The longest river

Chapter 53 You have a deep misunderstanding about me.
After returning home from dinner with Scott, Yang Shuai meticulously wrote down everything Scott had said in a notepad on his computer.

Using this understanding and the daytime training content, he began to draw up the Pacers' tactical diagrams.

Although computers and the internet were still relatively underdeveloped in this era, these simple things could still be done.

Of course, more importantly, Yang Shuai, a high school student who spent eighteen years studying in China, likes to understand basketball through learning.

On the second day of the training camp, Yang Shuai faced the same situation as on the first day, but he seemed to be much more adapted.

The most significant change is in tactical positioning; he has been reprimanded less frequently for tactical issues.

After training ended, Yang Shuai sat down and Johnson walked over to him again. Upon seeing this, Scott got up to avoid a conflict.

However, this time, after Yang Shuai noticed, he immediately stood up and stared intently at Johnson.

Johnson pretended to remember something halfway through his walk and turned away.

The words Yang Shuai's parents spoke in their past life have been proven true once again: when others bully you, giving in will only embolden them; only resistance can solve the problem.

By the third day, Yang Shuai had only been reprimanded once for tactical issues throughout the entire day, and his progress was rapid.

However, Scott's warning that day is gradually becoming a reality. Apart from Scott, only Best and Hoiberg would talk to him for a few minutes.

However, Yang Shuai didn't care. Being isolated by eight or nine people or by fourteen or fifteen people made no real difference to him.

By the fourth day, Yang Shuai was no longer reprimanded for tactical issues.

The Pacers' basic training ended on this day, and on the fifth day, they began to engage in competitive practice.

Unlike the draft tryouts, the competition segment did not feature three-on-three matches; instead, it was a full-court match.

The Pacers have not yet made final cuts. The team has a total of 18 players, divided into three teams.

The 18 players were divided into three teams: starters, substitutes, and bench players.

Yang Shuai was assigned to the bench team. Although the management valued him highly, Brown still had the final say within the team.

It started as a contest between the starting team and the reserve team.

The other bench players seemed somewhat distracted, as being assigned to this team meant they would likely struggle to get much playing time in the new season.

Yang Shuai, just like Kobe Bryant back in the Sonny Hill league, was watching frame by frame.

He wasn't surprised to be assigned to the bench team, given the Pacers' impressive wing lineup and the fact that they drafted him, a high school student, clearly meant to develop him rather than use him as an immediate contributor.

But that doesn’t mean he’ll follow the arrangements. Since the veteran players see him as a threat to their jobs, he has to demonstrate that threat.

The Pacers' current starting five are Walkman, Miller, McKay, Dale Davis, and Rick Schmitz.

Ultimately, Walkman filled Jackson's starting point guard position.

This was an expected result, because that position belonged to Walkman before Jackson joined the Pacers.

This also indirectly confirms Scott's statement that if Walkman were good enough, the Pacers wouldn't have acquired Jackson to strengthen the team. This change actually weakens the team.

On the reserve team side, the starting five are Best, Scott, Johnson, Antonio Davis, and Dunn Coswell.

After the game started, the starting team quickly took the lead.

Yang Shuai was deeply impressed by their tactical execution, defensive intensity, and teamwork.

Furthermore, Brown's high standards lead to a very high intensity in the scrimmages.

The starting team quickly defeated the substitute team and the bench team.

Yang Shuai's performance was mediocre; he was clearly not used to physical contact.

The biggest difference between this match and the matches he had played before was the intensity of the competition.

Almost every time he moves off the ball, he makes physical contact with someone, not to mention the dragging, pulling, tugging, and slamming motions when he's fighting for rebounds.

When training ended that day, Yang Shuai was in pain all over. When he took a shower, he saw that his body was covered in bruises.

The NBA and high school basketball are indeed very different.

However, after a day, he had gained a clear understanding of the intensity of the NBA in this era.

The sixth day was still a full-field scrimmage, but unlike the fifth day, the first scrimmage was between the substitutes and the bench players.

On the bench, the starting point guard is Hoiberg, the shooting guard is Yang Shuai, the small forward is Dunn Ferrer, and the frontcourt consists of Adrian Caldwell and Dwyane Hinterzus.

Ferrell is a 2.01-meter-tall wing player who previously played in the rotation for a long time with the Hawks. After joining the Pacers last season, he was a fringe player in the rotation, averaging only about 10 minutes of playing time per game.

As for the frontcourt players Caldwell and Hinterzus, one is 2.03 meters tall and the other is 2.16 meters tall. They are both free agents newly signed by the Pacers in the offseason.

The composition of the bench also shows that Brown is the kind of coach who believes in fixed rotations. Unless there is really no one to fill in like Best, both rookies and free agents have to start from the bench.

Before the game started, Yang Shuai saw Johnson walk up to her.

In terms of matchups, Yang Shuai should be guarding Scott, but it seems that Johnson requested to switch onto him.

"Negative energy from Eddie Johnson +48".

The two had barely faced each other when Yang Shuai heard a system notification in his mind.

He couldn't help but shake his head. After yesterday's commotion, the old man held a deep grudge against him. "Byron can protect you off the field, but he can't help you on the field."

Seeing Yang Shuai's reaction, Johnson sneered and bumped into Yang Shuai.

Before Yang Shuai could react, Ma Long, who was acting as a temporary referee on the sidelines, blew the whistle to start the scrimmage. Hinterzus passed the ball back to the bench team's half of the field, and the game officially began.

Hoiberg dribbled the ball forward and organized play, but the bench players' continuous tactical runs failed to create any opportunities.

Most of the bench players didn't play for the Pacers last season, so their familiarity with the team's tactics is noticeably lacking.

Just as Malone began counting down the shot clock, Hoiberg suddenly spotted a figure quickly cutting into the paint.

Before he could even see who it was, he threw the ball into the air.

Hoiberg played shooting guard in college, but he was only 1.9 meters tall barefoot. This height was a disadvantage for shooting guard in the NBA in this era. The Pacers wanted to develop him into a combo guard.

However, he clearly hasn't adapted to this role yet, and the pass was noticeably off-target.

However, the figure leaped high into the air and used its long arms to scoop the ball back in mid-air, then glided through the air and sent the ball into the basket.

When the figure landed, it was none other than Yang Shuai.

It is very difficult to adapt to the level of competition in the NBA after just one day, but once you have the understanding, you can still play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses.

Against Johnson, speed is Yang Shuai's biggest advantage.

The other players on the field were all envious; Yang Shuai has a really good jumping ability.

Even the starting team players watching from the sidelines were impressed.

However, they were not surprised by Yang Shuai's jumping ability, but by his previous entry into the box.

That cut wasn't part of the tactic, but the timing was perfect. If it had been a point guard with better passing skills, it would have been a beautiful alley-oop dunk.

As Yang Shuai walked back, he bumped into Johnson, who was still in a daze: "Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about me?"

The bench took the lead, but the substitutes executed a tactical play, with Davis receiving a pass from Scott and scoring two points under the basket.

Because the rotation is relatively fixed, the team with substitutes has a much higher level of understanding than the team with bench players.

The bench team's tactics still didn't work, but it was Yang Shuai again. This time, after cutting in, he suddenly cut back to get past Johnson and reached out for the ball on the outside.

This was an excellent three-point opportunity, but Hoiberg's pass came a little too late.

By the time Yang Shuai received the ball, Johnson was already running towards him.

However, Johnson is not fast. With many years of experience in the league, he is wary of Yang's fake shot and real drive.

However, he soon realized that he had underestimated Yang Shuai's decisiveness in taking action.

Yang Shuai received the ball and immediately jumped to shoot a three-pointer.

By the time Johnson accelerated and pounced, it was clearly too late.

Moreover, Yang Shuai jumped high enough.

"Shh!"

As Johnson looked up at him, Yang Shuai's three-pointer came flying.

Yang Shuai's performance in yesterday's scrimmage was average, but today he scored 5 points right from the start!
"Do you think I'm the kind of person who needs protection?" Yang Shuai asked Johnson with a smile after landing.

Johnson's face flushed red and then turned pale; Yang Shuai's performance today was completely different from yesterday.

However, to his even greater surprise, Yang Shuai had no intention of letting him off so easily.

During the transition between offense and defense, Yang Shuai kept talking.

"I'm curious, how could you, who can't even get a point in front of me, have the nerve to say something like that?"

Johnson turned his head and pretended not to hear, but his heaving chest showed that he was enduring it.

"Oh, I see. No wonder you wanted to play in Greece before. It's because you couldn't score enough points and couldn't make it in the NBA!"

Scott said that Johnson was once a top scorer in the league.

"Negative energy from Eddie Johnson +218".

"Shut up!" Johnson's face flushed red. He had been playing in the league for many years and had never seen such an arrogant rookie!
He reached out for the ball directly.

Originally, according to the tactics, he was supposed to be holding the ball on the weak side, but Yang Shuai's behavior was tantamount to defecating on his neck, so he couldn't tolerate it anymore.

Best hesitated for a moment, but remembering the opening banquet, and knowing that he couldn't afford to offend these veteran players, he still passed the ball over.

Johnson, his eyes blazing with fury, was about to force his way past Yang Shuai.

"What are you doing?!"

Just then, a stern reprimand came from the sidelines.

(End of this chapter)