The world of basketball

Chapter 38 Be tough!
Many times we grow because we find that we are not good, or that we are not good enough, and more often it is because there are many people who are better than us who show their good side.

For example, Embiid is to Mu Xiaobei.

The two play the same position, but in terms of offensive skills, footsteps around the basket, shooting ability, shooting range, and defensive ability, Embiid is not inferior to Mu Xiaobei, and even better than Mu Xiaobei.

But yeah, I'm going to say physical talent again.

But height and wingspan are innate, and other things such as strength, speed and even jumping can be developed. For example, Mu Xiaobei is learning swimming and yoga to train his body flexibility and control over his body.

People who are more flexible are relatively less likely to be injured. Others may not care about it, but Mu Xiaobei, who is a fragile Asian body, has to care about it.

Mu Xiaobei has always felt that he is very honored to be able to come to the Spurs, not some superficial polite words, but sincere words, he is very honored to be able to get to know Mr. Duncan.

It is an even greater honor to have my home next to the "black Jack speed shop", which is Duncan's auto repair shop, which is very close to the Spurs' practice facility.

Although Mu Xiaobei is an orphan, he can meet mentors and big brothers every time in his life, such as Yao Ming, Guo Ailun, Rondo and McGee, Duncan and Gasol.

Duncan really taught Mu Xiaobei a lot, taught him experience in competitions, taught him a lot of technical movements, taught him training methods, and taught him swimming to overcome the things he said he was afraid of.

Even, a few days ago, Duncan taught Mu Xiaobei a lot of psychology books. These books were prepared when he passed his master's defense in psychology through self-study. These books taught Duncan a lot of knowledge about overcoming psychological obstacles during competitions.

Calm down, Mu Xiaobei said to himself.

When Embiid was holding the ball, Mu Xiaobei let go of any discomfort or even a little fear in his heart, lowered his center of gravity and defended normally.

Embiid was a little surprised. This rookie seems to have changed someone, and he must have figured out something.

Embiid held the ball, dribbled forward for a while, and then turned back relying on the force of the dribble. Mu Xiaobei followed in small steps, but did not raise his center of gravity.

Embiid didn't mean to turn around and lean back, but found that instead of swaying to Mu Xiaobei, he died of the ball instead, which was a bit embarrassing.

"It's good defense. It can be seen that Mu Xiaobei's defense is obviously much better than the previous defense." Wang Meng said.

"Good shots, er, I mean, Simmons made an air cut and dunks. Both of them are players with high IQ, and Simmons' physical fitness is really strong." Su Qun said.

Looking back, the absence of Lonnie Walker is still a bit troublesome for the Spurs. They were originally a team with a clear division of labor between the first team and the second team.

The first lineup is good at breaking through and defending very well. They can constantly attack the opponent's inside line through empty cuts and assaults under the basket, while Mu Xiaobei and Adelai can provide more space for the team.

The defense of the second team is much worse, but the offensive firepower from the outside is very strong, so they have always made three-point shots from the outside, and it is more of a lineup that chases points or widens the point difference.

However, due to the absence of Lonnie Walker, the Spurs can only start Belinelli of the second team, so the division of labor between the Spurs first team and second team is not so clear.

The most important thing is that they lack an outside ball-holding point, and they lack a strong point to hit the basket.

Mu Xiaobei opened up on the outside, and Ade fell on the inside in a low position. With his back to Saric, he turned around and made a layup with a low hand.

"Good shot, Adelaide, who scored [-] points in the first quarter, continued to play fieryly. Facing Saric Adelaide, shoot him, and face Simmons Adelaide, shoot him." Wang Meng said.

"At this time, everyone may remember that before he went to the Spurs, he was also a strong contender for the MVP, known as the top five power forwards in the league." Su Qun said.

In the second quarter, the Spurs played well. Mu Xiaobei's sense of participation on the offensive end was not high, and he was more helping his teammates pick and roll and open up space. However, with Mu Xiaobei's support, the Spurs' offense was sorted out. very smooth.

On the defensive end, Mu Xiaobei's assisted defense and single defense and big defense have eye-catching performances, especially when Embiid is off the court, Mu Xiaobei's big defense, small top and big hat Fultz caused fierce cheers at home from the Spurs.

With 3 minutes left in the first half, Embiid returned to the court again.

Jeremy Lin broke through the basket, hesitant but still decided to go to the defense, Jeremy Lin handed the ball to Mu Xiaobei.

Embiid returned to the defense very quickly, but Mu Xiaobei didn't have the slightest reason. He got up to make a jumper, raised his knife and dropped it, and hit a long two-pointer.

"A good goal, Mu Xiaobei, finally scored on Embiid at the end of the first half. This is particularly meaningful for his confidence accumulation." Su Qun said.

After Simmons fought against Kuzma, he took off and passed the ball to Embiid. Embiid held it high and hit it high, but Mu Xiaobei's palm still blocked Embiid's sight. Open half body position, layup with left hand.

But at the moment when he was about to make a shot, Kuzma, who replaced Adelaide in the fourth position, rushed out, and a big cap changed Embiid's layup.

"Good shot Kuzma, he is really improving little by little on the defensive end, and these improvements are visible to the naked eye." Wang Meng said.

"It's true that Kuzma's physical talent is really not good, but he is willing to work hard, and his learning ability is really strong. He can play in the third position and also in the fourth position." Su Qun said.

With four seconds left on the 76ers' offensive clock, Redick came out of Covington's screen, caught the ball and shot it, which is the way he is used to it.

"Shh-"

Redick hit a three-pointer.

Since the Spring Festival New Year's greeting incident, Redick has been treated extremely unfriendly by domestic fans. He was frantically booed during the 76ers China game in the preseason.

Although he has apologized many times, maybe only he knows whether it is a tongue knot or something else.

But putting these aside, Redick and Korver can be said to be the strongest players with three Ds. At least no matter what coach they are, they will formulate many tactics for these two people as the end point.

Mu Xiaobei made an off-ball pick-and-roll for Belinelli. Belinelli received the ball and passed it back to Mu Xiaobei, and behind Mu Xiaobei was JJ Redick.

It's a rare opportunity for misalignment. Mu Xiaobei is facing Redick. His defense is indeed, um, don't talk about these things that don't exist.

It was easy for Mu Xiaobei to squeeze into the basket, and Covington assisted in the defense. Mu Xiaobei turned around and grabbed it, with Covington hanging on his body, and made a throw.

"Beep—" the whistle sounded.

"A good shot, Mu Xiaobei played tough, that's what we want to see the most," Su Qun said.

Mu Xiaobei also made an extra penalty, and Popovich took advantage of the dead ball to replace Mu Xiaobei.Since he didn't have much foul trouble in the first quarter, he played a full 10 minutes in the second quarter.

(End of this chapter)