Chapter 1101 1100. Milicic's Successful Counterattack
"Tracy, let me guard Mike James today." Liu Mang said to Tracy McGrady during the warm-up.
"Huh?" Maddie asked strangely, "How did that guy offend you?"
"No, I just saw that your physical condition requires rest every three days, so I'd better let you play more relaxedly." Liu Mang looked like he was thinking about his teammates.
Maddie looked at Liu Mang and didn't believe Liu Mang's lies. There must be some conspiracy!
But... what conspiracy can the Raptors make Liu Mang have?
McGrady couldn't imagine that the Raptors had anything worthy of Liu Mang's plans.
But of course Tracy McGrady is willing to play more relaxedly.
After coming to the Hawks, McGrady's playing time has been greatly reduced, and it is indeed a lot easier, but he has to play cautiously, not make too many mistakes, defend well, be cautious on the offensive end, and must be careful at the critical moment when he needs to wave. Maintain stability and you will be attacked by fans if you are not careful.
After all, Rahim was the most stable leg beside Liu Mang back then, assisting Liu Mang's growth and sacrificing his offensive performance to help Liu Mang win the MVP. Tracy McGrady is always compared with Rahim. Instead of winning the assists title last season, he has always been regarded by fans as an "unsuitable substitute."
Although people love McGrady, they have always felt that McGrady is not as suitable for Liu Mang as Rahim.
Therefore, although McGrady plays less time, he cannot relax mentally.
Liu Mang was very happy to see that McGrady had no objection.
He wants to perform more on the defensive end and try to see if he can make the best defensive team again.
Why is Stephen Curry, who will be so powerful in the future, never regarded as the number one player in the league? On the contrary, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, and Kawhi Leonard are regarded as players who can challenge LeBron James as the best player in the league, either because of Stephen Curry or because of Curry's defense. generally.
The core of offense and defense is always more likely to be more influential in media and coach voting.
Liu Mang's defense has always been good, but it still lacks the ability to integrate offense and defense. Especially this season when the team has Tracy McGrady and Prince, Iguodala has grown a lot, and Liu Mang's defensive performance has become less and less. .
Liu Mang now wants to "grab the credit" and take on more defensive responsibilities.
Firstly, it's for his own convenience, and secondly, just like what he said to McGrady, let McGrady rest more during the regular season, paddle, defend and block shots, and then go all out in the playoffs.
Liu Mang really felt a pain in the ass that McGrady's physical fitness in his 20s was not as good as that of Kobe Bryant and James in their 30s.
Liu Mang wants to get more honors, and the best defensive team cannot be selected only by improving his defensive ability. He needs to let the coaches see his improved ability, and he needs to have more defensive performance.
Liu Mang has already made people's eyes bright when he scored four doubles and 6 steals against the Lakers. He wants to make people pay attention to his improvement on the defensive end before the popularity has completely dissipated!
…
At 6:10 p.m., Liu Mang and his teammates entered the competition venue of Phillips Arena. In 20 minutes, this unlived game was about to begin.
After Liu Mang entered the court, his eyes were fixed on the Raptors' dual core.
"Mike James, ability evaluation 83, offense 87, defense 75, three-pointer 84, mid-range shot 82, layup 91, speed 89, strength 76..."
"Darko Milicic, ability evaluation 88, offense 86, defense 90, passing 80, three-pointer 70, mid-range shot 84, layup 92, speed 79, strength 90..."
The Raptors have made great progress this season. Last summer, the Raptors got inspirational undrafted Mike James and signed a five-year, 24 million contract with Mike James. The 30-year-old Mike James has lived up to his expectations. With this big contract, he averaged 21 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists per game this season. He played the best performance of his career and became the Raptors' scoring leader. Together with the all-around center Milicic who averaged 20.3 points per game, he led the Raptors to start their recovery. .
Now the Raptors have 19 wins and 21 losses, and their winning percentage has almost reached 50%. They are ranked tenth in the Eastern Conference and have a chance to make the playoffs.
Although it is a theoretical opportunity, the Raptors have given people hope. Milicic, who has just renewed his 3+1 maximum salary contract in advance, is their hope.
Liu Mang admires Mike James very much. After Mike James was undrafted after graduating from college at the age of 22 in 1998, he went to Europe, the Summer League, and the Development League for three years before being signed by the Heat in 2001. The more he played, the better he got. A player of the same generation as Mang, now 30 years old, has actually received a full mid-level salary for five years, averaging 20+ per game, and has become the Raptors' strongest outside player.
After being cared for by the Raptors like a child for more than two years, it finally paid off. In June this summer, Milicic, who was only 21 years old when the draft was about to be drafted, already had an ability rating of 88, which is no worse than James. How much, better than the talents of Bosh and Wade!
But the Raptors are patient and have changed four head coaches for Milicic in more than two years. Anyone who wants to kill Milicic - change! A coach who wants to reuse veterans but doesn't train Misic properly because of his record...change! Any players or coaches who hinder Milicic's growth - change!
Finally, Milicic can now be on his own.
"Kwame, your opponent today is very powerful." Liu Mang moved his body and said to Kwame Brown next to him, "People say he is the number one center in the Eastern Conference in the future."
"I am the number one center in the Eastern Conference!" Kwame Brown refused to accept it. He was very strong, but suddenly asked weakly: "Boss, you also think I am very powerful, right?"
"Well, of course." Liu Mang looked at Kwame Brown's ability evaluation of 85. The offensive rating of 75 is a bit poor, and the defense is 90, the same as Milicic. Moreover, Kwame Brown has better rebounding, with a rebound rating of 94. , to a certain extent, many teams prefer centers like Kwame Brown.
However, Milicic is the core type of the team, truly integrated with offense and defense, with good touch, good defense, and can organize offense.
There is no one who doesn’t love such a center. Liu Mang loves to watch Raptors games, especially the game between the Lakers and the Raptors. Milicic’s golf intelligence and touch when facing Yao Ming were really impressive. Awesome, but it hurts that I almost cried when Yao Ming made 10 out of 10 shots.
Milicic is very similar to Yao Ming. He is very good at guarding jumping centers and blocks shots well, but when guarding against Yao Ming, he gets beaten.
The Raptors are indeed not bad this year. They have two cores, as well as veteran Jaylen Rose, who has an ability rating of 79. He averaged 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists per game this season; a rookie who has an ability rating of 75, averaging 13 points and 6 rebounds per game. Eyebrow hero Charlie Villanueva; Morris Peterson, a swingman who is both tough on offense and defense and has a mid-range shooting, has an ability rating of 80. He averaged 16 points, 5 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game this season. The Raptors can rise, except Dual-core, role players are not bad either.
The Raptors are seen as a spoiler in the future of the Eastern Conference, and it’s not without reason.
After looking at the statistics and ability evaluations of the Raptors players this season, Liu Mang felt that the game against Milicic was a bit interesting.
In the past, only Wade and Bosh were interesting, but now James and Milicic have begun to stand up. Liu Mang is looking forward to the 2003 generation starting to stir up trouble in the league.
Looking at Kwame Brown, who was squealing with excitement because of his own encouragement, and then at the opponent, the handsome Serbian "white hope", Liu Mang looked forward to it: Don't let me down... otherwise it won't be fun. Already...
On the opposite side, Milicic felt a chill coming from his back and felt two evil auras. He was wondering: Is the air conditioning in this arena broken?
…
As the video of Rasheed Wallace roaring was played on the big screen, Kwame Brown continued to arouse the fans by clapping his hands. Liu Mang threw magnesium powder into the air, and the starting players of the two teams appeared on the stage.
The Raptors sent out a starting lineup of Mike James, Jaylen Rose, Peterson, Villanueva, and Milicic.
Feeling the enthusiasm of the fans at the scene, the Raptors players suppressed their uneasiness and wanted to beat the Hawks.
It has been many years since they have beaten the Hawks. The Raptors players really want to win and end their 11-game losing streak against the Hawks. The last time they defeated the Hawks was in November 2002, and they have never won again since then.
For the Eagles, Rasheed Wallace will continue to rest today. He needs to appear against Garnett in the next game against the Timberwolves. The Eagles do not want to be swept by any team this season. Prince is also resting. The Eagles The team sent out a starting lineup of Liu Mang, Tracy McGrady, Horry, Josh Smith, and Kwame Brown.
A restless player and an iron-clad Horry.
When Milicic and Kwame Brown came to the center circle, they both looked at each other with burning eyes.
The two are almost the same age, Milicic was born in 1985, and Kwame Brown was born in 1982. According to the fact that white people usually have shorter careers than black people, the age at which the two may retire is not much different. They can be regarded as players of the same period, and The season when Kwame Brown began to rise was the 2003-04 season, which was the same year as Milicic entered the Raptors and had a brilliant rookie season, so he has been compared with him and is regarded as a center in the league together with Dwight Howard. s future.
Yao Ming, who entered the NBA one year later than Kwame Brown, was not included in the list. Yao Ming is the "oldest" at 25 years old and has been compared with the sharks at their peak.
The referee came to the court with the ball that McGrady chose with slightly less air, and was about to jump the ball.
Liu Mang looked at Kwame Brown's nervous and cautious look, and suddenly the bad news came. He shouted towards the center circle: "Kwame, be gentle when you hit the opponent's child center, don't make him cry. !”
Milicic didn't react when he heard this, but Kwame Brown was stepped on the tail first and glared at Liu Mang with his eyes written: "Boss, please don't irritate this guy!"