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Chapter 70 The Battle for the Best Rookie
Chapter 72 Rookie of the Year
Who is the best rookie in 09?

Once this question was raised, it became very topical. With the intensification of the 09 season, Chinese boy Li Shihao, Tyreke Evans of the Kings, Brandon Jennings of the Bucks, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors... …

Among this group of talented young people, who can stand out and become the unique best rookie!

ESPN's column basketball commentator Bill Simmons once made some comments on this year's rookies.

In his view, Tyreke Evans will occupy the first place in the rookie power list, the second will be Brandon Jennings, the third will be James Harden, the fourth will be Thabeet, and the fifth will be Thabeet. It will be Stephen Curry, and Li Shihao hopes to hit the sixth position.

As soon as this ranking was released, it received widespread reprints, and many experts in the basketball field agreed with it. Bill Simmons's reputation is over there, and who dares not believe his vision!

However, nearly a third of the way through the season, Bill Simmons' predictions fell through the rookie ranks.

In terms of statistics, Tyreke Evans is the most outstanding rookie in this class. The former No. [-] high school student in the United States is still shocking in the NBA.

With a scoring performance of 19 points per game, Sacramento fans quickly accepted this outstanding young man. This talented young man has excellent wingspan and lateral movement speed, even in the NBA arena. Few people can prevent his breakthrough.

What's even more rare is that Evans' ball-handling ability is good, and he is not inferior to many No. [-] players in many leagues. He is an excellent combo guard.

The only fly in the ointment is that Evans' jump shooting ability is too shabby compared with the rookies of the same class. Brandon Jennings and him can be said to be very similar players. Both of them are aggressive players. The scoring ability tends to break through the offense, but the kind of player who is not good at jump shots.

In fact, in the basketball soil of the United States, there are countless talented guards. Seventy to eighty percent of guards will choose breakthroughs as their first scoring method, and very few people will choose jump shots as their first choice.

Moreover, in the American basketball world, players who are good at jump shots are often not recognized by the mainstream crowd.

There are many well-known basketball games in the United States, such as the McDonald's High School All-Star Game, which is held for high school students in the United States and is very influential in the United States.

It is undoubtedly a great honor to receive an invitation to this peak event in high school, but this event is basically not open to high school players who are good at shooting.

An excellent breakthrough scorer means that you can stand up at critical moments and help the team win.

And those shooting players cannot become the leaders at critical moments. It would be too childish to entrust the outcome of the game to such players.

As the former No. [-] high school student in the United States, Tyreke Els has participated in the McDonald's All-Star Game and the Jordan Classic, which are well-known American high school basketball events.

At that time, Li Shihao was just one of thousands of basketball high school students, ordinary and nothing special.At that time, a proud man like Tyreke Evans was something to look up to.

However, after the start of the new season, the Chinese rookie Li Shihao took the first place in the rookie rankings. This unattractive kid averaged 26 points per game from the very beginning. The performance of the All-Stars made many people evaluate him. changed.

Although there were more and more back-to-back games as the season deepened, and the teams in the league gradually began to adopt defensive tactics against Li Shihao, under the constraints of various factors, Li Shihao did not have the miraculous performance at the beginning of the season. It began to gradually decrease, and the scoring data in several games even fell below 15 points.

Even so, Li Shihao still occupies the No.1 position in the rookie ranking list, and his scoring average is three or four points higher than that of No.2 Tyreke Evans.

Not only that, Li Shihao's ability to lead the team has also made more people realize that this Chinese boy is extraordinary. His excellent overall view and court sense allow him to better control the rhythm of the game.

What's even more rare is that he made his teammates better. Players such as Kevin Love, Marc Gasol, and Corey Brewer who were not outstanding in statistics, after Li Shihao came to the Timberwolves, both in statistics and performance. a great improvement.

However, Li Shihao still has shortcomings.

His physical fitness is not good enough, which makes it difficult for him to limit when facing the top scorers in the league, and often requires teammates to double-team defense.

When facing the Suns, Li Shihao had nothing to do with Nash's windy speed, and he couldn't make corresponding restrictions at all. In Staples, let alone facing Kobe, who was at the peak of his career, Li Shihao was in the offensive and defensive. Both ends were completely at a disadvantage, and the standard was greatly lost.

This made some experts in the American basketball field question Li Shihao. Even though Li Shihao is in the limelight now, with excellent team performance and personal statistics, it still cannot change those experts' views on Li Shihao.

On the evening of December 12th, the Timberwolves will face the challenge of the Sacramento Kings at the Target Center at home. This game has attracted a lot of attention. It is not just a confrontation between two western teams, but also a battle for the best rookie of the year!

On the rookie list, Li Shihao occupies the first place, followed by Evans, and Curry occupies the third place. There are actually two dark horses in the top three, especially in terms of team record. The debate among rookies has not stopped.

Li Shihao led the team with good results and statistics, but there were still many doubts. Many people believed that under his leadership, the Timberwolves lacked the so-called toughness and it was difficult to win against strong teams.

Evans' personal data is very good, but the performance of the Kings this season is at the bottom of the West. Even Curry's Golden State Warriors are in a better situation than the Kings. This also makes many people wait and see about Evans.

As for Curry, the controversy is even greater. There are too many forced shots in the game. As a rookie, he takes up a lot of shots, but his shooting percentage is not as good as in college. More people think that he is difficult to adapt to this league. .

Therefore, this game between the Timberwolves and the Kings has received a lot of attention, and the duel between the two rookies has made the game even more exciting.

Many people want to know, which one is better between the Chinese boy Li Shihao and Tyreke Evans?
As early as before the game, Tyreke Evans uttered wild words to the media reporters in Minnesota: "I will tell everyone who is the best rookie!"

In front of the camera, Evans looks aggressive and full of confidence. He was once the number one high school student in the United States, a Chinese boy?Sorry, he hadn't heard of it!

(End of this chapter)