Edison once said: "There is no real genius in the world, the so-called genius is 99 percent of the sweat and 1 inspiration."
Jiang Hao has always regarded this sentence as a classic. It was true when his basketball talent was mediocre, and it was even more true after he had top-level talent.
He would rather use his sweat to irrigate his talents than squander opportunities with his talents, so in the following time, in addition to trying his best on the competition field, he would never slack off on every training day.
………
Time quickly came to February 2018. In the past two months or so, the Spurs' overall record could only be described as average.
With star Leonard Leonard suffering from a confusing injury and continuing to struggle to come back, the Spurs, who lacked a leader, were helplessly defeated in matches against some strong teams.
To be honest, Jiang Hao has still performed well during this period. Although his average of 119 points per game is not as impressive as the 20 points per game at the beginning, he can obviously do more things on the court and is no longer just a pitcher.
Popovich and the others originally wanted to train Jiang Hao into an enhanced version of Danny Green, but when Jiang Hao's performance became more and more versatile, they had to give up this idea.
What's more, Jiang Hao has always played as a substitute player, and Popovich has never given him a chance to start.
It's no wonder that some people feel sorry for Jiang Hao. If Jiang Hao can start, then his statistics will definitely improve. In this case, he may even have a chance to compete for the best rookie.
For young players, this may be the tragedy of playing in the Spurs. They can learn a lot and be trained by the team, but it is really difficult to get the ball rights and data honors.
…………
The Spurs are currently ranked sixth in the Western Conference. Halfway through the season, they don't seem to need much pressure to advance to the playoffs, but if they want to go further, or even advance to the Western Conference Finals like last season, it may be difficult.
.
Because Leonard, who was expected to return in December, has not been able to come back until now.
For Jiang Hao and other Spurs players, they don't know how Leonard's recovery from injury is going. Leonard has not said anything, and the management has also kept silent.
But the outside world has been making a lot of noise during this period. Many people have questioned Leonard's continued absence. People are saying that there are differences between Leonard and the Spurs. Maybe it is not a good idea for the two parties to part ways at the end of this season.
impossible.
On February 11, 2018, Beijing time, the Spurs played their last game before the All-Star Weekend at home. After this game, the Spurs' next game will have to wait until a week later. Everyone can take this opportunity to have a good rest.
one time.
Before the game, Spurs fans were very unoptimistic about the outcome of tonight's game because the opponent was the Golden State Warriors.
The defending champions continue to maintain an unstoppable pace this season. So far, they have only lost 5 games and are the team with the best record in the entire league. Tonight's game is the second time the two teams have met this season.
The last time was at the Warriors' home court, when the Spurs suffered a disastrous defeat at Oracle Arena.
For Jiang Hao, that game left a deep impression on him because he did not score a single point in that game, which was the only duck-egg game in his NBA career so far.
At the Atat Center, Jiang Hao came to the arena for training an hour ago. In tonight's game, he doesn't want to swallow any more duck eggs. Maybe they will still lose to the Warriors, but he doesn't want to lose as badly as last time.
Jiang Hao used this time to mainly practice shooting, especially three-pointers. As we all know, the Warriors are a three-point team. If you want to defeat them, at least they cannot be too far behind in three-pointers.
When his teammates arrived at the arena one after another, Jiang Hao was already sweating profusely and planned to call it a day and prepare to play.
"Jiang, get ready, you will start today"
However, Popovich's light words made Jiang Hao stumble and almost fall.
Jiang Hao stared at Popovich with his eyes wide open. He had to make sure that Popovich was not making fun of him.
"You won't repay me with a duck-egg game," Popovich laughed, but Jiang Hao's heart was pounding.
He confirmed that the old man was not joking.
It has always been his dream to start the game, but Popovich suddenly satisfies him now. Can he adapt?
Jiang Hao spread his hands and could only go all out, hoping this would not be a bad night.
Jiang Hao started the game tonight. When the starting lineups of both sides were displayed on the large electronic screen, it quickly caused a sensation.
Fans did not expect that Popovich would let Jiang Hao make his starting debut against the Warriors.
Is Greg going to give Jiang an unforgettable night? You must know that Jiang's performance was not very good last time the two teams met. He even failed to score a point in that game.
Some fans are not calm anymore.
Although the 70-year-old Popovich is now looking more and more like an incoherent old naughty boy, everyone still has to lament that this old man's thinking and operation are too advanced.
In the TNT live broadcast room, Shaquille O'Neal laughed so hard that he always felt that his five embarrassing programs needed a little yellow face. It seemed that he had a chance to realize it today, because he really couldn't understand why Popovich let a guy from last time
The rookie who swallowed duck eggs against him becomes the starter.
"Shaq, I have to remind you that China Jiang is far from as bad as you think. Don't forget the game between them and the Clippers in November last year."
As a sworn enemy, the big-mouthed Barkley had to confront O'Neal even on the topic of yellow players, which he didn't like very much.
"Okay, you two, as per the old rules, let's predict the outcome of this game first."
Kenny Smith spoke.
"There is no doubt that it will be Golden State. They have four All-Stars. Frankly speaking, even if Kawhi comes back, it will be difficult for San Antonio to win."
"I agree with Shaq"
On this issue, O'Neal and Barkley have unified opinions. This is a rare scene, but it also proves the strength of the Warriors.
On the court, after the appearance ceremony, Zaza Pachulia received a "warm welcome" from the home fans. Almost all Spurs fans greeted him and his family next to each other.
For Spurs fans, the scene of Leonard being tiptoed in the Oracle Arena last season in the Western Conference Finals is still vivid in their minds. They hated Pachulia. Even though the Georgian came out many times to clarify that he did not mean it, he still couldn't remember it.
It's hard to stop the fans' hatred for him. Now Pachulia has become the public enemy of all Spurs fans! Maybe from the beginning of this game until he leaves the NBA, he will receive this kind of treatment every time he comes to the ATAT Center.
Chapter completed!