Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

Hearing this, Zhou An nodded heavily: "Yes."

Zhuang Yu continued: "First, don't gain weight blindly. It's right for you to want to adapt to the team's tactical system, but you are already the team's starting center. You don't need to risk gaining weight and increasing your chances of injury. The Nets are not a team of rising stars. They have mature core players, such as Irving and Durant. You can't compete with them."

"What you need to do is stay healthy and maintain a stable performance. You don't need to improve much, just maintain your performance this season."

The NBA is a business league and a complex group, and can even be seen as another kind of "workplace."

Sometimes, for some players, what you need to do may not be to improve, but to stay stable and not take risks.

For many young players, they always have lofty ambitions and a passion to scale higher mountains, to challenge their own limits, or even to break through them. They want to stand in the first echelon of NBA players and become true NBA stars.

But for most NBA players, this is an impossible dream for them.

They are not mediocre, but on the big stage of the NBA, in the best basketball league in the world, they have to accept that they are not as good as those true geniuses.

There are too many such examples in the NBA.

Some young players are ambitious and passionate, but end up with injuries and a miserable ending.

On the contrary, those players who positioned themselves as blue-collar players from the beginning, although they have never had any highlights and cannot be said to have reached their peak, are an indispensable part of the NBA. After several years, decades, or even more than ten years, they are still active in the NBA league.

With Zhou An's talent, it is impossible for him to become an All-Star player. Even becoming a quasi-All-Star player is a luxury for him.

The best positioning is a blue-collar worker.

Don’t think that “a soldier who doesn’t want to be a general is not a good soldier.” There are not so many generals. Most soldiers die on the battlefield and become cannon fodder. But as long as you can survive and live to the end, it won’t be too bad even if you are not a general.

What happened to an NBA blue-collar player?

At least he's an NBA player.

"Second, your judgment on the Nets' future may be wrong," Zhuang Yu continued.

When they heard this, Zhou An and Zhou Zhiming were both stunned.

what?

Could the judgment about the Nets' future be wrong?

Zhuang Yu said seriously: "I'm not kidding. Kevin Durant will return from injury next season, and the Nets' tactical system will definitely change, but I don't think it will be what you think."

"Look at the NBA teams now, the Warriors, Rockets, Raptors, Bucks... Times have changed. Many teams now need space-type inside players, not the stationary inside players of the past."

"Another point is that the Nets formed the Irving + Durant combination for only one purpose, and that is to compete for the championship. In order to compete for the championship and to be able to keep Irving and Durant, they must strengthen their team during the offseason."

"So what will the Nets' lineup be like after the offseason? What will the team's tactical system be like by then? Have you considered these?"

The last sentence puzzled Zhou An.

He only took into account Durant's contribution, and did not consider that the Nets might strengthen the team this summer and the team's lineup might change.

The team's tactical system is often determined by the lineup.

In the face of uncertainty in the lineup, Zhou An wanted to adjust himself and adapt to the team's tactical system, which was obviously blind.

Zhuang Yu said: "Continue to be a space-type inside player, stay healthy, maintain a stable performance on the court, and you can adapt to any team. But if you blindly gain weight and lose your advantages, then you may be suitable for the Nets, but not necessarily for other teams."

Now that things have come to this, Zhuang Yu no longer has to be so cautious.

Given the relationship between him and Zhou An, there was no need to be shy and he said directly, "What if the Nets trade you this summer? You gain weight, become slower, lose your spatial attributes, and go to another team? What if you do that?"

this......

For a moment, Zhou An was stunned.

Zhuang Yu's words were like a thunderbolt exploding in his mind. He had never thought about these things before. At this moment, he felt as if he had suddenly been enlightened.

Yeah, what if I was traded?

This is not impossible. He is not Irving or Durant. The Nets can sell everyone except Irving and Durant.

Is it possible to package Zhou An, some other players, or draft picks and send them to other teams in exchange for an All-Star level player to form a Big Three with Irving and Durant?

If you don't think about it, don't think about it. But when Zhou An thought about it, he felt that this might be too big.

Since the Nets are aiming to win the championship, Irving and Durant may not be enough. It would be better to get another All-Star level player.

This naturally requires chips, and some people need to be traded. Zhou An, Joe Harris, etc. are just chips.

He was trying hard to adjust himself and contribute to the team, but the team might secretly want to sell him... Zhou An felt a chill down his spine just thinking about it.

At this moment, the temperature in the room was just right, but Zhou An was sweating profusely.

He took a deep breath and said to Zhuang Yu, "Brother, thank you for your reminder. I understand."

Zhou Zhiming next to him also looked at Zhuang Yu with gratitude. If Zhuang Yu hadn't reminded him, Zhou An might have become a victim without even realizing it.

Zhuang Yu smiled and said, "You don't have to be too nervous. I'm just saying it's a safe chance. It may not be like that."

Zhou An nodded, but there was a lingering worry between his brows. He had decided not to gain weight anymore and continue to improve his outside shooting and spatial attributes.

......

After dinner, everyone sat in the living room to watch the game.

Today is Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The winner of this game will advance to the finals and compete with the Lakers for the championship.

Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals was naturally exciting, and Zhou An and the others held their breath watching it. However, Zhuang Yu was very relaxed, leaning back on the sofa with a faint smile on his lips.

The game was very intense and the winner was not decided until the last minute of the fourth quarter.

In the end, the Raptors were better. At the critical moment, the two stars of the Raptors stood up and scored the ball one after another. The Heat only had Butler. Although Butler also relied on attacking the basket to draw fouls and score at the free throw line, two fists could not beat four hands.

In the end, at the end of the game, the Raptors defeated the Heat 105:101, won the seventh game, and successfully advanced to the finals.

"The Raptors still won."

"It's a shame that the Heat didn't make it to the finals."

Zhuang Zhihong and Zhou Zhiming couldn't help but sigh that the Heat performed so well in the playoffs, but it was a pity that they fell at the last step and almost made it to the finals.

Zhuang Yu was not surprised.

At this point in the series, it all comes down to hard power.

In other words, at this point it all depends on the performance of the star players, and the Raptors' star lineup is obviously stronger than that of the Heat.

The Heat rely on their team and the morale accumulated through repeated counterattacks, but this kind of thing will always dissipate over time, and no one can hold back on all that energy forever.

Of course, the Heat proved their strength with their actions and won the respect of everyone, including Zhuang Yu.

"Next, we should figure out how to beat the Raptors." Zhuang Yu thought to himself, "I didn't expect that after a season, I would still be competing with the Raptors for the championship."

Last season it was Lakers vs. Raptors, and this season it’s still the same.

However, the current Raptors lineup has changed from last season, with the addition of Paul George, while Holiday of the Lakers will miss the game due to injury.

For a time, the outside world was talking about it, and many people were more optimistic about the Raptors, believing that the Raptors had a greater chance of winning.

......

In the blink of an eye, the finals arrived.

On that day, nearly 20,000 people poured into the Staples Center. The auditorium was packed with almost all Lakers fans, forming a golden ocean.

An Xin brought Xiao Nuomi, as well as Li Huilan, Zhuang Zhihong, Xi Juan, Zhou Zhiming, Zhou An and others to the scene and sat behind the Lakers' bench.

This was not the first time for everyone to watch the NBA Finals, so they were not unfamiliar with it and were relatively calm.

However, when the Lakers players came out, there was warm cheering from the audience. The huge noise and warm atmosphere still infected them and their adrenaline surged.

There were many celebrities and stars sitting near the stadium.

There are Hollywood stars, singers, etc.

Kobe, his wife and children also came to the scene and sat in the front row.

Seeing Zhuang Yu appear, Jaina jumped up excitedly, waved her arms at Zhuang Yu and greeted him.

Zhuang Yu greeted his family, Kobe and others, but saw a familiar person sitting in the fourth row and immediately smiled.

"Brother Hu." Zhuang Yu waved his hand and walked over.

Brother Hu also stood up and took two steps forward, but there were too many people, so the two could only shake hands through the crowd.

Zhuang Yu smiled and asked, "Why didn't you call me in advance?"

Brother Hu said, "I was afraid you were too busy to bother you."

"You're too polite." Zhuang Yu gestured to him, "I'll call you after the game. Don't leave."

"Okay." Brother Hu agreed with a smile.

Players from both sides have come onto the field and started warming up.

A group of people looked at each other across the center line. The Raptors players all had murderous intent in their eyes. They lost to the Lakers in the finals last season and were filled with resentment.

This time they made it to the finals again and met the Lakers again. They will never repeat the same mistakes and must defeat the Lakers and win the finals.

The Lakers players sneered.

You are just a bunch of defeated generals. Do you really think this time will be different? Do you really think you are so powerful just because you have the "Double Stars"?

The Rockets had the "Big Three", yet they still lost.

After warming up, the players from both sides returned to the sidelines...