The Road to Stardom: Start as a Slam Dunk Master.

Chapter 316 Hi, brother!

The king of cakes, plus an unlimited defender who can run all over the court and defend from position 1 to position 5, is the positioning Lin Dong and coach Anzai give Sakuragi Hanamichi.

I will definitely try my best to give him tactical support on the court, but whether it can be effective with these simple instructions from Coach Anzai depends on Sakuragi himself...

The next two games are still a joyful journey against weak teams.

First, they challenged the New Orleans Hornets, who had just moved to the West, on the road.

Although this Hornets inherited everything from the previous Charlotte Hornets, they seemed a bit acclimated after moving to New Orleans.

In the past few years, the Eastern Conference as a whole has been relatively weak, while the Western Conference has been relatively strong. So much so that the team that was able to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference last season is now at the bottom of the Western Conference, currently with 4 wins and 10 losses. Third from last in the West.

The fan base of the newly relocated arena has not yet been developed, so its home court advantage is not as obvious as other teams.

Faced with the SuperSonics' run-and-gun style that they have become more and more comfortable with after adapting to it in several games, the Hornets obviously couldn't withstand it. 121:105, the SuperSonics added another victory.

Except for Vin Baker, who knew he was going to be traded and had recently started to lose his temper and simply missed the game, everyone on the team performed as usual.

From the first quarter when facing the SuperSonics' fast break, they began to fall behind. Facing the SuperSonics' powerful firepower, by the third quarter they had completely given up resistance.

Only Sakuragi Hanamichi's performance is still hard to describe...

After all, compared to complex tactics, run and gun is more about simple rhythm.

Played 9 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 5 turnovers and 2 fouls. The scoring was a new high, but so were the turnovers!

The plus/minus value of this battle is simply unsightly.

The final score was 122:91, the largest margin of victory for the Sonics this year.

Although everyone knows that it is not easy for a new team, this winless game, dismal results and dismal ball market, coupled with the picky fans in Charlotte, made the black owner Robert Johnson, who just took over the team, unable to bear it. In the interview, he began to pour out his bitterness. Within half a year, the team that had just been established had already revealed its intention to sell several times.

The offensive end has improved, and his goal of attacking the frame during fast breaks is quite clear. His unparalleled athletic talent has been fully demonstrated, which allowed him to score an unprecedented 6 points, and he reached the level of Mike in three anti-counterattack rounds. Milan has repeatedly emphasized the extreme speed.

Run and gun was unfamiliar to this team at the beginning, from the coach to the players. If it weren’t for the miserable loss at the beginning of the new season, and if it weren’t for Lin Dong who proposed it, then McMillan and the ball would The team's top management would never even consider this tactic.

As a brand new team that just joined the league this year, although they just picked up center Nick Collison in the draft, who is known as this year's center second only to Chris Bosh, they didn't expect that this guy would be on the team during summer training. Nessery suffered a strain and even suffered a recurrence of old shoulder injuries. He has not played a game yet.

Frequent misses and confusion in thinking when misplaced make people feel that he is simply running around on the court, so that from the perspective of bystanders, McMillan and others can't understand what his thinking is. If it is not a big score. Leading, if this guy is not wearing his No. 10 jersey, he is still his disciple...

Facing the SuperSonics, which is now looking a little brand new, and it's the SuperSonics' home court, the Bobcats obviously don't have the ability or confidence to struggle and resist.

With 0 wins and 15 losses, they are not only last in the Eastern Conference, but also last in the entire league.

But now with several consecutive wins and the adaptation to running and gunning, the team has now begun to have its own unique style. Once this style is formed, it will drive the integration of the players to form a virtuous cycle, allowing everyone to I slowly started to find my place and played better and better.

The average time from defensive success to counterattack goal is about 4 seconds. This is the concept that McMillan wants to achieve most after he began to study run-and-gun tactics according to Lin Dong's ideas, and has been implemented repeatedly in the team: quick counterattacks. The attack cannot exceed 4 seconds, and the normal attack cannot exceed 8 seconds!
It's a pity that Sakuragi Hanamichi on the defensive end makes McMillan go crazy.

Then two days later, they will face the Charlotte Bobcats, which the Hornets can call their 'brother team', at the Key Arena in Seattle.

The performances of Payton, Brent, and other role rotation players are also remarkable.

It wasn't until he collided with Chandler who was originally intended to be misplaced during a defense change, and almost wiped out Chandler's game that day, that the unbearable McMillan finally replaced him.

As for the Charlotte Bobcats, who lack a core center and have other players put together in a hurry, their results in the new season are really hard to describe.

Lin Dong scored 32 points and 8 assists. This was already his 15th consecutive game with 30+ points since entering the NBA. He topped the league's scoring list and dominated the league with an average of 42.4 points per game, surpassing the second-place Magic McGrady's 33.6 points. Can't see the taillights.

Lin Dong only played for 25 minutes. When the Bobcats replaced the main force and gave up resistance, he had already followed suit. He scored 19 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists, which severely hindered the average points per game. ', lowering the points per game from 42.4 to 40.9.

I left this morning because I wanted to give others more screen time, especially Sakuragi...

Six players on the team scored in double figures. In addition to Lin Dong, Payton had 6 points, Brent had 25 points, Chandler had 17 points, Desmond had 15 points, and Earl Watson had 12 points.

In addition, Iguodala, veteran Livingston, Vladimir, and Pedrague also scored 4 to 6 points each.

Only Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Since he only got the opportunity to play during the garbage time of the fourth quarter, Lin Dong was not on the court and no one was feeding him the ball. He played 8 for 0 shots and 0 rebound in 1 minutes. His performance seemed to be worse than the previous game.

Many people in the team who were on the verge of trading finally felt relieved at this time.

The so-called "three-game agreement" between Lin Dong and Bob seems to have been spread among the team for a long time. Everyone knows that if Sakuragi Hanamichi cannot integrate within three games, it will become a trading item. With Wen Baker Sent to the Memphis Grizzlies together. Frankly speaking, Sakuragi is very popular in the team, and he is really caring and good. Everyone must have sympathy and emotion for him, but if he wants to send Sakuragi away, he can Being able to stay, it is natural that the idea of ​​'this is good' will inevitably arise in my heart.

At the end of the game, Sakuragi, who had always been grinning widely, finally put away the smile that should always belong to him for the first time and became a little silent.

Peyton frowned secretly. He wanted to drag Yingmu out to have a good talk, but he was held back by Lin Dong.

Lin Dong smiled and said, "Didn't you notice?"

"What did you find?"

"That guy played for eight full minutes and didn't make a single mistake."

Payton was stunned, recalled carefully, and suddenly opened his mouth.

like……

He couldn't help but look at Lin Dong in surprise, but heard Lin Dong say with a smile: "The score was just because no one fed him the ball. In fact, he has already had several good opportunities. Man... facing life and death." Sometimes, selfishness is inevitable.”

"You mean..." Payton couldn't help but look at Watson, Vladimir and others who were packing their things and chatting with their teammates on the other side. He really didn't think about it. After all, he is the boss of the team. , there are some wind noises below that he cannot hear.

"It's only human nature to protect yourself, don't be harsh." Lin Dong smiled and put his arm around his shoulders: "Let's go, boss! He's not perfect yet. Encouraging him will only make him relax and put his mind down. He can only go through his obstacles by himself. In the past, and I believe he will get by too!”

"As for us, it will be a tough battle the day after tomorrow. Not only does that guy need to prove himself... we also need it!"

Payton looked stern.

The opponent the day after tomorrow is the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference... As the bottom team in the Eastern Conference last season, the Cavaliers exploded with unparalleled potential at the beginning of this season.

The two-guard combination of Ricky Davis and Wade is capable of breaking out, shooting, and has a very strong scoring ability. Coupled with the Cavaliers' veteran center Zashunas, and the super cost-effective treasure picked up in the second round of this year's draft - Kawhi. Los Boozer.

The Twin Towers interior combination has become a dark horse in the Eastern Conference this year. Even a few days ago, against the Wizards, the favorites to win this year, not only did Jordan score 45 points in vain, but Zasunas and Boozer formed an interior lineup to beat the Wizards. With only Yao Ming as a single inside player, Yao Ming, who already averaged 25 points and 15 rebounds per game, was limited to 16 points and 11 rebounds.

In the end, they narrowly defeated the Wizards, and with a 16-game winning streak that shocked the Eastern Conference, they firmly ranked first in the Eastern Conference record list. They have not lost a single game since the start of the season!
The strong strength, coupled with the old grievances between the Cavaliers' substitute forward LeBron and the Sonics Lin Dong, and the rumors among the media and fans these days that the Sonics' run-and-gun tactics can only defeat weak teams and cannot defeat strong teams, let Now almost all fans across the United States are paying attention to this regular season that has not yet started.

Payton knows very well that if the Sonics win, both external public opinion and the team's own morale will skyrocket, and there will be almost no major twists and turns in the regular season.

And if you lose...

Now there is really no time to care about the apprentice who is still struggling with himself.

"Huh..." He let out a long breath, turned to look at Sakuragi and said, "The knights are also a bunch of newcomers... huh?"

He saw someone walking towards Sakuragi Hanamichi, but it was not a Sonics person, but someone wearing a Bobcats jersey.

…………

I messed up again...

Sakuragi Hanamichi's expression was a little stiff, but he actually wanted to cry.

In this life, he has only wanted to cry 4 times.

The first time was when his father passed away, the second time was when Hidaka was hit on the head by Shigehiro Mori in the Hidaka Winter League, and the third time was when his mother was critically ill and in urgent need of time-consuming surgery, and this fourth time...

Sakuragi knew about the three opportunities that Takato helped him get in front of Bob from the beginning, because Bob told him clearly.

Naturally, he also knew that the opportunities left for him were getting fewer and fewer.

He wants to stay in the SuperSonics and Seattle not because he just bought a house here, nor because he is afraid of going to other teams in other cities.

It's because there are too many firsts, too many memories, and too many friends here.

But now... no one can help him. The battle with the Cavaliers the day after tomorrow is his last chance. But these two consecutive defeats make him feel a little shivering when he thinks about the game and the consequences of failing again. trembling.

While packing his things, Sakuragi remained silent. He opened his eyes hard and tried not to let tears fall, until a voice suddenly sounded in front of him.

"Hi!"

A guy wearing Bobcats No. 17 jersey walked up to him, smiled and said, "This doesn't look like you, brother!"

(End of this chapter)