Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 232 Ambition: Regicide

Clippers post-game press conference.

When the reporter asked Chen Fang how he felt about his first NBA game, Chen Fang replied: "There is a big difference. The NCAA focuses more on winning, while the summer league focuses on individual performance."

"Your performance today was amazing. Will you continue to produce such numbers?" a reporter asked.

Seeing the reporter digging a hole, Chen Fang smiled slightly and said, "I haven't finished what I just said."

"I hope I can balance both, ensuring victory while making everyone's numbers better."

"As for your question, I don't think I can make big promises. I can only answer it after I finish fighting one match after another."

A Chinese reporter stood up and asked, "Zhou Qi is also playing for the Rockets in the summer league. Are you in touch with them?"

"Not yet. I think at this stage, we should focus on the game and wait until the league is over before we decide."

"Zhou Qi is playing right now, will you go and watch it?"

"I'm sorry, as much as I want to, I need to reunite with the team now. Wish him good luck."

After the end, Chen Fang followed the team staff to the underground garage to reunite with the team. At this moment, everyone looked at his expression, which was completely different from before. He had a smile on his face and was full of enthusiasm.

Chen Fang high-fived everyone. He knew very well that this was just the beginning and he needed to focus on the next game.

After returning to the hotel, Chen Fang knocked on the door of head coach Brian's room. Brian was surprised when he opened the door and saw Chen Fang.

"I want to know if there is an environment for post-match review, coaching staff."

"Yes, it should be in the afternoon."

"Can you call me then?" Chen Fang asked.

"Sure, you're welcome anytime." Brian understood Chen Fang's intention and nodded in agreement.

"Thank you."

Returning to his room, NBA teams are rich after all and pay great attention to personal privacy. Each team has been given a luxurious single room. Lying on the extra-long bed, Chen Fang planned to take a nap.

Rest and a regular schedule will be the best and simplest way to maintain long-term competition.

But unfortunately, it is difficult for many NBA players to do so. Perhaps only undrafted players will refuse to relax because of their uneasy fate, but for those with contract guarantees, most of them will choose to find a place to relax.

Chen Fang had no such plan. His place of relaxation was at home. Now he reminded himself that he had entered the competition stage and he had to be self-disciplined before and after the game.

After a two-hour nap, Chen Fang was awakened by a landline phone call. He rubbed his eyes and answered the phone. It turned out to be a lunch service. The team provided door-to-door lunch takeaway service for the players who were still in the hotel.

After eating, Chen Fang went to the team gym, where a Clippers recovery team was on standby at all times.

Chen Fang had a full body physical therapy with ice, blood circulation and fascia unblocking, and then, at Brian's call, he came to the exclusive meeting room.

The place is already filled with instruments, and there are seven or eight staff members busy working.

"Come on, it's just made." Brian greeted Chen Fang.

Under the curious gazes of the other assistant coaches, Chen Fang sat down.

The lights in the room were turned off, and the projector came on, starting to play the video of the morning's game.

The video at this moment has removed irrelevant clips such as timeouts and free throws, and focuses on offense and defense transitions, turnovers, and scoring.

This is not a discussion meeting. First, the NBA review will be watched in full, and then the video analyst will mark the turning points in red. The coach will discuss it, put forward the basis for judgment, and finally draw a summary.

Usually such a meeting lasts less than two hours, which is the main job content of the coach. Once the conclusion is reached, it is to avoid and improve in the next training.

There is also a video analysis of the next opponent. The game is the result of cooperation between the coach and the players. The coach invests a lot of energy before and after the game, and the players need to try their best to implement the coach's tactical intentions in training and games.

Basically, this process is the daily process of an NBA team or even a professional team.

Now, Chen Fang has to integrate into the team, become the leader of the players, and try to act as a link between the coach and the players.

This was Chen Fang's intention, but he didn't say it. He started silently. Maybe the effect wouldn't be very good at the beginning, but if he persisted, he believed he would see the result.

If this can really be done, anyone who wants to touch him will have to think twice. This is what Chen Fang has prepared for the future.

He has been planning this idea since the first day he entered the NBA.

"What do you think is the problem here?" Brian suddenly asked Chen Fang.

Chen Fang didn't hesitate. In fact, he had the entire game process perfectly memorized in his mind. He replied: "Obviously, there is a problem with the Lakers' rotation at the small forward position."

Chen Fang stood up and walked directly to the projection screen. He pointed at the paused screen and said, "This is a zone defense-like position. Ingram did not get close to his defender Kuzma, but kept a distance."

"I think he wanted to fill the position in the middle faster, so he did this."

"So I deliberately went to the middle and passed the ball to Kuzma, and he returned two assists."

"Yes, your breakthrough is threatening. The Lakers need faster rotation and replacement. In fact, you can finish this ball yourself." Brian asked.

"I need the deterrence of my teammates. My understanding of passing the ball is to make the opponent feel that they dare not double-team me completely. If I eat the ball frequently, it will become more and more difficult for me to score in the next game."

"So I need to keep sharing the ball and let my teammates digest it. In this way, the opponent will never dare to go all out against me, and I will feel more and more relaxed."

After hearing Chen Fang's explanation, several assistant coaches looked at each other and saw surprise in each other's eyes.

"Good thinking, this is a good idea. The next game is against the Jazz. Do you have any good ideas?" Brian asked.

"I haven't watched their videos yet, but I hope to watch them with the coaches, listen to everyone's analysis, and get useful content, so as to convert it into a greater advantage in the game."

"No problem, our work is completely open to you. It's a great idea, but I have to remind you that it means you're working two jobs," Brian said with a smile.

"I don't like going out anyway. I don't have many friends here. My pleasure is to pursue more victories." Chen Fang said with a smile.

"Okay, check your text messages. I'll notify you via text message. If you have something urgent to do, please let me know in advance."

"Thank you."

After the conversation, the review work continued. Chen Fang did not interrupt, but just listened quietly. He brought a notebook and took notes with a pen. Only when others asked him would he briefly tell the other person his thoughts.

This is a brand new performance, and the coaching team feels it is very novel.

Because Chen Fang's answer broadened their thinking and ideas, it was a standard brainstorming session and everyone involved was very excited, so much so that when the staff reminded them that it was dinner time, everyone suddenly realized that an afternoon had passed.

"How about it? Are you interested in coming tonight?" The more Brian looked at Chen Fang, the more he liked him. He was a player with a high basketball IQ, plus the fighting power he showed on the court today, he was now very sure that Chen Fang could not be a waste, and he could perform beyond imagination in the Clippers.

"Why not?" Chen Fang was also very happy. His rather naive ideas suddenly became reliable after being shared by this group of the most experienced basketball coaches on the planet.

At dinner time, Brian began to teach Chen Fang by example, telling him that he needed to take in more protein instead of meat, and to eat more vegetables to keep his body healthy.

"All energy intake comes from the stomach. Avoiding spicy and high-fat foods will make your blood less sticky and allow it to flow smoothly. This will help you stay in better physical condition during long-term competitions."

"Coach, are you also taking a side course in nutrition?" Chen Fang asked.

"Yes, there are 82 games in the regular season. Compared to recovery, the most important thing is diet," Brian said frankly.

"Thank you. I think I will remember what you said, sir."

In the evening, Chen Fang continued to join in the coaching work, including observing each player, providing personal improvement suggestions and training content, which were all very boring and arduous.

But Chen Fang didn't feel that at all. He even helped the coach build data files for the players and wrote down the details of each person's strengths and weaknesses, which made Brian curious.

He asked, "Actually you don't need to do this, someone will come."

"No, I think this will be very helpful to me. It will help me remember the offensive and defensive characteristics of each teammate more clearly, which will help me make faster judgments on the court."

"It's very good that you thought of this." Brian understood, and he looked at Chen Fang with approval.

At 9:30 in the evening, it was finally time to finish a busy day's work.

Chen Fang politely said goodbye. After he walked out and closed the door, Brian said to his colleagues, "I think Chen may be the one who integrates into the team the fastest among the 17th rookies."

"No, definitely. He not only integrated into the team, but also integrated into the team at both levels. I was shocked by the patience and meticulousness he showed," said Alex Martinez.

Tyronn Lue, Jamie Butler, Randy Whitman, Brian Shaw, Alex Martinez.

These five people are the five assistants of the coaching staff, Tyronn Lue is the chief and Bryan is the second.

In this summer league, Tyronn Lue did not come to Las Vegas due to family reasons, and Bryant led the team.

They report directly to head coach Doc Rivers and are cross-managed by Lauren Frank. Behind Rivers and Frank, Wenger is the invisible mastermind who monitors everything.

These are the eight-man team of the Clippers management.

"Now, let's see if he can keep it up in this game against the Jazz." Brian talked to Rivers on the phone, and Rivers said after listening.

Wenger arrived at the hotel shortly afterwards, listened to the opinions of the coaching staff in person and made the final decision.

"It's not a bad thing to let him participate, as long as it doesn't affect his training, but he needs to be reminded that he can only listen and can't participate more."

"Yes, I understand your concerns." Brian thought of it immediately.

Wenger glanced at Bryan and said slowly: "Players' participation in team management is a double-edged sword. It will be very uncomfortable for us, the boss will be very uncomfortable, and other players will be even more uncomfortable."

"Apart from the competition, he cannot be allowed to participate in anything else."

"clear."

"We can't dampen his enthusiasm now. I think he just wants to get better. His game shows that this is his intention. We need more time to observe."

"Yes."

Chen Fang, who had already fallen asleep, was of course unaware of this late-night conversation. Even if he knew, he would just smile faintly.

The relationship between players and teams is always changing.

When you are powerful, even the team owner will kneel down for you. When you are weak, even an assistant coach will dare to scold you.

This is the nature of competitive sports.

NBA is a business league. Since business comes before the league, it is mainly based on business. Record is certainly important, but as long as you can increase the team's valuation and increase the annual revenue percentage by more than 5%, you will be the coolest guy.

Even if you speak in a gentle voice, your voice is deafening and no one dares to ignore your words.

This kind of thing happens all the time in the NBA. Some people do great, some do badly. Above the teams, there is also the league and its strategic partners watching.

Star players, owners, league presidents, sponsors, and the media.

The relationship between these five is closely connected, forming four big characters.

Business alliance.

Why can some people make shocking remarks without restraint, dare to challenge team rules, trample on league rules, and even break traditional basketball cognition? All of this is based on the fact that this person can bring huge amounts of monetary asset appreciation to the league, team, and sponsors.

Even though he was a dark person in private, everyone pretended not to know and even tried to cover up for him.

It's all about money.

Many players will not stand up and speak out, at most they will just complain and ridicule, because everyone understands one thing.

As the face of the alliance, if you tear it down, you are hurting everyone. No one would be stupid enough to do such a thing. Even if you don't care or are not afraid, you can't do it.

The whistleblower who is the target of public criticism is both pathetic and lamentable.

Although Chen Fang was getting closer to the truth and vaguely understood it, he was still suspicious.

At the same time, he was not sure whether he had the ability to do so, because beings more powerful than him had not spoken out and were even in cahoots with him.

But this is the purpose of his coming to the NBA. He is not too interested in championships or historical status. As a future tycoon, what he wants to pursue is to slay dragons and kill kings.

The others are just incidental rewards generated in this process.

The reason why he chose the Clippers is because it is the center of the league's attention and the city most likely to attract widespread attention.

Kobe once asked him, have you ever dreamed of winning the championship?

Chen Fang asked him back: What do you want to do more besides winning the championship?
Kobe was silent, with regret and emotion in his eyes. He said: I am old and cannot change the facts.

So Chen Fang said to Kobe: Maybe this is what I want to do.

In the future, every day in the NBA, Chen Fang will work towards this goal. He will carefully construct an invisible iron net until one day, he achieves this goal and brings the NBA back to its original direction.

There are emperors, but there are also incompetent rulers and tyrants.

Ever since this person entered the league, the league has been in a state of flux. A true basketball fan cannot turn a blind eye to this. Tolerance and evasion will only consume and burn the once beautiful value of this league in the eyes of the world.

Chen Fang is not afraid of failure or being hurt. At worst, he can just leave.

As long as he is true to himself, so what if his ambitions are as ridiculous as Don Quixote's?
What could be more exciting and challenging than sending the emperor to the guillotine?

Chen Fang smiled beautifully in his sleep. Perhaps, in his dream, he was fighting.

(End of this chapter)