Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

"I really don't understand. Zhuang Yu's three-point shooting is so accurate, why does he seem unsatisfied?" Little Nance scratched his head and couldn't help but say.

"I feel the same way." Clarkson nodded. "If my three-point shooting could be as accurate as Zhuang Yu's, I would be so happy. I would pray to God every day and thank God for his gift to me. But Zhuang Yu seems to be still not satisfied with his current three-point shooting ability. Larry (Nance), if I had the three-point shooting ability like Zhuang Yu, would I have a chance to make the All-Star team?"

Nance Jr. looked Clarkson up and down and replied, "There's hope, but not much."

"Why?" Clarkson was a little unhappy. "I can average 20 or points per game now. If I had a three-point shot like Zhuang Yu, it wouldn't be difficult to average points per game, right?"

"It's not difficult." Little Nance spread his hands, "But you don't have it."

This left Clarkson speechless. It was true that he didn't have it. It was not that he had not practiced, but he just couldn't do it in the end.

In fact, Clarkson's three-point shooting ability is not bad, but it is just at the middle level of the NBA. He can only make 1-2 three-pointers in a game, and his hit rate is over %. For a scoring player, it is not bad, but it is definitely not very good.

If compared with Zhuang Yu, there is absolutely no comparison.

Clarkson smiled bitterly and muttered, "You need talent to do this. How many people in the NBA have the shooting talent like Zhuang Yu?"

On the court, Zhuang Yu continued training.

Another 20 minutes passed before he stopped and came to the sidelines to ask Clarkson and Nance Jr. about his shooting percentage.

After getting the answer, Zhuang Yu just nodded lightly, without much joy on his face, nor did he feel proud.

His shooting is very accurate and his hit rate is very high. Even if you look at the entire NBA league, he is definitely in the first tier. Even compared with three-point shooters such as Klay Thompson, JJ Redick, and Korver, he is even better.

Maybe he is only slightly inferior to Curry.

However, what Zhuang Yu wants is to catch up with Curry, or even surpass Curry.

This is not arrogance, nor is it unrealistic ambition. Zhuang Yu can feel that as long as he takes one more step forward and improves a little bit, he will be able to reach another level.

But this step is obviously difficult, and he is still stuck at a bottleneck. Throughout the offseason, including the preseason and the regular season, he has been trying to take a step further, but he has not been successful. Taking this step is much more difficult than he expected.

“I wonder if anyone else has encountered the same situation as me?”

Zhuang Yu thought secretly in his heart, let me ask Clarkson, Nance Jr. and Kuzma, but all three of them shook their heads, looking confused.

Forget it.

They haven't even mastered any of their skills to the highest level yet, so how could they possibly feel the way I do now?

Zhuang Yu smiled bitterly and decided to ask Mingge and Kobe later.

After a short rest, the training continued.

Zhuang Yu began to practice fadeaway jump shots. This time, Clarkson and Nance Jr. came on the court together to serve as sparring partners for Zhuang Yu. There were one-on-one defenses, assist defenses, and double-teams... In short, Zhuang Yu had to complete the attack with a fadeaway jump shot under their various defenses.

If there is no defense, many NBA players can do it, and the hit rate is not low. However, when there is interference from defensive players, or even more than one defensive player, it is difficult to guarantee the hit rate of the fadeaway jump shot.

Zhuang Yu’s goal is to ensure a high enough hit rate under such circumstances.

"Shhhh..."

Shot after shot, accompanied by crisp sounds, the basketball fell into the net again and again.

Clarkson and Nance Jr., who were in charge of defense, looked helpless. There was no way to defend against him. Zhuang Yu was tall, had good bounce, had long arms, and could also shoot a fadeaway jump shot, making it impossible for them to block it.

Even in training, knowing that Zhuang Yu could only finish with a fadeaway jump shot, and able to defend in a very targeted manner, they still couldn't stop him.

"Shh!"

Zhuang Yu made another fadeaway jump shot.

Clarkson said to Nance with a dark face: "Larry, you knew he was going to fade away, and you are taller than him, so why couldn't you defend him?"

Nance rolled his eyes: "I am taller than him, and I know he can fade away, but this is a step-back + fade away. Not only me, but even Yao Ming can't do it."

When facing Clarkson, Zhuang Yu chose to stop suddenly and fade away, turn around and fade away, and pull up and fade away. When facing Nance Jr., Zhuang Yu would use a step back + fade away, or stand on one leg + fade away after the confrontation, leaving Nance Jr. with nothing but staring blankly.

After a set of fadeaway jump shot training, Zhuang Yu also achieved a hit rate of over 90%, which is similar to that of three-pointers.

But you have to know that most of his fadeaway jump shot training are two-point shots, which are much closer than shots from beyond the three-point line.

Everyone knows that two-point shots are easier than three-point shots and have a higher hit rate.

Zhuang Yu's fadeaway jump shot and three-point shooting percentage are similar, which in itself is enough to show that his fadeaway jump shot is actually not as good as his three-point shooting.

for instance.

If his three-point shot is just a little bit away from catching up with Curry, then his fadeaway jump shot is more than just a little bit away from catching up with Kobe and Jordan.

Of course, even though his three-point shooting is not as good as Curry's, and his fadeaway jump shot is not as good as Kobe and Jordan's, Zhuang Yu's technical level in these two areas is only slightly worse than these people. Compared with other players in the league, he is already at a master level.

After resting for a while, Zhuang Yu did another set of fadeaway jump shot training.

But today's extra training is not over yet. Clarkson, Nance Jr., and Kuzma are doing their extra training, while Zhuang Yu went to the strength training room to do an extra set of physical training.

Only after the physical training was over did Zhuang Yu’s training for the day come to an end.

......

After several people left the stadium, Zhuang Yu returned to his apartment and took off his shirt. Yang Jinsong took out the bottle of medicinal wine and began to give him a medicinal wine massage.

While massaging, Yang Jinsong said, "This is the last bit of medicinal wine. It will be gone after we use it up today."

"Gone, so soon?"

"It's already November," Yang Jinsong said. "It's been more than a month since the preseason started."

Zhuang Yu suddenly realized.

More than a month ago, he did hear Yang Jinsong say that the medicinal wine could only last for about a month, and after the medicinal wine was used up, the medicinal wine massage would probably not be effective.

Zhuang Yu asked: "So, now the medicinal wine massage is useless, right?"

Yang Jinsong hummed and said, "You should have felt it yourself. The effect of the medicinal wine massage has been minimal recently. Your physical fitness has reached a limit and it is difficult to improve it further."

Yes, Zhuang Yu felt it.

In fact, he had felt it a few days ago. Although his physical training was still as intense as before, and Yang Jinsong gave him medicated wine massage after the training as before, he did not feel any improvement after a few days of training.

Be it strength, speed, jumping, explosive power, or endurance, there has been no change, not even a little bit.

Seeing that Zhuang Yu was silent, Yang Jinsong comforted him, "Although it is difficult to improve further, with your current physical fitness, you are no worse than any defender."

Zhuang Yu came back to his senses and smiled, "I'm fine, just thinking about something."

Now that my physical fitness has reached its limit, it is basically impossible to improve it any further. So if I want to make further progress in my strength, I can only improve my technical level.

It seems like I still need to think of a way to improve my three-point shot and fadeaway jump shot.

If these two cannot be improved in the short term, then we have to work harder to improve other technologies, such as breakthroughs, or...

After the medicinal wine massage, Zhuang Yu rested for a while and then went to the bathroom to take a shower. After coming out, he picked up his mobile phone and called Yao Ming first.

After some greetings, Zhuang Yu told Yao Ming his problem and asked him if he had ever encountered a similar situation.

On the other end of the phone, Yao Ming exclaimed in surprise.

After a while, he said, "I have indeed encountered a situation like yours. At that time, my hook shot had a pretty good hit rate, but I always felt that it was still a little short of being able to do it as I pleased."

Hearing this, Zhuang Yu's eyes lit up and he quickly asked, "What happened next? How did you take that step?"

"I didn't." Yao Ming smiled bitterly, "I just felt that I was still a little short of it, but until the end I was not able to go any further."

"This..." Zhuang Yu was a little dumbfounded and a little disappointed.

I thought I could get some experience and inspiration from Yao Ming to help me move to a higher level, but I didn't expect that Yao Ming couldn't do it either.

Yao Ming said: "Maybe it was too late for me. You know, I was always injured in the last few years of my NBA career. My body was never really healthy and my competitive state was always unstable. I think if you want to go further, you must first have a good physical and competitive state. Otherwise, your body can't keep up and you can't use your skills. How can you talk about doing whatever you want?"

Oh......

Hearing this, Zhuang Yu nodded subconsciously. What Yao Ming said made a lot of sense. In the last few years of Yao Ming's career, he was plagued by injuries and his physical condition was getting worse and worse. He could not run or jump. His body was no longer sufficient to support him to fully display his skills. He could not even return to his peak state, so how could he surpass himself?

Yao Ming said on the other end of the phone, "But you are still young and haven't suffered any serious injuries. Both your physical and competitive condition are at their peak. No, I'm not sure if you have reached your peak, maybe not. I watched your previous few games, and you have obviously improved compared to last season. You are still on the rise."

"Zhuang Yu, your talent is higher than mine, higher than Alian, and even compared to those European and American players, you are also the top talent."

"Strictly speaking, your rookie contract hasn't even ended yet. You're still a fourth-year rookie, and it's incredible that you're as strong as you are now. Don't be anxious, and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Although I haven't been able to reach that level, I believe that it's only a matter of time for you."

Zhuang Yu thanked him and chatted with Yao Ming for a few more words.

Yao Ming also talked about Lanxie and the national team, but Zhuang Yu didn't want to talk about this topic. He changed the subject after just a few words and chatted with Yao Ming about the situation of the Sharks Club. He asked Yao Ming to look after it for him and then ended the call.

......

The next day, Zhuang Yu went to Beverly Hills as a guest, had dinner with Kobe, and asked Kobe if he had ever encountered a similar situation as himself.

However, Kobe's answer was rather vague.

He told Zhuang Yu that he should have had similar situations, but he was not sure whether he had taken that step, and he did not have any good advice. He just trained hard, took every game seriously, maintained a desire to win, and gave it his all.

Finally, Kobe suggested that he call Michael Jordan.

After all, as the god of basketball and the first person to master the fadeaway jump shot to perfection, Jordan should have the most say.

Zhuang Yu called Jordan. He was not sure whether Jordan was willing to help him, but the result surprised him a little.

After the call was connected, Jordan was very friendly, but he was unable to give an answer because he had never encountered a situation like Zhuang Yu.

In that era, he was the strongest, no matter in which aspect.

If he wanted to, he believed that he could also perfect the hook shot or three-point shot and not lose to anyone, but there was no need.

In that era, on the then Bulls, as a guard, he didn't need to know everything, because he couldn't score with a hook shot against the opponent's center in the low post.

Ok.

Zhuang Yu could only say that the God of Basketball was the God of Basketball. He was too invincible, so invincible that there was no one he could surpass, and there was no standard for comparison. Therefore, he would never have the feeling that Zhuang Yu had now, "almost catching up with someone."

"Ming-ge is right, maybe I'm too anxious."

After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Yu took a deep breath and adjusted his mentality.

Since you can't find a solution, just keep trying.