Pick Westbrook

Chapter 383 The New Season Begins

charlotte.

Jordan's personal gym.

A special hoop on center court caught the attention of Leonard and Jimmy Butler.

Different from other basketball hoops, this basketball hoop has a total of 9 ball frames. Except for the standard 305 frame in the middle, there are three ball frames surrounding the middle ball frame, and there are 5 ball frames around the outside, with different heights. Same, but all on the same level.

Jordan proudly pointed to this special basketball hoop and said, "Brother started training mid-range in the summer of 90, thanks to this guy in front of you."

"I won a championship that season."

"Before this, my shooting percentage in the regular season has been around 50%, which is horrible."

"But in the playoffs, my shooting percentage dropped sharply, 43% in the first playoffs and 41% in the second playoffs."

"You can think about the defensive strength of that era, especially the rogue team of the Pistons, who gave me a Jordan rule."

"As long as I rush into the basket, it's either a hug, an elbow, or a push."

"So I've been thinking, is there any way to break the Pistons' iron barrel formation, and I urgently need a stable scoring method like a breakthrough."

After speaking, Jordan took the basketball from the staff on the side and began to demonstrate.

Swish.

The basketball hit the first basket in the upper left corner steadily, and Jordan said at the same time: "This is the No. 1 basket."

Then Jordan shot from left to right, from top to bottom, and counted to frame 2 and frame 3 respectively.
Leonard and Jimmy Butler seemed to be watching a God show, watching Jordan, who is about to turn 50, still complete such shots on the court.

After finishing the shot, Jordan shot again from box No. 9 backwards. He continued: "After winning the first championship in his career, I am invincible."

"No one can guard me on the court, no one can stop me from doing anything, except of course Phil Jackson guy."

"He told me that I can't score more than 30 points per game, which led to my career average of about 30 points per game. In fact, when I was young, I wanted to break the record of the basketball emperor Chamberlain."

Speaking of which, Jordan began to practice on the court again. Unlike the previous fixed-point shooting, this time he also hit 9 different baskets, but Jordan divided the shooting area into 5 corners.

One on each side of the left and right waist, one on each side of the free throw line, and one one step away from the free throw line, a total of 5 shooting areas.

What Jordan has to do is to accurately hit 5 baskets in these 9 areas.

Seeing this, Jimmy Butler and Leonard frowned at the same time, because the training difficulty this time was much higher than the previous fixed-point shooting.

There are 9 baskets, and the distance between each basket is exactly the length of the net, which means that Jordan has to wipe the net at a 0° angle between the left and right waists and hit the opposite basket.

This is too much a test of the accuracy of the shot and the adjustment of the arc of the shot.

Leonard and Jimmy Butler couldn't help turning their heads to look at Li Lai at the same time at this moment, because this was completely different from what Peja Stojakovic, the shooting trainer of the Pelicans, taught, and there were even some differences. big deviation.

Peja requires players to have a stable shooting arc when practicing shooting, and pay attention to adjusting the shooting rhythm, including breathing, so that they can become an efficient shooter.

But now, the two clearly understand the focus of Jordan's training.

——Shoot the basketball into the basket at any arc, any height, and any shooting position.

Regardless of how exaggerated the difficulty of this training is, what is the significance of this training?

Li said: "Peja is a master of shooting. Of course there is nothing wrong with what he teaches. Jordan is the No.1 most recognized basketball game. There is also nothing wrong with what he teaches."

"The only difference is that the shooting arc is determined to maintain the breathing rhythm and shooting feel. This is very important for outside shooting, because the shooting distance is long, and a slight deviation will hit the iron."

"And Jordan's shooting skills are suitable for mid-range, for dry pull and emergency stop shooting after melee and confrontation."

"At this time, it is impossible for you to maintain the shooting rhythm. The defensive players may be tall or low, so you can easily be interfered with with a fixed shooting arc."

Hearing Leonard and Jimmy Butler nodding repeatedly, and listening to Li Lai's explanation, they finally understood the essence of Jordan's training.

Li Lai continued: "If there is no accident, Jordan will also stage dribble shots, fadeaway shots and confrontation shots."

Li Lai was able to understand the key points of the previous training, which did not surprise Jordan.

Because Jordan never thought that Li Lai was a basketball idiot, he gave many players reasonable guidance and training directions, and there were many details in it.

But Li Lai was able to guess the training content later, which really surprised Jordan. For the first time during the training, the old hooligan looked back at Li Lai distractedly, and raised his hand to indicate.

"Brother, you guessed it right."

Swish!
After hitting an incredible 5 mid-range shots in a row, Leonard and Jimmy Butler on the side opened their mouths in shock.

It was only after he watched the training content that followed that he realized that the previous shock was completely pediatric.

The staff on the side moved 5 chairs and placed them in the 5 shooting areas. What Jordan has to do is to dribble the ball around the pile and make a quick stop and quick start shot. Hit from box 1 to box 9 without any mistakes, and then reverse and continue to shoot.

Jordan also explained: "No matter how well you train your mid-range shooting, you will always encounter players with particularly strong defenses and players who can match you in terms of physical talent."

"At this time, it is difficult for you to get easy mid-range shooting opportunities, so the emergency stop and quick start and fadeaway jumper are the key to solving this defense."

"As long as your shot is accurate, the fadeaway jumper is very difficult to be blocked and interfered with."

At this time, Jordan not only staged a backward shot and an emergency stop and rush shot, but also staged a more difficult drift shot.

It's just that Jordan's weight has gone up for a long time, and his drift shots look like flying pigs in the air.

Swish!
It was still a steady hit, and it was still hitting from frame 1 to frame 9.

Leonard and Jimmy Butler, who were watching from the sidelines, were fascinated. Only when such shooting skills and shooting accuracy appeared in front of them alive, would they believe that someone in this world can really do such a thing.

Almost freaked out.

Then the staff member took out a shot jamming stick, and Jordan's training was raised to the highest difficulty.

Under the defense and interference, he shot around the pile and hit baskets 1 to 9 one after another.

Duang!

When making a shot from the opposite side of the No. 5 basket, Jordan finally hit the iron, which made the old hooligan frowned and clapped his hands in dissatisfaction.

He looked at Leonard and Jimmy Butler and said, "If you leak this matter, I can unload you."

Jimmy Butler repeatedly waved his hands to signal that he would not talk nonsense, then turned around and said to Li: "Coach, even if this shooting level is leaked, no one would dare to ridicule it."

After doing all this, Jordan picked up a towel beside him and wiped his sweat and said: "This is the first stage of mid-range shooting training."

"When you can do the same thing as me, I will start the second and third stages for you."

"As a friendly reminder, even Kobe only learned the second stage from me, combining the singles footwork with the mid-range shot just now."

"I'll only give you five days, it's still on the face of your coaches."

Jimmy Butler and Leonard were stunned at the same time. From Jordan's words, they had come to a conclusion that Kobe could do the same thing as Jordan did just now.

Jimmy Butler's eyes were burning at this moment.

If he hadn't seen Jordan show this level of mid-range shooting skills and shooting ability in front of him, he would never believe that there are basketball players in the world who can do this.

At this time, he also couldn't wait to walk onto the court, nodding with the staff member, and the next step was his shooting practice.

"Hey, Kawhi, this is the 198th match of our youthful blood, to see who can master such shooting skills first."

Leonard sighed helplessly as he looked at Jimmy Butler, who was suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder and competitiveness.

When he played this kind of game against Butler for the first time in the past, Leonard was still a little excited, but after a season passed, Leonard was really tired of Butler's endless games.

Ma De, I have to compare myself to you every time I shit, it's really deadly.

Jordan found Li Lai's bench and sat down. He said, "Brother, I know how to train the mid-range, but it's impossible for every player of mine to teach them to hit the mid-range."

"Kemba Walker, Bradley Beal and Khris Middleton, I want to know how to train the three as soon as possible. Can you give the Hornets some suggestions for the future?"

Li Lai smiled and said, "Michael, this is completely beyond our promise."

"You are repaying the promise you made to me last season. I didn't come to you to help train Leonard and Jimmy Butler."

Jordan put his arms around Li Lai's shoulders, patted Li Lai like a good buddy and said, "Don't tell me, which one of us is with whom, how about I give you a box of rare cigars?"

Li Lai quickly stopped, the cigars that Jordan sent last time did not know where to put them, and now they are still here.

He said: "Bradley Beal is very talented and is a typical technical player. He has good physical fitness, fast movement speed, strong ability to attack the basket, excellent jump shooting ability and free throw ability, but average jumping ability."

"So your hovering style of play is not suitable for him, and he is not a very good ball handler. He needs to focus on creating points by himself. His training idea is best to be the second head of the team."

"Kemba Walker is a small, fast-scoring point guard who's used to having the ball in his hands, which fits perfectly with Bradley Beal."

"Walker averaged 12 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists last season. He is a selfless passer and a dynamic organizer, so his assist level can continue to rise this season."

"However, you can't expect Walker to become a top passer in the league like Nash and Kidd. Such passing skills depend on talent. Players who stand up."

"Although Khris Middleton is a low-ranking player, his physical talent is not outstanding, he lacks explosiveness and aggression, but he has a solid small forward body, and he was very obsessed with mid-range shooting in college."

"Compared with Kemba Walker and Bradley Beal, Khris Middleton's progress may be a bit slower, but he will definitely become a good mid-range singles master in the future."

Jordan nodded and was very satisfied. After the draft, the Hornets let the three of them participate in the summer league. As a result, the Hornets won the championship for the first time.

Although Anthony Davis, the No. [-] pick in the Summer League this time, did not come because he participated in the Olympics, the intensity of the game seemed to have declined, but this is the first time the Hornets have won the Summer League championship.

Kemba Walker, Bradley Beal and Khris Middleton, the three cooperated very well, and the latter two showed their great abilities on the court.

This is why Jordan has the cheek to ask Li to help the three grow up as soon as possible this time.

He sees hope for the Hornets' rise in the trio.

"So what should be the goal of the Hornets this season? Is it to hit the playoffs or continue to be poor?"

Jordan continued.

He is very clear that Li Lai has a lot of experience and strong ability in the long-term construction of the team. The Bucks and Pelicans are vivid examples.

Of course, Li Lai knew why Jordan would suddenly ask this question, because next year is a young draft year, and there are almost no talented and capable players in the NCAA.

Even in the latest player selection, ESPN only gave 15 players from NCAA colleges and universities who meet the selection criteria of five-star players, while in the past, this number was mostly around 25.

So it really doesn't make much sense.

Li said: "The Hornets can try to hit the playoffs, because this season, with Warcraft Howard traveling westward, the Bulls announced a short-term reconstruction, the Eagles lost Joe Johnson, and the 76ers lost Andre Iguodala. .”

"There are very few strong teams in the Eastern Conference this season, and the Hornets have great hopes to succeed in the playoffs."

"Of course, you can continue to play poorly. The premise of doing this is that you have a fancy big player who will enter the draft next year."

"The Hornets have found the outside players, and the only thing that is missing is the inside."

Jordan nodded, and then indicated that he and the team management would carefully consider these two ideas and directions for team building.

Because the Pelicans have training masters like Payton and Peja, Kemba Walker, Bradley Beal and Khris Middleton also need such training very much.

Jordan shamelessly hoped to have a short workout with the Pelicans this time around.

Li Lai couldn't beat this old hooligan, so he could only agree, and at the same time hoped that Jordan could extend the special training for Leonard and Jimmy Butler.

Because Li Lai has already seen the difficulty of Jordan's training, it is as difficult as heaven for the two to learn all of Jordan's mid-range singles abilities and skills in just 5 days.

9 month 1 day.

The Pelicans and Hornets jointly issued a statement that they will conduct joint training from September 9st to September 1th.

As soon as this news appeared, it immediately made people's imaginations run wild.

Although there have been precedents for such team training in the past, such as the Lakers and Clippers in Los Angeles, and the Mavericks and Rockets in Texas.

But at any rate, because of their geographical location, you New Orleans and Charlotte are two places where you can't fight each other. Why did you suddenly announce the joint training?

At this time, some fans were curious and argued.

"Why can't we play? The Pelicans came out of Charlotte, and I was their fan back then!"

"The Pelicans and Hornets have successfully changed their names this season, and they have a lot of previous roots."

"I heard that in this rookie meeting, Jordan also followed Li Lai's advice and selected Bradley Beal and Khris Middleton. It can be seen that these two teams have become very good deals. partner."

"There are not a few such court partners, mostly between Eastern teams and Western teams, such as the former Bucks and Kings, Grizzlies and Lakers, Rockets and Raptors."

At the same time, after hearing the news, Shaquille O'Neill and Reggie Miller were both startled, and the same thought came to their hearts at the same time.

The coach is training newcomers!
However, what the outside world does not know is that only a small number of players from the two teams participated in this joint training, and there was no team tactical training and group confrontation.

9 month 10 day.

The Pelicans training camp officially started. All the players gathered and took photos of their makeup.

Paul asked Jimmy Butler and Leonard very curiously, "What did you both learn in Charlotte? Did Michael really teach you the middle distance?"

Leonard still looked not very talkative, but nodded slightly.

Jimmy Butler was different. He put his arms around Paul's shoulders and said, "Of course, Michael is indeed the god of basketball. What he teaches is really useful, but of course it's also difficult."

"By the way, Pao, do you know that Jordan has to hit the iron for mid-range shots, and he has to hit the iron once or twice every day when he guides us to train."

Paul, who is also good at mid-range, looked surprised and said: "No way, he is so poor?! Are you lying to me?"

Jimmy Butler patted his chest and assured him again and again, "You still don't believe it? Kawhi saw it too."

"You don't know, that guy Michael is about the same size as Barkley, and he still shows off a fadeaway jumper in front of us, just like a flyback flying pig."

Li Lai looked at the boastful Jimmy Butler, and couldn't help but pray for the old hooligan. Do you believe that such a word will be kept secret by you?
Li Lai raised his hands to signal the players to be quiet. He looked at Jimmy Butler and Leonard and asked at the same time, "How are you doing?"

Leonard said dully: "The second stage."

Jimmy Butler raised his head very proudly at this time and said: "I have learned the third stage."

Li Lai looked at Jimmy Butler in astonishment, and from the look in his petite eyes, he could tell that he was not joking.

When he was a little curious and wanted to ask what the training in the third stage was, Jimmy Butler shook his head as expected and said: "Michael forbids me to say, he said that it needs to be kept secret just like his devil training."

Li Lai frowned, and greeted Jordan again, how old he was and kept it a secret.

He didn't think Jimmy Butler could really keep it a secret. Even if he could, as long as Butler played, Li Lai would definitely find out.

"Coach, are you all right?" The staff waiting on the side asked anxiously.

Li Lai hurriedly motioned the players to stand up, and with a click, a photo appeared.

Li Lai stood in the middle, with Chris Paul and Beverly on the side, Jimmy Butler and Leonard on the side, Anthony Davis and Jordan Jr. stood behind Li Lai, counting to the side Oden, JR Smith, Carter, Rashad Lewis, Dior.
Anthony Davis, who was still a rookie, watched blankly as the team completed one task after another. Makeup photos, body sides, jersey equipment, locker room wardrobe arrangement, all players revolved around the team boss Paul or the legendary veteran Carter.

Davis, who experienced the NBA for the first time, was still a little dazed. More importantly, he was not used to life in the NBA, and he always felt that he was missing something compared to the college league.

Anthony Davis has a very respected coach, Kentucky's famous coach John Calipari, who is a disciple of the legendary coach Larry Brown.

He taught Davis how to be a team leader, taught him how to lead the team to win games, and always emphasized that defense is as important as offense.

When Davis broke Shaquille O'Neal's single-season block record in the first year of the NCAA and led Kentucky to the championship, John Calipari said to Davis very earnestly.

"You have to go, kid. NCAA doesn't belong to you anymore. Take your talent to the NBA and let the whole world see how good you are."

In this way, Davis applied for the 2012 NBA draft with the expectation of his mentor, and unsurprisingly overwhelmed the other two favorites Bradley Beal and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Elected champion.

The Pelicans, holding the No. [-] pick, did not hesitate and chose him directly.

In the Olympics, Davis met his new head coach Li Lai for the first time. He didn't know each other well, but Chris Paul, who was with the team, kept praising the coach for being great.

Even James and Kobe have the same praise for Li Lai, evaluating each other as their biggest opponent in the playoffs.

Anthony Davis witnessed the finals between the Lakers and the Heat this summer, and also witnessed James lift the championship trophy.

For this reason, his chosen jersey number is 23.

That's right, there is a high probability that others choose the No. 23 jersey because of Jordan, but he chose the No. 23 jersey because of another player.

"The Pelicans have the best locker room culture in the league, and the coach must be able to use you very well."

Stevens suddenly walked up to Anthony Davis and said with a smile on his face.

Davis looked at the team's assistant coach with a friendly face, and extended his hand for a friendly shake.

He smiled and said: "I hope so, I will try my best to help the team win."

Stevens glanced at Davis, who was still a little shy, and knew that the other party hadn't fully adapted to the NBA, but he didn't have the slightest worry about it.

Because last season, Stevens saw with his own eyes how Li Lai successfully integrated Leonard and Jimmy Butler into the team and used each other very well.

Stevens glanced at Davis's physical talent very enviously, and he said expectantly: "I really don't know how the coach plans to use you, but no matter how you look at it, you are a very good big man."

Team training hall.

Li Lai looked at the neat Pelicans players in front of him and said, "I'm very happy to see several Hall of Famers in our team in the future."

"At the same time I am also very happy that there are a lot of tough players in the team."

"With your efforts last season, we reached the Western Conference finals, but unfortunately lost to the Lakers. This season we should have higher and farther goals, especially we also got a very special big man."

Paul and Jordan patted Davis friendly, and the latter smiled shyly.

Li Lai immediately said with a serious face: "This season, the goal of the Pelicans is to compete for the championship!"

After saying this, all the players in front of them stopped, with their own emotions on their faces.

Paul clenched his hands tightly, and his eyes were full of fiery gazes. He had been waiting for this moment for many years. This was the first time that Li Lai had determined that the team's goal for the new season was to compete for the championship.

Both Leonard and Jimmy Butler looked at the coach with great anticipation. They wanted to show each other all the results of their off-season training.

Davis looked at Li Lai in disbelief. He had personally seen the unrivaled Heat team last season. Could the Pelicans really hope to become that team's opponent?
Li Lai looked at the players with different emotions and said very seriously: "Guys, you will listen to everyone's praises for you this season, and you will enjoy the joy of victory. I have confidence in you."

"But the premise is that you need to always know what you are after, money or glory. I can share with you my pursuit, which is a step towards a higher realm."

"So now, the new season begins!"

(End of this chapter)