In the two days after Jordan's comeback, the media cheered and celebrated.
But as those two days passed, yesterday and the day before yesterday, there were more controversies.
"Is it appropriate for Jordan to get a maximum salary?"
"How much strength does he still have now? Can he compare to Malone after not playing for three years?"
"Will Jordan become the next Ewing or Olajuwon and destroy the team atmosphere?"
Jordan had expected such remarks, but when he saw them, he was still furious.
He wants to prove in the new season that he is still the king on the court!
First of all, he must prove his ability to his new teammates and let them know that he not only misses the scenery on the court, but is not here to play.
The method is simple, just prove that he has the ability to put the ball into the basket.
Directly demonstrating his mid-range shooting ability that was once unique in the league!
He was very satisfied when his teammates praised him, "The God of Basketball is awesome," "This is so accurate," and "I'm going to call my mom and tell her that I'm watching God train."
But after a while, something was wrong. Why did these teammates start to exaggerate the spider?
"Spider-Man is so accurate!"
"As expected of the boss!"
"Whose mid-range shot is more accurate, the boss or the God of Basketball?"
"It's hard to say. After all, the God of Basketball hasn't played a game in three years... He should still be the God of Basketball. He is the God of Basketball after all!"
Jordan stopped training, turned to look at the next half, and saw Li Ao circling the free throw line, taking a step laterally to catch the ball and make one, constantly moving his position and making more shots... It was really accurate!
He feels more accurate than what he saw when he occasionally watched Li Ao's shooting training in the past three days!
Naturally, he didn't feel that Li Ao had improved so much today compared to yesterday. He just felt that maybe Li Ao's training condition was not that good in the previous three days, or that he was in particularly good condition today.
But no matter what, he became competitive!
Is the big spider breaking off with him?
interesting!
After Li Ao finished practicing this group, Jordan said, "Are your hands warm? Are you ready to compete with a group of mid-range shots?"
When his teammates heard this, they immediately got excited and started cheering.
Li Ao responded casually: "No, it will be embarrassing for you to be defeated by a 20-year-old second-year player."
Jordan tilted his head and squinted his eyes with a contemptuous "hush", and said: "Would it be more embarrassing for you to be defeated by a 38-year-old man who has retired for three years?"
"Then just wait and see what an unparalleled genius is!"
"I kept my eyes open and waited!"
The teammates burst into violent cheers, startling the coaching staff who had just arrived at the training ground.
They quickly came up to watch without asking. They knew what was happening when they heard the team members' chirping and cheering.
Gentry: (￢_￢)
It’s just the first day of training. As soon as we gather, we’re already fighting?
Well, he is very confident in Spider-Man's mid-range shot. Even if it is not as good as the God of Basketball, it is enough to be recognized by the God of Basketball.
Seeing several teaching assistants and consultants excitedly crowding to the front to watch, Gentry was also ready to make a move... No matter what, let's watch first!
Both Li Ao and Jordan were moving their bodies again. Their tone and attitude were both disdainful and casual, but one was more serious than the other when preparing, and they were fully dedicated.
Da Q, who volunteered to be the referee, waited until the trainers were ready to serve and pick up the ball, then waved his hand downwards.
"start!"
The referee served. Li Ao and Jordan took the ball and shot quickly. After throwing the ball, they immediately moved their positions and continued to shoot. Neither of them stood at a fixed position to shoot. They couldn't afford to lose face. They had to move at least one or two steps.
Watching Jordan catch the ball and hit shots continuously while moving, his teammates all praised him for being the god of basketball, with such a wide shooting range.
Many people only remember Jordan's invincible post-up singles in the last three consecutive stages and his fadeaway jumper that was even better than Chamberlain. They ignore that he was pretty good without the ball for three years.
In Jordan's 11-year career, there were only three years when his ball possession rate was lower than 30%, namely the last three consecutive years.
Putting aside his season-ending second year, the three years in which Jordan averaged the lowest assists per game were also the last three years.
During Jordan's first three consecutive seasons, the NBA was still at the tail end of the offensive era, but during Jordan's second three consecutive consecutive seasons, the assist rate increased instead of falling.
But when they saw Li Ao, his teammates kept exclaiming!
Their Spider-Man has a wider mid-range shot than Jordan!
The key is the shooting percentage, Spider-Man and the God of Basketball are evenly matched!
Because Li Ao's 'training' this time was not in 'training state' but in 'competition state'.
The 'Catch and Shoot Expert Level 5' was launched. He worked hard to practice his basic mid-range shooting skills to the edge of 90, and raised it to 95, surpassing the top, and a historical level!
In fact, Jordan's basic mid-range shooting skills are even higher than this.
However, once the basic shooting skills reach the top level, there will be little difference during training. What continues to improve is the shooting stability after physical exertion, the continuity of the touch after encountering confrontation, the speed of finding the touch, etc.
In a real game, it is necessary to rely on technology to support the performance of basic shooting skills, so Li Ao is far behind Jordan.
But in this current duel...he is not losing at all!
Moreover, Jordan only added catch-and-shoot to his style of play, broadening the shooting range, which is not limited to the two wings, but the strongest is still on the two wings. Li Ao is different, Li Ao covers all aspects of mid-range shooting!
It seems that Li Ao's mid-range shot after catching the ball is even more exciting!
The most important thing is that Li Ao narrowly won!
At the end of the 100-goal duel, Jordan made 94. His teammates felt that it was so awesome.
But Li Ao made 96! Won the cheers of teammates!
Steve Kerr was the first to say: "Oh my god, Spider-Man, you are stronger than the God of Basketball!"
Teammates followed suit.
Give face to the God of Basketball and comfort the God of Basketball? never! Even Big Q was making noise.
Of course they know that a shooting matchup is nothing. The difference is only 2 goals. It can be called an error, but it is different if the one who loses is the God of Basketball.
Jordan's face turned even darker and he shouted: "Do it again!"
At this time Doug Collins said: "Next time, Michael, it's time for the physical test."
Jordan squinted at Doug Collins, feeling targeted.
But his mentors spoke up, and he still accepted the arrangement.
Gentry is now very satisfied with the signing of Doug Collins as a consultant. It is quite necessary for them to have an old coach who can listen to Jordan's words.
Jordan was depressed for a moment, but he didn't take it to heart. He wished that Li Ao would become stronger, so that he might be able to compete with OK in the playoffs.
The fight with Li Ao was purely due to his desire to win.
Li Ao was very happy to win, but he didn't take it seriously, just for fun.
Li Ao called his teammates together and introduced them to Jordan.
I saw it at a press conference a few days ago. When Jordan broke his ribs last year and before the playoff opener with the Mavericks, he also met with the young Clippers players, but there was no real communication. know.
When Li Ao introduced the teammates he worked with last season, he introduced them in detail, carefully introduced the characteristics of his playing style, teased his personality, and casually mentioned a few words about his teammates' hobbies.
As for the newcomers like Mike Bibby, Gerald Wallace, Laphonso Ellis, Jaylon Collins, etc., he just introduced their names, not blindly.
Jordan listened carefully. Spider-Man's introduction saved him a lot of time in getting to know his teammates.
But he was also surprised - this big spider who was so angry that he would not pay for his life was actually such a careful person.
There really is something to being able to put this talented but chaotic team together!
…
After Li Ao helped Jordan get familiar with his teammates, Larry LaRue and Doug Collins began to arrange for the team members to be divided into groups for physical and technical tests.
Every player is actively working hard to show his strength or progress, hoping to win more playing time for the new season.
The coaches are most concerned about Li Ao and Jordan.
Both of them are focused and put their best foot forward.
Although since June, trainers have regularly provided training reports for the two.
But reading the report is definitely not as good as seeing it with your own eyes.
Li Ao doesn't need to say more.
Jordan is not afraid to expose his current shortcomings. Instead, he tries his best to tell the coaching staff what he can do and what he can no longer do.
Although the coaching staff was mentally prepared, they were still stunned when they saw Li Ao's test results.
Li Ao's weight has increased to 105 kilograms, which is close to Odom, but his speed is actually better than last year's training camp physical test!
Speed, strength, jumping, starting, explosive power, bullet speed...all have been improved!
Jordan was also very curious about Li Ao's physical test report. After the test, he came to the coaching staff and took a look and nodded: "The physical fitness is barely enough."
Coaches: (ˇˇ)
If someone else said this, they would think there is something wrong with that person's brain.
But Jordan...well, they accepted that Spider-Man was mediocre physically.
Not to mention, with Jordan's words, the Clippers coaching staff became much calmer when they saw Li Ao's improvement in basic skills and technology. They became even calmer when discussing tactical adjustments based on Li Ao's technical progress and expansion.
By 4 o'clock in the afternoon, all the assembly tests were over, but the work of the Clippers players was not finished yet. Then there were makeup photos and promotional posters.
Li Ao, Jordan, Odom, O'Neal Jr., Bibby and other five people also have a shooting job that other teammates do not have - the main poster.
When taking the main poster, the three teammates were in trouble. How should they stand?
Jordan showed humility at this time and asked Li Ao to stand in the middle. Odom and O'Neal took a step back to stand on the left and right sides of Li Ao. He and Bibby took a step forward and stood on the edge.
Li Ao was not surprised by this.
Jordan is a very respectable person. The most honorable position for him at this time is not standing in the C position. That would be accused of stealing the limelight from young people. If he took the initiative to stand on the side, there must be teammates or cameramen who will tell this. If word spreads, he will gain the reputation of 'voluntarily giving up the C position'.
Li Ao remembers seeing a poster in his previous life. Kwame Brown was ridiculed as "the peak player" - Jordan is on the left, and Christian Laettner is on the right. The three are all top three players, the number one pick. Battle center.
He stood up in the C position.
Jordan: (▼ヘ▼#)
Can you excuse me a little bit?
O'Neal Jr.: (╯﹏╰)
One step further away from the boss...I want to fight! (`へ*)ノ
Bibby: (ˇˇ)
I'm not dreaming about partnering with these four people!
Odom:￣﹃￣
When do you get off work? Being watched and tested seriously by the captain today is much more tiring than playing a game...
…
On the next day, the 26th, the Clippers entered the tactical training stage.
After the test yesterday, the coaching staff has sent the first version of the new season's tactical manual to the players so that they can remember the tactics they will practice on the first day.
But during today's tactical movement training, before each tactic, Gentry gave each team member a detailed explanation of their role in the tactic and what they should do.
Even so, Gentry doesn't expect everyone to be able to remember it, but it doesn't matter. Just practice it and you'll get used to it.
And there are still a few who have memorized the tactics. Bibby, Li Ao, Jordan, Odom, and O'Neal are the top five starting players. Except for Odom, the other four are actively helping their teammates correct their running mistakes and helping their teammates get familiar with them. The running route, and although Odom did not help his teammates become familiar with the route, it was obvious that he had memorized the tactics when running.
Greg Anthony, Steve Kerr, and Matt Halprin on the bench are also doing these things.
Li Ao, in particular, satisfied Gentry the most. Gentry asked if he had memorized the tactics before the training started, and Li Ao replied that he had memorized them all.
Gentry didn't think Li Ao was bragging because he questioned it last year and Li Ao really memorized it all.
Seeing that most of the team members have the enthusiasm and awareness to take the initiative to master tactics, Gentry is in a good mood.
That's right, Jordan doesn't pay much attention to him as the head coach today...
Because all the tactics in today's training are based on the tactics of 'passing the ball to Spider-Man for shooting'.
In the training camp stage, who is the main tactic to practice first means who is more important in the head coach's mind.
Gentry knew that Jordan would definitely get into trouble with such an arrangement, but this was what he had to do. The more he thought about it, the more correct he felt that Ballmer's decision was right.
Especially after seeing Li Ao's progress in yesterday's test, he became more determined in his idea of 'Spider-Man first'.
On Jordan's side, apart from having trouble with Gentry, his training attitude has not been affected. He is active in personal training and coaching his teammates.
In fact, in the tactic aimed at passing the ball to Li Ao, he is still the player leading the offense, one of the two cores, and the other offensive core is Odom.
Moreover, he saw that in the tactical manual, there were more offensive tactics surrounding him, and the second most focused on the cooperation between Odom and Bibby, followed by Li Ao.
His ability and diversity of scoring methods have been valued in tactics.
Regarding the decision of 'Spider-Man First', after he saw the training sequence in the tactical manual yesterday, he was annoyed and understood what the coaching staff wanted to convey.
And he can understand the reasons why the coaching staff made this decision, and he supports the team in focusing on cultivating Li Ao.
But he still gets angry!
He certainly won't mess around. It's not easy to come back at this age with such a group of teammates.
He wants to use his performance on the court to slap Gentry in the face!
(End of chapter)
