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

Time came to the end of September, and the Nets held a media meeting day.

Surrounded by a bunch of reporters in front of him, Lu Yong acted very calmly.

When asked how he would arrange the lineup for the preseason, Lu Yong said: "The preseason is not important to me. I may arrange for the core players to play for a short period of time and focus mainly on observing the newcomers."

The reporter asked again: "What is the Nets' goal for the new season?"

"Defending the title, as the team that dominated the league last season, the Nets have no reason to fail this year." Lu Yong said.

After the training camp started, Lu Yong arranged for the players to run tactics, and the old man led the newcomers to help them quickly complete the run-in.

This will not only allow the new players to integrate into the Nets' tactical system as soon as possible, but also strengthen communication among the players in the team and build a good relationship with each other.

It's not that Lu Yong doesn't have thorny players, but there are certainly no idiots who dare to challenge him.

In particular, Anthony, the former number one player in the league, ended up with no guarantee of survival in his later years. Everyone who played under Lu Yong wished he could become a good baby.

When the head coach of a team has absolute say, there is no need to question the atmosphere within the Nets. There is no team in the league that is more united than them.

It only took one day for several new players, including Porzingis, to figure out what they should do in the team and have a good relationship with their teammates.

In fact, the Nets' tactics are not complicated. They mainly rely on passing and screening to find offensive opportunities. Other teams will also play this way, but the changes in running routes are not as diverse as the Nets.

In addition, the Nets also have the league's top small forwards, who are strong in star isolations and can also create a lot of scoring opportunities for shooters running on the wings.

To put it simply, the Nets rely on lineup continuity to defeat their opponents.

Using an unreplicable lineup depth to play simple offensive routines, even if this lineup is coached by another person, the record will not be too bad.

It's just that except for Lu Yong, there is no other coach in the league who can form this set of Galaxy battleships.

After all, the strength of the Nets is not only the gathering of stars, but also the newcomers selected every year who have potential.

The young people in the team have grown up one after another, which ensures that the Nets' offensive talent will not be broken.

After running tactics for several days in a row, the players adjusted quickly, which was much better than Lu Yong expected.

Especially 'Unicorn' Porzingis, his style of play is seamlessly compatible with the Nets, and he integrated into the tactical system with almost no effort.

When the Nets have two talented monsters, Durant and Porzingis, on the front line, Lu Yong really doesn't know who can strangle them both.

In early October, the NBA preseason officially started.

Lu Yong did not let Durant and Mitchell play, and veteran Rose did not have much playing time, leaving all performance opportunities to young people.

The purpose of the coaching staff is to examine the new players' running-in situation, and then decide how much playing time to give them in the regular season based on the effect of each lineup.

The newcomers here refer not only to Clarkston, Dort and Martin, but also players such as Oubre and Cousins ​​who have just joined the Nets.

Even if they have performed well in the past, they still have to accept the test arranged by Lu Yong again.

Cousins' athletic talent was very poor after a serious injury, and defense could only shrink to the basket and rely on his body. This is indeed a problem.

However, the advantage of Kaoshen is that he is willing to work hard and has a good attitude. As the former number one center in the league, it is indeed very cost-effective to only receive a basic salary.

For example, on the offensive end, he can not only pull out to shoot three-pointers, but he can also drop into the low post to attack. He still has the ability to attract double teams when rolling down after the pick-and-roll. These are unmatched by centers of the same price range.

Cousins' role, in addition to providing icing on the cake as a high-post support, is more important in attacking low-post situations and punishing small lineups.

Many people thought that Cousins ​​did not perform well in last year's finals, but he did try his best within the scope of his responsibilities and performed as expected. When faced with the inside combination of Da Luo, Millsap and Mitchell Robinson, they often did not fall behind.

Poor defense is a flaw, but in front of his salary, all this does not seem to be a big problem.

At least Lu Yong is quite satisfied with Cousins' preseason performance, and it doesn't hurt to occasionally pick out a few minor problems.

The new aid Oubre also lived up to Lu Yong's expectations for him. He showed his talents on the offensive end. His wingspan and running and jumping have been praised repeatedly by the coaching staff.

Oubre's three-point shooting is a little better than last season, and he has a certain accuracy in the middle. After Lu Yong's evaluation, he felt that he could be given more time.

Without Hardaway Jr. and Billis, the Nets' substitute forward lacks offensive strengths. Oubre, who has the ability to hold the ball, can just fill this gap.

Without the main players playing, the Nets' real strength has been affected to a certain extent.

However, with the outstanding performance of role players, the Nets still achieved a record of 5 wins and 2 losses.

He arranged for Dort to play with Claxton, and Claxton with Martin, or Martin and Dort would play together to test the newcomers' performance on both offense and defense.

Claxton's performance is eye-catching. Although his offense is poor, his defensive awareness is surprisingly good.

With fast speed and explosive athleticism, he is a frame-protecting King Kong that perfectly fits the small ball era.

And during training, Claxton also worked very hard, practicing hard on mid-range shots according to Lu Yong's arrangements, and he was much better than when he was first selected by the Nets in the summer.

Although it is not yet stable, the ambition to be motivated is rare and valuable.

Claxton is smart and knows that the Nets' position as the starting center will not be static after Los Angeles leaves. As long as he can show better personal talent than Mitchell Robinson, a counterattack is not impossible.

Lu Yong was not disgusted with Claxton's idea of ​​trying to usurp the throne, and even thought of cultivating him.

Such a person may leave in the future, but at least within four years, on his rookie contract, he will definitely help the Nets win the championship. It is better to have temper than no ability.

After the preseason, Lu Yong also chatted with "Fourth Brother" alone for a few words, asking him to take time to study more playing videos of Jazz star Gobert.

The offensive interior is definitely not suitable for him. As long as Claxton can develop in the direction of Gobert, with his speed and talent, no one will want him.

The next day, the alliance announced the first phase of the combat power rankings.

The Nets, which only had 5 wins and 2 losses in the preseason, ranked first without any doubt. No expert dared to underestimate them because of their record, for fear of being slapped in the face by Lu Yong.

Lu Yong has never paid attention to winning or losing in preseason games. This is no secret in the league.

Whether you are really optimistic about the Nets defending their title or not, you are right to rank the Nets first.

The Lakers are ranked second, and the joining of 'Big Eyebrow Brother' Davis is the key, forming an ace striker with Lao James.

In addition, the Lakers management made a number of reinforcements around the two of them in the summer, including Danny Green, who played for the Toronto Raptors last season, worth 3000 million over two years.

Green has always been the league's top 3D player, shooting 40.4% from three-point range throughout his career.

Last season with the Raptors, his three-point shooting percentage was as high as 45.5%.

The third-ranked Clippers' lineup looks strong on paper, and they performed well in the preseason, with the same 5 wins and 2 losses.

But only Lu Yong knows that each of the Clippers' two stars is more fragile than the other.

Rather than saying that they are joining forces, it is better to say that they are sick people. Ballmer, the Clippers owner, was deceived by Leonard.

The Warriors ranked fourth and the Bucks ranked fifth.

The Rockets, who welcomed Westbrook in the summer, were only ranked sixth. Because Harden often stretched his hips in the playoffs, even the media is not very optimistic about him now. Of course, being looked down upon by the outside world is not the most uncomfortable thing.

There is also bad news for the Rockets, that is, they will visit Brooklyn to challenge the Nets in the season opener.

Thinking of Lu Yong's historical record of never losing in the opening game, Rockets fans have a headache, thinking that this may be the beginning of a season nightmare.

If the Nets are bloodbathed in the opening game, the team's morale will definitely be in a slump.

They have given everything to compete for the championship, but now it seems that the Rockets have two MVP-level stars, but they still cannot change their lack of confidence.

Facing the Nets, the team was pessimistic from top to bottom. Even coach D'Antoni had little confidence and could only take one step at a time.

On October 10, many TV stations broadcast the opening game live across the United States.

Before the game, the league awarded championship rings to Nets players, which made everyone in the Rockets next door cry.

Especially James Harden, his eyes were fixed on Lu Yong, and he even came up to Lu Yong to chat with him in public.

From his eyes, Lu Yong saw the desire for a championship.

In the future, Harden may become a member of the Nets, but it will be difficult in the short term.

His current transaction value will cost at least half of the Nets team. Lu Yong doesn't want to play the stud game. Playing slowly and steadily is the way to go.

When Harden's contract expires and he becomes a free agent, Beard could consider cutting his salary and joining him, allowing him to experience the feeling of being taken away.

TNT commentator Barkley commented on the game: "The Nets players look very relaxed, everyone is talking and laughing, and the atmosphere in the team is very good. On the other hand, the Rockets are a bit worse, even Harden looks serious. The role players are more nervous."

Kenny Smith smiled and said: "There is no way. Lu Yong's undefeated golden status in the opening game is too strong. The league arranged the opening game against the Nets. The Rockets, who are aiming for the championship, can only admit that they are unlucky."

After the players warmed up, the starting lineups of the two teams were announced on the big screen.

Nets five: Brunson, Mitchell, Durant, Porzingis, Mitchell Robinson.

Rockets five: Westbrook, Harden, Danuel House, Tucker, Capela.

Mitchell Robinson won the jump ball and the game started.

Lu Yong did not arrange for Claxton to start, and the young man still needs time to grow.

If all goes well, he might be given a big role midway through the season.

Brunson brought the ball to the frontcourt, played a pick-and-roll with Porzingis in the middle, passed Westbrook on the left to attract a double team, and passed the ball to the middle.

Porzingis cut away Tucker without the ball, went deep into the basket and played very tough. Using his height advantage, he got strong and scored a one-handed dunk in the penalty area!

"boom!"

2:0.

The unlucky Tucker became the backdrop for the Unicorn's dunk. There was a huge talent gap between the two, and it was easy for Porzingis to dunk him. Hard work alone cannot make up for it.

Barkley said: "When the Nets signed Porzingis in the summer, many people were worried that Porzingis' injury would affect his return. But now it seems that Lu Yong has the foresight and Porzingis is still that talented person. of unicorns.”

Kenny Smith said: "The Rockets used Tucker to guard Porzingis. The height difference between this pair of matchups was 20 centimeters. They really couldn't guard the basket and were overwhelmed by talent."

Porzingis is 2 meters tall, while Tucker is only 21 meters tall.

This visible disadvantage was heartbreaking. Lu Yong sat on the sidelines and held a moment of silence for his disciples.

The only thing to blame is that the old man D'Antoni advocates the magic ball style. The fourth position is full of shooting-oriented players, and there is not even a decent defensive player.

Tucker is already the best defensive player on the Rockets' front line. Apart from him, no one else has the ability to match up with Porzingis.

When the Rockets attack, Westbrook dribbles to the frontcourt and waits for his teammates to pull away, then finds a cover and directly breaks through.

His first step was very fast. He hit Brunson and stopped in the three-second zone. The zombie jumper missed the frame due to interference.

It can be seen that Westbrook wants to prove himself in a new environment, but his pull-up jump shot is really average.

The ball was hit so quickly that it looked more like a random hit.

Lu Yong sat on the sidelines and snickered, saying to Atkinson next to him: "If Westbrook keeps playing like this tonight, Harden may go crazy."

Atkinson smiled, nodded and said: "I thought Westbrook was here to assist him, but after a closer look, he himself became the strongest assistant?"

Westbrook's character is like this. It's hard to change after playing for so many years. Even Durant is afraid of being reckless, let alone Harden.

His recklessness is not just about being superior, he is also extremely stubborn!

The hit rate of zombie jump shots has never been higher, especially at critical moments, when Westbrook gets the ball, it is absolutely fatal.

The only person in the league who could defend Durant alone was him.

In terms of matching stars, Westbrook is not as good as Mitchell. The latter is very efficient with anyone and is like a duck in water next to Adu.

Porzingis grabbed the rebound and passed to Brunson to launch a counterattack.

Brunson broke in very fast, disrupting the Rockets' defensive formation, and the ball was distributed to the center.

Tucker retreated a little slower. This time House went to the basket in time to cover up the defense. Porzingis scored suddenly and then turned to the corner, smoothly.

Tucker rushed out to interfere with the shot, but Durant pulled up on the spot and missed the shot, and the three-pointer hit the net hollowly. Whoops! 5 to 0.

Looking back, Westbrook also started to speed up when taking the ball in the backcourt, and chose to break through after halftime.

He drove to the basket with an iron head and distributed the ball to Harden on the outside.

Harden was prepared to not get the ball in this round. He was about to mess it up, but Westbrook passed the ball.

Facing Mitchell's one-on-one defense, he adjusted his rhythm by dribbling continuously under his hips and stepped back to avoid the block. However, the force was too strong and the ball bounced out of the frame.

Capela tried his best to block the position, but in the end he couldn't fight against two.

Porzingis bounces very fast. After taking off, he reaches the moon with one hand and holds the rebound in his arms.

The Nets failed to counterattack and fell into position.

Brunson and Porzingis then played a pick-and-roll in the middle, attracting the defense and passing the ball to the middle.

Porzingis took a step to pull the ball up. He did not choose to force Tucker. Instead, he European-stepped and staggered Tucker's body, and changed direction when his body was about to collide.

Tucker didn't expect a 2-meter-tall big man to react so quickly. He thought about it too late and Boshen took a long step and hit a one-handed throw, 21-7.

Barkley shouted: "Beautiful, Porzingis played the ball really smartly. The 2-meter-tall insider used the European step. The picture is simply amazing!"

Kenny Smith said: "For Porzingis, he can use all the moves that defenders can use, and he can also use the moves that defenders can't use. This is the reason why Porzingis is unimpeded in the small ball era. Basketball The Nets gave up Los Angeles to sign him. Now it seems that the young Porzingis is even more powerful. As long as he stays healthy, no one can guard the forward line formed by him and Durant!" (End of Chapter)