From South China Tiger to NBA King

Time flies so fast. In August and September in the NBA, training is the main theme of each team.

Not only the Boston Celtics, but also teams that are determined to win the championship, including the Lakers, Rockets, and Warriors, almost everyone will end their vacation early and get into training to prepare for the arrival of the new season.

This season, no team can crush the entire league, so it is very difficult to win the championship.

In early September, as the head coach and the entire coaching staff ended their vacation, the Celtics also began tactical training for the entire team.

Before the full team practice began, Coach Stevens emphasized his tactics.

"To start running, the first choice is fast break."

"We must play a pressing defense, just like the Miami Heat did in 12, putting enough pressure on the opponent on the back line and on the front line to force them to move the ball, so that our chance to steal will come."

"Jiang will be our core point guard in the new season. What he has to do is to advance quickly after getting the ball. Others need to quickly pass from both wings."

"There is no fast break opportunity, so we have to get down in position as soon as possible and use conventional tactics."

"If conventional tactics don't work, give the ball to Jiang and let Jiang decide whether to play it himself or let others play it."

After listening to Stevens' explanation, Jiang Hu almost understood his tactical thinking.

It's nothing more than infinite defense changes, and then crazy transitions and cuts. He is the core of positional warfare and decides the distribution of the ball. If he wants to play, he can play it by himself. If he wants to give it to Leonard, he can give it to Leonard. If he wants to give it to Brown, he can give it to Leonard. Brown.

Jianghu feels that Stevens' tactics are completely tailored for him. He is worthy of being a coach who has worked with him for a season. His understanding and trust in him are definitely not comparable to that of ordinary people.

This tactic can give full play to one's passing ability, while also generating a large number of rounds, and one's own data will be very beautiful.

The coach introduced tactical ideas and some small tactics, and the whole team officially started training together.

As time goes by, the Celtics are getting better and better.

What excites the Celtics front office: Leonard's health.

His physical fitness is not like that of a seriously injured player. Whether it is explosive power or physical flexibility, he is at the level of a forward superstar at his peak.

Anji comes to visit the team's internal training from time to time. The more he watches, the more excited and energetic he becomes.

From time to time, he would whisper excitedly to Stevens on the sidelines:
"We got a huge bargain and traded Kyrie for a healthy superstar."

"At least half the time, I couldn't tell who was better, him or Jiang."

"His defensive ability is incredible. He can actually cause such huge interference to Jiang. He is also the strongest front guard. I think he can even lock down 80% of the opposing strikers."

"And that Canadian rookie (SGA), tsk tsk, his learning ability is so strong, I feel his future is limitless!!"

“Looks like we’re going to surprise everyone in the new season!!”

During the team training, Jiang Hu and Leonard showed their absolute strength in the team. As long as they are assigned to one team, they don't have to play in the other team.

Therefore, in order to simulate enough authenticity, Jiang Hu and Leonard were not on the same team most of the time.

In the team training, the two of them led the team basically at a level of 5.5 to 4.5. Jianghu had some advantages, but the advantage was not particularly large. It did not feel like beating everyone in the training camp last season.

However, this is also a situation that Jianghu hopes to see, because an overly overwhelming situation is also detrimental to the tacit understanding.

For more than a month, except for two four-day holidays in the middle, the entire Celtics were training intensively for the rest of the time.

After the whole month of running-in, the Celtics' basic rotation lineup can basically be determined.

At the point guard position, Jianghu is the starter, Rozier is the substitute, and SGA is the second substitute.

At the shooting guard position, Danny Green, Jaylen Brown, and Alex Caruso each have their own advantages. Different arrangements may be made based on different opponents, which also means that Jaylen Brown may There will be some time on the bench.

On the forward line, Horford is basically untouchable. Kawhi Leonard and Gordon Hayward are also qualified to start. In most cases, the two will start together. In some cases, when facing the opponent's strong inside line, Hayward Ward may also have to accept a substitute and let Baynes or Morris Jr. start.

However, Stevens also said that because the personnel structure this season is relatively strong, the rotation of team personnel will not be fixed and will be adjusted at any time, and everyone needs to compete for positions.

Although Stevens said this, Jianghu is very clear that his and Leonard's positions will not be affected. Under any circumstances, their starting positions are basically fixed, and it is others who need to be flexibly adjusted.

Since it had no impact on the world, he didn't bother to talk too much.

And Jianghu feels that this arrangement is not bad. It puts everyone under a bit of pressure and is ready to lose the starting lineup at any time if they don't play well.

In this competitive atmosphere, no one dares to scratch the surface, because as long as they do not work hard, they may start the first game and sit on the bench in the next game.

The substitute wants to move into the starting lineup, and the starting person wants to maintain his position, which is still very stressful.

Of course, this also requires a certain amount of human intervention to control the situation and prevent healthy competition from turning into vicious competition.

On October 10, the Celtics held a media day event, which also means that a new season is about to begin.

Jiang Hu entered the stadium on time and greeted his teammates first. After chatting for a few words, he was surrounded by a dense crowd of reporters.

This year, the Celtics and Lakers are the most watched teams. The Celtics are the top seeded team in the new season. Jianghu is the most watched star and the favorite for regular season MVP.

President Xiao Hua had no idea that his performance in the past season was so strong. He could not suppress his momentum and there was no need for the league to deliberately praise him.

Facing reporters who were fighting with each other, Jiang Hu stated his goals for the new season.

"Our lineup is stronger than last season, so we must win the championship and defend it. If we don't win, we will fail. This is my goal and the goal of the entire Celtics team." The reporter asked: "You Which team do you think will be the Celtics’ biggest opponent in the new season?”

Jiang Hu said without hesitation: "There is no doubt that it must be the Los Angeles Lakers. The chance of us meeting the Lakers in the finals is very high. Last season they were a team that had a holiday in April. In the off-season, they It's a huge challenge for us to put together an incredible lineup. But the final result this season will be no exception because I am better than last season."

Jianghu was still a rookie last season and had to keep a low profile at the beginning.Now that he is recognized as the boss of the defending champion team, there is no need to keep a low profile. As the team boss, all he has to do is express his attitude and give his teammates the confidence to win.

This team is his team now. If he can't guarantee that he will win the championship, will Leonard take the blame if he loses?It is unrealistic. It is his responsibility to lead the team to win. He will not pass the blame. He is confident in his own strength and ability to ensure health.

Jianghu adopts a "who else to give up" style, attracting the fans' attention to itself before the start of the season.If everyone is discussing him and paying attention to him from the beginning, and in the end he has the best record and beautiful statistics, the MVP will definitely be his.

As long as he defeats the Lakers to win the championship next year and wins FMVP, even if he has one less championship ring and less personal honors than James, he will not lose to James in terms of momentum. People will not think that he is any worse than James, they will only think that he is chasing after him. It is only a matter of time before he equals James or even surpasses him in the future.

How to speak, how to act, what kind of style to adopt, what kind of personality to establish, every step is in Jianghu's plan. As long as everything goes well, a virtuous cycle will be formed.

By the offseason next year, veterans who want to win a championship will first consider joining the Celtics and follow the team in pursuit of three consecutive championships, so that the Celtics can always maintain lineup depth.

Others had almost guessed what Jiang Hu would say. They basically agreed with him in interviews and expressed their confidence to win the championship.

Leonard was asked about this season being a contract year. He smiled and said:
"It's still too early to talk about this issue. I will try my best to help the team successfully defend the title this season. I will wait until the end of the season whether to leave or stay."

"Time will tell."

Leonard is not worried about contract renewal at all, because with his strength, no matter which team he goes to in the league, he will only get a super maximum salary and no other options.

Of course, he also knows in his heart that even if he helps the team win the championship, this is still a team in the world.

Jianghu has already made his mark on this team, and it will be difficult for anyone to shake Jianghu's team status.

Therefore, Leonard is more inclined to help the team win the championship first, and then wait until the offseason to find a team with himself as the absolute core, preferably in California, because his home is there. Coast, he still prefers the weather on the west coast.

Coach Stevens is equally confident. "After seeing the performance of Jiang and Kawhi in the training camp, I think we may be able to achieve a better regular season record this season. Their performance is so comprehensive that they can definitely drive the whole team."

The reporter asked: "Jiang's playing style was very strong in the playoffs last season. In the new season, will you consider letting him continue to attack with the ball like he did last season?"

Stevens shook his head. "I don't recommend that he play like that every game. He has the ability to take on more responsibilities, but that style of play consumes a lot of energy and increases the chance of injury."

"Leonard's health allows us to fully trust him. Jianghu is our trump card. He will assume more responsibility for organizing the offense, and others can share some of the tough tasks for him."

When Jiang Hu was asked by reporters about his playing style, he also bluntly said that he would not play like that all the time.

"Now my position is different. Last season I was the small forward, the general who charged forward. Now I am the point guard, the brains of the team, and the marshal who directs from behind."

"I will definitely give my all when I need to work hard, there is no doubt about it because I am the core of this team. But at the same time, we have a lot of good players in the team, as long as they also perform well , we will win the game easily.”

Rocher was interviewed and asked about his future stay.He said he is willing to play with the Celtics until he retires and likes the city of Boston.

Of course, the management welcomes an excellent role player like him.

But the contract is a problem. If he wants to get a contract with an annual salary of about 1000-1600 million, there is no problem, but if he asks for too much, the Celtics may not be able to give it.

Anyway, there is nothing irreplaceable here in Anji, and cost-effectiveness is the first thing to consider.

When interviewed, two former All-Star veterans, Horford and Hayward, both praised Jianghu.Their opinions are similar, believing that the Celtics still have a chance to continue to win the NBA championship.

The players took their makeup photos. Last season it was Irving who took the ball, but this time it was Jiang Hu.

The first was a photo of Jiang Hu and Leonard. The two took a few photos side by side, side by side, and then took a few photos with their arms around each other.

Standing together, you can see how special Jiang Hu's talent is. His height seems to have grown by one to two centimeters compared to last season, and his arms look even longer than Leonard's.

Of course, the length of Jianghu is only limited. After all, Leonard was also famous for his long arms when he debuted.

A pair of long arms and big hands, coupled with Duncan's personal knowledge of ear problems, created his reputation as a "death entanglement" on the defensive end.

In addition to these official makeup photos, the media also asked Jiang Hu and Leonard to take some interesting photos with them.

Leonard's palms were very big, so the media asked Leonard and Jiang Hu to palm each other in front of the camera and took several close-up photos.

Facts have proved that Leonard's hands are indeed very big, even bigger than Jiang Hu's. When Jiang Hu puts his hands over his, it is obvious that each of Leonard's fingers is about one centimeter longer than his own.

However, Jiang Hu feels that his palms are completely sufficient. For him, the biggest advantage of having big hands is that he can play a more handsome one-handed catch. As long as he can do this.

After the two of them took a photo together, the five of them took a photo together.

Jiang Hu and Leonard stood in the middle holding the basketball, while Horford, Jaylen Brown, and Hayward stood on both sides.

The five-person group in the photo is basically the strongest five-person group of the Celtics at this stage. The height of the five people wearing shoes is more than 2 meters (Jaylen Brown is 198cm barefoot), and everyone has a good shot. Ability, defensive ability and mobility basically realize the prototype of the future basketball in Pat Riley's mouth.

This lineup has high hopes from Stevens and is considered a lineup that must be used heavily against smaller or forward-heavy teams such as the Warriors, Rockets, and Lakers.

After the makeup photos were taken, the preseason started on the third day.

The purpose of the preseason is mainly to help rookies and veterans returning from injury find their form. Therefore, Jiang Hu, Horford, Jaylen Brown and others do not have high playing time. They basically play for a while and then rest. The main goal is to let the rookies And people like Leonard and Hayward who have returned from injury are looking for more form.

Throughout the preseason, we kept playing.The Celtics achieved a record of 4 wins and 2 losses.

(End of this chapter)