The invincible kryptonite of basketball

"Guys, our goal for the new season is the championship, let's get started!"

Williams was full of pride when he came up, and said directly to the players.

Last season, the Pelicans and the Grizzlies played a tiebreaker, while the Grizzlies and the Spurs played a tiebreaker. The Spurs lost to the Heat 2-4.

Judging from the results of the matchup and their reinforcements during the offseason, the championship this season is their goal!

Chapter 571 Shooting Coach Steve Nash (third!)

The training camp has officially started, and the players of the Pelicans are high-spirited.

After a week of training, the effect is remarkable.

Although the Pelicans have personnel changes in the new season, the core and rotation are basically unchanged, and the tacit understanding is still there.

However, in the content of the team's training, there is very little practice in shooting.

It's not that they don't need to practice anymore because of how good their shots are, but their shooting coach Tate's contract with the team expired.

The two sides have been unable to reach an agreement on the renewal issue.

Tate's shooting training effect on Davis last season was good, and the Knicks poached a corner in the offseason.

People go to high places, Tate also has his own pursuit, and the Pelicans feel that he is not worth the price.

Speaking of which, it is not only the players who need to renew their contracts during the NBA offseason, but also the coaching staff and managerial staff. Every season is a test.

When Tang Tian knew the news, he took the initiative to find Dempsey and gave him a suggestion.

Steve Nash.

Nash announced his retirement during the offseason, and he should be sharing family happiness with his twin daughters at this moment.

But Tang Tian remembered the words in history. Nash was the shooting coach of the Warriors, and it was he who raised the Splash Brothers' shooting to a higher level.

If the Pelicans can invite him, the effect of Davis training must be better than when Tate was there.

Dempsey readily accepted Tang Tian's suggestion.

Nash has an excellent reputation in the league, and his shooting ability is visible to the naked eye. It would be great if he could be invited as an assistant coach.

Demps contacted Nash, and the Pelicans' training camp continued.

Davis' low-post offense is decent, Whiteside has made significant progress in foul control and low-post defense, Holiday's three-pointers are also more stable than last season, and the strength of the Pelicans' core lineup can be seen with the naked eye.

However, the newcomers to the team seem to need some time to adapt.

Ariza came to New Orleans from Washington, his defense has been there, but the shot bag is a bit lost, and it will take some time to get it back;

Taylor Tovic is similar, his three-point shooting stability seems to be much worse than Anderson;

The same is true of Dinwiddie, although he works very hard, his finishing ability needs to be strengthened after the breakthrough;

As for Jokic, his weight loss progress is very slow, and the Europeans' fat-prone physique seems to take time to lose weight.

The NBA team is by no means a pile of paper lineups. The Pelicans want to go to the next level. The integration of these newcomers is key.

Demps returned two days later, and this time he did not bring good news.

Nash declined Demps' invitation. He has just finished his career and wants to spend more time with his family.

After Tang Tian heard the news, he asked Dempsey where Nash was now, and asked Karl to buy a plane ticket to Toronto.

The team's newcomers didn't feel like shooting. If Nash can try to get in, it will be of great help to the team.

Nash lived on the outskirts of Toronto. When Tang Tian went there, Nash was playing football with his twin daughters.

Nash has dedicated his career to basketball, but his football talent is very good. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the best football player among basketball players.

And he seems genuinely doting on his two daughters.

When Tang Tian saw this, he unconsciously remembered what he told his parents about having a son.

But in fact, the daughter is also good, the father's little padded jacket.

Tang Tian waited for a while, Nash asked the nanny to accompany his daughter, and walked towards Tang Tian with a smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Nash is a gentleman, he apologized to Tang Tian when he came over.

"It's okay, your girls are lovely."

Tang Tian replied with a smile.

The two have played against each other before, so they are not completely strangers.

After chatting for a few words, Tang Tian got to the point.

"I want you to help the Pelicans practice shooting."

Nash smiled after listening, and then turned to look at his two daughters.

"I used to play ball all the time, I didn't have time to take care of my family, now that I'm retired, I just want to spend more time with Bella and Lola, they need me."

Nash said sweetly in his eyes.

He and his wife divorced in 2010. For him, these two daughters are all he has.

"You can just be our player development consultant."

Tang Tian nodded and continued.

The reason why he specifically asked the same question a second time was not that he felt that he was more attractive than Dempsey, but that he had a solution.

"A player development consultant?"

Nash looked at Tang Tian suspiciously, he had obviously never heard of this position before.

"That is, if you have time, you can come to the team to guide, and you don't have to treat it as a full-time job."

Tang Tian explained.

This position, in the vernacular, is actually equivalent to a part-time job and extra money.

That's what the Warriors offered at the beginning, and Nash accepted the invitation because of this.

Nash hesitated. Obviously, for a player who has played for nearly 20 years, he would still feel reluctant to leave basketball in his life.

But he finally turned his head and looked at his two daughters.

"Don't you desire a championship?"

Tang Tian saw that Nash was hesitating, and then spoke again.

Nash looked back at Tang Tian in a daze.

Not eager for a championship?

How can it be!He joined the Lakers just to fight for the final championship.

It just backfired, and like Karl Malone, he ultimately didn't make it there.

Seeing that Nash's heart was moved, Tang Tian struck while the iron was hot.

"The Pelicans will definitely have the opportunity to win the championship in the next two or three years. You should see this potential, and if you are only a player development consultant, it will not affect your company with your daughter. Oh, by the way, New Orleans is now building Chinatown , your daughters should love it there."

Nash smiled after hearing this. He found that Tang Tian's eloquence was really good, and he said everything in his heart.

"Okay, I promise, I'm going to New Orleans."

Nash looked up at the sky as he spoke.

Toronto is very cold most of the time, and the temperature in September is only in the teens.

According to the habit of previous years, winter will begin next month and will continue until April next year.

Taking their daughter away from this city of ice and snow and going to the southernmost port city in the United States, they should be much warmer this winter.

Tang Tian stretched out his hand when he heard this.

After Nash froze for a moment, he also extended his hand with a smile.

The two clapped their hands in the air.

Before, they could only compete on the field as opponents, but now, they can be teammates.

And Nash, after ending his career as a player, has the opportunity to use another identity to win his first NBA championship.

Chapter 572 Turtle Bombing (Westbrook) (First update!)

Nash and Tang Tian returned to New Orleans together, and he and the Pelicans quickly signed a three-year contract.

The position he got was the same as Tang Tian said before, a player development consultant, and his main job was to be in charge of the players' shooting training.

However, the news of this signing did not attract much attention.

Because at the same time, the Warriors announced the dismissal of the team's head coach Mark Jackson and hired former TNT commentator Steve Kerr as the team's new coach.

It is reported that the two sides reached a five-year 5 million contract.

Cole has never served as the head coach of the team before, and the annual salary of 500 million is already very high among the head coaches.

You must know that Popovich, who has the highest salary in the league, only has an annual salary of 1000 million, and the salary of Mavericks coach Carlisle is only 700 million.

This news caused a wave of heated discussions among fans, and it was a polarizing one.

"Mark built a defensive system for the Warriors and helped the Warriors reach the playoffs consecutively. This decision by the Warriors management is very cold-blooded!"

"This is capitalists. There are many reasons why the Warriors lost the playoffs last year, but the blame will always be the team's head coach!"

"And the management of the Warriors is stupid enough to give Cole a rookie coach an annual salary of 500 million yuan and a 5-year contract. This is giving away money!"

"The Warriors will regret their decision, maybe two years later we can see that chaotic team again!"

……

"I think this decision of the Warriors management couldn't be wiser. I've had enough of the Warriors' constipation-like offense!"

"Just look at how the Warriors played this past season, they really need a new coach!"

"They have a defensive system, Mark Jackson has done his part, now they need someone to unleash their offensive firepower!"

"Steve Kerr is one of the people with the highest IQ. He has never coached, but I believe he will surprise us!"

……

Tang Tian was not too surprised by the news.

For him, Cole's entry marks the official formation of the Warriors, and the Pelicans will list them as their main competitors.

But in fact, he didn't pay too much attention to this, because after Nash took over, he brought a completely different shooting training method to the Pelicans.

In the past, the shooting training of the Pelicans mostly focused on fixed-point shooting, but what Nash asked for was more catch-and-shoot while running.

The reason is simple. The small ball era brings not only a change in the speed of offensive and defensive transitions, but also half-court defense, assist defense and supplementary defense will become faster and faster.

Therefore, compared with previous games, there will be less and less chances of making fixed-point calls on the field.

Conversely, catch-and-shoot shots on the move increase a lot.

Nash was a superstar in the last century, but his understanding of basketball is not old at all, it can even be said to be advanced.

In addition to this general direction, he also added a lot of shooting training content to the Pelicans players that they didn't have before.

Such as one-knee shooting.

As the name suggests, it is to stand on one knee and use one foot to complete the shot.

This is an abnormal shooting training method. It is reasonable to say that it should not appear on the NBA stage, but Nash attaches great importance to this.

In his theory, such a shooting method is conducive to increasing the player's shooting proficiency and body balance ability when shooting.

In other words, such shooting training is very helpful for drift shots and fadeaway shots.

Tang Tian was a little excited when he heard this, because he is now practicing fadeaway shots!