ctnovel Chapter 66: Pre-season stats and a one-on-one duel with Durant!
Chapter 66: Pre-season stats and a one-on-one duel with Durant!
The night before the training camp started.
Zeng Zhen entered the system again to check his personal attributes.
Name: Zeng Zhen
Identity: Player for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Contract: 4 years, $1127 million.
Height: 2 meters.
Weight: 96 kg
Wingspan: 2.15 meters
Approaching vertical jump: 101CM
Standing vertical jump: 86CM
Athletic attributes: ball handling speed 88, agility 86, strength 68, stamina 89, aggression 84, rhythm 82.
Finishing Ability Attributes: Close Range Shooting 83, Layup 84, Dunk 61, Drawing Fouls 76, Post-Up Fadeaway 76
Shooting Ability Attributes: Mid-range shooting 82, Spot-up three-point shooting 89, Off-the-ball three-point shooting 87, Free throw shooting 88, Shooting IQ 95, Shooting Consistency 84, Contested shooting 88
Organizational attributes: Ball control 85, Passing vision 86, Passing accuracy 82, Passing intelligence 82, Ball control consistency 84
Defensive attributes: Perimeter defense 78, Interior defense 33, Lateral movement 78, Steal 75, Block 55, Defensive IQ 78, Defensive consistency 72, Rebound 54
Key attributes: Basketball IQ 91, Mental Strength 92, Leadership 80
Integration rate of the six superstars: 82%!
Performance rating: S-tier (All-Star)
Currently unlocked superstar skills: Stephen Curry's exclusive skill—[God of Three-Pointers], Steve Nash's exclusive skill—[Swift Pass].
Zeng Zhen's offensive and defensive attributes were constantly honed in the high-intensity competitions of the NCAA playoffs and the Olympics, which led to his rapid progress.
"Durant is probably not as good as he is now." Zeng Zhen is eager for the upcoming new season. He wants to turn Durant into his second-in-command and lead the Thunder to surprise everyone.
.......
NBA training camps have two main purposes: one is to allow players to recover from the holidays and integrate the team into the lineup, and the other is to evaluate players and complete the team roster.
The Thunder have 11 players with guaranteed contracts, including Zeng Zhen, Durant, Collison, Westbrook, and Sefolosha, and they need to add 15 players to their roster.
Zeng Zhen arrived at the locker room early and greeted everyone in the team. There were more than 20 people in the locker room.
The players here all recognize this No. 8 pick; this rookie who single-handedly challenged the Dream Team at the Olympics left a deep impression.
No one would be so foolish as to provoke or suppress Zeng Zhen.
Everyone appeared friendly, and many people hugged and high-fived Zeng Zhen to show their respect!
When Durant, Collison, Sefolosha, and other SuperSonics players who were all with the team last season returned to the locker room, their gazes toward Zeng Zhen changed. They had previously missed Jeff Green, but this No. 8 pick, acquired in the Jeff Green trade, had won over everyone on the Olympic stage.
He seemed so powerful that no one outside questioned Presti's decision to trade Jeff Green for him anymore.
There are already discussions about whether the Thunder will build their team around Durant or Zeng Zhenlai.
After all, Zeng Zhen was able to lead the Chinese team to a historic height, which largely proves his leadership ability. His playing style on the court shows that he is a core player in building a team.
Kevin Durant left the impression on the media and fans during his rookie season as a bricklayer. He looked like he could drive and shoot, but his shooting percentage was quite low. Under his leadership, the SuperSonics had a very poor record last season, which made his core position questioned.
The emergence of these external voices made it difficult for Durant to have a good impression of Zeng Zhen. When he encountered Zeng Zhen in the locker room, he simply nodded.
So, on the first day of training camp, after the head coach's speech, Durant immediately challenged Zeng Zhen to a one-on-one match: "Zeng, let's go one-on-one, three dribbles, 21 points, in quick succession."
One-on-one duels are a way for Durant to prove himself, and he hopes to use this method to reaffirm his leadership position on the team in the new season.
"No problem!" Zeng Zhen isn't LeBron James, so he naturally wouldn't make excuses like basketball is a five-player sport.
"KD, teach Zeng a lesson."
"Zeng, KD will be destroyed by you."
"Once, I kicked KD's ass really hard."
Westbrook, Watson, Collison and other teammates chimed in, eager to see who was stronger in a one-on-one match.
Durant stood above the free-throw line and passed the ball to Zeng Zhen.
"Bang!"
Zeng Zhen caught the ball steadily with both hands, and the basketball seemed to be completely under his control.
Zeng Zhen took a probing step and bent down to assume a three-threat stance.
Even though Durant is only a sophomore, his one-on-one ability is already top-tier in the league. Even many superstars might not be able to beat him one-on-one, so Zeng Zhen needs to be extremely focused.
Durant was positioned slightly closer to Zeng Zhen, and Zeng Zhen took a quick step to the right and beat Durant!
"Whoosh!"
"So fast!" Durant thought to himself, "This is bad."
Zeng Zhen broke in and easily made a layup in three steps.
In terms of explosiveness, Zeng Zhen is stronger than Durant.
2:0.
"Your defense was terrible. No wonder your team was fourth-worst in points allowed in the league last season," Zeng Zhen shouted at Durant.
"Stop talking nonsense." Hearing such trash talk, Durant's face darkened immediately, and he passed the ball to Zeng Zhen again.
At this point, Durant was positioned a little further away, while Zeng Zhen was standing about a meter away from the three-point line at the top of the arc.
Zeng Zhen made no preparations and simply raised his hand to shoot.
They acted quickly and decisively.
The moment he released the ball, Zeng Zhen knew he had it; his shooting instincts were excellent.
The curve is perfect!
Durant was a little too slow when he pounced on him.
"box!"
"Whoosh!"
The basketball bounced off the rim and then fell into the basket.
5 is better than 0
Durant turned around and saw this, saying, "You're lucky."
"Then do you dare to release it?" Zeng Zhen mocked.
Durant fell silent; he dared not let Zeng Zhen take the three-pointer.
Zeng Zhen received the ball again, and Durant stuck to Zeng Zhen this time, not giving him an easy opportunity to explode and shoot. Zeng Zhen used his shoulder to push Durant away and made a shooting fake to slightly shift Durant's center of gravity.
In an instant.
Zeng Zhen took a step to the right and then stopped and jumped to shoot.
"Whoosh!!"
7:0.
"Continue." Durant felt the pressure; Zeng Zhen was clearly different from the other Thunder players.
Durant never loses one-on-one against other players, but Zeng Zhen made him feel that he might lose.
Zeng Zhen on the field had a strange feeling.
In his past life, he thought Durant's one-on-one ability was amazing, but now that he has one-on-one ability comparable to Durant's, he doesn't think Durant is unbeatable.
Zeng Zhen is significantly faster than Durant, and he is also more agile, which makes it easier for him to anticipate Durant's defense and avoid being blocked.
Zeng Zhen played two games against Durant.
Zeng Zhen won the first game with a score of 21-7.
In the second set, Durant attacked first and won 21-10.
In a match, whoever attacks first has the advantage and the initiative.
Neither of them could completely dominate the other in a one-on-one situation.
Zeng Zhen showcased his ability to combine driving and shooting, and with his explosive first step, Durant often couldn't defend against him.
Durant is slightly taller than Zeng Zhen, and once he finds his rhythm, Zeng Zhen's current abilities won't be able to significantly disrupt Durant.
Just as the two were about to start the third round, head coach PJ Carlesimo prevented them from deciding the winner.
It's clear that the coaching staff doesn't want the two to be so head-to-head in practice matches.
.....
During his time in the training camp, Zeng Zhen gradually became familiar with his teammates and integrated into the team very quickly.
Training camp ended quickly, and the preseason officially began.
In the preseason, the Thunder played six games and won only one. Zeng Zhen played an average of 20 minutes per game, scoring 13.5 points, 5.5 assists and 3 rebounds, with the highest efficiency rating on the team.