17. I really don't know what you're working so hard on every day.

Zhang Yang remembered the 2010 playoffs, where the Suns, despite being underdogs, swept the Spurs 4-0, ending Nash's "Spurs' Nightmare."

As long as he didn't drag them down, he should be able to complete this trial smoothly... Eh? Why is it always about not dragging them down?

But 2010... it was another watershed in Nash's career. After that season, Stoudemire left Nash, and Nash never led a team to the playoffs again, eventually joining the Lakers to form the second-generation F4 and failing to win a championship, ending his career in obscurity.

But regret is also a kind of beauty in the basketball games, Zhang Yang turned his focus back on himself.

He went over the information he had received again, and after organizing it, he was frustrated.

From the information, he knew that up to now, his skills were only fixed-point mid-range shots and attacking the basket.

The counter-attack ability was actually also attacking the basket, it was just that he was fast, so counter-attack was a strength.

He had a bit of three-point ability, but not much; it was clearly the result of many years of practicing mid-range shots.

The skills he now possessed were those he had trained in before he opened the Gate of Trials!

His tactical sense was good and had been recognized by professional coaches before he opened the Gate of Trials.

That meant after the point he opened the Gate of Trials, he had not learned any new skills, wasting such good physical attributes!

After calming his mind, Zhang Yang felt that he had roughly figured out what the "Trial Mode" was all about.

It can be seen as an "instance," based on his current abilities, "growing" to a certain age to participate in classic series games.

But then there was a new problem—2010 was after he had initiated trial mode. What if it were before that?

Wait, helping the Suns eliminate the Spurs means playing through a series of games?

Even if it's a sweep, that would still take a week, right? Wouldn't that be when school starts?

...

Zhang Yang didn't ponder for long; he looked at the electronic clock with a calendar on the bedside table, it was May 1st. He got up, dressed, and left the room.

Having had the mystery addition with no user manual for so long, his patience had improved a lot, assuming that was the benefit it provided; otherwise, he hadn't gained any advantage up until now.

Taking advantage of the early morning and the homeowner not yet being awake, Zhang Yang toured Nash's house to familiarize himself, just in case he couldn't find his way back to his room.

The house was very large, roughly counting, not including the kitchen and dining room, there were over a dozen rooms.

Outside in the backyard, there was another building. Zhang Yang looked through the window and saw it was a basketball court. The door was unlocked, he entered, turned on the light, and looked around; the facility was simple, a few chairs for resting, a couple of ball racks, a full-court basketball court with a wooden floor, nothing else.

After casually touring Nash's house, Zhang Yang didn't know what else to do, so he decided to train!

After practicing for a while, he understood why his skills seemed decent on the panel; he had shooting and physical fitness, but still wasn't chosen.

His ball handling had gotten better, but his style was very straightforward. He was smooth when moving directly and could fully utilize his physical fitness.

But if he needed to change direction, it wasn't that he couldn't, but he had to think it through first. If it were a high school or even college game, it wouldn't matter much, but it probably wouldn't suffice for an NBA game.

Shooting was the same, stand-still jump shots were pretty good, but shooting after dribbling or turning to shoot, whenever he sped up the motion, he couldn't maintain accuracy, and the movements were awkwardly stiff.

Just as the information described, his abilities were too one-dimensional.

Moreover, the message described that after he failed to be drafted, he had been diligently training and had won the favor of Gentry and Nash. Thus, his abilities a year ago during the draft couldn't have been as good as they were now—sufficient to play a functional role in college but not up to NBA standards, plus the impression left by a certain Chinese guard in the NBA last season, it was normal for him to be overlooked.

It was only because he met Gentry, who was skilled at utilizing functional players, that he got the chance to officially step onto the NBA court.

Zhang Yang didn't think further and immersed himself in shooting practice.

He might need to play in the upcoming series against the Spurs. To avoid holding his team back, he had to quickly familiarize himself with his current body and capabilities.

Practice more, get used to the current feeling of dribbling, shooting. Maybe when the training "Gate of Trials" is over and he returns, it might help improve his training.

Before, his shooting practice was consistently filled with clangs, but now it was swish after swish, he was really energetic, and before he knew it, over half an hour had passed.

Just after 7, Nash pushed open the gym door and, seeing Zhang Yang shooting, greeted with a smile, "Hey, Jack, up early for training again, huh?"

Zhang Yang had already stopped shooting… Steve Nash!

He contained his excitement and responded normally, "Good morning, Steve, you're up early too?"

Nash sighed lightly, "Ah, tomorrow we have the game against the Spurs. Couldn't sleep, thought I'd come and train with you early."

Was he worried about not being able to beat the Spurs?

That was understandable. Zhang Yang remembered that before 2010, the Suns faced the Spurs in the playoffs in 2005, 2007, and 2008, and lost each time. In 2007, the Spurs had played dirty tricks, earning the Suns a lot of sympathy. But in 2008, after the Suns traded Marion for O'Neal, they were brutally beaten by the Spurs in the playoffs, and last year the Suns didn't even make the playoffs…Facing the Spurs again this year was naturally worrisome.

Especially since the Spurs had just upset the Mavericks in the first round…

Zhang Yang encouraged, "Steve, I believe you can definitely beat Duncan this time."

Nash smiled at the comment but changed the subject, "What's for breakfast today?"

"Uh… don't know yet. I'll see what's in the kitchen and make something."

"Great, whatever you make is always delicious," Nash said as he walked to the rack, grabbed a ball, and started dribbling as a warm-up.

Zhang Yang looked up at the ceiling, speechless. Could the special reason mentioned in the message for why he was staying over be because he was a good cook?

Could being able to cook actually become his fallback career if his career didn't go well?

After dribbling a bit, Nash said to Zhang Yang, "Let's hold off on cooking for a bit. I'm not hungry yet. Let me teach you some dribbling first."

Zhang Yang immediately moved closer, holding the ball.

Nash couldn't help but comment, "With such good physical condition and yet such monotone skills, I really don't know what you do with all that effort in training every day…"

Hearing this, Zhang Yang himself wanted to ask what he had been training all these years…

After a light rant, Nash's tone returned to normal, "Just practicing shooting every day isn't enough. Shooting needs time to accumulate. Ensuring effective training each day is enough. While practicing shooting, you also need to practice the techniques that allow you to utilize your shooting abilities better, that's how you'll perform better. Having the ability to showcase your shooting skills gives you a chance to play, gaining enough game experience to know how to adjust your shots, and that's how you progress…"

Zhang Yang listened carefully to Nash's guidance; the man in front of him might be one of the best technical point guards in basketball history, perhaps not just limited to point guards!

...

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