From South China Tiger to NBA King

Chapter 69 Trading, Locker Room Discord Factors

Since August 8, the Celtics have started a lot of defensive training.

The training camp lasted for 40 days, with every Sunday off, training 6 days a day, 3 hours in the morning and [-] hours in the afternoon.

Coach Stevens, as he said, will train a lot of defensive content in the early stage.

In the first week, the whole week, except for the basic shooting training and warm-up training, almost all the rest of the time was focused on defense.

In the 2-hour video class every day, the coach will lead the players to review the classic defensive team videotapes, including the Bulls in the 90s, the Pistons and Spurs in the 00s, the Celtics during the Big Three, and the Warriors before Durant came .

These teams are very representative in terms of defense. They are all the top defensive teams of that era, and some teams even changed the defensive style of an era.

Coach Stevens and the team's video analyst, the two broke apart the classic games of these teams in the video class, and analyzed and explained to everyone bit by bit, round by round.

In the afternoon, it was time to start training slowly round by round. Groups of 5 players were randomized to train various defensive content.

Including 2-3 zone defense, 3-2 zone defense, man-to-man defense, zone defense, switch in advance, switch in pick-and-roll, switch after pick-and-roll, double-team the ball handler, BOX-1 tactics, defense around the front, and center retreat.

At the beginning of the training camp, Jianghu did not do very well on the defensive end. After all, he played in a low-level league like the CBA before, and the Celtics' in-team training can even reach the level of the first round of the playoffs. Defensive strength.

Jianghu has never participated in such a large amount of high-pressure offense and defense before, so on the first day of defensive training, his defensive performance was very poor.

He has some defensive habits that don't look good.

For example: untimely double-teaming, likes to use his long arms to do gamble defense, often marks the ball but not people, and the coach Stevens on the sidelines shakes his head and sighs...

This is the fault that Jianghu exposed in the first day of defensive training.

But fortunately, Jianghu's learning ability is fast. After the first two days of discomfort, he quickly turned the situation around.

He began to constantly think on the defensive end, what is the correct way to defend.

So he began to use his long arms to put pressure on the opponent as much as possible, and then tried to steal when the opponent showed a flaw. At the same time, he changed his habit of marking the ball and forced himself to mark people, even if this habit made him very uncomfortable. , but he is still forcing himself to get used to it.

Because he knows very well that he will ultimately benefit from developing good habits.

Since his defensive habits changed, because of his excellent wingspan and strong sprinting and lateral speed, he has even become the most important person responsible for assisting defense on the defensive end in training games.

Jiang Hu went from being a headless fly on the first day to the third and fourth day, and became more comfortable. By the fifth and sixth days, the performance of Jiang Hu surprised almost everyone.

"It's unbelievable that he's become our No. 6 defensively in just six days."

Alaniyajia shook his head, looked at Jianghu who was back and forth on the court participating in double-teaming and assisting defense and said.

The team's most important defensive gate currently belongs to Al Horford. In the fourth position, he can withstand the fifth position and limit the opponent's outside line to a certain extent.

"He can become the gate of the team's defense, which is within my expectation, but I didn't expect him to be so fast!"

Stevens also sighed in disbelief.

"I thought it would take at least a month for him to initially adapt to our defensive strength. It seems that I underestimated him too much."

What Stevens doesn't know is that the current Jianghu is actually not his strongest state. He now has a strength of 93 points, but his 105KG body cannot exert this strength to the extreme.

When his weight gradually increased, about 110Kg, the strength of his body could fully explode.

The top speed in the NBA + top strength + top shooting, what the world will eventually become, he himself can hardly imagine.

The Celtics tested various defensive methods in turn. After the end of the first week, Stevens initially concluded that the most suitable defensive methods for this team are early switching and zone defense.

The reason why it is suitable to switch defenses in advance is that the Celtics' striker configuration is sufficient.

Horford + Morris Jr. + Jianghu + Jaylen Brown + Smart is the best defensive lineup tested by the entire Celtics in the first week.

All five have the ability to defend multiple positions, and have sufficient height and wingspan. Even the shortest Smart can make up for his lack of height by virtue of his strength and tonnage advantages.

Switching defenses can relatively effectively restrict the performance of the opponent's leading star. In addition, it can also cut the opponent's team's tactics-many tactics are based on screens and passes, and extensive use of defenses can make the opponent's screens lose their effectiveness.

For example, the Golden State Warriors, their system is easily restricted by switching defenses.

Unfortunately, they also have Durant and Curry, and even with limited switching, they have another way to kill.

Zone defense emphasizes fast retreat and the ball is moving. The speed and size of this lineup are also suitable for this defensive method.

On August 8, when the training camp was still going on, a deal occurred in the NBA.

According to Yahoo reporter Shams Charania, sources revealed that the Cavaliers and Celtics have reached an agreement that they will send Kyrie Irving to the Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas and other assets.

Shams follow-up update, the Celtics will Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, Ante Zizic, the 2018 first-round pick (from the Nets, unprotected) and the 2020 second-round pick (from the Heat) ) traded to the Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving.

That night, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Celtics and Cavaliers were in contact with the league office and the deal was done.

Thomas Jr. is a two-time All-Star player. He just played the best season of his career last season, averaging 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game, and averaging 9.6 points per game in the final quarter. He is the king of the entire league in the final quarter.

Irving averaged 25.2 points and 5.8 assists last season, and he helped the Cavaliers win the championship in 2016.

Celtics reporter Gary Washburn tweeted: Kyrie is "ecstatic" about the deal, looking forward to playing for Brad Stevens and learning about Celtics heritage.

At the same time, the other protagonist of the story, Thomas Jr., was puzzled by being traded to the Cavaliers.

He couldn't figure out why he was traded?
Because on April 4 of this year, his own sister was involved in a car accident. Instead of going to the funeral immediately, he chose to play in the playoffs between the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls.

Moreover, he scored 38 points, 33 rebounds and 5 assists in 6 minutes of playing in that game, leading the team to victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Under the double pressure of body and spirit, Thomas Jr. did not choose to rest. Instead, after spending a short time with his family, he quickly returned to training.

In the second round of the playoffs in G2, in the series against the Wizards, Thomas Jr. ushered in his own highlight moment.Under great pressure, Thomas Jr. faced Wall, who scored 40 points and 13 assists, and scored an astonishing 33 points on 18 of 53 shots, of which 29 points came from the fourth quarter and overtime. His performance is well deserved The title of the King of the Last Days.

In fact, Thomas Jr. suffered a hip injury in March, and the injury aggravated in the second round of the series against the Washington Wizards, and finally had to limping off the field in G3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Thomas Jr.'s trade broke the defenses of many people...

Netizens, in particular, cursed Angie in the most severe language:

"You cold-blooded devil, disgusting Satan!"

"Inhuman beast, you hurt all Celtic fans."

"You crazy guy who plays a player with an injury and then trades him, no one will ever want to play for the Celtics again."

In addition to the abuse from netizens, Thomas Jr. also asked his agent to bring a message to Angie: "You made a stupid mistake, and this mistake will allow the Cavaliers to build a dynasty team."

In the face of all kinds of accusations coming from all directions, Anji always sticks to his heart and remains unmoved.

He firmly believes that he has made a successful transaction. This transaction and the current lineup will allow the Celtics to establish a new dynasty.

The day after the transaction was completed, Irving came to Boston and joined the Celtics' training camp.

Owen's weight is relatively light, his body is not strong, and he does not have a particularly strong defensive awareness.

As soon as he joined to replace Smart, a huge hole appeared in the originally solid defensive system.

After a day of training, Stevens made a decision to abandon the multi-position defensive lineup that had been effective before training, and instead designed a large number of defensive and switching tactics for Irving.

Stevens' strategy on the defensive end last season was to use unlimited rotations on the 1st position during a certain period of the game, so that Thomas Jr. does not have to face the opponent's offensive point directly, so that he can use more energy for offense.

Stevens' decision caused dissatisfaction among many people, including Jaylen Brown and Smart. They had wiped Thomas Jr.'s ass for a whole year last year, and finally sent away Thomas Jr.'s defense The black hole will continue this year?

"I don't agree with this tactic. This is Kyrie's own work. It should be done by Kyrie himself. I'm not his father. Why should I do this for him."

After only one day of training for the No. [-] switch defense, Jaylen Brown couldn't help finding Stevens and complaining.

"You should agree to the arrangement, it's your job and the team pays you for it."

Stevens' response was simple and straightforward. This is the decision he made, and it is definitely not his style to change from day to day.

"But..." Jaylen Brown wanted to explain something more.

"It's nothing but, you should go back and complete the training arrangements, otherwise I will have to think about your starting this season."

Stevens is cold-faced and tough, and the last thing he likes is players disobeying his orders.

Brown was a little disappointed, but he said nothing, shook his head and returned to the training ground.

In fact, the world is also uncomfortable with giving Irving unlimited defenses, but Stevens has a heavier task on the defensive end for him. In the game, he needs to block the opponent's outside arrows, so he may change the number of defenses for Irving. Some.

At the end of the second day's training, Smart and Brown couldn't help complaining in front of Jiang Hu that they were uncomfortable with the special treatment Irving received...

"Damn it, is it fair for him to change the tactics for him the first day the coach comes in?" Smart said through gritted teeth.

"Although this is the coach's decision, I heard that Kyrie's agent once went to Angie to put pressure on him. The coach should not be blamed for this." Jaylen Brown shook his head.

"His agent went to put pressure on Angie, why? Didn't he arrange it all by himself?"

"It's not fair at all..."

In just one day, the two have accumulated a lot of negative emotions towards Irving. Jianghu has reason to believe that the discord in the Celtics locker room that they often heard in their previous lives is indeed true.

Jiang Hu listened quietly on the sidelines, without expressing any opinions.

He won't dissuade, and it won't do him any good.

He is too lazy to add fuel to the flames, which is also not good for him...

Sitting on the sidelines and watching the wind and clouds are surging, and then reaping the benefits, is the greatest benefit.

(End of this chapter)