Volume 1 Western Cowboy Chapter 81: Little Pigeon, do you want to play basketball? I am the all-around king
In the summer of 2004, all eyes were on Athens.
The slogan for this Olympics is simple: "Welcome Home."
The Olympics have returned to their birthplace.
At this time, with the Olympic fever spreading all over the world, no one would care about the basketball game going on in a small basketball hall in the Rocky Mountain area of Salt Lake City.
But for a small group of people, this game is more attractive than the Olympics.
On July 17, the Rocky Mountain Summer League opened with the Utah Jazz facing the Indiana Pacers.
When the Jazz's first-round 14th overall pick, Kris Humphries, came on the court, he found that the fans' reaction was not very enthusiastic.
But a few seconds later, when Wayne of the Pacers came on the court, the fans at the scene became agitated.
Humphries curled his lips. After all, the Jazz were playing at home...
As a result, Wayne completely blew away his popularity!
As the MOP of the semi-finals, Wayne's fan base in the United States is indeed stronger than when Chairman Yao first came.
Well, better than most rookies in the same class.
Although Humphries is this year's lottery goalie, few Salt Lake City fans have seen him play before.
Wayne, on the other hand, has already made a name for himself in the two nationally televised games in the semi-finals.
If you haven't seen the scene where Wayne faded away and hit the key shot over Okafor's head, you would be embarrassed to say that you are a real fan.
Besides, when watching the summer league, fans watch the players, not the teams.
Therefore, although most of the people present were locals from Salt Lake City, they still preferred Wayne.
"I really envy you, Wayne." Behind Wayne, an undrafted center named John Edwards looked at the restless crowd around him and sighed.
"It's nothing, just a small scene." Wayne shrugged. This small gymnasium and these thousand or so people were not enough to cause any ripples in Wayne's heart.
When I was playing elite football in Minnesota...
Ahem, that's an exaggeration. It was only two months ago.
Wayne felt very relaxed after he came on the court. Besides the fact that the scene was not very big, it was also because Wayne had made sufficient preparations for the summer league!
After finalizing the sneaker contract with Nike, Wayne started training.
Mancias, who was recruited by Wayne, has been implementing Wayne's weight gain plan.
A few days ago, when Wayne went to Salt Lake City to practice with the team, he did not forget to bring Mancias with him.
Well, other people were jealous.
At such a young age, he already has a personal trainer!
Of course, most people are more jealous of Wayne's $28 million shoe contract.
As the media said, 90% of these players playing in the summer league will never earn that much money in their lifetime.
There is no doubt that Wayne is the biggest player in this game.
At this time, Mike Brown, assistant coach of the Pacers and head coach of this summer league, yes, the one who would later be Mousse's nanny in Cleveland, was pretending to write and draw on the tactical board.
It looks like he drew something very complicated, but actually he just said one sentence: " When you can't open the situation, give the ball to Wayne."
As for how to give the ball to Wayne and how Wayne plays after getting the ball, that is none of his business.
Well, don't doubt it, the offensive tactics of the defensive coach Mike Brown were so simple and crude, which is similar to the later coach Lu.
Give the ball to the strongest person, it’s not shameful!
And the summer league does not really focus on tactics.
Just look at the summer league rules.
A player will not be sent off until he has received 10 fouls, so as to allow the players to perform as much as possible.
Of course, this also means that summer league can be pretty rough.
The cost of committing fouls has been reduced and no one will be polite.
In this way, Wayne officially stepped into the NBA Summer League.
Strictly speaking, this is not an NBA game because at this time, the Rocky Mountain Summer League was not officially recognized by the NBA.
Although there are 11 teams participating, it can at most be regarded as a training match organized by these teams themselves.
It was not until 2007 that the NBA introduced the Las Vegas Summer League, and the Summer League was truly considered one of the official events of the NBA.
And in terms of player strength, this game is far behind the NBA.
Most positions are filled with undrafted players and marginal players, and their level is not very high.
Therefore, after coming on the court, Wayne was extremely calm.
The tension and excitement that I had imagined were not there at all.
Anyway, he didn't know most of the people on the court, and he didn't have to cooperate or build relationships with his summer league teammates.
Wayne's goal is very simple - just try his best to play his ball well.
Wayne, wearing jersey No. 99, put his hands on his hips and looked at Humphries opposite him.
The young man still has a young face and seems to have a promising future.
Hey, why do you, a young man like me, have to get involved with Kardashian?
As for Wayne's number 99, it actually doesn't have any special meaning, it's just for the sake of being different.
At first, Wayne thought about wearing his father's number, and then Tony suggested that he and Wayne exchange their college numbers.
Wayne thought about it and finally chose his favorite number 99.
99, how easy it is to remember. You don’t have to worry about having the same number as others. It can also become one of your special symbols in the future.
If Wayne has to give an explanation for the number, then it is this number, which is 6 times the number.
Besides, didn’t George Mikan, the first generation NBA superstar, also wear No. 99?
In this age when everyone loves the number 23, I, Wayne, emulate this ancient beast.
This non-trend B style instantly became different.
After the referee threw the ball into the air, the 2.13-meter-tall John Edwards of the Pacers won the ball.
Wayne hurried forward, but stopped outside the three-point line, with no intention of going inside to take position.
In addition to the fact that Wayne really likes to get into position outside the three-point line, the Pacers also have requirements for Wayne.
After Carlisle and Bird discussed it, they decided to develop Wayne's ability to play the three position starting from the summer league.
So, they told Mike Brown to have Wayne attack more from beyond the three-point line.
Mike Brown also conveyed this idea to Wayne yesterday.
Wayne was so happy that he could now shoot three-pointers with a clear conscience!
But in the first round, Wayne did not catch the ball.
Because the point guard on the Pacers' side is a stubborn guy whose name is unknown.
During the confrontation training yesterday, he had the highest record in the team with Wayne blocking 3 times in 10 minutes.
Today he still refused to believe it and continued to try to break through.
As a result, the Jazz's No. 16 rookie Kirk Snyder received the first big gift of the game.
A big shot completed the defense.
"Oh, what's wrong with point guards nowadays?" Mike Brown sighed. This game was simply unbearable to watch.
Therefore, in the summer league, how to balance personal performance and team performance is also an art.
Sometimes, being too humble makes it impossible to express yourself, but being too independent will lower your own value.
The Jazz immediately fought back, determined to regain their home-court advantage.
As a result, when the Jazz guard was about to make a layup, the basketball in his hand was ruthlessly fanned away from behind.
Suddenly, the small stadium exploded, and the fans came just to watch Wayne's performance!
"Wow, he actually caught him!" Seeing Wayne's reckless pursuit and success, Mike Brown called Ward lucky.
With this movement speed, he doesn't look like a real power forward at all!
He seemed to see Artest chasing others on the court.
Wayne chased the ball so aggressively that after landing, he fell directly into the audience due to too much inertia.
Really working hard!
Ever since he got the "Man of Steel" badge, Wayne is no longer afraid of falling.
As long as he can make it, he doesn't care whether it will be safe when he lands.
Just push hard and it’s over!
In just one round, many Jazz players looked pale.
Even though he's so high, he can still chase and defend so quickly.
Is this guy Garnett?
Garnett in the summer league? Is this game going to happen?
Is it interesting to come to the Novice Village with a max-level character?
Interesting, very interesting!
Wayne was having a great time.
He climbed out of the crowd and returned to the court as if nothing had happened.
The Jazz guard was dumbfounded. He swore that as long as Wayne was on the court, he would never enter the three-second zone!
After the Jazz sent the ball out of bounds, Kirk Snyder missed a three-pointer, Wayne grabbed the rebound and completed a beautiful defense.
Snyder is similar to Tony, with excellent defense but poor shooting, and his skill tree is not well-chosen.
Today was the first time Snyder played in the NBA three-point line, and his accuracy was completely absent.
After Wayne took the basketball, the tough guy relied on the fact that he was a point guard and raised his hand to ask for the ball without any hesitation.
But Wayne ignored him this time, he chose...
Control the ball across half court!
You know what, when Wayne controlled the ball across half court, his movements were very professional.
He dribbled the ball while giving instructions with hand gestures.
In fact, Wayne doesn't know how to command any offense now, and the Pacers' offense has no tactics at all.
He gestured, just asking everyone to move away.
Then, people saw a tall power forward with long arms, dribbling the ball across half court like a point guard, and confronting another power forward one-on-one outside the three-point line...
Mike Brown has a headache. Your style of play is too novel and I find it hard to accept!
Humphries was on high alert, knowing that the MOP standing in front of him was not someone to be trifled with.
The hot man in front of him is the one who can compete with Okafor on the offensive end and can also fade away and make a shot in front of Okafor.
Humphries would have to be crazy to underestimate the enemy.
In reality, there aren't that many tricks where you underestimate your enemy and end up getting slapped in the face.
Humphries retreated one step inside the three-point line. He was more afraid of Wayne's breakthrough than his shooting.
After all, this is the NBA's three-point line. Even if Wayne is accurate...
"brush!"
"Eh?" Humphries's inner drama hadn't finished yet when he heard the sound of the nets rolling behind him.
Looking back, Wayne had scored a goal.
It turns out that Wayne and the NBA's three-point line can be almost seamlessly integrated.
"This... is unreasonable!" Humphries' face was full of black lines. After all, I am the lottery goalkeeper, so give me some face.
As a result, in the next round, after being thanked by Yan, he was hit by Wayne again.
Wayne is so generous.
"Oh my god, there's such a huge difference in height and wingspan. He's asking for trouble." Seeing Humphries hitting Wayne and causing bleeding, Mike Brown really felt that he could go back to the hotel and rest.
What difference does it make whether you have your own coaching seat or not?
Originally, the biggest threat on the Jazz side was Humphries, but in this round, he didn't stand a chance at all.
Humphries is a low-post offensive inside player who currently has no shooting ability.
Being blocked by Wayne in the low post, he was basically useless. He couldn't play and the Jazz had no chance of winning.
Wayne got the basketball and controlled the ball again across half court.
The assistant coaches all joked: "Substitute the others, Wayne is enough."
Humphries tried to steal the ball, but Wayne flexibly changed hands and passed by Humphries.
Wayne didn't expect that he could shake off Humphries so easily, so he suddenly accelerated and rushed straight to the basket.
Wayne accelerates very quickly, and initial acceleration is his strong point.
So much so that when he entered the three-second zone, the Jazz center hadn't reacted yet.
How did this tall guy get in?
What about the Humphries?
Just like that, Wayne scored with a two-handed dunk.
After being blocked, he dribbled the ball all the way through and dunked, and the reputation of Indiana Garnett officially began!
Mike Brown wiped the sweat from his forehead. When Carlisle first said he wanted to train Wayne to play the three position, Mike Brown was not optimistic.
But now, he has changed his mind.
Although Wayne is 2.11 meters tall, he seems to be more suitable to play small forward than power forward!
After all, Wayne's low-post skills are very average, and he is a little thin, so he may not be able to handle the inside game.
But his breakthrough, acceleration and shooting do meet the standards of a small forward.
Peja from the Kings team next door, who is only 3 cm shorter than Wayne, is shining at the power forward position. He was ranked fourth in the MVP rankings last season!
Arranging positions based on height is sometimes not necessarily the best option.
Just think about it, if the Pistons' Ben Wallace were pushed to the 2nd or 3rd position, the scene would be...
Mike Brown began to feel that Wayne's plasticity might be beyond imagination.
In this game, Wayne finally monopolized the ball and used his small forward style to make Humphries dizzy.
In the end, the score was fixed at 108 to 92, and the Pacers won their first victory in the Rocky Mountain Summer League under the leadership of Wayne.
Among them, Wayne alone scored a double-double of 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks, and made 4 of 5 three-pointers.
Few rookie players can achieve this kind of shooting percentage when they first come into contact with the three-point line in the NBA.
In the first game of the summer league, Wayne performed perfectly.
It is still unknown whether Wayne's 28 million contract with Nike is a myth.
But at least it won't be a joke.
After the game, Mike Brown pushed up his glasses and called Carlisle.
"We're rich, we're rich, this time we're really rich!"
Well, Wayne's performance made the Indianapolis assistant coach completely forget about Al Harrington.
Little did people know that Mike Brown complained a lot when Harrington just left.
Men always get tired of the old and love the new.
