roccoschili Chapter 280 [Newcomers progress, surprises continue]
Chapter 280 [Newcomers progress, surprises continue]
Chapter 280 [Newcomers progress, surprises continue]
On the team media day, in addition to the players from last season and the rookies selected by Yang Rui, he also saw two unfamiliar faces, both point guards with a height of less than 1.9 meters, representing the Raptors in the preseason.
One is Sean Coulson, who was undrafted and entered the NBA. He is 183cm tall and weighs 79kg. His height is false and he is significantly shorter than Yang Rui, but he is actually 178cm.
Another veteran, John Crotty, who was undrafted in the NBA in 92.He is 185cm tall and weighs 84kg. He has always been a role player for each team. He averaged 13.6 minutes per game with the Pistons last season, scored 4.7 points and 1.9 assists, and shot 42.2% from the field and 41.3% from three.
After reading the information, Yang Rui has no interest in them. As for whether to add four centers or add a point guard, Yang Rui doesn't care, it is up to the management to decide.Anyway, for the 15th place, staying is also marginal.
This time, Yang Rui kept a low profile for the core makeup photo, and he did not let Reed join the four core members last season.
The high profile must be purposeful. Now that the Raptors have entered the eyes of David Stern, there is no need to hype the team and attract attention.
The next day was an open practice session, and it was full of fans, all of whom wanted to see how the Raptors were rookie.
Yang Rui did not arrange for the assistant coaches to fight in groups, but told the players to relax their defense and play as an All-Star game, with more dunks, long and short catches, three-pointers, and someone specializing in scoring.
Thibodeau asked, "Isn't this kind of training effective?"
Yang Rui explained: "One day less training will not have any effect. Jermaine and Vince participated in the Olympic Games and did not rest in the summer. I don't plan to let them play preseason games. This extra performance will make the fans present happy. This year There is no requirement for preseason records, so there is time to examine new players.”
Players who can play in the NBA must be outstanding. They are all outstanding in the lower leagues, and they all play beautifully when the defensive intensity is low.
The newcomers showed their magical abilities, and Halprin broke through dunks several times, proving that his ankle was fine.
Mark - Jackson, Jerome - James also staged a number of dunks, the two have obvious advantages in storming the basket.
In the summer, Yang Rui asked Jerome to lose weight, guaranteeing that as long as he loses weight, he will get a long-term contract in the future. Otherwise, he will not be able to get a basic salary for a few years.
Jerome doesn't want to play in the lower leagues, and it is much better to get a basic salary in the NBA than to go to the lower leagues, so he worked hard to exercise in the summer.
His weight has now dropped to 127kg, which is similar to Cato last season. His fat content has been significantly reduced and his explosiveness has improved.
Jerome's offensive skills are still very rough and he can't shoot, but he has improved on both ends of the offense and defense.He still has the strength to resist people. He can cut and catch the ball after the pick-and-roll. He can hit the basket, shoot from close range with his body or force a dunk!
Veteran Mario Elie also showed his strengths, with a high catch-and-shoot three-pointer.His current jumping speed is not good, but with this shooting skill, he is a qualified role player.
Reed became the best rookie in the matchup, scoring 17 points, 9 rebounds, and no assists on 11 of 6 shots and 24 of 3 three-pointers.He was playing the ball according to Yang Rui's arrangement, catching and shooting the ball, ending the offense, ignoring the passing, and hardly making any breakthroughs.
He just jumped twice on the fast break and made a dunk.
Yang Rui believes that this is the most suitable style of play for Reid. Although he is good at offense with the ball, his passing awareness is poor, and it is difficult to find teammates who are moving. It is better to let him specialize in one ability and train his skills.
If he can play well without the ball, he will be a qualified second-in-command, just like Alan Houston and Klay Thompson. The biggest advantage is that he does not occupy the ball.
The training camp is open, and Yang Rui does not organize a more serious competition. The new players are mainly familiar with tactics. Everyone has a clear division of labor and has fixed tasks in the system.
After examining the rookies, Yang Rui finally decided to let Reed start in the regular season. He and Billups were present together, which could create more breakthrough space for Carter. Both of them could shoot three-pointers from various positions.
Yang Rui found a master for Reed, that is Mario Elie.Elie's physical fitness is not good, but he plays very smart, and he never messes up. It's not a good opportunity and he doesn't shoot. He can pass the ball to assist his teammates.Without assists, he can get the ball moving quickly.
Reed quickly became familiar with the style of play and proved in training camp that he can be an excellent pitcher. His assist rate is as high as 70%. This high statistic indicates that his off-ball movement is reasonable, his off-ball ability is high, and he does not occupy the team's ball. .
In Yang Rui's previous life, Reid, who had left George Karl, was trained to be a poor one-on-one man with a low assist rate, two extremes.
If Halprin starts, one of Carter or Billups has to be fixed in the corner. Halprin's three-pointer is only acceptable on both sides, and the corner is basically impossible to shoot.Even in his peak season, he averaged only 0.8 three-pointers and 2.1 shots per game. This is not just because Sloan restricts players from outside shots.
Halprin is good at playing with his physical advantages. He is very efficient in both mid-range shots and layups, and he can also rush offensive rebounds.He has the shooting touch of European white players and the physical quality of black players, and he is very brave.
His starting words overlapped with Carter's position, and he couldn't be allowed to play with the ball, Carter watched.Therefore, the most suitable for him is to be the sixth man with the bench.
In October, the preseason started, and O'Neal Jr. and Carter were sidelined.
Although both of them said they were fine, Yang Rui knew the importance of limiting playing time. There is a terrible injury called stress fracture, which is caused by tiredness. They have played too many games this year.
There was another surprise in the preseason. Boykins became more and more powerful. He came off the bench to take charge of the ball and played pick-and-roll with Mark Jackson. The power was amazing.
Yang Rui asked Jumaine Jones to come off the bench at No. 4. When he was active beyond the three-point line, he could always pull the power forward out of the basket. At this time, Boykins and the center played pick-and-roll, relying on speed and flexibility. Get rid of the defender, and a dislocation can be formed immediately.
His breakthrough can pass the opponent's slow center. Even if he can't pass people, he attracts the defense to pass to Jackson, who cuts in the middle, and the opponent is difficult to guard.
Jackson is 208cm tall and weighs 122kg. He looks stronger than Jerome after losing weight. He is a black tank when he rushes. He relies on his opponent to get stronger. Unless someone taller than him, it is difficult to block.
Yang Rui knew that Jackson had the ability and gave him a lot of performance opportunities. As long as he arranged pick-and-roll tactics, his role was very obvious.He's better with Boykins than he was with the Warriors, because the Warriors' perimeter Larry Hughes isn't much of a passer.
Yang Rui reduced Reed's playing time, and only let him play for about 10 minutes. He mainly inspected other rookies. During a certain period of time, he sent double guards to speed up the counterattack.
Since he decided to start Reed, Yang Rui didn't want him to reveal his strength and could become a secret weapon in the opening game.
Sean Coulson had the worst preseason performance, his breakthrough shots were average, and the defensive end leaked and was eliminated.
John Crotty showed a good shooting touch, played steadily, and had no problem dribbling through the half court. He was a dual-energy defender.
In the end, Crotty squeezed out Matt Blunt and signed a non-guaranteed minimum salary. The Raptors already have five big men, and it is difficult for Blunt to get playing opportunities.
In the preseason, the Raptors were 5 wins and 2 losses under the premise of reservations. The two main players still won the game after rest. The role players played well and kept surprises.
They are ready to defend their title!
(End of this chapter)