79 games, averaging 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, shooting 60.9% from the field, and leading the team. Bringing it to the second round of the playoffs really shocked many people.

But now Moore has reached the end of his career. He averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game last season.

The Supersonics did not make any substitutions, and the positional battle still focuses on passing and cutting tactics. When there is a chance, they will play fast breaks, and the regular season is mainly run-in.

It was also difficult for Moore to defend against Boozer alone after he came on the field. At 2 meters tall, he moved fast enough, but the tonnage was too light. He lost his defensive center of gravity when he was lightly bumped by Boozer. He looked like a crumbling " Seaweed", although Lu Yong thinks he is more like a bean sprout.

In the next round, Boozer retreated to the free throw line to catch the ball after a pick-and-roll, but he didn't make a jumper against Moore.

Moore's face was full of helplessness, and he lowered his center of gravity and pressed his body against Boozer, already struggling very hard.However, when Boozer rushed up, he could only fight and retreat like Garnett, being pushed all the way from the free throw line to the basket, and finally almost fell over.

Old Nelson was a little depressed sitting off the court. The Warriors really have no one available at the power forward position, otherwise he would not let the undrafted pick Tolliver start. Watching Boozer show off his power but unable to deal with it, this feeling is true. Not very good.

Also depressing is Monta Ellis, who finds himself being targeted by the Sonics all the time, and he is bound to be double-teamed when he goes to the basket with the ball, forcing him to make jump shots from the outside, and the efficiency is impressive.

Two minutes later, Noah was replaced, and Lu Yong sent a substitute center, Gasol Jr., who was able to defend and open up space.

This time, Biedrins turned into a rough guy depressed, and had to defend beyond the three-point line to test his ankle.

On the offensive end, he has nothing to do. The peripheral pick-and-roll is emptied and has no shooting ability. Gasol, who sits at the basket and asks for the ball but can't hit his lower body, can only run back and forth with the team. Those who don't know think he is a marathon athlete.

Jackson and Boozer were replaced in the last 3 minutes of the first quarter, while Durant and Budinger played the first quarter.

Budinger's performance as a starter for the first time tonight was eye-catching. In the last minute, he also staged a counterattack to pass Monta Ellis and dunk with a big windmill in the frontcourt.He made 1 of 4 shots in a single quarter, 4 of 1 three-pointers, scored 1 points, 9 rebound and 1 assist, and his two fast-break counterattacks were all top five dunks.

杜兰特8投5中，三分球4中2，罚球2中2，单节砍下14分2篮板2助攻。

Boozer made 6 of 4 shots and scored 8 points and 3 rebounds.

Jackson hit a three-pointer from the outside and scored 3 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Tonight, he switched to the form of an all-around fighter.

Noah was the most low-key in the first quarter. He didn't make a shot. He scored 0 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. Two of them were offensive rebounds.The Sonics led 2 to 41 and blasted the Warriors in just one quarter.

Monta Ellis' season debut disappointed the Warriors' management very much. As the core of a team's reconstruction, it makes people have to reflect on whether he can really shoulder the important task of revitalizing the team?
Bad touch can be forgiven, but if the brain is not good, the management will have to redefine.

Charles Barkley commented: "I have long said that Monta's personal ability is seriously overestimated. Although he scored 20+ points in two consecutive seasons, the Warriors have never made the playoffs. ...His three-point shooting percentage last year was only 30.8%. Tonight he was frequently emptied by the Sonics and still dare not shoot three-pointers. When the opponent shrinks the penalty area, his offensive threat is greatly reduced. I think this should not be a The performance of the head of the star."

Kenny Smith said with a smile: "The Supersonics only took a quarter of the opening game to respond to all the doubts from the outside world. Although they were poached and suffered heavy losses this summer, the Supersonics after reinforcements are still strong. They Still the favorites in the league."

Barkley smiled: "What I am most concerned about is what kind of personal performance Chase Budinger can play in his rookie season, and whether he will become the next All-Star trained by Lu Shuai."

　I was accompanying me in the hospital yesterday. My daughter-in-law had a minor operation and suffered from appendicitis. I was so busy that I forgot to ask for leave. I’m sorry, brothers, please update sooner and supervise me.

　　The operation is not major, don't worry, it's just that women are more hypocritical, and my daughter-in-law is the kind of person who can cry in pain when she comes to her aunt. She kept making troubles yesterday, and I was by my side to serve her, so there was no major problem.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)