Recognize the position

Author: The Withered Tiam

Recognize the position

In the first half, Howard had only three shots, but he made 9 free throws, and only scored 3 of them. He even lost both free throws, scoring a total of 7 points and 10 rebounds, and had 3 turnovers.

Li Chengming made 2 of 6 shots and scored only 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, and had 2 turnovers and 2 fouls.

The Magic performed the best on the side of the game, Tekoglu, who made 5 of 8 shots, made 2 of 4 three-pointers and scored 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

On the Hawks, Smith scored 14 points and Joe Johnson scored 11 points. In fact, their shooting percentage was less than 40%, but through defense and constant interruption of the Magic's offensive rhythm, they kept controlling the score gap tightly.

It is psychologically a very tormenting thing for players to keep chasing points, especially when they seem to be a few points away, but they just can't catch up.

The more important thing is that they are not unable to score, but they make fouls at every turn, and then Howard walks onto the free throw line and most of them fail to score. This is a very bad thing.

Even for home fans, this is a torture.

Although he won the last game and Li Chengming scored high scores, the process felt a bit ugly for the fans. He didn't feel that the Magic team had become a strong team. As a result, this game came again. If you say it was back-to-back and there was no good rest, there was still some. The problem was that the interval between these two games was not short, and it was difficult to find an excuse to lose energy.

During the halftime, fans also went to eat, which was convenient. The vocals were noisy in the stadium, but in the locker room it seemed very quiet.

When Van Gundy came in and saw the atmosphere, he raised his eyebrows first, then coughed twice and said, "Why didn't you speak, you were hit?"

In fact, when he was training before, he felt that the team was still a little relaxed. This may not be the sequelae of the previous holiday, but they seemed to look down on their opponents a little.

After all, I only face a team with a winning rate of less than 50%. I feel like they can play casually.

In fact, the players' attitudes are somewhat floating, which is predictable, although Van Gundy doesn't think they are behind in the first half because they are floating.

Because their strength is indeed stronger than their opponents, I can only say that the strategy the opponent has implemented today is right. The Magic's most important offensive strength points are now. Howard used foul tactics, Li Chengming was assisted in defense, and the double-team interference was very uncomfortable. Lewis felt bad and was not in a state.

The result was only Tekoglu, who was really hard to support.

Tekoglu is not the kind of player who can lead the team to win by himself. At least he is difficult to play in games like Li Chengming in the field.

Moreover, his condition is not considered an outbreak today, and what he is best at is organizing and sorting out the team's offense. However, when his teammates are in poor condition, the ball passed by Tekoglu cannot be converted into assists.

This also made him very depressed, especially as he was fighting because Howard might have to cut off the offensive rhythm, which is the most suffocating thing.

Seeing the players' eyes all over, Van Gundy continued, "Today's opponents played harder than us! To be honest, I'm very disappointed with you."

The main problem of the Magic in this half is still on offense, not on defense.

Lewis and others won’t say anything, even Li Chengming, who had always been stable before, was abnormal.

However, he can still be said to have been targeted by the defense, especially the two Williams and Smith's forward defenses on the opposite side have very limited him. After the pass, the others could not even grasp the open shooting opportunities that came out, so that would be unreasonable.

As for Howard's free throws, it's an old problem, and it's not something that can be improved by saying it's all at once.

"Coach, I'm sorry, I..." Li Chengming raised his hand and wanted to stand up and take responsibility.

But after Van Gundy glared at him, he suddenly sneered at the others: "You all think you are fine, let a rookie come out and take the blame?"

Li Chengming felt a little embarrassed and thought to himself that he was not holding me on the fire?

But maybe this is also a reminder, letting him clearly place his position.

Li Chengming also had a vague understanding in his heart. After these games, he seemed to be a little confused about his position. Moreover, after he came on the court, the coach always arranged for him to attack, which made him feel as if he had really become the first core of the team.

Even though he had been reminding himself before, he was not that good or strong, and that he could have so much room to play in this team, but changes in his personal mentality are inevitable.

To be honest, this depressed came in a timely manner. When a basin of cold water was poured down, it was enough to make him wake up directly.

After waking up, Li Chengming immediately began to think about whether there was any problem with his playing style.

To put it bluntly, the lineup currently built by the Magic, whether it is offense or defense, is mainly about Howard, but the offensive end is also the core of the organization.

But when Li Chengming was present, the team leaned towards him and gave up some things, and even Howard and others needed to make a certain degree of sacrifice.

Moreover, as Li Chengming played better and better, Van Gundy felt a little uncomfortable in the deployment of troops. After all, he couldn't let Li Chengming, who could attract defense at a low post, become a role player who was a perimeter pitcher. Wouldn't it be a waste of his ability?

So when Van Gundy trained the others over there and came to look for him alone, he said without waiting for the other party to open his mouth: "Coach, should I add more balls?"

Van Gundy was stunned for a moment, looked at him in surprise, and then suddenly asked with a smile: "How did you think of going up here?"

Li Chengming said hesitantly: "I always feel that I didn't play very well. Since this is the case, it naturally needs to be changed."

Van Gundy pondered for a moment before saying, "It just so happens that this is what I want to tell you, but we will talk about it later. Now, let's just fight this game first."

Li Chengming nodded, knowing that he was saying that this game would not change for the time being.

The victory or defeat of a regular season is irrelevant, and if the tactical style is temporarily changed, the players may not adapt, and Li Chengming himself may perform worse.

Although he has played some off-balls before, he only plays in some specific rounds, and generally speaking, he is mainly engaged in individual ball-holding.

If you really want to say that you play well without the ball, it is also barely enough. After all, he neither has the outside shooting at Lewis nor the athletic talent and impact power of Howard. Whether it is an open shot or a catch, his grasp is definitely not as comfortable and confident as playing in his own rhythm.

If you really need to make adjustments, isn’t it easier to replace Li Chengming directly?

Originally, Li Chengming was the unexpected surprise of the team this season, but in fact, the framework Van Gundy set for the Magic at the beginning was not Li Chengming.

Nelson, Bogans, Tkoglu, Lewis and Howard were the main players Van Gundy had decided at the beginning. Among them, Bogans can be replaced at will, but either replaced by a shooter or another 3D. It is impossible to use Li Chengming to replace him.

Otherwise, the Magic's outside defense would be reduced by one level. Even if Howard is inside, if the opponent is allowed to easily break through the penalty area, Howard will be alone.

This is actually because Li Chengming's growth is a bit beyond Van Gundy's expectations, otherwise he would not have had the worries of hiring people in this regard.

This is also a happy trouble. Van Gundy's previous choice was to make Li Chengming axle briefly when he came on stage, but at present, Li Chengming's ability seems not enough to shoulder the burden.

The most important thing is that he is now in an embarrassing position of being neither up nor down. He is just a rookie in his position, but his tactics have to be fought around him, which is obviously not a long-term solution.

However, Van Gundy was still very happy that Li Chengming was able to take the initiative to propose it. After all, for young people who can play, no one would be willing to give up the ball that they had finally won.

Li Chengming can do this to show that he is mature and professional enough, putting the team's victory or defeat above his own.

Of course, this is also a kind of self-confidence. After all, no coach is so stupid that he abandons him. It’s just a problem of how to use him well and integrate him into the team’s system.

(End of this chapter)
Chapter completed!