Anthony the Reborn

Chapter 43

The location by the window, the traffic outside the window, the sound of running water in the restaurant, and the landscape fish swimming in the glass window, this Phoenix restaurant has a chic atmosphere in the tranquility.

Anthony and D'Antoni are eating freshly served pizza, and the two are talking.

"Melo, I didn't expect you to ask me out for dinner. It stands to reason that in Phoenix, I am the host and you are the guest. I should greet you." D'Antoni said to Anthony with a smile, recalling that he had received Andrews before At the moment of the phone call, he was also taken aback.

"Hey, Mike, you're offended by saying that. I invited you, and the host and guest will change." Anthony also said with a smile.

"You're welcome, I just don't know what's the matter with Melo asking me out?" D'Antoni agreed to Andrews because of the private friendship between the two, and he really didn't know the purpose of Anthony looking for him.

Anthony heard Andrews talking about the topic, he put down the knife and fork, suddenly looked directly at D'Antoni and said, "Mike, have you ever thought about being a head coach?"

"Head coach?" D'Antoni was startled. He didn't expect Anthony to ask such a question suddenly. He looked around instinctively and saw no one he knew. Then he looked away and said with a tight expression, "May Luo, you are not inviting me to dinner because you want to set me up for something, are you? If so, then I think this meal is almost enough. "

D'Antoni said that he was about to get up.

"Mike, don't worry." Anthony hurriedly stretched out his hand to calm D'Antoni's emotions, and said with a smile, "I don't mean anything else, just listen to me first."

D'Antoni hesitated for a moment, thinking that he would still have to deal with Andrews in the future, he withdrew his body, frowned slightly and said, "Go ahead, but don't discuss that kind of issue again."

"Mike, the head coach you're talking to now, Frank Johnson, uses the bombardment tactic. Do you know who the inventor of the bombardment tactic is?" Anthony asked provocatively.

"Paul Westerhead, a great college coach in the 80s, but it was the Nuggets in the 90s that made his debut. I remember that the three musketeers Ingrash, Issel, and Vandeweghe were all the rage in the league at that time." Anthony said with respect in his eyes.

"Mike, you really have a lot of knowledge. To be honest, I only found these things after looking up the information, but Mike, you just said it casually." Anthony said appreciatively.

Hearing Anthony's praise, D'Antoni couldn't help but feel a little proud. He still has his own unique understanding of bombardment tactics.

"I still remember that when I played against the Suns in the preseason, I had already experienced the bombardment tactics, but I don't know why, maybe it was the reason of Coach Johnson. I always felt that this team was far from the team I imagined. Tactics Not to mention the level, the personnel adjustment is also poor..."

"That stubborn guy!" Before Anthony finished speaking, D'Antoni suddenly said angrily. After he finished speaking, he realized that the situation was wrong. He smiled awkwardly and said, "Melo, continue to talk..."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I heard your suggestion to play Barbosa during the game, but unfortunately, Coach Johnson didn't adopt it. I think if Barbosa was in the morning, we might not know who it was in that game. Whoever loses wins." Anthony said with a smile.

"Oh!" D'Antoni suddenly sighed.

"Mike, your talent is definitely not inferior to Johnson's. Compared with him, it is the difference between a vast ocean and a puddle of water. I don't think your talent should be buried in Phoenix, a place where you are not welcome." Anthony blushed without heartbeat Said.

D'Antoni nodded suddenly, and looked at Anthony with piercing eyes. He has been having a fight with Johnson recently, and he almost resigned. Now, listening to Anthony's praise, it seems that he has a plan.

"Mike, it's a pity that I'm not the general manager, I'm just a player, but I really hope to play under you one day, because I admire your coaching ability." Anthony didn't beat around the bush.

"Melo, you..." D'Antoni didn't expect Anthony to say such words suddenly. You must know that it is rare for players to express such thoughts.

D'Antoni was surprised at first, then shook his head bitterly and said, "Melo, if you are so frank and carefree, let me tell the truth. You said you want to play under me. It will be difficult for the Suns to trade you. It’s like reaching the sky, it’s even impossible to do it, and secondly, Johnson has begun to distrust me, and my time in Phoenix may come to an end one day, you know, I’m just an assistant coach after all.”

"No, no, you misunderstood..." Anthony hurriedly interrupted D'Antoni, and said in his puzzled eyes, "Why are you in Phoenix, isn't it better to be in Denver?"

"Denver?" D'Antoni came here and heard that Anthony wanted to recruit him.

"That's right, Denver. Denver is known as the home of the Highland Devils. The Nuggets players have been training there for a long time to adapt to the climate, but the other right players are not used to it. After running, it will definitely be more difficult. This is the first day I arrived. I felt it when I was in Denver, does this add to the bombardment tactics?" Anthony said excitedly.

"Denver..." D'Antoni wanted to say something when he heard what Anthony said, but he still couldn't say it.

"I have already suggested you to Vandeweghe. The Nuggets' record is not very good recently. I think he will contact you in a short time. I am here, in fact, to say hello to you in advance." Anthony smiled Said.

D'Antoni looked up at Anthony. He seemed to have vaguely guessed the reason for the recent decline in the Nuggets' combat power. All of this may have something to do with him as an assistant coach.

D'Antoni suddenly felt a little uncontrollable excitement. Although Anthony is not the one who will make the final decision, for him at the moment, he really feels like Bole is to Maxima. If he can achieve his wish, he will have a chance Prove yourself again.

At this moment, he simply let go of the worries in his heart, nodded vigorously and said: "Then I will wait for Qiqi's call!"

Anthony smiled, then held out his hand in mid-air.

D'Antoni also reached out.

The big hands of the two were tightly held together, and there were hot eyes in each other's eyes.

Almost at the same time, the general manager's office in Denver was already off work time, but the lights in the office were still on.

The general manager Vandeweghe sat on the soft leather chair in the office with a sad face. Not long ago, the team owner Kroenko called him and asked him the reason for the team's recent poor record. However, the team's three-game losing streak is already a certainty. If the predicament is not resolved, his position as general manager may not be guaranteed by then.

"Ah~"

Vandeweghe heaved a long sigh, then leaned back on the chair, an unprecedented tiredness hit him, and the long hours of high-pressure work had caused some gray hairs to grow on his head.

"Ding!"

At this moment, a crisp sound brought him back to reality, and he looked back, it turned out that the coffee was ready.

He stood up and stretched, then poured the coffee and put some sugar in it, and took a few sips while it was hot.

The heat flowed straight down his throat, and the body cells in the carrier's coffee were strongly stimulated, and he immediately felt refreshed.

Sitting back on the office chair and picking up the team's analysis form, he couldn't help frowning again. In the past few games, there were two players who performed the most abnormally, one was Leonard and the other was Anthony.

When it comes to managers, they generally speak with data.

Leonard averaged 20+ per game, which was much higher than the team's expected value of 14 points, but his shooting percentage also dropped a lot, only about 40%, and the players who played against him were able to score 25 points per game. [-]+.

Looking at Anthony's, he averaged only 11 shots per game and scored only 18 points, which is a whole lot less than the team's expected value of 25 points. The shooting percentage has not changed much, and it remains above 45%.

The comparison of these two data shows one thing at a glance. Leonard is grabbing Anthony's right to shoot.

It's just that now, things don't seem to be as simple as he imagined.

After the team suffered a two-game losing streak, he went to the scene to watch the game between the Nuggets and the Pacers. Although there was a gap in strength between the two sides, what really puzzled Vandeweghe was Anthony's attitude towards the game. The talented small forward who scored 45 points in the team's game and completed the sky-defying lore seemed to have lost his desire to score all of a sudden. This is a fatal thing for a scorer.

Anthony has no desire to score, which directly put the Nuggets into an embarrassing situation. Their offense lacks a strong point that can attack the stronghold, and it is easy to fall into the inside singles. Once double-teamed, the entire offense is completely Messed up.

Vandeweghe had also approached Anthony, but the latter was completely prevaricating him, making him completely confused now.

Thinking of this annoying thing, Vandeweghe suddenly felt his head grow bigger again, and hurriedly stretched out his hand to press his temple.

Massaging slowly to make himself more comfortable, Vandeweghe's mind flashed the words Anthony said at the banquet of the boss Kroenko. At that time, he felt that Anthony, as a player, could not raise objections to the head coach. Now he saw Bzdelik He couldn't help but think about it when the team was in trouble and had little to do but shout.

Was Anthony really prescient?And he's just as flexible as everyone else?
People are selfish, and Vandeweghe is no exception. After all, someone must be the scapegoat for the team's defeat. Of course, he hopes it won't be him, and it shouldn't be him.

Thinking of this, he picked up the phone book on the table, hesitated, and then called the Suns assistant coach Mike D'Antoni.

"Hi, I'm Mike, who are you looking for?"

"Hey, Mike, I'm Kiki Vanderweghe. I want to discuss something with you. I wonder if you have time. Let's make an appointment tomorrow?"

"Of course, it's an honor..."

(End of this chapter)