basketball never sleeps

Chapter 10 Milicic’s Good Friday

Letting Mo Wen and Milicic fight one-on-one seems to be giving Milicic a chance to show himself.

The second place player plays the tail end, and the center plays the swingman. This is not something that can be easily achieved.

But Dumars and several assistant coaches, including Woodson, felt the ill will from Larry Brown.

They have seen Mowen's defensive ability in the summer league. Except for the "Little Emperor" who failed in the match against Mowen, the other players who faced Mowen also did not have good results.

Despite the height of a center, Milicic weighs only 2 kilograms more than James. His lightweight body provides Milicic with top-notch inside mobility, and also makes his confrontational performance worse than that of traditional inside lines.

Putting his style of play into the game, he can rely on the coordination of his teammates to make up for the shortcomings in confrontation and use his strengths to avoid weaknesses.

But in a one-on-one duel, if an inside line is not strong enough, it will be a disaster.

Unfortunately, Mo Wen has been gaining weight this summer. Coupled with the continuous accumulation of game experience, his potential is gradually realized. Compared with the summer league two months ago, he has completed another wave of evolution.

User: Mo Wen; Age: 19 years old

Height: 198cm; weight: 100Kg; wingspan: 210

[Body attributes]

Upper body strength: 60(67); Lower body strength: 55(72); Coordination: 77(86)

Explosive power: 59 (69); straight line speed: 65 (69); lateral agility: 69 (75)

Physical strength: 64 (66); recovery: 70 (72); injury resistance: 70 (72)

[Offensive attributes]

Dunks: 43 (65); Layups: 72 (79)

Close shot: 66 (73); mid-range shot: 71 (75); free throw: 80 (82)

Long-range shot: 60 (65); three-point shot: 66 (68); super long shot: 33 (65)

Breakthroughs: 64 (70); Post-ups: 63 (66); Movements without the ball: 75 (78)

Ball handling: 68 (74); Passing: 74 (77); Vision: 72 (79)

[Defensive attribute]

Defensive rebounds: 66 (71); Offensive rebounds: 60 (62)

Interior defense: 61 (65); outside defense: 78 (82)

Blocks: 60 (67); Interference: 78 (85)

Steals: 78 (88); Pass Insights: 73 (83)

Single defense: 77(80); Assisted defense: 67(70)

It has been close to three months since the end of the draft, and more than 400 games in the copy space have made his skills on both offense and defense improve a lot.

It's normal not to fully exploit his potential. Mo Wen discovered very early on that the closer his strength value is to his potential value, the slower his growth will be.

Although there is a big gap between strength and potential in terms of physical attributes, they are limited by the fact that they can only exercise in reality, so they have made the least progress.

Mo Wen himself didn't feel much about these improvements, but others in the training camp found them terrifying.

It's normal for a person to have a ball, but it's not normal for a person to have a ball every day.

Larry Brown had also seen Mo Wen's performance during the summer league live broadcast before. His impression of Mo Wen was that he had a mature playing style and experienced defense, but his talent was not enough to be able to serve as a substitute for the team.

Mo Wen's defense that can trouble the No. 1 pick is a good reference point.

It would be great if Milicic could break through this level of defense, but if he couldn't break through... then Milicic would have another chance defensively.

If Milicic fails to seize the two opportunities, then he may have to say sorry.

He came to the Pistons to compete for the championship, not to train a foreign player to perform badly.

Looking at Milicic, whose face was tensed up due to nervousness, Mo Wen felt sorry for the fate he was about to face, but he had no thoughts of letting off steam.

If you are not a relative or a friend, you must first worry about your team status. If you want to be a "salary thief", you must first prove your worth, otherwise the second-round pick's contract may be waived even if it is fully guaranteed.

"Chauncy (Billups), who do you think will win among these two rookies?" Pistons backup point guard Atkins asked, leaning against Billups.

"It must be Milicic. He is the second overall pick. Isn't that Asian the mascot chosen by the team to make up the numbers?" Billups said nothing. The substitute small forward Corliss spoke first.

"Not necessarily. I watched the game during the vacation. That Asian rookie is not simple. He is a figure who can disgrace the No. 1 pick in the summer league. Don't underestimate him." Hamilton interjected from the side.

"Oh, is he really that good? I'll have to practice with him later, but I'm still optimistic about a white rookie. I heard that he plays very similar to Dirk, so he should be close. I just don't know if our new coach will like it.

." Collis glanced at Larry Brown, who was observing not far away, and said softly.

"That kid named Win will win 80% of the time."

Billups, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up. His observations were very detailed. There was a big difference between the two men on the court. One was so nervous that the blood vessels in his arm came out, while the other looked like he was in front of the trainer.

Just as easy.

The players surrounding Billups still wanted to ask why, but the one-on-one on the court had already begun.

Milicic, who took the ball first and attacked carefully, carefully observed Mowen's position. He also wanted to use his own style of play in Europe.

Break into the mid-range, then back up to find space to get inside or use your height advantage to shoot.

This time Milicic also successfully reached his comfort zone. When he was about to make further moves, Mo Wen made a sudden confrontation and forced Milicic's movements to deform. Then the basketball was stretched out by Mo Wen who didn't know where.

The outstretched hand stabbed him away.

Inadequate confrontation experience, poor ball protection, and poor reaction speed.

In just one round, Milicic made Mo Wen aware of his three shortcomings on the offensive end.

Milicic touched the top of his head in embarrassment. He didn't realize how strong Mo Wen's defense was. He just thought he was careless.

After it was Mo Wen's turn to attack, Milicic also knew that he was lacking in defense and his defensive position was relatively deep. However, Mo Wen did not expect that Mo Wen just glanced at him and raised his hand to shoot.

Swish——

Simple and neat.

Everyone on the sidelines looked a little embarrassed, let alone Milicic on the court.

In the second round of Mowen's attack, Milicic did not dare to let Mowen shoot and stayed close to the defense.

Mo Wen has no intention of competing for speed or bursting with the second place player.

After changing hands several times, he finally caught a big ball, shook Milicic away, and then rushed in.

Milicic gritted his teeth and tried his best to defend, but with only two years of low-intensity professional leagues and only 18 years old, he looked as immature as a basketball beginner in front of Mo Wen.

Mo Wen learned from various stars in the dungeon, and the skills he honed were beyond the reach of someone like Milicic.

The two of them went back and forth, and the duel ended quickly.

11:3

Mo Wen was not able to kill him in the end, and Milicic's talent was indeed good, but it was not something that Mo Wen could just exploit at will.

Larry Brown, who was watching the entire game from the sidelines, did not just let Milicic go. He motioned to Ben, who was watching the excitement.

Substitute, rest, and then... continue the duel!

(End of chapter)