"With your level of talent, the Raptors probably won't give you any playing time at first. You may even have to sit on the bench for a long time. Perhaps you'll only get a few minutes during garbage time. But whenever you do get on the court, you have to give it everything you've got, just like Mad Dog Beverley did back in the day."
Tagore nodded. "I know."
At the same time, his stepfather continued, "In the upcoming preseason, the team's starters won't play many minutes. In fact, many of them might not play at all, and the rotation players won't get much time either. That means you'll have plenty of opportunities, and you have to seize them. Show the coach how hard you work and how much fight you have. Remember, you need to turn the preseason into a stage where you can show what you're capable of. That's the only way you might get some playing time during the Regular Season."
Tagore nodded firmly and said with determination, "I know. I'll definitely establish myself in the NBA!"
In the Raptors' first preseason game, Wang Yi, Pang Bo, and Zhang Jiacheng didn't play. Instead, Frank, A. Nikola, Dauding, Charlie Hannum, Kim Tae-hyun, and the others were sent out to find their rhythm.
The game eventually reached garbage time, but even then, during this preseason game's garbage time, Little Tiger Tagore and Big Lock Rock didn't get a chance to play.
In the end, the team lost.
After all, A. Nikola, Frank, Dauding, Charlie Hannum, and the others still weren't capable of carrying the team.
Without the team's backbone players, they played in a disorganized, haphazard fashion.
In the second game, Wang Yi, Pang Bo, and Zhang Jiacheng still didn't play. Dauding and Frank sat out this one as