Chapter 404 403. Give the little emperor a shot at the beginning!
As the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games draws closer, the Chinese men's basketball team is also making intensive preparations.

It was August 8rd. After Zhang Yang had been stuck in the mid-range shot for a long time, he finally made a breakthrough after practicing step-back three-pointers from various angles according to FIBA ​​standards for a whole morning!
"Your mid-range shooting evaluation value has increased from 89 to 90. Please keep up the good work."

Zhang Yang was so excited when he saw the words displayed on the pop-up door. If there weren't so many national team teammates around him, he would have wanted to sing and dance rap on the spot to celebrate his mid-range shot of over 90.

Measurements 90+ are here!

"…Three-pointer 91, mid-range shot 90, layup 93…"

He looked at his ability evaluation value, and his three-point ceiling was still uncertain, the highest being 80 in the 92 timeline, but it seemed that was not the end yet.

The upper limit of CIC has been determined. The initial upper limit is 90, which is the world's top edge. After adding 5 points, the upper limit reaches 95, which is a historical edge.

For layups, the limit on the 10 timeline is 25 when he is around 93 years old. He improved from 92 to 93 on the last day of last month. In the next few years, as his body grows fully, he should have some room for improvement.

The limit of the 80 timeline is 27 at the peak age of 94. The ability of an outside player to attack the basket is closely related to physical fitness. He estimates that his upper limit is 94, but there is still a chance for it to continue to rise.

Don’t worry about so much now. Try to realize your talent during the growth period. If your talent has not reached its limit, continue to practice. If your talent has reached its limit, refresh your talent...

At present, except for his physical fitness which has not reached its peak, his strength, running, jumping ability, physical strength and other aspects are not as good as those in the two timelines. However, his techniques and basic skills are very close, and it is inevitable that he will surpass them before reaching his peak.

His goal is to be higher and stronger!
He tried to calm himself down. The Olympics would begin in a week, so he had to make the most of the time to practice more.

He retreated to the area along the dotted arc and practiced the "large three-pointer" according to the International Basketball Federation standards, which is also the three-pointer of NBA standards.

After Zhang Yang finished practicing a set of "big three-pointers", Zhu Fangyu approached him and asked a question he had wanted to ask for a long time: "Ah Yang, the three-point line in the Olympics only goes here, why are you still practicing NBA three-pointers at this time?"

Zhang Yang responded: "Yuzi, think about it, if I shoot three-pointers from the Olympic three-point line, when I receive the ball at the three-point point in the NBA, and throw it directly, is it possible that the opponent will not be able to react?"

Zhu Fangyu: "That makes sense! How about I practice it too? When the Suns asked me to try out last year, I also practiced three-pointers from this distance, and I shot it pretty well."

Zhang Yang: "No, you have to do what you can do well, so that you can help me, Yao Ming, A Lian and Da Da the most."

Zhu Fangyu: "...That's right, this is not an Asian competition, we can't mess around."

It's as if one can fool around in Asian competitions... Zhang Yang was about to complain, but suddenly felt that there was nothing to complain about. For the current Chinese men's basketball team, they can really get first place in Asian competitions by fooling around. This generation of players were trained under the system of the 'old era' group of people who really got things done.

The current group of officials shouted a lot of fancy slogans, saying that they wanted to learn advanced training methods from foreign countries, but abolished the old training system. The players trained there couldn't even win Asian medals after ten or twenty years.

Zhang Yang estimated that when Nu Zhao Ri Yue came to power, she did not expect the new generation of players to be that bad.

The training system has been destroyed, just like deindustrialization. It is difficult to pick it up again...

Zhang Yang has no control over what the future of the men's basketball team will be like. He just needs to do his job well, set an example in training, and strive for victory on the court. It would be best if he can have a good influence, but if not, he will have a clear conscience.

He thought of something and asked Zhu Fangyu, "By the way, Yuzai, why did you reject the short-term contract with the Suns? It doesn't matter if you give it a try. Even if you don't play well, you can still go back to the CBA."

Zhu Fangyu: "Ayang, you don't understand. They invited me and I refused, and I accepted and was rejected. It sounds completely different!"

Zhang Yang: "...I am superficial."

He is worthy of being the future general manager of the club and secretary-general of the Basketball Association.

The two chatted for a while and then returned to their respective training.

For this Olympics, Chinese men's basketball players are unprecedentedly enthusiastic in preparing for the competition.

Yao Ming and Zhang Yang, two NBA Finals MVPs, join hands to form the strongest inside and outside combination. Yao Ming is at the peak of his age, and the strength of the men's basketball team has reached the strongest level in history. Which national team athlete does not want to win glory for the country? Moreover, it is the Olympics at home, and teammates want to work around the two to achieve some results.

For the first time, Zhang Yang felt fear before a competition. It was not because he was afraid of the opponent being too strong, nor was he afraid of losing. Rather, it was an inevitable emotion for a national team player to play in front of hundreds of millions of Chinese people. Along with it was unprecedented excitement, an excitement that was even greater than the excitement he felt on the eve of completing a major reversal against the Spurs and winning the championship.

As the Olympics draw closer, both of these feelings are getting stronger.

As the old saying goes, one only regrets not having enough knowledge when he needs it. He has realized it now. He really wants to practice for another year or two before representing the national team. He always feels that he is not good enough.

What is coming will always come, and soon, August 8, the opening day of the Olympic Games arrived.

When Zhang Yang entered the stadium with hundreds of members of the Olympic team and heard tens of thousands of Chinese people cheering for them, he suddenly felt that there was nothing to be afraid of in the national team competition. It was the Olympics at home with so many people supporting them, so he could just do it!
What I should be afraid of is that I haven’t tried my best!

Jordan said in an interview after the regular season of Zhang Yang's rookie season two years ago: "Jack is a player born for big scenes."

Jordan explained the meaning of this sentence at the time. He was not talking about how talented Zhang Yang was or how much progress he had made from being selected to the end of his rookie year. He was talking about his psychological adaptability and the fact that he could always quickly complete role transitions and adapt to changes in the environment.

For example, at the beginning of his rookie season, Zhang Yang was like Kobe, Durant and others, just shooting without thinking about anything else; at a certain stage in the season, as his personal ability improved, Gerald Wallace entered a period of frequent injuries, Okafor decided to take a break to lose weight, and no one on the team could score, his shooting became more purposeful; around the All-Star Weekend, after the team's strength rose to a higher level, he took the initiative to reduce unnecessary shots, and his efficiency began to improve; at the end of the season, Gerald Wallace's health improved, Okafor returned, and when they entered the sprint stage for the playoffs, he took the initiative to adjust his output ratio, scoring at more critical moments, leaving regular time to his teammates...

Compared with the improvement in Zhang Yang's strength before and at the end of his rookie season, it was Zhang Yang's change in this aspect that truly amazed Jordan.

Most basketball geniuses will not make adjustments in this regard for many years. For example, Carter, throughout his entire Raptors career, from the beginning to when he was traded, his playing style and what he did in the game hardly changed. He would only change his playing style and style when there was a significant change in his strength and he had to adjust to deal with it.

Even for Jordan himself, at most he would summarize after one season and in the offseason, and have a clear direction for adjustment and improvement in the second season.

Such ability is not actually necessary. If there is an excellent coach or a veteran leader with strong leadership skills to help guide, it can also achieve a similar effect, but if there is, it would of course be better.

This kind of ability is completely innate and cannot be learned. You just have it because you have it, and some people are often very annoying.

After winning the championship in 07, Bald Joe asked Zhang San this question during a private chat at the celebration party. Zhang San replied: "Isn't it the same for everyone? Aren't you the same?"

As a person who cares so much about his reputation, of course he said that he was the same, and then they complained about the players who had no sense of self-adjustment.

Zhang Yang's change in mentality before the Olympics once again demonstrated his ability in this area.

When Wang Zhizhi, Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian and others played for the national team for the first time, they were either afraid or too excited, and some messed things up due to their mentality. Of course, as they were newcomers, the coaching staff and domestic fans were also tolerant and understanding.

As for Zhang Yang, he had adjusted his mentality before the Olympic Games began...

...

After the Olympic entrance ceremony, Zhang Yang was still excited and couldn't wait to play in the game.

If there was anything that made him unhappy, it was that the big screen and live broadcast at the scene gave the old blacksmith an extra-long shot, and domestic fans were cheering for that guy.

Fortunately, Zhang San also has an extra-long lens, and the cheers seem to be a few decibels louder... anyway, he thinks they should be a few decibels louder.

The next day, August 8, is the last preparation day for the men's basketball team. As the host, they will kick off the Olympic men's basketball event at 9 o'clock tomorrow night.

Before, everyone was training very enthusiastically and with high morale. However, when the game day approached, Zhang Yang suddenly found that everyone became impatient. During the tactical training, many mistakes were made due to the haste to pass the ball, mainly due to several domestic teammates who were responsible for shooting and passing the ball.

During the break, Zhang Yang found his good teammates Zhu Fangyu, Wang Shipeng, Liu Wei and others to find out the reason - in the opening game of the men's basketball tournament, their Chinese team was VS the American team.

This...is not surprising at all.

In his spare time, he browsed the news online and saw the event that domestic sports fans were most concerned about - the men's 110-meter hurdles.

The event with the largest number of viewers and the highest overall discussion - table tennis.

The most anticipated and hottest team is their men's basketball team.

Plus, as the host country, they were extremely lucky to be placed in the same group as the American team...it was normal for their teammates at home to be nervous and irritable.

In the next tactical training class, Zhang Yang observed Yao Ming... He began to understand why the future female Zhao Riyue was not a good leader and why Yao Ming was ranked 4th in the Bulls' leadership ability.

The little giant has too many concerns, and he wants to have everything. He even worries about embarrassing his teammates. He has to be very tactful in reminding his teammates to choose the right time to move and to be patient when passing the ball.

Wang Zhizhi, an old-school player, wants to lead his teammates with actions, which is not a problem. If he is playing in Asian competitions, he can easily lead the team with actions. But when the opponent is the US men's basketball team, he can't lead the team in this way, because no one thinks he has an advantage against any of the US team's inside players.

Yi Jianlian...his leadership ability combines the shortcomings of both of them.

The coaching staff is of little use at this time.

Even the world's top basketball coaches such as Red Cardinal, Calculator, Phil Jackson, Popovich, and Klay Thompson need players to act as leaders and handle many things.

The best negative example is the Dream Team 7, with King, Melo and Cheeks as co-captains, and their performance is hard to describe.

Zhang Yang sighed silently. As the most handsome guy in the team, he had no choice but to shoulder the heavy burden.

After the second training session, Zhang Yang found Wang Shipeng and complained, "Why did you pass the ball so badly today? Your shooting rhythm was also wrong."

Wang Shipeng wondered if he had asked him this question before, and then realized that he was being asked to play a double act.

Kobe Wang: Really, you didn’t even tell me in advance. Luckily I reacted quickly.

As the player who has appeared on the most talk shows and variety shows in the entire men's basketball team, Wang Shipeng had anxiety written all over his face as he responded, "We have an opening game against the American team. Ah Yang, how unlucky are we? We have the Olympics at home and we have to play against them in the first game. It's such a shame to lose!" This time, Zhang Yang did not ask in a low voice behind people's backs as he did during the break last time. Instead, he spoke loudly. Wang Shipeng even raised the volume on purpose so that the whole team could hear it and their eyes were focused on the two of them.

Zhang Yang felt that if he were to appear on any TV show in the future, he would definitely invite Wang Shipeng to be on board, as this teammate was really good at providing a supporting role.

Zhang Yang laughed and scolded, "Look at your lack of ambition. Anyway, we haven't beaten them. If we lose tomorrow, it's just another loss. What's the big deal? What if we win? We can brag about it for the rest of our lives! We still have to have dreams. What if something goes wrong?"

These words immediately changed the mentality of the teammates.

In fact, everyone knows this truth, but who has the nerve to say it out loud? Because they really feel inferior when facing NBA players.

They look impatient during training, but they actually want to do better, and too much is as bad as too little.

If this was said by a domestic player, it would not have much effect, and it might turn into everyone "playing badly" together.

But coming from Zhang Yang, the youngest first-team player in NBA history, scoring champion, and FMVP, it's different...

...

The next day, August 8th, at around 10 p.m., it was almost late at night at the Olympic Sports Center, but the gymnasium inside and outside was still brightly lit and crowded with people.

Around the stadium, more than 36,000 seats were gradually filled.

After the players from both teams entered the stadium, the fans at the scene shouted the names of their favorite stars.

Most people called out only three names - Zhang Yang, Yao Ming, and Kobe.

Bosh looked at the large number of fans at the scene wearing Lakers No. 24 or No. 8 jerseys, more than those wearing Bobcats and Bulls jerseys... Most of Zhang Yang and Yao Ming's fans wore the new men's basketball national team No. 12 and No. 13 jerseys.

He approached Kobe, rubbed the camera, and exclaimed to Kobe: "Kobe, you have so many fans in China! I feel you are more popular than the Little Giant and the Bad Boys! All the people on our team combined are not as popular as you!"

Kobe: "I was also surprised, and in the United States, I didn't pay much attention to it. I don't know why there are so many fans."

Bosh: "You look like a bad boy now!"

Kobe: "He should be like me! I entered the NBA almost 10 years earlier than him. He started playing in California. He learned from me."

Bosh: "That's not what I'm talking about... Never mind."

Long-necked dragon: I really want to hit someone! The dragon roars... Awooo...

On the other side, Zhang Yang started chatting with Felton and Okafor.

Felton: "Jack, I didn't expect your country to be so advanced. I visited several cities last month and they felt more prosperous than many state capitals in the United States."

Zhang Yang: "Uh... No, Boss, what do you think the flower-growing countries are like? Right, you never asked me this, even the teammates from the small African countries you asked what their countries are like, I'm very curious!"

Felton: "I used to think your country was similar to Mexico and Cuba. You are such a face-conscious person, I was afraid you would be upset, so I didn't ask you."

Zhang Yang: "If our country is similar to those two countries, would there be so many sponsors with money to sponsor our team?"

Felton: "The oligarchs in Mexico and Cuba are also very rich. They also sponsor many North American sports leagues and TV stations and have a large number of industries in the United States. The model you brought back to Michael's room last time and the cigars Michael gave you are all Cuban specialties, exported to the United States by the same company."

Zhang Yang: "...That's right, I misunderstood."

Felton: "If I had known China was like this, I should have come to China with you in the summer."

Zhang Yang: "It's okay, you can come next time. I will also come back for business activities next summer, and you can come with me then... But, Boss, I'm not surprised that you accepted the invitation to join the Dream Team. Emeka, didn't you say you would never join the Dream Team again?"

The 12-man roster of the US men's basketball team this year includes point guards: Kidd, Paul, Felton; shooting guards: Kobe, Wade; small forwards: James, Iguodala, Danny Granger; power forwards: Anthony, Bosh; centers: Okafor, Howard.

Felton relied on his stronger functionality to beat Deron and Hinrich and was selected into the Dream Team 8.

Okafor relied on his more comprehensive and stable skills on both offense and defense to defeat Boozer, Chandler, Odom and others and was selected for the Dream Team 8.

The two are two of the three young players of the Eastern Conference powerhouse Bobcats, and few people think there is anything wrong with their selection.

However, when Okafor appeared on the US men's basketball training team list, he caused ridicule among fans.

Okafor was selected for the Dream Team VI right after the draft in 04, and lost face with the three brothers from the 03 class. In 06, he made a comeback at the end of the regular season and made it to the playoffs, sweeping the Cavaliers in the first round, and was selected for the Dream Team VII, and lost face again with the three brothers from the 03 class. He is a man of few words and said after the 06 World Championships that he would never want to represent the US men's basketball team again.

Okafor: "Originally I didn't want to join the Dream Team again, but when I heard you were going to participate, I came."

Felton echoed, "Jack, clean your neck and get ready to be slaughtered by us! I really want to see your desperate look, such a scene is too rare."

The team's leader and second-in-command are trying to rebel!
Zhang Yang responded: "Such a situation is indeed very unlikely to occur, and you are destined not to see it."

The smell of gunpowder between the three young players of the Bobcats filled the air at this moment.

In the club, they are partners who trust each other and work closely together. When they are on opposite sides, no one will choose to hold back.

They still have a tacit understanding at this moment - going all out to defeat the opponent is the only way to truly give face to the opponent.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Yang turned his attention to Wade.

After undergoing surgery in May, he joined the Dream Team's 5-man training squad in early July. It seems that Wade had his meniscus removed.

Meniscus removal is one of the minimally invasive surgeries with the fastest recovery rate, but it is also one of the minimally invasive surgeries that causes the most damage to the body.

It may not have any impact at first, but problems will arise over time.

To put it simply, the knees become bones hitting bones, which causes the knee joints to gradually deform when performing lateral movements, changes of direction, etc., putting greater pressure on the tibia and even the ankles, hips and other parts of the body, bringing more potential injuries.

These potential injuries and illnesses are huge problems for ordinary people, affecting the lives of middle-aged and elderly people, and have an even greater impact on athletes.

Zhang Yang remembers that Wade was very healthy in the two or three years after the operation, as if nothing had happened. But when he was less than 30 years old, his lateral movement began to be affected. After that, he suffered from constant injuries to his waist, legs, and feet, and his physical strength was also affected. For a strong player like him, his physical strength should not have declined so much if he had not had the meniscus in both knees removed.

Not an appropriate comparison - Fisher, one of the strongest players at the point guard position, his athletic ability declined a lot after he turned 30, but his physical condition has been maintained very well. Now at the age of 34, his physical condition is similar to that when he was in his twenties.

Repeated injuries also affected Wade's playing style adjustments during the critical transition period in his 30s.

When Wade retired, Zhang Yang read an analytical report that during the offseason after the lockout-shortened 11-12 season, he tried to increase his mid-range and long-range shooting training and strengthen his mid-range back-to-the-basket play like Payton, but he injured his ankle during the offseason and was forced to interrupt his transformation.

The change in his shooting range began in the 12-13 season. That season was the first time in his career that his number of close-range shots was less than 6. However, he was injured again during the season and missed more than a dozen games in one season. In the 13-14 season, he only played 54 games. His absence rate caught up with the two seasons after winning the championship in 06.

He failed to successfully transform in the first two and a half years after he turned 30. He wanted to change later, but he didn't have the conditions. Later, Wade jumped out of the remaining two-year, $14 million contract in 2, and re-signed with a pay cut of $4000 million a year to make room for teammates who wanted to leave the team, but his teammates still left. In 1, the salary cap skyrocketed, and the fortune teller would rather renew Dragic's contract with a maximum salary than give Wade an annual salary of 1500 million. Wade went to Chicago, played for a year and was cut, then went to cling to his old teammates as a substitute, was cut again, and finally returned to the Heat to get a minimum salary, looking a little lonely...

As for why he is just a little lonely... Big Cheeks was the FMVP in his third year, and the two rings he had later were also very valuable. He won the scoring title, first team, second defense, All-Star starter, and everything else.

Zhang Yang didn't know whether Wade had no better treatment and had to have his meniscus removed, or whether he was under pressure from management, or whether he was just being stubborn... Anyway, he didn't want to miss the next three or four years of playing against the Heat. After that, Wade would no longer be the Flash.

...

At 9:58, the starting lineups of both teams came onto the court.

The 12-man roster of the Chinese men's basketball team includes: point guards: Liu Wei, Sun Yue, Chen Jianghua; shooting guards: Zhang Yang, Wang Shipeng, Zhang Qingpeng; small forwards: Zhu Fangyu, Li Nan; power forwards: Yi Jianlian, Du Feng; centers: Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi.

Jonas' starting lineup: Sun Yue, Zhang Yang, Zhu Fangyu, Yi Jianlian and Yao Ming.

The starting lineup of the US team: Kidd, Kobe, James, Anthony, Howard.

The American players' contempt and laxity were written all over their faces.

Correspondingly, every player on the Chinese men's basketball team was excited, and each of them was thinking - damn it, tonight is the night to make a name for themselves!

At 10 o'clock in the evening, the referee blew the whistle to start the game. Howard defeated Yao Ming to win the jump ball and the US team attacked first.

Kobe received the ball on the right side of the arc and suddenly jumped facing Zhang Yang's defense. Zhang Yang reacted very quickly and Kobe was unable to get rid of the interference and his forced three-pointer missed!
Yao Ming positioned himself, Yi Jianlian secured the defensive rebound and passed the ball to Zhang Yang.

As Zhang Yang pushed forward, the American team gave up the full-court pressure defense they usually used when bullying the weaker team, and quickly retreated to prevent Zhang Yang from making a three-pointer.

Zhang Yang pushed across half court with a little regret, and saw that it was James, not Kobe, guarding in front!
Zhang San: Tsk, Old K is very clear about King’s defensive weaknesses – he works very hard to defend players with the ball, but often misses players when defending shooters without the ball.

Zhang Yang approached the three-point line and saw James guarding half a step inside the three-point line... He stopped a big step away from the three-point line, grabbed the ball, jumped, and shot a three-pointer...

When James saw Zhang Yang grab the ball, he rushed over, but by the time he reached the position, the ball had already flown out and went into the frame!
The fans at the scene cheered wildly. This is a free and unrestrained style of play. Is this what an NBA superstar's outside shooting looks like? Love it!

(End of this chapter)