Champion, please stay!

Chapter 190, Chapter 188: Some things are unavoidable.
Hughes is only 30 years old, but when Yi Shui met him, he couldn't feel the vigor of a player in his prime at all.

When Harrington first arrived last year, he seemed frustrated and had no interest in playing basketball. He was just hanging out with Daniels and thinking about padding his stats.

But frustration is also an attitude, and boosting data is also a way to strive for the future.

After starting the season with a winning streak and the team showing signs of a comeback, Harrington became more aggressive, competing for playing time with players like David Lee, Birdman, and Swift.

After Daniels and Nate Robinson were traded, Harrington actively sought to join the 'rookie core'.

But Hughes... Hopefully, the team's unwavering spirit can ignite Hughes' fighting will.

According to the coaching staff, Hughes' performance was commendable during the Bulls' confrontation with management before the All-Star Weekend last season.

那期间打了35场，场均21分钟出场时间可以拿到10分2板3.2助攻1.4抢断。

Playing alongside LeBron James for two and a half years also 'helped' Hughes with his fundamentals. In those 35 games, his three-point shooting percentage reached 39.1%, averaging 1.4 three-pointers made per game... It's really not easy to think about it. A top-tier drive-and-kick player was transformed into a decent catch-and-shoot player.

Ben was different. Although he was aloof, he had a very good attitude during the test and actively showed his abilities. When Gibson was practicing the collapsing defense, he even took the initiative to give Gibson pointers on the sliding step back technique.

Even at his age, and even after being dumped by the Cavaliers as a bad contract, Ben Wallace still longs for a place on a new team.

Looking at Ben Wallace's muscular physique, Yi Shui realized that no one on the team could compare to him. He estimated that only a few players in the entire league could rival him, such as Beast and the short-handed third pick.

She's at least 10 centimeters shorter than him? But her physical exam weight was only 1 pound lighter than his!
He tried to practice low-post back-to-the-basket moves with Ben Wallace... but he couldn't handle it, he was even harder than Hayes!

Moreover, Ben Wallace's timing for contests was excellent, and his low-post one-on-one defense was still outstanding in limiting shots.

By September 20th, all teammates had returned to the team. Yi Shui could tell from their physiques whether they had just been playing around during the off-season, or had been working hard, or had maintained basic training.

Curry was still playing in the Summer League in late July. After a two-week break, he resumed training in mid-August. He gained 10 pounds, or a little over 4 kilograms, this summer. Before his rookie season, he weighed 79 kilograms, and at the end of last season, he weighed less than 82 kilograms. Now he weighs 86 kilograms. As a point guard, he has a great advantage in physical contact. As a shooting guard, he won't be at a disadvantage due to his static physical contact that far exceeds his size.

However, there are also some potential risks!
Because Yi Shui knew the future, he had paid special attention to Curry's shooting motion and found that when Curry jumped to shoot, he paid great attention to the speed of the jump and started to generate power from his heels.

He could understand why Curry exerted himself that way—his shot speed was relatively slow.

This kind of force application can increase the speed of the jump, but it also puts extra pressure on the ankles and knees.

Both he and Clark brought this up with Curry, but Curry's reaction was very impatient.

When Yi Shui went to Curry's house for a meal, he met Dell Curry and talked to him about this matter.

Dell Curry said he had reminded his son, but the elementary school student didn't accept the advice and even argued with him... Later, he didn't dare to mention it anymore, for fear of ruining his relationship with his son.

Yi Shui had no choice but to give up; some things are truly impossible to change until you hit a brick wall.

He can only keep a close eye on things and, if Curry gets injured, have the coaching staff intervene immediately to prevent a minor injury from becoming a major one.

...

Chalmers' other teammates, who just finished the Summer League in mid-August, have been maintaining basic training for the past month or so. Although there is no visible progress, there is no regression either. He entered the league as a fully-fledged player, just like that player who committed a foul with a smile.

Birdman, former runner-up, Harrington, Duhon, and others—it's clear that Summer wasn't particularly hardworking, but he wasn't lazy either, and they maintained excellent physiques.

Both rookies are doing well. Danny Green isn't very capable, but he has a good attitude; Gibson has both good ability and a good attitude.

Matt Barnes has a bad temper and doesn't give anyone face. You can't have a proper conversation with him. But he gave Yi Shui the best feeling during tests and training, especially when he sparred with him. It was really a life-or-death struggle!

The only players who don't look too good are Larry Hughes, Pavlovic, and Wilson Chandler.

Larry Hughes has lost his fighting spirit.

Pavlovic, a player from the 03 class, is only 26 years old, but he looks like he's about to retire. His physique has deteriorated. He is 201 cm tall with shoes on and weighs 107 kg, but he is not the kind of muscular man. His neck is thicker than last season.

Wilson Chandler went on a vacation for over a month after the Summer League and came back looking a bit chubby.

Yi Shui didn't understand. Last summer, Wilson Chandler trained very hard. I heard that he spent the entire offseason training at Madison Square Garden. During training camp, he was always thinking about competing with him.

The team is doing better and better now, so why does this guy seem to have lost his way?

Fortunately, after returning to the team, Wilson Chandler worked hard on his weight loss training. Although it seems like he wasted a summer, he should have no problem maintaining his performance from last season.

Overall, the team is in pretty good shape!

Without Eddie Curry, Jerome James, Jeffries, and a few others, the roster looks much better.

After all the players returned to the team, Mark Jackson and Cheeks immediately led the team in individual training.

The team needs to restructure its system for the new season, and the players are under a lot of pressure.

Players like Wilson Chandler and David Lee, who were drafted during their "retirement home" days, never received proper defensive training after entering the NBA, making it extremely challenging.

Fortunately, the coaching staff took into account each person's specific situation. For example, David Lee's defensive tasks only included basic defensive tactics such as double-teaming on the wing and closing down the basket.

Wilson Chandler only practices one-on-one defense at the top of the key.

Curry, Duhon, and Chalmers focused on wing help defense and double-teaming. Among the three, Curry had the heaviest defensive training workload, and they also added low-post one-on-one defense training... The nickname "Mount Akron" resounded throughout the basketball world during last season's playoffs.

Swift's main training focuses on defending pick-and-rolls and collapsing to block shots.

Birdman, Harrington, Gibson, Larry Hughes, Ben Wallace, and Danny Green had the heaviest defensive training tasks, as they could do the most defensive work based on fundamentals.

Danny Green, in particular, can hold Chalmers to less than 60% shooting percentage in one-on-one situations and can also significantly reduce Wilson Chandler's efficiency when attacking the rim. Cheeks commented that he is the second best defensive player on the team, both inside and outside.

The team needed to build a defensive system, and each teammate had to start by adjusting the basics. Everyone was working hard... Only Yi Shui, who was praised by Cheeks as having the best defensive talent in the team, was not required to undergo mandatory training.

After Cheeks and Mark Jackson tested Yi Shui, they left him to his own devices and let him continue practicing his pull-up jump shot with Clark.

After thinking it over, Yi Shui understood the reason. Mark Jackson, as a member of his team that trained him for 10 weeks, knew his basic skills and would definitely prioritize his defensive habits when building a defensive system.

The defensive fundamentals of the other players have been readjusted, and it's definitely centered around him. In the first few days of training, Yi Shui heard some of his veteran teammates complaining bitterly.

Last season, although defense was also emphasized, it was more about attitude than how well the team actually defended. The coaching staff didn't pay much attention to the specifics of the defense, and everyone was used to it.

Now that the intensity has increased, players like David Lee, Harrington, and Chalmers are finding it a bit too much.

Birdman, Du Hong, and others were quite happy, as this was their preferred style of play.

Curry looks frail, but his attitude is upright and positive.

The happiest person was the newly arrived Ben.

If the Knicks continue playing like they did last season, he'll at best become the third center after Birdman and Swift, or even be relegated to the inactive list. Even if he runs with all his might, he can't outrun Birdman and Swift, who are both in their 30s. Even David Lee can't outrun him.

If we play defensively and counter-attack, then we have a chance to keep up with the pace.

Nowadays, veteran players consider being bought out or pardoned a disgrace.

Instead of later threatening not to play and demanding a buyout and a change of team when things didn't go well with his new team and he couldn't leave after requesting a trade.

...

After several days of individual training, and as the players understood and adapted to the defensive adjustments, team training began on the 27th.

Yi Shui is very worried about the joint training!
In the past few days, in his spare time from training, he has been seeking a deeper understanding of the new system from the coaching staff. D'Antoni and Mark Jackson have very high goals, making it particularly challenging.

But the joint practice went very smoothly because even Mark Jackson didn't have high expectations for actual defensive performance, similar to last season, emphasizing attitude.

If we're talking about areas with high requirements, it's only formations.

The focus remains on offense, but greater emphasis is placed on the transition between offense and defense.

Clearly, given the current roster, the coaching staff isn't foolish enough to expect immediate results; they're prepared to proceed gradually.

Yi Shui breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little regretful...

October arrived, and on the morning of the 1st, he got up before dawn, changed into new clothes, tidied his buzz cut and shaved his beard clean. At around 7 a.m., he broadcast live from across the sea on the evening news program in China to congratulate the motherland on its prosperity.

He stole the show this time; even Yao Ming never received such treatment.

Domestic fans are joking that this is the first time they've seen the Emperor so nervous.

Next, Yi Shui devoted himself to the work of the training camp phase.

On the first day of media day, the new Knicks players were shocked by the media lineup. Even Ben Wallace, who had won a championship, exclaimed that it was truly New York, and the scene was no less impressive than the All-Star Weekend.

While surfing the internet that evening, Yi Shui came across some bad news—Griffin broke his leg after landing during a dunk attempt, ending his rookie season!

This news has disappointed many fans who were looking forward to Griffin's performance in his rookie season.

Several players performed exceptionally well in this year's Summer League, including second-year players Rose, Westbrook, Love, and Curry, who seemed to be playing with ease.

After being given more playing time in the Summer League and having players specifically feeding him the ball, DeAndre Jordan outperformed his teammate Brook Lopez.

Among the rookies, two players have performed no less than the top second-year players. One is Evans, who excels in scoring, rebounding, and assists, averaging 17+8+8 per game.

Another player is Griffin. He scored 27 points and 12 rebounds in his first game, proving his ability. After that, he took fewer shots, but he still averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists in the two Summer Leagues.

It's worth mentioning that Thabeet's performance was decent. In 16 Summer League games, he played an average of 23 minutes, scoring 7.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks. While it might seem average, Love's rebounding efficiency skyrocketed when he was on the court, and he did an excellent job in positioning, helping defense, and blocking shots under the basket.

Compared to the Grizzlies, who already have Marc Gasol to develop, the Clippers place more emphasis on Thabeet.

Kaman has been developed for 6 years and is quite good, but his career trajectory is predictable. Love is an offensive player, and the Clippers are happy to allocate their defensive development resources to Thabeet.

Yi Shui felt sorry for Griffin's injury, as he was looking forward to playing against him.

He thought that switching teams would prevent Tyrannosaurus Rex from this situation.

But the diagnosis report released by the Thunder stated that it was a stress fracture.

In other words, even if he doesn't slip and fall during his dunking performance at the media day, he will most likely get injured later.

He recalled watching the live stream of "Three Kingdoms" in March. Griffin really liked to attack with the ball, and he played like an outside player. His short stature, short arms, and large size put a lot of pressure on his lower body.

Previously, Yi Shui thought Griffin only transitioned to small forward in the middle of his career, but now, thinking about it more carefully, he may have had the ambition to become an 'all-around player' since he was a child...

Fortunately, Griffin's fracture was "clean" this time. The Thunder's diagnostic report was interpreted by the media as being very similar to Jordan's fracture years ago, and it is believed that his athletic ability will not be affected after recovery.

In Yi Shui's memory, after Griffin's rookie season ended in injury, he transitioned to a style of play focused on easy baskets, earning him the nickname "White Howard." Later, when Paul arrived and they were able to make the playoffs, Paul underperformed in crucial playoff games. In the 13-14 season, Griffin began to take over the isolation plays in critical moments, officially transitioning to a small forward... and then he was finished.

I wonder what direction this place will take...

Although they were disappointed by Griffin's injury, he was, after all, a player from another team. The next day, Yi Shui put the matter behind him and focused on preparing for the game.

October 9th has arrived. After training camp ended on the 7th, we rested for a day on the 8th, and today is the first day of the preseason games.

When Yi Shui woke up in the morning, he was very excited. After more than four months, he finally had a formal competition to play!

And their first preseason game is against the Heat! The backcourt duo of Wade and Conley!
The coaching staff put a lot of effort into the preparation and training, making significant changes to the playing style and adjusting the offense. It's clear that the coaches weren't entirely confident, as they were pursuing a run-and-gun style that neither Don Nelson nor George Karl had taken before.

After the morning training session, Yi Shui, Curry, and Chalmers went out for lunch. While waiting for the food, a primary school student holding a newly bought 3GS exclaimed in surprise.

When Yi Shui and Chalmers were communicating about Curry's ball possession, they noticed the details of his screen on the wing and curiously looked over.

Curry said, "Big, you've been named one of ESPN's top ten superstars... LeBron James is number one!"

(End of this chapter)