From sparring to superstar

Chapter 109 107. The new season is here! (8000 word chapter)
"Leo...Leo...Leo..."

The time came to September 9, and the Clippers' assembly day arrived.

A lot of fans gathered outside the Memorial Stadium, chanting Leo's English name.

This is the first time for the veteran Clippers players to feel such enthusiasm from the fans. Even Odom has never been treated like this. Many people bought tickets to watch the Clippers because of his reputation as a "left-handed magician". I am also amazed at his amazing talent, but it is difficult to have adoration for such a player, and the naked eye can see that he is heartless.

And a rookie who has never played a single NBA game has such a high popularity.

envious!envy!
It is much more convenient to change to a large arena as a training hall, and there are multiple business districts around it... The teammates feel that it is not good.

Everyone was unpopular at first, but now a traitor has appeared among them!
"Boss, you are so popular!" Big Q exclaimed.

"Hey, I can't help it. I'm already very low-key, but some people are like fireflies in the dark night. No matter how they hide themselves, they are so dazzling."

The teammates who were sore next to them: Pooh!
Whose blue sports car is in the parking lot with light pollution when it starts up?

Big Q started filming forcefully: "Boss, you are good at everything, but you are too low-key."

Teammates: Vaco!Shameless!
After watching the enthusiastic fans outside the memorial stadium in front of the French windows on the second floor, the Clippers players were called by Gentry to take a promotional photo for the new season.

Today's Gentry is extraordinarily serious and meticulous in his work.

The players can understand that the team has undergone tremendous changes. The people in the management team have been cleaned up from the general manager to the publicity to the finance team. A professional basketball manager named Wally Walker came. As the general manager of the Trail Blazers, he single-handedly created the Trail Blazers' 1990 and 90 runner-up lineups;
Walker went to the Sonics as the general manager in 1995, and quickly helped the Sonics build a lineup that reached the finals in the 96 playoffs through minor repairs.

A very good professional manager, but also known for being ruthless, mainly aimed at the management, coaching staff, and support staff. In those years, the Trail Blazers and Supersonics often had management and staff members who were fired for violating team regulations.

But for the players, he is very humane, especially for the veterans. When he was the general manager of the Supersonics, the 33-year-old Schramf's contract expired. At that age, he was absent for 20 years in the previous two seasons The Supersonics management wanted to keep Schramf, but most people suggested a short contract of 1 million for one year, one year and another year. At that time, it was at its peak. Pippen was about the same salary, but he resisted all arguments and gave him a generous contract of $250 million for three years.

Of course, this contract is worth it. In the next three seasons, Schramf got rid of injuries and played at a very high level, averaging 3+16+7 per game in three years.

Drexler was able to hug Olajuwon's thigh because he operated it. The two trips to the Finals, the two formed a deep friendship, the glider reached the end of his career, and the Trail Blazers had lost the championship. In terms of ability, he tried his best, and the end result was that he was fired.

Although this operation has made Walker controversial and has also been rejected by some NBA team owners, let's just say whether he has a human touch for players.

With such a 'notorious' general manager, the remaining old people on the team are in danger.

In the past two years, it has been too difficult to find good jobs. Although Sterling used to be stingy, one person often did multiple jobs, such as electricians and part-time chefs. However, the NBA has regulations on the treatment of staff to ensure that they can serve the players. The professionalism of the staff, it is difficult for them to find a job with the same treatment as now, and now they have to be more serious when working, for fear of being cleared out of the club.

This has no effect on Li Ao, everything now is very new to him, and he has never experienced it before.

He happily went to take part in the promotional photo shoot, and then, except for Big Q who took a photo with him with a smile on his front teeth, the others were very repulsed to stand with him.

It is obviously the same team training uniform, but Li Ao's is an idol drama style, sunny and cheerful, and tall, with broad shoulders and a straight chest, he looks upright.

When they come to them, they have the painting style of gangsters and rogues, each of them is crooked, mainly standing together for comparison.

Whoever likes to take a photo will be together!

But the teammates didn't expect their violent handsome guy to be so shameless, and forced them to take a group photo.

Everyone else broke free, only poor Boykins was picked up by Li Ao to take a picture.

Boykins was very sad and angry, but what he hated most was the group of people who ran away, no one came to save him!
The group photo of the team, the others couldn’t escape, Li Ao made three pushes and gave way, and finally stood in the middle position. There are two guys on the left and one on the right who are smiling like idiots. They are Lamar Odom and Big Q, next to them All the players silently left an empty seat in the middle, and O'Neal, who wanted the boss position, did not want it first, and stood by the side...

...

On the 28th, the Clippers started training camp 3 days ahead of schedule.

This is considered late in the NBA. Other teams basically gather in late September and early September, like the 9ers and Spurs, and even begin to arrange training for players in mid-September.

However, the Clippers had almost never started the training camp in advance. If you start team operations one day earlier, you will start spending money one day earlier.

It is different now. Gentry proposed to start the training camp earlier, and the new general manager immediately agreed, but the time is too tight. The team management and logistics personnel have changed a lot. Barely getting it all together, it took two days to hurry up and prepare, and then the preparations for the training camp were made on the assembly day on the 25th.

The work Gentry arranged today is a player ability test.

Li Ao was looking forward to it, but when it came time to measure his height, he couldn't calm down.

"Why am I growing taller again?" Li Ao muttered to the teaching assistant, and then turned on the system to check, it was really 203 cm!

Larry Lalu, the assistant coach in charge of static data measurement, said with a smile: "You are only 19 years old, it is normal to grow taller, but the physical examination at the beginning of the month showed that many of your epiphyseal lines have begun to close, and there is not much room for you to grow taller. , according to my experience, you can grow 0.5 inch or 1 inch at most."

"Please God bless me not to grow taller again, then I have to order new clothes. I just ordered some new clothes a few days ago. They are so expensive that I won't be able to wear them any longer."

"Uh……"

"Larry, keep busy, I'm going to do other checks."

"Wait, your arm span hasn't been measured yet."

"You can fill in whatever you want, and no one will check."

"Oh, good."

Larry Lalu looked at the wingspan that Li Ao filled out when he applied for the draft, which is the length that Vivienne remembered when he compared his wingspan with Li Ao in October last year.

Vivienne knew how tall Li Ao had grown, and the height written in the draft application was 201 centimeters, but Li Ao would tell her how much taller he had grown, but he didn't say how much his wingspan was, so he wrote an impression of 213 centimeters.

Then, Larry LaRue filled in a 215 cm wingspan.

He used to be an NBA player, a genius with the 80th pick in the first round of 17, averaged 20 points and 8 assists per game in his peak year, and won the Player of the Month Award.

He came to Los Angeles for the last 4 years of his career, first spent two years with the Clippers, and in the last two years he hugged the magician's thigh. I envy a tall point guard like Magician, because he is only 185 cm tall and has a wingspan of 188 cm.

看着6英尺8英寸的身高、7英尺1英寸的臂展、218磅（99公斤）的体重，5英寸（12公分）的臂展身高差，拉里-拉鲁感叹了一句真是出色的静态身体条件，羡慕得不行。

On Li Ao's side, he saw that there was an extra two centimeters of height on the system screen.

He didn't notice this before. He went to order clothes earlier because he had to buy clothes because of changes in his arms, shoulders, chest and abdomen.

Fortunately, during the bone age test, the doctor also said that he has no room for growth, so there is no need to worry about not being able to wear the clothes he bought.

"Name: Li Ao, English name: Leo.

Team: Los Angeles Clippers.

Age: 19 (August 1981, 8).

Height: 203 cm, arm span: 227 cm.

Weight: 99 kg.

Comprehensive evaluation: 77.

身体素质：速度91（爆发加速89），力量86（爆发力82），弹跳85（弹速89），柔韧性92，体力89……

Basic skills: 71 three-pointers, 86 mid-range shots, 88 layups, 65 hooks, 63 ball control, 82 passes, 87 retreats, 88 lateral moves, 87 rounds, 70 strides, 75 turns, 71 emergency stops...

Skills: 65 hooks, 74 catch-and-turn shots, 70 catch-and-shoot jump shots..."

What he is currently good at is still mid-range shooting, defense, and passing, but he has improved significantly compared to before.

In the past two months, the three-pointer has improved significantly, and has successfully broken through to a good level. Relying on the full-level 'catch and shoot expert', the catch-and-shoot three-pointer can be raised to a good upstream level of 76, and he can shoot in the game.

But CIC's progress has slowed down.

After reaching the excellent level of the NBA level, it is very difficult to improve by 1 point!

From July to September, within 7 months, it will increase by 9 points.

After he was selected, the mid-range shot in the evaluation report dropped from 88 to 83. It wasn’t that his ability declined. He was still an 88-point mid-range shot at the NCAA level. When he reached the first-class level of the NCAA, his improvement speed slowed down. .

In the NBA, to achieve the improvement in the system evaluation, the improvement required is greater than that in the NCAA, and the improvement is naturally slower.

If it weren't for the level 3 training method, the CIC bag, and the full-level experience bracelet, it would be impossible to improve from 83 to 86 in one summer just by training.

After reaching an excellent level, actual combat + training is the best way to improve.

However, as long as the CIC can reach 85, he can reach the top level by relying on the full-level 'catch and shoot expert'. At present, he is playing off the ball, and it is enough to raise the CIC to 86.

Physical fitness has improved a little bit!
The muscle gain and weight gain went very smoothly. At that time, his upper limbs were 'developing'. Under the professional guidance of the trainer, he gained about 6 kg of weight without any negative effects.

结合力量训练，他力量提升到了86，爆发力也提升到了82的优秀水平，连带着速度提升到了91、起步来到了89、弹跳提升到85、弹速也到了89。

But the flexibility dropped from 94 to 92, but he didn't feel any impact, so he didn't care about it for the time being, and added more in the future when conditions permit.

My physical strength once increased to 90, but after the weight gain was completed, it fell back to 89... That is, it may have just reached 90 at the time, but because of the increased exercise consumption caused by weight gain and muscle gain, it fell below the top line again.

Li Ao opened the props section, with 5 basic attribute points.

The offseason is over and it's time to use it.

他把3点加在了力量上，将力量从86提升到了89，爆发力也跟着力量提升从82提升到了85。

1点加在了弹跳上，弹跳从85提升到了86，弹速跟着弹跳提升从89提升到了90。

The last 1 point is added to the explosive power, raising the explosive power to 86.

The improvement of the three basic attributes of strength, speed, and bounce can drive the improvement of the explosive attribute.

At present, in fact, adding bounce is more beneficial, after all, the bullet speed has reached the peak.

But his static power has reached 89, and his explosive power will not catch up quickly. When his strength reaches 90, his explosive power will be less than 90. To increase his explosive power alone, he will need to spend more basic attribute points.

This kind of addition was something he had thought about before.

Next, if he gets attribute points, his priority is to increase his explosive power, which is equal to his static strength, and then he only needs to increase his strength to drive his explosive power.

As for the situation where the speed has reached the fastest speed of 91 and the starting speed is only 89, it can only be done first.

For a catch-and-shoot player, there's not much downside to not having the quickest start possible.

As for the improvement in other aspects, the improvement is not so obvious. The improvement is a little bit related to CIC related skills and passing. After all, the time is only three months.

After turning off the system, Li Ao devoted himself to the team test with enthusiasm!

...

Li Ao conducted a series of tests that Gentry prepared for him. He did not "choose and choose" like he did when he tried out for the Lakers. He tested everything that should be tested.

Now is not a draft trial training, there is no need to 'advance strengths and avoid weaknesses'.

He needs to pass the team test to fully tell the team about his situation, so that the coaches and trainers can understand the situation, so that he can better plan his future growth direction.

Professional matters are left to a professional person, who decides whether to accept the growth plan of the coaching staff.

After the team's test, the coaching staff, trainers, and management discussed the two reports non-stop, and a dirty word came out from time to time.

The general manager Walker asked: "Alvin, are you really not mistaken? Is this a test report only two and a half months apart?"

Gentry took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. While wiping the lighter, he said, "Leo went from zero to MOP in 8 months, Wally, you're overreacting."

"Uh... Alvin, your cigarette is stuck backwards."

"Cough cough cough..."

These two test reports belong to Li Ao.

CIC, 10 points, 10 goals for each point, a total of two groups, after two groups of training, Li Ao scored 5 goals with 19 points, 2 goals with 16 points, all 2 points, 1 goals with 17 point .

Two groups of tests, a total of 200 out of 184!

Moreover, one group scored 91 goals and one group scored 93 goals, which is very stable.

Compared with two and a half months ago, there has been a significant improvement.

Gentry can be sure that there is no one in the team who can compare with Li Ao in the CIC.

Only Piakowski in the whole team performed better than Li Ao in the mid-range shot test on both sides of the bottom line, and those two points were relatively worse than Li Ao.

What is more eye-catching is the three-point test, which has been tested more often, with a total of 4 tests, and every 100 three-pointers, the number of hits is around 80 goals.

Compared with two and a half months ago, there has also been a qualitative improvement.

And like CIC, it is very balanced from all angles!
And the most exaggerated is Li Ao's strength improvement.

Gentry saw that Li Ao had gained more than ten pounds, and his shoulders, arms, and thighs were thicker. He knew that the strength of their violent handsome guy must have improved, so he worked very hard this summer.

Not only Li Ao, Big Q has also worked hard in the past two months, his weight has increased to 221 pounds, and his strength has also improved significantly.

But compared with Li Ao, who entered the NBA at the same time and had similar strength at that time, the progress of Big Q is negligible.

Looking at the results of Li Ao's strength test, Gentry came up with the idea of ​​letting Li Ao carry it when he met opponents such as Artest, Raheem, Madman, and Pierce in the regular season.

Odom and Maggette are the strongest strikers in the power team, but their defensive ability, during the summer league, Gentry confirmed that Li Ao is the team's best outside defense.

Although Li Ao's other abilities have yet to be developed, he is still a player with a relatively single ability, but he is only 19 years old!

Gentry has worked in the NBA for nearly 20 years, boasting that he has never seen any kind of genius.

Now he knows that there can be such a big gap between geniuses and geniuses!
...

The test was completed in the morning. In the afternoon, Gentry led the team to conduct a team meeting to explain the team's new tactical system. The next two days, the work content is also the same.

There are many new players joining this season, and most of the lineup has been changed. There are 4 rookies alone.

In the first meeting, Gentry confirmed the positioning of the team as Li Ao's main outside scorer, Jermaine O'Neal's inside core, and Odom's outside core.

Originally, Gentry was very dissatisfied that Baylor sent Morris Taylor, a striker who averaged 17+6 per game, to a No. 10 pick in a bad draft year, but now he wants to thank Baylor.

The team's top scorer left, and he made this arrangement, and the other players had no objections.

They are the team with the most first-round players in the league, yes, but most of the great first-round players are sent away. Most of the first-round players of their team can't be called bad, and they can even be said to be high-performance players with a basic salary, but they can Li Ao, Odom, and O'Neal serve as the core, and the others are at most high-quality role players.

Gentry has a very positive working attitude and repeatedly explained tactics. Two and a half days passed quickly, and October came.

On the 1st, the media day and makeup photos were taken. This year, the Clippers players came to a lot of reporters, more than ever before.

And it's not entirely for Li Ao, a large part of it is because of the previous turmoil with Sterling, and I came to see if I can dig up any material to expose.

Including the domestic media directed at Li Ao, most of the questions are also asking this question.

But owner Caesar Kanter and general manager Wally Walker both spoke in advance and were forbidden to answer related questions.

Although Li Ao loves to chatter, he doesn't want to make a fuss.

Therefore, on this media day, we often see players and reporters staring at each other in silence...

On the 2nd, the Clippers started team training.

Head coach Gentry, offensive assistant Larry LaRue, and defensive assistant Norm Nixon all supervised the training of the players very seriously and even severely, as if anyone who didn't practice well would get out.

In this atmosphere, most of the players focused and trained hard.

Gentry felt the benefits of changing most of the players.

Although he was afraid of Wally Walker's overly strict style when he was in charge of the team, but from the coaching level, the benefits are more.

Now the team's management, coaching staff, and trainers are all actively working. The whole team is like clockwork. No one dares to be caught by Wally Walker. The players can naturally feel this atmosphere and be affected. .

The new players are very active, and most of the old players are also active. Although Xianyu on the edge of the bench is still too lazy to stand up, since they are all on the edge, it is naturally not important.

Li Ao is the fastest to adapt to the new tactical system, and his style of play is very versatile.

Secondly... Odom, his style of play may be more versatile than Li Ao.

The first-round picks of the Clippers who entered the NBA in the mid-to-early 90s are basically homeless players. Such players have a characteristic, and they adapt to the new style of play quickly!
Forced by life, you must be versatile.

The rookies who are relatively slow to integrate are the few rookies other than Li Ao. The NBA style of play is a bit different from the college style of play. In the past summer, the two rookies Big Q and Kenyon Doolin worked hard on the outside, but the main It's adapting to a very different three-point line.

To the surprise and regret of the coaching staff, O'Neal's tactical integration is also very slow.

The main reason is that the ability is not enough!
The 22-year-old O'Neal still showed a lot of talent in the summer league, but in the past four seasons, there was too little training. He had no talent, but he hadn't really realized it. He couldn't meet the Clippers' coaching staff. core tactical requirements.

But the plan is always behind the changes. The coaching staff of the Clippers adjusted the importance of O'Neal in the tactics and increased Odom's inside role.

O'Neal was angry about it, angry at his own incompetence.

No comparison, no harm.

He feels that he has made a lot of progress this summer. Now that he has the opportunity, he has worked harder than ever in training.

But he saw Li Ao's more accurate shooting, stronger body, and better defense than in the summer league... He was shocked on the first day of team training.

It wasn't just him, the teammates who participated in the summer league together at the time collectively cursed.

If you don’t bring this kind of food, let’s say that everyone will cook together...well, they are different from them from the beginning.

The old players really accepted Li Ao as the number one outside scorer. Although they had no objection before, they always felt in their hearts, "Huh, I want to see how good a rookie is."

Now they know, yet another young talent they've been hooting after every team change.

As for the old players bullying rookies with traditional arts skills... They heard that the little bastard Olowokandi was beaten into a coma and sent to the hospital during the fight with Li Ao.

However, although O'Neal was angry and unwilling, he accepted the role of ordinary starter.

The habitual thinking of the past four seasons has come—it’s okay, wait for the opportunity, and the opportunity will come.

And his situation is different from that time, now as long as he becomes stronger, opportunities will really come!

Seeing that handsome teammate beep, the pride in O'Neill's heart surged again - just wait and see!The position of boss is mine!

...

On the 8th, the Clippers had a day off and the training camp was over.

After a day's rest, on the 9th, Li Ao flew to Denver with the team.

Tomorrow, his first NBA preseason game is coming.

The first time he took the Clippers chartered flight, Li Ao exercised his right to bring his family.

Auntie Assistant, Liam, Dean Teng, Henry Bibby, Jack and his girlfriend all boarded the team chartered flight.

Originally, Li Ao called the old man, but the old man went there by himself tomorrow afternoon, went directly to watch the game, and stayed at the memorial stadium to play cards.

Gentry looked at the group of people led by Li Ao, wanted to say something but couldn't say it.

This rookie really wants to bring a family!

At first, he thought that Li Ao was deliberately making things difficult for them. Everyone could tell that Li Ao looked down on them at that time and didn't want to join, but he didn't expect that there was really such a need.

It's just... honest.

Even Dean Teng and Henry Bibby went with him because this was the first time Li Ao played an NBA game. Although it was only a preseason game, they happened to be free, so they went to watch it together.

Anyway, the Nuggets' preseason tickets are cheap.

The assistant aunt, Liam and others booked a room in the same hotel as the Clippers. After staying in the hotel in Denver, Liam and the physical therapist went out together. Dean Teng and Henry Bi Compared with this pair of old friends, they also went to the scenic spots to check in.

In the NBA, Li Ao no longer has the treatment he had when he was in college. He lives in a double room, but the same room is a big Q, and it is convenient to carry a bag.

So Li Ao ran to the room of the hospital assistant's aunt, plugged in the game console, and played a small horizontal version of the customs clearance game together, recharging his energy and preparing for tomorrow's competition.

The climate here on the Denver Plateau will somewhat affect the physical strength of athletes.

At 10 o'clock in the evening, Li Ao got ready for bed early.

He was worried that someone was snoring in the next bed tonight, but the round-headed guy Big Q actually ordered a plateau takeaway and opened a room on another floor!

It's...quiet.

After a night of rest, after lunch at noon the next day, the Clippers came to the Pepsi Center for simple preparations.

At 7:05 p.m., after Li Ao completed the "perfect warm-up" and hastily finished the interview with Su Qun, he couldn't wait to come to the entrance of the player tunnel.

The atmosphere at the scene...emmm...so-so.

It may be because of the preseason game that the venue was not full.

Seeing Li Ao's excited look, the teammates thought about passing the ball to their violent genius for a while. The preseason was just for rookies.

There is no entrance ceremony, and 20 minutes before the start of the game, players from the two teams enter the stadium for final preparations.

Li Ao can feel the players on the opposite side looking at him as soon as he enters the court.

Odom also noticed this and reminded: "Leo, the other side is following you."

"What can I do? Being handsome is easy to be jealous, don't pay too much attention to it, just get used to it."

"..."

Odom was defeated, and he still had the urge to hit someone.

Do you want to find a few teammates and join the rebellion?
If you rebel, you should find some of the strongest teammates!

Strong teammates, our team seems to have played football for several hours.

The football season has started for several rounds. Unfortunately, the professional football team in Los Angeles is not very good, but the football in USC is very good. You can go and see it when you have time...

Odom wandered the sky again, his thinking continued to diverge, and he didn't know where the end was.

At 7:28 in the evening, Li Ao came to the court with Greg Anthony, Piakowski, Lamar Odom and O'Neal.

He looked across the way, focusing on a pitch-black player—Antonio McDyess.

Very strong, one of the three talented power forwards in the 95 class, with an average of 20+10 per game, many people think he is better than Rasheed Wallace.

Li Ao feels a little pity. In his previous life, he paid attention to this player who competed for the championship with the Pistons and the Spurs but failed.

Who would have thought that a player who had almost no injuries in the first 6 years of his career would suffer an injury that destroyed his athletic ability at the age of 26 and seven?
But stress injuries seem inevitable for a power forward who is only 206 cm tall and relies on running and jumping ability.

It is different from McDyess, who was skilled in mid-range and long-range shooting in Li Ao's impression when he was in the Pistons and Spurs.

In the Nuggets scouting report he got a few days ago, McDyess has almost no long-range shots and can shoot mid-range shots. However, last season, he made only 33% of his mid-range shots from the free throw line and only 40% of his short-range shots. 7% of his field goal percentages are baskets and free throws.

Withdrawing his attention, Li Ao looked at the other 4 starters on the opposite side, Van Exel, Voshan Leonard, Lieve LaFrentz... and James Posey who he was thinking of!

Li Ao likes this opponent in the first NBA game!
At 7:30, the referee blew the whistle to start the game.

McDyess overwhelmed O'Neal to win the jump ball, and the Nuggets went first!

Van Exel played singles from the outside, stepped back and made a three-pointer against Greg Anthony... it was iron.

but!

McDyess circled around O'Neal, quickly jumped up on the spot, pressed the popped ball back, and made a dunk!
Offensive and defensive conversion, Greg Anthony steadily advanced to the frontcourt, and handed it to Odom who pulled to the top arc.

Odom pulled McDyess out, and Li Ao used cover to run on the flank.

Odom broke through McDyess and passed the ball to Li Ao who cut in from the left.

McDyess showed his amazing short-distance explosive acceleration, quickly rushing from the right side of the three-second zone to the left sideline of the three-second zone.

But Li Ao passed the ball immediately after receiving it!

McDyess turned around quickly, and when he rushed over, he saw Lafrenz, the man with the hat, also approaching Li Ao.

Jermaine O'Neal received the ball from the basket, faced McDyess's defense without fear, raised his blood with enthusiasm, raised the ball with both hands, and smashed it to the basket...

in!

Jermaine O'Neal dunks!

The target of the buckle is McDyess, who is known for his defense!
……

……

I won’t add any updates tonight, and I won’t stay up late. I wrote it past 3 o’clock last night. Today’s update plan is completely messed up. The 8000-word chapter will make up for Xiaofeng’s debt to my friends.

Ask for a recommendation ticket!Thanks!

(End of this chapter)