Volume 1: A rookie who breaks into the basketball world Chapter 23: The team will focus on training you next
TD Waterhouse Center in Orlando.
On the court, James and Boozer of the Cavaliers were replaced and others played; Liu Xiu, Randolph and Quinter Woods of the Trail Blazers were all replaced and others played.
The Cavaliers also have Dajuan Wagner on the court. The fans at the scene have a certain understanding of this quasi-sophomore player who performed quite well in his rookie season last season and are looking forward to him shining like he did in last year's summer league.
But no…Dajuan Wagner doesn’t seem to be able to play basketball well lately…
But this is not important. What the fans really care about is the previous games. Now it is obviously garbage time. If there is a shocking comeback, it would be great, but if not, it doesn’t matter. The previous games are exciting enough. It is not easy to see such games in the summer league. If the last few minutes enter garbage time, it will give some fans time to leave early.
For this game, there are more than 10,000 people sitting in the TD Waterhouse Center, so there will definitely be traffic jams for a while.
There are also quite a few fans who stay on site to watch the summer league, and there is a fun thing about it - predicting who will be the future superstar.
It's hard to say about this kind of thing, it depends on luck. In NBA history, there have been many high-draft busts and many superstars with very low draft picks. It is common for players to rise first and then fall, or to fall first and then rise.
Most people are definitely free to come watch the game in the late afternoon, and it’s also nice to stay and chat with friends.
People watching the game have different mindsets, and the players on the field also have different thoughts.
On the sidelines, the Cavaliers bench.
LeBron James is so angry and regretful now. He should have trusted his classmate Jason Kapono and stayed away from that guy...
But James was very curious about how the guy who was lazily sitting on the bench drinking an energy drink could use that tone, that expression, that attitude, and say those words... and yet drive people so crazy?
James recalled every communication with Liu Xiu. Although the number of times was not many, each time left a deep impression on him.
Liu Xiu's tone has been bland, encouraging, a little boastful, indifferent, doubtful... None of these tones can be considered bad, let alone vicious.
The expression is a bit "arrogant", but not overbearing, not overbearing, not unruly... It's just lazy, which makes people feel proud, but when you think about it calmly, you find that it's not that annoying.
Thinking of this, James had to admit that the guy was really handsome...
Yes, the other person is older than him, and he admitted it.
Other people of the same age, or even those who are two or three years older than Liu Xiu, find it difficult to be so calm, but James can... In terms of socializing, James is often very calm.
Liu Xiu rarely used any swear words and always spoke the truth.
But, taking all these things into consideration, James was so angry that he almost... turned around and left.
Fortunately I held it in.
Don’t mention it, James thought about it and felt that Liu Xiu was really awesome in this regard... When this thought came to his mind, the final whistle sounded.
People always have a mysterious yearning for things they don't have, no matter whether that thing is good or not.
When the final whistle sounded, the slight affection that James had just regained for Liu Xiu quickly grew!
He didn't have a good impression of Liu Xiu. Now James still didn't want to talk to Liu Xiu anymore. He couldn't be appeased for ten days or so.
Just saying, James' negative emotions quickly eased.
At 4:27 pm, after 1 hour and 27 minutes of game, the Trail Blazers defeated the Cavaliers 111-94 and won their third victory in the Orlando Summer League!
Randolph 26 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, Quintl Woods 33 points, Travis Outlaw 17 points, 10 rebounds, Boozer 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, James 24 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists...
Randolph's strong strength, James's versatility, Boozer's comprehensive offensive means, Quintl Woods and Travis Outlaw's outstanding impact, Kapono's accurate shooting... In this game, many young talents showed their talent and combat effectiveness.
This game, with more than 10,000 spectators, attracted a lot of attention. Thanks to James, many reporters came to the scene.
Randolph and Quintl Woods had a rare opportunity to be interviewed after the game.
Of course, the player surrounded by the most reporters is still the No. 1 pick James.
As for Liu Xiu, he accepted an interview with domestic reporters after the game, but no one paid much attention to him.
There are quite a few reporters from China who come to the United States, but only one or two can go to the scene to interview. Most of them can only conduct interviews in the locker room after the game or the next day.
This is the situation that always happens after a buzzer beater in his debut. Liu Xiu has gotten used to it. He is a little envious but doesn't dwell on it. If something is there, it is there. If it is not there, there is nothing you can do about it.
His playing style is simple and unattractive, and his statistics are not outstanding, which is normal.
And he didn't have time to take care of this now. After accepting the interview with domestic reporters, Liu Xiu immediately returned to the locker room, went to the toilet, found an empty cubicle, closed the door, and turned on the system screen.
“The mission section is open.
Trigger: LeBron James.
Mission: Gift for signing day.
Objective: The host needs to help the Trail Blazers defeat the Cavaliers.
Task progress: Completed.
Congratulations to the host for receiving the reward: Reverse Conqueror (BUFF). (Note: The reward for the first mission has been greatly increased.)"
Liu Xiu was a little excited, mission accomplished!
Looking at the "Note" prompt, Liu Xiu was very glad that he had completed it. Although he didn't know how big the improvement of this "substantial" amount would be, it didn't matter. No matter how much it got it, he would lose if he didn't get it.
After reading the system prompts, the interface switched to the "Talent" section.
There is a new thing in the "Talent" section - the "BUFF" interface!
"Reverse Conqueror (BUFF): 1. When the host performs well on the court, it will always inspire the opponent's desire to win. 2. The host's excellent abilities in all aspects of basketball on and off the court will always inspire the opponent's challenge mentality and the idea of surpassing. (The specific effect depends on the opponent's personality characteristics.)"
“…”
Looking at the introduction of this buff, Liu Xiu didn't know what to think.
James used socializing, rhetoric... and all kinds of communication skills that he shouldn't have at his age to pave the way for his conquest of the basketball world.
Liu Xiu looked at himself...it was really healing!
"In a word, anyway, the general meaning is that others will never accept it, right?"
Liu Xiu didn't know whether to be happy or sad now. This might make it easier for him to accumulate healing points...
"It won't have any effect right now. I only have the 13th pick in the draft, which is considered a well-known achievement...? The draft pick seems to be considered an achievement in the official NBA career statistics..."
Liu Xiu stopped worrying and calmed down. He returned to the system's main interface to look at the healing value prompt for tonight.
During the game, teammates gave a total of 279 points, mainly from Tim Carter... Just watching, the healing value from Tim Carter increased by 19 points.
"The coaching staff did a good job of balancing the two teams in the previous three games. Although I played more minutes, the playing time of the others was also stable. Although the relationship became increasingly tense, it was generally in a balanced state. I broke the balance in this game... Well, it doesn't matter. It seems that the team has already recruited new players for the Rocky Mountain Summer League at the end of this month, and most of the current players will leave..."
As for the opponent, the healing value given is not as much as that given by teammates.
There was not much overlap, and most of the opponents' attention tonight was not on him, but on Randolph, Quintl Woods, Travis Outlaw and other players who gave people a very direct impact.
The one who provides the most healing value is James.
but……
"This guy is really enough. The most he gave was only 49 points..."
…
…
"After tonight's game, I might have to go try out everywhere again."
"It's the same for me. In the first four games, I only played for a total of 20 minutes, and all of them were in garbage time."
"This is my fate, but I don't want to give up!"
"Yes, that's right. I won't give up either. I believe persistence will pay off!"
“…”
“…”
On the morning of July 11, Liu Xiu arrived at the training ground to scout out the location before the pre-match meeting.
The Trail Blazers ' game today is still at 3 pm. After the game, the team will be disbanded.
As soon as Liu Xiu arrived, he saw a group of teammates who were about to fail talking about the future, encouraging themselves and each other.
Liu Xiu was very moved by this and gave enthusiastic encouragement: "You must work hard. There are thousands of roads that lead to Rome. Only by working hard... can you understand that you are really incapable."
Liu Xiu's expression was still lazy, his tone was still gentle, and his previous words were quite inspiring, but suddenly there was a turn, causing several teammates to curse directly!
"I've been disliking you for a long time. You were just selected in the lottery, right? Why did the coaching staff give you so many preferential treatments... Wendell, why are you holding me back..."
Tim Carter jumped up from his chair and wanted to hit someone, but Liu Xiu still had that lazy expression with a smile on his face, as if he was not affected. Tim Carter was held back by Wendell Carey, who was also in the "flop group".
"Tim, we are teammates, you can't...if you rush forward he will kill you in self-defense!"
Wendell Carey saw that he couldn't hold on any longer, and looking at Liu Xiu, although his expression didn't change much but he was already in a fighting stance, he spoke out directly.
The words "but" and "bad" made Tim Carter a little confused and stopped jumping forward.
And what the hell is self-defense?
At this time, Liu Xiu's voice reached Tim Carter's ears - "Don't talk nonsense, why would I hit anyone? I'm just ready to defend against the upcoming invasion."
Tim Carter only then noticed Liu Xiu's fighting posture. He watched Liu Xiu stop his moves and turn away. Even if he didn't know professional Sanda, the change in momentum in that instant... he could feel that if he had pounced on him just now, he would have been knocked over by Liu Xiu immediately.
"Wendell, have you known this rookie before?"
"I play basketball in New York. Before the March Madness this year, Syracuse University asked our team to be a sparring partner. During the game, we got angry. Our players were several years older and had never played before. It was because of him... and we were the first to fight, so he was acting in self-defense."
"..." When Tim Carter heard this, although he didn't know the specific process, based on his own experience, he could guess how Liu Xiu used self-defense.
Only then did he remember that Liu Xiu was from New York, and he had heard from Wendell Carey before that Liu Xiu had a background in campus gangs.
Players produced in New York, whether they are high school students or college students, are a little scary... Ron Artest is called a villain, but in fact compared with other New York players, Artest can be said to be a good boy. He just fights.
He can only be thankful that Liu Xiu always chooses "self-defense"?
…
“I made money, I made money…”
Liu Xiu was a little happy when he saw that the healing value had increased by 249 points and reached a historical high of 6133 points.
"It's mainly because I've been playing games and training every day these days, so I don't have much energy left for simulation training, so it doesn't consume much..."
Liu Xiu knew that what he said just now was very offensive and almost caused a fight, but he was not afraid. It was not because he really wanted to fight, but because he knew that he would not be able to fight.
He has been observing these days and found that Wendell Carey and Tim Carter have a good relationship and will definitely not watch Tim Carter commit suicide.
Wendell Carey, Liu Xiu remembered, was a player of a basketball club in New York. He was once a genius at New York University, but he was not that outstanding after leaving university. He still played in the professional basketball world, but that was just about it.
If nothing unexpected happens, the relationship between teammates will end after the game this afternoon. Liu Xiu chooses to get as much healing value as possible. He will use everything he has observed in the past few days. Otherwise, it will be wasted if it expires.
"Unfortunately, after the healing value increased, my mood quickly turned into a pure desire to fight to vent my anger..."
…
…
In the afternoon, the Trail Blazers faced the last game of the Orlando Summer League against the winless Bucks, who were at the bottom of the table.
The Bucks are at the bottom of the summer league because they are an NBA playoff-level team. They were able to get the No. 8 pick to select T.J. Ford because they got the right to swap first-round picks with the Supersonics in the trade that swapped Ray Allen and Payton, and they exchanged their No. 14 pick for the Supersonics' No. 8 pick.
The Bucks summer league team, including the newly drafted T.J. Ford and Keith Bogans, only has three official NBA players.
During the competition, Liu Xiu felt what it meant to be the “fastest” man. He was really fast!
But Liu Xiu also made TJ Ford feel what it meant to be a "rogue". Whenever TJ Ford defended Liu Xiu, Liu Xiu would go to the low post to back up.
The atmosphere in the Trail Blazers was very bad in this game. Liu Xiu would still pass the ball well when playing with teammates he had a bad relationship with, but some teammates would not...but the strength gap was obvious. Quintl Woods and Randolph still played very happily tonight. The two scored 47 points together and led the Trail Blazers to a 104-88 win over the Bucks, improving their record to 4 wins and 1 loss, ending the Orlando Summer League.
Liu Xiu's statistics are still not outstanding, with 15 points and 3 assists. Scoring depends on luck, and assists can only be said to be barely qualified.
But Liu Xiu felt that the coaching staff was satisfied with his performance, because that was what he was good at, stability, outstanding ability to organize offense within tactics and strong execution.
At 8:31 p.m., in the last game of this Orlando Summer League, the Magic, who always play at night, unsurprisingly defeated the Heat 92-77, winning all five games and winning the Orlando Summer League championship.
For the last game, all the players from the other four teams came to watch the game. There were prize money in the summer league, although not much, but the last-place team also got some.
Liu Xiu did some calculations when he was free. The total bonus was $100,000. If a team consists of 30 staff members and players, even if it was the Bucks who lost all six games, each person could share more than $100 in bonus.
For coaches, trainers and other staff, it is extra income; for players who play in the summer league and do not receive a salary, it can be considered a subsidy.
This was calculated by Liu Xiu based on the Trail Blazers' "equal distribution" method and personnel. Perhaps some teams would divide all the money equally among the players, but their Trail Blazers divided it equally among all personnel.
After the Magic defeated the Heat, the general manager of the host Magic team announced the results of the game and presented trophies and bonus checks.
The Magic team with 5 wins and 0 losses received the championship trophy and a check for $50,000; the Trail Blazers team with 4 wins and 1 loss won the runner-up and a bonus of $30,000; the Cavaliers team with 3 wins and 2 losses won the third place and a bonus of $10,000.
Liu Xiu was very happy as he was about to receive a small sum of money, about a thousand dollars.
Randolph next to him started to mutter when they were watching the game in the evening. After the award ceremony, when Liu Xiu received a system notification that the summer league team had been disbanded and was no longer "the same competitive group", Randolph was still muttering those words over and over again.
The words used are different, but the meaning is the same.
" Jace, the Summer League is different from the NBA. It's not the same level of competition at all..."
"Jace, I know you like to bully people, but you have to be careful when you bully people. Not everyone can be bullied."
"If you really fight, you must run away if you can't win. If you can win, you must be careful and use force directly. You can't treat fighting as a joke..."
At first, Liu Xiu just smiled and nodded, responded, and chatted a few words about this matter. Both of them had some experience in fighting.
At this point, Liu Xiu finally couldn't help it and asked, "Zack, what's wrong with you today? Why are you suddenly so emotional?"
You're asking now! Why didn't you ask earlier? Randolph complained to himself and said, "The coach called me over to talk about something during dinner."
"Yep."
"They said I don't have to participate in the upcoming Rocky Mountain Summer League and can officially take a vacation. My ability to play in the summer league can no longer improve me."
"Ah... I'm so envious."
“…”
Randolph wants to hit someone, is that what he meant? Doesn't this guy know how to connect the context? Is his reading comprehension so poor?
However, it was rare to have such a close friend, so Randolph endured it!
"The coach said that the upcoming Rocky Mountain Summer League will focus on training you."
"Oh... eh? What? Zach, you said the coach won't let you play in the next summer league, and the team is mainly training me?"
"Are you listening to me?"
"Oh, sorry, I was distracted."
“…”
Liu Xiu was asking questions properly at first, but suddenly a system prompt came out, just when the Magic general manager said a lot of nonsense and announced the end of the Orlando Summer League.
"The 2003 Orlando NBA Summer League has ended. The game is being settled. The settlement will be based on the host's participation in the games, personal performance, team record, etc...."
