Chapter 71 I Miss You So Much
"I told you that you would definitely be a starter, but I didn't expect you to be a starter so soon. You are so lucky. When I first entered the NBA, I had a teammate named Blaylock at point guard.
Do you know Blaylock? He's amazing! Two years ago, he, I, Bogues, and Stockton were competing for the assists title, but unfortunately none of us could beat Stockton..."
As soon as Randy Whitman left, a chatterbox came up to Zhang Hao.
Kenny Anderson was much more excited than Zhang Hao.
"Yeah...it's the first release."
When he really started the game, Zhang Hao was not as excited as he had imagined. He just felt that it was a natural thing.
Subtitle hint has arrived.
“Mission: Set sail, goal 1 has been triggered, special contract player Zhang Hao needs to score the highest points in the regular season opener between the Nets and the Pistons.
Mission Reward: Silver Medal: Homecoming."
Looking at this task, although the excitement brought by the starting position was diluted and there was pressure, Zhang Hao had nothing to regret.
He started in the first game. Will there be fewer starters in the next games?
So he no longer has much hope of being named the "bench bandit" as the reward for his debut as a substitute.
"Go! We must go for the best reward! It's not impossible. Hill is not a star who mainly scores points, right? Houston may not be much better than me. We... I think I can do it, so let's go!"
At this time, Zhang Hao noticed that one of his teammates was in a low mood.
…
You will never understand my sadness...
Jason Williams's current mood is actually not that bad. Others may think that he is very sad, but he is not.
Empathy is always a rare thing.
He did feel sad, but for some reason, after a month had passed and he really failed to make it to the starting lineup, he didn't feel particularly depressed or jealous. He just felt sad about his own abilities...
Not in a good mood, that's for sure.
I ordered some delicious takeout this afternoon so I could indulge myself after tomorrow night’s game, but now my appetite isn’t as good as it used to be.
Maybe by tomorrow night, I’ll still have a good appetite, after all, it was recommended by my good friend Terry Mills who plays basketball there.
Terry Mills of the Pistons was a rookie of the same class as Jason Williams and was also a player for the Nets that year. The two knew each other in college, but unfortunately they did not become teammates. As soon as Terry Mills left, Jason Williams was traded here along with Almon Gilliam. The first time he played in Detroit in the new season, Terry Mills recommended the star product of his favorite store to Jason Williams.
Thinking about the takeaway I ordered tomorrow night, which is better than my teammates’, even though the traffic is already busy...
But which shop doesn’t have a lot of traffic?
It's the kind that is deserted and no one wants to patronize it.
Jason Williams' mood suddenly became much brighter.
Zhang Hao wanted to comfort Jason Williams, but when he walked over, he found that the other party had a gloomy expression, and suddenly there was a hint of vulgarity...
Are you mad about losing your starting spot?
Zhang Hao felt a chill running down his back and forgot the words of comfort he had just thought of.
At this time Jason Williams noticed Zhang Hao's arrival. Looking at Zhang Hao, he suddenly remembered something... The takeaway fee for tomorrow is 500 yuan!
Jason Williams stood up and stretched out his hand to Zhang Hao: "Pay me back! Give me back 500 yuan!"
"What 500 yuan?" Zhang Hao was confused.
"That time you were almost beaten by an old lady, and I was fined 500 yuan!"
That incident... Zhang Hao didn't forget it, but he didn't think about it. He was indeed grateful to Jason Williams for standing up for him at that time, and because of this incident, his impression of Jason Williams improved a lot.
So, Zhang Hao spread his hands and said, "You didn't want to hit me, so why should I care if you get fined?"
“…”
Jason Williams was speechless for a moment, feeling that what Zhang Hao said made a lot of sense.
wrong!
When Jason Williams felt as if his IQ was humiliated and came to his senses, Zhang Hao had already pulled Kenny Anderson out of the meeting room.
A shrill cry came from the conference room: "Pay back the money..."
…
It is impossible to pay back the money.
How can I pay back the money I owed by my own ability? Besides, it’s not like Zhang got fined for a technical offense and someone else paid the money for him.
It’s definitely not that I’m reluctant to part with the $500!
Since Jason Williams was still thinking about collecting the debt, Zhang Hao estimated that the other party should not have suffered too much of a blow.
That's fine then. The starting position is already in his hands. Will Zhang give it to someone else?
Obviously not possible.
Back in the room, Zhang Hao had no plans to go out. As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Even the black players did not dare to go out easily at night for fear of being robbed, let alone him, a weak freshman?
Zhang Hao was preparing to read a book on sports medicine. Before that, he looked at the latest ability evaluations of his teammates.
Zhang Hao reads his own ability evaluation every day, but how can he pay attention to his teammates' evaluation every day? I haven't read it for a long time, and when I saw it, I was surprised!
"Kenny Anderson, 25 years old, 183 cm tall, 79 kg in weight, ability rating 89, offense 89, defense 74, passing 94, three-point shooting 82, mid-range shooting 85, layup 90, strength 76, speed 95..."
Looking at Kenny Anderson's ability evaluation, compared with the first time I looked at it, his strength has dropped by 3 points , his weight has dropped by 9 kilograms, and his speed has increased by 4 points...
The speed is top-notch!
"This is how a player averaging 20+10 per game should be evaluated... He's an All-Star starter in the first year after Jordan retired!"
"Defenders: Kenny Anderson, 25 years old, ability rating 89; Chris Childs, 27 years old, ability rating 79; Khalid Reeves, 23 years old, ability rating 63;
Kevin Edwards, 31 years old, ability rating 75; Vaughn Fleming, 33 years old, ability rating 71; Greg Graham, 25 years old, ability rating 69; Rex Waters, 25 years old, ability rating 59.
Forward: Almon Gilliam, 31, rating 82; Tim Perry, 31, rating 61;
PJ Brown, 26 years old, ability rating 77; Jason Williams, 27 years old, ability rating 73.
Center: Inka Dell, 23 years old, injured; Robert Wardan, 25 years old, ability rating 57. ”
After looking at the ability evaluations of other people, not everyone's score has increased. Vaughn Fleming, who is 33 years old, has increased by two points. This can also be seen from Zhang Hao's performance in the preseason. Vaughn Fleming's performance is getting better and better.
Graham and Gilliam are also in better shape than in the initial training games, while Edwards has been stable.
The most eye-catching individual skill was not Zhang Hao's mid-range shot or Kenny Anderson's pass, but Jason Williams' rebounding.
98 rebounding rating!
Zhang Hao was very satisfied. After a month of training and pre-season games, the team's overall condition was much better than when they first gathered.
If there was one thing Zhang Hao was really dissatisfied with, there was only one thing - such a big team, but there was not even one decent center...
…
A new month is here!
At 6:15 am on November 1st, Zhang Hao opened his eyes.
"Remaining lifespan 365 days, usable lifespan 364 days."
The waking time is becoming more and more stable. After another busy day, a new day has arrived.
It was such a coincidence that on the day I participated in the draft, I had exactly 365 days left to live.
Tonight is the first game of my professional career, which happens to be 365 days of my life.
It seems that these two important stages symbolize the beginning of a new life.
Suddenly, Zhang Hao remembered something and dialed a room number on the hotel phone, an internal line. Then he got up, put on his clothes, and turned on the TV.
Detroit is worthy of being the richest city in the United States. Its infrastructure is very well built and the wealthy families have plenty of heating.
Those who run hotels must be rich.
After putting on his clothes, Zhang Hao prepared to wash up. When he arrived at the bathroom door at the entrance of the room, he heard some movement outside.
Very efficient!
After rinsing my mouth and washing my face, the doorbell rang.
When I opened the door, I saw a camera already set up at the entrance of the room, recording a documentary from the Imperial Court TV station!
There is a first time for everything.
The first time, the road may be blocked and progress may be difficult.
But every man wants that first time.
As the first player in Chinese basketball history to play in the NBA, Zhang Hao was under the camera for most of the day in his first game of his career.
They had dinner together at the hotel yesterday evening, but under the camera, Zhang Hao and Su Qun, a young reporter from Chaoting Sports Channel, acted like they had just met. They got to know each other, exchanged greetings, and started their performance.
When checking in, the team paid for pay TV channels for Zhang Hao's room, and they also switched to those when he changed rooms.
Zhang Hao watched the international channel of the Imperial Court TV early in the morning. Don’t ask me, he is just concerned about domestic affairs.
Not long after, before 7 o'clock, the doorbell rang, and the team's strongest player Kenny Anderson came. As soon as Zhang Hao opened the door, Kenny Anderson said, "Axel, I thought about the tactics we discussed yesterday all night, and I still think there are problems. Let's discuss it quickly, otherwise tonight's game will be difficult."
"Oh, I also feel that there are some unresolved issues. Is that the problem you are talking about?"
"Yes, that's the question..."
As they spoke, the two of them sat down, took out the tactical manual and pointed at each other...
As for what the problem was, neither of them knew.
The content of the discussion can be summarized as "Look, look, it's right here, this and that, that and that, so that's how it is, Sri Lanka, Kangmuang..."
"Oh, God, I'm so lucky to have you. Although you are young, you are very smart. It feels so good to be your partner."
"Boss, it's my honor to be your partner. Thanks to your guidance, I have the ability to solve problems..."
As they spoke, they stood up and hugged each other.
"Ah...it's almost 8 o'clock? Let's go have breakfast first, otherwise we won't be able to drink hot soup later."
"Yes! My teammates are so enthusiastic, we can't fall behind..."
The two of them walked quickly to the restaurant as captured by the camera.
There were already cameras filming in the restaurant. On game days when they usually gathered in the parking lot at 8:30, these teammates were eager to get up at 8:25, wash up quickly and rush to the parking lot.
This time, when the two arrived at the restaurant, most people had already finished their meal and were actively discussing "things related to tonight's game."
After Zhang Hao and Kenny Anderson arrived, their teammates came to greet them enthusiastically, hugging and greeting them warmly as if they hadn't seen them for years... After a busy time, they could finally have breakfast. They finally didn't have to talk while eating. This short half hour was so tiring.
Yesterday evening at dinner time, someone from the Imperial Court arrived and gave us the outline of the script. We had to figure out the details ourselves. The league had given instructions, and Randy Whitman urged the players to fully cooperate. Then we had the footage of Zhang Hao from the time he woke up this morning to the present day.
In short, everything must be harmonious, and there must be scenes where difficulties arise and solutions are discussed.
Although everyone was unwell, they had to carry out the alliance's arrangements.
Zhang Hao just felt it was a bit troublesome, but it was just for one day, so it didn’t matter. He couldn’t have imagined this situation if it hadn’t happened, but if it had happened, he really wasn’t surprised.
The world is peaceful and prosperous, and all nations are paying tribute to us...
…
…
The Palace of Auburn Hills is the first private arena in North American sports history. The Jewish owner of the Pistons spent 70 million US dollars to build this arena. That year, the Knicks had a market value of 61 million US dollars and the Lakers had a market value of 52 million US dollars.
This represents how rich Detroit once was.
This arena witnessed the rise and fall of the Bad Boys and is destined to go down in basketball history.
The bad impression left by the Bad Boys on the fans is still affecting the Pistons. However, now, in the minds of all basketball fans, the Pistons have welcomed a savior - Grant Hill.
Zhang Hao was reading newspaper news and scouting reports about the Pistons on the team bus heading to the Palace of Auburn Hills. Both the media and the Nets' scouts had high praise for Grant Hill.
From the introduction of the Pistons, Zhang Hao learned that the city of Auburn Hills they were heading to was originally named Pontiac Township. It is really a village on the outskirts of Detroit with a population of only dozens of people. Because of the construction of the Palace of Auburn Hills and the super high popularity of the Bad Boys in the Detroit area, it has become the richest city in Detroit, with a population of more than 20,000. The average annual income per capita in Auburn Hills exceeds 60,000 US dollars.
The city of Auburn Hills is not large, about the size of a larger town in the country. The closer you get to the Palace of Auburn Hills, the more Grant Hill billboards you see. After entering Auburn Hills, the flow of people increases significantly, and police can be seen everywhere on the streets. Finally, there are no longer only black people on the streets.
When we arrived at the Palace of Auburn Hills, we found that the basketball fans in O'Hare were much more enthusiastic than those in La Village. As soon as the Nets bus arrived outside the Palace of Auburn Hills, it was greeted warmly by the Pistons fans.
Auburn Hills is safer than other places in Detroit, but living here still requires a strong mental quality. Over time, one develops a rough style of speaking and doing things.
Only in this way, in this place, can you feel safe.
Who says Americans only use oil-related vocabulary?
Zhang Hao heard the voices of their team's star player Kenny Anderson being greeted 18 times in the car.
And some people even called him Zhang the rookie!
Kenny Anderson was very calm: "Don't be surprised, you are a rookie and Hill is only a sophomore. They regard you as Hill's competitor."
After entering the stadium, the Nets conducted a basic tactical training class, reviewed it again, and then ended their preparation training.
In the first game of the new season, both teams had changes in their lineups, so the training was naturally not very targeted.
In order to save energy for the evening game, the training volume was very light and most of the players did not even sweat.
After the training, Butch Baird said, "Gather at 3 pm. You can go out for a walk, but don't leave Auburn Hills."
Once we arrived in Auburn Hills, we could relax a little.
It was almost lunch time, and the filming of the court TV station was temporarily stopped. The coaching team invited them out for lunch, to eat and drink. As for Zhang Hao's lunch filming, the information was already available, so they just had to make do with it.
Zhang Hao had changed his clothes and was about to go find Vaughn Fleming or Kenny Anderson for dinner when the cell phone in the bag in the closet rang.
Who would call at this time?
Pierce is a poor guy who doesn't go home and can't afford to make phone calls. April Clarke won't call on game days. His parents are busy with work and they only call once every six months. Now if there is something, he will contact his agent first. The agent is currently in Detroit...
When the phone was connected, a familiar voice came.
"Axl, you are in Auburn Hills, right? I am also in Auburn Hills. Do you have time to have lunch together at noon?"
It was Scott Collins, the high school head coach! The big liar who tricked him into the draft!
"Coach, it's you. Of course I have time. You don't know how much I miss you..."
