Chapter 478 Rukawa

Chapter 478 Rukawa·Ming

After seeing off Hanamichi Sakuragi, everyone in the team laughed and teased Sakuragi.

"Does this kid know that he has to buy diapers first?"

"The confinement center has been prepared for a long time. Do you think you are a guy who got pregnant before marriage in high school and dared to take his wife to the hospital to give birth with 23 US dollars in his pocket?" McMillan teased Payton in return.

"I had $23.5 at the time, okay!"

"Hahaha, guess who will look at Haruko or the child first after the child is pushed out?"

"One eye on each! This kid learned to knit woolen socks from Yuya some time ago, and each of them gave a pair to his wife and child."

"He still has time to knit socks? Hasn't he been accompanying Rukawa to practice basketball until late at night?"

"... He also knits when he practices basketball." Rukawa is the one who talks the least in the team, but that doesn't mean he doesn't talk. In fact, he has talked a lot more in the past year since he came to the Supersonics. Although he never interrupts others, he will still listen carefully when his teammates chat, and occasionally smile, or if the topic comes to him, he will say a few words after all.

"Fuck, playing basketball with you while playing with socks?" Iguodala hooked Rukawa's shoulder indignantly: "This is looking down on you, this is a naked insult! Rukawa, I don't know what your personality is, but if I were you, I would definitely not tolerate it, and I would beat him up after I beat the Lakers!"

Rukawa didn't explain that 'Sakuragi was playing with socks while sitting next to him to rest', but just smiled. He was used to listening to these guys' jokes. The more you explain, the more these guys will immediately let you know what the more content means.

"Defeat the Lakers." Chandler was melancholy. He had to face Yao Ming alone, and he knew the result would be terrible without trying: "I will definitely be teased by that guy when I come back... But, coach, who will take Sakuragi's place tomorrow?"

Everyone who was still laughing suddenly became quiet. Everyone turned to look at McMillan, but saw that McMillan also had a bitter smile and helplessness on his face. His eyes swept all the players in the gym.

The league has been targeting since last year. There are basically no cost-effective players for the Supersonics to pick up. In addition, they have to start considering reserving salary space for Lin Dong and Sakuragi, and they can't sign big contracts. This means that most of the substitutes in the Supersonics are currently just new players in training, basically second-round picks this year or last year.

There are only three who can play in the main rotation, No. 11 Rukawa Kaede, No. 8 Luke Ridnour, and No. 22 Ronald Murray.

McMillan now thinks that the strength of the three players is similar, but they all have their own characteristics and focuses. Luke Ridnour has good organizational skills and good ball control skills. He can work with Payton to free Lin Dong from the position of forward and guard swingman and focus on the offense at the No. 3 position, which is the offensive formation of the Supersonics.

Ronald Murray is better at defense. Under McMillan's training, his close-fitting death coil has reached a certain level. Although it is not at the All-Star level, he can fight against some not-so-tall guards and even the No. 3 position. More importantly, Ronald Murray's understanding of rotation defense is the best among the substitutes, even better than the main players like Chandler. When he is on the court, it is basically the defensive formation of the Supersonics.

As for Rukawa Kaede...

McMillan kept his eyes on Rukawa Kaede, and Rukawa Kaede was slightly startled, and then his eyes suddenly surged with infinite desire.

His heart was beating hard, and his eyes turned hot when he looked back at McMillan.

He hadn't mastered the rotation defense, and his basic defensive skills were not good enough. Every time he and Sakuragi played two-on-one against Lin Dong, he was the most vulnerable to Lin Dong's breakthrough.

McMillan once said that he would not let him start until his defensive strength was improved, and this sentence has now become Rukawa's own cognition, "The coach is for my good", "The coach is spurring me", "The coach has more expectations for me".

But, but... who wouldn't yearn for that stage?

Looking at Rukawa's hot eyes, McMillan laughed.

Frankly speaking, McMillan's favorite this year is this boy from Japan, who is the same as Sakuragi Hanamichi.

This guy's outside shooting ability is now a hidden card of the Supersonics. The outside shooting is quite accurate and the shooting is fast. Unless it is a defender of the level of Lin Dong and Sakuragi, even Payton, now that his strength has declined, can't keep up with Rukawa's shooting speed.

But the problem is that this guy's defense is still a huge loophole after all, and the Sonics' rotation defense is a whole. Once Rukawa's rotation defense can't keep up, it's not just a problem of missing his own opponents, but also the entire team's defense system will continue to have problems.

Before he is fully familiar with and adapts to the real rotation defense, frankly speaking, McMillan absolutely does not intend to let Rukawa start. This is not only responsible for the team, but also a spur for Rukawa to continue to improve. McMillan's biggest expectation for Rukawa is that he can meet the requirements of normal rotation defense before this year's playoffs, and then become the best sixth man of the Sonics. At that time, let him become the main rotation, or even let him start in some games.

But the situation tomorrow will be different.

After all, without Sakuragi Hanamichi, facing the Lakers tomorrow, Yao Ming is already an unstoppable target for the Sonics under the basket, and it doesn't matter whether you rotate or not.

And without Sakuragi Hanamichi, the Sonics' rotation defense is simply impossible to play.

At that time, no one can defend Yao Ming in the interior, and with Nash's deployment on the outside, the Sonics will definitely not be able to block him without Sakuragi Hanamichi and rotation defense.

So if the Sonics really want to win tomorrow, there is only one chance, that is to attack the Lakers.

"Rukawa Kaede." McMillan finally said, "You go!"

Rukawa Kaede trembled all over.

Starting lineup, Sonics' starting lineup!

He has waited for this day for too long...

"Hahaha, Rukawa, you can do it!" Iguodala patted Rukawa Kaede on the shoulder and said in surprise: "Old McFadden finally recognized you!"

"You guys are really jealous!" Luke and Murray said enviously.

"That's because they work hard. If you two stay for 5 hours after training every day, I think you will be the ones playing now!" Payton took the opportunity to give some chicken soup.

Luke and Murray opened their mouths and smiled bitterly: "No, no, the Asians here are too fierce..."

"Haha, come on, Fox, do well!" Chandler patted him on the shoulder. The nickname Fox was first called by Sakuragi in the team, but for the Sonics, this word has no derogatory meaning.

After all, Orientals hate foxes because of body odor and vixen, but there is no such thing as vixen in the West, and there has never been a concept of the word body odor...

In their eyes, foxes are cute animals, just like Rukawa's clean, child-like face.

Rukawa's face showed endless joy, and he nodded vigorously: "Thank you, coach!"

Seeing this guy's face full of excitement, but still deliberately suppressing his inner excitement, everyone laughed, and Lin Dong looked at the excited Rukawa meaningfully.

Everyone can see this guy's efforts and Sakuragi's dedication to him this season. Frankly speaking, McMillan underestimated him in some aspects...

Defense?

Rukawa's one-on-one defense ability is not weak, thanks to the various sparring sessions with him for more than a year, and also thanks to Sakuragi's generous teaching to him.

When he and Sakuragi are two-on-one, he is often chosen as the breakthrough point, that's just because Sakuragi is stronger than him, and because he is deliberately training him... Besides, it's normal that he can't defend himself. You can't expect Rukawa to be able to compare with Sakuragi, Kobe, Wade, LeBron and other super giants in defense after more than a year of hard training.

Facing most of the back lines in this league, Rukawa can defend. The only thing is that this guy's intuition about rotation defense is too poor. After all, his special training last year was more about one-on-one training, so he couldn't integrate into the team's defense system.

This is a problem of tactical understanding, and it just takes time to solve this problem.

Lin Dong originally thought that this guy would have to wait until the playoffs to barely integrate into the team, and it would be nice to give the league a hidden surprise at that time. Now, because of Sakuragi's absence and the important reputation node against the Lakers, being taken out by McMillan can be regarded as an early test.

However, this test is not as easy to pass as imagined.

Instead of worrying about his defense, McMillan might as well worry about Rukawa's three-point ability from the outside.

Rukawa's "accuracy" has always been based on the intensity of training and the defensive intensity of facing substitutes in garbage time, but tomorrow is different.

Doug Christie?

The extra player of the Lakers will let Rukawa experience the real top-level defense in the NBA. For him, offense is the biggest difficulty in this battle.

Unlike the history he is familiar with, in another world, although Doug Christie was also selected by the Supersonics in 1992 and then traded to the Lakers, and also experienced the Knicks and Raptors career, Doug Christie in that world did not go to the Nets, but to the Kings.

Doug Christie, who has taken two different paths, is undoubtedly a stronger threat to the current Supersonics.

Because of his four-year career with the Nets, he has already formed a tacit understanding with Kidd, and he was also one of the absolute cores of the Nets' dominance in the East.

Now joining the Lakers, not only is his own strength enough to fill the Lakers' biggest fifth man vacancy, but the offensive ability he has trained under Kidd's training has made up for his shortcomings in the outside line in another world, which is enough for him to provide enough help to the team on the offensive end and make the Lakers' offense and defense into an iron plate!

If Rukawa Kaede's touch is average tomorrow, it will be fine. Once it is really accurate, Doug Collins will immediately target him, and facing this veteran who was once the best first team and extremely experienced...

Rukawa Kaede's accumulation is indeed enough. He is different from Sakuragi, who is a pure talent. His talent is hard work.

But just like a silkworm turning into a cocoon, no matter how tightly you wrap yourself and how well you prepare, you still need to work hard to get through the last level.

Is it a transformation from breaking out of the cocoon?

Or is it the depression caused by a huge blow, or even suffocating to death in a cocoon? The answer will be revealed tomorrow!