Chapter 7 Balance

After the failure in the Western Conference Finals, Hakeem Olajuwon ended his '86 season and, after a brief rest and adjustment period, headed to the University of Houston's Hofheinz Pavilion for training.

The offseason is very long, and for an NBA player, how to allocate this lengthy summer is crucial for their performance in the next season.

The fringe players in the league's first task is to find their next job.

Stars in their prime need to maintain their condition during the offseason and ideally improve.

Veterans should focus on rest and recovery, manage injuries, and build up their physical reserves for the new season.

New stars like Olajuwon, after tasting the pain of significant defeat, seek to break through their own limits during the offseason.

Merely training hard at a university is not enough, what's more, Moses Malone didn't come to Houston this time, as he was nursing an injury back in Philadelphia.