Champion, please stay!

Chapter 196, Page 194: Five consecutive highlight plays!
After confirming in preseason games that shooting in this area could maintain good consistency, Yi Shui began to develop a complete version of the three-threat offense.

T-Mac's explosive drives, drives to the basket, and pull-up jumpers; the old blacksmith's pull-up jumper; Beasley's mismatch drives to the basket; the elementary school student's rhythmic step-back... these are all techniques he focused on practicing during the offseason.

He probably wouldn't call himself an expert in these technologies, but he's already proficient in using each of them individually.

To combine these elements and develop the complete three-threat offense he desires, practical experience is essential.

His mid-range shooting from the baseline on both wings is still weak. He can shoot when he catches the ball, but his shooting accuracy after dribbling is hard to guarantee. However, he hasn't mastered the pull-up turnaround jumper yet, so there's no need to rush. He needs to work hard to get a strong shot, and his physical attributes allow him to choose from more positions.

My weight has increased slightly by 3 kilograms in the past few months. Combined with a month of strength training and post-fatigue shooting training, my strength has increased to 92.

Actually, there is still 4 kilograms of room to gain weight without affecting his athletic ability, and he has 'day 7 of the Functional Repair Card' that he has not fully used, so he has the conditions to continue to gain weight and continue to train his strength. However, his main goal this summer is to strengthen his basic skills and train his technique, so he did not choose to gain 7 kilograms all at once.

Yao Ming lost a significant amount of weight in a short period of time, which affected his mid-range shooting in last season's playoffs, serving as a cautionary tale for Yi Shui.

Yao Ming can accept the decline in mid-range and long-range shooting because his shots outside of close range account for less than 25% of his total shots, while Yi Shui's shots outside of close range account for more than 6%.

Yi Shui was quite satisfied with the progress in passing, ball control, and long-range shooting. Clark was very experienced and helped him adjust the training methods in a timely manner.

I've been practicing pick-and-rolls, low-post offense, and defensive footwork, but it's not at the stage of being my main focus yet, and the offseason is already over...

At 5:40 p.m., the opening ceremony began, with the visiting Raptors team entering first.

Bosh, the last to enter, soaked in the frenzied atmosphere and thought to himself, 'This basketball mecca is completely different now! Embiid is incredible!'

During the offseason, when the Banana Boat crew was having a party, Bosh heard James complaining that the second-round sweep was due to the loud boos on the road and the poor performance of his teammates.

Bosh didn't quite understand what James was trying to say... but the atmosphere was definitely intense!
It's louder than the volume in Salt Lake City! It's comparable to the Auburn Hills Palace when all five members were at their peak!

Let alone Bosh, even Ben Wallace, who once had the most enthusiastic home court in the entire league, felt it was unbelievable when he entered the arena.

The atmosphere during the preseason game when Yi Shui was on the court was so amazing that even Ben Wallace was surprised; it didn't feel like he was playing in New York.

I didn't expect the fans to be so excited as soon as they entered the stadium for the official match!
...

After the opening ceremony, Yi Shui gave a pre-match interview to CCTV. The opening match will be broadcast live in China.

Faced with Bosh's flash-into-the-camera harassment, Yi Shui could only shrug and smile wryly.

If someone else did this, he might feel disgusted, but Bosh... at most, he would be speechless.

Other high school basketball prodigies go on to 'specialize in basketball' in college, but Bosh, although he spent his time on the court outside of his studies during college, still had the most time spent studying among all college athletes.

When people talk about good NBA players, they always mention Duncan and Okafor.

In fact, Bosh had already obtained his bachelor's degree before the Olympics last year. Leaving university early did not mean he wasted his studies. Although it took him five years to complete the last three years of his studies, he achieved an average GPA of 3.96 in the exams he took over the six years from 2002 to 2008.

During the offseason, I saw in the news that Bosh has applied for a Master of Business Administration at Georgia Institute of Technology.

For ordinary people, this is nothing special. It's normal to have money and free time to pursue a higher degree... But in the NBA, where a high percentage of players are not very bright, Bosh seems particularly likable.

After the pre-game preparation time ended, Yi Shui, along with Du Hong, Curry, David Lee, and Ben Wallace, high-fived and shouted "Go, New York!" Then, a system notification appeared!
"The new season is about to begin. You have been given one wish. Would you like to use it?"

"Of course I have to use it," Yi Shui commanded in her mind.

"You promised to achieve the top seed in your division during the new season's regular season..."

Upon seeing this line of text, Yi Shui thought of several teams in the same division: the 76ers were out of the question, the Nets were definitely going to tank, the Raptors were unlikely to amount to anything... but there was another team called the Celtics!
He didn't remember how the Celtics performed in the regular season, but he did remember that in the original timeline, the NBA Finals were a Lakers-Celtics showdown!

'Competing with the Celtics for the top seed in the division? Why don't you let me compete for the top seed in the East?'

The moment the idea popped into Yi Shui's head, he saw the words being deleted from the screen!

As soon as that sentence was deleted, new content appeared quickly, word by word.

"You proactively raised your wish goal, promising to lead the team to the top spot in the Eastern Conference during the new season's regular season, and the reward was upgraded from skill to talent."

Congratulations on receiving your reward early: 1 Matchmaking Skill Talent Blind Box.

Yi Shui couldn't help but spit out a "屮" (a vulgar expression).

He just thought about it casually, and it actually led to him competing for the top spot in the Eastern Conference!

The East has King, that monster regular season record! Before his back injury, Beast, leading a group of pitchers, could have gone for 60 wins!

but……

Last year they already had 55 wins. This year, although they haven't strengthened their roster in terms of star players and their center position is still weak, their role player roster is much more abundant. Why not?

Let's ignore the issue of losing the bonus for being first in the Eastern Conference twice or more if we fail, let's go!
They've all stepped onto the field, sprinting towards first place!

Use the new reward first! "You used the Matching Technology Talent Blind Box, congratulations on receiving the reward: Braking Genius (Talent)."

Braking Genius: You improve your efficiency by 50% when training your pull-up jump shot and related shooting techniques.

When using a pull-up jump shot: 1. In a non-confrontational situation, the rhythm impact of the pull-up is reduced; 2. In a confrontational situation, explosiveness +2 and bounce speed +2.

It's a pull-up jump shot!

'Holy crap! Why didn't I get matched with this after last year's playoffs? I practiced my pull-up jump shot for ages during the offseason... Oh, that was a skill, not a talent...'

Yi Shui felt it was a bit of a pity that the new talent, like the Rhythm Type, Inside Overlord, and Guardian of the Basket, was a combination of skill and talent.

It would be even better if it were pure talent, like the oblique geniuses and low-position geniuses, giving them a 100% training efficiency boost.

Fortunately, the 'semi-skill' effect is quite good, especially the physical enhancement in combat situations. The better your technique and basic skills, the more practical it becomes.

Good talent is never too late to come. With this, Yi Shui can foresee that developing a pull-up jump shot will be easier!
...

Raptors starting lineup: Jarrett Jack, DeMar DeRozan, Turkoglu, Bargnani, Bosh.

Calderon's pure floor-based style of play, he entered the NBA in 2005 and was in excellent health for the first four years, but he accidentally slipped and injured his knee in the preseason, which would keep him out for 4-6 weeks... You can't believe in the superstition.

Yi Shui walked onto the court and went straight to the center circle to face Bosh.

The two looked at each other, feeling a sense of shared misfortune.

After the Grizzlies finished last season, they freed up $28 million in cap space and wanted to pursue Ray Allen, but Ray Allen exercised the final year of his contract worth over $18 million and then signed a two-year, $20 million extension.

He pursued Marvin Williams and Zach Randolph, but was rejected by both.

Ultimately, they opted for a pragmatic approach, accepting Jermaine O'Neal's expiring $2300 million contract to maintain the original core roster and strengthen their interior depth.

The Raptors traded Jermaine O'Neal, reducing their total salary to $4500 million and freeing up a base max contract. However, instead of strengthening their center position, they quickly closed the cap space by signing Hedo Turkoglu to a 5-year, $5300 million contract and Jarrett Jack to a 4-year, $2000 million contract.

With Nesterovic, signed through the biennial exception, the Raptors' only center position is now filled, meaning Bosh has to play center.

In Yishui, the training camp plan was for Ben Wallace to jump the ball.

But in the eight preseason games, Ben Wallace lost six times... He gave up on himself, not wanting to embarrass himself; David Lee refused to jump the ball, which was even more embarrassing.

The only option is to go to the Yi River; we can't exactly send elementary school students, can we?
At 6 p.m., the referee blew the whistle to start the game and tossed the ball into the air.

Bosh leaped with all his might... but was no match for Yi Shui!
Yi Shui launched himself into the air and slapped the ball backward!
Curry received the ball directly under the basket, and although he immediately passed it to Duhon, he missed the opportunity to launch a fast break.

Du Hong chose to maintain a steady pace, wait for Curry to come over, then pass the ball to him and pull him away from the sideline.

Curry received the ball at the top of the arc, and Yi Shui, who was on the right high post and had been leaning against Turkoglu, turned and cut in. Curry passed the ball in time... Bosh blocked the defense perfectly!

Yi Shui was blocked by Bosh on the right side of the basket, turned around and dribbled the ball with his back to Bosh.

The experienced Ben Wallace moved to the left sideline to set a screen for Duhon and draw the defense away; David Lee also moved out to the free-throw line to draw away Turkoglu, who was chasing in.

One-on-one in the low post! Yi Shui leaned against Bosh, feeling the force coming from behind... and rammed into him!

Bosh was knocked back half a step!
Yi Shui delivered two more impacts, knocking Bosh back into the restricted area, grabbed the ball, turned around, and jumped over Bosh, slamming the ball into the basket!
The ball fell from the hoop and hit a bewildered Bosh on the head. He looked at Yi Shui, who had run out of the paint and was surrounded by his excited teammates, and he felt like he was going to explode.

Like the top scorer of his year, he was also penalized by the Emperor!

He was trying to use his agility to disrupt the opponent's low-post mismatch shot, but the opponent didn't use any fakes and just dunked on him!

The fans at the scene cheered and screamed wildly. They thought Yi Shui would use the low-post technique he used last season, but they didn't expect to see such a brutal scene!
The game transitioned from offense to defense, and Bosh, burning with rage, came up to the frontcourt, calling for the ball on the left side for a one-on-one attack! He was determined to get revenge!
However, facing a fully fit Ben Wallace at the start of the game, Bosh's close-range drive failed to create an immediate opportunity to attack the basket. When he turned around and tried to go to the baseline, Yi Shui pulled back from the middle!

To transmit? No!
Bosh turned right to the baseline and hooked the ball... Ben Wallace blocked Bosh's lower body, Yi Shui jumped towards Ben Wallace, reached out his hand over Ben Wallace's head, and slapped the ball Bosh hooked out onto the backboard!

Raptors head coach Jan Triano stood on the sidelines, waving his index finger and making circles while shouting "goal-scoring."

But the baseline referee ignored it; he saw that the ball was still rising when Yi Shui blocked it!
Duhon won the ball in a scramble with Jarrett Jack and launched a counter-attack!

With the Yi River and the main base as the starting line, both wings take off.

Duhon passed the ball to David Lee during the drive, who received it at the top of the arc and drove forward before passing it again... Curry sprinted into the paint, received the ball, jumped, and slammed it into the basket with one hand!
Yi Shui gasped when he saw the elementary school student jump up and draw the bow. Luckily, it didn't hit the rim. It's one thing to lose face in the All-Star Rookie Game, but it's another to lose face on home ground.

On the other side, Bosh exploded on the spot!

He got dunked on at the start, and his response was blocked. He fought back and blocked David Lee at the free-throw line. He turned around and rushed in to try to interfere with Curry's layup, but that guy just dunked on him!

He really wanted to be on the Top 5, but not this kind of Top 5!
(End of this chapter)