That afternoon was the most important day in my life. I can't say that I still remember what they said to me, but from that day on, I truly knew how to be a man. - Preface to "Howard's Autobiography"
—
Two flowers bloomed, one on each branch. Here Edison deceived Josh Smith so enthusiastically that he almost didn't know his last name. Over there, Thibodeau patiently enlightened Howard.
Howard and Thibodeau came to the dining area of the Amway Center. Howard ordered a large fried turkey sandwich and chicken and vegetable salad, while Thibodeau ordered a pasta.
The two of them were eating and talking at the same time.
"Dwight, do you know what Edison says most often when Paul and I analyze other strong teams in the league?" Thibodeau started the conversation first.
Howard didn't respond, lowered his head and ate silently.
Thibodeau saw that he didn't respond, so he replied as if talking to himself, "What he said most often was, 'It's okay, wait two or three years, our Howard can beat them.' Whenever I talk about how the Spurs are doing,
He just said that we have Howard; I said how good the Pistons are, and he also said that we have Howard; it is like this every time, when he says this, he is like an innocent child saying, 'Look at my Captain America', a little bit
They don’t look like a 30-year-old person.”
Howard heard this and raised his head, "Really? He really said that."
Thibodeau nodded, "Of course, why am I lying to you? Really, DeWalt, Paul values you very much, maybe you don't even know. Last season, when McGrady hadn't left yet, Paul's reconstruction plan for the team's top management was
, trying every means to get you. Every time I talked to him about your future, he would say, 'This kid is going to be the next best center in the league.'"
Howard was very surprised after hearing what Thibodeau said. No one had ever told him these things before, "But why did he still treat me like this? You saw what just happened in his office. I can't understand it, and I don't understand it either."
I can’t imagine that such a person could speak so highly of me.”
"Dewalt, maybe you don't know, Paul has been very fond of basketball since he was a child, and he once dreamed of entering the NBA. But he doesn't have the physical talent. He can't run fast, can't jump high, and is only over 180cm tall.
With such physical conditions, he can't even make it in the NCAA, so he is particularly envious of talented people."
"You mean he's the same as Larry Brown?" After hearing Thibodeau's words, Howard suddenly thought of a rookie nightmare.
Although Larry Brown is a coach with thousands of wins, and can even be said to be the best coach in the league, he has a bad reputation. That is that he is a nightmare for all talented men. Larry Brown was also a basketball player when he was young. He once worked as an ABA player.
He has led the league in assists, but he is a representative who relies solely on his brain to play, rather than relying on his body. After he became the head coach, he began to resolutely implement his own values , "Basketball is a team sport, and you must play in the most correct way."
, so anyone under his hands will slowly smooth out their edges, become a member of the team, and become a part of his machine.
But many talented players are unwilling to become mediocre. They are eager to express themselves. Larry Brown is very stubborn, does not know how to adapt, does not know how to deal with interpersonal relationships, and hates those guys who ignore his tactics based on their talent. So the final
There are only three outcomes: 1. You listen to Brown and become his pawn; 2. If you don’t listen to Brown, then you have no chance to play; 3. You get rid of Brown. But with Brown’s prestige, the third situation
It's not common, so most of the time you can only choose between the first two. But no matter which one you choose, it is a nightmare for talented players.
Howard was naturally very worried when he heard what Thibodeau said...
"No, that's not what I mean. Paul and Brown are different. Brown kind of hates talented players, so he will suppress them and prefer players with average talent but obedience. Paul is envious, just envious. Paul
Like a normal head coach, he prefers and values talented players. However, compared with some coaches, Paul particularly hates talented people who waste and squander their talents. He thinks that is because God is unfair to him and treats him badly.
Ridicule. For this reason, he will have higher requirements for talented players, such as you and Josh."
"You're saying that Paul thinks I'm squandering my talent."
Thibodeau took a bite of the food and said, "You know what Paul told me he looks forward to most every day?"
Howard shook his head.
"He said it was the moment when he was about to step into the training gym every morning. He said that every time he opened the door to the training gym, he was full of expectations. He hoped to see you and Josh practicing inside when he opened the door, but this
This kind of thing has never happened. It takes about 10 seconds to walk through the corridor outside the training hall door. These 10 seconds are what he looks forward to most every day."
Howard listened and opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.
"Let's not talk about this for now. How did it feel to play against O'Neal yesterday?"
"It's terrible. I'm no match for him, physically or otherwise. I've never faced such an opponent."
"Did you know that Paul called O'Neal specifically?"
"I know, he just told me in the office."
"Oh, he already told you, what else did he say to you?" Thibodeau is also a gossip.
"He also said that he originally expected us to build a Magic Dynasty, but he didn't expect me to be so weak. But I don't think I am weak. And I don't think he has to do that at all, and I will work hard."
"But you look like a weakling now. Look at Garnett and Pierce now, and Michael and Laimbeer before. They can accept failure, but they can't bear to give up. They must die like a man, just
Like Rambo. But look at how you look now, you are all depressed. During this morning’s training, were you really focused on the training ground? Did you really devote yourself to training?”
Howard listened and shook his head, "No, this morning, every time I caught the ball, I subconsciously thought of yesterday's game. I also know that my state this morning was very bad, but I couldn't control myself.
, I can’t help but think about it.”
"Look, DeWalt, this is your weak side. No one can win for a lifetime. They will all lose and fail. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar lost, Magic lost, Bird also lost, and even Michael was once
The piston was badly repaired. But they never think about yesterday's failure. They just remember their failure, and then work hard to wash away the shame of failure tomorrow, instead of thinking about it over and over like you do."
Howard listened to Thibodeau quietly, without refuting or expressing agreement, just listening quietly, like a sculpture.
"Perhaps you don't know that Edison is very attentive to you. He has carefully studied your growth history. He thinks that you were too smooth before. When you were in Atlanta, you didn't need to practice anything. Your body was good enough.
You beat all your competitors. He thinks that your body is enough to do this even in the NBA. Maybe you will be satisfied with this step, but Paul is not satisfied. He hopes that you can be stronger. He hopes that you will be stronger.
When you are all old and people evaluate the best center of this century, the name they will name is you, DeWalt Howard, not someone else. This is what he taught O'Neal to teach him a lesson.
Your reason is that he wants you to know what the best center in the league is like and what he can do. Only by knowing this can you catch up with him or even surpass him. Paul has no ill intentions.
I just value you too much.”….
"Then what should I do?" Howard is a child after all, and his experience is not enough for him to handle this kind of thing easily.
"I don't know. Maybe you should take the initiative to talk to Paul, but no matter what you do, you have to be strong yourself first."
"Okay, I know what to do. Thank you, Tom." After saying that, Howard pushed the plate in front of him, turned around and left with a big step, his movements were clean and neat, just like the God of Gamblers played by Chow Yun-fat, full of momentum.
Thibodeau watched Howard leave gracefully, and then looked at the splash of soup and water on his body. "When he finally learned the truth, he shed tears."
Howard planned to go to Edison's office immediately to have a frank talk with him, but Edison had already left the office, and Howard made a trip in vain.
Howard thought for a while and dialed Josh's phone, "Hi, Josh, is the coach still with you?"
"We are no longer together. Not long after you left, the coach and I also separated. I am at home now."
"Oh, I see."
"But I know he will go to the training hall in the afternoon. You can come too. You should be able to see him."
"Okay, thank you Josh."
"Dwight, I think coach is a good person. He talked to me a lot after you left. Really, I can feel his sincerity from his words. Although he is very strict with us, that is
You really think about us. As a good friend since childhood, I hope you can adjust your mentality and have a good talk with Paul instead of staying in a stalemate with him, which is not good." Josh and Howard have a very personal relationship.
Yes, he felt it was necessary and obligatory to advise his friend to prevent him from taking the wrong path.
"Okay, Josh, I've figured it out. I really should talk to Paul. I was really in a bad state at noon today. Now that I think about it, I feel like I should be scolded."
"That's great if you think so. See you in the afternoon."
Howard hung up the phone and smiled bitterly, "Even Josh said that. It seems that my performance today was really terrible."
--------segmentation----
I went out to do some errands in the evening, that's all for today, sorry.
Some people think that I treat rookies as elementary school students, but in fact, they are almost the same. Many rookies have perverse personalities. Although they are tall, their thinking is young, especially the high school draft. Because they have been separated from the outside world since they were young. A
It is very difficult for people who are over two meters tall to integrate into a world where the average height is 180cm. The height creates a gap between the two. Just like when you see you, people who are two meters tall will be subconsciously afraid and unwilling to be too much.
