Chapter 257 256. Teammates with unique personalities
Zhang Yang entered the gym rat mode, along with Rondo and Felton.

Alan Anderson also practiced for two days, but couldn't stand it anymore and gave up.

During the ten days of learning from Nash, he trained as hard as the other three brothers, because at that time he could learn a little bit of new things every day and practice something new every day.

But as a role player, he only learned simple application methods. Nash only corrected the details of what he already knew. Basically, he learned and practiced it on the same day, and there was nothing new to practice after he came back.

Alan Anderson's talent is average in the NBA. Many of the skills he excelled in college cannot be displayed in the NBA. He is strong, has above-average athletic ability, has a little shooting talent, and his defensive talent is above average. After two seasons, he has become completely functional and has long stopped trying other playing styles in the game.

However, the team only needs him to do those things, and his personal talent is not enough to develop many abilities that can be used in NBA games. His training is monotonous and boring. When the techniques or basic skills he is practicing reach a certain level and the improvement speed becomes slow, he really can't stand spending every day on the training ground.

In Alan Anderson, Zhang Yang saw a sad reality for role players—it’s not that role players don’t want to work hard, but that they really don’t even have the conditions to work hard.

Zhang Yang remembered that he often saw news reports about how hard a certain superstar worked, but rarely heard about how hard a certain role player worked.

A few days later, it was late September and the teammates returned to the team one after another.

After not seeing each other for two or three months, Zhang Yang did not feel any strangeness when chatting with his teammates. Instead, he felt closer than at the same time last year.

They won the championship together, which was the first time for most of them. Moreover, when no one was optimistic about them, they fought back and broke through the Eastern Conference, reversed the Spurs and won the championship. The friendship between teammates was sublimated a lot.

Also, there are very few lineup changes.

Jordan and Bickerstaff followed the tradition of the defending champions and tried their best to retain the championship lineup during the offseason. Except for the sign-and-trade deal for Gerald Wallace that had to be made, no other trades were made.

A total of 10 players remained from last season's championship team, with only 4 newcomers. One rookie, Aaron Afflalo, was selected. He was Zhang Yang's senior in high school. Although their relationship is not very close, he is considered a family member.

The only free agent signed, Grant Hill, is a heartthrob, loved by the entire team and even an idol to many of his teammates. Everyone is very enthusiastic towards him, he has a good personality and integrated smoothly.

Grant Hill prefers to play with Muhammad, a veteran who also entered the NBA in the 90s. They are both 30+ players and have more common topics.

Mike Miller and Cardinal, who were acquired in the trade, are both players with good personalities.

Mike Miller was the captain of the Florida Gators, a strong NCAA team in the early 21st century. He was warm and generous, and had a strong sense of leadership. As soon as he arrived, he brought together the newcomer Afflalo, Perkins, the "remnant" of the fighting team, and Cardinal, who was traded with him.

Cardinal was interesting. He was the last one to leave on the first day after returning to the team. When Zhang Yang finished his physical therapy and took a shower and was ready to leave, he saw this new teammate working with the staff to tidy up the training facilities and clean the training ground and locker room.

Zhang Yang felt a little embarrassed and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Cardinal: "Jack, you've been training hard, go back and have a good rest. You've definitely never done this kind of work before, so I'll just stay and help you."

Zhang Yang: "Uh... okay then."

Looking at Cardinal doing odd jobs in a hurry, with a height of over two meters, great strength and stamina, he can do more work by himself than three staff members... Boss Joe, would you like to consider streamlining the staff list?
The next morning, Zhang Yang told Felton about this.

Felton responded, "Jack, don't you know Brian's nickname?"

Zhang Yang: "What nickname?"

Felton: "Administrator, he was selected by the Pistons in 2000. He was supposed to be cut after his rookie season, but he stayed at the Palace of Auburn Hills during the offseason, helping the rookies with training, helping the staff with work, and training very hard himself, which touched the new head coach of the Pistons... By the way, the new head coach of the Pistons at that time seemed to be Rick. Oh, by the way, he was later traded to the Wizards and was a teammate of Michael for a while..."

Zhang Yang: "After mopping the floor, a middle-class player came out?"

Felton: “Well… you could say that!”

Zhang Yang was curious about this teammate. He thought Cardinal was just a frontcourt jack of all trades with steady shooting, good defensive attitude and hard working. He didn't expect that this teammate's career was so "legendary".

He ran to find Carlisle and asked him if what the fat boss said was true.

Although Little Fatty is a know-it-all, he occasionally becomes a rumor spreader.

Carlisle confirmed Felton's statement: "Yes, I was impressed by his efforts and kept him, but unfortunately in the summer of 02, in order to get Hamilton, we sent him to the Wizards. He didn't get any opportunities in the Wizards and was cut. When I went to work for the Pacers in 03, he came for a tryout again. I wanted to sign him, but the Pacers' roster was full. Fortunately, I knew Musselman, the head coach of the Warriors at the time, and recommended him to the Warriors. After three years of training in the NBA, he became a very good player. He performed very well in the 03-04 season. In the summer of 04, the Grizzlies gave him a 4-year full mid-level offer.

I strongly recommend Michael to bring him back in the trade, just to use his inspiring career to inspire others, hard work will eventually pay off! "

Zhang Yang: "Uh, is this workplace PUA?"

Jim Carrey was so full of passion that he almost got a stitch in the side because of Zhang San's words.

Carlisle angrily said: "It's not workplace PUA, it's necessary ideological guidance. Every team has many players with relatively ordinary talents. If they want to get a contract extension and stay in the professional arena for a long time, what else can they do except work hard?"

Zhang Yang: "Oh, I accept your statement."

Carlisle was speechless for a moment, then said, “Actually there is another reason, he reminds me of when I was playing basketball myself.

I was almost cut after being selected by the Celtics in 84, but I worked very hard and spent the entire summer at the TD Garden. In addition to training, I also helped the coaching staff with odd jobs, organizing documents, and recording their discussions. By the way, I won the championship earlier than Michael, in my sophomore year, and swept Michael in the first round. I played against him!"

Zhang Yang looked at Carlisle's boastful expression and said, "So, your defense played a major role in Michael's 63 points?"

Carlisle: "I played against him for less than 3 minutes in 3 games. His 63 points had nothing to do with me."

Zhang Yang: “…”

...

It was September 9th, the scheduled time for returning to the team, and all the members of the Bobcats finally arrived. Carlisle started some training camp work in advance.

In fact, on the 22nd, 13 players had returned to the team, and only Hermann showed up for work.

In this regard, Carlisle complained when chatting with Zhang Yang on the 23rd: "If Walter also came, we could start training camp earlier and prepare for the new season earlier."

Zhang Yang's answer was: "The deadline is the 25th. Walter is not late. We can't have a problem with him just because someone else arrived early."

Carlisle didn't expect Zhang Yang to be so tolerant in this regard. Other geniuses he had worked with, such as Bird, Big Ben, and Miller, were all extremely strict in this regard. Whoever returned to the team last, they would either scold or look at him with fierce eyes, urging him to return earlier next time.

Zhang Yang is quite open-minded. He believes that as long as you are not late, it is not a mistake. If you want to roll, you cannot force others to roll as well.

And preparing for the new season actually doesn't matter in these two or three days.

Zhang Yang could understand Carlisle's urgency. It was indeed a lot of pressure for Carlisle to take over the Bobcats.

Last season, they had a legendary season under the leadership of Bickerstaff. Carlisle took over the defending champion team, but they were also missing a core forward, and the four-core team became three-core... It is normal to be impatient occasionally.

However, Zhang Yang was also puzzled. Hermann was actually quite competitive last year. He was among the hardest-working players on the team in training and spent the entire offseason in the gym. What happened this year?

When in doubt, look for the boss!

Zhang San waved his hand and the fat boss came out!

That afternoon, Felton found out that one of his college seniors was also playing in the NBA. There was a player from Argentina on the team, and that player had a good relationship with Hermann.

The Argentine player revealed that Hermann wanted to retire.

reason……

Zhang Yang: "You've won all the medals, so you have nothing to pursue?"

Felton: "Yes, Walter won the World Championship runner-up in 02, the South American Championship in 03, the Olympic Championship in 04, the Pan American Basketball Championship in 05, and won the NBA championship with us last season. He has no more ambitions in his career and wants to retire to concentrate on writing." Zhang Yang: "This basketball resume is really rich."

This is another trouble for the Bobcats in the new season.

Although Herman did not play much in the playoffs last season, he was very stable and his psychological qualities from participating in the World Series were fully demonstrated. Although he averaged only 20 points per game in more than 5 playoff games, his shooting percentage of 52.7% was second only to Perkins' 60%, and his three-point shooting percentage of 46% was the highest on the team.

During the offseason, Zhang Yang learned from Carlisle's chat that Carlisle sees this international player as an important rotation player for the new season's forward and guard lines. Although Hermann is tall, 206 cm, he is a pitcher who can play at positions 2-4. Even if Hill comes, he will be the third choice for positions 2-4, ahead of Afflalo and Cardinal.

Zhang Yang hesitated for a moment, then decided to let Carlisle, Bickerstaff and Jordan worry about it.

He could actually understand Herman's thoughts.

This teammate is not such an ambitious player. He plays basketball just because he likes it. Winning the world championship or NBA championship may be one of his dreams, and he has already achieved it. He has no shortage of salary from playing basketball. The money he receives from the Spanish government every year is enough for him to live a carefree life. It is normal for him to want to retire from the professional arena after achieving his dream...

That’s right, Zhang Yang feels that his teammates are really... unique!

On the 25th and 26th, the Bobcats conducted tests on physical fitness, technology, shooting, etc.

Every time Zhang Yang took a test, the entire coaching staff watched. Bickerstaff and Jordan also came to the sidelines to watch and set up a camera to film.

After two days of testing, on the evening of the 26th, the management and coaching staff held an overtime meeting to analyze the players' progress this summer.

They had very high expectations for Zhang Yang, and Zhang Yang did not disappoint them. His physical fitness, technical progress, and shooting improvement all met or even exceeded their expectations.

Jordan: "Jack is very patient. It is not in vain to hire Tim to help him train. His technical movements are more concise and there are fewer unnecessary movements. His offensive efficiency will definitely improve."

Englander: "He has done a good job in career planning. He did not blindly expand his skills. In addition to focusing on re-polishing his basic skills during the offseason, he spent the rest of his time trying to strengthen his commonly used skills. I heard that he even went to Nash to train together. He has talent, learning ability, hard work, and he is also very patient."

Jordan: "Yes, I originally wanted Tim to remind him that at his age, he should not blindly pursue comprehensive skills, but should first practice the skills he is good at until he is proficient, but I still underestimated him. Before Tim reminded him, he took the initiative to do this."

England: "Raymond has made great progress. His technical movements and shooting habits have improved a lot with the help of Tim. His step-back shooting has improved faster than I expected!"

Jordan thought back to the close-range step-back shots he had seen Felton do these days, and his expression was gloomy. He said, "Is that considered a fast improvement? Five out of ten shots missed, and that's in training. It can't be used in the game. I remember you said he started practicing this in August, right? He was able to do this in just one month?"

Carlisle smiled and said, "Michael, not everyone is like Jack and you, with such great talent and solid basic skills, and can quickly practice anything you want to practice. It's good enough that Raymond can master the technical moves of this difficult offensive method in a month. As for shooting accuracy, let him practice slowly. He is only 23 years old, there is no need to rush."

Jordan felt comfortable listening to Carlisle's words, but he had a question: "Is this also considered a high-difficulty offensive method?"

Everyone present was speechless, but they also thought it was normal. In Jordan's eyes, there was no such thing as a difficult offensive method. In Jordan's eyes, all the techniques were about jumping up and shooting the ball.

Englander responded: "Raymond's newly developed breakthrough connection close-range quick stop step-back jump shot is indeed the most difficult offensive method, covering many basic skills and techniques such as breakthrough, quick stop, step-back shooting, rhythm control, etc.

In fact, when he asked me to help him develop this move, I didn't know how to help him. I could only separate each basic skill, let him practice each one separately, and let him figure out how to connect them together.

My ability is still not enough, but Nash can clearly sort out the connection and comprehensive application of each link for him. Raymond's progress in learning from Nash for more than ten days may be greater than that of me training with him for half a year or a year. "

Englander is a very comprehensive shooting coach. Not only does he guide his players in shooting training, he also masters a lot of shooting-related techniques. He is also good at some ball-handling techniques and works hard to improve himself. When he worked with legendary trainer Tim Grove in the summer of these two years, he actively absorbed Tim Grove's professional knowledge... But when it comes to the most advanced technology, he is still not as good as those players who are really good at it and use it in actual combat.

Jordan: "Is the gap that big? Impossible!"

Jordan has great confidence in Engelland's ability as a shooting coach, saying that he is no worse than Frank Hamblen of the Lakers. Tim Grove, who has worked with both Engelland and Hamblen, has also made such an evaluation.

Carlisle interrupted and said, "Don't be discouraged, Chip. You are definitely a better trainer than Nash. You are different from him. Your guidance is to let the players hone their basic skills. With excellent basic skills, they can learn skills faster.

The reason why Raymond can make rapid progress under Nash's guidance is because of the basic skills you have laid for him in the past two years. Moreover, Nash's coaching style only produces a copy of his skills.

Your guidance will give players more possibilities and the opportunity to develop their own unique offense."

England was a little disappointed at first, but after hearing this, his confidence returned. However, he still had his own thoughts: "Even in the NBA, not every team can have a player with talent who can play in his own style. In our team, only Jack has such talent, right? Most players still imitate the playing styles of those famous stars."

Carlisle: "That's right, that's why the team needs veterans. Jack and Raymond went to Orlando to recruit Grant in person, probably for this reason."

Jordan, Engelland, Randy Brown, Bickerstaff Jr.... and others nodded when they heard this.

Only Bickerstaff judged others by his own standards: Why do I feel that the guy wants the team to sign Hill back just because he likes him?
After Felton's topic, they analyzed other players.

Okafor, steady improvement.

Millsap trained in the summer league for a month, then went to find Okafor and trained with Oakley for a month. His basic skills improved a lot and his style of play became tougher.

The old problems are still there - can't see behind, and defending the baseline without the ball and protecting the defensive rebounds is terrible.

Fortunately, the team has Okafor, Perkins, Muhammad and others to help him clean up the mess, and he is just a substitute, so these shortcomings are acceptable. After all, he has more advantages.

He has the talent for mid-range and even long-range shooting, strong athletic ability, good offensive rebounding, positive playing style, and hard-working defense.

Perkins, Muhammad, and Alan Anderson are all functional players with outstanding advantages but incomplete abilities. It is too difficult for them to make much progress. It is enough for them to adapt to the changes in the system.

Jarrett Jack has comprehensive offensive means, but the intensity is a bit lacking. He works well in the regular season, but in the playoffs... he did not meet their expectations.

However, being able to help Felton and Zhang Yang share the pressure of ball-handling offense in the regular season is already very good, especially now that Gerald Wallace has left, and Jarrett Jack's ball-handling offense ability is very much needed in the regular season.

As for the newcomers Cardinal and Mike Miller, regardless of the fact that they were acquired in exchange for Gerald Wallace, the Bobcats coaching staff and management are very satisfied with their playing styles.

Mike Miller has excellent positioning, strong catching and shooting abilities, and decent passing ability, which is mainly reflected in his quick distribution of the ball and his lack of ball sticking. He is a very good sixth man, and received second place in the 05-06 season's best sixth man vote, second only to Zhang Yang.

Cardinal can play positions 3-5 and is a passionate frontcourt jack of all trades.

Herman...Jordan, Bickerstaff, and Carlisle all had headaches just as Zhang Yang expected.

Jordan complained: "We won the championship, but we ruined a 28-year-old stable pitcher who was in his prime? Didn't he want to win another championship, two or three more?"

Bickerstaff was about to stab his boss in the heart, but Carlisle said, "Michael, not everyone is a fighter like you. When I played in the NBA, I won a championship and felt satisfied with my career as a player. I started to learn how to coach from my coach. As ordinary players, if we can win a championship with the team, it is our most glorious moment as a player."

Bickerstaff: This guy who looks like a comedian can really lick! It's strange, how could he be fired by Big Bird if he can lick so well?
Jordan felt comfortable being licked, and the more he looked at Carlisle, the more he liked him. He glanced at Bickerstaff and said: Look, this is what a head coach should be like. When you were the head coach, you only knew how to confront me!

Finally, they looked at Rondo's test files and the training performance recorded by trainers in recent times.

Carlisle: "Rajon has performed well in spot three-point training. His free throw shooting percentage has reached 85% in the past half month. I saw in the file that his free throw shooting percentage was less than 70% when he first came last year. Chip, your shooting training and coaching ability is really amazing!"

England responded: "Hopefully Rajon can get his free throw rate up to 70% in the game, or at least not drag his feet, or we might see the Hack-a-Shaq tactic used against the point guard."

Jordan: “Is there no way to continue to improve it?”

England: "His arms are too long and his physique is too small. Whenever he experiences a lot of confrontation, his muscles will be tense, which is conducive to his ball control and passing speed. But when he shoots free throws, the tight muscles of his body will cause him to have to use his arms to shoot free throws, and his shooting stability will be very poor.

What he needs to do now is to continue to improve his long-range shooting. His improved long-range shooting ability and reduced reliance on inside shooting will not only reduce the confrontation he encounters, but in turn will also give him better opportunities to break through and attack the basket.

That's one way to do it, and there's another way to do it at the same time, which is a little bit dumber, and let him practice free throws with his muscles tight."

Jordan doesn't quite understand the situation of players with poor shooting talents, but this stupid method is really stupid!
……

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Just this one chapter for today, keep updating, Xiaofeng will sort out how to write the rest ~ Sharpening the knife makes the work of chopping wood easier ~ Please give me the guaranteed monthly ticket!
(End of this chapter)