Chapter 610 Tired
After winning the Hornets, although the Pacers felt dangerous, they still had a good record after ten games.
They achieved a record of 9 wins and 3 losses, ranking second in the Eastern Conference, second only to the Atlanta Hawks whose record is showing a tendency to explode.
But the Pacers failed to continue their victory. After playing the Hornets and resting for two days, the Pacers played against the visiting Phoenix Suns at home.
The Pacers, who shot the Hornets with a three-pointer in the last game, had some problems on the defensive end in this game.
The Suns and the Pacers actually fought an offensive battle, and the Suns pressed the Pacers from beginning to end.
Li Liang still gave a good answer on both offensive and defensive ends, but...
"If you can't make it, then don't make it! Do you feel it in your hands, and if you can make it, don't you have points?"
"Why don't you vote? If you can vote, you must vote. What does it mean to feel bad? If you vote, you will feel it!"
"McGee, when you defend against me, or hit my head, I'll twist your head off and dunk."
In the game, Li Liang had to defend against his opponents and his teammates at the same time.
If you say that the three idiots are not capable, you are definitely wronging them.
The talents of the three are actually very high, physically and technically, they are all very good.
But the basketball IQ... can't be said to be low, but there will be inexplicable situations.
After Li Liang entered the league, he has been playing with teammates with very high quotient, such as Nash, Kobe, Paul, etc., they all practice a little during training, and they can play very effectively with just one look and a few movements during the game. tacit agreement.
And like Stephenson, Li Liang has to keep reminding him not to burn the CPU.
After all, Finsen needs to share some ball possessions, but once he burns his brains, this offensive choice is eye-catching.
Smith's problem is agreed to be a fan of offensive options, always playing not decisive enough.
Li Liang really hoped that the brains of the two could overlap.
Forget it, if they overlap, it may be even more terrifying.
It was the first time Li Liang played so tired after entering the league, so he had to lower his experience to the same level as them to devote himself to the game.
As a result, the Suns played beautiful offense and defense tonight, especially PJ Tucker, who marked Li Liang non-stop throughout the game, causing Li Liang to make a fatal mistake at a critical moment in the fourth quarter.
Li Liang had to foul and send his opponent to the free throw line.
Even though Li Liang assisted Smith to hit a three-pointer in the end, the Pacers still lost at home 104:106, a two-point disadvantage.
Li Liang scored 31 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds, and got a triple-double.
There were also 7 turnovers and almost got 4 doubles.
The new lineup still has a long way to go in terms of team tactics and tacit cooperation.
...
After the game, when he returned to the locker room, Li Liang went directly to Larry Bird and asked, "Larry, did you deliberately find some difficult players to torment me?"
Bird spread his hands, "You know, this is a good deal."
"I didn't agree to your deal, what I want is Danny."
"Danny is back."
"But you don't let him play and come back as a mascot?"
"Bruce, Danny's strength is no longer what it used to be. Whether the player can appear on the field depends on his performance."
Bird did not give Granger a chance to play this game because he was not very satisfied with Granger's current performance.
And this guy has a bit of diarrhea recently, he said it was caused by drinking the water delivered by Li Liang.
In fact, Bird really didn't know what Li Liang meant for Granger to come back.
Let's say it is to boost the team's locker room atmosphere. To be honest, since Li Liang came to the Pacers, he has been the well-deserved boss here, and Granger can't be the leader of the locker room when he comes back.
Moreover, a player who has never been able to make contributions on the court will hardly have prestige off the court.
Of course, Bird is not in a hurry now, because the Pacers' lineup is not complete yet.
When David West and George Hill return, the Pacers will be the real Pacers. At that time, if the team has problems again, it is not too late to worry.
Li Liang was indeed a little impatient.
There is no way, I played so smoothly with the Lakers and Clippers in the past, but I have never encountered this situation before.
It can only be said that life is always full of challenges. When you feel that there are no challenges, God will send you a few challenges.
After the game ended and the audience left the field, Li Liang stayed to practice three-pointers.
He found that his three-point shooting percentage has declined recently because he has been playing more and more inside.
This shows that my hand feeling has fluctuated, and I must rely on a lot of practice to improve and maintain it.
Also training with Granger.
Ever since he drank the water delivered by Li Liang, his stomach has been uncomfortable, so he didn't train well or compete well.
In the past two days, he finally recovered, and he felt that his physical condition was much better.
Granger is actually not very old, he is only 31 years old this year, and he is still at the tail end of his peak as a professional player.
It's just that the injury ruined his state. After returning to the Pacers, Li Liang "encourages (stimulates)" him whenever he has time and asks Granger to train hard, "Maybe there is a chance to catch up with me."
Granger also wanted to return to the place where his dream started, so he should work harder, so he trained very hard after his health recovered.
The two practiced extra until early in the morning before leaving the arena together and made an appointment to continue practicing tomorrow.
Li Liang could feel that Granger's condition was slowly recovering.
Most importantly, his self-confidence is gradually returning.
...
After losing the game against the Suns, the Pacers took a plane to Texas the next afternoon to challenge the two veterans of Texas, the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs.
In Dallas on the 22nd, the Pacers played away against the Lone Ranger.
In the playoffs last season, the Lone Ranger is actually very strong, but it is a pity that the Clippers were bald.
The Mavericks have maintained a strong state since the start of this season. They have made an excellent start with 10 wins and 4 losses, and they have ranked in the upper half of the Western Conference.
Nowitzki is one year older. In the summer, Cuban signed the 11-year champion Tyson Chandler back. Anyway, he is determined to continue to maintain a certain level when Nowitzki can still play. combat effectiveness, and then wait for an opportunity to rebuild.
To be honest, Li Liang has always had experience playing the Lone Ranger. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of this team.
No matter how old Nowitzki is, the Lone Ranger's tactical dependence on him can never be shaken off.
And Nowitzki's defensive weakness is constantly magnified with age, and it cannot be made up for by an old Tyson Chandler.
So in this game, the Pacers played very targeted.
As long as Nowitzki is on the court, Stephenson, Sloan, and Smith on the outside will seize every opportunity to misplace Nowitzki.
No matter how the Lone Ranger hides and repairs, the Lone Ranger's defense still has frequent loopholes because of Nowitzki's slow footsteps.
Nowitzki's performance on the offensive end is actually good enough. Even if Li Liang defends one-on-one, the old driver can still score points on Li Liang.
The elegant and silky golden rooster's independence made Li Liang wonder when he would be able to obtain this skill in the system.
One day, if he learns it, he will use this trick to throw a dozen or twenty on Nowitzki's head to relieve his hatred.
The Pacers had an advantage from the first quarter, and Li Liang controlled the situation very well.
In the past, he yelled on the defensive end and defended on the offensive end, but now he also yells on the offensive end.
Roaring and roaring, Stephenson and Smith slowly understood Li Liang's intention and rhythm in the attack.
A team, if the limbs cannot understand the intention signal of the brain, the result will definitely be a mess.
Once there is a tacit understanding, the team's offense will be ever-changing, making the opponent at a loss in the offense.
In the past, the Pacers were a very dull offensive team, and the only one who was more creative was Stephenson.
It's just that his creativity often overflows and overflows elsewhere.
Li Liangzai taught Stephenson better to learn to control the ball through earnest teaching.
"Damn it, I'm only in the third grade, why do I feel like a 40-year-old veteran?"
At the end of the game, Li Liang suddenly felt very tired.
It turns out that playing basketball is such a hard job, where did the happiness in the past go?
The teammates were very happy, because the Pacers won.
They beat the Lone Ranger by 115:101 in the away game by 14 points.
You look at McGee, sitting on the bench smiling eyes can not see.
Look at Smith again, he can't see without smiling.
Stephenson is in a daze with Byrd, Bird always looks like a "wisdom bead in his hand", but Li Liang feels that he is just in a daze, doing nothing, and leaving everything to Mike Brown and Vogel Do it, including laying out tactics during timeouts.
The euphemistic name is delegating power and giving full play to everyone's wisdom, but Li Liang thinks he is just lazy.
And Mike Brown... Forget it, Li Liang doesn't want to see him.
The only person Li Liang liked more was Vogel.
After switching from head coach to assistant coach, he has no complaints and continues to do his job well.
Because he used to work in Kentucky, he and Li Liang naturally share the same voice.
Li Liang also thinks his serious and meticulous work attitude is very good. He likes to work with people who are serious and meticulous in their work.
So after the game, he discussed some game issues with Vogel to fill his empty heart.
And the teammates had already taken a shower, those who should get in the car got in the car, those who should be interviewed were interviewed, and those who should sleep had already gone to the car and fell asleep.
If a person is too responsible, his life will be more tiring than others.
Li Liang is like this, the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility, who made him want to be everyone's father, want to be the best player in NBA history?
...
While Li Liang and his Pacers were stumbling forward, there were two other teams in the league that were attracting attention.
One is the Cleveland Cavaliers that James returned. After the start of the new season, the performance of the Cavaliers was not satisfactory.
Lost to the Knicks in the opening game, and lost 3 of the 4 games before the season. Before November 24, the Cavaliers were experiencing an embarrassing 4-game losing streak.
They lost to the Nuggets, Spurs, Wizards and Raptors one after another. They did not score more than 100 points in the few games they lost, and only scored more than 70 points in one game.
It can be seen that the Cavaliers are experiencing a worse running-in crisis than the Pacers.
The backcourt of James, Irving and Paul George is indeed very luxurious and looks impeccable.
But the distribution of the ball, the imbalance between inside and outside, and Blatter's tactics are all testing James and the Cavaliers.
Another high-profile player is the newly-emerging Golden State Warriors.
They have been on a roll since the start of the season, and every game they win is a big win.
It is often three quarters to check in, and the fourth quarter enters garbage time.
This allows people to see the feeling of the Los Angeles Clippers last season.
The new coach Steve Kerr quickly dispelled people's doubts, proving that he is leading the Warriors to a stronger path.
But Li Liang is not in the mood to care about the general situation of the alliance at the moment. The education issue is a long way to go, and it is the top priority.