Bishop of the Devil

The Trail Blazers' first game of the regular season is against the Denver Nuggets at home, and the next two games are also the Blazers' home games.

After beating the Nuggets, the next two opponents are the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Dallas Mavericks!

The three teams were all lottery teams last season, and they are all home games of the Trail Blazers, so the Trail Blazers' starting schedule is relatively easy.

Richard definitely doesn't want to lose in the first game against the Nuggets. He wants to win this first game and get a good start to the season!

"Lee, the Nuggets' number one star McDyess, I think Big Ben should be able to withstand it!"

"As long as McDyess' performance can be restricted, it will be difficult for the Nuggets to win!"

Carlisle said with a smile.

On the afternoon of the game day, Richard held a meeting with his four assistant coaches, mainly to discuss how to deal with the Nuggets.

Richard nodded. The Nuggets' lineup is really not that good. In the past two seasons, they had Mutombo, a master of interior defense, which made their interior defense intensity terrifyingly high...

Last season, Uncle Mu averaged 4.5 blocks per game!

But the Nuggets may be trying their best to cultivate McDyess, the second overall pick they acquired in last season's draft trade with the Clippers. As a result, they watched Uncle Mu's contract expire and did not renew it...

The interior defensive strength that they were originally proud of has dropped by more than one level.

This caused the Nuggets' strength to plummet!

The decline in interior defense is not the most fatal thing...

Since power forward McDyess is the absolute core of the team's offense and defense, their pace is embarrassingly slow...

The rebounding strength has also plummeted, and the perimeter defense, which was not very strong in the first place, is now even worse!

From a God's perspective, it may not be a wise choice for the Nuggets to acquire McDyess. McDyess seems to be very powerful, but the practicality is not as good as keeping Uncle Mu and then using the bargaining chip to trade McDyess. Get a strong scorer in the backcourt!

Even if it's just a scorer of Leder's level, not to mention how far the Nuggets can go in the playoffs, they can at least make it to the playoffs.

If Richard had come to coach the Nuggets, he would never have traded for McDyess. It was more likely that he would have traded with the Toronto Raptors to get Damon Stoudemire, the seventh overall pick.

In this case, with some reliable role players, it is not impossible to make it to the playoffs, or even reach the second round of the playoffs!

All in all, this is a standard team that has all the attributes a team should have.

For example, the defense is poor, the offensive rhythm is not good, and except for McDyess, there are no outstanding stars in the team...

Playing against such a team, if both sides perform normally, if they still can't win, then Richard might as well go back to his hometown and sell sweet potatoes.

The reason why it is said to be under normal performance is because Richard cannot guarantee whether the opponent will explode...

However, it is expected that with the defensive intensity of the Trail Blazers, it will not be so easy for this weak team to explode!

…

At eight o'clock in the evening, after the players from both sides finished warming up, they returned to their respective locker rooms.

Big Ben is already gearing up. Throughout the preseason, he didn't play much at all, but now he finally has the opportunity to show off his skills!

"Leave McDyess to me!" Ben said excitedly, beating his chest.

"Ben, don't get beaten up, it will be ugly then..." Rashid joked.

The relationship between these two people is quite harmonious, and it has reached the point where they are joking casually.

"How is that possible?! I'm afraid you don't even believe this!" Da Ben rolled his eyes at Rashid.

Rashid shrugged: "I really believe this..."

…

"Okay, guys, we will still be the No. 1 starting lineup for the next game. We must defend ourselves well on the court and fight resolutely!"

"We want our opponents to fall into the rhythm of our positional warfare, instead of following others' rhythm!"

"No matter what, stick to your position and fight!"

Richard was still reminding his young players before the game started.

"Ben, remember, the things we learned are for self-defense, don't use them without restraint on the field!"

"The McDyess you are facing had a good reputation last season. He is not the kind of insider who likes to do dirty tricks..."

"So, take your time in this game..."

Before going on the stage, Zhang Weiping explained his boss again. He was afraid that Ben would elbow McDyess on the court and it would be difficult for him to explain to Richard...

"Assistant Zhang, I'm not that kind of person, so don't worry!" Ben nodded. The last time he attacked a madman, it was for a reason.

A great player in history, although he cannot be called a flawless white lotus on the defensive end, he cannot be called an absolute villain!

Zhang Weiping nodded, Da Ben's words made him feel relieved...

…

"Dudududu!" The referee blew the whistle to start the game, and the starting players from both sides began to appear.

Nuggets' starting lineup: The center position is Earvin Johnson...

His name is exactly the same as Magic, but he doesn’t have the strength of Magic. At best, he can only be regarded as a good blue-collar center...

Although the style is very similar to Uncle Mu, but the overall strength is completely incomparable to Uncle Mu. He is almost the slum version of Uncle Mu...

The power forward position is McDyess, the core of the Nuggets' offense and defense. Last season was his rookie season. He averaged 13.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. For his status as the second overall pick, this is not a particularly outstanding performance. Single, it can only be regarded as quite satisfactory.

However, this season, he has been corrected and has become the absolute core of the team. It is expected that the statistics will definitely improve.

The remaining three positions are Laphonso Ellis, Dale Ellis and Mark Jackson!

The Trail Blazers have a pair of Wallaces, the Nuggets have a pair of Ellises...

However, the strength of the Nuggets' Ellis is really not that good. Otherwise, it will not be unknown in future generations, and only a few fans will know about it.

Dale Ellis was extremely powerful at his peak. Before the 1990s, he was the boss of the Seattle SuperSonics. In his strongest season, he averaged close to 28+5 per game...

In the 1988-89 season, Dahler ranked third in scoring average. Jordan ranked first and Postman Malone ranked second!

One can imagine how powerful Dalle was at his peak!

But it is a pity that his peak did not last long. He only lasted for three seasons and was finished. When the time entered the 1990s, he was already invisible to everyone and could not find any sense of presence in the league...

The other Lafonso Ellis has nothing to say. He has some strength, but his glass man attributes are too serious!

If Grant Hill is a fragile glass product, then Lafonso is glass flour that has been shattered into slag...