Chapter 17 [Injurious but extremely insulting]

The SuperSonics added a tactic to today's training session. When Sherrell Ford singled with the ball, the center pulled out to give Yang Jian an off-ball screen on the side.

Yang Jian can run from the bottom line to the upper line to catch the ball. If the opponent's player is in place to chase and defend or the inside player switches defense, the center will cut to the basket, and Yang Jian can pass the ball to the center.

Bob Weiss does not arrange for Yang Jian to attack the ball, but he can arrange tactics for him.  It's a waste of talent for Yang Jian to stand outside the three-point line, he has plenty of physical strength to run.

Moreover, this tactic is something that the SuperSonics need Yang Jian to be familiar with. It is good for the whole team and can be used in the regular season.

The center pulls out to attract defenses, which can give teammates room to break through.  If the big man has been standing near the penalty area, his perimeter teammates can only make jump shots outside the penalty area, and it will definitely be easy to get a cap if he rushes in.

Yang Jian chatted with the coach about tactics, not only kept it in mind, but also took out a notebook and wrote it down in the notebook.  He represented players by numbers, and drew rough pitches and running lines, marked with arrows.

Yang Jian's move once again increased Weiss' favorability.  He has coached many players, and he has never met a rookie who can draw his own tactical map with a notebook.

No matter how good the brains of young players are, it is impossible to memorize tactics clearly in the past summer.  Weiss feels that Yang Jian is not only smart, but also very careful, and many things do not need the coach to say over and over again.

On the other hand, Sherrell made Weiss feel a headache, and it was not easy to arrange tactics for him to brush the data.

Sherrell's style of play is too embarrassing, only suitable for one-on-one with the ball.  It doesn't make sense to give him a big pick-and-roll, just let the big guy pull it out so he doesn't jump into the crowd when he heads up.

Sherrell is 201cm tall, and the first step is very common in the NBA, and it is difficult to get rid of the defender when someone covers.

Some players like to step laterally after the pick-and-roll for pull-up jumpers that interfere but are difficult to block.  Sherrell can laugh at opponents like this because his big mid-range shooting rate is so low.

If you want people like Sherrell to get good data, you can only let him take more shots and bet on his feel.

After a day off, the Sonics took on the second rival, the Cleveland Cavaliers, at prime time in the evening.  The arena was full, and many of them were spectators who came to watch Yang Jian's dunk performance.

"I heard that the Chinese rookie's dunk is as fierce as Jordan's, is it even possible?"

"His affairs are all on the news, why am I lying to you? He will definitely dunk today, and you'll know in a while. If it weren't for a wonderful game, would I deadlift you?"

"This undrafted pick looks better than the No. 1 pick. If he plays well in two consecutive games, it's not an accident."

"Except for the SuperSonics, all teams will regret not picking Yang Jian. I think he is worthy of the top 10 pick just based on his physical fitness."

In the locker room, Weiss and Yang simply chatted alone. "Yang, your task is heavier today. In addition to the offense, you have to face the Cavaliers' scorer Bob Sura on the defensive end, entangle him, and don't let him be too arrogant."

Hearing this familiar name, Yang Jian froze for a moment and said, "I will try my best. Coach, can I shoot more in the middle distance today? I feel good in training."

"Yes, but don't relax your defense against Sura, I hope you can blow him up instead of blowing each other up." Weiss encouraged.

Yang Jian didn't take Sura to heart at all, thinking that she had a great advantage. He, who pays attention to Yao Ming, of course knows Sura.

In the parallel world, Sura and Yao Ming were teammates. Because they did not pass the ball to Yao Ming, they were nicknamed "Yao Bu Chuan". He played only one season with the Rockets and was sidelined for a long time due to a knee injury. He was forced to retire in 2007. Throughout his career, he was an ordinary role player.

As soon as Weiss left, Snow stepped forward. "Yang, what you have to face is Sura. If you beat him up, you'll be great. Maybe you will start straight in the regular season."

"Is Sura very powerful?" Yang Jian asked in a low voice.

"Don't you pay attention to the NCAA? He is the all-time scoring leader in Florida State." Snow said in surprise.

"Harvard can't even make it to the championship, what do I care about the players in other districts?"

"You have no common sense..." Snow told Yang Jian what he knew.

Not only is Sura the school's all-time leading scorer, he's also the second-highest in school history in steals and third in all-time assists. He is the greatest star since the school was founded, and the first player in the Atlantic League to score 2,000 points, 700 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals. He led his team to the NCAA quarterfinals in 1993.

Sura was selected by the Cavaliers with the 17th pick in the first round. If he hadn't entered the NBA draft after graduating from college, 80% of them would have been a lottery pick. His physicality is outstanding among whites, with frequent dunks and a good sense of passing.

Yang Jian didn't really believe it.  Does this guy have a good passing sense?  He can't even see which teammate is efficient, either a fool or a dog.  Yao Ming shot 55% from the field, he didn't pass, and passed to McGrady, who shot 40%, and he often played like a shit stick on the court.

In a parallel world, Sura in 196CM is both omnipotent and incompetent. He lacks scoring ability as a shooting guard and lacks efficient scoring methods. He's average at point guard, has poor defense, and quick guys can easily get past him.

"I don't know how strong his physique is, he's definitely not as strong as me." Yang Jian shrugged.

"That's true." Sura's quality can make Snow look up, but it is impossible to be stronger than Yang Jian. Yang Jian's body can be compared with Jordan's. If Sura uses her body to hit hard, 80% of them will be unlucky.

After chatting for a while, the players came out to warm up. Yang Jian took the time to practice his mid-range shooting, but didn't practice three-pointers. This time he had to experiment.

Snow was very curious.  "Why don't you practice 3-pointers? You also practiced mid-range shots for a long time yesterday."

"There are too few opportunities to go out from the three-point line. I will increase the movement today, pass me a few more passes, and I promise to give you an assist." Yang Jian said sternly.

"Okay." Snow happily agreed, passing the ball to Yang Jian was easier to obtain assist data.  Yang Jian never dribbled the ball for more than 2 seconds. If he didn't pass the ball, he shot directly.

After warming up for a while, Snow looked at the Cavaliers and sighed: "I really want to play for the Cavaliers, but they didn't choose me."

Snow was born in a small town called Caton, Ohio, and has been a Cavaliers fan since he was a child.  He didn't think about Cleveland's bad location at all and wanted to play for his hometown.

"Be quiet, it's not good to be heard by the coach." Yang Jian heard Snow talk about his origin.

He does not understand this kind of hometown feeling, and he advocates individual heroism.  He feels that choosing a team must be suitable for him first, and being a star is the key.  When he has a championship, he may become a symbol of the city. Isn't that better than playing for his hometown?

Snow likes Cleveland, and some people hate it very much, such as Cavaliers rookie Bob Sura, who is going to play against Yang Jian.

Sura was a superstar in college and had a proud personality.

He thought he would be drafted by the Blazers at No. 8, only to be taken by the Cavaliers at No. 17.  Even Brent Barry, who was obviously not as good as him in college, was ranked in front, and he was very upset by being selected 15th.

The coach before the game told him to be careful about Yang Jian, the undrafted pick. He felt little harm, but it was extremely insulting.

Joke, he's the all-time scoring leader in Florida State University and needs to be careful about undrafted players from bad teams (Harvard)?  A game happened to play well, what's there to brag about?  Players with stable performance and strong strength are simply impossible to lose!

Moreover, the opponent is a Chinese... When will the Chinese play basketball?

Sura didn't take the coach's words to heart at all. When he warmed up, what he thought was that this game should be guaranteed to get 30 points and try to score 40 points. He wants to go all out and let Yang Jian see how big the gap in strength between the yellow race and the white elite is.

When Yang Jian warmed up, he only practiced jump shots, not dunks. There was no game video in the last game. Sura couldn't imagine what kind of sturdy man he was going to face, and thought he had an advantage in his body.