Rebirth of Hayes Cyclone

Chapter 4 [Training match, small forward Hayes! 】

On September 2006, 9, the Rockets officially announced the training camp schedule for the 26-2006 season. The "Media Day" event will be held on Tuesday local time, and the first public training session will be held at 2007:2 pm on Wednesday. Fans can watch the game at that time , and participate in a series of networking activities...

Members of the Houston Rockets assembled at Toyota Center on Wednesday to begin preparations for an NBA preseason game that begins in October.

On this day, apart from Yao Ming who represented China in the World Championships, Shane Battier who represented the United States, and Spanoulis who shined in the World Championships, the Rockets players will all come to the arena, including several trial training player.

After the preseason, the Rockets can only retain a 15-man lineup.That said, several people will be cut.According to the development trajectory that Hayes has experienced, the ones who will be cut will be the defensive Ryan Bowen, the white forward Casey Jacobson, the 2 center Hayaz and the future in the Warriors. Corunna-Azubuike.

The layoffs basically have nothing to do with Hayes, who has been promised by Jeff Van Gundy to be the starting power forward.Everything went so smoothly, but now, Hayes felt a little nervous.This tension is not without reason.Although he has been practicing hard during this period of time, he has neglected the most important part of improving his basketball level, which is actual combat!Lately he's been playing with no defense in front of him.

There are quite a few street courts in Houston, but Hayes has a twist in his heart that he can't turn around. He is somewhat repelled by that kind of wild ball place, so he never went.He was worried that streetball players were too rough. If he got injured in that kind of place, it would be a waste of money if it affected the upcoming training camp.

At 8:[-], McGrady finally came.He appeared on the court with a sleepy look, and greeted everyone with a smile.

Seeing McGrady, Hayes' heart beat even stronger. It was the first time he saw an NBA All-Star player so closely.Like a dream, soon he will play with these people, can he keep up with them?After all the talking and promises made to Jeff Van Gundy, is he going to impress everyone today or be beaten back?
Hayes' body was trembling slightly, he couldn't tell whether he was nervous or excited, as if a fire had been ignited in his heart, and it spread, burning his whole body!
In the NBA arena, the "enemies" of players are not only opponents.There are many NBA rookies who hit the "rookie wall". On the one hand, it is due to the lack of physical fitness and the ups and downs of the competitive state, and on the other hand, it comes from psychological pressure.Now, Hayes is a bit "hitting the wall" feeling.

After the players assembled, Jeff Van Gundy stood up and said something similar to the general mobilization before the war.Then the players began to warm up under the leadership of the assistant coach. After the warm-up, the players were divided into red and blue teams and started 5V5 group confrontation practice.

Jeff - Van Gundy put Hayes and Alston in the blue side, the other three players are Luther - Hyde, Novak, Padgett.Their opponents are made up of Dikembe Mutombo, Juwan Howard, Tracy McGrady, John Lucas III and the newly transferred Kirk Snyder.

Before the start, Jeff Van Gundy gave the blue team a special talk about tactics.Play zone defense when required to defend, with Hayes as inside center.The offensive tactic is that Hayes gives Alston a pick-and-roll in the frontcourt, Alston breaks through, attracts the defense and then plays himself, or passes the ball back to Hayes, and then Hayes decides whether to shoot or pass the other three shooters .

As soon as Alston saw his lineup, he felt that it was not easy to play, but when he heard about the tactical arrangement, he immediately became numb-failure to break through and allow Hayes to shoot or score?Attack with Hayes as the core?Are we going to practice all rebounds today?Could it be that Jeff Van Gundy drank too much last night and hasn't woken up yet?
I have to say that Hayes came to the training ground to practice, and he did a really good job of keeping secrets.Other than security guard Kevin and head coach Jeff Van Gundy, no one knew he could shoot.He doesn't let people see himself practice shooting, just to make people careless of him during the game, so that he can get open shots.His desire to score today is very strong, and he really wants to prove himself by scoring.

When he was about to play, Jeff Van Gundy called Hayes to his side again, and whispered: "Now that the zone defense is in place, didn't you say that our team can mainly play outside and running and bombing? Let's try it out today. It's up to you performance."

Hearing what he said, Hayes felt even more stressed.

Everyone has times when they are nervous, but there are many ways to express it.

For basketball players, when they are nervous, they will lose their vitality, dare not shoot when attacking, and cannot stretch their hands when defending; Good thing; there is another kind of people, they usually think highly of themselves, and they will not accept anyone when they start to be ruthless.When such people are under great pressure and feel nervous, they will only have the basket in their eyes and no teammates.

Kobe and Iverson are such people.So every season, they will have a few convulsion games, and they will take thirty or forty shots. When they feel good, they will score 50 points. If they feel bad, they will make a few pitiful shots.

Coincidentally, Xuan Feng also belongs to this category of people.Although he has become Chuck Hayes who has always been low-key, some things in his bones cannot be erased by occasions and circumstances.

The game started.

Hayes and Mutombo jumped the ball. He has played basketball for many years, but this is the first time he has jumped the ball with someone.

As soon as the referee threw the ball, Hayes jumped up, flopped twice in the air but didn't catch anything, and started to fall with the basketball.On the other hand, Mutombo is as stable as an old monk.His current jumping ability is no more than ten centimeters. Relying on his rich jumping experience and exaggerated wingspan, the moment the basketball is thrown up and down, he tiptoes the ball to his side.

Hayes and others had no choice but to quickly return to defense.

Kirk Snyder received the ball and immediately passed it to Tracy McGrady.McGrady dribbled slowly across the half court and began to organize the offense.Poor fringe guy John Lucas III, in the name of a point guard, is being flamboyantly ignored.

McGrady dribbled a few times, jumping at a 60-degree angle on the right was a three-pointer, and the man defending McGrady was Hyde. When Hyde saw McGrady jumping, all he could do was stand still and raise his arms, defending with his eyes.And McGrady has been resting for a long time, and the feel is a little rusty, and the ball hits the basket and pops out.Hayes saw the ball bouncing in the other direction and wanted to grab the rebound. At this time, Mutombo's tall body blocked him, and he didn't even jump. He took the ball in his arms with one hand .

Hayes lamented that being tall is good, and hurried forward to resist Mutombo, preventing him from turning around easily under the basket.Dikembe Mutombo passed the ball back to the perimeter and re-delivered it to his teammate.

This time John Lucas III finally catches the ball, dribbles a few times and transfers it to Kirk Snyder.Snyder was more excited for the first training session. He took it with his back, turned around and passed Padgett, who was a bit taller than him, at a high speed.

"I'll hit the first ball!" Snyder was complacent about his beautiful turn and threw the ball.Unexpectedly, a hunk was born out of nowhere, with a big wave of his hand, he slapped the ball on the backboard, and the bounced ball was picked up by Novak.

"Good job, Chuck!" Jeff Van Gundy yelled from the sidelines.

The person who blocked the shot was Hayes. He watched countless games of Snyder in the Rockets, and knew that this guy has a single mind. As long as he passes someone, [-]% of them will not pass the ball, so he has already prepared and waited. .

Snyder was very embarrassed, and glanced at Hayes with a bad expression.Hayes didn't want to have trouble with his new teammate, even if he was a substitute, so he smiled back.But he forgot what he looked like, and almost made everyone around him sick.

Alston dribbled the ball across halftime like a butterfly, and Hayes immediately stood at the three-point line to do a pick-and-roll for him, successfully stopping the thin John Lucas III.After the rotation, it was Howard who defended Alston.Alston passed Howard in one step, stepping on the three-second zone line and it was a small throw to ecstasy.This kind of throw is difficult to defend, but the hit rate is relatively low.In addition to shooting three-pointers, Alstom is the best one.It was these two blacksmithing skills that earned him the nickname "Nervous Knife".Sure enough, the ball bounced twice on the basket and fell into Mutombo's hands.

"Raff, tactics. Pay attention to tactics." Jeff Van Gundy yelled at Alston from the sidelines.

Jeff Van Gundy wanted Hayes to catch and shoot.If Alston does not cooperate in the next round, Jeff will be very angry, and the consequences will be serious.

The red team's offense in this round is still very simple. After receiving the ball, McGrady made another three-pointer and made a shot.Hyde's sharp eye defense may be effective for the Chinese men's football team, but it will definitely not work in the NBA.

Hayes felt a little helpless, none of the five players on his side could defend McGrady.The height is not enough to keep up with the speed, and if the height is enough to defend, McGrady will change to break through.Before multiple injuries, McGrady's 1-on-1 offensive level was definitely ranked among the top five in the league.Hayes imitated many of McGrady's skills, especially the jump shot after the one-step start. It seems that it is not difficult, but as long as it is used properly, it will be a magic trick and eat it all over the world.

Alston dribbles to the frontcourt, and Hayes steps up to do the pick-and-roll for him again.This time, Alston broke through and handed the ball back to Hayes.Hayes waited for the ball, his hair was almost white, and immediately after receiving the ball, he stepped back and made a jumper from the three-point line, all in one go.His movements are very similar to Tracy McGrady's, but the height of his jump is shorter, and he also hits the net hollowly.

"Good!" Jeff Van Gundy waved his fists on the sidelines, as if he was a Hayes fan.

Except for Jeff Van Gundy, everyone on the court was stunned.Some of the people who knew Hayes well enough to have played with him in summer league began to roll their eyes, wondering if they were dazzled.

Hayes quickly told everyone with actions that they were not dazzled.Alston quickly cut off the ball from John Lucas III, advanced to the frontcourt and passed it to Hayes.Facing Howard who was rushing back to the defense, Hayes stepped off the dribble and changed direction to shake Howard staggered. He moved a step to the right and made an emergency stop jumper and hit two points.Now, all members of the Rockets went crazy.

Others found it incredible, and Hayes was so excited that he almost forgot to breathe.

"Is this what it feels like to score points with stars in the NBA? It's so cool! If I can maintain this feeling, maybe I can also become a star." Hayes thought to himself.

Back on defense, Hyde slapped Hayes on the back and shouted: "Damn it! Did you take a doping today? You look like a mutant. I haven't heard from you for a month. Go to X Academy to practice." ball?"

"Well. Please call me Wolverine in the future!" Hayes laughed, entered the inside line and stood still.

This time, the veteran Howard, who had just been humiliated, took the initiative to ask for the ball and hit a half-hook at a 45-degree angle, hitting Novak, a rookie who had just joined the NBA.

In turn, the blue team attacked, and Alston handed the ball to Hayes.This time, Howard took the initiative to defend himself, vowing to save face.Last season, Hayes was still a kid who poured water for him. He couldn't bear the arrogance of the other party and was determined to prove that he was not old.

The implementation proved that Howard is really old.

Hayes, as if he didn't see Howard in front of him, caught the ball and made a shooting action.Howard immediately jumped up to block the shot, only to find that Hayes just raised his arms and leaned over, his feet still on the ground.

When Howard's body fell to the ground quickly, Hayes jumped up, his left hand hit Howard's arm actively, and his right hand pushed the ball out.The goal was missed, but the referee blew his whistle.Howard fouled and made three free throws.

The first assistant of the Rockets, Tom Hibbard, looked at Jeff Van Gundy with his mouth wide open and said, "This is the surprise you called me to say? Who did you ask to train him like this? How is his style of play? Like a defender?"

"I practiced it myself. Hahaha. He threw thousands of balls a day for a few months. How about it?" Jeff Van Gundy laughed.He hadn't been this happy in a long time.

Hayes didn't know that Jeff Van Gundy was taking credit for the shot.The kind of cheating fouls just now is not just about practicing pitching. Players must have a good sense. When they fake their moves, they can't cheat their opponents if they are fast, and they can't draw fouls if they are slow.It is precisely because Xuan Feng has been playing as an ace scorer that he can develop this style of play that draws opponents' fouls.

While the two coaches were chatting, Hayes had already made three free throws, all of them.Everyone was dumbfounded again.Jeff Van Gundy called a timeout, and the red team replaced Dikembe Mutombo with Ryan Bowen.The intention is to examine whether Ryan Bowen can limit Hayes.

Hayes scored 8 points?Inspired by Hayes' performance, McGrady became serious and began to ravage Hyde in various ways on the offensive end. Later, the blue team replaced Casey Jacobson to defend, and was also ravaged.

McGrady is brave and invincible, but the score between the two sides did not draw.Because Hayes kept scoring.Both of them went it alone after catching the ball, turning an ordinary in-team training game into a scoring battle!
Ryan Bowen has defended Nowitzki, largely because Nowitzki's playing style mainly relies on his height advantage and mid-range shooting touch. As long as he entangles Nowitzki, he can't shoot comfortably and affects his The feel will do.When Xuan Feng played in China, he could only play as a guard because of his limited physical condition.Now he's Hayes, what size is Hayes?
Alston developed an unprecedented level of trust in Hayes after a few plays.Try to get the ball into his hands.

After being marked by Ryan Bowen, Hayes gave up the outside shot, changed to both sides of the penalty area to ask for the ball, and practiced a back attack on Ryan Bowen. He used Charles Barker "Big Mouth" Lee's famous stunt - "buttocks".Even if his ass is not as big as Barkley's, it's not much worse, and his movements are decent. With a few strokes, he pushed Bowen into the blackboard and made a fortune.

Hayes arched his body to the basket and made two consecutive half-hooks. He also made a foul and made two free throws.After only playing for 3 minutes, Ryan Bowen sat down.His only role after playing is to make Hayes' confidence explode.

Hayes played 12 minutes and was replaced for a rest. At this time, his statistics were better than McGrady's. The statistical statistics were 7 of 5 shots, 2 of 1 three-pointers, and 5 of 5 free throws.Got 16 points, one block, no rebounds and no assists.

Tom Hibbard and Jeff Van Gundy were both grinning from ear to ear.

Seeing Hayes approaching, Tom Hibbard immediately stepped forward and asked, "Chuck, are you planning to switch to small forward? You scored 16 points and didn't have a single rebound. This is not your previous style."

"Hehe, there must be rebounds too. McGrady is too accurate today, what can I do?" Hayes said the reason he had thought up, and he took a bottle of water and stood beside Jeff Van Gundy, saying: "Jack Husband, I didn't disappoint you, did I?"

In one quarter, he scored 16 points. If Jeff Van Gundy is not satisfied with this, then who can't catch him?Jeff Van Gundy smiled: "The offense is good, but the zone defense is too bad."

"Brother, it's McGrady who is attacking. He can score 35 points in 13 seconds against the Spurs. Do you think there is anyone on our side who is good at defense? He only scored 14 points in one quarter, which is already amazing. The old man I was so moved that I cried." Hayes didn't expect that after merging the consciousness of the two people, he would be so powerful, and he felt extremely refreshed, and when he was happy, he even used advertising lines.

"Don't be too happy. They didn't expect you to be able to shoot, and that's why you scored so many points. After a period of time in the regular season, other teams will be watching you, and you can still shoot like this?" Jeff Van Gundy curled his lips. , poured cold water on Hayes.I thought to myself: "I must hurry up and propose to the higher-ups to renew the contract with this kid."Otherwise, after finishing this season, it is very likely that he will not be able to keep it. '

Hayes didn't know what Jeff Van Gundy was thinking, so he quickly patted his chest and expressed his determination: "Don't worry, I have been addicted to shooting in team training. When it comes to official games, I will take defense as the main task. With Yao Ming and McGrady, I won’t force a shot if it’s not a particularly good opportunity.”

Jeff Van Gundy nodded with satisfaction, let Hayes sit beside him, and began to chat about the situation on the court.The two laughed and laughed from time to time, looking like brothers, making the fringe players around them envious.

Not only fringe players, but also the main players who have been substituted for a rest are also very strange. Everyone has to come over and ask a few questions, without exception, wanting to know how Chuck Hayes, the "10-day laborer" of last season, practiced. Ball's, improve so fast.

Jeff Van Gundy always answered for Hayes: "Work hard! Work hard! He didn't go anywhere this holiday, he has been practicing shooting. I watched him improve with my own eyes. Your talents are not bad. If you work so hard , has long been invincible!"

The players who participated in the training camp took turns to play, but none of them performed particularly well.Hayes has been concerned about one person, that is Corunna - Azubuike.He could see that Azubuike, like him, really wanted to express himself in front of Jeff Van Gundy. Once he received the ball, he would not pass it out and go straight to the basket.His speed is very fast, and his breakthrough is also very sharp, but he does not grasp the timing of his shots well, and often makes hasty shots and strikes iron frequently.

Hayes knows the future, and he doesn't want to watch Azubuike run away, and wants to keep him in the Rockets.Hayes wanted to talk to him as soon as possible to make him more stable, otherwise it would be difficult to recommend Jeff Van Gundy based on his performance.

After a short break, Hayes was sent on again.This time, Jeff Van Gundy consciously matched him and Howard.

In the first round, Hayes almost made the audience stare out their eyes.After he asked for the ball on the edge of the three-second zone, he used his left foot as the axis, his shoulders swayed to the right, took the ball to the right, then stepped out with his right foot to the right, braked immediately after landing, and switched to the left with the ball in his right hand, and then Left foot first, then right foot, crossed Howard's line of defense and made a layup.

This trick is impressively the signature of NBA legendary center Olajuwon-"Dream Footsteps".Although Hayes is a copycat version of his own practice, it is enough for Howard to drink a pot.

The blue team has been instructed by Jeff Van Gundy to resolutely play Hayes in the offense.As a result, Hayes continued to use his footsteps and physical advantages in the interior to show off Howard.

Howard couldn't defend, and the offense was equally horrible.He was not strong enough, and he couldn't squeeze into the three-second zone under the defense of Hayes' muscular body.In terms of footsteps, he is not as fast as Hayes now that he is getting older.In the absence of offensive means, Howard can only choose to pass the ball, or shoot with Hayes' hand sealed to his face, to fight for his character.If you have a good character, you will enter...

The result of the matchup was astonishing. The Rockets' main power forward last season, Howard, a veteran who had been in the NBA for 10 seasons, was blown away by the rookie Hayes, who received a team base salary of 66, on both offense and defense.

Jeff Van Gundy later replaced the backup center Hayaz to defend, and Hayes, who was at an absolute disadvantage in height, began to wander outside jumpers again, blasting Hayaz to pieces.In this day's training session, he was as "unsolvable" as McGrady in offense.

At the end of the practice match, Howard lost face and complained wildly. Everyone agreed with one sentence.That sentence was: "I think Chuck Hayes is better suited to play small forward."

(End of this chapter)