The Godfather of Basketball

"We need some changes. Do you have anything to say?" Dawson sat in the middle of the conference table and said directly.

Van Gundy glanced at the others. As the head coach, he naturally needed to speak first.

"I don't think the preseason can explain anything. Our players just came back from the offseason, and they still need some time to adjust their status." Van Gundy said, more like an explanation.

When Van Gundy finished speaking, he glanced at his old subordinate Thibodeau.

"Yes, Sean has just been traded to the team, we also have rookies, and Yao and T-mac missed a lot of games last season. These need to be adjusted. The season has not started yet, and we still have time." Thibodeau continued. Said.

Dawson frowned slightly. He came to hear the solution, but he didn't expect it to become Van Gundy's defense meeting.

He looked at Tang Tian who had been silent all this time.

"Don, what do you think? Do you also think it takes time?"

"No, I think we don't have much time left." Tang Tian's answer made Van Gundy frowned, but it made Dawson suddenly interested.

"What do you mean?" Dawson looked at Tang Tian and said.

"Our opponents are all very strong, not to mention the Eastern teams, the Spurs, Mavericks, Suns, and even the Jazz in the West. If we want to break through the first round or even go further, we must occupy a higher position in the regular season rankings. Up front, so we have to work hard from the start of the season."

After Tang Tian finished speaking, Dawson couldn't help nodding his head repeatedly. Since Olajuwon retired, the Rockets, let alone competing for the championship, have not even broken through the first round, especially during the two years since the introduction of Tracy McGrady. Far from meeting expectations, this has a lot to do with the poor record in the regular season and the encounter with a strong opponent in the first round.

"This is something we all want to do, but it doesn't happen overnight." Van Gundy said a little unhappy.

"Do you have any specific ideas?" Dawson signaled Van Gundy not to speak, then looked at Tang Tian and said.

"Jeff's defensive system itself is very good, and Sean is very good at defending the opponent's arrow scorer, so our defense does not need to be changed, but our offense needs to be adjusted. Yao Ming needs to be an offensive initiator at the free throw line. We We need more off-ball pick-and-rolls and cuts, and we need more three-point shooters on the court."

Tang Tian didn't talk much, but he uttered his thoughts completely and clearly.

In fact, he had already said these words when he was interviewing the teaching assistant, but Van Gundy seemed to have forgotten them.

Van Gundy didn't say anything at this time, Tang Tian praised him for a while when he opened his mouth, and immediately blocked his mouth.

"Anything else?" Dawson asked.

"We also need to expand the rotation, our rookies I have brought, they have performed well in summer league this summer, and they have been training for the past two months, they should get playing time, and we need them to get playing time. Yao and T-mac get a rest."

"How many people do you think are reasonable?" Dawson once again stopped Van Gundy, who was hesitant to speak, and continued to ask.

"9 people."

"Nine people?" Dawson and Van Gundy spoke almost at the same time. This was just one more person added to Van Gundy's original base.

"Yes, there are 9 players. If there are less than 9 players, the time for the main force will be prolonged. If there are more than 9 players, the players who come up will also have limited contributions. But with 9 players, the time for the substitutes must exceed 5 minutes, otherwise they will not be able to play a role."

Dawson nodded, what Tang Tian said was very detailed and reasonable.

He then looked at McGrady, Yao Ming, and Battier: "What do you think?"

"I think what Tang said is right. I went to Las Vegas to watch the summer league, and he changed the situation on the field with a single timeout." McGrady said almost without hesitation.

"It's a challenge for me to organize, but I will try my best to do it well." Yao Ming didn't express his opinion directly, but he also felt that Tang Tian was right.

"The role players have playing time, and they play hard. With competition, the starting players will play more motivated." Yao Ming and McGrady have both spoken, Battier will naturally not object, but as a team player, He also expressed his thoughts from another angle.

Dawson looked at Van Gundy and Thibodeau at this time: "What about you?"

Van Gundy didn't speak, and everyone else agreed with it. Although he is the head coach, it's hard to object.

"More rotations are good for preventing injuries." Thibodeau said something innocuous. He and Tang Tian got along well, and he was unwilling to offend his old boss, Van Gundy.

"Okay, then do as Tang Tian said, Jeff, I am also under a lot of pressure, you know that I, an old man, will retire next year." Dawson finally said to Van Gundy.

"Yes, I understand. I will hand over all the offense to Tang Tian, ​​which is also his responsibility." Van Gundy nodded.

In an internal meeting, the whole team reached a consensus.

Tang Tian's movements were also very fast. After he got the command of the team's offensive tactics, he started targeted training in the first training session after the meeting.

Part of his system is derived from the "magic ball" theory of the Rockets in the later period, that is, the tactic that three-pointers are king, and the other part is a combination of Princeton's tactics of the world-class gorgeous Kings.

To put it bluntly, he is based on three-pointers, a simplified Princeton tactic.

Yao Ming's offensive ability is top-notch, which makes him a threat to get the ball at the free throw line far more than the Kings' Brad Miller, which will make this simplified tactic more powerful.

But another more important thing is the team's three-pointers.

All of the Rockets' perimeter players can shoot three-pointers, but none of them are stable.

Ever since, in every training session before the start of the regular season, three-pointers have become a training item for all players except centers, including insiders like Millsap, and Bunch Wells who basically don't throw. Three-point striker.

Yao Ming has excellent golf intelligence and quick learning ability. Although he hasn't played for a long time, the cooperation with his teammates has already taken shape.

During this period of time, the Rockets also completed the final layoffs of the preseason.

Ryan Bowen, Scott Padgett, and Casey Jacobson were cut one after another.

And Barea relied on his 20-point performance in a single game in the preseason game to squeeze out John Lucas III, who has a guaranteed contract, and successfully stayed on the team.

In this way, the Rockets' 15-man roster for the new season is officially released.

And centers: Yao Ming, Dikembe Mutombo, Chuck Hayes.

Power forwards: Juwan Howard, Bunch Wells, Paul Millsap.

Small forwards: Shane Battier, Kirk Snyder, Steve Novak.

Shooting guards: Tracy McGrady, Luther Head, Vasilis Spanoulis.

Point guards: Rafe Alston, Jose Barea, Bob Sura.