Bishop of the Devil

Regarding the nickname KING, James can be said to have a pathological paranoia. This is not a joke. JR Smith must understand this deeply.

JR, who had just arrived, was ignored by James for several days because he directly called James' name instead of KING. This is definitely not a fabrication.

For a normal person, how could such nonsense happen? Even Kobe, the most difficult person to get along with, would not go crazy because his teammates didn't call him a nickname...

Not to mention a player with a lively personality like O'Neal. You can call him whatever you want...

Anyway, throughout the entire history of the NBA, J.R. Smith is unique in this matter. I have never heard of any other star embarrassing his teammates because of his nickname.

Maybe the 4.7 seconds of JR Smith’s soul wandering through the sky in later generations was just an act? Maybe it's just for revenge, who knows...

If Richard didn't know about JR, then I guess James would just call him KING. It's just a nickname. Not everyone cares so much about it.

But now that he knows it, even if he kills Richard, he won't be able to shout this nickname.

…

The game on the field has officially started, and Richard is sitting on the sidelines watching the game without any pressure.

Although the Cavaliers currently have a good lineup, James is too easy to target. It would be a piece of cake for the Pistons to win against the Cavaliers.

In the first offensive round, Nash faced James. In terms of physical fitness, the two Nashes were probably no match for James when they were tied together. He chose to pass the ball very wisely.

A lob was passed to the inside. After Yao Ming received it, the sky hook shot. The basketball drew a wonderful parabola on Big Z's head and went directly into the net.

The Pistons fans at the scene applauded one after another. Big Z is also one of the best centers in the Eastern Conference, but judging from the historical matchups, he is far from Yao Ming's opponent.

If you compare goods, you will have to throw them away, if you compare people with others, you will die.

Although Big Z can definitely rank among the top ten centers in the league today, and can even squeeze into the top seven or eight, facing a historically dominant insider like Yao Ming, he has always been beaten in several games.

Not to mention that Yao Ming has a ruthless character like Clark next to him.

But tonight, it is obviously difficult for Clark to help Yao Ming in the paint. He has to be responsible for facing Harrington of the Cavaliers.

In the first offensive round, the Pistons hit easily.

It was the Cavaliers' turn to attack, and James controlled the ball and advanced toward the frontcourt.

James, who just entered the league, plays the point guard position. The Cavaliers' arrangement can actually be said to be quite subtle.

There is no doubt that among the five positions on the field, the position that can best practice football skills is the No. 1 position. It is undoubtedly very wise for the Cavaliers to play James in the No. 1 position based on his characteristics.

Nash was a little bit in pain. Facing the tall and powerful James, even if he was equipped with the mad dog lingering prop, it was still difficult to fight against him.

The difference in physical fitness is really too big. He can't even defend Baron Davis alone, let alone James, who has a historical level of physical fitness.

For this ball, James squeezed Nash's defense and charged towards the inside. But what made him helpless was that Yao Ming was already in position. He decisively distributed the ball and passed it to Big Z who pulled out of the penalty area. The latter Made a mid-range shot and hit two points.

"Dudu!" To everyone's surprise, the Pistons actually called a timeout at the beginning of the game.

This can be said to be quite rare in Richard's coaching career.

Richard's coaching philosophy is similar to that of old Coach K. He doesn't like to take the initiative to call timeouts. Unless it is absolutely necessary, otherwise, matters on the field are generally left to the players to resolve according to the situation.

But tonight was obviously quite special. The game had just started when Richard called a timeout.

After this timeout, the Pistons' lineup was surprising. Richard took off Nash and replaced him with Prince, who was in the spotlight.

Prince has a certain ability to pass and control. In this kind of half-court battle, the organizational effect is definitely not as good as Nash, but the gap is not particularly big...

After returning to the court, Gerald Wallace directly faced James. James' body must not have reached its peak at the moment, and there was basically no pressure to defend him with a hard pull.

The main reason is that James' technical shortcomings are too obvious. After entering the league and playing a few games, anyone with long eyes can see that this No. 1 pick has no basket...

The reason why Simmons, the No. 1 pick of the Philadelphia 76ers, was nicknamed James Jr. in later generations is basically the same reason. They all have the same great physical fitness, the same starting point guard, and they all have the same lack of baskets. They are not James Jr..

For James without a basket, the deadlift only needs to block his breakthrough path, so there is naturally not much pressure to defend him.

Even if James is really capable of overcoming the deadlift, he still has Yao Ming as a defensive gate inside.

Judging from the performance of several offensive and defensive rounds, the deadlift is now clearly enough to deal with James.

…

Richard sat on the sidelines and watched the game with a smile on his face. After several offensive and defensive rounds, James did not score a point, but he did get a few assists.

After all, he is playing a point guard, and the ball is in his own hands. Even if he has no offensive space, he can still distribute the ball.

In the previous games played by the Cavaliers, James averaged about seven or eight assists per game, which is generally how it came about.

In the first two games of his career, James scored 20+ points in two consecutive games. However, as his shortcomings without a basket were discovered, his scoring in the next two games was quite terrible. One scored seven points and the other eight. The points were recorded, and the hit rate did not exceed 30%.

After a few games, all parties have naturally figured out a pattern, that is, when James faces strong outside defenders or inside defenders on the team, his scoring efficiency will be quite embarrassing.

The Pistons really don't lack these two things at the moment. Gerrard, a strong outside defensive player, is definitely one of them. Even looking at the entire league, the only one who can compare with him in terms of strength is probably Artest.

As for the interior defensive gate, the Pistons are not lacking. This has always been the foundation of Richard's team.

Therefore, if James wants to score high scoring data on the Pistons, it is better to dream more realistically.

…

Halfway through the first quarter, James still hasn't scored a point. Looking at Richard's smile on the sidelines, this makes James, who calls himself the pride of heaven, quite crazy.

Using "spoiled child" to describe James is very appropriate. He has always been labeled as the proud son of heaven. He needs the surrounding environment to completely revolve around him.

But after being suppressed in several consecutive games, especially being restrained by Richard tonight, he felt that the situation was somewhat out of control.

This feeling of being unable to control the situation made James go crazy.

The ball distribution, which was still reasonable at first, is now completely indifferent, with all kinds of violent attacks inside the Pistons.

He even used the shooting that he was not good at, because he couldn't push past the strong Gerrard defense.

The result can be guessed with your big toe. The situation that was originally six points behind at halftime gradually became miserable.

Harrington, who was running wildly from the outside, was a little anxious.

The team is going to build the team with James as the cornerstone. He must know this, but in this situation, even if you are the cornerstone, you can't just mess around like this...

Harrington has his own pride. He is a member of West Lafayette. Although he recognizes James' status, he is dissatisfied with James' current behavior.

"Pass the ball!" Harrington ran out of the open space and called for James to pass the ball, but James ignored it and continued to make hard shots.

Now that the score had reached an uncontrollable point, Harrington couldn't stand it anymore and called a timeout at the technical table.

FIBA players cannot call timeouts, but NBA players have the right to call timeouts.

However, this kind of right is generally not used by players without authorization, unless it is a last resort...

Now Harrington feels that he has reached a situation of last resort, and it is impossible not to call this timeout.

…

The game entered a timeout, and Harrington roared at James.

How could James tolerate this? He immediately shouted back at Harrington.

Veteran Cavaliers coach Paul Silas feels like he's been hit in the head several times now.

Why are the two core members of the good team having internal strife? !

James' performance tonight was quite strange. Although he was restrained in the previous two games, he was not as impetuous as tonight. The ball that should be passed was still passed.

Silas is quite optimistic about James. Otherwise, he would not have risked being punished by the league and invited James to participate in the Cavaliers' training camp in advance.

Seeing James and Harrington quarreling now, he felt suffocated...

The most worrying situation for any head coach is not the team losing, but the team's internal strife.

Once a team has internal strife, the team is not far from collapse.

"Could it be that James' disorder is because of Richard?" Silas glanced at Richard, who was smiling opposite him, and thought with a frown.

Richard didn't have a smile on his face now, but he was beating a drum in his heart.

He never expected that Harrington would have friction with James. This was definitely not a good thing...

Harrington's strength is good, but his and Big Z's team leadership results have shown that he is not a qualified leader.

With the current internal conflict with James, the Cavaliers are very likely to give up Harrington to protect James...

I can’t even say it’s very likely, but 100%.

Richard became worried. What happened to Ricky Davis would not happen again to Harrington, right?

Absolutely not!

Richard quickly made up his mind that he had to explain this matter to Harrington in advance to avoid Harrington making a joke later and causing a black spot in his career.

Every West Lafayette player is regarded as one of his family members by Richard. The reason why these players love Richard so much is actually because they feel Richard's affection for them.

Now that Harrington is about to face an embarrassing situation, Richard will naturally not sit idly by and will definitely give a warning.

…

Paul Silas directly put Harrington and James on the bench, denying them a chance to continue playing.

In this situation, the other person must have an opinion about who should be put on the stage. If both of them are put on the stage, there is a possibility of a fight.

As an old coach, Silas had enough experience to solve this situation, so he simply put both of them on the bench.

Winning or losing the game? Silas doesn't care at all, acting as if the Cavaliers can win if two people play...

Silas's coaching career is much longer than that of Richard. He took charge of the San Diego Clippers as the head coach in the 1980-81 season...

However, his coaching ability is not particularly good. Otherwise, he would not have become the first head coach to be sacrificed on James' "coaching nemesis" road.

…

Richard smiled and replaced the team's main lineup with a pure substitute lineup. However, even a pure substitute lineup was enough for the Cavaliers. The point difference was getting wider and wider. This game would definitely be a one-sided game in the end. A massacre.

James sat on the sidelines, gritting his teeth as he watched the calm Richard.

When Harrington introduced James to Richard, he was right. James was really a fan of Richard.

The West Lafayette Gang is already a well-known super competitive group in the United States. It is full of talents. If nothing else, this network alone is enough to make countless players salivate.

Iverson has a relatively independent temperament and doesn't like to form cliques.

Daben has a dull temper and likes to pay silently...

These two are considered the big brothers of the West Lafayette gang. If they were not of this temper, they would be the most influential stars in the league if two-thirds of the league's All-Stars responded.

James naturally wants to enter West Lafayette. The reason is very simple. He feels that as long as he joins the West Lafayette gang, relying on his own strength in the future, he will definitely become the most dazzling star in West Lafayette.

By the time Iverson and Ben are old, he will be the detached leader of the West Lafayette gang.

At that time, with a shout of approval, he will be the true pride of this alliance and the true destiny.

But his somewhat immature plan was aborted, and there was no chance of it ever coming to fruition.

Because looking at Richard's posture, he didn't care about himself, the proud man of heaven. Richard didn't let go. Even if James had three hundred heads and six hundred arms, there was absolutely no possibility of entering West Lafayette.

…

His West Lafayette dream was completely shattered.

There is another challenge before him right now, and that is the dissatisfaction of veteran player Harrington.

However, he doesn't care much about this challenge. Harrington is good, but he feels that the Cavaliers management is definitely not a fool. They should know how to make the right choice.

PS: I just came back from Wuhan and can start a lot of updates.