Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 249 Undercurrent
There were many predictions before the start of the 2017-18 NBA season.

The Warriors still dominate the world and have the highest odds of winning the championship.

James' Cavaliers are constantly strengthening, and the emperor's attitude lets the Cavaliers management know that they only have one year left to retain James.

The Celtics, 76ers, Rockets and other rising NBA upstarts are ready to make a move.

Last season's playoff losers: the Raptors, Spurs, and Jazz have also recruited new players, vowing to avenge their previous defeat.

The most successful trader is the Thunder. After acquiring Paul George from the Pacers, they formed a super backcourt of Westbrook + George + Anthony. Their championship rate has jumped into the top four.

In the original world line, the Rockets had the capital to compete with the Warriors because of Chris Paul, but unfortunately, the appearance of Chen Fang completely changed everything.

The Rockets did not have epic reinforcements, but they still retained a rich forward and guard line. The combat effectiveness of Beverley and Lou Williams still enables the Rockets to compete for the championship. The most affected is Harden. Without Paul, he cannot escape into the world of no-ball philosophy. He has to continue to deepen his ball-holding core play. As an offensive master, no matter which direction he chooses to improve, he will not disappoint.

The appearance of Chen Fang has triggered many changes in the NBA, and many established memories of past lives have begun to become confused. In Chen Fang's words, the information that can benefit him is rapidly decreasing.

He just knew that the Warriors were declining rapidly, and his broken mouth destroyed the entire NBA structure, proving that a fortress will always collapse from within.

He also knows that the weak Nuggets are now quietly waiting for the transformation of the second-round pick, and Coach Yo will soon become the MVP king who can call the wind and rain and make the entire league tremble with fear.

He also knew that James would make Decision 3, come to the big city he had always dreamed of, and start a short dynasty with the Lakers. But he didn't know how terrifying it would be when James had Paul and Davis.

He also knows that 18 will be the year when the NBA will usher in the next decade or even longer of the league's face, Doncic and Alexander.

The entire NBA is changing rapidly, and this is not slow, because the salary cap and broadcasting contracts have given NBA teams the possibility to become stronger overnight.

Precisely because he knows so much, no one is more urgent than him.

To demonstrate your own value and gain more recognition, if you don’t want to be a loser, you must gather more reliable and strong people to form a team that can compete with other strong teams.

Although his current status is average and he is not qualified to give advice to management, it does not mean that he will not be able to do so in the future.

If you can cash in on all the useful information and make a profit, it would be no less than the sense of accomplishment of playing 2K.

So he must play as quickly as possible, rather than following the routine. The faster he grows and the greater the potential he shows, the greater his say will be.

But this is also very contradictory. He knows that this season, because the Clippers did not make the playoffs and sent Griffin to the Pistons, they had two first-round picks and got Bridges, who is also durable and has always been the king, and Alexander, who has the most development potential.

But with his existence, this beautiful hope may be shattered.

Unless he follows the established worldline and prevents the Clippers from making the playoffs, and Griffin is really sent away.

Yes, if he had Alexander and Bridges, Chen Fang would be confident that he could build a highly competitive Clippers, but his inner reason told him that the Clippers would not have that much patience, and Ballmer would not accept taking over the Clippers for three to five years and getting nothing.

Even in reality, he gained nothing in ten years.

Chen Fang didn’t know that the deep logic of the alliance continued to inertialy dominate the development trajectory of things.

His thoughts were still taken for granted.

What he didn't know was that 18 was recognized as a great year for the draft, and teams without core players and cornerstones were all in a slump.

The 17-18 season may be the worst season.

Historical data reminds us that when there are more than 30 teams in the league with less than 6 wins in the regular season, the difficulty for the other 24 teams to advance to the playoffs will increase by 20%, and for 8 teams it will be 35%.

If there are more than 10 teams, the threshold for the entire playoffs will be raised to 20% difficulty for the other 50 teams.

The underlying logic is simple. A bad team wants a high probability of being in the lottery, and losing is what they pursue, which creates a phenomenon.

The winning rate of strong teams is getting higher and higher. Even if the winning rate of mid-level teams increases, it is difficult for them to reach the top eight ranking standards.

And ordinary teams have no hope of making the playoffs.

The teams that play badly are like street prostitutes, they will play for money. This makes it look like 30 teams are playing in the regular season, but in fact only a dozen teams are seriously trying to win.

After working hard for a while, the remaining teams realized that there was no hope for the playoffs, so they also joined the process of tanking, and there was a probability that the stars on the team would be traded away in the middle of the regular season.

Therefore, once the number of bad teams increases, it will be contagious like an infectious disease.

From three or four, to five or six, or even more.

The Clippers in their previous life were infected and decided to rebuild and trade Griffin in the mid-term.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why Griffin was signed to a five-year maximum salary contract before the regular season.

In the 17-18 season, due to the divisional relationship between the East and the West, this phenomenon of tanking was particularly serious in the Western Conference.

The Denver Nuggets' 56-win percentage ranks ninth, and the Clippers' 51-win percentage ranks tenth.

Unless Chen Fang was a professional NBA analyst in his previous life, as an ordinary person, this is not the information that Chen Fang can remember at all.

On the morning of the Clippers' opening game on October 10, Chen Fang was told that he would temporarily start his rookie season as a rotation player, but Rivers guaranteed that his playing time would be between 20 and 25 minutes, which would be valid for the entire season.

Moreover, this is not absolute and may be modified at any time according to changes and storage performance.

Therefore, Chen Fang boldly asked Rivers about the Clippers' tactical positioning this season.

Rivers was obviously a little surprised, so he asked: "Are you asking what the starting logic is?"

"Yes, that's not too much. After all, I'm a point guard. I want to know what the team's thinking is on the court."

"It's a bit too much. You can only slowly understand these things through more games in the next games, but since you asked, it's okay. But it's just you, and you can't tell anyone, whether it's your teammates or the media."

"I understand. I just want to fit in faster." Chen Fang explained.

"Come here!" Rivers led Chen Fang to the tactical board and began to outline.

"Teodosic, Gallinari, Jordan, Griffin, Rivers. The problem with this starting lineup is that there is no deterrence from the outside, and even if the inside is open, it cannot sustain the entire court."

"So, this starting lineup cannot continue. Gallinari needs to be replaced with a forward-guard swingman."

"This is you." Rivers pointed at Chen Fang, and the latter was not surprised, as this was consistent with his deduction.

"But Doncic's defense is not good, so his rotation is Evans, Williams and Thornwell."

"But they don't have point guard ability, which requires you to return to the No. 1 position. Then Austin can't adapt to the No. 3 position. I need to replace him and let Kuzma or Wesley rotate according to the situation."

"Once the perimeter lineup is formed with you, Thornwell, and Kuzma, the offense and defense will be accelerated, and Griffin's independent possession of the ball will be reduced. At this time, I have to replace him and let Gallinari or Nance Jr. play the 4 position."

"But Jordan is not suitable for positional warfare. This lineup will be unbalanced in terms of offensive and defensive transitions. I need to replace Zubac."

"So my substitutions will be very frequent, and I have to keep adjusting inside and outside."

"This is the logic of offense. On defense, if the opponent is a small lineup with all outside players, I can only keep Jordan in the inside, and you, Kuzma, Thornwell, and Nance will respond accordingly."

"If the opponent wants to play a positional defense with us, you, Austin, Doncic, Griffin, and Zubac will deal with it."

"But this lineup lacks defensive strength. The best strength is you, Thornwell, Zubac, Jordan, and Kuzma."

"So in the fourth quarter, I will arrange different lineups according to the score to ensure the winning rate."

"From this offensive and defensive thinking, can you clearly see who our main players and rotations are?"

"Me, Kuzma, Zubac, Griffin, Jordan, Austin, Doncic, and Gallinari. Four inside and four outside, the eight of us are the most adaptable rotation. Nance, Wesley, and Thornwell are tactical substitutes."

"The remaining Evans, Bryce, Willie Reid, C.J. Williams, Tyrone Wallace, and Jamil Wilson will serve as substitutes in the rotation."

"Six thousand eight hundred in total."

When Chen Fang finished answering, Rivers said approvingly: "Not a single point off. From the current perspective, this is the way of thinking."

"Are you clear about your role?" he asked again.

Chen Fang thought for a moment and replied, "This is my understanding. Please correct me, coach."

"It connects the past and the future. When the situation is flat and I have an advantage, I add icing on the cake and maintain my strength." "When I am behind and suppressed, I need to bring in surprise troops to break the status quo and fight for that glimmer of hope."

"I am the link between the starting lineup and the rotation. I am the hub of the overall tactics and also the one chasing points in garbage time."

Rivers listened quietly. When Chen Fang finished speaking, he clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Go train according to your understanding."

"Ok."

Watching Chen Fang leave, Rivers said to Bryan who had been silent beside him: "Good guy, he actually inspired my thinking. If he continues like this, he will have no problem becoming a coach."

"You have to know that apart from training and watching videos, the time he spends with his teammates is almost the same as the rest of us." Brian walked to the tactical board and wrote down what Chen Fang had just said.

He wrote a row of names on the board, with Zubac at the top, followed by Kuzma, Thornwell in the middle, and Rivers Jr. at the bottom.

Then he started another column next to it and wrote Griffin, Jordan Jr., Gallinari, and Teodosic.

Finally, write "Chen Fang" in the middle of the two vertical lines.

He began to draw lines, first connecting Chen Fang with Kuzma and Zubac, and then connecting Griffin and Jordan Jr.

After he finished writing, he pointed at the five people and said, "My personal suggestion is that these five people should be the core rotation."

"Not only that, this is a link between the past and the future. Griffin and Jordan represent the present, while Zubac and Kuzma represent the future."

Both of them stared at the tactical board with their hands behind their backs, not saying a word for a long time.

Finally, the two of them sighed almost at the same time, and Rivers said: "The potential is not enough, and the ceiling is not good."

"Including Chen Fang, everything is unknown at the moment."

"This lineup may barely make the playoffs, but it will definitely not be able to beat any of the other seven playoff teams."

"Let's do it as expected. Use one season to filter out the useless ones. In the mid-term, look at the record and ranking. If there is a chance to enter the playoffs, we will strengthen. If not, we will trade."

"Trade who?" Rivers asked.

"Except Chen Fang and Griffin, everyone else is fine!" Brian gritted his teeth.

"Don't think about it now, talk about it later." Rivers said lightly.

On the training ground, everyone was very relaxed and laughter could be heard from time to time. In the four full courts, the 17 players of the team were assigned to different areas, each accompanied by assistant coaches and staff, to conduct recovery training.

Usually the focus is on shooting, and there are also some ball-handling training. As early as after the 17-man roster was determined, everyone received training suggestions from the coaching staff.

It’s called a suggestion, but in fact it’s just pointing out your shortcomings and asking you to improve and correct them.

No one dares not to comply. The sparring partners and assistant coaches actually have the same job. They will urge you to improve through training, and this daily training will be carried out throughout the entire season.

Every player has a fixed assistant coach and sparring partner. Chen Fang's training coach is Brian. As a former teammate of Kobe, he also started his career in the Lakers as a player trainer. From this aspect, we can also see that the management values Chen Fang.

For established stars like Griffin and Jordan, they usually don't need to improve, but to stabilize and maintain. If the players have needs, the assistant coaches will do their best to help, just like Griffin, who wants to improve his shooting. His daily training throughout the season is centered around the ball jump shot.

Chen Fang's training content includes three big and five small. This does not represent Chen Fang's problem, but reveals that the coaching team has broader demands on Chen Fang.

Three major ones: jump shot with the ball, floating shot on the move, and three-point shot after catching the ball.

Five small: pick and roll, double-team pass, fast break long pass, breakthrough pass, and layup.

These drills are the basic skills that small forwards and point guards need to master, and are also daily training to hone their personal skills.

For NBA rookies, the three-year growth period is not only about self-improvement during the offseason, but more importantly, it is about keeping up with the homework assigned by the team.

In fact, from a certain perspective, it is the same as reading.

Mastering the content of the class is enough to prevent you from becoming a poor student, and taking extra classes outside of class will give you a chance to rank at the top. (During his time with the Rockets, Zhou Qi couldn't even complete his daily training. On the one hand, he was physically weak, and on the other hand, he developed bad habits during his training in China, which led to training flaws. This was also the biggest reason why the Rockets quickly became disappointed with him and gave up on him after one and a half seasons.)
Chen Fang practiced one by one, and his training results and serious and demanding attitude made Brian praise him continuously. However, sparring was particularly hard because Chen Fang's speed was very fast and it was difficult for one person to cope with him.

Ballmer quietly came to the training ground. He came to ask about the home training today. He said: "We have to win the first game."

"The Lakers' strength is there, and we are confident that we can win," Rivers assured.

"It's up to you next." Ballmer didn't say much. He came here to show his attitude and deterrence.

Wenger did not leave, but waited for his boss to leave and sat opposite Rivers.

"Our schedule is neither good nor bad. 13 back-to-back games seem to be lower than the league's 14, but the actual situation is far from that," Wenger said.

"Our back-to-back games are all concentrated in the middle and late stages, and the opponents we face are likely to compete for the playoffs."

"We have a lot of long away games, the most of which is five consecutive away games. Players can't see their families for more than ten days. From all aspects, this is the rhythm of losing streak."

"Our bench is too thin and we have too few reliable scoring points. Facing high-pressure and restrained opponents, we may surrender early."

"These are all things you need to be vigilant about."

Rivers remained calm and said, "You don't need to remind me. My team has fully informed me of this."

"I've read your tactical ideas and responses. To be honest, I'm not optimistic!" Wenger didn't wait for Rivers to refute and continued, "The boss's thinking is still ambiguous. If the record is good, he will change his mind. If the record is bad, it's the same. He wants to succeed too much. This is not a good sign. The Clippers are on the eve of a storm."

“As for the rest, I don’t need to say much. We are all veterans of the alliance. I personally hope that under any circumstances, we can get through it together.”

Facing Wenger's goodwill to join forces, Rivers nodded and said: "I know the limits. In terms of record, I will strive to keep 42 wins as the basis and the winning rate over 50% of the playoff guarantee line."

"Not enough." Wenger said immediately.

"This season, the winning rate is not enough. At least seven or eight teams will give up." Wenger shook his head decisively.

"The current configuration can only do this. The entire league is strengthening, and the strong teams are plundering the weak teams. We didn't do much in the summer. The problems caused by the management's hesitation are not my responsibility." Rivers looked directly into Wenger's eyes.

The two stared at each other for a long time, and finally Wenger looked away.

"With a 55% win rate, if we don't make the playoffs, at least we can report to the boss."

He turned and walked away, and when he reached the door, he turned back and said, "If it's lower than this value, I can't help you, and I may even push you away."

Saying the ugly words in advance will not cause misunderstandings and gaps. Rivers said: "No need, I can leave by myself."

After looking at Rivers deeply, Wenger pushed the door open and walked out.

After Wenger left, Rivers, who was left alone in the conference room, turned around and looked at the training ground outside the one-way glass. His eyes remained on Chen Fang for a long time.

"Perhaps, I can only rely on you to help me out of this dilemma."

Wenger, who was walking out of the training ground, met Lawrence in the parking lot.

"Hold on to the Chinese firmly and make them feel a sense of urgency."

"Tell him that he won't have much time left, so he can either play well or step down and become a role player."

“Anything else?” Lawrence asked.

Wenger patted Lawrence on the shoulder and said: "Get closer to him in all aspects, in life, in training, and in emotions. I need you to be able to make decisions for him."

"I think I understand, but I can't guarantee it."

"I've studied him, and he's a very emotional person, but he's also a very smart person."

"As long as it helps to improve our relationship, you can do it boldly without asking me for permission. If he does it, it will be a huge asset to you."

"You have to do this well both in public and in private."

"I like you!"

Wenger drove away after saying that, leaving Lawrence standing there with a wry smile on his face.

(End of this chapter)