The longest river

Chapter 67 "Hometown"

Bruce Lee sparked a kung fu craze in Hollywood in the 60s, having a profound impact on the United States.

This article has also attracted strong attention from fans.

After all, fights in the NBA are nothing new, but if an Asian player gets involved, it becomes big news.

Along with the report came the league's punishment for the brawl between the two teams: Starks was suspended for one game, Yang Shuai was suspended for two games, and both were fined $5000.

This punishment was considered severe for this era, but it was still much better than Yang Shuai had expected; he thought he would be suspended for at least ten games.

If he remembered correctly, Stewart was suspended for two games just for trying to drive across half-court with blood on his hands to go after James, while he only got suspended for two games after getting into a fight.

His deskmate, a LeBron fan, also explained to him that Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games after punching his opponent.

As expected, the NBA is becoming more and more "civilized".

However, this means he will miss the next two home games.

This was not good news for him, who was already eager to gain points.

Fortunately, he had won his one-on-one match against Miller earlier.

For the next week or so, Yang Shuai spent every night training with Miller.

Of course, it wasn't like Miller had imagined—he was just helping to retrieve the ball; it was a series of increasingly intense one-on-one matches.

Having had the system for two and a half years, Yang Shuai has gained some experience in exploiting points.

By exploiting Miller's proud personality, he could always find some trash talk that precisely hit the other person's sore spots.

The tension on the field escalated, and they eventually had to bring in Di Francesco to act as a temporary referee.

However, one good thing about Miller is that he doesn't get desperate when he's at a disadvantage like Johnson does; he always fights back using basketball tactics.

Moreover, thanks to Miller's fame, although the points gained by the same object will gradually decrease according to the system's mechanism, they are still quite considerable.

In less than a week, Yang Shuai managed to squeeze nearly 20,000 points out of Miller.

He also exchanged for a C-level lateral speed and a C-level maximum strength.

His single-defense rating increased from 62 to 70, and his overall defensive rating also reached 69.

Although he is still a long way from being a top defender, at least he is no longer holding the team back.

It was during this period that the Pacers' roster underwent some changes.

The Pacers' management sent Eddie Johnson and a future second-round pick to the Raptors in exchange for veteran Alvin Robertson and second-year player Zahn Tabak.

The name Robertson is most famous in history for Oscar Robertson, also known as "Big O".

However, Erwin is quite famous as well.

This 1'91" combo guard was the Spurs' 7th overall pick in the 84 draft, and in his second season, he won both the Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards, instantly becoming an All-Star.

Of course, his most famous achievement is his "four-double".

在1986年对阵太阳队的比赛中，他打出了20分11板10助攻10抢断的“四双”数据，成为了NBA历史中唯一做到这点的后卫球员。

One All-NBA Second Team selection, three-time steals leader, one Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), two All-Defensive First Team selections, four All-Defensive Second Team selections, four All-Star appearances, and one Olympic gold medal – these achievements are enough to make him a Hall of Famer in the future.

However, the main reason why the Pacers were able to trade Johnson plus a second-round pick for him, and even get an extra, is that he is now 33 years old and has a major risk of injury.

从1992年开始他就开始遭遇背伤，并且直接缺席了1993~1994和1994~1995两个完整赛季。

As a result, he was treated as a junk contract and sent from Milwaukee to Detroit, and then to Denver.

However, the Pacers chose to trade him because his physical condition seemed to have recovered well this season.

在以底薪加盟猛龙队的这个赛季，他在32分钟的出场时间里，以47.0%的命中率场均得到9.3分4.4板4.2助攻2.2抢断。

With outstanding defense, playmaking ability, and experience, even though his outside shooting is not very consistent, he is still a very good fit for the Pacers.

Most importantly, Robertson has had an excellent attendance record this season, having not missed a single game so far.

The Pacers' move to trade a player who had already been squeezed out of the rotation and a second-round pick for a suitable starting player is rated top marks.

Moreover, according to media reports, Robertson's personal wishes played a strong role in pushing this deal forward.

After achieving a good attendance record, Robertson hopes to play for a team with championship aspirations.

Of course, you might ask if the fight between Eddie Johnson and Yang Shuai was involved, since management usually places informants within the team, but only the Pacers' management would know the answer.

Before Yang Shuai was released from suspension, the two new signings passed their physical examinations and then came to the locker room led by Ma Long.

Tabak, who was brought in as an extra, was left standing to the side. Many people in the locker room, including Miller, went up to greet Robertson.

As a former star player in the league, and especially as a Black player, Robertson still holds a significant position in the league.

Yang Shuai didn't join in the fun, but instead, Robertson, after greeting the others, walked straight towards him. Amidst Yang Shuai's puzzled gaze and the surprised looks of the others, Robertson patted him on the shoulder and said with a hint of excitement:
"Hansen, I've heard that Ohio has a genius high school student. It feels great to meet you here!"
Robertson has been famous for a long time, but apart from his former teammates, not many people know that he is from Ohio.

After all, he's just an All-Star player, not on the same level as superstars like Jordan, Johnson, and Bird.

How many people care about the background of an ordinary All-Star player?

Yang Shuai, of course, didn't know either.

But when he heard the word "we," he instantly realized what it meant.

Cleveland.

“Barberton”.

The two quickly reached out and shook hands, then introduced each other as to where they came from.

"I know that place, the city of magic."

In the original owner's memory, Barberton was a satellite city of Akron, not far from Cleveland. Because of its rapid population growth during the industrial era, it was described as a "magical rise" and thus earned the name "Magic City".

As the saying goes, when fellow villagers meet, topics naturally arise, and the two quickly become fast friends.

Yang Shuai was in a very good mood.

How could you not be happy to get rid of someone you didn't get along with and get back a fellow villager?

And soon he realized that Robertson was more than just a fellow countryman to him, because the other was also a defensive stalwart.

So when he needed to improve his defense, a fellow countryman who was a Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) came to his side.

Yang Shuai feels like he could laugh himself awake tonight.

On the same day, Yang Shuai invited Robertson to a restaurant for dinner.

Although he is only a rookie, he has been in Indiana for almost half a year, so this can be considered as fulfilling his duty as a host.

Of course, the most important thing is to ask Robertson for some defensive experience.

Because they were from the same hometown and there was no direct competition between them, Robertson taught Yang Shuai everything he knew.

He shared some experience in one-on-one defense, such as knowing how to read the game and adapt your defense accordingly:

When facing opponents who are taller and heavier than you, you should try to steal the ball from them the moment they are about to receive it.

When facing opponents who are not physically dominant, you should use close and strong defense to pressure them and look for opportunities to steal the ball or block shots.

Of course, there are also aspects related to joint defense.

At this point, Yang Shuai asked about the most crucial technique: how to deal with high pick-and-rolls.

“That’s not my understanding, but rather what Gary Payton mentioned during one of our conversations.”

Yang Shuai had heard of Payton's name in the Jordan documentary "The Last Dance" in his previous life. Payton was nicknamed "The Glove" and his defensive ability was no less than that of Robertson.

Of course, at this point, Payton was only a junior in front of Robertson.

It's perfectly reasonable for Payton, a younger player, to share his understanding and seek recognition from Robertson, a senior player, when exchanging ideas between two top defenders.

He called it the 'puppy gait'.

Dogs are widely used in American culture, and many NBA players have nicknames that include dogs, such as "Mad Dog" Madsen, "Big Dog" Robinson, and "Trash Dog" Williams.

It's not surprising that Payton calls his defensive footwork the "puppy footwork."

Specifically, according to Robertson's description, the core idea of ​​this footwork is to avoid taking large steps and instead take small steps when defending.

The so-called small steps are actually small, quick steps and small sliding steps.

Because in the NBA, pick-and-rolls often don't happen from a great distance; they happen in a split second at close range.

In this situation, taking big steps to chase and defend can easily lead to a collision with the screener, and once you collide with them, it becomes very difficult to get away.

A smart screener will use every method to entangle you, and in this era, many subtle screen-setting maneuvers are permitted.

However, by using small steps and quick slides, you can instantly change direction and avoid collisions.

To achieve that, the body needs to be flattened as much as possible.

“It’s almost like a sheet of paper going through a door,” Robertson said, quoting Payton.

Yang Shuai nodded thoughtfully.

Robertson's sharing was very helpful to him, but he still needed to practice those theories repeatedly in training and even in competitions, which would take some time.

(End of this chapter)