basketball pope

Chapter 140 [After the transaction, the rookie wall]

Chapter 140 [After the transaction, the rookie wall]

The Raptors challenged the Eagles away, and suffered a two-game losing streak 81-95.

John Wallace left the team, and the Raptors lost one rotation player. McGrady, Billups, and O'Neal Jr. turned into blacksmiths. Only Carter performed well, scoring a double-double of 24 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

Under the leadership of Mutombo, the Eagles have a very strong defense. They only lost 83 points per game in the new season. Today, he blocked O'Neal twice in a round in a row and humiliated the rookie with a wave of fingers.

Yang Rui loves and hates newcomers. When they feel good, they can play gorgeous and smooth offense.

Back in Toronto, on the morning of March 3th, Yang Rui met with Kevin Cato. This rookie can represent the Raptors.

"Hello, coach." Cato looked very simple and honest, smiled and shook hands with Yang Rui.

"Hello, Kevin, nice to meet you." Yang Rui looked him up and down, much taller than expected.

He used to think that Cato was short because he watched too many Rockets games, and Cato often stood beside Yao Ming.

As one of the 97 rookies in the first round in 15, Cato certainly didn't want to be a marginal person all the time. When he met Yang Rui, he didn't know how to "sell" himself, so he could only smirk.

Yang Rui smiled and said: "Kevin, it's my intention to trade you to the Raptors, I need you to be the toughest person in the team, use your strengths, cut after the offensive end, grab rebounds and go to the basket. The points are enough, and you're definitely going to get more minutes than you did with the Blazers."

Cato nodded. This is good news. He only played 13.6 minutes last season after his two years with the Blazers.

During training, the coaching staff tested Cato and was pleasantly surprised.

Cato's physical fitness is excellent, the strength is the strongest in the team, and his movement speed is relatively slow. He is similar to veteran Willis and Miller. He has a wingspan of 224CM. He has the conditions to become a super defensive player.

On the offensive end, Cato is useless. He has a bad mid-range shot and rough footsteps. He can show a hook from the low post on the left, and can cut and dunk the ball after the pick-and-roll.

The player in Yang Rui's memory is more like Cato, the Celtics "Two Fat" Kendrick Perkins.He is good at resisting and blocking shots. He basically doesn't need to practice shooting. This "black and hard" feel is not soft, and the free throws are not accurate.

Miller is currently just an ordinary center. If he wants to become a support star during the King's period, he needs to practice and learn from Detrev.Cato will definitely be useful and improve the Raptors' interior defense.

After training, Yang Rui talked to Cato alone. "Kevin, what did you coach with the Blazers?"

"Defend the low post, cut the pick-and-roll, and help block shots."

"Here, you can add one more assist pass, like Dete learns, if you grab an offensive rebound, I hope you can score it in time. If you receive a pass at a high position and can't make a mid-range shot, you must be accurate. Pass the ball to a teammate."

"Okay, I can do it," Cato answered loudly.

Yang Rui nodded with satisfaction.This person is very obedient, don't attack the ball, and it is easy to renew the contract when the contract expires next year.At present, there is a market for meat shield big men in the league, and Cato is the cheapest player that can be exchanged.

As soon as he came, O'Neal Jr. and Miller didn't need to gain weight, they kept their weight and mobility, and the offensive end was more threatening.

That night, the Raptors lost to the Magic at home and suffered a three-game losing streak.

Under the leadership of Chuck Daly, the Magic started 12 wins and 4 losses, and the record was outstanding under the premise of no strongman.

Rookie Matt Halprin unexpectedly had the upper hand against O'Neal Jr.

Halprin is only 201cm tall and weighs 105kg. He is very strong. He comes from a rugby family, has a tough style of play, and is good at confrontation.He has been so close to O'Neal that it is not easy for O'Neal to turn around and face the frame, and it is too reluctant to turn around and make a fallback jumper, making 15 of 5 shots.

McGrady was defended by "Penny" Hardaway, and his performance was even worse. He made only 12 of 2 shots, plus free throws and scored 6 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

The Raptors collectively sleepwalked on the outside. Except Carter who scored 21 points, everyone else played in a mess. The best insider was Willis, who scored 20 points and 14 rebounds. The two failed to help the team win, and the final score was 88 to 93. .

Cato played 11 minutes, only had 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 of 1 shots, and the data was terrible.

The bad luck has just begun. The Raptors have a bad schedule. They played strong teams back-to-back and lost to the Heat and Eagles one after another.

It was embarrassing to suffer a 5-game losing streak. The Raptors never won after the trade.Cato's playing time is not much, and the data is poor.Although John Wallace, who joined the Blazers, is also a substitute, he can average 7 points per game, which is stronger than Cato no matter how you look at it.

The media began to pick on the Raptors' faults. Many people criticized Yang Rui for dealing with the brainless management of the management. Sending Wallace away is likely to make the Raptors miss the playoffs.

There are many teams that gloat over misfortune, and the Blazers are one of them. The Portland media said: “Thanks to the Raptors for sending players, the Blazers are getting better and better.”

The stronger the Blazers lineup, the more pressure on the competition.Los Angeles media expressed dissatisfaction. "It is recommended that the league investigate the Blazers and the Raptors. The two teams frequently conduct unfair trades, which makes people suspect that there is something inside."

Even some Canadian media are starting to look at the Raptors, thinking that it is a bit difficult to make the playoffs, and they have recently forgotten the feeling of winning.

Glenn talks to Yang Rui. "Jerry, you have to think of a way quickly. Although our record is not bad now, if it goes on like this, the team may not be able to enter the playoffs, right?"

"Definitely enter the playoffs, don't be nervous, there are so many rookies, it will take some time to get in." Yang Rui sighed: "Now they are collectively hitting the rookie wall, not just a few rookies, but Jermaine and Tracy are also showing their physical strength. problem."

The boss has a big appetite, and he wants to get a top spot in the regular season, not only in the playoffs, but also in the first round, so that he can make a lot of money.But a team headed by a rookie is bound to encounter some problems, and the Thunder Three Young Masters of later generations are no exception.

The term "rookie wall" is used in the top sports leagues in Europe and the United States to describe the decline in the performance of athletes during the first two rookie seasons from amateur players to professional players when they encountered various discomforts.

Every year after the start of the season, the rookies are generally more active when they come up, jumping high, running fast, and youthful.

But the NBA is a marathon league, not a sprint event, with a much tighter schedule of shrinking seasons, with many days of back-to-back and endless flights, hotel stays, and bus rides.

Seasoned players can't stand this particular season.Rookies simply don't know how to properly distribute their physical strength. In the same amount of time, NBA games are college games multiplied by three.It just so happened that the main tactic Yang Rui arranged was to run and shoot. These young people wanted to perform too much. When they could dunk, they would never lay up. When they could block a shot, they would not raise their hands to interfere.

The rookie wall comes when both the body and mind start to tire.

After a two-day break, the Raptors defeated the underdog Celtics 13-108 at home on the 92th, finally ending the losing streak.

(End of this chapter)