msmithbooks Chapter 818 Still the King of Popularity
Chapter 818 Still the King of Popularity
Chapter 818 Still the King of Popularity
Arthur started in the Nuggets, maybe it is the old Chinese saying "the lost east corner gains the mulberry elm", right?Moreover, the Nuggets are not a bad team. Their team is young. Under the coaching of coach Mike Malone, they are expected to reach the playoffs this season.
On January 1, Xie Kai entertained his old teammate Arthur at home.
The two hadn't seen each other for a while, but they were very happy when they met, and even drank some wine.
Arthur sighed at the dinner table: "I really didn't expect that I would be a guest at your home in Oklahoma City."
Xie Kai also expressed emotion: "This is called 'plans can't keep up with changes'. I didn't expect that we both left Memphis in a year."
Arthur sighed and said: "They think I can't do it! I'm in Memphis, they think I can only play with you. In the season when you were injured, my playing time plummeted. I didn't have much chance to play. At that time, I knew that if you go, even if they want to renew my contract, I will go to the free market. I don't want to stay there anymore. They don't trust me. If you I'm not here anymore, I have no reason to stay."
Xie Kai knows that Arthur is telling the truth, where is he not playing ball?For Arthur, the ring has already been taken. If they are all middle class or basic salary, why do they have to be in the Grizzlies?He is not old enough to need retirement. If he can get more playing time in other teams, it will be very attractive to him!
For role players, one person, one city is simply a luxury.Even if you want to stay, if you are worthless, the team will not keep you to occupy the spot.Want to retire your jersey?Thinking too much, how many dishes, drink like this?
Arthur is a role player.He is 28 years old, and it is impossible to have the opportunity to grow into an All-Star player, and he has already held 3 championship rings in the league, and it doesn't make much sense to get more rings.It is a normal demand to go to other teams to get a bigger contract and get more playing time.
——And these two points are almost impossible for the Grizzlies.
That night, Xie Kai and Arthur chatted a lot. They talked about some things in the University of Kansas Jayhawks and the NCAA. The two suddenly discovered that it has been almost 9 years since they entered the NBA. the...
The average length of an NBA player's career is only 4-5 years. It is not easy for Arthur to play in the NBA for 9 years or even longer.Less than half of the first-round rookies who are in the same class as them are still competing in the league. The high elimination rate of the NBA can be seen.
On the evening of January 1, the Thunder played against the Nuggets at the Ford Center Arena at home.
This game is the second game without Pickle. For the Thunder, on the offensive end, the pressure on Xie Kai and Westbrook will be greater.The role players of this team are somewhat biased, defensive scum that can attack (Kanter, Turk), and offensive scum that can defend (Robertson, Duck, Grant).In fact, the only stable scoring points are the Big Three. Now that Pickled Pepper is not playing, in fact, the heavy burden of offense is on the appetizing combination.
In this game, from the very beginning of the game, Xie Kai took the lead and took over the team's offense.Westbrook can also attack, he prefers to open up the offensive space, or when he is in transition, but when he is in the half-court position, once the opponent has a big center inside, it will be difficult for him to play if he does not open the outside line.
Xie Kai's requirements for the offensive environment are much lower.In particular, he practiced hard in the offseason to single-handedly hold the ball at the waist, allowing him to attack at any time and in any environment.Can attack with or without the ball, in transition or half-court.
This is also the difference between the traditional swing scorer and the popular scoring point guard.There are very few scoring point guards who can truly ignore the offensive environment, and Irving is one of the best.
Thunder's dual-core drive quickly took the lead.The Nuggets have no superstars and no super scorers. When faced with Xie Kai's consecutive scoring, they seem to lack a way to deal with it.
Neither Gallinari nor Jokic are players who can easily score 30 points in a single game. They are more like quasi-star players who play in a team style.
There were no ups and downs during the game, the Thunder suppressed their opponents both offensively and defensively, and finally won the game at home without any risk, ushering in two consecutive victories.
After two consecutive victories, the Thunder's record came to 26 wins and 12 losses, surpassing the Clippers and returning to the fourth place in the Western Conference.
Xie Kai continued to play well in this game, scoring a game-high 38 points and leading his team to victory.
At the post-match press conference, when the reporter asked Xie Kai’s consecutive high-profile performances and led the team to two consecutive victories, was it because he was hindered by the presence of pickled peppers before, or whether the team would be better without pickled peppers At the time, he directly refuted this view: "I repeat, we need PG! With PG, Russ and I don't have to play so long, and we don't have to take on so many tasks on the offensive end. And don't forget, PG is one of the best wing defenders, he is not here, our defensive efficiency is down, the data will not lie, he is very important to us!"
Of course, Xie Kai didn't say this to curry favor with Pickled Pepper. He said this for two purposes, one is to appease Pickled Pepper's emotions, and the other is to stop those who provoke the relationship between the three giants.
The role of pickled peppers is that once in the playoffs, when they meet the Warriors, Spurs or Cavaliers, the team has a star who can match Durant, facial paralysis and James.
In the playoffs, the matchup is very important. If the matchup is not right, you will be beaten to doubt your life.
Pickle's influence on the game is not as good as any of the appetizers, but once he hits the playoffs, his role on both ends of the offense and defense may not be worse than Westbrook.
On January 1, the Thunder defeated the Bulls in an away game and ushered in a 10-game winning streak.
On January 1, the Thunder played at home against the Grizzlies.In the previous confrontation between the two teams, they lost to each other away.
In this game, under the influence of Westbrook's triple-double, the Thunder narrowly beat their opponents at home and ushered in a 4-game winning streak.
After 4 consecutive victories, the Thunder's record came to 28 wins and 12 losses, surpassing the Rockets and returning to No. 3 in the Western Conference.
On January 1, the NBA officially announced the voting results for the second stage of the 13 New Orleans All-Star Game.Xie Kai and James are still ranked in the top two in the league, each leading their respective divisions.
Compared with the same period two years ago, Xie Kai's votes were lower than then, but he still leads all players.His fans are all over the world. When he announced his comeback, K honey all over the world fell into a frenzy.
(End of this chapter)