The training match continued, but in the following period of time, the main players were not replaced.
Zhang Hao stood on the sidelines and watched the rest of his teammates playing randomly... Many players on the team were too weak, even weaker than expected.
"Although my ability rating is only 69, it's because my skills are too single. In terms of athletic ability, I may not be the best on the team, but I won't be in the top three either. My mid-range shot is the strongest - I have two abilities that are the best on the team!"
Thinking of this, Zhang Hao became excited again.
"Except for me, Anderson, Charles, Edwards, Williams, Gilliam, and Brown, these six teammates are pretty good, but we have too few main players, only 6 people..."
There is no way to deal with things like lineup!
He tried to stick his butt out to see if he could shake everyone's body and make them bow down to him... In the end, he just changed his posture and farted, which was nothing.
Also, Zhang Hao had previously thought about what it meant to evaluate ability based on the level shown in the game, and now he finally understood.
The ability evaluation of other players is a very complicated division. Are there any specific indicators - the abilities that can be demonstrated stably on the court?
Anyway, Zhang Hao knew that the simplest way to evaluate his ability was to use the three major items of physical fitness, technique, and shooting.
And there is no defense. If he is unwilling to defend, the full value of 100 will be useless.
…
The result of the training match doesn’t matter. What’s important is that this training match has brought about a significant change in Zhang Hao’s image in the minds of his teammates.
On Jason Williams' side... Zhang Hao felt the other party's fiery gaze...
Zhang Hao really wanted to say to him: "I didn't expect you to be so soft. You can't get hard when I press on you..."
Anyway, the competition has already begun, so Zhang Hao doesn't care how angry or unhappy the other party is.
If you really take away the opponent's playing time, the opponent will definitely be unhappy.
But he will definitely fight for it!
Unfortunately, the opponent didn’t give me any chances and I ran away at the end of the game.
Zhang Hao returned to his apartment, took a bath and lay down to rest, thinking back to the feeling of shooting the ball into the basket over the heads of NBA players... It was really wonderful! Even though it was just an intra-team training game.
"But this is just a training match. I played well in the team training match. My defense is really something that can be stabbed by anyone..."
"I just graduated from high school. In high school, defense relied on physical attack. After all, he was a rookie from the 1990s who played for five years."
"I haven't formally learned defense ..."
"Well, I still have some dignity to save. How can I say this?"
Zhang Hao looked up at the starry sky at a 45-degree angle, trying not to let his tears flow.
Food is food!
He opened the subtitles and looked at the mission "Set Sail". He really wanted to get one of the two rewards for this mission.
"It's hard to improve in a short period of time through training... I should have reached the point where I need competitions to hone my off-ball play. I can't miss the golden finger reward..."
I silently told myself to enter study mode and soon fell asleep.
At the first second of the next day, Zhang Hao opened his eyes and came to the familiar room again.
A TV, a sofa, a desk...the furnishings are still so simple.
I picked up the book on the desk - "Master of Positioning".
"When will I be able to learn more? Forget it. I can't digest too much. I'll just learn what I know first. Competition, training, and memorizing are really different."
"I have to learn from a different perspective. In the past, I just memorized things over and over again, thinking that as long as I remembered them, I would be fine. Now I should learn based on our team's tactics, integrate the running knowledge I have memorized into the team's tactics, and find more space for me to play and more possibilities in the team's established running routes and playing styles.
Our team's tactics are terrible, but this is the tactic we want to play. If I don't follow this, I won't have a good chance. It is more important to understand this tactic first than to learn more about the running positions in the tactics!
Besides, even if the team's tactics are average, it is still a tactic after all... It's better than being in a completely bad team without a detailed tactic and the players with the ball just play blindly!"
…
After the training game, the Nets' training camp officially began.
The training of the Nets team is very relaxed. Apart from the necessary team training and individual training of the players who are being focused on by the team, the rest depends purely on whether the players are self-aware.
At noon on October 4, after Zhang Hao finished today's cutting layup training and was about to take a shower and have lunch, Butch Baird found him.
"Coach, what's up? I'm starving."
Having been in the team for such a long time, Zhang Hao has become familiar with the two coaches. Randy Whitman is usually responsible for being strict, while Butch Baird will occasionally chat with the players when he has nothing to do.
"Axe, I want to talk to you about your training."
Zhang Hao was very surprised that the head coach actually started working!
There was something important to do. Butch Baird didn't chat as usual. He said directly: "Axel, you are working hard, and we are very happy about that. But now, you should adjust your training intensity. Your training volume is too large."
Hearing this, Zhang Hao was filled with complaints - is it wrong to work hard? It was a mistake to "know too much" before, and now it's also wrong to train too hard? So I should release a single?
A background music sounded in Zhang Hao's mind - braces girl, how beautiful she is...
Seeing Zhang Hao's confusion, Butch Baird continued, "I don't mean that it's wrong for you to train too hard, but you have to learn to adjust. Playing in the NBA for a month may be more tiring than playing a season in high school or college. You have to be mentally prepared for this, and you have to start preparing physically as well.
Since you have just joined the team, we don’t actually know much about your physical condition. You need to decide how to allocate your physical energy at the beginning, because everyone’s situation is different. I can’t give you any advice before observing your game condition.
You know the rookie wall, right? Many talented rookies played for a long time in college, and they can play for such a long time in the NBA, but they often encounter the rookie wall due to physical strength or injuries, because NBA games are too much more than college games, and you played in the high school league before, the intensity difference is even greater..."
With this said, Zhang Hao understood it easily. Because of the "learning mode", his body could get a good rest after training every day. He was the first one to arrive at the gym for training every day. If there was a shortcoming, it was that he had become more hungry than before... Compared with his teammates, he could indeed be said to be working too hard.
When Butch Baird saw Zhang Hao's understanding expression, he felt that talking to smart people was so easy.
This kind of thing is simple to say and does not sound unacceptable, but in the NBA, which is dominated by black people, there are many talented basketball rookies who cannot understand what others are saying.
Zhang Hao felt that he had learned something new, and after Butch Baird left, he began to analyze.
"The coach said that I should figure it out on my own at first so that the team can have samples for analysis... How can I do that?"
Zhang Hao really has no experience in this area. This is not something that can be solved by just reading the nonsense of stupid netizens in the forum. Those future stars don't go online? Obviously impossible.
There is a huge gap between professionals and amateurs.
"Since you don't understand, I'll wait until the preseason to see how things go after the games..."
Having made up his mind, Zhang Hao continued to train his circling running movements after lunch.
In the evening, after Zhang Hao finished his sprint training, Kenny Anderson came up to Zhang Hao and said, "Aix, are there many Chinese people among you? You brought so many reporters with you alone."
During the training camp, there was a constant stream of reporters from China, and almost every player was interviewed every day. This was something the Nets players had never encountered before, not even Kenny Anderson, the former All-Star starter.
Zhang Hao thought for a moment and replied, "North America... plus South America, the total population is probably about the same as our country's."
“It’s so terrifying!”
Kenny Anderson took a deep breath. Although he didn't know how many people there were in North America and South America in total, or even how many Americans there were, he knew that there were about 20 countries in North America, and with South America, there were at least 40 countries, which was still less than the population of China alone.
Kenny Anderson used his wise brain to calculate this math problem - "X, if we Americans and you Chinese get into a fight, we will be beaten to death!"
Zhang Hao's head was filled with black lines - Who wants to have a group fight with you Americans?
After a long pause without saying anything, Kenny Anderson, who was already somewhat familiar with Zhang Hao, continued, "Aix, how about a shooting competition?"
Zhang Hao looked at Kenny Anderson in confusion: "Boss Kenny, are you serious?"
Feeling the look in the rookie's eyes, Kenny Anderson felt that this guy really deserved a beating sometimes...
Thinking of the talent Zhang Hao had shown in the past three days, Kenny Anderson endured it!
Taking a deep breath, Kenny Anderson said with a Pickley-like mentality: "You make me feel a little pressured. Help me improve my motivation for training..."
This was said somewhat helplessly.
Zhang Hao nodded and agreed.
Since we are going to fight one-on-one, only by knowing both ourselves and our enemies can we win every battle, so we decisively turn on the player detection system.
"Kenny Anderson, 25 years old, 183 cm tall, 84 kg in weight, ability rating 84, offense 85, defense 70, passing 94, three-point shooting 79, mid-range shooting 81, layup 87, speed 92, strength 79..."
I haven't watched it for several days. Compared to a week ago, Kenny Anderson has lost 4 kilograms and his strength rating has dropped below 80 , but the increase in speed is not as great as Zhang Hao imagined. His shooting and other aspects have even declined... Obviously, the drastic weight change in a short period of time has affected Kenny Anderson's physical condition and technical status.
This is the problem that needs to be solved in training camp and preseason.
But at 183cm tall and 84kg in weight, he is still a little overweight.
However, in the past two days, Zhang Hao discovered that Kenny Anderson’s weight loss training did not seem to be so serious.
If they fight seriously, they will probably lose, as the opponent can steal the ball. After thinking about it, Zhang Hao said to Kenny Anderson, "Boss Kenny, I will definitely fight you seriously and do my best in the mid-range shot."
"Yes, we should be serious... One-on-one mid-range shot? What does that mean?"
A few minutes later, Kenny Anderson left the training ground cursing.
A one-on-one mid-range shot is really a one-on-one mid-range shot. You can only shoot from the mid-range, and you cannot shoot from other areas.
He is 183 cm tall, and the rookie on the opposite side couldn't even touch the ball when he raised it up to shoot!
This is a complete mess, there is no gaming experience at all!
Arriving at the parking lot, Kenny Anderson prepared to drive home.
The team's other point guard, Chris Charles, also came to the parking lot at this time.
From the perspective of the division of camps within the team, the two are in an opposing relationship, but in fact, they have a very good personal relationship. Kenny Anderson likes that the team has an excellent backup point guard like Chris Childs, and the two of them actually have good cooperation on the court, but they just don't play together much.
Seeing that no one was around, Charles smiled and said, "Kenny, I didn't expect you to bet on Axe. I thought you would go and repair your relationship with Almon."
"I, Kenny, am unwilling to give in, and I believe that Aix will become stronger than them, and he and I will have a better understanding when working together. Don't you like teammates who play like Aix?"
"Haha, of course I like it, but I need the support of my teammates more. You have the ability to support others, but I have to rely on the support of others..."
After a brief chat, the two drove away from the stadium.
Kenny Anderson drove home, thinking about what Charles had said.
If he had not seen the various tests Zhang Hao took when he reported to the team, he would have actually planned to repair his relationship with Almon Guillem.
However, Zhang Hao's test performance made him hesitate. After the training match, he made up his mind and decided to bet on Zhang Hao.
Thinking back on the time we spent together, Zhang Hao is quite capable but not annoying. He will take the initiative to do small things, but he doesn't make him feel like a lackey. Most of the time, he is humbly learning from him instead of simply clinging to his core.
He is more capable than his peers, better mentally, has excellent learning ability, and extraordinary adaptability... Kenny Anderson believes that Zhang Hao can play well.
Also, he and Almon Gilliam didn't have a good relationship to begin with, but he was trying to improve it... That's not a logical idea!
Since he has bet on Zhang Hao, he has to help Zhang Hao. After thinking about it, he plans to talk to the coaching staff tomorrow.
…
The next day, Kenny Anderson came to the head coach's office after the morning team training.
Butch Baird and Randy Whitman were there.
Kenny Anderson clearly stated his purpose - to help Zhang Hao get an opportunity.
He knew that Zhang Hao didn't dare to say it, but wanted to fight for it in his heart, so he did it for him.
He has already played well, so he doesn't need to be as cautious as Zhang Hao. Moreover, he doesn't want Zhang Hao to offend the coaching staff, so he has to do this kind of thing.
After being in a chaotic team for so long, he finally found a teammate like Zhang Hao who has a good personality, good talent and is a good match for him. He has to treat him like a treasure.
Sure enough, Randy Whitman looked displeased when he heard Kenny Anderson's purpose.
Regardless of whether the players were right or not, he just didn’t like it when a player interfered with the coaching staff’s affairs.
But Butch Baird's eyes lit up, not only because of this, but also because Zhang Hao had won the recognition of the team's strongest player in just one month. This was very important!
Without mentioning this, Butch Baird smiled and said, "Kenny, we can also see Axel's talent. Don't worry, we are ready to train him. You don't have to worry. I think Axel is not in a hurry either, right?"
The first half of the sentence is addressed to Kenny Anderson, and the second half is addressed to Randy Whitman.
Before the two could speak, Butch Baird continued, "But you, Kenny, your weight problem... I think you can handle it, right?"
Kenny Anderson felt a little guilty when he heard about the weight. He really had no motivation recently. Judging from the training situation after all the members were gathered, he really looked down on his teammates except for those five or six teammates.
Even those five or six teammates... combined, their impact cannot be as great as Coleman's back then.
Coleman is an All-NBA level player, and together with Kenny Anderson, the two of them can lead the team into the playoffs.
Now……
Kenny Anderson fled...
Although he is indeed lazy sometimes, but when it comes to matters like professionalism, Kenny Anderson has a lot of dignity!
After sending Kenny Anderson away, Randy Whitman said to Butch Baird: "Butch, even though you chose Axel, you can't spoil him too much. He is very young, too young. You have to let him understand what adult society is."
"Didn't you just say that Aix is ​​very talented? Don't worry, the specific matters of player training are left to you. I won't interfere. I just think Kenny is right. We should create a better environment for Aix."
When talking about Zhang Hao, Randy Whitman rarely smiled. If Zhang Hao saw it, he would be shocked. He had never seen Randy Whitman smile, and few players on the team had seen it either.
After a rare smile, Randy Whitman quickly returned to his old-fashioned expression.
The situation of the team was in chaos, and he, as the chief assistant coach, knew it very well.
Originally, this was a headache for Zhang Hao as the chief assistant coach. He had good talent, outstanding ability, and sufficient basketball knowledge... but he might fall into the quagmire of "knowing too much."
But soon, Zhang Hao made adjustments, and they were very effective.
Randy Whitman can only describe such a player as a genius.
The last player who gave Randy Whitman this feeling was Dominique Wilkins, whom he met during his rookie period.
Randy Whitman reviewed the "talent shock" he had felt since he met Zhang Hao, and said to Butch Baird: "Butch, we can't think too well. We have to continue to observe in the next preseason..."
Butch Baird did not comment on the thoughts of Randy Whitman, who always remained calm.
…
"Remaining lifespan 264 days, available lifespan 263 days..."
On the morning of October 9, Zhang Hao woke up and the cruel reminder came again.
Time goes by day by day, and today I can finally start to "extend my life"! The competition is finally here!
Tonight he and his Nets team will usher in his first preseason game in his career!
He got up and looked at the calendar on the wall. His work content was listed on it for each day. During the training camp, he needed to focus on one project every day. Starting today, it was the first game of the NBA 1995-1996, a preseason game against the Hornets!
He looked at the preseason schedule again: home game against the Hornets on the 9th, away game against the Hornets on the 12th, away game against the Bulls on the 14th, away game against the Pacers on the 16th, home game against the Magic on the 19th, home game against the Bucks on the 21st, and home game against the Timberwolves on the 24th.
After washing and changing into training clothes, Zhang Hao walked to the restaurant of the stadium and had a nutritious breakfast.
After this period of training, the Nets coaching staff made arrangements for his food intake. They did not arrange for him to gain weight, which might affect his shooting and athletic ability. The coaching staff was unwilling to try anything with the potential risk. In previous running training and training games, Zhang Hao showed excellent confrontation, so such an arrangement was made.
After breakfast, Zhang Hao strolled around the stadium to digest the food. He would soon have team training to prepare for tonight's game.
It has been almost a month since he came here, and Zhang Hao found that he had never really visited this place. At first, it was because he did not have a good impression of this place. It was a small town where you can walk to a cornfield in 10 minutes. Although there are loyal fans, most of them are fans of the Bulls, Knicks, and 76ers. The players of each team are not very popular in the local area... Later, he was busy with training and had no time to visit this place.
However, after a long time, Zhang Hao felt that this place was not that bad. Compared with Jersey City which was full of industrial areas, the air here was really good, green plants could be seen everywhere, the roads were spacious, and there were not many cars. Now that we can shop online, life here is actually not bad.
When Zhang Hao arrived at the only park near the stadium, he heard a burst of scolding.
"Stephen, how far have you run? 1,000 feet or 800 feet? Kang Mang, hurry up and catch up..."
Following the direction of the sound, Zhang Hao saw a young man in a vest and shorts running on the spot and scolding a child behind him who was also wearing a vest and shorts.
The point is, the young man is black, and the child... judging by his skin color, he should be white...
But this child called out "Daddy"...
This is the north-central part of the country. It is almost late autumn and the current temperature is estimated to be only about 7 or 8 degrees. Zhang Hao can feel the deep chill even in his training suit. This pair who appear to be father and son are actually jogging in vests and shorts.
This father is a wolf!
Could it be that they are a father and son in the context of a family ethical tragedy?
"Dad, I can't run anymore..."
"Then don't follow me out when I play games next time!"
Hearing the father's tone, Zhang Hao felt a strong sense of resentment, as if taking his child out to play the game affected what he did. Is this really a tragic father and son? ... Wait, play a game?
Zhang Hao took a closer look and found that this man was none other than Dell Curry, the best sixth man of the 93-94 season.
So this little boy...if you look closely, he seems like the future greatest three-point shooter in history...No, it's not like, it's just that!
No wonder Dell Curry sounded so resentful. If he brought his children out to play games, he couldn't go to nightclubs. Some states have laws that children cannot be left alone in a room. This is only secondary. Zhang Hao guessed that Curry's mother must have given some instructions, such as keeping an eye on his father and not letting him go out to fool around.
Curry responded immediately: "I can still do it! Dad, wait for me for 10 seconds... No, 5 seconds!"
stubborn!
Zhang Hao felt a strong sense of stubbornness from Curry’s words.
This is a natural temperament, born stubborn...
Zhang Hao really wanted to go up and ask, "Elementary school student, are you so fast?"
But considering that the other person really looks like he is still in elementary school, he probably can't go any faster...
When Dell Curry heard this, he felt complicated. He was happy, but it was complicated. However, he stopped and took a break.
Although it was said to be 10 seconds, Dell Curry had to wait until his son stopped panting before continuing to run. After all, his son was only 7 years old. He just said that he only ran 1,000 feet, or 300 meters, but in fact he had almost run 10 times that distance.
At this time, Dell Curry noticed someone watching the interaction between the father and son. It was a tall kid, and he seemed to have some impression of him... Oh, it was the high school rookie from tonight's opponent, the Brooklyn Nets!
Seeing that the other party had discovered him, although Zhang Hao was not peeking but just happened to be standing there, he still felt a little like a thief, so he quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Good morning, Mr. Curry, I am Zhang Hao, my English name is Axel, and I am a player for the Nets."
Dell Curry was not surprised at all to be recognized. In terms of fame, he is much more famous than Zhang Hao.
Dell Curry was a star in football, baseball, and basketball in high school. He gave up football in college because of a broken arm, but he is still one of the best in the United States in baseball and basketball.
How good was he during his student days?
When he was a sophomore in 1985, he participated in the Major League Baseball draft and entered the lottery zone. The Baltimore Orioles offered a contract to his university, but he gave up the contract. He studied in college for another year, played in the NCAA basketball championship for another year, and participated in the NBA draft at the end of his junior season. He was also selected in the middle of the first round, and then... he refused to join the NBA again and finished college before choosing the NBA over professional baseball.
Although he no longer has the glory of his college days after entering the professional arena and has not become a star, his popularity is average and he does not have many fans, but he is very well-known.
"Don't be so polite, just call me Dell, this is my son Stephen, Stephen, come on, call..." Dell Curry was suddenly speechless. He just said that he and Zhang Hao were communicating on an equal footing, but then he remembered that he had a son, and his son was only 10 years younger than Zhang Hao...
But letting your son call an NBA player brother... isn't that taking advantage of him?
Dell Curry, you have a lot of shame! You can't do this.
Regardless of what his son thought, he continued, “Stephen, call me uncle.”
These words made Zhang Hao's breathing quicken. The future strongest three-point shooter in history, a superstar who won two consecutive MVPs and was only 11 years younger than him, called him uncle! How could he refuse such a thing?
Xiao Ku looked at Zhang Hao, who was tall but looked like an older brother. The kind-hearted boy was a little hesitant. Would this make him sound old?
But since his father had given the order, little Curry shouted crisply, "Good morning, uncle."
Obviously, the kind little Curry's worries were unnecessary, Zhang Hao decisively responded with a "Hey..."
For some reason, Curry, who was only 7 years old, felt the malice from the older brother in front of him. This malice did not make him feel dangerous, but he just felt uncomfortable, as if he was being taken advantage of.
Since he is an uncle, he must act like one. Zhang Hao said, "This child looks smart."
Dell Curry was very happy to hear his son being praised. He smiled and said, "This kid is not as smart as he looks. He only listens to his mother and doesn't even listen to me as his father. He doesn't even think about who earns money to support the family..."
There is sadness in the smile, despair in the happiness, and resentment in the tone...
After getting to know each other for a while, Zhang Hao and Dell Curry didn't have much to talk about. Dell Curry had to take his children for a morning run, so he apologized and continued running with little Curry, who had just rested for a while.
Zhang Hao didn't force himself to get closer. Although he really wanted to interact more with the real elementary school student, there was really no reason to get closer. It would only make him uncomfortable. He planned to go back to the gym to prepare for tonight's game.
The old players of the Hornets didn't care much about the preseason game this evening, and they even had time to take their son for a walk in the morning.
On the other side, Curry, who was being walked by his father, recalled the NBA rookie uncle he had just met. The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. However, due to his age, he could not figure out what was wrong no matter how hard he tried.