NBA: I am a master dealer

Xue Liancheng couldn't understand it at all, but he had a vague feeling that the loss had nothing to do with strength.

Mainly lost in morale, lost in confidence, lost in mentality...

For example, if you are asked to shoot when you are leading, at least you will not have any psychological burden.

And if the team is lagging behind, the terrible thing is that there are only ten seconds left. At this time, the offensive round needs to be scored. If not, it will be lost. If it is scored, there is a chance of survival.

How do you feel when you catch a pass?
There's no doubt it's a lot of pressure.

That kind of psychological oppression will definitely hit your heart like a tsunami.

In this case, if your mental quality is not strong enough, your movements may become deformed.

Now, the Lakers are in this situation.

Their overall strength is definitely there, but they are unable to show it due to the overwhelming pressure they face.

On the other hand, the Nets are already dead pigs and are not afraid of boiling water. They play games with the mentality of winning one game at a time, so naturally there will be no psychological pressure.

At the end of the game, reporters also visited Xue Liancheng, but Xue Liancheng escaped through the back door, saving a lot of trouble.

After all, if you express disappointment in an interview under this situation, your teammates will criticize you, saying that your back hurts when you sit and talk.

You don't hit the ball, but you keep making sarcastic remarks, which is meaningless.

And there is no need to encourage teammates now.

Because you lose your bottoms, what else can you encourage?
If you can't even beat the Nets, how can you encourage him?

He couldn't even utter those words of encouragement.

I simply left early.

And the cynicism on the Internet continues, because the Lakers' next opponent is the bottom-ranked Philadelphia Digital.

If you lose to a fish belly, it may be an accident, but if you lose to a fish belly continuously, the only possibility is that you are the fish belly.

Therefore, this is a battle to clear the Lakers' reputation. If the decline cannot be stopped, someone really needs to stand up and take responsibility.

And that person is probably Wharton.

In this case, Wharton is the most anxious one.

But there is no way.

As the head coach, he himself has no way to pick up the sinking Lakers, so who can he count on?

George?
George himself couldn't protect himself and was about to be sprayed.

12 month 16 day.

The away game against Philadelphia was equally eye-catching.

In the end, after four quarters of competition, the Lakers finally won, ending their eight-game losing streak with 100:89.

In fact, the overall performance of the Lakers in this game can only be considered average. However, Philadelphia's numbers were even worse and they only scored 89 points.

This is a truly noble person.

Pulled the Lakers back from the critical moment of life and death.

Randall was the biggest contributor. He exploded in this game, scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds on 25-of-9 shooting.

George went further and further on the road to stretch his hips. Although he scored a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, he made 20 of 5, which was simply miserable.

Fortunately, my teammates are awesome!

In addition to Randall, Courtney Lee also made 9 of 5 and scored 15 points, Marvin Williams had 18 points, and James Johnson had 10 points. Their desperate efforts finally won the team a valuable game. victory.

The moment you win the game.

Almost everyone felt a clear sense of relief.

The detail is that the smile that I didn’t have before is finally there now.

At that moment, it was as if the dark clouds pressing down on his head had dissipated.

Even Xue Liancheng was obviously relieved.

After all, if you keep losing like this, you will really die!

But as soon as the breath relaxed in his throat, he lifted it up again.

He went to Cleveland to challenge the Cavaliers back-to-back, but the Cavaliers eventually broke his leg.

Lost the game 108:119.

乔治复苏了，19中12爆砍32分5篮板5助攻，但他却没办法为球队稳住局势。

Randall scored 16 points. Courtney Lee was absent. James Johnson made up the starting lineup and scored 15 points and 8 rebounds. His performance was also good.

Marvin Williams scored 12 points, Joe Johnson scored 10 points, and Glenn Robinson scored 10 points. The performance of the bench was always online and always provided good offensive firepower.

But the team still lost.

Lost to Love with 27 points and 17 rebounds, and lost to Irving with 30 points and 12 assists.

The duo's internal and external partnership was indeed liberated.

So far, Love has averaged a top-notch double-double of 20.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. In a trance, it seems that he has seen the cupid in his peak period again.

Irving is equally hot, averaging 25.6 points, 6.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game. He is still one of the most offensive players in the league.

Therefore, the Lakers did not lose unfairly.

In terms of overall strength, there is a gap between them and the Cavaliers.

And the gap in condition is even bigger. It would be a damn thing to win.

In the post-game interview, Walton gave this reason: Although Cleveland is without James, they are still one of the top teams in the East. We are not ready, and we have not yet released from our frustration. .

The media also accepted it as a matter of course and believed that the Lakers could not beat the Cavaliers and that it was normal to lose.

As soon as this voice comes out, it means that the media and fans have accepted the fact that the Lakers are not a playoff-level strength.

This is the most terrible.

Because information will spread, once the Lakers players and coaches accept such a given, subtle changes will occur in their mentality. It will be difficult to win against a strong team.

This is the so-called winning culture and losing culture.

A team that keeps winning will be full of confidence from top to bottom, feeling that they can defeat everything and sweep away everything.

As for the losing team, they keep losing. If they are used to losing, then it is really over. Their morale is gone. No matter how strong your lineup is, you will not be able to perform well.

But this is not the end.

In the next game, they faced the Charlotte Hornets, and they lost again 113:117, losing in the last few rounds.

Walton’s explanation this time was: This is the fourth game of seven consecutive away games for the Hornets. All of us feel physically and mentally exhausted. This schedule makes me wonder if the league wants the Lakers to fall into a quagmire.

That's right.

The blame falls on the schedule and the league.

of course.

There is also a part of this reason. After all, the seven consecutive journeys are really too long, and they have been wandering away for two full weeks. This makes them physically and mentally tense, and it is indeed very tiring.

However, this cannot be used as a reason to lose.

Because other teams also have a very difficult schedule, so how come they didn’t lose their pants, but the Lakers lost their pants?
As for the next game against the Heat, no one has any hope.

The result was as expected, the Lakers lost the game as scheduled 107:115.

Another three-game losing streak.

Fans no longer react as strongly as before, because the Lakers losing is no longer big news. It really feels like they have a habit of losing. After the game, Walton said authentically: "They are very powerful and have the Big Three, but we still fought with them until the last moment. I am proud of the players' fighting attitude."

At first, no one had any reaction, but as soon as this sentence came out, it immediately caused an uproar.

"Ha! Proud? Are you quite proud of losing three games in a row?"

"Look at your record, 11 wins and 21 losses, ranking third from the bottom in the Western Conference. How the hell do you actually say you are proud of them?"

"I'm too proud, so I'm belly fat."

"Why haven't you fired me yet?"

"You have no ability, but you are really good at bragging! People who don't know better think that the losing team is the Heat."

"The third-to-last record, I think you are proud of it. After all, not everyone can bring a playoff team to this position."

The fans were furious.

But Walton seems to be a pig who is not afraid of being scalded by boiling water, nor does he refute, nor does he have a bad face in training.

But it still couldn't stop the Lakers' losing streak from continuing.

After being slaughtered by the Magic at 90:109, the fans really went crazy, and the abuse was really coming one after another.

Another four-game losing streak, the next game is the Christmas Day game, the opponent is the Clippers, their brothers in the same city in Los Angeles.

The Clippers' current record is an astonishing 22 wins and 9 losses.

Can you win?
There was no hope at all.

A five-game losing streak has been booked.

Six consecutive defeats are not far away.

No one can accept such a bad team.

Anyway, the fans were already shouting curses, which were very unpleasant to hear.

Undercurrents also began to surge within the Lakers.

The first person to lift the table turned out to be George. In an interview at the door of the locker room, he said: "To be honest, the season is almost over halfway, but I still don't know what my position is? Where is my position? Every day In the last game, I was like a machine, doing instinctive work, running around the court like a headless fly."

This time, it is equivalent to directly conveying to the world: Wharton has no tactics at all.

The headlines all over the world exploded.

"The Lakers Internal Discord Storm is Coming" directly detonated the entire league.

On the night of flying back to Los Angeles, Xue Liancheng was called to the office by Kupchak as soon as he got off the plane.

Without much pleasantries, Kupchak got straight to the point, "Xue, I am very disappointed with the team's current performance. If you have any ideas, just put them forward."

Xue Liancheng secretly thought that it was true.

When he arrived, he probably guessed that the management was going to make a big move.

Because the Lakers really have nothing to lose now, 11 wins and 22 losses, let alone the playoffs, they even have no pants left.

They have to find someone to take the blame.

The only person who can afford to carry this big iron pot, apart from George, is head coach Walton. Of course... there is also a way, and that is to put it on the shelves for a sale.

But it is obviously impossible for the Lakers to choose the latter, because those are the people Xue Liancheng wants to come.

The Lakers are even less likely to trade George.

Although George often pulls his hips, his statistics are still very impressive. So far, George has averaged 22.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. His overall shooting percentage is 43.4% and his three-point shooting percentage is 35%. His overall performance is still good. .

Nothing terribly ugly, nothing terribly flashy.

If the Lakers are hovering on the edge of the playoffs, then George's performance will be at an All-Star level.

pity.

The Lakers are at the bottom, and George's data is full of water.

But no matter what, with 22+6+4 here, there are not many forwards who can attack well and defend well, but they are still very valuable.

In addition, the Lakers paid a huge price to acquire George. It is unacceptable for anyone to just waste their money in vain.

Since George cannot be traded, there is no possibility of a big sale.

So……

The only answer is rookie Luke Walton.

but.

What does Kupchak mean by this?
Xue Liancheng frowned, thought for a moment, and soon understood.

This is to use him as a shield.

Or to be more precise, let him take the blame.

Players fired coaches, which has a bad reputation. He was determined not to take the blame: "Ahem! I have nothing to say. If you don't trust me, then just screw it up for a year."

Kupchak: "I mean... uh! George has a conflict with Walton. I'm afraid it will break out in the locker room. I want to know your opinion on how to handle this matter."

Xue Liancheng shook his head: "I have no objection."

This time.

Kupchak was a little embarrassed, but still asked, "Do you think the situation will get better if Walton is removed?"

Xue Liancheng shook his head again, "It's hard to say. There are many problems in the team at the moment, but since I can't play, I can't give any useful advice."

Kupchak finally stopped pretending, "George has called me, hoping that the team can reorganize the system and formulate new tactics. The implication is actually clear that he wants Walton to be dismissed."

Xue Liancheng: "Then I can't express an opinion. Everyone knows that Walton is a person that the management trusts very much, and George is an All-Star. If I interfere, it will make the situation worse."

Kupchak smiled bitterly, "In other words... you have no objection to this?"

Xue Liancheng: "I completely respect your decision."

Kupchak: "Okay, then let's discuss new coaching candidates."

Xue Liancheng finally showed a smile, and he was more interested in this: "Who do you think is more suitable?"

He didn't say better, he said suitable.

That's right.

What he needs is not a coach with a high reserve of tactical knowledge, nor a coach with strong tactical literacy.

Because he has his own system, he is the offensive brain of the team. He only needs the new head coach to strengthen the team's defense, and then he can let go of his pride and accept opinions.

Kupchak: "There are a few candidates, including Whitman, George Karl, Brian Shaw, and Mark Jackson. They are the only ones who are currently interested. What do you think of them?"

Xue Liancheng frowned, these are all stubborn academics!

Let's not talk about Whitman. The most glorious thing on his resume is coaching the Washington Wizards. As for the Cavaliers era at the beginning of the new century and the Timberwolves era after Garnett left, he was completely leading the team to the lottery.

He was killed by the Washington management after the end of last season. He is currently idle at home and has no future at all.

George Karl is a well-known coach, but this guy is a stubborn old man with a hot temper. He is not the kind of person who accepts everything.

As for Brian Shaw, he has been with the Nuggets for two years and has not achieved anything famous.

Mark Jackson is the founder of the Warriors, but in terms of flexibility, he is far inferior to Cole. Otherwise, the Warriors should have emerged a year or two earlier, and this guy is also very rigid.

In his opinion, these are not suitable candidates.

That's right.

Like Mark Jackson and George Karl, there is indeed no problem with their ability, but they are really not suitable. (End of chapter)