lakers championship

Chapter 167

Except for Jerry West, who is inconvenient to express his position as a Warrior, and Wilt Chamberlain, who has passed away, all the famous Lakers spoke to express their support for Tianyang and the Lakers.

The neutral fans who watched the movie were so happy that they kept pressing the refresh button, hoping to see the famous Warriors come out to respond, but this is not the plot of the movie. No one from the Warriors has spoken, and even Drummond Green has disappeared.

Late at night, the Lakers training base was brightly lit.

Kupchak had gone home, and Jim Buss was pacing the office.

His usual cigars were replaced by cigarettes, which were lit and extinguished one by one.

His eyes are red, his hair is standing on end, and he seems to be trying to find the answer to a certain problem.

Then the phone rang, and he picked it up impatiently.

Jenny-Buss' voice sounded, "I heard Mitch said, you want to study how to get Cousins ​​all night?"

"Yes, I have something to talk about, but I'll hang up if it's nothing."

"What are you in a hurry?"

"Can I not be in a hurry! We haven't made the playoffs in 3 years! Now even cats and dogs dare to mock us! I swear, we will return to the playoffs this season!"

"What's the price?"

"at all costs!"

"And then? After this year? Can we win the championship? Hasn't it been proved that it is impossible to succeed overnight by building a lineup of Kobe, Gasol, Nash, and Howard?"

Jim Bass calmed down and said nothing.

"Even if you trade for Cousins, it will still be very difficult to win the championship, and it will affect the team's subsequent development. Why not let a few young people continue to grow? Sign a few more free agents in the summer to form a championship lineup. What's the use of that?" Nothing, don't worry about free agents slapping their ass and leaving, just wait an extra year."

"I understand the truth, but..."

"You don't understand, you are still a gambler mentality. The problems the Lakers are facing now are all growing pains. The reconstruction must be done step by step. The average championship cycle of NBA teams is 7 years, and we are almost there. You go home and rest now , don’t stay up all night, just wait for everything to happen naturally.”

"Okay" Jim sighed heavily and hung up the phone.

On the other end of the phone, Jenny Buss hung up the phone, took a sip of coffee, and then opened another document, which read '2017 NBA Free Market Prospective Analysis Report'.

She also conveniently erased the 'break at 11 o'clock' plan on the schedule.

……

At 22:8 a.m. on the 40nd, Walton walked into the training base and found that Tianyang, Ingram, and Randall were already practicing. The backs of the training shirts of the three were wet, obviously they had been training for a long time.

Not long after he sat down, Clarkson, Zubac, Tariq and other players also arrived.

By 9 o'clock, the entire Lakers team arrived, 11 hours earlier than the stipulated 2 o'clock.

Walton then signaled all the staff to get closer and announced the team's new tactics for training.

Since the start of the game, the Lakers have been focusing on mobile offensive tactics, giving full play to the advantages of the team's young lineup and quick movement without the ball. It is quite effective in dealing with teams with weak individual defense and poor defense.

But when facing a team like the Spurs with a single defense and an auxiliary defense, this tactic can't be used at all. They can only rely on Tianyang to attack alone. If Tianyang doesn't feel good, he will probably lose.

Judging from a large amount of data and observation and analysis, the core of the problem is that several of the Lakers' inside players have relatively weak ball handling and shooting, and opponents can unscrupulously pile up defensive pressure on the outside.

Take Randall as an example. Most of his shots are within 5 feet of the basket, but compared to other top power forwards, his shooting percentage is not high, only 68%.

Among them, 70% of the shots are self-help. Except for grabbing offensive rebounds by himself, he rarely takes the ball and hits hard at the basket.

His field-goal percentages plummeted beyond 5 feet, and he shot a measly 27 percent of the jump shots that other top power forwards in the league often use.

If he can catch the ball and hit the ball efficiently in the free throw line area, or take the ball and attack the inside line efficiently, then the defensive pressure on the outside line of the Lakers will be greatly reduced, Tianyang will have more opportunities to shoot 3 points, Ingram Can also hit the rim more smoothly.

In this regard, Walton decided to practice more high-position pick-and-roll tactics to create personal offensive opportunities for him.

This tactic also requires Randall to hold the ball, but his task is no longer as simple as waiting for others to move, and finally handing over the ball. He needs to make the best choice based on the situation.

When Randall heard this, he hesitated.

After all, he is really not good at shooting, and the team deliberately created opportunities for him, which might drag the team down instead.

But both Tianyang and Ingram expressed their support, and Clarkson, Nance and others also encouraged him. He immediately agreed and said that he would practice shooting more.

Subsequently, the Lakers team practiced high pick-and-rolls.

Clarkson and Calderon took turns feeding the ball, Randall and Nance shot consecutively, or broke through to attack the basket.

Tianyang's role seemed to be weakened, but in fact, he was more threatening and played more easily. As long as the defender was not paying attention, he would immediately run out of the open space, catch the ball and make a three-pointer.

Ingram is also waiting for an opportunity like a ghost. He and Tianyang cover each other without the ball, either slipping to the basket for dunks, or holding the ball in singles to make mid-range shots.

The rehearsal lasted until 12:[-] noon. The players took a break after lunch and then continued the rehearsal.

At 4 p.m., Wharton announced the end of training.

But none of the players left immediately, and Clarkson, the little prince of the nightclub, also stayed to practice shooting.

Tianyang picked up a towel to wipe his sweat, and planned to do a set of strength exercises, but Randall stopped him.

"Why, what's the matter?"

"I want you to guide me on my shooting, is it convenient?"

When Randall asked, Tianyang immediately recalled that when he was at Sequoia, Sheffield also asked him to give him pointers on shooting. After he shared it briefly, Sheffield's three-point shooting percentage increased significantly.

Although it may not be all his credit, but it still has some influence.

Now that he is the player with the highest shooting percentage in the Lakers, Randall asks him to learn from him, and there is nothing wrong with him.

After Randall spoke, Clarkson and Nance Jr. also ran over and said they wanted to learn together.

Nick Yang and others also took advantage of the break to join the crowd.

"My experience may not be suitable for all. You can use it according to your own needs."

After speaking, Tianyang took Randall back to the field, walked to the left elbow, and signaled the trainer to pass the ball.

"You cast one first."

Randall caught the ball, slapped it on the floor, dribbled forward, raised his head to aim at the frame, raised his hand, and jumped out of the ball.

With a bang, the iron struck, and Randall smiled awkwardly.

Tianyang didn't comment, just stood in the same position as him, and signaled the trainer to pass the ball.

He catches the ball, bends his legs slightly, adjusts sideways, holds his breath, and jumps to shoot.

With the first sound, the basketball hit the net hollowly, and Randall asked in a daze, "What's wrong with me?"

"What do you think is different between me and you?" Tianyang didn't answer, but asked back. This is the leadership style Kobe taught him at the beginning. Don't take the initiative to correct it, but let your teammates find the problem themselves.

"You seem to have less movement in your shots."

"Where is the lack?"

"You didn't dribble, you just shot."

"Then try it."

After the words fell, Randall caught the ball, raised his head to aim at the frame, raised his hand, and jumped out of the ball.

The basketball fell into the rim, but it bounced off the back edge of the rim and into the net, obviously luck.

Tianyang didn't speak, and shot again.

"Your concentration is better than mine. From catching the ball to shooting, there is no breathing during the whole process. Is there any special significance?" Randall found the difference again, but he didn't know the reason.

Tim interjected during the physical training of the onlookers, "Breath change will change the blood circulation, and the muscles will be affected. If you finish shooting in one breath, you can better maintain your coordination."

"So that's how it is." Randall realized something, and quickly cast another one, but the result was a bang.

"Why are you still missing?"

Tianyang patted him on the shoulder, "You still lack an important quality, that is self-confidence. You hesitated during the shooting process, you must believe in yourself, like Swaggy P, immediately raise your hand to celebrate after shooting..."

"Oh, I'm going, can this also blackmail me?" Nick Yang, who was watching, pretended to be angry, but his face was full of smiles, "But Tianyang is right, you must be full of confidence!"

"Okay!" Randall nodded heavily, "I'll make another one!"

After hitting the iron with a bang, he made 5 more shots in a row and hit 0. The confidence on his face gradually disappeared.

At this time, Tianyang took the initiative to speak.

"Everything has a process. If you suddenly change your shooting method, it will definitely be affected. Now 5-for-0 is nothing. You may even go 10-for-0 in the game. But it doesn't matter. It's growing pains. As long as you persist Practice, and one day you will become a big killer inside."

　You don't have to wait tonight, friends have an appointment for dinner, maybe it won't matter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)