Chapter 140: [After the deal, the rookie wall]

　　The Raptors challenged the Hawks away and suffered a two-game losing streak 81-95.
　　John Wallace left the team, the Raptors lacked a rotation player, Tracy McGrady, Billups, O'Neal turned into blacksmiths, only Carter performed well, scoring 24 double points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.
　　 Hawks under the leadership of Mutombo is extremely powerful defense, averaging only 83 points per game in the new season, today he blocked O'Neal twice in one round, shaking his finger to humiliate rookie.
　　Yang Rui loves and hates newcomers. When they feel good, they can play a gorgeous and smooth offense. When they feel bad, they don’t know how to adjust.
　　Back to Toronto, training on the morning of March 5, Yang Rui saw Kevin Cato, this rookie can play for the Raptors.
　　 "Hello, coach." Cato looked very honest, smiled and shook hands with Yang Rui.
　　 "Hello, Kevin, nice to meet you." Yang Rui looked up and down at him, much higher than expected.
　　He used to think that Cato was short, because he watched too many rocket games, and Cato often stood beside Yao Ming.
　　 As the 15 rookies in the first round of 1997, Cato certainly didn't want to be a marginalist. After meeting Yang Rui, he didn't know what method to use to "sell" himself.
Yang Rui smiled and said: "Kevin, I mean to trade you to the Raptors. I need you to be the toughest person in the team, to play your special skills, to cut back after the offensive end, grab rebounds and layups. Scoring is enough, you will definitely get more playing time than when you were in the Blazers."
　　 Cato nodded his head, which is good news. He had been in a proper tragedy for the Blazers for two years, and he only played 13.6 minutes last season.
　　 During the training, the coaching staff tested Cato and was surprised.
　　 Cato has excellent physical fitness, the strongest team strength, slower movement, similar to veterans Willis and Miller, with a wingspan of 224CM, he has the conditions to become a super defensive player.
　　 Offensive Cato is useless, the mid-range shot is rotten, the footsteps are rough, the left low back can show off the hook, can pick up the ball and cut the ball to dunk.
　　Yang Rui's memory of players, compared with Cato, is the Celtics "two fat" Kendrick Perkins. He is good at resisting people and blocking shots. He basically doesn't need to practice shooting. This kind of "black and hard" feel is not soft, and the free throws are not accurate.
　　 Miller is currently just an ordinary center, and he wants to become a coping star in the king's era, he needs to practice and follow Detrev to learn. Cato is definitely useful, can improve the Raptors' inside defense.
　　After training, Yang Rui talked to Cato alone. "Kevin, what did you practice as a pioneer?"
　　 "Defense in low position, pick-and-roll empty cut, assist defense block."
"Here, you can add an extra pass, like Dert learns. If you grab the frontcourt rebounds, I hope you can get out in time. If you receive the pass in the high position, if you can't shoot, you must be accurate. Pass the ball to teammates."
　　 "Okay, I can do it." Cato replied loudly.
　　 Yang Rui nodded with satisfaction. This person is very obedient, don't attack the ball, and it is easy to wait for the contract to expire next year. At present, there are markets for big meat shields in the league, and Cato is the cheapest player he can get in exchange.
　　Once he came, O'Neal and Miller did not need to gain weight, maintaining weight and mobility, and the offensive end threatened even more.
　　 That night, the Raptors lost to the Magic at home and suffered a three-game losing streak.
　　The Magic started 12 wins and 4 losses under the leadership of Chuck Daly. Without any strongman, the record was outstanding.
　　 Rookie Matt Harplin played against O'Neal, surprisingly prevailing.
　　Haplin is only 201cm tall and weighs 105kg. He is very strong. He is from a rugby family and has a strong playing style. He is good at confrontation. He has always been close to make O'Neal difficult to turn around, and turned back and jumped too hard, making 5 of 15 shots.
　　 McGrady was defended by "Penny" Hardaway, and his performance was even worse, only 2 of 12 shots, plus 6 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Raptors' collective sleepwalking outside, except Carter scored 21 points, others played a mess, the best inside was Willis, scored 20 points and 14 rebounds, the two failed to help the team win, the final score was 88 to 93 .
　　 Cato played 11 minutes, only 2 points and 3 rebounds, 1 of 3 shots, bad data.
　　The doom has just begun, the Raptors schedule is unfavorable, back to back against the strong team, successively lost to the Heat, Hawks.
　　 suffered a five-game losing streak, which was more embarrassing. The Raptors never won after the transaction. Cato hasn't played much time and the data is poor. Although John Wallace, who joined the Trail Blazers, is also a substitute, he can average 7 points per game, which is stronger than Cato in any way.
　　 The media began to pick up the Raptors' problems. Many people sprayed Yang Rui and the management's brain-dead trade. Sending Wallace away is likely to make the Raptors miss the playoffs.
　　 There are a lot of schadenfreude teams, and the Blazers are one of them. Portland media said: "Thanks to the Raptors for sending players, the Blazers are getting better and better.
The stronger the lineup of Blazers, the greater the pressure on competitors. The Los Angeles media expressed dissatisfaction. "It is recommended that the League investigate the Trailblazers and Raptors, and the two teams frequently engage in unfair trade, making people doubt what is inside."
　　 Even some Canadian media are starting to watch the Raptors and think that it is a bit difficult to enter the playoffs~EbookFREE.me~ Recently they have forgotten the feeling of winning.
　　Glen talked to Yang Rui. "Jerry, you have to figure out a way soon. Although our record is not bad now, but if this continues, the team may not be able to enter the playoffs?"
"Surely enter the playoffs, don't be nervous, so many newcomers need some time to break in." Yang Rui sighed: "Now they are collectively hitting the rookie wall, not just a few rookies, Jermaine and Tracy also have physical strength. Problem."
　　The boss has a big appetite and wants to win the top spot in the regular season, not only in the playoffs, but also in the first round, which can make a lot of money. But the rookie team is destined to encounter some difficulties, and the Thunder three younger generations are no exception.
　　 The term "rookie wall" is used in the top European and American sports leagues to describe the state of decline in the first two rookie seasons when athletes changed from amateur players to professional players.
　　After the start of the season each year, rookies are generally more active when they come up, jumping high, running fast, and infinite youth.
　　 But the NBA is a marathon-style league, not a sprint event. The shrinking season schedule is much tighter, accompanied by many back-to-back and endless flights, days of staying in hotels and taking buses.
　　 This special season, experienced players can't stand it. The newcomers simply don't understand how to allocate physical strength properly. At the same time, the NBA is playing college games multiplied by three. It happened that Yang Rui arranged the main tactics to run, and these young people were too eager to perform. They would never make a layup when they could dunk, and they would not raise their hands when they could block shots. The beautiful cost of playing was the rapid loss of physical strength.
　　When both body and spirit began to fatigue, the rookie wall came.
　　 rested for two days. On the 13th, the Raptors defeated the weak Celtics 108-92 at home and finally ended their losing streak.