Before the start of the NBA regular season, each team will conduct a warm-up match, which is the NBA preseason.
After each season, each team has considerable changes in its lineup, and some teams will also change coaches. In order to allow each team to run into the lineup, become familiar with their respective team's playing style, and determine each team's new season. It can also improve the communication between players and coaches. Therefore, before the start of each season, the NBA will hold preseason games so that they can enter the long regular season games in a better state.
Normally, the preseason lasts for two weeks, and during these two weeks, the team plays approximately eight games. In recent years, in order to expand its overseas influence, enhance the NBA's internationalization process, and cater to the tastes of overseas fans, the NBA will send teams to play preseason games overseas. In addition, it will also invite overseas teams to come to the United States to participate in NBA games. Preseason.
This year, the Los Angeles Clippers were selected by the NBA to play preseason games overseas, and their destination was China. After all, the Clippers were owned by Dingtian Group and were sent to China to play preseason games. It is also a matter of course.
The Clippers' opponent is the Dallas Mavericks. This season, the Mavericks gave a Chinese player a training contract, which means that the Chinese player can represent the Mavericks in preseason games. NBA officials naturally would not give up this good opportunity to cater to Chinese fans, so they arranged for the Mavericks to come to China to play preseason games.
Coming to China to play preseason games is a good opportunity for the NBA to expand overseas. It benefits both the league and the team, but for the players, it is not without the hassle of traveling. After flying halfway around the world from the United States to China, after getting over the time difference, I have to play games in two cities respectively. At the same time, I have to cooperate with a series of team promotion and fan meeting activities. Some players also have to participate in sponsor activities. This kind of Under such circumstances, the schedule is so full that there is no warm-up effect at all.
It’s time for Dai Li to take the team to China for a trip. As for the preseason games, they will be played as exhibition games.
The Clippers are known as the "hospital for the old, weak, sick and disabled", but the "old, weak, sick and disabled" in the team are all real star players. They still have a high status in the hearts of fans, so as long as they stand on the court again , you can easily gain the cheers of the fans. Some fans even spontaneously shouted "MVP" to cheer them on.
By the time the Clippers returned to the United States, the preseason schedule was already halfway through. After jet lag and resumption of training, the Clippers played two preseason games in the United States, and the NBA preseason time was over.
For the Clippers, this is obviously a disadvantage. Other teams have played eight preseason games, and have already achieved initial results in the running-in of the new lineup and the practice of new tactics. However, the Clippers players have been flying around the earth and cannot find them at all. The state of the game.
…
Assistant coach Cassel came to Dai Li with a form.
"Coach, judging from the preseason data, Wood performed the best. It seems that he has recovered 70% to 80% of his peak performance. As the game progresses, he should be able to regain his form. As long as he no longer If he gets injured, he might be able to return to the level he was when he was the regular season MVP."
"Hall's condition is much worse than Wood's. After all, he hasn't played for a long time. His speed and explosive power are recovering. The most important thing is his touch. You know, although Hall can break through and shoot three-pointers, but His best way to score is the pull-up jump shot. Although Hall's shooting percentage in training is very good now, in the game, when faced with the opponent's defensive pressure, his pull-up jump shot hit rate is just over 30%. , this is a failing data, the touch needs to be recovered slowly, I think Hall needs more time to regain the rhythm of the game."
"The worst situation is that of Raymond. In fact, his situation is similar to that of Hall. Although his body has recovered, he has not yet returned to the game state. Raymond has been away from the game for so long. He wants to regain physical and mental tension. It takes some time. And he is a superstar after all, so in a few preseason games, opponents will put more defensive pressure on him, and his shooting percentage is also the lowest."
"Gray has recovered very well. He is indeed an excellent big man, but his problem is that he commits too many fouls. After all, he has only played more than a hundred NBA games and can only be regarded as a second-year player in terms of experience. As a rookie, his lack of experience makes it easy for him to suffer disadvantages on the court. If he cannot control the number of fouls, he will leave the field with six fouls in less than thirty minutes in a game. We really don't have many ways to help him in this regard. An inexperienced big man will always have to experience foul trouble to grow, and this is the tuition he must pay."
"Fortunately, we still have Calabi in the paint. When Gray was troubled by fouls, fortunately Calabi supported our penalty area defense. Judging from the performance in the preseason, Calabi did not want to be a 35-year-old veteran at all. , I think his current state is no worse than when he won the block title."
"In addition, Kumar's performance really impressed me. In the previous summer league, he showed good strength and adaptability to the NBA. In the preseason, besides Wood, he was the only member of the team. As the second scoring point, he has begun to adapt to the rhythm of NBA games."
Cassel briefly reported on the players' performance in the preseason. Among them, Ousef has not been able to play in the past two months due to drug rehab. As for Noel, he will have to wait until January next year to collect the six-month physical examination report, so he has not played in the preseason.
Just listen to Cassel continue to say; "Coach, the regular horse racing is about to start, and we have only briefly practiced a few tactical combinations, and until now, we have not yet made it clear what kind of tactics we should use next season. Tactics.”
"Our tactics are very simple, that is, give the ball to someone." Li Dai said with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Cassel asked with a puzzled look.
"Isn't this a very common tactic in the NBA? Give the ball to someone..." Li Dai made a long sound.
"Then what?" Cassel asked next.
"Then? There is no more." Li Dai shook his head: "Someone will naturally score the ball. Lakers, Cavaliers, these teams that once had superstars, don't they often do this?"
"Haha..." Cassel laughed dryly, his expression obviously asking: Are you telling a joke
Dai Li continued: "NBA tactics are constantly developing. Many coaches have their own tactical systems that they are good at, and the tactical system is what I am least good at. We can also learn some simple tactical coordination now. Currently, those complex tactical systems cannot be learned by watching videos. When it comes to tactics, we are far behind other teams!"
"So you just let players play alone?" Cassel shook his head: "I don't agree with this. Not being proficient in the tactical system is not a reason for you to give up using it."
Dai Li went on to explain: "You know, what I am best at is physical training. I can make an athlete show his highest strength on the field. And the composition of our team is quite special. We have gathered a group of All-Star… "
"A former All-Star," Cassel corrected.
"Well, if I can get them back to form, we will have a group of All-Stars. Do you think we need to teach a group of All-Stars how to play?" Dai Li didn't wait for Cassel to answer, and then said: " Their ability to become star players and the core of a team not only means that they have excellent skills, but also means that they have an extraordinary ability to read the game and that they have the ability to lead a team to victory. "
"That doesn't mean we don't need to plan tactics." Cassell said, shaking his head.
"Of course we need tactics, but it is impossible for us to build a complex tactical system like the Spurs and then let the players execute it well. We only need some simple and effective tactical coordination to increase the relationship between the players. tacit understanding, and then give more choices to the players. Because they have all been leaders of a team, they know better than me how to lead a team to victory." Li Dai answered.
Cassel showed an incredible expression: "Your intention is to let the players decide how to play? What do you want us coaches to do? Sit on the sidelines and watch the show?"
"We can give guidance and suggestions, as well as some personnel adjustments, but when it comes to the court, we should trust the players more. Because they are all star players, they have enough game experience, and they know when to What to do, and the game is always changing rapidly, and the on-the-spot judgments made by players based on experience are sometimes better than the choices of our coaches." Li Dai explained.
"I still can't agree with your idea. We are coaches, and we should provide the players with a tactical system. This is what we should do." Cassel showed a stubborn expression.
Dai Li shook his head helplessly: "Well, please tell me, what kind of tactics should we arrange for the players? The complex coordination of the Spurs? The five dead warriors of the Warriors? The Rockets' magic ball play? I said it These are very popular in the league, but they also require a very deep tactical understanding. At least I don’t have this understanding at my level. Do you have such a deep tactical understanding? Can you make our players like the Spurs, the ball passes through every Can you put your hands into the basket before putting them in the basket? Can you let our players be like the Warriors, who quickly transfer the ball and score super difficult three-pointers? Or you can let our players be like the Rockets, Only score in the penalty area and beyond the three-point line? Or, do you have the ability to create a new and more powerful tactical system?"
Cassel was speechless when asked by Li Dai. If he really had that ability, he would not stay with the Clippers as an assistant coach.
"So, it's not that we don't want to design systematic tactics for the players, but that we don't have the ability to do so? We are not the so-called 'tactical masters'. There is only one style of play we can use." Li Dai stretched out his words Pointing a finger, he continued: "We can only count on the players' personal abilities to be strong enough, and we can only play 'star ball'!"
After hearing what Li Dai said, Cassel wanted to refute, but he couldn't do it.
Dai Li went on to say: "Is there anything strange about expecting star players to succeed? In the early days, a single superstar dominated the field. Later, one superstar each inside and outside became the standard for the team to win, and then the 'Big Three' won the championship. model, and today's Warriors are the so-called 'Big Four'. Why can't we form a 'Big Five', 'Big Six' or 'Big Seven'? Other teams can only start five Tiger All-Stars, but we I think even our substitutes need to be at the All-Star level! We don’t have any tactics, we just rely on stars to play, and we just play ‘star ball’!”