Chapter 206: One-on-One with Whiteside

Towards the end of the regular season, the Suns' schedule was relatively relaxed, but they still lost two games after playing the Bulls.

NBA's saying that there are no weak teams is not just talk. Even the powerful 96 Bulls lost 10 games, and the terrible 73 Sixers won 9 games.

The Suns had 6 games left in the regular season, with a record of 68 wins and 8 losses.

Even if they lost all the remaining six games, their record of 68 wins and 14 losses would still be the best in the league, so the Suns had already secured the top spot in the league.

If it were Popovich, he might choose to rest the starters... But Kidd is not Popovich, and he wanted the players to keep playing hard in the last six games.

The Warriors, Nets, Grizzlies, Clippers, Jazz, and Kings were the Suns' opponents for the last six games.

The day before the game against the Warriors, Wade Dong went to the stadium for training and saw Whiteside doing bench presses and some strength training in the training room.

"Brother Dong..."

Seeing Wade Dong walk over, Whiteside put down the barbell and greeted him.

"You're training well."

Wade Dong patted Whiteside's shoulder and thought of an appropriate phrase to encourage him, "Very strong~"

"Just random training, random training~"

Whiteside waved his hand, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Since being signed by the Suns, Whiteside had been with the team for over half a month but hadn't had a chance to play.

Half a month ago, Whiteside was in talks with several CBA teams when he suddenly received a call from the Suns' general manager asking if he was interested in signing with the Suns. Whiteside agreed without hesitation.

The Suns gave him three options: a three-year contract worth $2.1 million, a five-year contract worth $4.6 million, and a seven-year contract worth $9.6 million. Whiteside chose the seven-year contract without hesitation. He had calculated that by the end of the seven-year contract, he would be ready to retire with a few hundred thousand dollars in hand, which would be enough for his retirement.

Wade Dong said, "Strength training can wait until the offseason. Now, you should participate more in team training to improve yourself."

"I want to participate in team training too."

Whiteside muttered, but since entering the league, he had only played a dozen games, and his stats were even worse than the Suns' bench players like Variek, Brewer, and others.

He didn't even feel qualified to participate in the team's scrimmages.

"If you want to participate, just come."

Wade Dong pulled Whiteside onto the court, "Warm up first, and then we'll have a one-on-one."

"Oh, oh."

Whiteside nodded, "Okay, Brother Dong."

Whiteside warmed up by shooting, and Wade Dong watched... His shooting was really bad.

In a team with Nash, Curry, Thompson, and Wade Dong, having such poor shooting was not in line with the team's culture.

"Tony, bring me Whiteside's data."

Wade Dong didn't remember Whiteside's playing style, so he asked the player development coach to bring Whiteside's data.

Height: 210CM.

Wingspan: 231CM.

Weight: 103KG.

Standing reach: 287CM.

Vertical leap: 69CM.

Running vertical leap: 80CM.

Running reach: 361CM, body fat rate: 5.5%. His physical attributes were outstanding.

However, his weaknesses were also obvious. His technique was rough, especially his shooting, which was terrible. With a 40% free throw percentage, Wade Dong or Nash could shoot better with their eyes closed.

"An offensive version of Giannis, but still able to play to his strengths."

Wade Dong thought about these things and also stepped onto the court.

The other Suns players also stopped what they were doing and gathered around to watch Whiteside and Wade Dong's one-on-one.

Whiteside said, "Brother Dong, you set the rules for the one-on-one."

"We'll play to 21 points."

Wade Dong threw the ball to Whiteside, "You can use all means to attack, but my shots outside the three-second area don't count."

"Wow..."

The other Suns players were envious.

This was the first time Wade Dong had set so many restrictions for himself in a one-on-one. Not only did he give up his strong three-point shooting, but Whiteside's defense would also be more targeted. Wade Dong was essentially playing with one hand tied behind his back.

Whiteside's greatest strength was his interior defense.

Kidd smiled at Cole, "Brother Dong is going to use his weakest method to play against Whiteside."

"Hopefully, this won't make the player lose confidence in basketball."

Cole also chuckled, even with all these restrictions, no one believed Whiteside could beat Wade Dong.

Variek walked over with a whistle, "I'll be the referee."

"Whiteside."

Kidd stood by and said, "If you can beat Brother Dong, I'll give you 20 minutes of playing time in the next game."

"Great!!!"

Whiteside looked excited.

Wade Dong had set so many restrictions for himself. If Whiteside still couldn't win, he really wouldn't have the face to stay in the NBA.

"You go first."

Wade Dong took a defensive stance.

"Go, Whiteside!"

All the Suns players were cheering for Whiteside. After all, Wade Dong was too dominant in one-on-ones, even beating the ball boys... Everyone wanted to see Wade Dong get beaten in a one-on-one.

"Slap!"

Whiteside dribbled the ball three times and went for a jump shot.

Wade Dong just raised his hand to block, but the ball still hit the rim.

"Sigh..."

There was a collective sigh around, and Curry shrugged. How could someone shoot so poorly?

It was Wade Dong's turn to attack.

Wade Dong held the ball outside the three-point line, and Whiteside, due to his height, had to lower his center of gravity to defend. Wade Dong did a crossover and then a quick spin to get past Whiteside.

After dribbling to the basket, Wade Dong looked back at Whiteside and then made a reverse layup.

"You can't defend like that!"

McDyess, watching from the side, was anxious, "Brother Dong said his shots outside the three-second area don't count. You just need to stand in the three-second area to defend."

"Is there a defensive three-second rule?"

Whiteside asked, a bit confused.

McDyess sighed, "There's no defensive three-second rule in a one-on-one."

"Oh, oh."

Whiteside now understood and stood in the three-second area, about five or six meters away from Wade Dong.

"Not bad, you're quite smart."

Wade Dong smiled and nodded, then attacked again. He slowly dribbled into the three-second area, faked a shot to draw Whiteside out, and then turned to put the ball in the basket.

4:0!!!

Whiteside watched as Wade Dong scored two baskets in a row.

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