Bishop of the Devil

"Beep!" The referee blew the whistle to start the game.

To Richard's helplessness, the Clippers lost again in the jump ball session...

The Timberwolves sent Beasley to jump the ball. The Timberwolves' current lineup is actually very bad, not even much better than the Clippers.

Under normal circumstances, the Timberwolves still have Love in the team, but because of Richard, they don't even have Love now. The only one in the lineup who can do anything is Beasley.

With a tonnage as big as Eddy Curry, the bullet speed is definitely not much better.

As for Griffin, his wingspan is too disadvantaged, and his jump ball effect is not very good.

So since the preseason, the Clippers have never beaten their opponents in jump balls...

This is quite embarrassing.

Thinking about the past, the jump ball session could be said to be the world of Richard's team.

During the peak Blazers era, there was Xiaoao, the jump ball king.

Later, during the Pistons' period, the team had Clark whose physical fitness was extremely buggy.

Later, during the Buccaneers era, there was Oden...

Anyway, when it comes to jump balls, Richard's team has always been the top player in the league.

But it doesn't work anymore. The Clippers' jump ball is simply lost no matter how they jump. It's quite embarrassing.

…

The Timberwolves attack with the ball, and Beasley takes the final shot. Beasley is now the absolute core of the Timberwolves' offense.

"Duang..." A straight shot from the beginning, and the rebound was collected by Griffin.

The Clippers had the ball. After Blake reached the frontcourt, he watched Griffin being defended by Beasley and passed the ball directly to Sun Yue.

Although Richard has never publicly said that Sun Yue is the team's second offensive point, as long as he is not a fool, he should be able to assume Sun Yue's position in this Clippers team.

He is an old player under Richard. Richard has now promoted him to the starting position, not just for fun.

Blake was obviously not a fool. He passed the ball to Sun Yue without saying a word, and then took the initiative to run and set up a pick-and-roll for Sun Yue.

If the No. 1 player does a pick-and-roll, the effect is definitely not that good.

But Sun Yue still took action resolutely.

Facing the opponent's approach, Sun Yue shot a three-pointer, and with a "swish" sound, the ball was scored directly.

"Beautiful, this ball is so beautiful."

"Sun Yue can definitely show his worth in the Clippers. I feel he can be selected as an All-Star this season."

Zhang Weiping shouted excitedly in the domestic commentary room.

Next came the Timberwolves' offensive round. Beasley scored a mid-range shot this time, showing quite good offensive firepower.

The current Beasley is actually much easier to use than under normal circumstances, at least the offensive stability is much better.

The Timberwolves now have considerable expectations for Beasley, and he is being trained as the new Wolf King.

It was the Clippers' offensive round again, which seemed to be a replica of the previous round. After Blake reached the frontcourt, he passed the ball to Sun Yue, and then took the initiative to help Sun Yue start a pick-and-roll.

"Whoa!" Sun Yue's shot hit again.

This time it was not a three-pointer, but a down throw after a pick-and-roll.

After two successful attacks in succession, Sun Yue on the court became more and more confident as he played, which made Griffin on the court look a little dazed.

Although Sun Yue is Richard's compatriot and has a relationship with an old general, Griffin actually doesn't pay much attention to Sun Yue.

Griffin is definitely a rookie at the top level. In the preseason, he averaged about 25 points and 12 rebounds per game, which is completely worthy of his status as the No. 1 pick.

Before that, Sun Yue could only be regarded as a qualified substitute. With the huge identity gap between the two sides, how could Griffin put Sun Yue in his eyes.

In the first few offensive rounds tonight, Sun Yue showed quite good offensive firepower, which made Griffin happy.

Although he knows that it will be difficult for the Clippers to achieve anything big this year, he still hopes to have a helper around him to help him share the pressure.

Now Sun Yue is obviously able to do this. Because of Sun Yue's good offensive performance at the beginning, the Timberwolves have already called a timeout and began to deploy defensive tactics against Sun Yue.

This relieves Griffin a lot of pressure. He was originally the main target for opponents to guard against. Now that Sun Yue can help him share some of the pressure, it is expected that he can play more relaxedly.

…

With 3 minutes left in the first quarter, Richard replaced Sun Yue.

Sun Yue's performance tonight was absolutely explosive. In 9 minutes of playing time, he scored 11 points with good efficiency, which simply shocked everyone.

The domestic fan base is completely excited. They have been looking forward to this day for a long time.

Chinese players have proven their strength in the inside position, but their outside position is a bit awkward...

Sun Yue, the only one, has never performed well.

But tonight's performance by Sun Yue can definitely be called an All-Star level.

Although the Timberwolves are a weak team, such data is not very valuable, but even so, it is enough to make domestic fans happy.

Such an explosion will definitely make Sun Yue more confident. Maybe Sun Yue can really become a qualified starting outside player in the future.

As for becoming an All-Star player, not many fans dare to think that far right now.

"Well done, this is how you will play in the next games. Have confidence in yourself." Richard said with a smile on his face, patting Sun Yue on the shoulder.

Sun Yue nodded excitedly. He didn't know what happened to him, but he just felt that his strength seemed much stronger than before.

It's not that Sun Yue only averaged 10 shots per game in the previous preseason, it was mainly because he didn't dare to shoot.

But tonight he felt full of confidence. As long as the ball was in his hands and the opponent did not double-team him, he would dare to take action.

He exudes strong confidence from the inside out.

"Coach, I will never let you down." Sun Yue said excitedly.

He may have been used to playing soy sauce before, but tonight he suddenly performed like this, and his whole person was full of energy.

"Okay!" Richard nodded with satisfaction. He was becoming more and more satisfied with Sun Yue's performance.

Over the past three years, Sun Yue's attitude towards the game has matured step by step. Maybe he can really achieve good results in the future.

If Sun Yue can really rise in the future, he will probably become a typical late bloomer.

Sun Yue is not young anymore. When he entered the league, he was actually an older rookie. Although he only played for three seasons, Sun Yue is still 25 years old now.

…

At the beginning of the second quarter, Sun Yue's outside basket was inaccurate, but his breakthrough ability was still able to cause good damage. He scored another 7 points in this quarter.

Zhang Weiping was already shouting in the commentary room until his voice became hoarse.

"Play with him, Sun Yue."

"Yes, this is how we should fight. It is only reasonable to fight this way."

"Hat him!"

Under Zhang Weiping's passionate explanation, domestic fans seemed to be celebrating the New Year. Sun Yue's performance tonight was definitely All-Star level.

There was no fault at all on the offensive end. He scored 18 points in the half, which is quite good data.

As for the defensive end, because the opponent was too weak, there wasn't much to see, but 2 blocks and 1 steal at halftime was amazing enough.

…

Griffin still continued his stable performance. Under the leadership of him and Sun Yue, his advantage on the court gradually expanded.

By the time the third quarter ended, the Clippers were already leading by 11 points.

After half the game in the fourth quarter, as the point difference exceeded 20 points, the Timberwolves head coach replaced the main lineup and announced that the game had entered garbage time.

Richard also replaced Griffin and Sun Yue.

This game was won quite heartily. Although the Timberwolves are very weak, winning this regular season opener can be regarded as a good start to the new season.

At the end of the game, Griffin steadily produced 23 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists. As a career debut, Griffin's statistics are absolutely incredible.

Sun Yue's performance tonight made the few Clippers fans happy. With 27 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals, he was like a first-line swingman in the league.

Although the offensive efficiency is a bit disappointing, who cares so much right now? If you win and the statistics are good, this is a perfect game.

…

Tonight's game is the home court of the Clippers, and the attendance rate is not particularly ideal. Richard also expected this situation.

For the Clippers to really rise in Los Angeles, it will take a lot of time. One bite will definitely not make you fat. Richard is ready to fight a protracted war.