Healing Basketball

   Chapter 61 61. Who will be the stepping stone?

   At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Blazers had their last team practice before the regular season.

  It is different from the tactical adjustment training, tactical movement and coordination training in the past two days. This is a game. According to the usual practice, this is a game that will definitely affect the chances of playing tomorrow's opener. Everyone played very seriously.

  It is not easy to compare in the game, but compared with the training match on the 25th, Liu Xiu's defensive performance has improved significantly!

   Dale Davis is in bad shape.

   He estimates that Liu Xiu will become a qualified supplementary defense and help defense player in the near future.

   This is not an easy thing, a rookie, a rookie who was not good at defense in college, or a guard, after entering the NBA, it is not difficult to quickly improve his one-on-one defense to the qualified level.

   But what Liu Xiu has improved is supplementary defense!

   It can be said that in basketball, there is nothing more boring than this, and it is also the most unwilling to learn.

  This game also needs talent support, which is outrageous.

   But Liu Xiu just started learning casually, and during the preseason, he will reach the threshold of passing level!

   The passing line is not particularly powerful, and it does not play the role of helping in the snow in the game, and it becomes the embellishment of the team's defense boss.

  Everything is difficult at the beginning, and the same is true for basketball. If you can't get started or pass the test, it means you have no talent.

   Liu Xiu shows that his talent is bursting!

  Forget it, Liu Xiu has improved in terms of basic skills compared to a few days ago...

In the team training game on the 25th, Liu Xiu learned the importance of stepping skills when attacking the frame at close range. In the past few days, Liu Xiu has stopped everything except the simulation training on the defensive end, the basic shooting skills and the simulation training. Next, give a considerable part of the physical strength to the simulation training of strides, which is one of Derrick Anderson's basic skills.

   Liu Xiu originally had this ability, but he was not strong, and his training method was not as good as that of Derek Anderson. As a defender, he should have been trained and talented in this respect... He had a foundation, made rapid progress, and reached a passing level in a few days.

   Coincidentally, on the 25th, Liu Xiu went to Derek Anderson to review the training details of the basic stride skills while waiting for revenge by smashing a flying squirrel on the 25th...

  Which veteran doesn't like his skills being learned by genius juniors?

   Regardless of strength, only versatility, Derek Anderson can be called a master of technology. His planned post-retirement job is to become a trainer or assistant coach and attack the head coach.

   Dale Davis is also the most famous defensive player in NBA history.

   Anyway, Derek Anderson and Dale Davis hope Liu Xiu can learn well.

   So I paid extra attention to Liu Xiu in the team training game.

   Then, I noticed Liu Xiu's progress.

   During the training interval, the two teachers came together and complained...

   "Derek, I didn't believe that there is such a genius who can practice skills well, and now I believe it."

   "Actually, I have heard of such a person," Derek Anderson said with a wry smile, "but I didn't believe it then, and I believe it now."

  Derrick Anderson thought of the high school student who grinned in Toronto a few years ago and said he wanted to be Pippen next to his brother...

   Dale Davis originally only played with those famous veterans, but recently he and Derrick Anderson got together because of a common student like Liu Xiu.

   Now, the two have the same idea - they have lived on dogs for so many years in their careers!

  …

  The two teachers were discussing Liu Xiu, and the two coaches in charge of the team were also there.

   "Morris, have you ever seen a player who improves faster than Jayce?"

   "Yes, but that man entered the leap stage after laying the foundation, and someone like Jace can progress so quickly from scratch, no."

   "NO! Morris, he is improving so fast, do you think anyone can really hit him? How can we make him work hard?"

  Maurice Cheeks was speechless - why do you have to make your own players hit hard? Is it okay for people to make progress?

   Or are you still thinking about that Porsche 365A?

  Everyone asked someone to build a garage next to the yard to show off this car!

   The two chatted and walked to the gate of the visiting team's training ground, just passing by... But when they heard the angry old man's scolding inside, the words and sentences used to describe them were all praise words, and it was simply unbearable!

  The soundproof door can't stop it!

  The two coaches couldn't help but stop and eavesdrop for a while.

After a while, the door was pushed open, and the two coaches hurriedly walked a few steps without being noticed by the people inside. When they turned their heads, when the door was closed, a tall white child walked out quickly. The corners of the boy's eyes seemed to flicker. With sparkling tears...

  Larry Brown's bad mouth is no secret in the entire NBA coaching circle.

  I don't know what happened. The two coaches are not good at commenting on Milicic being scolded and crying.

   But Kevin Plitcha has something to say: "Morris, you say, can we learn from Brown, tough, tough, sharp words, and save our team environment?"

  Maurice Cheeks looked up and down Kevin Pritchard when he heard the words, and saw that the latter was furious.

   "What's wrong? Morris, what's wrong with what I said?"

"No no no, no problem, it's a good idea," Maurice Cheeks laughed: "If you think about our team, we have Zach, Dale, Ruben ... yes, and Jayce, I After 10 years of retiring, I still exercise a lot, so I won’t die if they take turns hitting me, you…”

  “…”

  Kevin Plitcha felt that the team environment was not so important, turned around and walked quickly to the parking lot: "I'll go to dinner first, see you in the evening."

   For the opening game, the Blazers coaching staff had to work overtime to make more perfect preparations for coaching.

  …

   Blazers coaches are working hard, and so are the players.

After the afternoon training, Liu Xiu called four friends from the "Aohu Squad", called Tian Zun, who created the image of a villain, and the almighty teacher beside Tian Zun, a group of seven people to discuss tomorrow's game together. .

Originally I wanted to call Dale Davis, but this one, who has more face than heaven, plays with Liu Xiu and Derek Anderson in private. , unless these seven people call each other big brother, he will come.

   But Liu Xiu was never the younger brother, and Randolph was not the younger brother when nothing happened...

   However, even if Dale Davis didn't come, this discussion group accounted for half of the team!

   Liu Xiu is not conscious of this. He started playing basketball, and that was the case.

  Randolph looked at Rasheed Wallace and Derek Anderson, stunned - before Nima's rookie season started, Liu Xiu had already become the leader of the most powerful force in the team!

  Last year, those people fought back and forth in the team, fighting for a hammer!

   Also, Randolph feels that this seems to be a matter of course for Liu Xiu...

   communicated, and did not communicate anything.

  More, through the discussion meeting on the last day before the new season, each other confirmed one thing - we are the same group!

  …

  The opening game of the regular season is a major event, which means that the long-awaited new season is about to start!

   A good start, the United States has a similar statement, anyway, the opening game is very important to the teams.

  The league, the media, and fans naturally also attach great importance to it, but they attach importance to those teams with balloon stars.

   Anyway, the Blazers are completely ignored.

   They and the Pistons, if you want to talk about grievances, there are also, they played in the finals more than ten years ago.

   But all the players of the two teams at that time retired, and there was no grudge at that time. The Blazers were hanged by the Pistons, and there was no grudge at all.

   It seems that they are the popular teams. After the opening game is arranged, just put together a matchup for them.

   It was the day before the opener, and there weren't many reporters on the Blazers side.

   Even the number of Chinese reporters is not very large, and the manpower is concentrated on Yao Ming's side.

  Originally, the domestic media was very enthusiastic about Liu Xiu, but Liu Xiu's reputation in the United States is getting worse and worse, and the domestic environment is also problematic these days, and his popularity in the country has faded.

   Liu Xiu is a little bit hurt, but there is no way to do it. Leave this alone, this is something that can't be rushed.

   After a small gathering with a few teammates, in the evening, Liu Xiu came home and watched the live broadcast of the most popular opener - the Lakers vs. the Mavericks!

   When the Mavericks sent Nash, Finley, Anthony Walker, Jamison, Dirk Nowitzki to start, a question mark appeared in Liu Xiuyi's head...

   In the end, the Lakers beat the Mavericks 106-95. Even if Kobe didn’t play, the Mavericks didn’t have much to fight back against the Lakers.

  The luxurious super frontcourt doesn't seem to have brought any improvement to the Mavericks.

   But the most important thing is the staggering strength displayed by the Lakers.

   Even Charles Barkley, a rising star in the commentary world who enjoys scolding O'Neal, lamented that if Kobe was there, with Kobe and Malone on both wings, the Mavericks' strength would not last half the court.

It was just the opening game, and Liu Xiu remembered a statement in the future that was laughed at when he brought it up - if the Lakers in the 2003-04 season didn't have infighting or so many injuries, they might be the strongest team, even if they were young So big.

   On October 31st, the second game day of the regular season, the day of the Trail Blazers' opener arrived.

  Liu Xiu got up at 7 am, after enjoying a wave of sourness, she got up full of energy, looking forward to today's game!

   At 6 o'clock in the evening, they will usher in the opener against the Pistons at home!

   The most popular opening game was all put on yesterday, and today's game has significantly reduced the heat.

  Liu Xiu eats breakfast, reads the morning sports news, reads the newspaper... Except for the final opener between the Magic and the Raptors, TV shows and newspapers have almost no analysis of today's other games!

   Even the local media in Portland were not enthusiastic about reporting the game itself.

   is really a bit miserable... But, Liu Xiu knows, this is their Trail Blazers.

   Liu Xiu's mood was very high, and he came to the arena earlier than usual... More than ten minutes, many teammates were surprised.

The opening game tonight, not all teammates paid attention to him. Although he is often in the team's limelight, his actual competitor is Damon Stoudemire. According to his height, pure control Wei, just the two of them.

  Like Liu Xiu, the teammates are in high spirits today, and the real competition is about to begin! Start with the official game!

  …

   Regardless of whether they are valued or not, the two teams that are put together in the opening game are always related.

   The Blazers and Pistons games are nothing to talk about, but they are related—the past two years have been comparable!

  The Blazers had 49 wins in the 01-02 season and 50 wins in the 02-03 season; the Pistons had 50 wins in both the 01-02 season and the 02-03 season.

The Pistons lost Clifford Robinson in the offseason, and the Blazers lost Bunch Wells, but the main players of both teams have improved... In the prospect analysis of each team before the season, the two teams were placed to a gear.

  The Blazers agree with this statement and are preparing for the Pistons as an opponent of comparable strength.

   Even Liu Xiu thought so when Tianzun was still on the Trail Blazers.

   But the Pistons don't see it that way.

   Losing Clifford Robinson... It was a decision made after detailed discussions between Joe Dumars and Larry Brown and the main players in the team.

  Rick Carlisle spent two seasons patiently building the system, and now he has replaced an old coach who is stronger and more accomplished on the defensive end... The ambition of the Pistons players has been highlighted!

  The morning practice is over, the next few hours of rest, and in the evening, they will play against the Blazers.

   In a coffee shop near the gate of the arena, Billups and Ben Wallace were sitting together, not saying a word. Billups didn’t say much, but Ben Wallace didn’t say much.

   But both of them are looking forward to the upcoming new season!

   Billups now... Larry Brown saying 'You can't play like Iverson? ' It made his whole self-confidence ignite.

  Although Rick Carlisle is Billups' bole, before last season, Billups never had the experience of starting an entire season.

   But Larry Brown let Billups, who spent six years honing his fundamentals, unleash his natural instincts, and Billups became the first Pistons player to accept Larry Brown as their new coach.

   Coincidentally, Liu Xiu and Randolph and the others passed by the entrance of the cafe chatting and laughing.

   Billups looked at the group of people downstairs and said to Ben Wallace: "Tonight we are going to win! Let them know that we are different from them, and let them know the difference!"

  Ben-Wallace nodded, without saying anything, everything was silent.

  When an athlete has inflated his confidence and ambition, all the opponents in front of him will be used as stepping stones.

  Everyone in the Blazers is a stepping stone in the eyes of Billups and Ben Wallace!

   (end of this chapter)