First in scoring

Chapter 458 457. This time, Teacher Na and the old blacksmith teach together!

After the game, Mr. Na, who has rich marketing experience, brought his privately romantic and passionate Spanish sister-in-law, the legendary playboy rich second-generation Zhang San, and most of his teammates to the nightclub to celebrate.

The one absent was the old blacksmith. As early as when he was a young blacksmith, Kobe was incompatible with his teammates in this regard.

However, people do the same thing at different stages and receive completely different evaluations.

When he was a little blacksmith, his teammates said Kobe was pretending;

Now that he has become an old blacksmith, his teammates all admire him very much and praise him as the man closest to Jordan. They all say that they must learn the self-discipline of the Mamba next time.

Zhang Yang had not planned to go, mainly because in Los Angeles, the Thunder and the Clippers played Game 6 two hours earlier, and the Thunder, which was trailing 2-3, tied the score.

The Clippers performed mediocrely in the first round this year, and only defeated the Trail Blazers, who were fifth in the Western Conference, after a decisive seventh game. Pacer was bullied by a younger player like Lillard.

Lillard averaged 7 points and 24.3 assists in 6.7 games, with a shooting percentage of 47% and a three-point shooting percentage of 48.9%. He averaged 5.7 three-pointers in 2.8 attempts per game. His total three-point shooting in the first round was higher than that of Zhang Yang and Curry.

Lillard performed so well in his first playoff game, facing Paul, who was a top defense player. After being eliminated, he got a 10-year contract extension from Adidas worth up to million US dollars.

In the second round, they faced the league's top Thunder team. Just when everyone was predicting the Clippers' defeat, Paul broke out. In the first five games, he averaged 5 points, 51 rebounds, 45 assists and 22.6 steals per game with a 6% shooting rate and a 11.8% three-point shooting rate, leading the Clippers to a 2.6-3 win and the match point... This is also the reason why people are saying that the Spurs will have an easier time as long as they get past the Lakers. The Spurs are not afraid of players like Paul, and with the Thunder's current performance, they will most likely not be a match for the Spurs if they make it to the Western Conference Finals.

However, just when he was just one step away from reaching the Western Conference Finals, Pao seemed to be trapped in a curse.

While Zhang Yang was doing physical therapy and applying ice, he asked Sacre to help him open the game report. He saw that the Clippers were still leading by 11 points after three quarters, but collapsed in the final quarter and were chased by 11 points in the first 10 and a half minutes.

With 30 seconds left, the Clippers were still leading by two points and had the ball. Paul only needed to waste time, shoot at the buzzer, and let Griffin and Jordan rush for the ball.

As a result, Paul missed the three-pointer in the regular time with confidence... and was counterattacked.

Ibaka grabbed the defensive rebound and passed the ball to Harden. Harden pushed forward to attract the defense and passed the ball back. Durant received the ball and shot a three-pointer that went straight into the basket and hit a near-game winning shot.

Then the Clippers called a timeout and Paul missed the buzzer-beater. The Thunder came back from trailing 67-78 after three quarters to win 105-104, dragging the series into a tiebreaker.

Zhang Yang only looked at the game report and felt that even if Paul didn't shoot in the second-to-last attack and was called for a 24-second violation, it would be better than missing the shot out of confidence.

This reminded Zhang Yang of Deron. Once he was playing against the Jazz, and the Jazz were trailing by 13 point with 1 seconds left. He thought Deron would choose to shoot the buzzer beater, but Deron threw it with 8 seconds left and it didn't go in!

It gives people a feeling of having no confidence and wanting to leave some time and room for further plans.

The seventh game between the Thunder and the Clippers will start the day after tomorrow, which is the 15th. The Western Conference Finals have been scheduled to start on the 18th. The Lakers will have 4 days of rest, so it won't delay anything. Zhang Yang thought that he hadn't experienced the scenery of the US land border yet, and the team was led by the knowledgeable Mr. Nazarian, so he would follow to broaden his horizons...

...

It really broadens your horizons. Zhang Yang just strolled around the nightclub, celebrated the victory with his teammates, had a few drinks and some tips with the girls who swarmed over him, and then went back to the hotel.

It’s not that he hasn’t met girls whose figures and looks suit his taste, but he already has a girlfriend after all. Before they confirmed their relationship, he played poker with a little bitch on the first day, and brought two girls back to the room for group sex on the second day, but he didn’t think it was a big deal. It’s definitely different now, and experience is not enough. This kind of thing depends on one’s heart. If it happens once, it will happen again. You can’t test other people’s hearts, let alone your own.

In this regard, teammates just think that Sammo Hung has too high standards, after all, he usually hangs out with female celebrities in Hollywood.

Having defeated what was probably the strongest opponent in this year's playoffs, all the pressure from the evil stone Buddha was gone. Zhang Yang slept very soundly tonight, and when he woke up, it was almost noon the next day.

The team arranged to return to Los Angeles late, gathering at 2:30 in the afternoon. Zhang Yang got up slowly, took a shower, and asked the hotel to send him a lunch. He ate while reading the news.

There are two hottest topics at the moment. One is that Pao Ge failed to deliver at a critical moment;
The other was the Snake vs. Buddha battle, where the Snake won again, Kobe vs. Duncan, and the playoff score came to 5 to 2.

The following topic also had an accompanying message - Duncan is retiring again.

This is the third time such a rumor has been spread.

The first time was at the end of the 09-10 season. His contract expired and he was rumored to retire. At that time, he had the worst performance of his career and was only selected to the third team and the second defense. Later, he took a pay cut and renewed his contract for 2 million for two years.

The second time was at the end of the 11-12 season. His contract expired again and there were rumors of retirement. Later, he renewed his contract for 2 million for 2000 years.

This time again...

Zhang Yang thought of an interesting thing. Except for the contract renewal after the end of his rookie contract, Duncan's starting salary for each subsequent contract renewal was lower than the last year of the previous contract.

Among them, the 10-year contract extension is the most memorable. Kobe, Gasol, Nowitzki, Pierce... all got long-term contracts, but Duncan only got a two-year short contract, and he was the one with the lowest salary.

I always feel that this "retirement rumor" was deliberately released by someone with some purpose.

However, when Zhang Yang saw Duncan's career honors listed in the news related to his retirement message, he understood why the Idiot was as calm as ever after being eliminated last night.

You have to know that the overall strength shown by the Spurs in the playoffs this year is the strongest among all the championship contenders. Most media and fans believe that as long as the Spurs beat the Lakers, it will be like touching the O'Brien Cup with one hand. The next two rounds will be easier than the previous one. Even if they are eliminated 2-4, most people still think that the Spurs' overall strength is stronger than that of the Lakers.

It was only because the Lakers had Zhang San and Kobe, two players who the Spurs couldn't stop from mid-range and long-range shots, that they were able to turn the tide.

For Idiot, this reversal and elimination should be similar to the reversal and elimination in the 13 finals, and the championship that was in his hands was gone.

But Duncan's mentality is completely different from the original 2013 Finals - O'Neal retired in 11 and Duncan won the championship in 12!

邓肯2MVP、3FMVP、5冠军，稳压1MVP、3FMVP、4冠军的奥尼尔一头。

They say he is a power forward, the best in history!

He is the best center in the 21st century! Even if we expand it to the entire NBA history, including the ancient basketball era, the centers with more honors than him are Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Chamberlain is not as good as him. The gold content of his championship ring is quite sufficient.

Perhaps for Duncan now, if he could catch up with or surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's championships, rush to the top of modern basketball centers, and dominate the two positions inside, that would naturally be the best. He is trying his best, but even if he fails, it doesn't matter. They are not from the same era. As long as he is better than O'Neal, it will be fine...

Zhang Yang also saw topics related to Leonard, most of which were about stepping on Leonard, the young man of Kawhi Leonard bravely taking the first step towards the road to superstardom and falling badly.

Leonard performed very well as a top 3D player in this series, but he still has a long way to go before he can take on the leading role. He remembered that after Leonard won the FMVP in 14, he still did not reach the All-Star level in the next season. Popovich gave him enough opportunities and shots. In the 14-15 season, Leonard averaged only 15+ points per game, and his hit rate set a new career low. He only developed in the 15-16 season, averaging 20+ points for the first time.

He thought of his partner in the 11-12 season finals, Ka's young player. His basic skills were really bad and he had just corrected his basic shooting movements. Even with the pressure of being compared with him, it would be difficult to shorten Ka's growth cycle because he lacked the most basic things.

…It was 8 o’clock the next morning at Nash’s home in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

Teacher Na was woken up by the unlucky student. Just when he wanted to vent his anger by asking the boy what he was doing, the boy fell silent after waking him up. He got up angrily and went to the training ground in the backyard. Sure enough, the unlucky student was already training. He probably ran here directly from his home.

The Lakers returned yesterday afternoon, and the team had scheduled team training for this afternoon, but Zhang Yang couldn't wait to come to Nash's house in the morning because he wanted to learn something.

Nash looked at Zhang Yang who was practicing shooting, and went to call the nanny while cursing, asking her to prepare breakfast.

There is no other way, you have to teach the skills to the successor you choose even if you cry... The MVP at the age of 23, the first team player at the age of 25, this is a genius who is expected to become the ruler of the league after Shark, Buddha and Snake!

If Zhang Yang really becomes the strongest in the world in the future, Nash would feel proud just thinking about it.

After practicing shooting for a while, Zhang Yang was called by Nash to have breakfast. During breakfast, he told Nash what he wanted to learn.

Nash asked curiously, "You want to relearn the pick-and-roll? Before I wanted to teach you, didn't you say that it was enough to learn the pick-and-roll and then shoot? Why do you suddenly want to learn it again?"

Before? When was before? It was definitely not the time when they were teammates in 10. The training information showed that he and Steve Kerr had a falling out not long after the 10 Western Conference Finals. Nash certainly didn't have the heart to teach right after the season ended. That was after he came to the Lakers...

Zhang Yang thought quickly and responded, "When you were here, the team didn't need me to hold the ball and screen to initiate offense. It was definitely enough to be able to shoot after the screen. But if we win the championship this year, I guess you will most likely choose to retire, and then you will need it. Anyway, you have to learn it. Now you have time, so you can practice it early. Maybe it will be useful in the next game."

Nash had no objection to hearing this. He hoped that Zhang Yang could learn more of his skills and become as similar to him as possible.

After breakfast, just after 9 o'clock, the team's trainer came. Teacher Na complained, "You prepared everything but notified me last," and then began to warm up with the help of the trainer and started teaching.

In the next two hours, Zhang Yang followed Nash to learn how to initiate offense with pick-and-roll. From a technical point of view, this aspect is actually not as difficult as shooting after the pick-and-roll. It requires higher awareness and requires more watching, thinking and pondering. The most important thing is whether the teammates are suitable for the game.

Nash emphasized in his teaching: "If your teammates are not suitable for pick-and-roll offense, it is better for you to play one-on-one. Just like when I was in the Mavericks, I basically didn't play pick-and-roll with my teammates. Only when Jamison joined the Mavericks as the sixth man, I played more pick-and-roll. Although our record was not good that season, I was lucky. I attracted the attention of Colangelo Jr. with the pick-and-roll offense that season...

Now we don't have many players who can play pick-and-roll. There are only Jordan (Hill) and Ed (Davis) in the interior. When you need to use a screen when attacking with the ball, you must know who your teammates are on the court. If it is Paul (Gasol) or Chris (Kaman), it is better for you to shoot directly. "

Zhang Yang nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

Teacher Na was very satisfied to see that Zhang San remembered every word carefully.

As for Zhang Yang always asking questions like "Can I focus on shooting here? Can I focus on shooting there?", Nash did not think it was bad and said he would think about it before telling him.

In developing his ability to "start offense with the pick-and-roll with the ball," Zhang Yang seeks to make shooting his first goal. Nash also thinks this is right. They are not the same type of players, and Zhang Yang must focus on scoring.

Let alone Zhang Yang's basic passing skills. Although he is a top-notch scoring player and a first-class point guard, he is very ordinary in Nash's eyes.

However, Zhang Yang's ball handling has improved a lot in the past year. Nash didn't expect that the intensive training method he came up with last year, "learning all the breakthrough methods of ball handling masters at once", would actually work...

...

The first skill Zhang Yang learned in this training was to choose to initiate offense with pick-and-roll while holding the ball. This was something he had been thinking about for a long time, and was mainly based on the lineup of his own team.

The Bobcats have a lot of players in the interior who can play pick-and-roll.

Okafor is called Little Duncan, and he really looks like one. His ability as a pick-and-roll executor both with the ball and without the ball is above average and he is very stable.

Millsap and Ibaka have great pick-and-roll talent.

Brad Miller was a top pick-and-roll executor in the first two years after joining the Kings. He was very good at pick-and-roll in the top arc area, breaking up and connecting on the long two-pointer and passing the ball in the middle. At that time, the only one who could be compared with him was Garnett. Even Webber after his serious injury was not as good as him.

It's a pity that he is too old now. His mobility was just enough when he was young. Now when he goes to pick and roll, his speed is equivalent to sending his teammate with the ball to the opponent for double-teaming. He doesn't even do off-ball pick and roll on the wing, and at most he helps to block people under the basket.

However, Brad Miller's ability is no longer there, but his experience and awareness are still there. He often helps the coaching staff to guide young teammates in pick-and-roll training. Okafor has made significant improvements with his help.

If he can make good use of the team's resources, his scoring methods will be more diverse.

They practiced until 11:12 in the morning, rested until after 1:, and after lunch, Zhang Yang and Nash drove to the Toyota Center Training Hall at : p.m. to participate in team training.

Tonight the Thunder and the Clippers will play a game seven in Oklahoma City. It is hard to say who will win or lose. The Clippers have a more luxurious lineup, and Paul is in great form in this series; the Thunder have two superstars, Harden and Durant, and Ibaka in the interior. Although the substitutes are a bit weak, the three superstars who have played for five or six years and are beginning to enter their peak period are very strong. They might just go on a rampage and reverse the Clippers.

Unsure of who their opponent will be, the Lakers team only practiced a few sets of shooting and played an intra-squad training game today. The main purpose was to maintain their form and use up half a day's rest time.

The team training ended before 4 p.m., and after resting for a while, Zhang Yang and Nash returned to the training ground to continue their teaching work.

Kobe is preparing to go home. Now he is no longer the one who needs to carry the team forward. Although he still works hard to be self-disciplined, the fact that he almost collapsed his shoulders, back, knees and Achilles tendons last year sounded the alarm for him. It is true that he wants to be strong, but now that his body is gone, he has lost the chance to be strong. The playoffs are intense, so he should rest when he needs to.

But when I walked out of the locker room, I saw Zhang Yang and Nash practicing...

Is Zhang San going to expand his skills again? The old blacksmith was shocked! He turned back to the locker room, changed into training clothes, returned to the training ground, and hid in a corner.

After watching the first round of Son of Wind’s teaching to Zhang San last year, the old blacksmith began to make preparations, eagerly waiting for this day.

Since he is the successor of the old blacksmith, he should have some shadow of him, right? He can't be like the Son of Wind, the Demon Sword, or the Stone Buddha (the slow-tempo offense in the high post was mistakenly believed by Old Kobe to be learned from Old Deng)... but he shouldn't be like the old blacksmith, right?

When Nash took a break from teaching, Kobe quickly moved from the corner to Zhang Yang and said, "Jack, your ability to avoid defensive interference after jumping is not good enough. Let me teach you how to reduce interference!"

Nash, who was drinking water, spat it out.

Son of Wind: Oh my god, the old blacksmith is here to snatch his students?

It's not impossible, but at least there should be a first come first served basis, right?

Without waiting for Zhang Yang to react, Nash pulled Kobe aside and argued for a while before finally reaching a consensus.

If the number is odd, Zhang Yang wants to learn something, so Nash will teach him. If the number is even, it's Kobe's turn.

After reaching a consensus, the two couldn't wait to discuss how to cooperate in teaching. They admired each other's technology and appreciated each other. Since they were going to teach together, they must do their best. They felt that if they taught wrong, it would be a loss of face for them.

Zhang Yang, who was watching from the side, heard that his rest time was divided between the two of them. He felt... it was really great. It was good to be called a "learning genius"! Everyone knew that he was eager to learn and learned quickly, so they were all willing to teach him!
As for what the old blacksmith said about reducing interference after jumping up...is it a fadeaway jump shot?
Zhang San was in mixed feelings: Son of Wind, Demon Sword, even Big Bird and God, when it came to shooting techniques, they all thought about how to avoid defensive interference when jumping and shooting. But when it came to the old blacksmith, he thought about how to reduce shooting interference after jumping up... Just like Kobe!
(End of this chapter)