Bishop of the Devil

Anji now wants to die...

He didn't expect this situation to happen at all!

If Richard puts in an inside combination of O'Neill and Big Ben, then even if he loses by so many points, Anji might feel better...

Comfort yourself, your lineup still needs to be adjusted, take your time!

But now he can't even find an excuse to comfort himself!

When the Auburn duo was taken apart and used, the twin towers they formed were turned into shit...

If the Auburn duo were to play at the same time, Ainge felt that the twin towers he had worked so hard to build might be reduced to rubbish by the opponent.

He deliberately asked the players to change their strategies and focus on the outside.

But after taking a look at his lineup, how to play this outside line...

Chapman, the most reliable outside shooter, actually has a low three-point shooting percentage, only 35%, which can only be regarded as quite satisfactory.

Now with Kobe Bryant's defense gradually entering his peak, how can he shoot a 35% three-point shooting rate? !

Apart from Chapman, Ainge cannot find a qualified outside shooter. Danny Manning can shoot two points, but in this situation, two points will not quench his thirst...

"Keep it steady!"

"Brace yourself, guys!"

"This is our first game of the season. Work hard and win against the Trail Blazers to prove our strength!"

After thinking about it, he couldn't figure out any way to deal with the current situation. In desperation, Anji could only use the trick of feeding chicken soup to the players, first feeding some chicken soup to the players, and then slowly think of a way...

…

"They all played well, even beyond my expectations!" Richard said to the three newcomers with a smile.

The performance of the three of them was indeed good, and even veteran players on the team like Ben and Kobe couldn't stop praising them.

They are quite convinced of Richard's vision in selecting players, and the current performance of these three people has proved this. There is no bad player who can be valued by Richard!

"Rashad, you take Dirk's place and perform well!"

"You are all players carefully selected by me, Richard, so don't destroy my golden brand!"

Lewis was quite speechless. Did he choose carefully? Then you eliminated me in the first round of trial training...

Lewis actually had complaints about Richard.

He felt that if it hadn't been for Richard, his draft pick would have been higher, and there was no way he would have fallen to the second round.

Of course he couldn't know that under normal circumstances, he would really be a second-round pick...

But now that he has arrived in the Trail Blazers, he is quite satisfied with the team atmosphere, and there is no bullying of newcomers like other teams. The most important thing is that Richard did not let this second-round pick sit on the bench.

Therefore, Lewis's complaint against Richard has also weakened a lot.

…

The timeout ends and players from both sides return to the court.

If the Suns' lack of outside attack points cannot be made up for, they will never be a match for the Trail Blazers.

Maybe facing those weak teams, the Suns can win by relying on their inside advantage, but facing a strong inside team like the Trail Blazers, they obviously have no chance of winning!

Because there are no three-pointers...

The three-pointer is the best weapon for a weak team to defeat a strong team. If you are lucky and have a higher three-point shooting rate, it is not impossible for a weak team to win against a strong team.

But the sun lacks such weapons.

So maybe they can still make it to the playoffs in the end, but they will definitely not make it past the first round!

Because the opponents he may face in the first round are one of the four teams: Trail Blazers, Spurs, Lakers and Jazz. No matter which team it is, the Suns are destined to be beaten.

In the past few seasons, the top teams in the Western Conference should be the Jazz, Rockets and SuperSonics, and the Lakers can be regarded as almost half of the teams.

As the season progresses, although the Rockets have recruited Pippen and further strengthened their lineup, the problem of aging main players cannot be underestimated. They may win the first round of the five-game playoffs, but in the seven-game series Medium, the disadvantage is too great.

The SuperSonics are even more ruined. After Kemp was replaced by Vin Baker, last season's performance was okay. This season, according to Richard's memory, the SuperSonics are almost on the verge of collapse this season.

Whether it is the Rockets or SuperSonics, they have lost their seats in the Western Conference and have been replaced by the Trail Blazers and Spurs!

The changes in the Blazers in the past two years have undoubtedly been earth-shaking, and the person who brought about these changes is undoubtedly Richard.

As for the Spurs, their lineup has not changed much, but with the addition of Duncan, they also have the capital to talk to the powerful.

During the offseason, the Spurs did not do nothing. The disintegration of the Bulls dynasty was a rare feast for all teams in the league. The Spurs also got a share of the pie. They got Steve Kerr. A historic three-point shooter.

And the Spurs want more than just Cole, they also contacted Bowen from the Trail Blazers.

Of course, Bowen told Richard personally about this, otherwise Richard wouldn't know about it...

After this season, Bowen's contract expires, and the Spurs are willing to offer Bowen a contract with an annual salary of no less than four million US dollars.

There is no doubt that Richard cannot afford such a contract.

Speaking of this matter, Richard could actually complain to the Spurs, but considering that Bowen trusted him and told him about this matter, it would be a bit unkind to turn around and complain...

Anyway, what the Spurs did, in Richard's opinion, was quite unkind.

But this is understandable. The Spurs boss is really too poor. If it weren't for Popovich's various calculations and some arrangements that couldn't be put on the table, it would be difficult for the Spurs to have a chance to rise.

…

The game on the field has basically entered garbage time.

Just after half the game ended, Anji won the entire starting lineup...

He knew that if they continued to fight, they would lose even more ugly.

Richard didn't want to make Anji look too ugly. He took down Ben and Kobe, and the overall strength on the court dropped sharply, giving the Suns a chance to breathe.

…

Anji looked sad. He realized that the lineup he created might not be as strong as he thought.

At least tonight's game against the Trail Blazers was far from the effect he wanted.

The reason is that there is a lack of firepower from the outside...

However, it is not too late to discover this shortcoming now. There is still a lot of time to adjust the lineup. The worst case scenario is to make a trade and buy a reliable outside firepower. In this case, the shortcomings will be made up and the lineup will not be so bad!

But as soon as this thought came up, Anji felt like crying without tears...

trade? ! The Suns have no hair left after being deceived by McDyess, so they can trade for anything.