Almighty Coach

The head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, Gray, is the top coach in the NBA, the best tactical master, and the most famous old fox. During his coaching of the Spurs, he led the Spurs to win the NBA championship many times. It can be said that he has the most brilliant record among the current head coaches.

In recent seasons, although the Spurs' record has declined, they are still regulars in the playoffs. This year's Spurs are temporarily ranked fifth in the Western Conference, and they are only one win away from fourth.

In last night's game, the Spurs defeated the Eastern powerhouse Philadelphia 76ers at home, and tomorrow, they will go to Los Angeles to challenge the Clippers away. According to the schedule, in the afternoon, the players will board the plane to Los Angeles, stay in Los Angeles for one night, and prepare for tomorrow night's game.

Coach Gray took a list and came to the players. The Spurs players fell silent when they saw Coach Gray approaching.

"I will announce the list of players against the Clippers tomorrow. The starting players are..."

Coach Gray read out five names in a row, but none of the players were in the Spurs' usual starting lineup, all of them were substitutes.

Players, look at me and I look at you, looking at a loss. Some people even secretly complained in their hearts, whether Coach Gray is suffering from dementia.

Afterwards, Coach Gray read out the list of substitute players. Surprisingly, two core players who usually started did not appear on the list.

There are 15 official players in an NBA team, in addition to two negligible two-way contracts. And there can only be 12 players in a game, and those who are excluded from these 12 players will not be able to appear in the game, that is, they will be placed in the so-called inactive player list. According to NBA rules, players on the inactive list must wear suits even if they are watching the game from the sidelines.

In the current Spurs team, one person is injured and will definitely not be able to play, while Coach Gray has given two core players opposite the other two inactive rosters. , and can only sit on the sidelines in a suit and cheer for his teammates.

The two core players who had been placed on the inactive list looked at each other. After thinking about it for a long time, they realized that they hadn't made any mistakes recently. The coach didn't let them play, and it was definitely not to punish them. Then there is only one purpose for doing this, which is to give them a rest.

Finally, a player couldn't help asking: "Coach, is this a rotation?"

Coach Gray nodded: "You can think of this as a rotation."

"Coach, it's only the end of March. Isn't it too early for the rotation? According to the situation in previous years, we didn't start the rotation until late April. Besides, the competition in the Western Conference is very fierce this year. Our current record is still not enough. Not enough to make it to the playoffs, the teams behind are chasing very tightly, and we are only one game away from fourth place." Another person asked.

"Then take this as I've given you a day off." Coach Gray looked at the disciples he had trained, and finally explained: "Do you know, in my opinion, the current The most difficult team is not the defending champion Warriors, nor the Rockets with the number one record, nor the Cavaliers with the number one player in the league, but the Los Angeles Clippers. Do you know why?"

"Is it because of overtime?" A player immediately came to see and asked.

Gray nodded: "Yes, it's because of the damn overtime! I don't know what the new head coach of the Clippers used to make the Clippers play so many overtime games, but I don't want to Let you play so much overtime like the Clippers, you also know that the competition in the West is very fierce now, I don't want you to waste your energy and physical strength on the Clippers."

Gray looked at everyone, and then explained: "If you are playing against other weak teams, you may only play three quarters and then sit on the sidelines in the fourth quarter to rest, but if you are playing against the Clippers, you may have to go up and play. Two or three overtimes. We play one game against the Clippers, and the energy consumed is comparable to two games against other weak teams! What's more, playing overtime will increase your risk of injury. I don't want to be in the playoffs Lose any player before the game begins."

"Coach, a lot of media said a few days ago that the Clippers always play overtime. Their physical fitness can't last long, and they will collapse sooner or later. Maybe we can take advantage of this, and the Clippers are not the same. When they are unable to sustain their physical fitness, they will be dragged down by us." Some players suggested.

Gray shook his head: "Don't listen to those media nonsense, if those sports commentators are accurate enough, then it is those sports commentators who are standing here talking to you, not me! I can tell you clearly, if If the Clippers would have collapsed due to physical problems, they would have collapsed long ago. Don’t forget who their head coach is! That Li Dai may be the best physical training expert in the world!"

Several players showed unconvinced expressions, and they obviously felt that Gray was exaggerating.

So Gray explained: "You know Dai Li, it should be in the Olympics, he led the US track and field team to achieve unprecedented good results. But I heard that his name was much earlier than the Olympics. I have an old friend, It's a boxing coach, his name is Iris, maybe some of you have heard the name 'White Devil' Iris. Iris' wife has been paralyzed in bed due to an accident, and the doctor thinks she may spend the rest of her life in bed It was over. I also visited his wife in the hospital at the time."

"But after a while, I went to visit this old friend again and found that his wife was able to stand up and walk with a walker. This surprised me because when his wife was injured, I was going to I have been to the hospital and talked with the doctor myself, I know her wife’s condition is very serious, unless a miracle happens, it is impossible to stand up again. But the miracle happened right in front of my eyes.”

"Later I found out that it was a Chinese rehabilitation coach who helped Iris' wife to recover. That Chinese coach was the current head coach of the Clippers, Dai Li. At the same time, I also knew that Dai Li was training Kevin Taylor at the time. , to help Kevin Taylor come back."

"The next story, you should have heard that Kevin Taylor, who is in his thirties, played in better condition than when he was twenty, and also showed better physical fitness than when he was twenty." Gray said Here, I looked at the players in their thirties on the team, and then said: "Some of you are over 30 years old, and some of you are even over 35 years old. I think you should be able to understand, What is the difference between a thirty-year-old body and a twenty-year-old body, I think you can also understand that it is completely impossible to regain the body state of a twenty-year-old."

After hearing this, the players over 30 years old nodded in agreement. They are all experienced people, so they naturally know what it's like.

"But Dai Li made the impossible possible. To be honest, after I watched Kevin Taylor's game, I even wanted to recruit Dai Li to the team as a physical coach. A few old guys, maybe they can start at the age of forty." Gray pointed to the bald player who had been with him for more than ten years, and shook his head helplessly while teasing: "Unfortunately, he I have a physical training center, and the revenue is very good, maybe let him sit in my position, he is willing to come to the Spurs."

...

Los Angeles, Staples Center, Clippers vs. Spurs.

Before the game, Dai Li got the starting list of the Spurs.

"All five starters have been replaced. What are the Spurs doing now? Is it a rotation? If it is a rotation, isn't it too early? Usually, the rotation does not start until mid-to-late April." Dai Li said to himself. Talking to himself, it seems to be asking the opinions of people around him.

"I guess that old fox Gray doesn't want to play overtime with us. The Spurs players are a little too old, so if they play overtime, they will consume more energy and are more likely to be injured." Cassell explained from the side road.

"You mean, the Spurs are intimidated? They deliberately avoided overtime?" Dai Li asked.

"Uh...you can put it that way." Cassel said with some embarrassment.

"So that's how it is!" Dai Li frowned and thought for a while, then continued to ask, "If we just deal with the Spurs' bench, we should have some chance of winning, right?"

"The strength of our starting players should be stronger than the Spurs' bench. What's more, this time, Gray has put those players who can't play at all on the player activation list. It should not be possible to use the starters to play them as substitutes. Question." Cassel nodded.

"Then I understand. It seems that the Spurs have given us a big gift." Dai Li had a strange smile on his face.

...

Seeing that the Spurs played with all substitutes, Dai Li simply did not use "even match" in this game, but let the players play freely.

Although the Clippers are an underdog, the starter is a starter after all. The players who can be mixed into the starting lineup in the NBA, even if they are weaker in strength, must be much stronger than most of the substitute players.

In the same way, players who can enter the normal rotation lineup must be much better than those "water fountain administrators" who can't usually play.

This game is like Tian Ji's horse race. The Spurs are a strong team, but they send middle and low horses; the Clippers are a weak team, but they send high and middle horses. When the starter is against the starter, it is the Clippers' top horse against the Spurs' mid-range horse, and when the bench is against the bench, it is the Clippers' mid-range horse against the Spurs' low-end horse. The result is naturally predictable.

...

"Beep..." The electric bell sounded at the end of the game.

Gray showed a depressed expression on his face. He deliberately hid the main force to avoid overtime, but the overtime did not come, and the Spurs lost the game.

As the head coach of the team with the deepest qualifications, the richest experience, and the most honors among active NBA coaches, Gray suddenly felt ashamed. Originally, I wanted to play a trick and show off the demeanor of a master tactician. Looking at the result now, it is obvious that I dug a hole for myself and jumped into it.

"What about overtime? What about overtime when the Clippers meet a strong team? Where did the two or three overtimes that often appeared before go? If I knew there was no overtime, I would be the starter and I would definitely win. This game is over..."