After Li Liang made the three-pointer in front of Stephenson, Stephenson never mentioned that he would compete with Li Liang for the three-pointer.

Of course, Stephenson added an item to his training in the future-shooting ultra-long three-pointers.

After every normal shooting training, he has to practice ultra-long three-pointers, standing near the center line to shoot.

But until he left the NBA, he didn't dare to challenge Li Liang again.

Except for Stephenson's provocation, the Pacers' training camp was a bit dull compared to the Lakers and Clippers.

This also has something to do with the team's style and tactical system.

The Pacers have always pursued a defense-oriented strategy. They have been the best defensive team in the league in the first half of last season.

After Li Liang's arrival, the Pacers coaching staff made a strategic plan, and Bird hoped to take a fast offensive route.

But as Mike Brown, who knows Li Liang better, he believes that the Pacers' style should still be adhered to and Li Liang's core position on the defensive end should be strengthened.

As for the offense, Mike Brown said, "Leave it to Bruce Lee and trust him."

Does Byrd believe it? Of course, I believe that Bird is already all-in, and you have to believe it if you don’t believe it.

Mike - Brown is selfish, because he hopes that Li Liang can get the best defensive player this season!

If he can get this, Li Liang will really achieve the Grand Slam of Honor.

If you still want to get it, you can only take the initiative to sit on the bench and go get the best sixth man.

And Li Liang's performance in training is indeed impressive.

The defensive end is active and in place, and the command (swearing) ability is strong. It took only two days to establish the position of the defensive core boss in the team, which surprised Bird and Vogel very much.

The leader of the Pacers' locker room is David West, a traditional and retro player with a tough personality at the 4th position.

West's temper has always been tough, he rarely talks on and off the court, and focuses on playing.

But Li Liang "surrendered" him in two days. It is said that the method he adopted was "to hack Paul together", which quickly brought the relationship between the two closer.

As for whether it is true, only Li Liang and West know.

After taking care of Stephenson and David West respectively, Li Liang's core position in the Pacers was quickly established.

The Pacers players and staff soon discovered that this urbanite from Los Angeles was quite different from the Li Liang in the media reports.

Although he is very aggressive during training and competitions, he is gentle and easy-going off the court.

And he is not high-key at all, very low-key.

People can't figure out why this guy can come up with a big news every now and then to surprise people.

And Li Liang still maintains the same style of play as the Clippers in training and games.

Three-pointers, defense-based, organization at the top of the arc, and fast advancement.

It just feels more comfortable, and he has indeed become stronger.

After a few days of training, Bird has been observing from the sidelines, and he feels that Li Liang must be hiding something.

His strength has definitely improved compared to last season, but he has been playing in the team training.

Will this product hide its strength? I like.

Bird didn't tell the truth. Anyway, he would sit on the sidelines with a stool every day during training, with a whistle hanging around his neck, and he would blow it when he had nothing to do.

After the training, make a summary, blow the whistle at the end, announce the end of the training, and go back to each house.

Li Liang suspected for a while, is this the best coach?

If you find a monkey to sit on the sidelines, as long as it can blow the whistle, it can also have this effect.

Of course, that doesn't mean the Pacers are training inefficiently.

On the contrary, both Vogel and Mike Brown are experienced coaches, and they are really overqualified as assistant coaches.

Vogel has an overview of the overall situation, and Brown still focuses on defense.

Their main goal this year is the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brown must design an effective strategy to fight against the Cavaliers.

Every time the Pacers play against James' team, they will use the inside to gain an advantage.

This season, the Pacers retained the combination of West and Hibbert inside. West is still in good condition, while Hibbert is only 29 years old and in his prime.

In addition, Li Liang, who is not three and four... No, but the three and four guys, the inside line has been further strengthened.

In theory, the Pacers should have an advantage over the Cavaliers.

But theory is theory, and how it actually works depends on the effect.

Last season, before April, Hibbert always played well against the Heat.

But in a March 27 game against the Heat, James elbowed Hibbert in the face during a drive layup, causing Hibbert to faint.

James was assessed a flagrant first-degree foul.

Then the league changed the rules on April 1.

The new rule is: when a defensive player takes off vertically to defend, if he blocks the offensive player to the sides or turns around in the air, it will be considered an illegal defense, and the referee needs to whistle for a blocking foul.

Hibbert must have been stunned when he saw such a rule.

Because according to the new rules, when he was elbowed by James on March 27, it was not a foul by James, but a foul by Hibbert!

It’s equivalent to being beaten when you go out. You thought that there would be a legal regulation that the beating person would be fined, but after two days, you saw the new regulation, and it is illegal to go out!

You see, as long as you don't go out, won't you be beaten?

As long as you don't turn to the sides or turn around to block the offensive player when defending, won't you get elbowed?

The league's way of thinking is really strange and unique.

Since the release of this rule, Hibbert has indeed not received an elbow, and he has been called a foul.

As a result, Hibbert went from being an excellent basket-protecting center to being timid, and his defensive efficiency plummeted.

In the following games, there were often 0 points and 0 rebounds, 0 points and 1 rebound, and the decline was shocking.

Mike - Brown understands these situations, and based on observations in practice, that Hibbert's state is not very stable.

Whether he can play the role of a defensive gate in the new season like before, really needs to be questioned.

But Mike Brown had another plan in mind.

If Hibbert can't play center, but Li Liang can!

Thinking of this, Brown suddenly became excited and excited.

How can a player who is going to be the core of the defense not play the center?

Mike Brown silently designed two sets of "unlimited defense" defensive system for Li Liang with him as the core of the fifth position, and took out this system to communicate with Bird and Vogel.

"Can Bruce play center?" After hearing the plan, Bird still had some doubts in his heart.

"Don't worry, Bruce can even play against the coach." Mike Brown was completely assured of Li Liang.

"As long as Bruce is willing, I think a small lineup is worth trying, and the league is pushing the ball." Vogel smelled that the wind direction of the league was changing rapidly.

Although the two-year championships in 2013 and 2014, the Lakers and Clippers both have proud insiders.

But their inside line is no longer the core inside line in the traditional sense.

Howard and Jordan are both functional defensively, and the offensive end has degraded more and more.

By the 14-15 season, there will definitely be a new atmosphere in the league, with a very comprehensive small ball.

Larry Bird is also thinking about this question.

Some teams are favored before the season starts because the lineup feels good and balanced.

But as soon as the new season started, it collapsed.

A considerable part of the reason is that the team's team building ideas are stuck in the past, and the league's wind direction has completely changed.

The two years of 2013 and 2014 can be regarded as a transition period, and 2015 will be the first full season of Xiao Hua's administration, and the league will definitely change.

"OK, I'll do as you say, and use these two systems for training as our secret weapon."

Bird nodded in agreement with Mike Brown's proposal.

On October 8th, the preseason will finally start.

The Pacers will face their first opponent of the new season, the Minnesota Timberwolves, at Conseco Arena.

Li Liang entered the team's roster, this will be his first appearance at home for the Pacers.

Pacers fans are getting ready for their new, true king.

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