So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 224 Changing the style of play
As time entered August, Meng Lang focused all his attention on personal training.

During this period, LeBron James came to see him for a while.

The Adidas Youth Camp has ended, and he has gained a lot. At the same time, LeBron, who has entered the developmental stage, has begun to show his physical talent, and he looks almost like a high school student of 17 or 18 years old.

Of course, this had been misunderstood as early as February.

Kobe can't even believe it, he's only 13 years old!
Only after the fight did he realize that he was indeed a bit immature.

It was a naked unilateral "murder".

LeBron was powerless to fight back. This was probably the first time since he became famous that he was so desperate for basketball.

But this is normal. It is not easy for a junior high school student to dribble the ball against an NBA rookie, although LeBron did not manage to do it. As soon as he gets the ball, Kobe will decisively use confrontation to make him lose his focus.

It's fair to say that Kobe's determination to win is enough. Even if LeBron's identity as a "junior high school student" was verified, he still beat him up.

And this bloody "educational video" was currently in Meng Lang's drawer.

Superimposed with the video of him fighting Michael Jordan when he was 18 years old...

In order to test LeBron's growth, Meng Lang specially called Kobe over again.

LeBron is full of confidence this time. He feels that he has made great progress in the youth training camp. Anyway, he is one of the best among his peers. It seems that there is only one guy who always starts with "triple threats" who can compete with him.

But that guy is one year older than him...

LeBron feels like he still won!
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a disastrous defeat, no, even worse than the last defeat!

He was able to make two dribbles last time, but this time, he didn't even have a chance to drop the ball.

After this period of training, Kobe has obviously improved to another level. But this time, Kobe didn't hurriedly ask Meng Lang to join him for two more bullfights as usual.

Ahem, the main reason is that there is an outsider like LeBron now, and he doesn't want to ruin his "god" impression in LeBron's mind.

Ok……

It's not surprising that he thinks so, but LeBron James' eyes looking at Kobe are indeed a little dull at the moment. The bullfight was over, but he had not yet recovered from the frustration of the bullfight.

He didn't think he could beat Kobe, but at least he could make Kobe feel a little tricky.

But the result...

This made him wonder if his days in training camp were wasted.

Especially Meng Lang, would he think so?
"Godfather..." He didn't want Meng Lang to misunderstand him. He was really diligent in the training camp.

Meng Lang patted him on the shoulder and told him not to take this fiasco to heart. Seeing that his comfort was ineffective, he decided to help LeBron get rid of his inner demons: "Come on, Kobe, let's have a fight..."

But Kobe gave a hint: "I just played a game and I'm a little tired."

Meng Lang continued what he said and said to LeBron: "See, the result is not as bad as you thought. You made him feel tired."

When LeBron heard this, his expression really improved a lot.

What the hell...

Kobe felt very uncomfortable.

I've been tortured by you for so long, and I haven't even seen you comfort me!

"I'm not tired because of this bullfight. I did too much exercise in training yesterday." After saying that, he waved his hand and was about to leave. "Don't come to me for educating children in the future. I I’m very busy, don’t waste my time!”

"You really have to work harder, Kobe. The Chicago media recently praised Tracy a lot. It seems that he has improved a lot!"

If Meng Lang really understands where Kobe's pain points are, he immediately froze as he left, turned around and said, "If I followed Michael, my performance in my rookie season would definitely be better!"

come on!

Hurt each other!
But Meng Lang didn't care at all: "Well...but I let you win the championship, man, don't think this thing is so easy to win!"

"..."

Kobe was speechless once again.

He really wanted to say, if I join forces with Michael Jordan, there’s no telling who will win the championship this year.

But thinking about his performance in the finals, he couldn't say that after all.

My skin is still a bit thin.

Kobe left quietly, and Meng Lang was certain of one thing, that is, Kobe had no intention of "rebellion" yet. But think about it, he and Shaquille O'Neal originally started cooperating in 96, and it wasn't until 02 that irreconcilable conflicts arose, and it wasn't until 04 that they completely broke up.

There is one thing that cannot be ignored:
In 02, Kobe was already one of the best shooting guards in the league.

This shows that when he is fully grown up, he will never fall out so quickly.

This conversation also illustrates this point.

After LeBron James returned this time, school was about to start, and he didn't know when the next meeting would be. Meng Lang simply kept him in Los Angeles for two more days, just in time to spend his second birthday with "little Dream."

"Godfather, will you let Second Dream play basketball in the future?" he asked sincerely at the birthday party.

Meng Lang really hasn't thought about this problem, mainly because the second dream is too young now, and it's too early to think about the future now: "I haven't thought about this problem... But even if he doesn't fight, it's okay, anyway, I still have This son!"

These words made LeBron's expression tremble. Meng Lang's father-like tone was too unfamiliar to him, and it also made him feel a little warm. This is the emotion he craves.

"Work hard, kid. Maybe you will inherit the title of my chosen son in the future!" Meng Lang didn't think too much, and just told what had happened in the future again.

But LeBron James was deeply inspired and very excited. He couldn't wait to return to Cleveland early the next morning. He said he wanted to go back early to start personal training before the new season.

Meng Lang did not dampen his enthusiasm.

At the beginning of the new semester, LeBron will officially be in his first year of junior high school. It is worth mentioning that, except for LeBron James, the other three of the future "Saint Mary's Five" will know LeBron in junior high school. They would spend junior high together, and then go to St. Mary's High School together, relying on LeBron James' reputation.

Well... LeBron James' "brother basketball" actually started in junior high school.

It was also this group of brothers who cooperated with him tacitly that allowed him to develop a very LeBron James style of play since junior high school.

But Meng Lang had no intention of intervening on this point. Of course, there was nothing he could do to intervene. With his help, LeBron is definitely stronger now than he was at the same time. It would be somewhat "ulterior" to prevent him from taking over the ball. And you are still in the middle school and high school competitions. If you want to be the "best high school student", how can you do it without data?
All he can do is to persuade LeBron to go to college for a year in the future and learn what real teamwork and tactics are. As for now...

"LeBron, you must polish your basic skills!"

This was his final advice to LeBron.

LeBron nodded obediently and boarded the plane back to Cleveland.

On August 8, the league officially announced that it would change the three-point line back to its original distance.

This means that in the new season, many fixed-point three-point shooters will need a long time to adapt to the new shooting rhythm.

Especially the three-point shooters who rely on the three-point line on both sides, they may fall into a slump at the beginning of the new season.

Don't underestimate the impact of shooting habits on NBA players' shooting.

Before LeBron combines the ball and shoots, he will first glance at the basket, and then make an obvious link-up action; James Harden's step-back three-pointer, the dribbling rhythm before combining the ball is usually just two Three types; "Central Shooting King" Houston often steps on the line to complete three-pointers...

These are all caused by shooting habits.

Muscle memory allows them to score goals even if they can't see the basket in front of them in the right rhythm.

At the same time, it will also cause them to be prone to inaccurate shooting in open positions once their rhythm is wrong.

If the three-point line is extended again, there will be such a risk.

However, this does not have a great impact on Meng Lang, not to mention that in the past two seasons, he often conducted shooting training according to the original three-point line. Even in games, he often shoots "big three-pointers."

Whether that line returns to its original position does not have a great impact on him.

But what he trained the most during this period was his three-pointers.

Firstly, he has the greatest potential in this area and can improve quickly; secondly, after Johnson retires, he really needs more powerful three-point shooting ability!
There is another reason:
His "back-up ability" has reached 97 points. It is difficult to complete the remaining improvement through training alone. It is estimated that the remaining 2 points of improvement must be completed through actual combat. The only thing he needs to practice now is:

Three point shot!
Of course, there is also more active confrontation. The "evergreen tree in basketball" allows him to use his body more freely. His strength has reached the top level of the league. As he is one year older, he has also come He has reached the peak of his physical fitness. Coupled with such strength during his peak explosive period, he believes he can become one of the best perimeter defenders in the league in the new season.

However, defensive training also needs to wait until the new season starts...

So his training during this period was quite boring, just shooting, shooting, and shooting again!
Fortunately, from the age of 18 to now, he has become accustomed to this kind of life and does not find it boring.

Well, in his opinion, the main reason why he is so perseverant is because he can see his gains. After a month of three-point training, his three-point ability has improved to 87 points.

With a 99-point touch, it is estimated that he can display a three-point shooting ability of about 90 points from outside the three-point line.

It’s definitely enough for the new season!

As the three-point line has returned to its original distance, the range of the mid-range has become larger, which means that the most stable scoring method in the new season must be the mid-range.

In fact, it is not just the current era. In the future, the three-pointer will become the trend of the "small ball era". As everyone becomes more accustomed to the fast-paced play style of the small ball era, the role of the mid-range will become more prominent.

Players with stable mid-range shooting have become the most stable carry point for each team!
The Thunder relied on Alexander's mid-range to secure first place in the Western Conference;
Irving's mid-range is also a sharp edge for the Mavericks' offense;
And Murray, relying on the mid-range kill of "Mu Xiu in front of his eyebrows", became another representative of "Mamba Spirit"...

Under the "Magic Ball Theory", the mid-range is considered to be the most inefficient scoring method. However, because most teams' defensive strategies are to let go of the mid-range, it has led to players with stable mid-range who can score every night. On the offensive end, he hits like a sharp arrow.

And if you really want to say it, compared to the three-pointer that depends on the sky, the mid-range is a "version weapon" that can be mastered.

Anyway, Michael Jordan made the "facade jumper" his stable offensive weapon.

If Jordan can do it, Meng Lang will naturally do it too!

And slowly, there are already signs of that. The league has entered the "Iron Bucket Era". Three-pointers and other things are getting more and more attention because of Meng Lang's performance. Meng Lang must regard the mid-range as his routine in the new season. arms.

Of course, unlike others, Meng Lang's breakthrough relies on the threat of three-pointers, so he must try to shoot from outside the three-point line.

If you think about it this way, his playing style has changed quite a lot in the new season.

This number...

Is it still suitable for him now?
Meng Lang felt like he was about to change positions again...

It's just that in the Lakers' current lineup, once Johnson retires, they really can't find a suitable player to play the number one position.

Is it possible to play the "fake second and third position"?
Although this is the standard "superstar ball" style of play, such as Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James, they are actually all "false second and third positions." Because the ball almost passes through their hands every round.

But this is also normal, because often the number one position assigned by such players is itself a functional number one position, with almost no ability to organize the ball and only needs to be responsible for carrying the ball across the half court.

The Lakers have no shortage of such a "false number one", but if he switches to another position, one of Eddie Jones or Kobe will have to play the number one position, otherwise one of them will have to be used as a substitute.

It's a bit difficult for Kobe to play the one position. It's not that he can't provide assists. He is also a player who can win "triple doubles" in two or three consecutive games. However, the Lakers have lost every game in which he has won "triple doubles".

He is still more suitable for "head iron"...

Eddie Jones…

Although he is known as "Little Pippen", he and Pippen's kind of organizational connection are really two different things.

He is a support player. If you let him provide indirect assists, he is capable, but if you let him seriously command the number one position, it will be very difficult.

Meng Lang thought for a long time, but he remembered someone:
Harper from the Bulls!

Meng Lang felt that Jones could become that kind of No. 1 position.

(End of this chapter)