Chapter 33 [I really dare to vote and I really dare to score]

Payton taught Yang Jian a good lesson and made him realize what it means to be a nubuck-style defense. When Yang Jian faced Payton, it was difficult to turn around when he got the ball. When he turned around, he could only hit people and shoot hard.

In a parallel world, Payton is the best defensive point guard in NBA history, and his honors are unmatched. He was selected to the All-Defensive Team nine times and won the Best Defensive Player once, the only point guard to win this honor. Others gave him the nickname "Glove" to describe his airtight defense.

Now he has not won the best defensive player award, but his defensive ability has been recognized by the entire league. He is top-notch in terms of defending the ball holder and players who move without the ball.

Payton's defensive skills are simply "tangled". He is too cumbersome, constantly engaging in physical confrontations to disrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm, predicting accurately and waiting for opportunities to steal and interfere with shots.

He is a similar type to Jason Kidd, a big point guard with a solid base. Kidd's outstanding defense was developed by playing with Payton. The two knew each other before entering the NBA. Later, Kidd was interviewed and said that Payton's defense made him doubt his life.

Payton's defense made Jordan feel uncomfortable. He seemed to be able to follow Jordan and fight non-stop as if he didn't need to take a breath. It was difficult for Jordan to get rid of him, and it was difficult for him to catch the ball. He could only force shots after receiving the ball, which led to a decrease in his shooting percentage.

Yang Jian watched Payton's game before traveling through time. It was the 36-year-old Payton, the Lakers VS Timberwolves in the 2004 Western Conference Finals.

After Timberwolves starting point guard Sam Cassell was injured, the Timberwolves point guard that Payton Sr. could guard could not dribble past half court, and barely passed half court, and it was difficult to pass the ball. For a while, the Timberwolves let Garnett sit Payton for halftime and then organized.

Payton was misplaced to defend Garnett. Garnett relied on his height advantage to shoot jumpers, and it was difficult to squeeze out Payton. When Payton was with the Lakers, their offense in the playoffs was a mess, but their defense was always solid.

Not everyone can learn Payton's defensive skills. No matter Kidd, Kobe or Snow, their common characteristics are strong confrontation ability and stable bottom line. If a player's confrontation is poor, it will be useless no matter how good his defensive awareness is. If he is squeezed twice by his opponent, his center of gravity will be off.

In addition, if you want to become a super defensive player, you must have sufficient physical strength. If most players work hard on the defensive end, they will not be able to do it on the offensive end and cannot take care of both.

Payton's physical strength is first-rate and he is a famous iron man in the NBA. He played a total of 17 seasons in his career, 10 of which were full attendance, and missed a total of 27 games. Payton ranks in the top five all-time in attendance. His playing time is equally terrifying, averaging more than 40 minutes per game in five seasons and 35.3 minutes per game in his career.

Yang Jian will definitely be able to work as hard as Payton on both offense and defense. His physical fitness makes Payton very envious. What he needs is a correct attitude, learning skills, and accumulation of experience.

After all the players arrived, the assistant coach began to lead the players to practice together.

The team's training content was child's play for Yang Jian, and he did everything very well or even the best. In catch-and-shoot training, his shooting percentage was very stable and his shots were beautiful.

George Karl asked Bob Weis: "Is this how he shot in the summer league? Why do I remember that he didn't release this fast before, and he didn't fade away?"

Weiss laughed and said: "His shot jumped very high in the summer league, not so fast. This is his improved movement, probably to better avoid blocks. I think he has improved again, his movement is a bit like Thunder Jimmy Miller."

George Karl nodded. Yang Jian improved during the summer league. His outstanding performance in trials was mainly due to his physical fitness. Who would have thought that he could shoot so accurately in actual combat?

If they had known that he could catch and shoot accurately, the team would not have only signed him with a one-year minimum salary.

The teams competed in groups, and as expected, Yang Jian was placed in the starting team wearing green vests. The other four are Payton, Schrempf, Shawn Kemp, and Sam Perkins.

George Karl started experimenting with tactics on the first day of training camp.

Usually in the game, he will send pseudo-starter Earvin Johnson as the center to stabilize the interior defense, but Perkins played longer. There is no need to do this during training today, and Perkins does not need to bring a substitute.

As George Karl expected, the Sonics' strongest lineup is better than last season. After Yang Jian joined, the team's formation can be completely stretched, and the starting team and the substitute team have no ability to fight back.

The positional tactics arranged by George Karl were not complicated. The SuperSonics had already played in the summer league, and Yang Jian easily integrated into the offensive system.

Perkins moved near the left baseline, Yang Jian went to the right corner first, Schrempf opened the left perimeter, and Payton and Kemp played a pick-and-roll in the middle.

At this time, there are three people on the court who can shoot three-pointers. Payton breaks through with the ball, can single out the shot, or attract inside players to help defend and pass the ball to Kemp. After Kemp picks and rolls, he goes down to the basket. If the defender switches defense, the probability of scoring is very high.

The substitute players huddled near the penalty area to guard against the basket. It didn't matter that Kemp had no chance to make a shot. The ball was distributed to the outside for Schrempf to serve as the second organization point. Payton pulled out from the outside to provide support, and Kemp went to the outside to provide an off-ball screen for Yang Jian. Yang Jian can move up the line or cut from the bottom line.

There are many options on the court. After they are all open, Schrempf's singles with the ball is an opportunity. He can also observe the situation on the court and pass to Payton or Yang Jian.

If Yang Jian catches the ball when cutting from the bottom line and attracts the inside defense, he passes the ball to Perkins in the left corner. This is a fixed shooting point and does not wander around. He runs up to the upper limit and can take a jump shot directly after receiving the ball, or pass it to Kemp who cuts inside after covering the side.

These few changes in SuperSonics' routines are enough to give opponents a drink, and the players' personal abilities are quite strong. If the ball is intercepted on defense, there is no need to worry about tactics, and several people will immediately start a fast break.

The best performer was Kemp, with three dunks and one mid-range shot. Yang Jian was not bad either and became the second scoring point. His cooperation with his teammates is still relatively raw, but he practiced catching and shooting in this training hall for a holiday, and he was particularly determined when he shot.

In the words of a famous Chinese commentator, he was "Oh! He really dared to vote, and he really dared to score after he voted!"

Yang Jian made a three-pointer and a mid-range shot. His most exciting performance was a quick counterattack to receive a pass from Payton, using his speed to get rid of Vincent Askew, and scored with a one-handed smash!

Askew didn't commit a foul. If he made a lot of defensive moves in the training game, he wouldn't gain points in the coach's mind.

Askew is 198CM tall, has a pretty good wingspan of 210CM, and is not very athletic. He participated in the 1987 draft and was selected by the 76ers with the 16th pick in the second round. He played for four teams, never averaged double figures in points per game, and had a very mediocre career.

Yang Jian doesn't have to compete with Askew for the starting position. This man has been on the bench his entire career. If George Karl gave Askew a chance to start, he probably wouldn't be happy but would feel guilty and not dare to take too much responsibility. Every time the coach gave him an important task, it was like chasing a duck to the shelf, and he performed like a mess.

Askew failed to score against Yang Jian on the offensive end, and his two shots missed due to interference. He is most efficient when he takes shots close to the basket. The reason why he takes strong shots is because the bench team is a group of blue-collar workers and no one is good at scoring.

After a while, Payton also gave in and challenged Snow to teach him how to behave.

Payton has shot over 50% from the field for two consecutive seasons, but only about 40% from mid-range. His three-point shooting is even worse. Last season was the peak of his career, averaging 0.9 shots per game and shooting 30.2%.

When his teammates opened up and created a breakthrough space, Payton played very comfortably and had the height advantage to beat his opponents hard.

Kemp also played very comfortably and was willing to provide Yang Jian with off-ball coverage. Some people say that Kemp and Payton are a pick-and-roll combination made in heaven, but in fact they are not as powerful as the Jazz's Malone and Stockton. Because their offensive areas are mainly in the penalty area, supplemented by mid-range shots, and almost never shoot three-pointers.

Kemp covers Yang Jian, and the defender must chase the extremely fast Yang Jian. If he doesn't catch the ball, he will throw it away. As long as the inside players save to defend Yang Jian's shot, Kemp's cut and ball will be an easy scoring opportunity.

No one kept score, but the coach knew that the starting team soon led by more than 20 points, because the substitute team could not score at all, and only PJ Brown scored a goal with a hook.

George Karl called a timeout to adjust the lineup. You can't play like this in the new season. You must have someone who can lead the bench to score...