When Xiao heard Tang Shuai's words, he didn't say anything. He seemed to say something, but found that there was nothing to argue.

This is a truth.

But it made him feel very uncomfortable, which was a public question of him.

"Coach, I think Don't say that's right. There are many types of tactics. We don't want to use it too complicated. Leave the ball to Don. This is the best tactic." Westbrook also spoke at this time. When he played for the Thunder under Brooks, he rarely played complicated tactics.

"Coach, I think what Don and Russell said is right. We have double guns in the backcourt, and the complex tactical efficiency is not as high as the defensive restraint formed by their singles. And if there are too many running positions, it will be a big test for physical strength." Gasol also said at this time. Although his playing time is much less than before, his voice in the team is still second only to the outside dual cores.

The others were silent and didn't say anything at this time, but not saying anything meant that they had accused Tang Shuai's remarks.

Xiao's face was very awkward. He didn't expect that the entire team would not agree with his point of view. He glanced at his players, suddenly sighed, and continued: "Then, let's make a simple breakthrough."

He is not a person who wants to save face, otherwise he would not have stayed to assist a rookie head coach after Walton left office. In fact, he is different from Walton. He is a very flexible person. He initially wanted to help the team to a higher level, but now the players all opposed it. He really has no reason to continue to persist, let alone Billups will come back in half a month, so he compromised.

Hearing Xiao's words, the team members were filled with excitement.

After returning from the timeout, the Timberwolves were still guarding the man-to-man defense, but they soon discovered that the Lakers' tactics had changed or were gone, and they directly turned into Tang Shuai's strong breakthrough alone.

Top defensive players like Leonard and Anxi cannot limit Tang Shuai. You can imagine these young people from the Timberwolves that Tang Shuai scored 8 points in one breath with a sudden shot and a close score in just over two minutes after the timeout.

As a last resort, Thibodeau reduced his defensive formation and double-teamed Tang Shuai. However, Tang Shuai, who had exclusive passes in hand, had a coquettish pass and made him feel a headache.

Tang Shuai's strong attack was not just about scoring, but also led the whole area with points, which quickly brought out the state of other Lakers players.

Thibodeau ultimately failed to find a good way to limit Tang Shuai. In addition, Westbrook's firepower was fully opened, and the Timberwolves failed to avenge last year's playoffs and lost the game 102-111.

Tang Shuai scored a game-high 36 points and 12 assists, and Westbrook also scored a high score of 28 points. After a month of incident, the two guns once again helped the team win this key battle.

At the post-match press conference, Xiao strongly praised Tang Shuai and Westbrook's performance, and praised them for finding a way to win again for the team.

It can be seen from his words that he has really chosen to compromise.

However, there is also bad news in this game that has a great impact on the team. Batum suffered a sprain during the game and didn't feel anything during the game. Batum was chatting and laughing while sitting off the court. In fact, even he himself thought it was just a minor injury, but the result was a torn ankle ligament and he had to rest for at least one and a half months.

The Lakers' next game is the Bulls. The day before the game, Tang Shuai received a special invitation, and the invitation owner surprised him.

Dennis Rodman, a former Bulls player, nicknamed "Big Bug," Jordan's powerful power forward during his three consecutive championships, is a rebounding maniac, and is only 2.01 meters tall, but he is known as the best rebounder, a member of the Smith Hall of Fame, and the prototype of Hanamichi Sakuragi, a Japanese comic "Slam Dunk".

It was this "big bug" who tweeted Shuai Shuai: The greatest defender after Michael. I heard that you are about to visit Chicago. I sincerely invite you to spend dinner with me at my manor.

Rodman is the representative of the league's mavericks. At this time, he called Tang Shuai the greatest defender after Jordan, which is exactly the same as his personality.

The Lakers had also been visiting Chicago before, but Rodman issued an invitation at this time, indicating that Tang Shuai's performance this season touched the rebounding maniac.

Rodman is a member of the Hall of Fame, enjoys a reputation in the NBA, and has been constantly rumored to have many actresses off the court, which has led to his popularity always remain high. He was invited by this celebrity and only had dinner together, so Tang Shuai certainly had no reason to refuse.

Tang Shuai also started the funny mode with Rodman on Twitter: Dear Lord Rodman, Mr. Rebounding Man in NBA history, I will visit your manor, I hope this will be a pleasant trip.

After reaching the agreement, on the afternoon of flying to Chicago, Tang Shuai got into Rodman's special car and arrived at the Hall of Famer's home.

Rodman was a maverick on the court and had different styles off the court. His manor was located in a wealthy area in the suburbs of Chicago. However, unlike the surrounding manors, he was a typical European style and a castle-style architectural style that could be recognized at a glance.

Under the guidance of the servant, Tang Shuai soon met Rodman himself.

When he saw Rodman, even though Tang Shuai was mentally prepared, he was still shocked by his outfit.

His nose, ears, and upper lips were all covered with gold and silver earrings. With his yellow hair, he looked a little like the monster king in the TV series "Journey to the West".

But no matter how you dress up, Rodman looked very enthusiastic when he saw Tang Shuai: "Haha, Tang, you are really here!"

Rodman reached out to embrace Tang Shuai, and Tang Shuai also withdrew his rude gaze. After the hug, Rodman pulled him to admire his manor.

"This is designed by me specifically looking for European designers. Look, this is..." Rodman talked endlessly as soon as he met.

Tang Shuai was happy to listen. In fact, this invitation was a simple idea and there was no other purpose.

"This is some movies I've participated in." Rodman said proudly after walking in a few rooms.

Tang Shuai looked at the wall and then saw the DVD box hanging on the wall. There were a total of ten movies. Although he had never heard of them, as a basketball player, he could imagine how well he was at that time.

"I heard you participated in the Aerial Dunk 2 this offseason?"

"Well, according to the time, it should be released in more than a month."

"Haha, this will definitely be a good movie. If there is a sequel, you can find me a guest appearance." Rodman said with a smile.

Tang Shuai was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded. It seemed that at this age, the dream of Big Bug's movie was not over yet.

In the following time, Tang Shuai learned more about Rodman, including his published several books, his well-known relationship with Madonna, and the honor belt he won in professional wrestling competitions, etc. He even saw him taking a photo with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In fact, as a former basketball professional athlete, his life is quite rich and fulfilling.

During the communication process, Tang Shuai found that Rodman and his impression gave people a different feeling. After going deeper, he realized that the latter had declared bankruptcy in 2012, and then gradually recovered through cooperation with his friends. He was also a representative figure of professional players in business.

After a dinner, Tang Shuai was about to say goodbye, but unexpectedly, Rodman was intrigued and proposed to have a man showdown with Tang Shuai, which was beyond his expectations.

You should know that Rodman was born in 1961, and he is almost 60 years old, and he is still so interested.

As the saying goes, it is easy to change the country and nature is hard to change. Although Rodman is more restrained than before, his personality is not so easy to change.

Tang Shuai did not refuse, but when he arrived at the stadium, he unexpectedly saw some reporters and media. It seemed that Rodman wanted to use this to show his face in the media.

This made him feel very uncomfortable, and he seemed to understand why Rodman suddenly invited him to the manor for dinner.

However, since he had agreed, he couldn't refuse. After a classical showdown with Rodman, he easily won.

I believe that the next day's media reports that Rodman could still play basketball in his 50s would be overwhelming, which would probably be a free advertisement for his company.

Tang Shuai didn't say much, and after saying goodbye in a hurry, he then returned to the team's hotel.

Although he was put on some tricks and made him more cautious in making this choice later, he actually gained something. After defeating Rodman, he still got the exclusive Big Bug Rebound Pack. Although it was the blue elderly version, rebounding is available in every game, and it should be the fastest to upgrade.

To evaluate a player's versatility, in addition to scoring and assisting, rebounding is also a very important statistic. James, Harden, George and even Anthony are all representatives of this. Even his teammate Westbrook has been constantly getting triple-doubles to justify himself.

And as he expected, the rebound bag was upgraded faster than any skill bag. After only two games of this dinner, Tang Shuai discovered that the Big Bug rebound bag had changed from blue to purple.

This upgrade was immediate. In the Christmas Game against the Warriors on December 25, Tang Shuai contributed 34 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. Although the team finally lost the game without a trace of luck, the scene of him grabbing several offensive rebounds in the game was impressive.

After the Christmas game, Lakers head coach Billups returned to the Staples Center. His appearance was about ten days earlier than expected, and he even came with a wheelchair by an assistant, but his return at this time just showed his work attitude.

Such a return has increased the morale of the Lakers a lot.

But what no one expected was that shortly after Billups returned to the team, a bigger problem suddenly appeared.

And this time, the target of the problem was the team's core, Tang Shuai. (To be continued.)

...
Chapter completed!