After the Asian Championships, Yang Jian did not return to China and flew directly back to the United States. There was no direct flight from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Los Angeles, but he transferred to Los Angeles and stayed there for two weeks.
All three girlfriends are in Los Angeles, and he doesn't want to go back to Seattle alone to go fishing or sailing at home.
This incident made the news. Fans discovered that Yang Jian liked Los Angeles too much. Lakers fans said it was a great regret that he did not join the Lakers.
In fact, Yang Jian has no regrets. It only takes two and a half hours from Seattle to Los Angeles. He has already seen through it. No matter which team he plays for during the game, he has to fly everywhere, it doesn't matter. And during the holidays, he can live wherever he likes, at any time
Buy a villa in Los Angeles to stay in during your vacation.
The reason why he didn't buy a house in Los Angeles was because he remembered the frequent wildfires in California in the future.
At that time, more than 100,000 houses faced a serious threat from wildfires, and many celebrities' mansions in Los Angeles were burned down. In order to save their mansions, some celebrities spent their own money to hire firefighters to put out the fires. If they don't, no one will care. American firefighters can see
Taking selfies with mobile phones at the scene of the fire...
Don't ask why, it's freedom to ask.
Yang Jian returned to Seattle after a short vacation, and the preseason training camp will start in early October.
The SuperSonics' lineup for the 1997-98 season has long been determined, and a full 15-man roster has been signed.
Center: Sam Perkins, Anthony Mason Jr., Ben Wallace.
Power forward: Charles Barkley, Terry Cummings, Osela Harrington.
Small forward: Detrev Schrempf, Beau Outlaw, Bruce Bowen.
Shooting guards: Yang Jian, Nate McMillan, Fred Hoiberg.
Point guard: Gary Payton, Eric Snow, Mookie Norris.
The SuperSonics' goal this season is to build a dynasty with no room for error, so they signed more players for rotation in the regular season. They controlled the playing time of their stars so that they can be in better shape for the playoffs.
Coach George Karl plans to limit the playing time of other players except Yang Jian and Payton to less than 30 minutes.
The media generally believes that the SuperSonics' lineup is very scary. This time, no "basketball experts" jumped out to say that they are not optimistic about the SuperSonics' inside strength.
Last season, the Sonics proved that as long as the offense is good enough, the short size of the inside players is not a problem at all. This season, the Sonics' overall offensive ability seems to be stronger than last season, but there are still no well-known players at the 2 and 3 positions.
Substitute.
On the surface, the SuperSonics do not have a good substitute on the outside, and the role players are not famous enough. Yang Jian believes that the substitute lineup is completely sufficient, and even if the two newcomers are in the rookie stage, they can still help the team.
Moreover, Bo Outero and Snow have already shown confidence. After winning two championships, they can perform well on the court. As long as these two are present, the offense and defense of the SuperSonics bench lineup will not be bad.
Mason, Barkley, and Schrempf can also stagger their appearances for a period of time, and take a break in the first quarter to bring in substitutes.
Yang Jian believes that the SuperSonics' lineup must be the deepest in the league. It is difficult to find a stronger lineup in NBA history, including the future "Cosmic Brave".
Next season, as long as Yang Jian concentrates during the game and does not stray away, and does not overdo it and throw three-pointers in the midfield, the SuperSonics will definitely hit the historical record of the regular season.
Yang Jian was so confident that he made a high-profile statement at the media day. "We will definitely win three consecutive championships without any accidents. Because I can't think of any team that can be our opponent."
Really not, there are only five strong teams in the Western Conference.
The Jazz's style of play was completely defeated by the Sonics, and there was no possibility of winning the game while maintaining the original core lineup.
The Rockets use a twin-tower strategy. They didn't even beat the Jazz last season. Olajuwon and Drexler are one year older.
The No. 1 pick, Tim Duncan, has just entered the league. The Spurs also use a twin-tower strategy and their outside players are average.
At first glance, the Lakers have a super strong lineup, but in fact only O'Neal is the strong point, and they are a group of blacksmiths on the outside. Eldon Campbell and O'Neal have overlapping positions, they cannot play well when they play, and they are overpaid when they are not playing, which is a burden to the team.
The core lineup of the Eastern Bulls continues to age, the overall salary is too high, and no big-name players joined in the summer. The core players of the Knicks and Heat are all "iron-blooded" blacksmiths who are better at fighting than playing, so there is nothing to fear.
Yang Jian said: "My other goal is to win the MVP again. I am confident that I will once again hit the best record in history."
Other SuperSonics players were interviewed and expressed their confidence to defend their title.
It's no wonder they don't have confidence. The SuperSonics lineup is too strong. The core makeup photos were taken with five people. The weakest veteran among the five starters, Schrempf, has also been selected as an All-Star. Although Mason has not been selected as an All-Star, he has
All-star strength.
In the summer, several well-known veterans wanted to join the SuperSonics but had no chance. After the manager signed two players as requested by Yang Jian, there was no room left.
The team started training the next day, and Bowen and Hoiberg did not disappoint Yang Jian. They were both ready to fight.
George Karl doesn't need them to do much on the offensive end. He only catches and shoots three-pointers or mid-range shots from the baselines on both sides, and can occasionally make a cut. Bowen's performance on the defensive end is much better. He can defend alone and assist, and can become a
The team's important rotation substitute.
If you sign a veteran, you won't have the ball on the offensive end and you can catch and shoot, and your defense won't be as good as Bowen. Hoiberg's role is single and he won't have many performance opportunities this season.
Manager Volivo overcame Yang Jian and felt that his vision of people was more accurate than that of scouts. What some people lack is not ability, but performance opportunities. Outside defensive players are more difficult to discover than offensive players because there are no
Data for reference.
Yang Jian's theory is very simple. If you don't know who to sign, and you want to strengthen the wings, you can definitely look for a player who is about 2 meters tall and can catch and shoot. As long as the athletic ability of a player about 2 meters tall reaches the average level, he will be fine.
Unlimited defense changes.
This is true on the basketball court. Bo Outero is also an undrafted rookie, a blue-collar man with a height of 203cm. If a person like this can practice casually, although it is difficult to become a defensive expert on the defensive end, at least he will not be a defensive loophole.
The ones who performed even better in training were Barkley and Mason, both of whom are extremely capable in immediate combat.
Barkley's mid-to-long-range shooting is not stable, but he has a textbook low post shot. He can turn around and hit the shot after arching his back twice.
Barkley's true shooting percentage at his peak was astonishing. He had a true shooting percentage of more than 65% in four seasons, and his scoring efficiency was higher than Jordan's. He relied on his back-up skills and often broke double teams in the low post.
Now the team does not need Barkley to break through double teams. He is only responsible for one-on-one and the efficiency is too high. In a parallel world, Barkley has become a big player after joining the Rockets and has the highest offensive efficiency on the team. Now he is much more relaxed and only needs to hug
Yang Jian's thighs.
Mason also immediately integrated into the team, responsible for playing pick-and-rolls in the middle, catching and shooting in the high post, and supporting passes. Mason's personal offense cannot be compared with Kemp, but his passing ability completely surpasses Kemp, and he can control the number of turnovers and fouls.
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The Sonics have four inside players who can stretch out and shoot, whether in positional battles or quick counterattacks.
Harrington will definitely have to reduce his playing time, but he is lucky because he has a good teacher in the team and can learn from Barkley about post-up play.
Harrington's main way of scoring in the NCAA was through post-up play. After entering the NBA, he could only come on as a substitute and play twice occasionally. As long as he can learn one and a half of Barkley's moves, his personal strength will definitely improve.
After practicing together for a week, the newcomers have integrated well. The veterans guide the newcomers and can teach them game experience. Yang Jian even treats guests to dinner every three days and organizes team-building activities.
Before the game started, Yang Jian gave each of his teammates a customized watch with each person's name engraved on the back. The new players had never seen such a generous boss. The value of this watch was close to US$10,000.
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And this gift is very meaningful. Everyone wears the same watch, and they look very united when they flash their wrists. Yang Jian was inspired by the x logo on the wrists of the Straw Hats from the comic "One Piece".
The media is following and reporting on the SuperSonics, and they all praise Yang Jian's leadership. The SuperSonics are the most united team, and they are the strongest in all aspects.