Bishop of the Devil

If Baron Davis was just attacking and crushing, it wouldn't actually be terrible.

There are actually quite a few offensively sharp No. 1 players in the league...

Some of them are not only sharp in offense, but also have very good organizational skills, but Richard does not like players like them.

Big Beard's performance on the defensive end was also quite amazing. At the end of the third quarter, he had already recorded three steals.

The opponent has now been beaten by the big beard, and a shadow has arisen in his heart, and both offense and defense have been destroyed!

No one expected that Baron Davis, who was inconspicuous in the Hornets last season, would be able to explode into such terrifying power after joining the Trail Blazers.

This is simply the seed of the league's top point guard!

When Big Beard was in college, many people used Kidd as his template. Now it seems that this template is really correct.

And the most frightening thing is that the offensive potential displayed by Beard is far stronger than Kidd!

With a balanced offense and defense and excellent organization, this No. 1 position is simply a treasure!

What magic power does Richard have? ! Baron Davis has undergone such a terrifying change just two months after joining the Trail Blazers, and his strength has improved tremendously!

If this question were asked to Richard, I'm afraid Richard himself wouldn't be able to answer it...

Because he really didn't do anything to Baron Davis. Beard already had such potential, and Richard just took advantage of the situation to stimulate his potential.

Historically, Baron Davis's rookie season did not perform well, but in the second season of his career, his data directly improved to the level of 14+7.

In other words, even if Richard has no impact on Big Beard, he can still hit a 14+7 level.

As for the third season, Beard's improvement was even more terrifying, with his direct data soaring to the All-Star level of 18+8.5.

The key is that this guy's defensive statistics are quite outstanding, averaging more than 2 steals per game in the past two years!

From this point of view, in fact, without Richard, Baron Davis's strength is quite good.

At most, the offensive efficiency is a bit poor...

Now under Richard, he doesn't have to worry so much and can make full use of his physical advantages as much as possible.

His tank-like style of play makes his offensive efficiency much higher than under normal circumstances.

If you really want to find a flaw in Big Beard, then I'm afraid the only flaw is that the three-pointer is not good enough.

In his entire career, his best three-point shooting season was only 35%.

But now that Old Curry is specially training him, he may be able to improve a bit.

Even if there is no improvement in three-pointers, Richard doesn't really care. If he can guarantee a stable mid-range shooting percentage, it is actually acceptable.

…

"Beep!" The referee blew the whistle to end the game.

Both the process and the result of the game are jaw-dropping.

The "shabby" lineup the Trail Blazers put up actually won the game, and the key was that they won by a lot of points. In the end, they beat their opponents by 19 points!

You must know that the opponent can be said to have all the main players, that is, in the fourth quarter of the game, Gentry couldn't stand it anymore, so he replaced the main lineup...

Their main force played for three full quarters, but they lost to the Trail Blazers' pure bench lineup with a 19-point difference, which was really scary!

Although if the Clippers had always used their main lineup, they would not have lost so much, and they might have lost a very revealing score in the end...

But our main force, a lineup that beat others and added substitutes, and lost by a double-digit margin, Gentry couldn't stand it.

It wouldn't be too embarrassing to simply give up the game in the fourth quarter.

…

In tonight's game, Baron Davis is simply incredible...

Speaking of which, in fact, the Trail Blazers have not had an orthodox point guard on the team since 1996!

Kobe is not a point guard. To be precise, he is a basketball porter, moving the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt.

Wu Sheng Jackson looks a bit like a point guard, but he is prone to losing the ball when controlling the ball, so he mostly plays the second or third position.

McGrady is similar to Kobe, he is also a porter type...

The same goes for Ginobili...

And now with the emergence of Baron Davis, the Trail Blazers finally have an orthodox point guard!

The entire Rose Garden Arena was in complete excitement, and Beard's performance tonight was worthy of their cheers.

In 43 minutes of playing time, he scored 28 points, 13 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 block. Such statistics are really incredible for the bearded man who only had 5+4 last season.

Both offense and defense are excellent, and his organizational skills are also quite outstanding. Fans feel that Richard has really found a treasure this time.

Such a point guard is simply too valuable. Think about Kidd back then. The Suns almost emptied the entire team in order to get Kidd.

And now Richard only used Mobley to get such an outstanding point guard. This deal is simply wonderful!

Although Mobley is not bad. In the preseason game played by the Hornets last night, he scored 21 points in the starting lineup for the Hornets, but he is not as valuable as Baron Davis.

…

In addition to the wonderful performance of Beard, several players on the Trail Blazers side can be said to have blossomed across the board.

Kirilenko scored 14 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks against No. 1 pick Olovokandi.

In stark contrast, Olowokandi only scored 9 points and 6 rebounds in this game. All defensive data were zero, which was far inferior to Kirilenko's performance!

When Lewis faced off against Odom, the pressure was actually relatively high.

Now Odom is not the poisonous insect he was later. His athletic ability and defensive awareness are quite outstanding. Under Odom's defense, Lewis only scored 10 points in the first three quarters.

But the scary thing is that when Odom didn't play in the fourth quarter, this guy's hand suddenly exploded and he scored 14 points in a single quarter, which almost scared the Blazers fans to death.

This kind of offensive explosive power is really terrifying.

Fans really didn't pay much attention to Lewis before. This guy himself is also taciturn and can't beat a fart with three sticks. It's strange that fans can pay attention to him.

And now with the departure of his direct competitor Harrington, Lewis finally got the opportunity to show his strength!

The defense is still scummy, but the shooting skills are very accurate!

It is no exaggeration to say that Lewis' offensive shooting percentage is actually not much worse than Nowitzki...

The unsolvable thing about Nowitzki is that he doesn't need to move, he can catch the ball anywhere and shoot.

The Golden Rooster has an independent offensive posture and a seven-foot inside height. Who can block him?

But Lewis is not the same. He still needs to move to get comfortable shooting opportunities, which leads to him taking much fewer shots on the field than Nowitzki.

But the shooting rate is not lower than Nowitzki, or even higher.

In the entire history of the NBA, Richard remembers that there are only a dozen players who have played more than 500 games, averaged more than four three-pointers per game, and can guarantee a shooting percentage of more than 38%.

Fifteen to be exact...

Excluding backcourt players like Curry, Thompson, Korver, and Ray Allen, among the remaining frontcourt players, Lewis's shooting percentage is second only to Stojakovic and Real Madrid.

Even higher than Durant...

It would be a pity if Richard didn't reuse such offensive ability.

However, Lewis is not good at fighting tough battles, and his defense is doomed to make him unable to make any big achievements in the playoffs.

Right now, the Trail Blazers don't need Lewis to play a role in the playoffs. He just needs to shine in the regular season.

…

As for Reed, whom Richard just got this year, his performance tonight was also quite impressive. Because the opponent's defense was too bad, Reed's performance on both offense and defense was pretty good tonight.

He played 40 minutes and scored 22 points. The backcourt combination formed by the two bearded men together scored 50 points!

…

As for the addition to Mobley's deal, Ricky Davis, his performance tonight was a bit poor, mainly because he felt too cold and his shooting percentage was quite bad. He took 11 shots in the game and only scored 7 points. Points scored...

Even Artest, who came off the bench to show off, scored 11 points tonight.

In tonight's preseason game, the Trail Blazers only fielded six players, five starters and one substitute, Artest...

It turned out that Ricky Davis had the worst performance, which left him quite devastated.

He is also an arrogant master who is quite confident in his own strength, but tonight he poured cold water on him...

Although the fans were a little disappointed with Ricky Davis' performance, they could accept it. After all, Mobley's exchange for Beard was already a very valuable deal.

Even if Ricky Davis has no ability at all, it can still play a role in gathering the number of people. The fans no longer want to be too demanding...

…

Fans are full of expectations for the new season!

The significance of this season is quite great for the Trail Blazers. As long as they can continue the dominance of the previous two seasons this season and successfully defend the title, they will create a dynasty team!

In the entire history of the NBA, there are only three teams that have completed dynasty greatness!

They are the Lakers, Green Kai and Bulls!

The Lakers won their first three consecutive championships in team history in 1952-54, creating the first three consecutive championships in the entire NBA history!

Green Kai's dynasty is quite legendary. They have won 11 championships in 13 years, including a terrifying eight consecutive championships!

As for the Bulls, fans must be very aware that they have built two three-peat dynasties.

If the Trail Blazers can defend their title this year, they will be among the dynasty teams and become one of the league's top powers!

All Trail Blazers fans are looking forward to that day.

…

In the blink of an eye, several preseason games were completed. Richard let the newcomers come on the field and play happily in the first few games, and then brought out the main lineup in the next two games.

As a result, the Blazers only lost one of the six preseason games!

Right now, the entire Trail Blazers' goal is to defend their title. As for the regular season schedule, they really don't care much.

They didn't care, but Richard couldn't care less.

Richard is already qualified to coach the All-Stars this season, and he definitely doesn't want to miss this opportunity...

But now Richard must have at least the second best record in the Western Conference, otherwise, he will still miss out on the All-Stars.

Jackson already coached the All-Stars last season. Even if they finish first in the Western Conference this season, they are not qualified to coach the All-Stars.

So there is no need for Richard to compete for the first place.

…

The Trail Blazers' regular season opener was against their old rival, the Spurs.

The Spurs have made some reinforcements this season. They introduced the former team's scoring leader Derrick Anderson from the Clippers.

This is a standard shooting guard player with pretty good strength, almost the same level as Leder in the past two years.

The reason why the Spurs brought in Anderson is simply too obvious.

In the past two seasons, the reason why the Spurs lost to the Trail Blazers must have nothing to do with the inside line. The reason why the Spurs lost to the Trail Blazers was because of their outside line.

Lack of offensive firepower on the outside...

Elliott is unreliable and may get injured at any time. Now that Anderson has been introduced, the Spurs' backcourt lineup has been improved a lot.

In fact, this is also a helpless move. If there is a better choice, Popovich definitely does not want to use Anderson to make up for it.

His initial target was Lakers’ Glen Rice…

But the Lakers would only sell Glen Rice to the Spurs unless they were out of their minds.

Good guy, if the Spurs develop into a big BOSS, and they still play with their balls, they may not even be able to pass the Spurs level...

So without saying a word, the Lakers directly sold Glen Rice to the Knicks in the East.

…

Ben, O'Brien, Nowitzki, Artest, and Baron Davis are the starting lineup for the Trail Blazers' opening game tonight!

Seeing Baron Davis appear in the Trail Blazers' starting lineup, fans were actually not too surprised.

After several preseason games, Big Beard has completely conquered the entire Portland fans with his own strength.

This crushing style of play is more attractive to fans than Ginobili's weird snakeskin moves.

…

The main purpose of the Trail Blazers' starting lineup is definitely to do a good job of defense on the court.

Nowitzki's defense is not very good, so Richard must send Artest to partner with Nowitzki to help Nowitzki cover up the defense.

Artest on the court does not take up the right to take shots. The role he plays is generally similar to that of an outside shooter, focusing on defense.

The main points on the court for the Trail Blazers must be Ou, Dirk Nowitzki and Beard.

…

After the players from both sides entered the court, Popovich looked at the Trail Blazers' backcourt lineup and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

The Trail Blazers' backcourt lineup is so tempting!

Popovich is confident that if he can get two more backcourt players from the Trail Blazers, he will be very sure to kill the Trail Blazers and prevent the establishment of the Trail Blazers dynasty!

In particular, Ginobili and Baron Davis made Popovich jealous.

These two people are so easy to use. They are both good at offense and defense. They are much easier to use than the little generals!

If they can get one, the Spurs won't be afraid of the Trail Blazers at all!

But this thought was only fleeting. Popovich knew that this was impossible...

Unless Richard is frustrated and crazy, how can he possibly take advantage of the Spurs!

The Lakers don't want to take advantage of the Spurs, let alone the Trail Blazers who are preparing to defend their title...

Moreover, even if Richard is willing to sell the Spurs backcourt players, the Spurs still can't afford it. They don't even have a decent bargaining chip in their hands.

A first-round pick? !

The Spurs' first-round picks have been in the bottom five of the first round in the past two years, which is very useless.

Sometimes, a pick in the bottom five of the first round may not be as valuable as a pick in the top five of the second round.

…

"Beep!" The referee blew the whistle to start the game.

The starting players from both sides began to appear.

Needless to mention the Trail Blazers' starting lineup, the Spurs' starting lineup has undergone subtle changes compared to last season due to the addition of Anderson.

The Spurs still have the Twin Towers inside, and Bowen is still a strong defender at the small forward position. There is no doubt about this.

These are the Spurs' three most valuable players. They are the three most valuable players on the team right now.

Then the two starting players in the backcourt are both new faces.

The shooting guard is Derek Anderson, who is 198cm tall, and the point guard is Antonio Daniels, the No. 4 pick in 1997.

Speaking of which, Daniels can't be considered a new face. He has been with the Spurs for the past two seasons, but he has never been a starter and has always been a substitute.

Richard estimated that Popovich realized that the young general had too many shortcomings on the defensive end, so he planned to focus on training Daniels this season.

Daniels is really good physically, and he can also play point guard crucially!

This player has historically been positioned as a defensive point guard...

He is 193 centimeters tall and weighs 90 kilograms, which is no worse than Baron Davis.

The strength, explosive power and speed are also quite good!

The reason why he was selected at No. 4 in 1997 was because of his incredible physical fitness...

It is absolutely certain that Popovich has carefully studied the Trail Blazers' backcourt lineup, and Daniels may be using it to deal with Baron Davis.

He knew very well that if he pitted a young general against a bearded man, he would probably be reduced to ashes.

When Kobe was still in the Trail Blazers, Kobe had actually used a tank style of play against the generals, and it had quite good results!

Now Baron Davis looks much stronger than Kobe back then, I'm afraid the little general will be even more unable to bear it!

After watching a few preseason games, Popovich made up his mind to officially use Daniels this season!

In terms of organizational ability, Daniels is definitely not as good as the young general...

But there is nothing we can do now. Even if our organizational skills are poor, it is still better than being completely beaten!

Moreover, Daniels' defensive skills are very solid, and he may be able to produce good results against the Trail Blazers' No. 1 player.

…

At the beginning of the game, Xiao'ao and Duncan performed a jump ball, and Xiao'ao naturally won.

As O'Brien's age gradually reaches his prime, his jumping ball ability also increases. It can be said that in terms of jumping ball ability in today's league, O'Neill is the strongest!

After the Trail Blazers got the first offensive round, the Bearded man advanced with the ball!

Originally, the bearded man wanted to repeat his old tricks and rely on his tank-style play to attack the Spurs' defense!

But after getting in touch with Daniels, he suddenly discovered that he was in trouble tonight!

Although his back blow could still hit Daniels, the effect was quite poor.

It took a few pushes to get a step deeper.

By the time he reached a comfortable shooting space, the referee would have already called him a back-up violation!

…

In desperation, the bearded man could only pass the ball to Nowitzki on the side. The latter missed a three-pointer and the rebound was grabbed by Duncan under the basket.

The bad start made the bearded man look a little ugly.

He didn't expect that his invincible ultimate move would be defeated tonight...

…

It was the Spurs' turn to attack. This time Daniels brought the ball to the frontcourt and passed it directly to Duncan under the basket without saying a word.

The latter hit the board from mid-range...

Ben could only do nothing, as Deng's dull mid-range shot was really difficult to guard against.

If the instinct is higher, it doesn’t have to be too much higher, even if it is only five centimeters higher, then we won’t be as helpless as now...

But after all, it is a mid-range rebound, and the shooting rate is definitely not as high as the attack at the basket, so Ben can accept it.

…

At the beginning of the game, the Trail Blazers did not take advantage at all, but it was the Spurs who scored first.

Richard is still very calm now...

When he saw Popovich send Daniels on the court, he knew Baron Davis was going to suffer.

Although the tank style of play is very strong, it is helpless when facing the opponent who is also a tall and powerful point guard.

Richard naturally has a solution. He only needs to replace Ginobili to resolve the current situation.

But there's no rush now. Let's fight first. The Spurs haven't forced Richard to the point where he has to make a substitution.

…

The two sides fought very fiercely on the court, and it was a back-and-forth situation. Halfway through the first quarter, the two sides were still hard to tell!

The Trail Blazers are currently two points behind...

This game started in the Rose Garden, and the Blazers home fans were entangled in their hearts.

The current situation with the Spurs is 50-50, which is not a good sign!

You must know that in the first two seasons, they could easily beat the Spurs...

And this season, they actually tied with the Spurs!

This either shows that the Spurs' strength has improved tremendously, or that the Trail Blazers' strength has declined!

No matter what the reason is, it's something Blazers fans don't want to see!

…

Halfway through the first quarter, Richard felt that he was almost done, so he called a timeout and prepared to make substitutions.

Big Beard looked a little depressed, and he was feeling quite uncomfortable during this half of the game.

The tank style of play was completely ineffective, causing his offensive efficiency in this half of the game to be a bit disastrous.

He only took two shots, a mid-range shot and a three-pointer, both of which were missed!

The data of 0 points, 0 rebounds and 2 assists is really a bit shabby...