"You're going to be too hard defensively, you're not getting the strength right, so you're going to get a lot of fouls, you're not going to have enough energy, you need to ...... More skillful. ”

Zhang Xiaotian did his best against Leonard, and I have to say that the Spurs' main No. 3 position is strong.

What he understands most is the opponent's defense, and he is also meticulous in the face of a nobody like him.

Throughout the game, Zhang Xiaotian only relied on free throws to score two points.

The four groups played the game in a round-robin, and when they played against the other two groups, Zhang Xiaotian scored double-doubles, and compared with Leonard, the defense of the other two groups was simply at the level of a primary school student.

After the first day of training, several people chose to practice, including Zhang Xiaotian, who is eager to officially join the Spurs, and Leonard, who is already the main force of the Spurs.

In this case, Zhang Xiaotiancai and Leonard, a quiet guy, said a few words.

The next day was still a group confrontation, the group broke up a few times, and Zhang Xiaotian faced Leonard twice.

It was very painful to face Leonard, but the other party was the same, and it was not easy to face Zhang Xiaotian three times in two days.

Zhang Xiaotian clearly felt the gap, because it was an internal practice, and there was no upper limit for fouls, so he could entangle with the opponent to the end.

However, he was not discouraged in the slightest, and Leonard's serious attitude made him feel a little closer to the NBA.

On the third day, the Spurs announced their summer league roster, which consisted of only eighteen players.

There are two athletes who only took two days of subsidies and left with their bags on their backs, which is the cruelty of professional basketball.

When Zhang Xiaotian heard his name in the list, he secretly clenched his fist.

The first step in many levels, he was finally not stopped.

Before the official start of the summer league, the team was divided into two groups.

Jacques Vaughn gave Zhang Xiaotian the task of keeping an all-out eye on Leonard, which led to him becoming the most abused person in the internal training match.

James Anderson is so happy that they think that the other group of people is the substitute team, the substitute team in the summer league is playing soy sauce, and Zhang Xiaotian, who has bad data, is the soy sauce in soy sauce.

Zhang Xiaotian himself did not worry about this matter at all, and in the confrontation with Leonard, he felt that his defensive skills had improved, and the offensive aspect was the same.

It's an honor to be able to play against the best players in the team.

On July 15, the Spurs' summer league finally kicked off, and their first opponent was the Hawks.

In the audience at the arena, Zhang Xiaotian saw the figure of Spurs head coach Greg Popovich.

Although Mr. Popovich came to observe Leonard's condition, everyone in the team understood that if they wanted to perform, they should take advantage of it.

The starting lineup for the Spurs is guards Corey Joseph and James Anderson, forwards Kawhi Leonard and Eric Dawson, and center Luke Zeller.

The Eagles' core player is this year's rookie John Jenkins, who is a pure shooter compared to Leonard, who is both offensive and defensive.

At the beginning of the game, the other nine people on the court seemed to be a foil to Leonard.

In the intensity of Summer League, Leonard simply can do anything.

It's just that the score of the two teams has not been opened, and the five people on the Spurs have only been running in for a few days, and everyone wants to perform in front of the head coach, and the result is that Leonard's strength has completely sunk in the indiscriminate shooting of both sides.

Halfway through the first quarter, the two teams began to rotate.

The Spurs' first rotation was the No. 5 spot, followed by the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, with Cory Joseph playing at the No. 1 position, like Leonard, who played for a longer time.

Zhang Xiaotian is a swing man in all aspects, and he can play in both the second and third positions, and if the requirements are not so strict, he can also play the first and fourth positions.

This style has made him the heart of the team, but it has also deprived him of the opportunity to go further.

The team has changed three people, and the coach has not yet called his name, he is a little anxious.

There are ten people who are as anxious as him, eighteen people who participate in the summer league, except for a few who have already got contracts, and one or two of the others are very good for the Spurs.

There are so few opportunities and everyone can't wait to perform.

Halfway through the second quarter, Zhang finally heard Jacques Vaughn call his name, and two other people were substituted at the same time.

He took a deep breath and decisively used the status hot card.

He knows very well that players like them who are not focused on investigation may be determined by life and death in one game, and they will be invalid if they are not used.

Summer league is either a rookie or a fringe player, and the starters may be able to play two or three sets of tactics, and when it comes to rotation, it's purely individual ability.

Both sides wanted to take advantage of the moment, and the Eagles' backup forward Ilya Millsap saw the opposing player replaced with a yellow man and immediately felt that his opportunity had come.

The other party rushed over violently, as if he wanted to eat people, Zhang Xiaotian was not afraid, and kept up with his feet steadily, without giving Ilya Millsap any chance to impact the basket.

Ilya Millsap was very unconvinced, he felt that he could eat Zhang Xiaotian, and he would be strong with his shoulders against Zhang Xiaotian.

Smack, Ilya Millsap used all his strength to fight, and after the start, he had no strength in his hands, and his shot was fiercely capped out by Zhang Xiaotian.

It's really enjoyable, Zhang Xiaotian has already felt the strength of the hot card, although he is not afraid of such a confrontation in the past, he can only let the opponent hit the iron, and he can't jump up the big hat opponent immediately.

His physical fitness, basketball skills, and even his judgment of the game have improved across the board, and every cell in his body is eager to fight.

Zhang Xiaotian successfully defended, and the Spurs immediately launched a counterattack, and this year's rookie Marcus Damon chased after the three-point line.

The ball was still in the air, and Zhang Xiaotian judged that the ball was a little off.

He accelerated directly into the opponent's penalty area and jumped high the moment the basketball bounced out.

Bang, the basket was shocked by his enhanced strength, and Zhang Xiaotian got the first point.

Slam dunks are common in summer league, and the Hawks don't have to worry too much about serving the baseline right away, and players on both sides are eager to play dozens of more rounds to prove themselves.

To stand out from this group, you have to be more eager to perform, better at performing, dare to fight, and have to show a certain ball intelligence.

Zhang Xiaotian quickly retreated to his position to defend, the opponent made a simple block, defender Brad Wernermaker came in with the ball, and Zhang Xiaotian actively made up for the defense and stepped forward to intercept.

With the impression of the big hat just now, Brad Wernermaker was not reluctant, he raised his hand to pass the ball to the bottom line three points.

Zhang Xiaotian had already keenly sensed the opponent's movements, and stretched out his arm to directly break the ball.

He strode forward on the dribble and rushed to a pull-out near the three-point line to save a desperate defender.

The knife fell, and the three points went into the net, and suddenly the whole court remembered his appearance clearly.