[ad_1]
“My feeling is that I was very used to starting from the bench by now, so I thought I would fix it like that in the future,” Goran Dragic said.
The difference between “original” and “later” is the change in the Heat’s schedule from the regular season to this year’s playoffs. It’s even more obvious in Dragic. In 2012, after he returned to the first team of his career, the Suns, until he was traded to the Heat, Dragic must start as long as he played and the team reused him for many years. He was also selected to an All-Star Game in 2018. Until last season, he suffered a knee injury and was treated with a knife during the season. After returning from injury in February 2019, he started from the bench first. The last time he played from the bench was already 2013. But because of this adjustment, after the Heat made up Jimmy Butler this season, based on the hope that someone on the second team can master the pace, the coach Chief Erik Spoelstra decided to organize Dragic as the sixth man on the team and started Dragic. The season is based on the bench.
As a result, before the start of the playoffs, Spoelstra decided to make another change: Dragic, who played just 3 starts in 59 regular games this season, returned to the starting line, in exchange for 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists. The stable performance of 0.455 shooting percentage, this data is even better than his performance throughout the season when he was selected for the All-Star Game. Spoelstra also said bluntly: “This effect is better than I thought.” And today’s Eastern Conference Championship G4, although the biggest focus is Heat rookie Tyler Herro scored 37 points, wrote the story of the NBA player under 21 and then the playoffs. His second-highest score helped the Heat win the Celtics’ first tie, but Dragic hit a triple in the final 1:36 of the game, taking the lead to 7 points, allowing the Heat to face the Celtics in last place. . The firepower at the juncture is also very critical.
It seems that in Dragic’s career, he is often destined to confront this kind of “original” imagination and the actual “later” implementation of different stories.
The journey “The dream comes true”
Dragic’s idol is Steve Nash.
The objective conditions do not appear to be surprising. When Nash was in the NBA, it was Dragic’s high school basketball enlightenment period. In 2003, he began his career in Europe at the age of 17 and Nash returned to the sun the following year. And it unleashed a dazzling whirlwind of Phoenix, similar in figure, same position, and not American production either. Dragic took Nash as an idol to mimic this incident, even his two coaches in the Slovenian League at the time both expressed approval.
Therefore, when Dragic had the opportunity to join the NBA, what he most looked forward to was joining the Suns with Nash in the lineup. In 2008, this opportunity appeared. Not only did Dragic yearn for the sun, but the Suns were also interested in him and spent a lot of time trading. He only got Dragic to be selected in the 45th pick in the second round, but Dragic had a contract with the local Spanish team at the time. Although the local team was willing to release people, they had to terminate the contract. Buying the contract at the time, Dragic had to spend 155 Ten thousand dollars, according to the regulations, the Suns can only pay half a million dollars, so Dragic, who originally thought he could go to America after the draft , was released for seven more weeks.
“Of course I’m still very excited, but these days are tough enough,” said Dragic, who was 22 at the time. In the end, the development of things was unexpected. In addition to the subsidy from the Suns, Dragic paid the purchase money out of his pocket, although he also got the Suns to contribute about 7 million for 4 years, in the second round of the draft, one or two years of guarantee. But the rookie year is about the same as playing on your own. Despite this, he’s still willing to pay this way because “being able to join the Suns and be Nash’s teammate” means too much to him.
“Going to Phoenix this time is a dream come true for me.”
Dragic had the opportunity to be on the same team as his idol. The 2009-10 season was Dragic’s second year. After taking on Shaquille O’Neal to change the air and lose weight, Suns head coach Alvin Gentry adopted a ten-person rotation to introduce beans into strategy. But it received great results. The Suns missed the playoffs the previous year and raced to the Western Conference Championship before losing to the past champion Lakers. In the second round, facing the Spurs G3, Dragic shot up 23 points in the fourth quarter to help the Suns grab. The next draw to win and then sweep the Spurs is definitely a Dragic classic in his first race at Sun.
Yes, Sun’s “first” career.
Broken “original” expectation
Following in the footsteps of idols, he would rather buy the contract out of his own pocket. Dragic’s loyalty to the sun is beyond question. Even when he set foot on the American continent to join the sun, he said, “I hope I can stay in the sun all my life.” Loyal speech, but in 2011, the third year of his career, this expectation was shattered. In that season, the Suns senior staff reorganized and the lineup was drastically renewed. The bench lineup that matched up perfectly last season collapsed and Dragic’s performance dropped dramatically. The Rockets traded Aaron Brooks, who exploded in the 2009-10 season and returned to the bench the following year. But the tragedy is that Brooks didn’t help the shaky sun recover. After the season, he went to China because of his chance to be there and hit the stadium. But in this deal, the Suns handed over the future teacher who was originally extremely loyal to the team and expected to take over after Nash retires.
