Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 379 The curtain opens
The chaotic free agency market attracted the attention of a large number of media and fans, and the Summer League started in this atmosphere, receiving even less attention than in previous years.

But for Chinese media, their focus is on the Summer League.

On July 5th, the Chinese national team played its first game against the Heat.

Chen Fang did not come alone this time. He invited Andy and Mazura, along with Buson, Sun Lexian, Li Kaier, and Ilya. The seven of them sat behind the Chinese team's bench.

His appearance drew cheers from many fans at the scene. Even though he had a leg injury, Chen Fang still got up and waved in response.

The Summer League has two objectives.

Talent assessment and selection, integration and experimentation.

It provides a stage for rookies, second-year players, undrafted players, free agents, and G League players to practice. Teams quickly assess their immediate combat effectiveness, tactical fit, and professional attitude through games, and decide on training camp contracts, two-way contracts, and even official roster spots.

The Summer League is not only a place to train and develop players, but also a place to train coaches.

Mazura's mission this summer is to lead the Clippers' development team to compete in the league. He came here today, partly to accompany them and partly to observe their opponents.

Andy, on the other hand, was invited by Chen Fang, and with the perks of free meals and accommodation, Andy and Buson happily accepted the invitation.

When Andy arrived at the scene, he realized it wasn't that simple.

"You're asking me to help you understand the technical and tactical characteristics of your compatriots? What do you want me to do?" Andy asked.

"I can't say for now, but you should be able to guess."

Andy touched his nose and said to Buson next to him, "Are they going to sell us out?"

“That seems to be the case, but it should fetch a good price,” Buson replied, equally witty.

Chen Fang felt as if he had returned to college, and he felt very warm being teased by the two of them. He said, "Actually, it's not that I want to keep you in suspense, but it's really not the right time to say it yet. We're just preparing for the future, worried that you might not have enough energy and be too busy when the time comes."

"Huh? I don't have the energy. Just kidding, Buson. Tell him about the little thing I did: I went four days and four nights without sleep and even won a martini by throwing darts at a bar."

“In fact, he slept five hours every day, and that day at the bar, he treated everyone there to a drink.” Andy sighed at Buson’s betrayal.

"This teaching assistant is such a pain," Andy said, waving his hands and making a disgusted expression.

The jokes are over, let's get serious.

“Okay, I know this trip to Las Vegas won’t be easy. Don’t worry, I’ll be prepared,” Andy said earnestly.

"Thank you. In the United States, I can only seek your help, sir." Chen Fang's words made Andy very happy.

“It’s my honor.” Andy beamed, winking at Buson with a smug look on his face.

Then, Chen Fang said to Sun Lexian, "Make sure the video recording is done well. This is your specialty. Remember, you need to dig out all the problems and characteristics of each person."

“I know, boss,” Sun Lexian, who knew the plan best, began his work with great enthusiasm.

Li Kai'er also knew what he needed to do. Chen Fang had communicated with him before he arrived, and he tried to understand the abilities of the players on the roster so that he would have a clear idea of ​​what to do.

Finally, he said to Mazura, "Help me come up with a simple system plan that works for this team."

"It doesn't need to be too complicated; too much complexity will actually be ineffective," Chen Fang reminded him.

“Alright, but my main focus is on my job, so I won’t give it to you so quickly.” Mazura always had a businesslike expression.

"Just don't let it go past this month." Chen Fang was already quite satisfied.

After arranging everything, Chen Fang also focused his attention on the court.

Chen Fang didn't recognize any of the Heat players, but that didn't stop him from judging their strength.

Today is the Chinese national team's public appearance. Their attitude towards the game is definitely more serious than in the closed tournament, partly because they have lost three games in a row and are playing more cautiously.

The team focused on defense from the start, tightening up the paint. Yi Jianlian did not play because he had played too aggressively in the first three games, causing his old injury to flare up. As a precaution, the coaching staff decided not to let him play.

At this moment, Yi sat on the edge of the bench, silently cheering for the team.

The starting lineup for the Chinese national team is: Zhou Qi, Hu Jinqiu, Zhao Rui, Guo Ailun, and Zhao Jiwei.

Playing three guards was a forced countermeasure by Li Nan after he had had enough of the American-style attack.

The team's offense can only rely on Zhou Qi's inside attacks, Zhao Rui's long-range shots, and Guo Ailun's fast breaks.

The Heat's coach only watched for four minutes before making a decisive counter-strategy.

With two power forwards, a center, and a small forward, these four players frequently attacked the paint. Zhou Qi couldn't withstand them and committed two fouls within a minute. Li Nan substituted Wang Zhelin and Sun Minghui for Zhou Qi and Zhao Jiwei.

Zhao Jiwei has been targeted in these past few games, with very little positional play and mostly transitional play. Given his characteristics, this has put him at a particular disadvantage, and today was no exception.

Seeing that the Chinese team had brought in an inside player, and a center who was relatively slow to move, the Heat coach made another substitution and changed tactics.

He dropped the center and a power forward, and added a small forward and a shooting guard, playing a four-outside-one-inside offense.

This is the pace that the young players in the Summer League like, and the Heat coach's strategy is full-court press plus half-court perimeter defense.

As a result, the Chinese team made more mistakes, with seven turnovers in the first quarter alone.

Wang Zhelin was beaten into a panda shape; this former genius is finally paying the price for his laziness and lack of ambition.

Li Nan had no choice but to substitute Shen Zijie to take over.

Guo Ailun couldn't handle it either. The Heat guarded him the entire game and would double-team him near the mid-court line, forcing him to go to the sidelines. When he passed the ball, the Heat would always strongly interfere with the Chinese players who were supporting him, resulting in steals.

28: 12.

Familiar strategy, familiar point difference.

Wang Xuan really lost face. He was furious. He could accept being wrong on one issue.

But failing miserably on the same issue four times in a row is unacceptable.

As a leader, he hardly had time to watch the games, but these past few days he has witnessed them firsthand and deeply realized the seriousness of the national team's problems.

Li Nan didn't dare look back at all, constantly pacing along the sideline, making subtle adjustments with gestures and words. But given the players' ball-protecting abilities, relying solely on Guo Ailun was unrealistic.

The team needs an additional point of possession to safely cross the halfway line and execute tactical runs.

Chen Fang watched silently, occasionally exchanging a few words with Andy and Mazura, while Chinese media reporters would occasionally show him the footage.

Yu Jia, who was in charge of commentating on the match, couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark: "I wonder what Chen Wang thinks when he sees this situation in the game right now."

This match was broadcast live, and not only was it being rebroadcast by CCTV in China, but Tencent also obtained the exclusive online streaming rights.

Fans watching on TV can only express their disappointment by changing the channel, while those online can vent through bullet comments.

The current situation is that if you don't turn off the bullet comments, you can't see the screen at all; it's all just trash talk.

Of course, there are always some very abstract comments, such as: Did Chen Wang play? Is number 4 Chen Wang? Who is Li Kaier, number 10?

The halftime whistle blew, 59-30.

Wang Xuan called out to Yao, and after muttering a few words, Yao gave Chen Fang a wink.

The three arrived at a small room that had been prepared beforehand and held their first tripartite meeting.

"I understand the problem, Chen Fang. Now I want to know, if you were on the field, could you solve the problem of pressing errors?" Wang Xuan went straight to the point.

“This is actually a minor issue.” Chen Fang’s words surprised Wang Xuan.

"The mistake wasn't just a problem with the guards; Guo Ailun did a great job," Chen Fang said first.

"The problem still lies in the tactics. The planning was incomplete. There should be more support points instead of having others set up positions, which is pointless." Chen Fang began to analyze the reasons why the team almost lost by half the points in the first half.

"Furthermore, when double-teamed, the player's basic skills are insufficient for ball protection and passing, so Guo Ailun's approach is not correct."

Yao and Wang Xuan listened quietly. This was Chen Fang's first commentary on the national team, and the content was very important.

"I watched three and a half games and here are my thoughts."

"We were at a disadvantage in physical confrontations, so the pace of the game was accelerated, which led to more energy consumption and a loss of accuracy from the outside. We also lost energy and our defense became chaotic, so we got beaten up one by one."

"This cycle cannot be resolved by pausing."

"Occasional counterattacks, however, are difficult to sustain due to the aforementioned problems."

Yao kept nodding. He knew Chen Wang had high basketball IQ, but this was the first time he had heard that Chen Wang could summarize the situation so well.

"What adjustments would be better now? Chen Fang, do you have any suggestions?" Wang Xuan asked.

This was also the first time I, as a leader, had formally inquired about this matter.

Getting better.

Chen Fang perked up and said, "Let me first criticize myself. I have never lived in China and I am not familiar with many of the rules and regulations there. If I had known, the Olympics would not have turned out like this."

"Afterwards, I reflected on my own problems, which is why I didn't dare to say anything even though the national team has been in the United States for so long."

After putting on his armor, seeing that the leader's expression didn't change, Chen Fang began to get to the point.

"The reason we've lost so many games is related to people."

"Coach Li relied solely on his intuition when arranging his troops, ignoring external factors and failing to consider the opponent's situation."

"Strictly speaking, the American style of play is very effective against teams like ours. On the contrary, if we play against European teams, the game won't be so bad."

Yao nodded in agreement: "Europe prefers to use positional warfare to solve problems. Of course, they also use pressing defense, but they don't have the same level of physical fitness and strength as the United States to play like that for the whole game."

"Yes, we're certain we'll lose the upcoming Summer League. Right now, the players on the court include rookies, second-year players, and many undrafted players frantically searching for job opportunities." "It'll be tougher than the first three games."

Wang Xuan had already figured it out; after all, he was a high-ranking leader and could take it in stride.

"The purpose of coming here is to train the team and identify problems. I think we have gained a lot from this trip."

Yao and Chen Fang both echoed each other's sentiments, and after the pleasantries, Wang Xuan made his decision.

"The first priority is people, so let's start the selection of new coaches immediately."

"No, no, no! The leader misunderstood me." Chen Fang waved his hands repeatedly.

Yao quickly added, "Changing coaches at this stage will only make things more chaotic, and the responsibility will be huge. It's hard to say who will dare to accept it."

Wang Xuan laughed and said, "Is there a better way?"

Chen Fang knew that his bottom line had been tested by a single sentence; after all, he was a leader with many tricks up his sleeve.

Yao looked at Chen Fang, as if to say, "Come on, you come."

After organizing his thoughts, Chen Fang shared his ideas: "First of all, I think the problem lies with the people who devise the tactics. Those two foreign coaches are not up to par. We can replace them and give Coach Li a clearer set of tactics, which will help him better direct the game."

"It's a solution, but I still don't know what use these two people are."

"Ben Ward's resume is very ordinary. He was probably just forced into the role to enhance his resume. Scott Rose has a more impressive resume. He briefly worked as a coach in the NBA before going to Europe. Based on his resume, he is qualified to be an assistant coach for the national team. However, his ideas are too outdated. His understanding of the NBA is completely useless, and he doesn't understand the European situation either."

"The pre-match tactics they provided were almost useless. Coach Li did a very good job relying entirely on his own abilities."

Chen Fang meticulously stripped the two men of their underwear, and also said a few good words for Li Nan.

Wang Xuan wasn't surprised after hearing this; he simply nodded and said, "This problem must be prevented from happening again."

Seeing that the leader didn't intend to pursue the matter, Chen Fang didn't delve any deeper. He had already achieved his goal, and now it was Yao's turn to take over.

After the three players left, the second half had already started for a while. After watching for a bit, the national team's situation had not improved, and the point difference had already exceeded thirty points. It seemed that this crushing defeat was unavoidable.

The game ended with the same final score as in the previous game: China 62-103 Heat. This 41-point difference was undoubtedly a resounding slap in the face to Chinese media reporters.

One reporter's words best represent this: "The national team's level is completely incompatible with Chen Wang's, and they don't even have the qualifications to play against Li Kaier."

Some excited reporters immediately started cursing: "It's completely pointless to train him, it's so shameful! It's a disgrace to Chen Wang for bringing honor and prestige to us Chinese people, all in one game!"

After the game, reporters surrounded Li Nan, asking him to share his thoughts on the match. Li Nan was embarrassed and used the injuries of three key players—Yi, Ding Yanyuhang, and Zhou Peng—as a shield, admitting that the team was not in good form and made too many mistakes.

After hastily answering two questions, Li Nan staggered away.

The disgruntled reporter saw that Chen Wang was still there and mustered up his courage to go up to him, but was stopped by bodyguards and staff.

Chen Fang, however, signaled to his bodyguards to let one of them pass.

"Long time no see, Brother Duan."

"Yes, I'm back in the country now. Chen Fang, how's your foot?" Duan Ran asked happily.

"The recovery is better than expected."

"That's great news!" Duan Ran was overjoyed, even forgetting his interview assignment.

"Aren't you going to ask anything? I have to go now." Chen Fang pointed to the microphone.

"Then let me ask you one question: what do you think the national team is still lacking in this match?" Duan Ran asked readily, half-jokingly.

"Brother Duan, that's a really sharp question."

"However, I'd still like to say a few words."

"Whether it can be broadcast or not is up to you, Brother Duan," Chen Fang paused for a moment.

"I think it's not just a problem with the ball; tactically, we have a bigger problem."

Duan Ran's eyes widened, and she realized something was wrong.

"Too rigid, too inflexible. We're not playing modern basketball, we're playing an antique."

"The World Championships are the World Cup of basketball, and in my opinion, they are even more like an Expo of tactical concepts. You can't just take this to the World Championships."

After saying that, Chen Fang winked at the stunned Duan Ran, then left, leaning on his cane.

Duan Ran returned to the hotel and hesitated for a long time. Thinking of that look in his eyes, he finally understood. So he made some minor revisions and sent the full text out.

A crushing defeat prompted Chen Wang, one of the biggest names in Chinese basketball, to speak out, which immediately caused a huge uproar in the domestic basketball scene.

Fans weren't particularly upset about the crushing defeat, after all, this was an NBA-level team, and losing wasn't shameful. However, a reporter revealed that the national team lost three more games in the closed-door warm-up matches, the most outrageous of which was a loss to a high school team with an average age of less than 18.

This is truly outrageous; the news caused a nationwide uproar.

Looking back now at Chen Wang's criticism of the national team, one can really understand his feelings.

The situation continued to escalate, and reporters seemed to be encouraged to criticize the national team unanimously, finding fault with everything from personnel selection and tactics to team configuration and player selection.

Furthermore, a well-informed reporter quoted a national team player as saying that the tactics were too difficult to execute, making it hard for the players to perform at their best.

Thus, a heated debate about the national team was launched.

But the game had to go on, and on the 6th, China lost to the Kings 77-94, another loss.

The game continued on the 7th. China lost 80-92 to the Hornets. In this game that they had won in the previous game, they lost decisively due to the turmoil and unstable morale of the team.

10日，中国67-84负雄鹿，13日中国64-94负太阳。

Two weeks in the US, 8 games, all losses.

The Chinese men's basketball team is in a terrible state right now. Fans have lost their voices from yelling and cursing. Many fans have given up their previous hopes for the World Championship and are pessimistic, believing that even with the arrival of Chen Wang and Li Kaier, the Chinese team will not achieve good results in this World Championship.

Qualifying for the next round is the greatest success.

The media has also become less impetuous, their eyes have cleared, and they have recognized their own limitations. At this point, there are no more news reports about people confidently winning licenses.

After finishing the Summer League, the Chinese national team is preparing to return home. On July 22, they will play two more matches against the second teams of Tunisia and Croatia in the Stankovic Cup.

Next up is the Kunshan International Championship, where we will play warm-up matches against the second teams from Angola, Croatia, and Puerto Rico.

The final matches were on August 23rd and 25th in Wuhan and Guangzhou: two consecutive games against a full-strength Brazilian team.

These are also 15 high-level warm-up games prepared by the Basketball Association for the national team for the World Championships. The amount of effort put into them, from the opponents to the time span, is evident.

Three other people returned with the national team.

Andy Buson, as the newly hired assistant coach of the national team, brought along Sun Lexian, a video analyst, to accompany the national team to China.

As the head coach of USC, the process of becoming an assistant coach involves many steps, but since it was Chen Wang who stepped forward, neither the school nor the NCAA league had any obstacles. On the contrary, they thought it was a rare opportunity for an NCAA coach to have such a World Championship experience.

As for whether a university head coach is qualified, that goes without saying.

After all, in international competitions, Coach K is the head coach of the US national team, so naturally no one questions Andy, who is in the same profession and of the same generation.

When Chen Fang went to the airport to see Yao off, his handshake with her seemed to carry a deeper meaning in the eyes of others.

But the most unexpected thing was the hug with Li Nan. In the eyes of outsiders, this hug also clarified that Chen Fang was not targeting anyone, but was just stating the facts.

And the head coach's position seemed to be no longer a concern after that hug.

The plan is mostly successful. Now it depends on whether Andy can establish himself. With Yao Ming, Zhao Rui, and Guo Ailun all there, things should be much easier.

More players returned to the national team this time, but some stayed behind.

easy.

Chen Fang made a difficult decision.

He also invited Lawrence, Yi's mentor on the Nets, and the three of them had a good meal and drinks.

"I'll focus on my recovery in Los Angeles this time, where there are people and facilities."

Yi's problem isn't serious; the focus is more on recovery. Seeing Chen Wang step in to help Yi is a win-win situation for the national team.

At the dinner table, Chen Fang also mentioned that the Clippers were still missing an inside player, which excited Yi, but his kind nature made him worry that this might cause resentment within the team.

Chen Fang laughed heartily. Without any hesitation, he said to Lawrence, "Let the general manager be the judge. My eye for talent has never been wrong."

“Looking at the league, there are really not many players like you. Most of them are on max contracts. In my opinion, the Clippers offering you a contract is an A+ choice.”

Lawrence nodded in agreement with Chen Fang's statement: "Actually, I've been paying attention to you. Back then, your style alliance wasn't very popular, but now it's the most suitable."

“You have a basket, you protect the rim, and you have excellent lateral movement. I can’t understand why recruiting you would be suspected of forming a Chinese clique.” Chen Fang succinctly revealed Yi’s concerns.

"However, you need to pass the coaching team's test, which is why we're keeping you."

"I will cherish this opportunity." Returning to the NBA is Yi Jianlian's dream.

Leaving the airport, Chen Fang breathed a sigh of relief. Everything had gone smoothly; now it was up to him.

He will devote himself fully to his recovery and strive to return to China before mid-August.

The curtain is about to rise, and the fiery world stage is calling him.

(End of this chapter)