On the 27th, the New York media scolded the Knicks like dogs, showing no mercy at all. They singled out the players one by one and scolded them, and the bigger the stars, the harder they scolded them.
New York Sports News: "Patrick Ewing failed to live up to our expectations. He allowed a rookie to score 2,711 on his head. Not only did he fail to regain face, he even lost face because he couldn't even touch his own basket.
None of them could be saved.
Charles Oakley, a guy famous for his defense, his only contribution in this game was to deliver his own basket to the penalty area sweeper Old K. He is not worthy of being the leader of the locker room. He can't even fight against Old K.
I didn’t even have the courage, so I could only watch as a loser as Old K took away his basket.”
Even Pat Riley, the tough-as-nails coach, couldn't escape New York's arrangement, leaving no face at all.
In short, the Knicks were scolded bloody after this game.
At noon that day, the Suns flew to Cleveland and started their second away game.
But on the 28th, in an away game against the Cavaliers, the Suns lost.
The Cavaliers are very strong this year and are currently third in the Eastern Conference, behind the Knicks and Bulls.
As for the Suns, Barkley did not play. He has some ankle problems and is out.
Wang Tiejun had problems with his physical fitness, mainly because he worked too hard in the Knicks game, consumed too much physical energy, and his condition declined. In 35 minutes of playing time, he made 5 of 13 shots, 5 of 8 free throws, and only scored 15 points and 7 rebounds.
.
On March 1st, the team flew back to the West, and they will challenge the Portland Trail Blazers on March 2nd.
All games in February have been completed, and the Suns' current record is 41 wins and 10 losses, ranking first in the Western Conference.
After beating the Trail Blazers, there is still a back-to-back tough battle. They will rush back home overnight to face the Jazz. This will also be the Suns' last regular season game against the Jazz this season.
The Trail Blazers are very good this season, fourth in the Western Conference, and their record is still better than the Spurs and Jazz. The Suns cannot be careless.
However, the Trail Blazers are the leading scorer, Glider is seriously injured and is out, and Barkley will return for the Suns, so in comparison of strength, the Suns have the advantage.
After checking into the hotel at three o'clock in the afternoon, Lao Wang went to the gym to train for two hours, and then went back to his room to rest.
Now he and Barkley share a room, which was arranged by Colangelo. The two are inside partners, and they will have a better understanding together on and off the court.
It is still the regular season, and the intensity of the confrontation has not yet increased. Especially when a strong team plays against the Suns, they will not double-team Wang Tiejun, but in the playoffs, there will definitely be double-teams, so the two of them need to cooperate more tacitly.
When he returned to his room, coach Westphal happened to come to him and was talking to Barkley.
"Old K, our coaching staff has discussed it. Your physical reserves are a big issue. I hope you can maintain good physical condition in the playoffs, so you need to adjust your playing time." Westphal said.
"Okay, I understand."
Lao Wang has no objection. He is indeed very tired from playing now. He has not had formal training for two years, and there was no physical reserve before.
Even two years ago, the training in the provincial team and the city sports school was not very good, and the domestic training level was still far behind compared to here.
Westphal added: "Your average time per game now is about 35 minutes. In the regular season, it will be controlled within 30 minutes."
"ok."
Lao Wang nodded.
Barkley said: "Coach, the time for me and Old K will be shortened, but our record cannot decline."
Westphal nodded and said: "Don't worry, Charles, the second-place Mosaic team in the Western Conference is now 8 games behind us. Their recent state has been a bit declining and they have lost a lot."
The three chatted for a while, and then Westphal left. Wang Tiejun quickly turned on the TV and tuned to the ESPN channel.
Today the league announced various honors for February, and some TV sports channels will broadcast them.
Barkley smiled and said: "Old K, you were the sixth rookie in January. You should have made some progress this month, at least one place ahead."
"The top three are very difficult." Lao Wang sighed.
Barkley laughed and said: "Those two monsters, O'Neal and Mourning, are really good. Laettner of the Timberwolves also played very well and his performance was very stable. Your performance is indeed not as good as theirs."
"Charles, please analyze for me, what is the gap between me and them? I'm not talking about physical fitness, but my performance on the field." Lao Wang said.
Barkley thought for a while and said: "Offensively, you are actually pretty good now. You can hit the hook pretty well, and you have strong attacks at the basket. It's mainly because of the gap you had fallen behind before.
In the past, you could only attack at the basket, your scoring was limited, your playing time was limited, and your statistics couldn't keep up with theirs, but now you can make up for it.
But the defensive end is your main problem. Look at these statistics... Oh, old K, you actually jumped to fourth place?"
At this time, the rookie rankings were being broadcast. O'Neal, Mourning, and Laettner were firmly in the top three. Wang Tiejun jumped from 6th to 4th.
The specific data is 35.5 minutes per game, 17.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.2 steals, 1.3 blocks, 2.6 turnovers and 3.6 fouls, 6.8 free throws per game, 3.6 hits, 53% shooting, 14 shots per game, and 6.7 hits.
Hit rate 47.8%.
The data looks pretty good, almost catching up with Leitner in third place.
Laettner averaged 18.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 1 block, 3.4 turnovers and 3.6 fouls per game. His shooting percentage was 47.4%, and he was a little better than him on both offense and defense.
Barkley pointed at the TV and smiled: "Look at the defensive data between you and the first three. O'Neal averaged 0.7 steals and 3.5 blocks per game, Mourning averaged 0.3 steals and 3.5 blocks, and Laettner averaged 1.3 steals and 1 block. You are all centers. There is a big difference."
It’s a bit big!”
Lao Wang scratched his head, this, the defensive performance is indeed a bit weak.
Barkley said: "You have to put more energy into the defensive end."
"I'm committed. Who can match my intensity of confrontation? Yesterday, the Knicks announced that Ewing would have a truce." Lao Wang said unconvinced.
Barkley shook his head and said: "The intensity of confrontation is not the same as the intensity of defense. Your defensive efficiency is not high, and a lot of physical energy is wasted. With your physical condition, you can do better. But it doesn't matter, you are still young, 20
I am still under the age of 10 and have too little experience in competition, but I will get better in the future.”
Lao Wang thought about it for a while. Although his assist defense was only level 60, his single defense was level 82. His single defense ability was actually barely adequate. If his data couldn't improve, there must be something wrong.
For example, he defended the three super centers very hard, and his strong confrontation ability made the three of them desperate, and they all had to have a truce after the game.
But the effect is not great. The opponent can still defeat them on the offensive end, which means that his physical energy is wasted and his defensive efficiency is not improved.
Barkley said at this time: "Once they enter the playoffs, they can make you consume more physical energy through constant double-teaming. At the same time, they also use double-teaming to reduce their confrontation with you and reduce their own physical energy consumption.
, one waxes and wanes, and you need to face a more difficult situation."
"Then what should we do?" Lao Wang asked anxiously. Gu Zhuan
Barkley thought for a while and shook his head: "You can only rely on yourself to accumulate experience in the game and slowly improve. O'Neal and others have gone through regular high school leagues and NCAA leagues. If you don't have this experience, you will waste the previous two years."
Yes, you need time to make up for this shortcoming."
Lao Wang nodded.
Barkley smiled and said: "Old K, don't look at the fact that you can score beautiful 2010 on the three super centers, but you can't restrict them from scoring better data. What does this mean? It also means that you are not good enough on the defensive end.
Efficiency, losing more points than scoring, is a loophole.
Also, your ability to help with defense and make up for defense is even worse. Your ability to make up for defense on the outside is a huge weakness. Experts who are good at breaking through from the outside can break through you too easily.
In order to reduce your own fouls, you often watch the opponent rush in from the outside for layups. Your ability to protect the rim is very weak, far inferior to the three super centers and O'Neal."
Lao Wang said awkwardly: "How can I keep up with the speed on the outside? Aren't you making me commit six fouls every game?"
"Okay, don't talk about this, let's get back to the topic."
Barkley continued: "When it comes to the gap between you and them, I think it is bigger than the gap in data. You have to understand this. Many aspects of their role on both offense and defense cannot be reflected by data.
To put it simply, the three super centers can be said to all have their own offensive and defensive systems. Even O'Neal has his own offensive and defensive systems, but you don't.
Their defense is not only reflected in the opposing players, but also in other aspects. An excellent center must be a gate in the penalty area, and you are now a defensive vulnerability."
"Am I so bad?" Lao Wang was ashamed.
Barkley added: "Generally speaking, on the offensive end, your offensive methods are not as good as theirs, your defense is even worse, and your physical fitness is far behind them.
Come on, kid, you said it yourself, you have to win with strength, and with your solid backing, I hope you can kill them and ascend to the throne of the number one center forward."
"Ha ha……"
At this point, the two burst into laughter.
After laughing, Lao Wang said unconvinced: "Ewing's efficiency was not very high the day before yesterday. Does that mean my defense is okay?"
Barkley said disdainfully: "He is the least efficient among the three super centers. His shooting percentage has just reached 50%. In fact, his efficiency the day before yesterday was only slightly worse than before, so don't put the credit on your defense.
You can't guard him at all, and the reason why his efficiency dropped is because of his physical breakdown in the final quarter."
"That's also my credit, it also depends on my resistance." Old Wang said.
Buckley was startled, nodded and laughed, "Indeed, no one will be very efficient after fighting you for a whole game."
Then, the league announced the Best of the Month for February, and Eagles swingman Dominic Wilkins, known as the "Elite of Human Movies," won this honor.
Next, is the most important ranking list for February. Even Barkley became nervous and stared at the TV without moving.
"Brother, last month Jordan ranked first, this month it should be yours. Our record is much better than the Bulls." Lao Wang said.
"It's hard to say." Barkley looked expectant, but his mouth remained modest.
At this time, the official MVP ranking list of this month started to be played. The host smiled and said: "Congratulations to Charles Barkley..."
"Let me tell you, you must be number one."
Bang, out of joy, Lao Wang slapped Buckley on his bald head.
"hiss!"
Buckley was in pain and his teeth were cracked, but he was not angry. Instead, a smile immediately appeared on his face, and he laughed while looking at the TV.
Hard honors, All-Stars are not hard honors. He has only won two Best Second Teams and four Best First Teams. He didn’t even get the Best First Team last season. If he can win the regular season MVP this year, he will be able to win at night.
I wake up laughing even when I sleep.
…
The next day, the Suns defeated the Trail Blazers.
Wang Tiejun played 28 minutes, made 5 of 10 shots, 3 of 6 free throws, and scored 13 points and 7 rebounds. His data began to decline.
Anyway, he is mentally prepared. If his playing time is reduced, his data will definitely decline, and his rookie ranking will also decline in the future.
After beating the Trail Blazers, the Suns set off overnight and flew back to Phoenix.
On the 3rd, the Suns play against the Jazz at home.
The Jazz, who have both black and white, are now 33 wins and 20 losses, and are currently sixth in the Western Conference. After the Spurs, they arrived in Phoenix yesterday.
He went to bed at five o'clock in the morning, and Lao Wang slept until he woke up naturally. He didn't get up until noon. When he walked out of the room, Lao Zhang had already prepared lunch, which was pretty good, including fried steak.
"Brother Zhang, why are you wasting so much? I can go to the training base to eat." He said.
"This is mine, I didn't get it for you." Lao Zhang said.
Lao Wang was stunned for a moment and said, "Come with me to the training base to get some food. If you come to my place to get some food, isn't my time in vain?"
Zhang Lili laughed loudly, and scolded Lao Wang who walked into the bathroom: "You just made millions of dollars, who will eat if he doesn't eat yours?"
Lao Wang turned around and shouted: "Brother Zhang, the contract between you and me is for half a year, right? I don't think it's right. I signed the wrong one."
"What do you want to do? Our contract is protected by law, you can't break the contract!" Zhang Lili shouted quickly.
"No, I mean that I signed the contract at the wrong time. They only hire personal trainers during the offseason. It's useless if I hire you now. I'll pay you for food and drink. Can I change it and hire you after the season is over?"
Kingly way.
"I've been training with you since you were at home, why is it useless? Anyway, I collected the money and it won't be refunded. How about you invite me again during the offseason?"
Lao Zhang said cheerfully.
With a splash, Lao Wang came out after draining the water and said unhappily: "Your workload is seriously not enough. I spend half of my time playing away games. From now on, I have to reduce training. It is not cost-effective. I must change the contract. I must change the contract."
"
Lao Zhang shook his head and said: "That won't work. Just give me another contract and give me more money. I am not only your trainer, but also your chef, personal assistant, nanny, and hourly cleaner.
I wash your underwear, but I don't do any of the chores? It costs more to hire a nanny than me, but you still think it's not worthwhile?"
Lao Wang thought it was right and had no choice but to give up.
At this time, his cell phone rang, and it was his agent Lance Hoxman's call.