Chapter 936

The big deal between the Rockets and the Celtics attracted most people's attention in mid-January.

Harden made his debut in the Celtics game against the Hornets on January 16. He debuted in the Celtics jersey for the first time. He scored 27 points and sent 7 assists to help the Celtics beat the Hornets.

In the team lineup, Stevens put Thomas Jr. on the bench to act as the sixth man.

And Harden's No. 13 has not been retired in the history of the Celtics, so it is a miracle that he does not need to change his number.

The attention and ratings of the entire Eastern Conference have improved a lot because of Harden's arrival.

Seeing such a situation, the alliance must be quite relieved.

It is foreseeable that in the next one or two seasons, Harden's whistle will not be less.

After all, it has to be balanced.

Before this deal, the King got PJ-Tucker's operation, but it was ignored.

In fact, this may be the transaction that really affects the situation.

The Kings finally strengthened their last short board -- the defense on the front line.

At the same time, by the way, the team's sixth man problem was solved.

After Tucker arrived, Li Liang decisively referred him to the starting third position to reduce his defensive pressure on the fourth position.

Rudy Gay was benched as a versatile sixth man.

In this way, the Kings' starting lineup of Cousins, Li Liang, Tucker, Gordon and Rondo is basically formed.

Generally speaking, this lineup is similar to Li Liang's thinking when he was in the Pacers.

On the court, Cousins, Gordon, and Rondo all have the ability to solve problems on their own in offense, and they can also better integrate into the team's offensive system.

In defense, the Pacers use a tough one-on-one defense, and the Kings actually have the ability to defend one-on-one.

Of the five starters, Cousins ​​still has a strong one-on-one defensive ability without the need for continuous defense.

Therefore, while Mike Brown continues to refine his defense of the little bees, he is also using the simple but used 1on1 to consolidate the team's defensive foundation.

The problem with purely relying on the little bees is that they will be in trouble when they encounter some teams with strong offensive strength.

For example, in the game against the Warriors in early January, the two teams met for the first time this season.

The Kings were completely overwhelmed by the Warriors.

After the Warriors have James, the team's offense has improved to a higher level, reaching a state of flowing clouds and flowing water, and never overstepping the rules.

Offensive efficiency, fluency, ability at critical moments, outside shooting percentage, ball transfer, etc. have reached a peak.

James' three-pointers also reached the highest point in history in the Warriors, and his shooting percentage exceeded 40% for the second time.

The last time his field goal percentage broke 40% in the regular season was in the 2012-2013 season, but he averaged only 3.3 shots per game that season.

He averaged more than 5 three-pointers per game this season, a career high.

If there is any problem with this Warrior, it may be that Green's role in the offense has been offset by James.

Also, the Warriors' bench is weaker than in the past.

But overall, the Warriors are a well-deserved golden team.

Facing the Warriors' superior offense, the King's "swarm defense" is just tickling.

James' wide-range transfer of the ball and the Warriors' air cuts disrupted the swarm.

Li Liang tried his best in this game and scored 48 points in a single game. The Kings still lost by 7 points.

After this game, the king got PJ Tucker, and Mike Brown combined the little bees with one-on-one.

Little Bee is really good against weak teams, especially some teams with poor offense.

The continuous harassment in the defense will cause the opponent's offense to perform poorly at all, and eventually gradually fall into endless singles.

And this kind of harassing defense does not consume a lot of physical energy, and the Kings players have not fallen behind in offense at all.

Therefore, the king's abuse of food is quite stable.

They ushered in a wave of winning streak, and they never lost again throughout the second half of January.

This includes defeating a strong team like the Thunder.

Li Liang is more comfortable in the position of coach.

He gradually realized what Mike Brown meant by "doing nothing".

In the regular season, the state of the players, the simplicity and continuity of tactics have a great impact on the record.

As a coach, he needs to keep the players in good physical condition and psychological stability, while ensuring a certain intensity in training.

Just like a long-distance run, the most important thing in the middle run is to ensure a smooth breathing rhythm, and the playoffs are the time to sprint.

He handed over most of the team's practice and game-related matters related to tactics to Mike Brown and D'Antoni.

With the two of them here, he doesn't need to worry too much about tactics, he only needs to make key decisions.

In the rest of the time, as a player, Li Liang participated in the training by himself, and at the same time partnered with Director Lu, and often thought about life with the players.

Tyronn Lue is fundamentally a direct disciple of Phil Jackson, and he stayed with the Lakers who won three consecutive championships.

He's a player coach who knows what his players think.

Playing basketball is actually the same as other jobs. As an employee, you will slack off, be lazy, and have emotions.

After all, winning the championship does not directly affect the players' wages.

As for how to appease the players and get along with this group of hey boys, Director Lu has his advantages.

After all, Li Liang is too authoritative. Except for seniors like Cousins ​​and Rondo, others will always feel a sense of distance from him.

Always bring Tyron Lue by your side, you will have a middleman, messenger, and buffer, and you will feel much better when you get along with your teammates.

In February, on February 3, after the Kings defeated the Suns at home, they have won 12 consecutive victories!

This wave of winning streak allowed the Kings to rush to the second place in the Western Conference with a record of 40 wins and 10 losses.

Second only to the Golden State Warriors with 44 wins and 6 losses, the Spurs, Thunder, and Lakers are all behind.

This wave of victories brought the entire Western Conference back and drew everyone's attention away from Harden's trade-it turned out that the Sacramento Kings were the biggest beneficiaries of the recent trade.

With PJ-Tucker, the King's defense has become extremely stable, and the rotation has become quite abundant and stylized.

Li Liang truly achieved "government by doing nothing", keeping the king in a good self-circulation state.

In terms of court performance, Li Liang averaged 28.7 points, 8 assists, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game in January. good.

For the first time, Li Liang showed people what it means to "strength in the future".

The fear of Li Liang once again fell on the alliance and the Westerners.

On February 4, the Kings will face the Warriors back-to-back at home.

At this time, the warriors who form a super strong team are no longer the so-called big devil, but the brave who want to challenge the devil.

The important task of saving the west and defeating the devil lies on them.