Superstar Athletes’ Black Tech Systems

In the history of the NBA, as of the 2013 season, among the 15 existing teams in the West, three teams have not made it to the conference finals.

They are the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans (Hornets) and Memphis Grizzlies.

In fact, if Li Liang's arrival hadn't changed the trajectory of history, the Grizzlies would have made history by reaching the Western Conference Finals in the 2013 season.

There are actually only two teams that have never made it to the Western Conference Finals, the Clippers and the Pelicans.

Coincidentally, the former bosses of these two teams were both Chris Paul.

He once led the team to the Western Conference semifinals, but they all failed in the end. The luck is really bad.

But Paul is still young, he is at the peak of a player, and there are still infinite possibilities.

After the media day, the Clippers took the bus to the University of San Diego's gymnasium.

On the way, Chris Paul finally got a little bit of a boss, standing at the front and giving a speech to the players.

"...A brand new season, from the first training, we started from the University of San Diego, this season, we will definitely make a breakthrough and get what we want, definitely!"

Although Paul was small, he had a big heart.

On the basketball court, he is very competitive and often does whatever it takes to win.

So although Paul is very popular on the court, there are endless comments about his dirty playing.

Li Liang knew this. This little man really dared to play tricks in defense.

Hearing Paul's encouragement for the whole team and looking forward to the new season, Li Liang said directly: "This season, our goal is to win the championship, not to go one step further. One step is not enough."

Li Liang's words were very simple, far less impassioned than what Paul said.

But his words are even more shocking, pointing at the championship, not every player has the courage to say it.

Li Liang has the courage because he already has a championship trophy.

Each member who wins the championship can keep the trophy for one week.

Li Liang put the trophy in his home for a week.

Neither brought him home to show off, nor took him around to participate in activities.

Because Li Liang felt that the trophies he had already lost lost their greatest significance as trophies.

Like the wife is always... no, like Bailey said, the best goal is always next.

Li Liang's goal is to win the next championship, not to reminisce about the previous one.

Paul heard Li Liang's words and joked: "We will win the championship, but you will not win the FMVP again."

What Paul means is that if I win the championship, the MVP is mine.

This confidence is really unparalleled, it really looks like Kobe.

Li Liang just chuckled and said, "Are you better than Kobe?"

As soon as these words came out, Paul was speechless.

Paul is great, but can he be as good as Kobe?

In the direct dialogue between the two regular season MVPs in 2008, Paul lost to Kobe.

Now Kobe has performed well in the finals. Although he lost the chance to win the FMVP due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, to be honest, Li Liang's performance of 60 points in a single game cannot be grabbed by Kobe.

After driving for a while, we arrived at the University of San Diego in the afternoon.

San Diego, also known as San Diego, is where the Clippers used to be.

The Clippers were previously called the Buffalo Braves. After moving to San Diego, they were named the Clippers because this is a famous seaside resort in California. There are a large number of yachts moored in the bay all year round.

In 1981, after Sterling bought the Clippers, he moved the team to Los Angeles.

But this did not bring any good luck to the Clippers.

Instead, the Clippers decided to come to San Diego for training, hoping to get a taste of the blessings of their former home city.

The University of San Diego is located in the northwest area of ​​San Diego, near the San Diego Ocean Park.

The school has a large sports center that looks like a swept-wing airplane when viewed from above.

There is also a large swimming pool, four tennis courts and a large football field outside the sports center.

Here, Clippers players can conduct more comprehensive and rich training to prepare for the new season.

After arriving, the players changed their clothes and started warming up on the field.

This is not only Li Liang's first training session with the Clippers, but also head coach Rivers' first training session with his new team.

Compared with Li Liang who was full of championships and bickered with Paul on the first day, Rivers was much more nervous.

He was silent all the way, you know he still talks a lot on weekdays.

As a player-type coach, Rivers has always been known as a "player-type coach" in the league.

The so-called player-type coach is coaching in the team, being able to mingle with the players, and gaining the respect and love of the players.

The opposite of the player coach is the management coach, which is more like the manager of the players.

Of course, some of the great coaches in the NBA are both.

Rivers himself was born as a player. When it comes to tactics, he doesn't have any particularly high attainments.

But Rivers is a good player in pinching players, gaining the love of players, and gathering the confidence of the team.

Leading the Celtics to the championship in 2008 is his career masterpiece.

This is also one of the reasons that attracted Paul and hoped that the team must get Rivers.

As early as June, Paul contacted Rivers, hoping that he could come to the Clippers.

Rivers is very tempted, because the Celtics are about to enter the reconstruction period, and Rivers does not want to accompany the Celtics to rebuild.

The Clippers are undoubtedly a good place for him to flex his muscles.

There is no rich history here, no strong management, and he will have greater power when he comes.

More importantly, the Clippers have a good lineup and great potential.

The arrival of Rivers can just give the Clippers an upgrade.

Therefore, Rivers was full of confidence before he came, but he did not expect Li Liang to join suddenly.

Li Liang's joining is of course a good thing. When he was in the Celtics, Rivers was very envious of Li Liang, thinking that this kid is really useful.

As a result, one pass in the finals shocked Rivers' jaw.

Then he came to the Clippers, and Rivers was pleasantly surprised at first, and then fell into trouble.

Originally, Rivers had thought about it, and the Clippers built their team tactics completely based on Paul as the core.

This is what any coach in their right mind would do.

But when Li Liang joined, Rivers hesitated all summer, what kind of tactical status should he give Li Liang?

According to common sense, Paul continues to be the core and Li Liang is the second in charge. This is an obvious and reasonable allocation.

Although Griffin is the No. 1 pick and has played longer, he and Li Liang are stronger and weaker, and the playoffs have already seen the outcome.

Moreover, Li Liang's style of play is off the ball, and he is quite versatile on the defensive end, which is a perfect match with Paul's ball-handling style of play.

However, in several exchanges with Li Liang, Rivers faintly noticed—well, there is no need to be faintly aware, Li Liang made it clear that he hopes to gain the power to attack with the ball.

"I developed my ball-handling offense over the summer, hoping to get some possessions."

Li Liang told Rivers so simply and straightforwardly.

Rivers is not Mike Brown. If Mike Brown heard it, he would definitely believe it.

Rivers is not very convinced. Last season, he had almost no offensive ability with the ball. Later, Li Liang, who has a little ability to stop and shoot jump shots, can practice offense with the ball in one summer.

But Rivers didn't dare to say no, as a player-type coach, he must coax the players well.

Besides, Li Liang, you have to coax him. The owner of the team is a fan of Li Liang. Li Liang said that he wants to play with the ball. Do you dare to design tactics for him?

So, this is where Rivers feels a headache.

Judging from the media day and the situation on the bus in the morning, Li Liang and Paul are both tough-tempered guys, and they are not very convinced by each other.

After all, the Lakers and Clippers were fighting to the death last season, and they were even more rivals in the playoffs.

Li Liang is a special player. He is neither black nor white. He is Chinese.

If it’s a black brother, no matter what enmity there was before, as long as it’s not an off-court conflict, the new season comes to a team, there’s a “brother” on the left, there’s a “Nige”, and they go to nightclubs to hang out, they’re like a family .

However, Li Liang is culturally completely different from black players, and they are not in the same system.

Therefore, if there is a gap, it cannot be eliminated with a few words.

You have to fight side by side on the court to slowly become comrades in arms.

Rivers is worried that Paul, as the absolute boss in the past, came to a guy who was culturally incompatible, very simple in qualifications, but very strong, and his honor surpassed everyone. How should the team be built.

Thinking of these problems, Rivers' head, which was not small, suddenly became bigger.

While watching the players warm up on the court, Rivers discussed the team's training policy with assistant coaches Gentry and Hill.

In fact, the specific policy has been formulated long ago, but there are still some problems in the details.

Gentry has been the head coach of the Suns from 2009 to 2013. He is very good at offense and once led the Suns to the 2010 Western Conference Finals.

It can be said that it is quite extravagant for him to be Rivers' chief assistant.

Of course, Gentry is mainly responsible for the offense, and the defense is currently in charge of Almond Hill.

Hill graduated from Princeton University and was a student of Pete Carell.

But what he is good at is not Princeton offense, but defense.

When he was the head coach of Columbia University, the team he led could limit the opponent's scoring average to 57 points per game, the best in the United States.

After entering the NBA, he worked as an assistant coach with the Celtics, and followed Rivers to the Clippers this season.

With such two powerful right-hand men, Rivers' work in the Clippers will be much easier.

The premise is that he must first deal with the previous relationship between Paul and Li Liang.

Now other players are in a wait-and-see state, who is the boss of the team and who should they listen to?

"Beep!"

Rivers blew his whistle to signal the players to assemble.

The first tactical lesson is about to begin.