Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

The next day, the Lakers faced the Pistons on the road.

Although it was a back-to-back game and the players were very tired, the Pistons were not strong, so after four quarters the Lakers still defeated the Pistons and won another game.

However, after two consecutive games, the Lakers players were indeed tired.

On March 3, they came to New York to challenge the Knicks.

In this game, the Lakers' performance was obviously worse than before. Although the Knicks were not strong, the Lakers eventually lost to the Knicks by 3 points.

at the same time.

Another game in the Western Conference also ended soon after. The Warriors defeated their opponents and won at home. With the victory in this game, their record returned to first in the Western Conference. The Nuggets are still ranked second in the Western Conference.

As we enter late March, there are less than 10 regular season games left, and the Eastern and Western Conference rankings are becoming increasingly clear.

The Lakers have already secured a spot in the playoffs.

Coach Scott thought about letting the players start resting to save their energy for the playoffs.

So after the game with the Pistons, Coach Scott called the players together and announced that the main players would be arranged to rest in an orderly manner.

In fact, it is mainly Zhuang Yu, Holiday and Lopez, because they have the most playing time.

In addition, there are players with potential injury risks, such as Rose.

Now that the team has already secured a spot in the playoffs, the purpose of resting the team is, on the one hand, to reserve energy for the playoffs, and on the other hand, to avoid unnecessary risks.

It would be really uneconomical if any players got injured in these last few games.

Naturally, no one had any objection to this.

In the next few days, the Lakers continued their road trip. After the game with the Pistons, they only rested for one day and then faced the Bucks.

This time Lopez finally started the game, but Zhuang Yu was replaced after playing for three minutes in the first quarter and did not appear in the rest of the first quarter.

It was not until the second half of the second quarter that Zhuang Yu returned to the court, but he only played for four minutes. He played for four minutes in the third quarter and did not play at all in the last quarter.

In addition, Holiday's playing time has also decreased.

The Lakers' rest does not mean no playing, but just reduced playing time.

This affected the Lakers' overall combat effectiveness, and at the end of the first half, the Lakers were 14 points behind the Bucks.

In the second half, the Lakers had a small climax and at one point narrowed the gap to just a few points.

However, Zhuang Yu did not play in the last quarter and Holiday only played for four minutes. The Lakers fell into a disadvantage again and eventually lost to the Bucks 108:117.

The Lakers ended their road trip after losing to the Bucks.

......

Los Angeles.

In Zhuang Yu's apartment.

The apartment was unusually lively today. In addition to Zhuang Yu, there were also Yang Jinsong and Zhou An.

Zhou An arrived in Los Angeles this afternoon. Because the Nets will play against the Lakers away tomorrow, Zhou An came to Los Angeles with the team.

It was already evening, the sun was setting and night was falling.

The lights in the apartment were bright, and there were a few Chinese dishes on the table. Zhuang Yu sniffed them and said to Zhou An in surprise, "You are really good, you have good cooking skills."

There were five dishes on the table, three meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a soup. It wasn't very rich, but it looked very good.

The key point is that these dishes were all made by Zhou An. Zhuang Yu didn’t know that Zhou An was such a good cook, so he was really surprised.

"Hehe, my mom forced me to learn it. She said if a man can cook, there will be half fewer family conflicts in the future." Zhou An smiled shyly, "Brother Yu, Brother Yang, come on, come on, have a try."

Zhuang Yu first tasted the braised fish, gave Zhou An a thumbs up, and asked, "So, your father must be good at cooking, right?"

Zhou An smiled awkwardly and said, "Well, my dad only knows how to make fried rice with eggs."

Uh......

Zhou An and Yang Jinsong looked at each other and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

It is not easy to eat such authentic Chinese food here. Although there are Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles, in order to cater to local diners, the dishes in the Chinese restaurants here have been modified, and the original taste has been lost.

Zhuang Yu and Yang Jinsong were both very satisfied with the meal.

After dinner, Zhuang Yu and Zhou An sat on the sofa drinking tea. Yang Jinsong offered to wash the dishes. Zhuang Yu did have something to talk to Zhou An, so he let Yang Jinsong go.

"Come." Zhuang Yu made a cup of tea for Zhou An.

Zhou An picked it up and drank it all in one gulp, which made Zhuang Yu laugh: "That's not how you drink it, you have to taste it slowly."

After saying that, he couldn't help but smile again: "Forget it, drink whatever makes you feel comfortable."

It has only been a short time since he learned to drink tea. In fact, he is just trying to show off his taste. There are no outsiders here, so why should he care about all those things?

Zhou An scratched his head and saw Zhuang Yu pour him another glass. He stopped guzzling the wine and took small sips like Zhuang Yu, but still couldn't taste anything.

Of course, drinking tea is not the point.

Zhuang Yu asked: "The regular season is almost over. How have you gained from the Nets this season?"

Zhou An put down his teacup and answered seriously: "The coach and teammates were very nice to me, and I learned a lot. It was a great gain."

Ok.

Zhuang Yu nodded. He had actually always been paying attention to Zhou An.

The Nets' lineup has undergone significant changes this season. In addition, last year, Boss Tsai acquired the Nets and became the owner of the Nets, so Zhou An has received more opportunities in the new season and is finally no longer just guarding the water dispenser.

However, in the first half of the regular season, Zhou An's playing time was still limited, averaging only about 15 minutes per game.

Fortunately, his performance was pretty good.

Of course, given Zhou An's role in the Nets, even if he gets some opportunities, he can't become the team's main scorer. His position is a defensive and active space blue-collar player with certain outside shooting ability.

Zhou An did a very good job in this regard. He was very active and fought hard on the defensive end. He also did not play randomly on the offensive end and almost never occupied the ball. He would only shoot when there was an opportunity - overall, he was somewhat similar to Nance Jr. of the Lakers.

Zhou An won the love of fans and the trust of coaches with his positive attitude, good defensive performance and good outside shooting.

By the second half of the regular season, Zhou An's playing time increased further and he had entered the team's regular rotation, with his playing time also increasing to 18-20 minutes.

Compared with last season, Zhou An's playing time has increased, his role in the game has also increased, and his personal data has naturally improved as well.

Last season, Zhou An averaged only 9 minutes of playing time per game, with personal statistics averaging 3.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists.

Moreover, he only played thirty or forty games throughout the season, and was almost just a water cooler attendant, sitting on the sidelines.

This season, his personal statistics have improved to 10.2 points per game, plus 4.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.6 blocks. The improvement is still obvious.

Hearing Zhou An say that the coach and teammates treated him well, Zhuang Yu felt relieved and said, "You played well this season, but this is not your limit. You still have room for improvement. There are less than ten games left in the regular season, and the Nets still have great hope of entering the playoffs. The last few games are very crucial and will determine whether you can enter the playoffs. You must seize this opportunity."

"If you can play well enough in these last few games and contribute enough to help the team get into the playoffs, it will even be better than the effect of your past games this season combined."

Hearing this, Zhou An's expression became serious, and he nodded heavily and said, "I understand."

In the past seventy regular season games, Zhou An has worked diligently and performed well, but is far from outstanding. However, if he can stand out and have outstanding performance at the critical moment when the team is striving for the playoffs, and contribute to the team's entry into the playoffs, then he will become a hero of the team.

Working diligently will never be as good as being entrusted with a mission in times of crisis or being sent down as a miracle warrior.

Why did Jeremy Lin become so popular at the time?

It was because Carmelo Anthony was injured that he stood up when no one on the team could, and played a phenomenal performance to help the team win.

This is a challenge and an opportunity.

If you can't grasp it, you will still be mediocre.

If you seize the opportunity, it is not impossible for you to soar to the sky. At the very least, it will allow you to gain a firm foothold in the team.

Zhuang Yu continued, "You have to study the next few opponents carefully. You can't just wait for the coach to assign you tasks. You have to learn to study and analyze your opponents yourself. You have to know how to play against different opponents, know when you are needed, and be prepared in advance."

"At the same time, you also have to know how you should play and how to help the team win, or at least perform better."

For Zhou An, it is indeed beyond his ability to influence the outcome of the game by his own strength.

But Zhuang Yu hopes that he can be clear about how to express himself.

Do the right thing at the right time. As for whether you can help the team win in the end, it all depends on fate.

If you are lucky enough, it may not be impossible.

At least let the coach see that he can be trusted at this critical moment in the playoffs.

Zhou An responded: "I understand, Brother Yu."

Zhuang Yu added: "I hope you can seize this opportunity and make it to the playoffs. Come on."

Originally, Zhuang Yu wanted to say a few more words, but after thinking it over, he decided not to.

It's too early to say at this time. He certainly hopes that Zhou An can play well enough in the next few games. If Zhou An performs well and the Nets enter the playoffs, then Zhou An will naturally get more opportunities in the playoffs.

That’s the real challenge…

But it’s still a little early to talk about the playoffs now, and it’s not good to put too much pressure on Zhou An. Let him deal with the last few regular season games first.