One Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty-Three. It's Me!

"Vince, I said during the lockout that we would win the championship together, but you didn't believe it. Look, your cousin has won the championship, but I didn't expect you to still be able to play now. Now I estimate that you can play until you are 40 years old"

"I know you will definitely win the championship, but I want to try to compete with you for the championship, but I didn't win"

On September 16, many players of the Grizzlies arrived at the stadium the day before the team's assembly day.

The four new players, Carter, Aldridge, Blake, and Pierce, may be older, at least 30 years old, and there is not much nightlife during the holidays, so they all like to go to the stadium early for training.

Especially Carter and Pierce, the two need longer training than young players to get back to form. They had already started training before Sun Ce returned to Memphis.

Pierce is aloof, Aldridge and Blake don't talk much. After Sun Ce greeted them, he chatted with the extroverted Carter.

Carter said that he knew Sun Ce could win the championship, but at that time he did believe in the super twin towers of Nowitzki and Yao Ming more.

The main reason is that God knew Sun Ce would lead the team to win the championship so quickly. Sun Ce was only in his third year that year.

To be honest, Carter envied Nash a little. Of course, he wanted to win the championship, and he really didn't expect the Grizzlies to change from the superstar basketball that relied heavily on Randolph, Gasol, and Sun Ce in the 2009-10 season and the 2010-11 season to the team basketball in the past three years.

Carter's opinion on whether it is team basketball is not about whether the data is average or not, but the sense of participation.

The Grizzlies even played a 13-man rotation in the defending year of the 2012-13 season. Jimmy Butler, who was on the edge of the bench at the beginning of the season and was only the third small forward or third shooting guard in most games, dared to be the main player in the finals.

During the two consecutive championships, the Grizzlies were evaluated by the media and fans as team basketball in the guise of superstar basketball.

ESPN was the most direct and thought that there should be a "Best Team Award in the Finals".

However, not winning the championship in those two years was not a very frustrating thing for Carter. He wanted the championship, but he didn't get it, so he just felt a little regretful. Otherwise, the first year of the Kobe-Jan combination was the best year for Kobe in theory, and he could have just gone to the Lakers.

But he didn't want to, just like in 2005, McGrady hoped that he would not renew his contract in advance in the 2005-2006 season. When he went to work with McGrady and Yao Ming in 2006, Carter chose to renew his contract with the Nets.

Moreover, Sun Ce invited him this time, so he came.

At that time, the best team basketball teams were the Spurs and Mavericks, and Carter didn't want to go to the Spurs, so he went to the Mavericks.

However, this year, Carter chose to leave. First, the Grizzlies got Aldridge, and second, he wanted to change his environment. Since he wanted to change his environment, why not change to a team with a high probability of winning the championship and a team that plays team basketball well?

As Sun Ce and Carter chatted, teammates came one after another, leaving only Yi Jianlian, who was still doing promotions in China and would not be back until the 20th, and Gobert, who was still promoting basketball to children in France.

At 10:30, when Randolph slowly came to the training ground of the stadium, Sun Ce, who was competing with Klay Thompson, Carter, and Blake in three-pointers, was startled

It was too different from the Randolph that his teammates saw at the beginning of the season in the past two years. He had a neck and a neck

Sun Ce couldn't help but joked: "Zach, which woman squeezed you dry this summer?"

Hearing this, Randolph felt that his dignity was challenged, making him seem so lazy.

Although, he lost weight because he was worried about the money and his wife forced him to lose weight or she would beat him, but he really lost weight. At the beginning, his wife asked him to lose weight from 300 pounds, which is 131 kilograms, to 290 pounds, at least to get the originally agreed salary of 13 million US dollars.

However, losing weight was very difficult at the beginning. Randolph suffered the most during that period. After losing weight to 290 pounds, he felt that it would be a loss if he didn't continue to lose weight,

and he lost weight to 280 pounds, which is just over 127 kilograms.

It is definitely impossible to say that he was afraid of being beaten by his wife, otherwise he would become a laughing stock like Metta World Peace and Kidd.

Randolph said angrily: "I trained you guys last year but you were so useless and almost got swept by the Spurs. I can't stand your performance. This year, I will help you guys to show off and fly."

Randolph really likes what Sun Ce said in an interview after scoring 72 points in his sophomore year, "Tonight I will help my brothers to show off and fly." This time it's finally his turn.

Looking at Randolph's boastful look, his teammates are also helpless. However, as long as Randolph is not too fat, he is really a very trustworthy teammate.

Although it doesn't look like the calf is bulging and you can see the muscle lines, at least there are contours, unlike the past two years when the muscles on the arms and legs are all invisible.

There are definitely no abdominal muscles, and the chest muscles are also wrapped in fat, but at least the arms and legs must have muscle lines, even if it's just contours.

The key is to have a good neck

Randolph was the last to come, and both old and new teammates greeted him. Then, Randolph, Carter, Pierce, Richard Jefferson, and Stoudemire, who were players of almost the same era, went to brag and chat together. Livingston, Tony Allen, Aldridge, and Blake gathered together to chat and take the two new teammates to familiarize themselves with the team.

Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Paul George, and Larry Sanders, four young stars, were also chatting.

Those who understand Randolph’s words today, “This year, the big brother will help you show off,” know that this is Randolph’s way of saying that no one should compete for the top spot, and it is also a hint to the young stars who have played in the team for many years not to break the current rules of the team.

Those who are not so good at dealing with things think that Randolph is declaring his status as the boss or is used to calling himself that.

Sun Ce felt that he was taken care of again, but he was very happy.

The biggest trouble for a team may not be that the strength is not strong enough. If the strength is not strong, it can be strengthened. But if the team leader is not clear, it will be very troublesome.

And the biggest problem of their Grizzlies team happens to be the possibility of a boss dispute in the eyes of outsiders.

But when Randolph said this, this problem was resolved from the root.

The main reason is that the Grizzlies are old, young, and have no pursuit in that aspect. When Randolph said this, it was confirmed.

However, Randolph said this not just for the sake of face, but also because he is a very competitive player. His laziness does not mean that he does not want to win. Otherwise, the Kings were willing to give him more money to teach Cousins ​​to play basketball last year. He was in a bad team and got a maximum salary for two years without the pressure of winning. The Grizzlies would definitely retire his jersey, but he originally only wanted to stay for 13 million, just to win the championship.

He really thinks that it was because he did not control his weight last year that he was injured and finally affected the team's establishment of a dynasty.

Although he is not sure how long he can maintain this mentality, this year, he is ready to fight hard with his teammates.

Carter really loves to show off his dunks. He is 37 years old. When talking, he expected that Carter would "ruin" the dunk contest, and Carter couldn't help but start showing off his skills.

Even if Carter, 37 years old, is going to perform a dunk, his teammates are still full of expectations.

Seeing Carter's seemingly easy flat windmill dunk after he was ready, cheers resounded in the training ground.

Sun Ce was also extremely envious. Limited by his athletic ability, or perhaps also because of his body shape, although he has not been accused of poor jumping ability in recent years, he still jumps quite high when blocking shots and dunking.

He also got the title of "non-violent dunking without dunking", but when he was one-on-one, it was not that he did not want to perform, but that he did not have the conditions, so he might as well dunk lightly.

Carter did not dunk much in actual games. The most dunks in that season were 87 dunks. Sun Ce dunked more than 100 times in his second year. In the past two years, the number of dunks was more than 170 times, averaging more than two dunks per game.

But Carter's dunks can be selected as the top five shots every time, while Sun Ce only has a dozen dunks a year that can enter the top five shots of the day, and one dunk a year can enter the top 100 dunks of the season at best.

In his early years, Carter had 44 dunks in a single season, of which 39 dunks entered the top 100 dunks of the season, which is the highest record of a player's dunks in the top 100 dunks in a season since Time Warner Cable Sports created the top 100 dunks in the 9900 season.

The second highest is O'Neal in the 2004-2005 season with the Heat, with 31 dunks in the season's top 100 dunks, and the third is Griffin's rookie year, with 30 dunks in the top 100 dunks.

However, O'Neal, who ranked second, dunked 255 times that year, and Griffin, who ranked third, dunked 214 times that year.

Just when Sun Ce was envious and jealous, the system prompt suddenly came, and he was unprepared and caught off guard.

"The host has always been eager to perform a beautiful dunk. Special event: Flying Man Inheritor is triggered."

"Flying Man Inheritor:

Goal 1: In a single season, the host averages at least 3 dunks per game.

Reward: Skill Card: Performance Level 1.

Goal 2: The host needs to break the historical record of 255 dunks in a single season held by Shaquille O'Neal since detailed dunk statistics were available.

Reward: Vince Carter Dunk Pack."

"Performance Level 1: When the host attempts to dunk and there is no defender under the basket, the host's bounce is temporarily increased by two small levels to level A.

Note: It can be upgraded by obtaining an S-level dunk pack."

Sun Ce was happy when he saw this event itself.

It's too good to come

But

"Forget about 3 dunks per game, why do I have to compete with O'Neal for 255 times? This is more than 3 times per game"

After complaining, Sun Ce took a closer look and found that there were two rewards, and Carter's dunk bag

Is this an S-level dunk bag? Sun Ce thinks it is at least

Sun Ce couldn't help looking at Carter with fiery eyes. Carter was very happy. He just liked other players to look at him with "admiring" eyes.

After calming down his excitement, Sun Ce thought that if this event could be completed, he would try his best to complete it, but he would not force dunks for no reason. Carter's most dunks in a single season was only 87 times in a year, and Sun's most dunks were 179 times in the 1213 season. Although it was not as many as Griffin's 181 times and Jordan's 203 times in the same year, it could still rank third.

After calming down, Sun Ce felt that to complete this task, he should dunk when he could, instead of occasionally choosing a layup like an ordinary person as he did before. But when he shouldn't dunk, don't force it, as one's own business knows one's own business.

Opponents are very afraid of his dunk within three seconds. He can often rely on this to suddenly make a layup within the distance of the free throw line when breaking through. He cannot waste the intimidation brought by relying on the "overlord dunk" of catch and dunk. Scoring opportunity from close range.

The main reason is that there is no hard and fast rule on which season this event should be completed. Given Sun's static physical condition, there are plenty of opportunities to complete it.

The teammates were shocked by Randolph. The coaching staff, trainers, team doctors, and even the security guards were shocked when they walked to the restaurant in the square next to the arena for lunch and came out of the gate.

Randolph, who was fatter than them at the beginning of each season, could actually see his neck.

The coaching staff is ecstatic. Although there is still a gap in the lines of arms and legs compared to previous years in the playoffs, perhaps by the middle and late seasons, Randolph will be able to reach his best form.

As for the possible decline, Randolph is 33 years old, and there is no way to avoid it. Otherwise, why would they trade Aldridge back? Wouldn't it be better to compete for or trade rim-protecting centers such as Gasol, Noah, and Chandler? good.

The most important reason for the Grizzlies to make the decision to send Whiteside away is the need for an inside man who can replace Randolph.

The 29-year-old Aldridge has no problem maintaining his 34-year peak. A skilled player like him can often still sign a big contract when he is thirty-one or twelve years old.

But if Randolph can find his form earlier, it will naturally be better for the Grizzlies.

First of all, Aldridge is generally better at mid-range, and he can also play in the low post, but he is not expected to be much better than Sun Ce, and his practicality in the playoffs is not high.

The second is that Randolph is in better condition and can better ensure that he takes turns to reduce injuries and will not use Aldridge to death.

There are also expectations for the big center who has not returned from France. After the playoffs last year, the team, with the help of Stockton, hired the old Jazz coach who was a trainer at Georgetown University. Ostertag helped Gobert practice his footwork in the low post area. During the summer league, Gobert had made significant progress. During the World Cup, although Gobert was beaten by Gasol, he made progress. visible to naked eye

Laying the foundation is a bit difficult, but Gobert has been making progress, at least he has not stagnated.

If Gobert can take on the task of protecting the frame for more than ten minutes per game on average, can practice eating cakes well, and can continue to improve, in the eyes of the coaching staff, Gobert's talent is entirely possible to become the best defensive team level. players.

It is not easy to make the best defensive team. At the center position, if you can get the second defense, then in the eyes of the coaching staff, the player with the second best overall defensive performance among all the centers in the league that season can compete for the best defensive player. .

Everyone on the Grizzlies team, including the new players, did not expect that the first happy thing when the team started the season was that Randolph was able to control his weight.

No matter what, it's definitely a good thing

The 11 players who stayed on the team last season will definitely compete for the championship this year. Richard Jefferson and Stoudemire are the most urgent.

The four newcomers, Aldridge, Carter, Pierce, and Blake, are more or less here for the championship, and the only one who is less is Carter.

Aldridge wants to win the championship, Pierce and Blake have won the championship, but they have always been very competitive players and naturally want to win more.

In Carter's case, even if he essentially enjoys basketball, enjoying basketball does not mean that he does not want to win.

At noon on the 16th, Sun Ce and his teammates had a small gathering. The real dinner had to wait until all teammates arrived.

On the 17th, the returning players began to undergo targeted technical training under the arrangements of the coaching staff.

Not every player practices in the summer. The Grizzlies are okay and most of them keep training. But Randolph mainly loses weight in the summer. He has lost nearly 10 kilograms since August. Naturally, he has no time to practice skills.

When the old teammates saw that Sun Ce had improved again, they were used to Paul George, the most talented player on the team except Sun Ce and Randolph, who all admired Sun Ce's "talent".

He feels that he has made great progress this summer, and his mid-range shooting and three-pointers are more stable. He also learned ball control, passing, and ball distribution awareness from James and Nash.

But Sun Ce seems to have made greater progress than him

Paul George has encountered this situation 4 times, starting from his second grade, as always

Time passed quickly, and the three days of personal training passed quickly. On the 20th, Yi Jianlian and Gobert also came to Memphis. The owner Robert Pera invited the entire team to a dinner. Gobert and Yi Jianlian took a rest for a night. Due to the time difference, on the 21st, the Grizzlies held a media day.

The main reason is to allow Gobert and Yi Jianlian to have one more day of rest. For most people, being interviewed is certainly not as tiring as training, so that they can go back after the interview to continue to recover from jet lag and adjust their physical and mental conditions.

After the group interview, the four All-Stars Randolph, Sun Ce, Aldridge, and Paul George, as well as Klay Thompson, who is considered to have a chance to be selected as an All-Star in the future, are recognized as the five strongest players of their Grizzlies team. Received an exclusive interview.

The topical interview was conducted by Abby, the daughter of the head coach of the Suns, who had a big belly. Sun Ce looked at the big belly and cursed which guy made his former bedmate's belly bigger.

One of the topics was asking the five people who they thought was the best player.

Paul George said Kobe, Randolph said O'Neal, Klay Thompson and Aldridge said Jordan.

After that, the teammates felt Sun Ce's fiery eyes.

Seeing that Sun Ce did not answer, Abby continued to ask: "Noah, who do you think is the best basketball player?"

"It's me" ()