One Year Left to Play-Chapter 191 - 62: Thicker Skin

Now I have to fly all over the US, and every day or two I have to play against a group of older, stronger professional players. If it weren’t for that Static Strength Growth Card letting me hold my own in matchups, it would be really tough.

At first, Zhang Hao was disappointed why it was a Static Strength Growth Card and not an Explosive Power Growth Card, but after playing a few games, he wasn’t disappointed at all.

He knew that being able to maintain his shooting feel after making contested moves was because he didn’t lose out in static confrontations. Explosive confrontations played a far lesser role in the playstyle of a shooter without the ball than static confrontations did.

In the hotel, Zhang Hao turned on the TV to watch the midday sports news.

The game between their Brooklyn Nets and the Bulls wasn’t broadcast live, but for sure there was news about Jordan. Mr. Zhang also made an appearance. There was a clip of him in the third quarter making a mid-range shot and a cut-in dunk.

Even though he "won" in scoring within a single quarter, watching Jordan’s high-difficulty scoring clips in the video... he really wished to have the ability to truly go head-to-head with Jordan, instead of "cheating" like that.

...

After a night’s rest, it was October 16th, and the last away game of the preseason for the Brooklyn Nets arrived as scheduled.

At 4:30 PM, the Brooklyn Nets and Pacers’ preseason game commenced.

Unlike the situation two days ago against the Bulls, the Pacers went all out from the start, trying to win the game as quickly as possible.

The gap in strength was significant, and the difference in cooperation and tacit understanding was also quite large. The Pacers’ lineup hadn’t changed much from last season, yet the Brooklyn Nets players never gave up, aiming to lose with style.

The last game against the Bulls wasn’t without gain. The main players of the Nets gained quite a bit of thick skin—they even tried challenging Jordan in groups of five, so naturally, they’ve become quite thick-skinned.

Every time the Pacers, due to their significant lead, started to relax—after all, it’s preseason—the Brooklyn Nets would desperately catch up. Randy Whitman would seize these opportunities to substitute Zhang Hao, allowing him to cooperate more with his teammates.

Having thick skin really matters for professional athletes, because in basketball games there is always a losing side. Being able to maintain a stable mindset and keep striving after losing is very important.

In fact, often the more successful players are, the thicker their skin is, while those with thin skin are likely to gradually fade out of the NBA.

Unable to win, Zhang Hao, though quite frustrated, was still working hard to harmonize with his teammates. During rest periods, he was learning and analyzing Reggie Miller’s playstyle under Vaughn Fleming’s guidance.

With a score of 89 to 101, the Brooklyn Nets eventually lost to the Pacers by a margin of 12 points.

As the final whistle blew, Zhang Hao reviewed his performance in the game: 6-for-14 shooting, 2-for-3 free throws, collecting 14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block... plus 3 turnovers.

Compared to the last two games, there was a gap, but Zhang Hao felt his overall performance was still decent. Tonight he made 4 mid-range shots.

The turnover rate was indeed too high. Sometimes he saw scoring opportunities for his teammates but failed to pass accurately, or his intentions were predicted by the opponents.

Having lost the game and with the opponent not taking them seriously, Zhang Hao felt really uncomfortable, but after experiencing the level of difference in strength during the Bulls game, this wasn’t as big of a deal anymore.

However, Zhang Hao was a bit puzzled, "The ’Shooting Star’ check-in task only got triggered when I met Dale Curry."

Even though Glenn Rice, who was on the same team as Dale Curry, didn’t trigger it, and Steve Kerr, whom I faced against the Bulls, didn’t trigger it either. Even considering that only one person on the same team can trigger it, Steve Kerr with his qualitative difference from a top shooter, but you’d think facing Reggie Miller would have triggered it, right?

But it didn’t either.

"Could it be that to trigger this task, the shooter needs to be interested in me, have enough strength, and my strength and team position shouldn’t be too high or too low..."

Zhang Hao walked with his teammates towards the players’ tunnel, finally ending the three away games. Playing like this for the first time, Zhang Hao indeed felt exhausted. He would finally be able to return to La Village tomorrow.

Looking at the participation rewards for playing a day’s worth of games, Zhang Hao felt a lot of pressure playing at home!

In the first 4 preseason games, with 2 wins and 2 losses, they need to win 2 of the next 3 games.

The Magic, the Bucks, and the Timberwolves, Zhang Hao felt that no matter which opponent they played against, it didn’t seem easy to win, even against the Bucks, a team with many big names, was tough to deal with. He had seen the Bucks’ roster, and the Bucks have a lot of star players.

However, after facing playoff-level teams in the first 4 games, Zhang Hao felt there were many areas his own team could improve upon. Since he could see it, he believed the coaching staff could too, and since the coaching staff wants change, there would definitely be adjustments to the tactics.

Back in the locker room, Kenny Anderson was chatting casually with Vaughn Fleming, and Zhang Hao happened to overhear it as he walked over.

"Vaughn, why don’t you ask Reggie Miller to give Aix some pointers? He’s the best off-ball shooter in the league today, and you were teammates with him for so many years!"

"That guy, just forget it. He... doesn’t have friends."

Although that statement didn’t seem like a good thing, Zhang Hao could feel a very evident respect from Vaughn Fleming’s tone.

"The main function of the ’Shooting Star’ task is to let me join the alliance with the league’s top shooters. If Miller doesn’t have friends... then maybe he’s not included in the shooters’ alliance group?"