Bishop of the Devil

With the referee's whistle, the Pirates' starting lineup began to take the field.

The Suns are not weak. Even without Nash, their lineup will definitely make it to the Western Conference playoffs.

So Richard didn't have much hope for the outcome of this game...

After all, the Pirates are preparing to mess up this season and strive to get high draft picks to choose dirty guns, so Richard doesn't really care about the outcome.

…

The Suns' starting lineup came out.

What Richard didn't expect was that Stoudemire was not playing the center position. He was playing the power forward position. The Suns' starting center was Steven Hunter.

Richard is naturally no stranger to Hunter. It can be said that any Yao Ming fan should not be unfamiliar with this player.

Yao Ming is quite good at handling interpersonal relationships. Not only does he have a harmonious relationship with his teammates, but he also has a good relationship with many NBA stars.

For example, Uncle Mu, Howard, O'Neal and Kobe Bryant all have good relationships with Yao Ming.

But this does not mean that Yao Ming has no enemies...

There was a conflict between Stoudemire and Yao Ming, but Yao Ming did not suffer in that conflict. Francis helped Yao Ming come out.

So to be precise, these two people can only be regarded as a normal competitive relationship, not enemies.

Steven Hunter is almost Yao Ming's only enemy in the NBA.

Some fans may be wondering, who is this Hunter? Why does the name sound so unfamiliar? It seems that I have never heard of this player before...

You must have never heard of it. This player is the kind of stinky tomato and rotten egg player that Richard said...

He doesn't have much ability, but he is quite thorny and unruly on the court.

During Yao Ming's time in the NBA, this was the only time Yao Ming suffered a big loss under Hunter.

When the Rockets played against the Suns in 2005, Yao Ming was viciously elbowed by Hunter. As a result, his face was bloody and he needed eight stitches.

Yao Ming played in the NBA for eight seasons and suffered a lot of bloodshed, but this time he suffered the biggest loss, and he was still viciously elbowed by Chi Guoguo.

Richard was naturally aware of this matter. He originally planned to find an opportunity for Yao Ming to regain his position with Hunter.

As a result, no suitable opportunity has been found. This guy was only a marginal player in the Magic before. Richard led the Pistons against the Magic several times, but this guy never got a chance to play.

…

Some people are born with the gene to seek death.

Hunter is such a person. As soon as the game started, the young black center was chirping at his opponent Varejao, and Varejao was also a very passionate player on the court. At this moment, facing Hunter's provocation, he directly Started to curse.

…

After Varejao entered the Pirates, he was directly designated by Richard to move towards the blue-collar interior.

After a few games, Varejao performed pretty well, averaging 8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, which is remarkable.

Of course, the offensive performance is not much better than that of Ben. The current scoring average of about 4 points per game is mostly obtained by free throws.

Varejao's free throw shooting is pretty good, reaching more than 70% at his peak, and the average throughout his career is more than 60%.

Because he has a clear positioning of himself, and he got the chance to start just after joining the Pirates, Varejao is quite satisfied with his current situation.

I really can’t find anything dissatisfying. You must know that Varejao’s draft pick is very low. Under normal circumstances, with his draft pick, it would be good to enter the team’s rotation. It is estimated that he may be in the early stage. Come on the scene during garbage time and play for a few minutes to prove yourself.

If he can prove himself in these few minutes, his subsequent playing time will increase, and he may gradually move into the starting position...

But if he can't prove himself, his career will be over.

This is also the reason why NBA players have a high elimination rate. Most players only have a few minutes to prove themselves.

The less time you have, the lower the error tolerance, and the harder it is to perform well...

Now Varejao averages more than 30 minutes of playing time per game, which ranks among the top ten among this year's rookies. Even the top pick Howard does not play much more time than him.

How could Varejao be dissatisfied with this kind of treatment.

No matter what task Richard asked, he worked hard to complete it on the court.

…

The game has been going on for half a quarter, and the Suns have shown extraordinary strength, especially Marion and Stoudemire, who have repeatedly attacked the penalty area, making the Pirates somewhat overwhelmed.

Richard immediately called a timeout. If he continued playing like this, he might lose badly tonight.

There is no grudge between him and D'Antoni, but Stoudemire has probably been waiting for this day and will definitely not show mercy tonight.

"Anderson, come up with what you are good at." Richard turned to Varejao and said to him.

Varejao was stunned, what am I good at? I don’t even know what I’m good at…

"Use your brain and think about what you are good at."

"Faced with this mindless situation, how do you restrict them?"

Richard kept reminding Varejao...

Richard had no face to ask his players to act and flop, so he was a little embarrassed to say it directly.

I can only vaguely remind Varejao...

Varejao frowned, thought for a moment, and roughly understood what Richard meant.

"Coach, do you mean to let me dive?"

Richard's face was tangled and a little embarrassed. Why did this kid say it directly? This is not a glorious thing.

"Ahem, you can understand that."

…

Varejao nodded, he is really good at this.

Before entering the NBA, he played for the Spanish team Barcelona. I don’t know if it’s because of his extraordinary talent, or because he stole the lessons from a football boss...

Anyway, he is really good at diving, and his wrestling is quite entertaining. At least the referees in the Spanish ACB League can't see anything fishy.

This thing requires a physical and spiritual possession, and it is really difficult for ordinary people to learn it.

…

The timeout ends and the game resumes.

It was the Suns' turn to have the ball again, and this time Stoudemire passed the ball to Marion.

Marion used Stoudemire's pick-and-roll to get rid of his opponent Iguodala and rushed directly towards the penalty area.

Marion's physical fitness is quite strong, enough to rank at the forefront of the league. If he has such an opportunity to face the penalty area, he is at least 80% sure that he can dunk successfully.

But just as he rushed to the free throw line, he felt that he had not made much contact with Varejao. As a result, he only heard Varejao scream in pain, and his whole body flew back a few steps like a kite with a broken string, and fell to the floor.

"Beep beep!" The referee's whistle sounded immediately, giving Marion an offensive foul.

Marion looked confused. Was he too strong?

Or is it that this Brazilian guy is too weak? I didn’t hit him very much, so why was he knocked so far away in such an exaggerated way!

…

Richard sat on the sidelines and had fun. Watching Varejao play was really interesting. It felt like watching a Hollywood blockbuster...

To be precise, it's like watching a drama about the love between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Varejao's superb acting skills and magical wailing voice are simply amazing.

The two had physical contact outside the reasonable collision area, so there was nothing wrong with the referee's call.

Even within the reasonable collision zone, Varejao is not unable to cause offensive fouls to his opponents...

Anyway, in the field of making offensive fouls, Varejao can be said to be a top master. Even another actor, Argentine actor Scola, is still slightly behind him.

…

Seeing that his offensive foul worked, Varejao felt secretly happy, but there was still a painful expression on his face, which made people feel that he had been hit badly just now.

Before this game, Varejao really didn't use his acting skills much.

It's not that I don't have the chance to use it, but I'm embarrassed to use it...

He knew a little about Richard, and thought that Richard liked players who were tough and domineering under the basket. His trickery might make Richard unhappy.

Therefore, he has never dared to use this specialty...

Apparently, he didn't know Richard well enough.

Richard is a victory-only person, and flopping is not something unacceptable to Richard.

It wasn't just a flop, it was like a defensive foul that caused the opponent to make a mistake. Richard also felt that there was nothing wrong with it.

…

Now with Richard's acquiescence, Varejao directly used his special skills, and the effect was quite good.

It seems that the referees in the NBA league are not much better than the referees in the ACB league...

…

In the next half of the game, Varejao's acting skills exploded, falling down and wailing in various ways, which made the home fans a little worried. This kid might have to be carried into the locker room after being thrown in such a way. Already?

The referee was also confused. When Varejao was thrown, his expression looked like he was about to die or burp...

But when the referee finished blowing the whistle, although the kid's expression was still in pain, his athletic ability was not affected.

Is it a fake fall? The referee frowned and thought...

If it was really a fake fall, then this kid would be too scary. Such realistic acting skills could win him an Oscar.

…

In just half a quarter of the game, Marion was called for three offensive fouls, and Stoudemire was also called for an offensive foul.

This kind of non-malicious offensive foul only counts as a personal foul and does not count as a team foul, so there is no free throw.

And if it is a malicious offensive foul, such as Malone's big elbow to open the way, this kind of offensive foul will not only be counted as a personal foul, but also a team foul. When the team's number of fouls is full, a free throw will be made.

Although Varejao seemed to have fallen badly, the referee could clearly feel that Marion or Stoudemire had no intention of committing a malicious foul when attacking.

Therefore, these offensive fouls have always been called non-malicious offensive fouls.

But even so, it was enough to make the Suns sick. In just one quarter of the game, Marion directly suffered three fouls.

If the game continues like this, Marion may have to commit six fouls before finishing the first half.

…

At the end of the first quarter, both teams returned to the bench.

Richard immediately became happy and caught Varejao and praised him well.

"Anderson, you are a talent, an absolute talent!"

"Although I am not a Christian, at this moment I want to shout out to God, you are such a talented boy!"

In just half a quarter of the game, he caused four offensive fouls against his opponent. This is not a talent, he is simply a god in the diving industry.

"No, no, no, coach, you are God. I am an angel, serving you..." Varejao laughed.

Varejao was filled with pride after being praised by Richard.

Although he has just entered the NBA, he already knows Richard's name very well. He is the God of the coaching industry!

Now that he was so praised by God, Varejao felt a little embarrassed.