Because the four of them represent the front figures of the draft classes from 2002 to 2005 and have already become some of the best in the league, while the class of 2006, so far, does not even have a player averaging 20 points a game...
At two o’clock in the afternoon, the Bobcats team gathered for a meeting in preparation for the new month of games that was about to start.
Carlisle’s first sentence was, "Our games this coming month are going to be very tough."
Listening to words of caution ten thousand times is not as effective as experiencing it firsthand.
Last month, Carlisle’s ’suppressing’ coaching had a certain effect, but when he spoke, most of the players would inevitably wonder—after continuous wins, how much better do we need to play?
But after facing off against the Celtics and the Rockets, they truly realized how weak most of the opponents they had met during their 13-game winning streak were.
The Rockets were only ninth in the West, and the Celtics were even just eighth in the East... The 15 games in December, without looking too far ahead, just the upcoming five-game road trip, excluding the tanking SuperSonics, the remaining four opponents—the Trail Blazers, Jazz Team, Lakers, Raptors—are all teams that can hold a winning rate of over fifty percent in the West.
Then Carlisle began reviewing last night’s game: "We played well in the clutch moments yesterday, Jack, Raymond, Mike, you all did a fantastic job;
but our overall offensive continuity was poor, and it’s clear that you are not comfortable with high-intensity confrontation;
Our team offense started off very well, but as the intensity of the confrontation increased, our shooting efficiency declined, and we failed to make shots created by tactics. By the second half, we had reverted to our old pattern of relying on Jack."
If it weren’t for the Rockets’ adjustment mistakes after the first quarter’s official timeout last night, we might have already faced two consecutive losses..."
As usual, Carlisle did not mince his words in pointing out all the problems encountered in the game, but unlike the continual ’suppressing’ approach before, he began alleviating the pressure on the players after emphasizing the deficiencies: "But we don’t need to doubt ourselves. The Celtics and Rockets were able to hold an advantage in regular time because they started competing against strong teams earlier and have adapted to such game environments. It’s not an issue of ability; we could also adapt after a few more games;
Our team offense was great. A strong defensive team like the Rockets couldn’t stop us; we just lack experience in cooperation and continuity, which we can improve through training and games..."
Sam Vincent felt his good buddy had really changed. Back when Carlisle was with the Pistons and Pacers, he would never say such things. When players performed poorly, he was harsh, making sure they knew where they went wrong; when they played well, he was harsher, to prevent them from becoming complacent... Now he even offered encouragement to the players.
After rallying the players a bit, Carlisle immediately returned to the main topic: "Now let’s discuss the issue of our approach to the upcoming games..."
Carlisle, give your players a breather for once, let them savor the gentleness of you as head coach in their hearts!
Carlisle has changed, but not by much...
Carlisle: "Our defense has been poor; we’re now allowing an average of 98.6 points per game, only slightly less than the league’s average allowed points of 99.1.
Taking our actual situation into consideration, our focus will be shifting to offense for the upcoming games... This involves many issues; it’s not that you aren’t trying hard.
The reason for this decision is mainly because our offense has been performing very well. We are one of the top four offensive teams in the league..."
Zhang Yang turned to the first page of the newly released team manual before the meeting, checking the league’s data chart.
In the first month, the Bobcats averaged exactly 111 points per game, ranking... fourth.
The team with the highest average score for the first month was the Warriors with an average of 113.5 points over 16 games; the Nuggets ranked second with an average of 112.5 points from 16 games; the Suns were third with 111.5 points; and the Jazz Team ranked fifth with 106.3 points...
Zhang Yang’s gaze involuntarily focused on two teams—the Lakers and the Chicago Bulls.
The Lakers averaged 104.6 points per game, while allowing 95.3 points per game, a nearly 10-point net victory; the Bulls averaged 103.3 points while allowing 95.7 points... Although neither team currently had the best records in their respective conferences, their offensive and defensive stability was exceptional.
Zhang Yang shook his head, temporarily setting aside the pressure brought by those two teams, and focused on the top four scoring teams.
He looked at their Bobcats’ scoring trend; their average had once broken through to first place, peaking after the game against the Suns, then gradually slipped to fourth... However, in comparison with the previous three teams, they had a very distinct difference.
Carlisle was just addressing this point: "Currently, our scoring is lower than the Warriors, the Nuggets, and the Suns, and our defense is not as good as the Pistons, Rockets, Spurs, Lakers, and Bulls, but we have our advantages. We have the conditions to become the best offensive team while maintaining decent defense..."
While saying this, Carlisle pressed the remote control, bringing up data of those eight teams along with their own on the projector screen.
The Bobcats were the fourth in offense and fourteenth in defense in the league, and the gap in offense was very small compared to the top three. Among the teams that performed the best in offense or defense in the first month, they indeed looked like the most unique one.
The Warriors, Nuggets, and the Suns all allowed over 107 points per game, with the lowest being the Nuggets at 107.5 points. These three teams sat at the bottom three in terms of defense, even the blatantly tanking SuperSonics performed slightly better, allowing an average of 106.6 points.