NBA: I am a master dealer

Chapter 365 Lock in the playoff spot in advance!

Xue Liancheng still supported Director Lu's proposal.

No matter what, you have to try more, what if you can succeed?

Moreover, Coach Lu is actually very right. It is okay for others to gradually lose their ability to attack independently under his feeding, but Oladipo and Lopez still have to retain their aggressiveness.

Otherwise, if they increase their intensity a little bit, they will be completely unable to withstand it. It will be difficult for him to continue to win by himself.

Not to mention a championship.

Their next goal is to try to be a dual-core driver. Like him and Wade last season, whoever holds the ball can produce super offensive firepower.

In this way, it will not be contained so easily.

So in the following joint training, Oladipo began to increase the time he held the ball and his ability to distribute the ball.

In this regard.

Oladipo was extremely surprised.

He didn't expect that his performance in the game against the Heat was so bad, even if he was not questioned and criticized, his tactical status would actually be improved.

Instead, Xue Liancheng went to move, cut, and cover...

This...this...this is simply unbelievable.

But this is the fact.

Even during a break in joint training, Xue Liancheng personally encouraged Oladipo: "I believe in your ability and you can definitely play your own offensive rhythm."

Oladipo was stunned for a while: "Xue, you are the best role model I have ever encountered in my career."

As the boss of the team, Xue Liancheng gave him the power to be the second ball-handler, and also encouraged him and taught him how to play with the ball, when to distribute the ball, when to attack on his own, and when to cooperate with the ball. Lines, what kind of prediction or tacit understanding is required, it’s really all about teaching.

What kind of mind is this?

You know, the most taboo thing for a team boss is to talk about ball rights and tactical status. This is the bottom line and must not be touched.

But Xue Liancheng not only let him touch him, but also encouraged him and taught him.

If before, he admired Xue Liancheng's skills and unparalleled basketball IQ, now Xue Liancheng's selflessness shocked him deeply.

He simply fell to the ground in admiration.

He felt that meeting Xue Liancheng was really the greatest luck in his career.

Xue Liancheng knew nothing about this. He just wanted the team to go further and even compete for the championship again. He didn't think much about it at all, "Haha... Thank you for your recognition of me. Besides, I will be proud." of."

Oladipo looked solemn and answered very seriously: "I will definitely work hard and will never let you down."

Xue Liancheng patted Oladipo on the shoulder and continued training without saying anything.

The time comes quickly to March.

On the first day of March, the Knicks sat at home to face the challenge of the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers' current record has reached 32 wins and 28 losses, beating the Mavericks and Grizzlies, who have 31 wins and 29 losses, and has risen to fifth place in the Western Conference.

This ranking is simply surprising.

No one expected that the Trail Blazers, who had been dismantled during the offseason, were about to dive into the lottery after the start of the game. Under the leadership of Lillard and CJ McCollum, they are now back. Western Conference playoff spot.

And ranks fifth in the Western Conference...

This is almost the same ranking as the Trail Blazers last season.

How can this not be shocking?

of course……

The Trail Blazers' winning percentage this season has dropped dramatically compared to last season. The main reason is that the strength of the Western Conference's back row has not kept up, which allowed the Trail Blazers to take advantage of the loophole.

You know, in addition to the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder, and Clippers, teams such as the Mavericks, Grizzlies, and Rockets were very strong last season.

Results this season.

Their record has declined due to various reasons, which puts them in fifth place with 32 wins and 28 losses.

of course.

The record of 32 wins and 28 losses was enough to shock many media reporters.

Because according to predictions at the beginning of the season, the Trail Blazers were only ranked 12th in the Western Conference.

That's right.

It's the existence of the bottom.

And amidst the disapproval, Lillard led the team to face the difficulties, and finally slapped all the media in the face and made everyone's glasses shattered.

From this point of view, Lillard is indeed extraordinary, and it is no wonder that his cousin is angry because he was not selected for the All-Stars.

And one that deserves special mention is CJ McCollum.

The No. 13 pick in the first round of 10 was an unknown in the first two seasons.

新秀赛季替补出战38场，场均能贡献5.3分1.3篮板0.7助攻，投篮命中率仅有41.6%。

There is no doubt that such a performance is unworthy of his status as the No. 10 pick.

There is no efficiency, the overall level is very poor, there is nothing outstanding, and there is no potential at all.

The only thing that can be taken out may be the three-pointer.

However, averaging 0.8 shots per game is not very effective.

In other words, CJ McCollum is not even stable in normal rotation.

The second season, last season, finally got better.

He played in a total of 62 games, including 3 starts, averaging about 15 minutes per game. He averaged 6.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1 assist per game. His shooting percentage rose to 43.6% and his three-point shooting percentage was as high as 39.6%.

This season, CJ McCollum has finally become an important part of the rotation, and can also be a starter, giving the team some help.

of course.

Also very limited.

After all, he only averages 15 minutes of playing time per game, so he is a proper role player.

Among all the players in the league, he is really inconspicuous and a real little guy.

But this season, CJ McCollum was entrusted with an important task and directly completed the transformation. He averaged 34 minutes per game, averaged 20.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. His shooting percentage reached 45%, and his three-point shooting percentage was even higher. It has reached 41.7%, averaging 2.5 three-pointers per game, becoming one of the best three-point shooters this season.

It’s really a ground-breaking moment, the flying dragon goes out to sea!

The Trail Blazers have achieved this result today. In addition to the outstanding performance of Lillard, the star player, CJ McCollum also contributed a lot, not even as small as Lillard.

The reason why the Trail Blazers went from diving into the lottery zone at the beginning of the season to fifth in the Western Conference is because of the explosion of CJ McCollum in this month, which brought them a wave of consecutive wins. Soaring into the sky.

The Trail Blazers are in good shape now and are experiencing a four-game winning streak.

The Knicks are just the opposite. Their 19-game winning streak was ended by the Heat, and their morale is slightly low.

It was in this state that the two teams met.

The competition process is very fierce.

Lillard and CJ McCollum are also kind of replicas of the Warriors Splash Brothers, except...

A replica is always a replica, and there is still a clear gap between it and the original version.

The two sides fought fiercely for four quarters, but neither side could decide the winner.

At the last moment, Xue Liancheng still had bullets.

However, the Trail Blazers' backcourt has languished. They don't have the intimidation of the Splash Brothers, and they don't have the pass-and-cut tactics of the Warriors, which has led to them falling behind under the suffocating defense.

My cousin seems to have forgotten to bring his watch.

finally.

The Knicks still defeated the Trail Blazers 111:104, stopping the decline of being defeated by the Heat.

Xue Liancheng began to slowly delegate power in this game, trying to use running positions, cuts, and pulls on shooters in positional battles. The ball contact rate was greatly reduced.

This caused him to become acclimatized for a while, that is, he couldn't adapt to it for a while.

of course.

They still insist on executing counterattacks and fast breaks with the ball, after all, this is their foundation.

Only when he completely falls into a positional battle will he try to move.

At the end of the game, he took 19 shots and only hit 9 goals. He scored 33 points, 12 assists and 6 rebounds.

Overall performance has declined, but the impact is not significant.

After all, when running and cutting in positional battles, he can also rely on his ability to predict and the dynamic images in his mind to react in time after receiving the ball.

And Oladipo's impact is great.

22次出手，只命中了8个球，拿到了21分6助攻3篮板。

After he held the ball, the frequency of singles began to increase, but the efficiency was very average, so the hit rate dropped a bit.

of course.

This is also a normal phenomenon. A change in a player's positioning always requires a period of adaptation.

Then find a game rhythm that suits you, and your condition will slowly improve.

In the past, Oladipo only focused on finishing points and occasionally played two singles.

It's different now. The role of the end point is only played during fast breaks. In positional battles, he begins to hold the ball to initiate the offense, distribute the ball and organize the reception.

This is Oladipo's first time taking on these things in the Knicks, so he naturally needs a process of adaptation, or finding a feeling.

This resulted in many of his offensive choices being inappropriate.

But it doesn't matter, they won the game after all.

Their strong strength allows them more space to explore new tactics. Feng Lai performed well in this game, scoring 11 points on 7 of 16 shots. He performed well in the matchup, as long as he didn't encounter those flying and earth-escaping monsters.

PJ Tucker had 5 points, Crowder had 7 points, Tyler Johnson had 8 points, Rooney had 2 points, Ilyasova only had 2 points, and David West had 3 points.

Galloway broke out this time, scoring 7 points on 5-of-14 shooting, and made great contributions to the team's win.

Without Galloway on the bench, Oladipo might not dare to be so reckless, and the Knicks might have a harder time.

As for the Trail Blazers.

Cousin Lillard is still awesome, 18 of 8, 9 of 4 three-pointers, and 10 crazy free throws. He is as good as Xue Liancheng, scoring 30 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds.

Still showing a first-class level of immediate combat.

This may be why he dares to keep shouting about Curry.

He definitely has the strength, but he is still a little short of superstar level.

CJ McCollum made 19 of 10 shots and scored 25 points, which still gave Lillard a lot of support.

As the second boss, he is relatively qualified, relatively stable, and conscientious in doing his job well.

The backcourt duo totaled 55 points, accounting for more than half of the Blazers' total points.

It can be seen that their strength is indeed strong, and their two-gun combination is enough for them to occupy the next Western Conference playoff spot.

What is more regrettable is that except for the double guns, everyone else is very sparse.

Only Meyers Leonard made 8 of 4 shots and scored 11 points in double figures.

This is also the crux of the historical trajectory why the Trail Blazers have never been able to compete for the championship.

The two leading stars are indeed capable, but they are not up to the top level.

Lillard has not stepped into the threshold of superstar level. Throughout his career, he was only selected to the first team in the 17-18 season. However, the Trail Blazers only had 49 wins that season, which was really hard to come by. Moreover, his season statistics were also poor. Not as good as Westbrook and Curry.

The most important thing is that Lillard has never been included in the MVP candidate list, and has never been in the top five.

In addition, Lillard's state is actually very unstable, and there are often games where the iron hits the rim crookedly.

To say he is in the top ten is a bit reluctant.

CJ McCollum has never been selected as an All-Star, which also illustrates some problems. Stability is stability, but if his explosive power is not strong and his upper limit is not high, it will be difficult to make a difference in the playoffs.

The height of the two of them is the main reason why the Blazers can't make any progress.

After playing the Trail Blazers, they got another two days of rest.

In the second half of the season, their schedule is less intensive, which gives them more time to practice their new tactical system.

On the 4th, they went to Boston to challenge the Celtics again.

The Celtics are actually in very good shape recently, with a record of 34 wins and 28 losses, but because they were killed three times by the Knicks, the consequences were still very painful.

Otherwise, their record is 37 wins and 25 losses, which is really a dark horse.

Because in the historical trajectory, the Celtics swept the Knicks.

Now Xue Liancheng is here, and the Celtics have been killed three times...

Uh!

At the end of this game, it was four kills and was swept.

The Celtics' four-game winning streak was also ended, and their record suddenly dropped to 34 wins and 29 losses.

Even though there are only four games, the impact is still huge.

It can pull the Celtics from fifth place in the Eastern Conference to eighth in the Eastern Conference.

But having said that, the Trail Blazers, fifth in the Western Conference, have a worse record than the Celtics. This shows that the Eastern Conference this season is indeed very devilish...

Xue Liancheng and Oladipo both broke out, mainly because Thomas, a little potato, is really easy to bully.

The two of them took turns to catch Thomas in singles, and they were able to create a good space at once.

This is also a shortcoming of the Celtics, and it has never been solved.

Xue Liancheng made 17 of 11 shots and scored 36 points and 14 assists.

Oladipo made 21 of 11 shots and also scored 30 points and 5 assists.

After Oladipo became another offensive starting point in these two games, his assist ability has been significantly enhanced.

In this game, the Knicks scored a total of 124 points, and their offensive firepower was once again released.

The Celtics were once again unable to fight back and only scored 104 points, basically unable to make a big splash.

小托马斯15中9，疯狂罚球13次，命中12个，拿到了32分8助攻。

His offensive talent was not only reflected in this game, but also got a good release during this period.

Otherwise, the Celtics' record wouldn't be so good.

Bradley scored 20 points, Turner scored 21 points and Sullinger scored 18 points.

Since Crowder is no longer here, the Celtics' scoring power basically falls on these three people.

After this game, the Knicks officially locked in a playoff spot in advance and became the first team in the Eastern Conference to definitely enter the playoffs.

What's even more gratifying than winning and locking in the playoffs in advance is that Oladipo has finally accepted the role of holding the ball and launching attacks.

The performance was much more calm than in the previous game.

Xue Liancheng also had some connection and cooperation with him.

At least Xue Liancheng can occasionally receive passes when he runs into the air and cuts.

This is a very good sign.

When he partnered with Wade in last season's finals, he produced unparalleled results.

He doesn't expect Oladipo to reach Wade's immediate combat ability last season, but it should be at least 70% to 80%, which can alleviate a lot of pressure on him.

If the scoring ability really doesn't match Wade's, no matter how bad it is, if you control the ball and distribute the ball, as another offensive starting point, you have to be qualified, right?

This is his minimum requirement for Oladipo.

Don't just be pressed so hard that you can't move like in the last game with the Heat.

With this good expectation, they returned home to face the challenge of the Detroit Pistons in back-to-back games.

During this period, the Pistons' situation was relatively average, but they also had a record of 31 wins and 30 losses, making them a fringe team in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

I want to go up, but I can’t seem to get up.

Down?

They must be unwilling to do so. How could they give up so easily after this?

So in this game, the Pistons fought hard.

But the problem is, the strength is here and you can't overcome it.

The Knicks still defeated the Pistons 107:89.

With the Pistons' defensive strength, even if they risk their lives, they can't suppress the Knicks' offensive firepower.

A score of 107 points is really average for the Knicks.

You know, the Knicks averaged 111 points per game, and these 107 points did not reach their average level.

Even if the crotch is stretched like this, the Pistons still can't win.

The main reason is that the Pistons' own defense is not very good. They only scored 89 points and were unable to launch any challenge or pose any threat to them.

Xue Liancheng had 26 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds. With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, he left the game and took a rest.

Oladipo had 18 points and 5 assists, which was about the same time period.

Vonleh, Crowder, Tyler Johnson and others all performed well and contributed to the team's win.

Piston side.

Drummond made 20 of 10 shots and scored 21 points and 16 rebounds, looking very fierce.

But his defensive slot attributes have actually begun to show up at this time.

Drummond can still defend against the big man inside, but when he encounters the small man switching defenses, his still not bloated figure can't keep up with the rhythm at all.

This game was taken turns by Xue Liancheng and Oladipo for military training.

I have to say here that Oladipo still has a sharp eye. When he saw Xue Liancheng continuously naming Drummond, he immediately woke up and knew that Drummond was a paper tiger, so he also focused on Drummond.

In the end, Drummond was scared when the defense was changed.

of course.

This is still secondary.

The main reason is that their engine Reggie Jackson completely withered in this game.

17 of 3, only 6 points and 6 assists.

With a performance like this, do you want to win?

What about dreaming?

The Knicks are not those little Karami who can be manipulated casually. The Knicks are number one in the Eastern Conference!

So far this season, 53 wins and 10 losses.

Before the start of the game against the Pistons, they had already locked up a playoff spot. Everyone knows how strong they are.

In the competitive state of Gigi King Jackson, it is simply impossible to win.

Don't even dream about it...

(End of this chapter)