Lu Yu was sitting on a chair in the arena at Loyola University Chicago, holding a scouting report in his hand.
This is a Chicago Bulls scout report on Yao Ming.
The draft report described Yao Ming as having an astonishing height, good body control and balance. He has a soft touch, a stable and reliable mid-range shot, and is difficult to block. His hook shot is reminiscent of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Reliable passer.
Easy to accept guidance.
On the defensive end, he can quickly block his opponent, but he doesn't have many tricks in a head-on confrontation and needs to undergo weight training.
Old fans who often watch Yao Ming's games are very familiar with the above characteristics, but there is one point in the report that is completely beyond the fans' expectations.
That's what the scout report clearly states: he moves fast and has very agile feet.
This is very different from the fans' inherent impression of Yao Ming.
Because Yao Ming has always given everyone the impression that he is tall and strong, but moves slowly, and his movements are solid but bulky.
In fact, Yao Ming, who first entered the NBA, was famous for his fast movement and quick feet.
Judging from Yao Ming's game performance in the first two seasons, Yao Ming is indeed very agile in his movements and footsteps as the scout report said, and his movement speed is also very fast for his height.
But with the arrival of Van Gundy, he required Yao Ming to continue to gain weight to become a heavy center and increase his ability to face confrontation in order to have stronger dominance in the low post and penalty area.
However, as his weight and resistance ability increased, Yao Ming's movement speed and flexibility were greatly reduced, and he gradually gave people the impression of being slow and bulky.
At the same time, injuries also gradually increased, and he retired due to injuries after only playing 8 seasons in the NBA.
Now that Yao Ming is under Lu Yu's agency, Lu Yu will not let the trainer advise him to gain weight. This is the first point. The second point is that Lu Yu will try his best to prevent Yao Ming from being selected by the Rockets.
Although those are the memories of Lu Yu’s generation...
Lu Yu still remembers the time in his previous life, which was on June 27 this year.
In the crowded office of the Jianguomen reporter station in the capital, the only draft in the history of the NBA that opened an overseas branch venue for one person was held.
Those present included Yao Ming, his parents, the then men's basketball coach Wang Fei, and basketball commentator Xu Jicheng who served as translator.
That day, across the ocean at Madison Square Garden in New York, NBA president David Stern announced to the world in a highly recognizable voice:
"With the first pi the 2002 nba draft, the housto yahai d shanghai sharks"!
In front of the TV, Wang Fei, the young Yao Ming, Fang Fengdi and Yao Zhiyuan high-fived in celebration.
In a flash, it was 20 years before Lu Yu traveled through time.
In 20 years, Yao Ming is no longer a giant in a red jersey, but has been transformed into a female omen, the sun and the moon, by the years.
And Chinese basketball has also gone from the years when it was thought to be its peak in the beginning, to becoming a thorn in foul balls that makes it difficult to even compete in the Olympics.
At that time, Rockets fans who pooled their money to buy the "Basketball Pioneer" and ran home or to Internet cafes after class, or gathered around a Nokia mobile phone to watch text live broadcasts for ten minutes between classes, were already pregnant.
In those years, thousands of Chinese fans stopped to watch every Yao Ming game, TV5 broadcast Rockets games, and the cafeterias of major schools were always crowded at noon.
"Yao Shark Battle", "Yao Mai Combination", "Chinese Derby"...these words are mentioned overwhelmingly in newspapers, TV and online media, which are really eternal memories.
Nowadays, brothers can no longer experience the unique sense of belonging of a class cheering and shouting for a team.
Now think about it, it is a luxury for a Chinese player to become a second-round pick. To be selected as the No. 1 pick in the NBA is really awesome beyond words.
Especially given the era and social background at that time:
At the beginning of this century, China successfully bid for the Olympic Games and joined the WTO. We were like a child who had just woken up, opening our eyes and looking at the world in front of us in confusion.
And on June 27, 2002, the Oriental giant from Shanghai was called the first pick...
Other people's top pick may carry a city, but Yao Ming represents a country.
Even Lu Yu, with the advantage of being a time traveler, only ranked second.
A total of 28 teams came to today's trial. Lu Yu and Krause represented the Bulls. There are 29 teams in the NBA. There are no Bobcats yet, only the Los Angeles Lakers are not here.
The Lakers, who did not come, became more and more interested in Yao Ming.
But they now have O'Neal, and they don't have a good draft pick right now.
Yao Ming ran and shot smoothly in the trial training, but in one-on-one due to fatigue from the trip, he was not in good condition due to jet lag. He was unable to use physical confrontation and was blocked by his opponent.
The basketball reporters watching on the sidelines shook their heads.
At the end of the trial training, reporters surrounded the coach Carlesimo who was in charge of the event and asked him what he thought of Yao Ming's prospects in the NBA. Coach Carlo replied very seriously: "He can make the All-Stars!"
The reporters were shocked. How did the coach figure it out?
Yao Ming has trouble playing against players on the fringe of the draft like Kristofferson, so how can he compete with the All-Stars?
Coach Ka showed an expression of "You really don't understand football" and gave the answer: "Didn't you see that Yao Ming is so tall, not only can he shoot, but he can also run, what are the conditions for this, don't you understand?
"
Among the team executives who came to watch, there was an old man with white hair, Rockets General Manager Dawson.
Dawson is an expert in training centers, and Olajuwon's dreamy footsteps were developed under his guidance.
So when reporters saw Dawson appear, they all asked him to express his views on Yao Ming.
"If we could get the No. 1 pick, we would seriously consider drafting him," Dawson said.
Lu Yu frowned slightly. He didn't know if the Rockets would get the No. 1 pick, but he really didn't want Yao Ming to go to the Rockets. Of course, if he was really selected by the Rockets, as long as he didn't gain weight, it wouldn't be impossible.
It's just that besides the Rockets, there are many teams in the league that are better at cultivating rookies.
The result of not gaining weight may be that Yao Ming's achievements in the past few years will be sacrificed, but it will prolong Yao Ming's career, and it is not worth it to fight against the muscular men inside.
Gasol has been playing for so many years, but hasn’t he gained weight?
Isn't Nowitzki just a little heavier than when he first entered the league?
Lu Yu expected that so many teams were optimistic about Yao Ming. Even the Bulls' general manager Klaus sighed after watching Yao Ming's performance: "I knew we would have failed this year..."
Lu Yu: "???"
I finally led the team to the playoffs. If you told me, I would have known it was a mess?
In fact, before the trial training, Yao Ming had already achieved a certain degree of popularity in the international arena. When he was 18 years old, he easily defeated Tyson Chandler in the training camp.
Years later, Yao Ming recalled: "I'm not settling old scores, I can beat him at will!"
Including the talent shown in the Sydney Olympics, a reporter asked after the game: "Do you think you have the strength to play in the NBA?"
Yao Ming only answered firmly with one word: "Yes!"
In Lu Yu's previous life, I often saw a discussion: "When will the Chinese men's basketball team have the next Yao Ming? In other words, what level of player is Yao Ming now?"
First of all, Lu Yu disagrees with the fact that if Yao enters the NBA twenty years later, his ranking will only be around 18th. Lu Yu feels that Yao Ming's talent level will still make him a top three candidate.
We cannot simply think that this is the small ball era and he may not be able to adapt.
First, if you have enough ability, no matter what era you are in, I think you can do a great job.
Second, if you think Dayao is a bulky center, you are wrong. His slow movement is due to his weight gain.
Third, Yao Ming rarely shot 3-pointers at that time, but after developing his touch, there was no problem at all.
The fourth point is that any big center with excellent skills will not be low in the draft, no matter what version of the NBA you are in.
The fifth point, and what Lu Yu most recognizes about Yao, is that he has the qualities that a top athlete should have: toughness and ambition.
He knew where his shortcomings were and worked hard.
At the beginning, his ability to fight was not good, but later he was able to hold O'Neal head on.
Although it's not necessary, O'Neal won't be able to play for a few years.
It is a pity to retire at the age of 31.
But in Yao Ming's words, there is no regret because he didn't waste a second.
When Yao Ming retired in 2011, when he knew his career as an athlete was over, what he said was: "I can finally eat fried chicken..."
The combination of natural ability, expressive ability, self-discipline and other factors resulted in Yao Ming, the most successful yellow athlete in the NBA world.
Lu Yu still remembers Yao Ming's hook shot and mid-range shot, the continuous change of hands behind him, the scene in the locker room passage where he was injured at Staples Center, or his own sadness after being eliminated by the Jazz and Mavericks.
..
Lu Yuhui will miss the voice that came from the TV in his previous life very much. It was his private happiness.
Although he was still a student at the time, he couldn't tell whether they were talking about "Yao Ming" or "fatal"...
After the trial training, Lu Yu took Yao Ming home, where Yao Ming has been living for the past few days.
Lu Yu wanted to use Yao Ming as a training tool while he was around. Anyway, it would take a few days for Yao Ming to go back to participate in the national team training.
Lu Yu also received the notification of the national team's training camp, but he and Wang Zhizhi are still playing in the playoffs, so they probably won't be able to participate in the domestic training camp. We will meet them when they go to the United States for training.
The reason why Yao Ming is used as a training tool is because Lu Yu discovered a problem in the first round series with the Magic.
During this period, McGrady liked to hit Lu Yu in the penalty area.
Tracy McGrady's style of play is more like a small, flexible power forward. Every impact made Lu Yu's chest feel tight. He wanted to pounce on him, but found that he was walking away quickly. If it weren't for Artest and Richardson's complementary defense,
, Lu Yu is really hard to guard against Tracy McGrady.
This also made Lu Yu discover something different. After each impact, the progress bar of the Rock Breathing Method on his system panel would jump.
So Lu Yu guessed, is the rock breathing method related to confrontation?
This kind of confrontation is not the kind of confrontation during perimeter defense, but should be more similar to the collision when the center plays from behind. After Lu Yu discovered this, he wished he could fly to Los Angeles to find O'Neal to try it out.
Thinking about it later, my life was still at stake.
Now that Yao Ming is here, it's a perfect fit. Yao Ming is a center and is good at playing inside. There's no need to look for Miller and Oakley from the Bulls.
Let’s try Yao Ming first.
Yao Ming was stunned when he saw the mansion where Lu Yu lived: "Lu Yu, do you want to be so rich?"
"No, I rented it."
Lu Yu smiled and suddenly saw Charlize walking from next door: "Let me introduce you, this is my neighbor, Charlize Theron."
Yao Ming and Charlize said hello.
After entering the house, Lu Yu closed the door and locked Charlize out.
Yao Ming asked cautiously: "Are you short of her money? Why do you feel like she looks at you as if she wants to eat you up?"
Lu Yu sighed.
Charlize wanted to eat him, but it was that kind of eating...
…
On the other side, the Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers are in full swing, with the score tied at 2-2. The winner of them will play the Bulls in the second round.
The Nets, who had the best record in the Eastern Conference, were almost overturned by the eighth-ranked Pacers, scoring a black eight. Fortunately, Kidd showed bravery in the last game and brought the Nets through the danger.
The Nets defeated the Pacers 3-2 and advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference.
The game between the Hornets and the Celtics was beyond everyone's expectations. No one expected that after winning the first game, the Boston Celtics would be directly eliminated by the Hornets after winning three games in a row.
The Hornets also advanced to the second round early, and their next opponent is the Nets, the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference.
The situation in the Western Conference has also become clear. Like the Eastern Conference, only one group of teams has yet to decide the winner.
The Spurs and SuperSonics tied at 2-2, and they will decide the winner in Game 5.
The Kings defeated the Jazz 3-1. Compared with the Kings' smooth offense, the Jazz Xuanming and Xuanming may be really old. Whether they are pick-and-roll offense or defense, they no longer have the glory of their peak years.
The Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves 3-0. Like the Bulls, they started to rest early. Their next opponent is the Kings, who have the best record in the Western Conference.
The Lakers also defeated the Trail Blazers 3-0.
Kobe and O'Neal are waiting for the winner between the Spurs and SuperSonics. No matter who wins, they will be the Lakers' next opponent.
And no matter who wins, the Lakers are not afraid at all.
The first round of games has gradually become clearer here. Now there are only three teams that have swept their opponents in the first round, namely the Lakers, Mavericks and Bulls.
Of these, only the bull is in the east.
Bulls fans are already very satisfied with the team's ability to play to this level. At the beginning of the season, they thought it would be enough to not count down, but unexpectedly, they actually made the playoffs.
Later I thought that reaching the playoffs would be enough, but unexpectedly, I actually made it to the second round.
This feeling of overflowing happiness made Bulls fans call out: "Enough is enough, it's enough. It's all done at once. How about next season?"
At this time, in the Bulls training hall, Artest, Richardson, Chandler, Oakley, Crawford, Miller, Mercer, Hassell, Fizer and all the Bulls players
, all looked at the two people in the stadium with their mouths open.
A little giant over two meters tall.
The other one screamed when he was hit, and at the same time he spoke Chinese, and the pronunciation seemed to be something——
