The Rest, Only Noise

"Coach Lu, what do you think of Sean Kemp?"

The only New York Times writer with whom Louie is well connected is Pulitzer Prize-winning Dave Anderson, who posed the question to Louie at Media Day.

If it was someone else, Louis would be too lazy to answer.

"Even though he's 19 years old, you can still essentially treat him like a kid. He's got great talent, but he's got a fragile mentality, like a kid, trying to get used to the Knicks atmosphere. It's not easy, but he's a lot better now than he was on the first day of training camp."

Camp faced many media, not shy.

He showed his domineering dunks, put on various poses, and took many photos.

Ewing's injury is a concern, but the Knicks' roster is deep enough to wait for his return with peace of mind.

Sam Bowie quipped to reporters: "I thought it was impossible to start in New York, but now...hehe."

On media day, the Knicks showed a more relaxed side to the outside world.

They took a group photo on the pitch at the Blue Palace.

Ewing still dragged his injured leg to take the photo. This guy's injury doesn't affect him letting the photographer take a photo album.

Training camp continued, Ewing was away, and Wilson took over the role of the former.

Urge teammates like Ewing.

Kemp's life is a little easier, because Ewing is the most demanding of all the old players.

Willis Reed is still the same, treating him as a training machine.

"Please, let me rest for a while!"

After Ewing left, Camp's begging for mercy increased.

But this time it was Wilson's turn to discipline him: "Sean, if you don't want to get scolded, train well."

Kemp believes that Wilson is the only good brother in the team who treats him sincerely and obeys him.

But Reed's brutal training never diminished in intensity because of Kemp's excuse.

Louie saw that he was being trained around like a dog, which was pitiful.

Another rookie, Doug West, had an equally miserable life, with little practice with the ball and a lot without it.

On a proportional basis, his on/off ball practice ratio is 1 to 9.

Training without the ball accounts for 90%.

Any one player's training ratio is so disproportionate that the game will regress and the muscle memory will mess up.

Fortunately, West's technology is not good at all, and it doesn't matter if it regresses or not.

His physicality guarantees that he will be a sharp knife on the counter-attack.

The focus on developing his defense is to make him a functional player like Alex Stevens.

West's days were less difficult than Camp's, mostly tired and dull.

Needless to say, tired, the word boring has run through his month of training camp life.

Because this is training without the ball, there is no fun, only the same training content is repeated over and over.

The purpose of training is only to master and improve, and no one can find pleasure in it.

Know your goals and know what you want to stick to.

West wanted to give up many times, but his head trainer and assistant coach Zhao Yuanzheng told him: "From our personnel reserve, this is the only way you can play games in the team in the next few years."

West knew that Zhao Yuanzheng was the assistant coach that Louis relied on, and he was also the game plan maker.

If Zhao Yuanzheng said that he had to play in this way, then this must be the only way.

He had nothing to say, just put his head down and worked hard.

Another new recruit, Miller's fellow Reggie Williams and his senior, was injured in the team's confrontation.

When Williams was in Georgetown, Louie decided he would be a lottery pick in the future. Unexpectedly, in the 1987 draft, the Warriors selected him with the No. 2 pick, and then it took only two years to confirm that he was not a talent and gave up decisively.

Because Williams was so glassy, ​​he only played less than 30 games in his two years with the Warriors.

However, he was well-rounded in his limited appearances, especially defensively.

That's why Louie chose to sign him.

At that time, not only the Knicks wanted him, but many teams wanted him, but Williams came to New York wholeheartedly to join his senior, and now he is on the DNP list with Mr. You.

Even with the injury, his performance in training camp blew Louie's eyes.

In addition to defense, his offense is also excellent.

Able to shoot, with a good shot, with three-point range, playmaking ability, ability to handle the ball, it can be said that he can do everything, and can do everything well.

He was supposed to be Iguodala's defense-focused all-around wing, but injuries stopped him.

Such talented but injury-riddled players, if they can play off the bench with peace of mind, would be an important addition to a strong team and extend their careers.

Another new recruit, Sam Bowie, was in high spirits after Ewing was injured.

He's ready to take on the role of starter while Ewing is injured.

Louis looked around, and the most tired one was Camp.

Every day at 5 p.m., when training was over and everyone was ready to rest, Reed pointed to the weight room.

That means, keep practicing.

Then Kemp would act like he was drained and walk to the weight room with his hands dangling weakly.

"Willis, even a Texas mule doesn't have to be so tossed, right?"

Hard-hearted as Louis can't bear it anymore.

Reid laughed: "You let Sean make up his mind."

"Pin Xiao," Louis turned into a mother fan, ready to protect Kemp, "you can choose to leave with me, or you can choose to stay here with Willis for additional training."

Desperate to deepen his relationship with Louie, Camp sneaks a peek at Reed.

Compared with Louis, the head coach who has power but doesn't care about training, Reed, the assistant coach who is mainly responsible for training him on weekdays, is the immediate boss who directly manages him.

That trace of laziness was instantly stifled.

"No, I'm young, I'm staying and training," Kemp said. "Thank you for your kindness, coach, I really don't need it."

Wow, did he work so hard? Louis was about to cry, why did he have such a big prejudice against Camp before?

Louis reluctantly said to Reed, "For God's sake, be nice to that kid."

Training camp ends in early October.

With only two days off, the Knicks headed to Las Vegas to play preseason games.

The NBA has been expanding the league's reach.

Every season, strong teams come to Las Vegas to play preseason games.

Usually the league is represented by the defending champion or a strong contender.

The first game of the preseason, against the Houston Rockets.

Ewing was recovering from an injury, so Louie tried as many combinations as possible.

For example, pairing John Salley with McHale on the inside.

With this combination, the defense is excessive, the rebounding is insufficient, and the offensive creativity is poor.

In the first game against the Rockets, the opponent obviously regarded the game as a main game.

Olajuwon played 39 minutes, scored 32 points, 16 rebounds and 7 blocks, leading the team to defeat the Knicks.

The next game, Louis simply played a set of no center starter.

The five starters are Stockton, Miller, Wilson, Rodman, and McHale.

They swept the Washington bullets that had failed the blood-suppressing force.

The game gave Louis confidence.

It fully shows that when encountering such a team without a strong center, it doesn't matter whether there is a center, they can completely crush with their athletic ability.

The third preseason game, the opponent is the Milwaukee Bucks.

For the first time, Louie let McHale come off the bench, Sely took the center position, and the other four points remained unchanged.

The result was another big win.

Is it possible to conclude that McHale is also unimportant under the control-variables method?

Louie thought no way, because the Bucks didn't want to win at all.

In the fourth game, against the upstart Miami Heat in the East, Louis was in a mixed mood.

It is not an exaggeration to say that this Heat team was built by him remotely.

In just two years, they got a fantastic lineup: Willie Anderson, Brian Shaw, Vernon Maxwell, Cheeks, Petrovic, Hank Gaithers , B.J. Armstrong.

What are the weaknesses of this lineup?

Louie seems to be a guy who lacks depth in the paint and has good players in other positions.

The powerful champion Hank Gaithers averaged 24 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists per game in the first few preseason games. His heart problem was significantly controlled after the Heat specially sought a doctor for special medicine.

This battle, the Knicks and the Heat are not good center.

Louie's first attempt to start Sam Bowie, paired with McHale, brought some unexpected gains to the Knicks.

It was only when he really coached Bowie that Louie could understand what Jack Ramsay and Stu Inman had to do with him.

In a way, Bowie and Wharton have similarities.

When he's healthy, he's an omnipotent big man who shoots from the deep end, plays up high, protects the rim and rebounds, and even has a quick break that Walton doesn't have~www.readwn.com~ This is exactly what What he showed in this game.

His influence in the paint made Gaithers hard.

Gaithers was prevented from hitting the basket several times by him, and he scored 19 points and 12 rebounds by relying on the body hair whistle given by the referee and adding half a basket.

But Bowie seems to know that this game is Louie's examination of him, and if he plays well, he may be able to secure a starting position before Ewing returns.

He doesn't care about his status in the team because he knows that Ewing is on the team.

If Ewing isn't there, of course he'll have to fight for the start.

Who's not a darling, no one really wants to sit on the bench all the time unless there is a good and necessary reason.

With 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks, Bowie got this data in 29 minutes and led the Knicks to a 24-point victory over the Heat.

Facing the reporter's interview, Bowie expressed his heart more directly: "I want to defend the paint area of ​​New York before Patrick returns!"