The NBA announced the Eastern and Western Players of the Week for the second week of the regular season. In the Western Conference, Clippers backup center Calabi won the title of Player of the Week.
The Clippers' record last season was pretty good, but Calabi's data just reached the double-double standard. This is not outstanding at all in the Western Conference where stars gather, but a triple-double in blocked shots is definitely very rare. This game of getting a triple-double in blocks is also worthy of a player of the week.
Calabi is very happy. At the age of 35, he has not only regained the form of his youth, but also won the Best of the Week. Even in the years when he was at his peak, he did not win the Best of the Week several times.
So Karabi generously invited all the players and coaching staff to dinner. Everyone was not polite. They all came with the intention of giving Karabi a ruthless meal and ordered a table full of sumptuous food.
In the private room of the hotel, Karabi happily handed over his credit card to the waiter. Karabi had made tens of millions in his career, and he would not take a single meal seriously. If he got a triple-double, he would treat him to it. For a big meal, Karabi would rather go bankrupt.
The teammates enjoyed the meal very much, but Gray seemed a little absent-minded.
As the team's backup center, Calabi has maintained a 10+10 double-double this season and also had a triple-double in blocks. In contrast, Gray has been troubled by fouls and has even less playing time as a substitute for Karabi.
Dai Li has already noticed that Gray's starting performance is not as good as his substitute. This is indeed very depressing.
Dai Li walked to Gray and sat down. He pondered for a few seconds and then asked, "Are you worried?"
"Huh?" Gray was just stunned for a moment, then quickly looked calm and answered, "No, no."
"I thought you would be worried that Karabi would take away your starting position." Li Dai said with a smile.
Gray didn't answer this time. He did have this worry in his heart. After all, Karabi's performance is much better than his own, and Karabi is also more experienced. As long as Karabi can maintain his current form, he can be a starter for any team.
Dai Li continued: "The reason why I continue to keep you in the starting position instead of replacing you with Karabi is mainly because of your future growth. Karabi's recent performance is indeed good enough, but there are It's already his upper limit, but you are different, you are the kind of player who makes me unable to see where the upper limit is."
Dai Li didn't mean to comfort Gray. Gray was hailed as a rare genius in thirty years, and the detector also showed an S+ level talent. His upper limit was indeed infinitely high.
"It's just that the first thing you have to solve now is the problem of fouls. You have too many fouls, which causes your playing time to be too fragmented and also affects your data." Li Dai said, with a look in his eyes. The strange expression passed by in a flash.
Speaking of statistics, Gray was troubled by fouls and only played a little over 20 minutes a game, but he was able to get a data of 11+8, plus 2.3 blocks. If converted to 36 minutes, it would be a double-double.
Considering that his playing time is very fragmented, his data can still be improved. Dai Li even thinks that if Gray can control fouls like other insiders, he should be able to average 20+15 per game easily.
Gray on the opposite side listened to Li Dai's words and nodded in agreement. He also knew that he had committed too many fouls.
"Coach, what should I do?" Gray asked.
"According to my observation, your fouls mainly occur in blocking shots and covering up defense. When defending one-on-one, your foul situations are well controlled. So it is these two points that you need to improve."
Dai Li held out a finger as he spoke, and then said: "Let's talk about blocking first. Your blocking ability is unquestionable, and can even be said to be very good..."
Gray smiled shyly when he heard this, and a few big wrinkles suddenly appeared on his already slightly mature face.
With Gray averaging 20 minutes of playing time per game, he was able to get 2.3 blocks, which indeed shows that he is very strong in this aspect. If converted according to the 36 minutes of playing time of a normal starting player, it is possible that Gray averaged 4 blocks per game. of. This year, if he averages 3 blocks per game, he can win the block title. If he averages 4 blocks per game, he will be a guaranteed Hall of Famer.
Dai Li changed his tone and continued: "But you shouldn't block shots for the sake of blocking shots."
Gray hesitated and said tentatively: "I didn't, coach, I really didn't. I didn't mean to brush up the data on purpose."
"I don't mean that you are deliberately brushing up on blocked shots. What I mean is that you always want to block the ball." Dai Li paused and then said: "Sometimes, there are some balls, You don't have to block it at all, you just need to interfere with the opponent and prevent the opponent from successfully completing the attack on the basket. Then you can grab a rebound by the way, isn't that easier?"
Before Gray could answer, Dai Li was already on his second finger: "Let's talk about defense next. There is also a big problem with your defense. You are too obsessed with stopping your opponent. You want to completely block it. All the paths forward for the opponent, indeed, you have that ability, but it also involves more risks of fouls. In fact, many times, you don’t have to do that, you just need to give the opponent some interference and pressure to make the opponent lose the rhythm. , this is enough, this is a successful defense."
Dai Li changed his tone and then asked: "Do you think as a defender, should he defend the ball or defend people?"
"Well..." Gray's expression was obviously hesitant.
In basketball, a total of 10 people from both sides play a ball. It can be said that the core of this sport is this basketball. The attacker's goal is to put the ball into the basket, while the defender's goal is to prevent the ball from entering the basket. Simply put, defenders should guard the ball.
However, with the development of basketball today, it is no longer simple. Players on the field have different divisions of labor and cooperation, and they must implement tactics. In the final analysis, the ball is played by people. Especially in the NBA, man-to-man defense is the mainstream. , regardless of whether the opponent has the ball in his hand or not, the person in which position should defend the opponent in that position. Nowadays, when junior high school students play basketball, they all know to focus on the person in front of them, so defenders should guard people, not the ball.
"It's for defense." Gray replied.
A smile appeared on Dai Li's face, and he continued: "But you always like to go for the ball."
Just listen to Dai Li continue to say: "When I asked you this question just now, you hesitated. Obviously you also knew about this bad habit of your playing."
Gray nodded, of course he knew this old problem of his.
No coach in the NBA is a loser. If Dai Li can find a problem, other coaches will naturally find it too, and they will naturally feed it back to Gray.
Dai Li's expression became serious: "Since you know, why don't you change it?"
Gray lowered his head and remained silent.
Dai Li could understand Gray's thoughts.
"Sometimes it's not a good thing to have too much talent!" Dai Li sighed softly in his heart.
Gray's biggest feature is his talent. He has height, wingspan, a strong body, delicate skills, amazing jumping, and fast movement. He is a genius who comes only once in thirty years. This nickname is not for nothing.
Also because his talent is so good, Gray's defensive habit is to go directly to the ball instead of directly guarding people.
For example, when the opponent rushes to the inside and prepares to directly attack the basket, other defensive players will first think of interfering with the opponent's shot, but Gray thinks of blocking the ball because he is tall and has long arms and can jump high. , he has the ability to block shots easily.
Compared with interfering with shooting, blocking is a larger defense and requires larger technical actions, which means more possibilities for fouls.
Another example is assist defense or supplementary defense. Other players prevent the opponent from advancing and compress the opponent's offensive space. If the opponent can force the opponent to pass the ball or make a forced shot, this is considered a successful assist defense. But Gray wanted to defend his opponent to death, because his body was strong enough and he was not afraid of confronting anyone, and his speed was agile enough that even if the opponent was a dexterous defender, he could keep up with the opponent's speed.
This kind of defensive action that prevents people from death and leaves no room at all can easily lead to fouls. In basketball, the more aggressive the defense is, the less space it gives to the opponent, and the greater the probability of getting fouled. After all, the ball is in someone else's hands, and in an offensive and defensive battle, the attacker holding the ball is always the one with the initiative. In the long run, it is much easier to commit a defensive foul than it is for the defender to commit an offensive foul.
Moreover, Gray is a seven-foot-long man. Those dirty defensive moves used by outside players will be amplified when Gray comes here. If the same little defensive trick is done by a small guard less than six feet tall, the referee may not pay attention. Yes, let Gray, a seven-foot man, do it. The target is so big, the referee will see it at a glance, and then give him a foul.
In the final analysis, the reason why Gray commits so many fouls is because he is so talented. If you change it to another inside player, such as the one who can't jump, he can't cover him. At worst, he will scream to scare you, then turn around and wait for the rebound honestly.
But Gray is not like that. I almost touched the edge of the backboard when I jumped. Why didn't I cover you
If it were another big player, he wouldn't try to guard a defender. The defender is fast and flexible, and he can't keep up with his own speed. It's difficult to defend a small player with a big player. There's no point in arguing with a defender. You're not asking for it. Are you uncomfortable? A little interference would be nice.
Gray is different. Although he is a big man, his agility is not inferior to that of a defender. Since he can keep up with his speed, I am taller and stronger than you. I can't guard him to death!