Ahead of the game against the Charlotte Hornets, Jerry Sloan, John Stockton, Carl Malone and Thomas Carter were on the New York Knicks' practice court alongside Phil Jackson and Steve Mills.

The five Hall of Fame-level masters are lined up, making people dare not look at them directly.

Seriously, until you see Phil Jackson and Jerry Sloan standing together, you may be amazed at how different they are between the two great coaches from the same era. 71-year-old Phil Jackson and 74-year-old Jerry Sloan met again after a gap of five years, only this time, Sloan is already a gray-haired, trembling old man who walks, while Jackson is still energetic and energetic, reading books, drinking tea, exercising, and living a happy life with his girlfriend Jenny Bass (engaged and unmarried).

After reading the two famous coaches here, Stockton and Malone on the other side are also very contrasting, the older Malone is a year older Stockton is dressed plainly, his appearance is not good, if you don't tell you that he is the famous assist and steal king in NBA history, then you will never think of his true identity. In contrast, Malone is much more handsome, wearing a shiny stand-up collar leather jacket and a pair of blue skinny jeans, and his figure as a professional wrestler can't be ignored wherever he goes.

Finally, there is Dr. Carter standing alone, compared to the other four, he is the most ordinary one, and the most difficult to identify, except for Vujasic, who has a relationship with him, others don't know that this middle-aged man is the famous No. 1 "miracle doctor" Dr. Thomas Carter.

Seeing these five masters appear, the training hall was already bustling with discussions.

"Oh my god, this is Stockton, living Stockton, my idol Stockton, I grew up watching him play."

"Ma Long's figure is too well maintained, you look at his big chest muscles, look at his thick arms, even if he is allowed to play now, I am afraid he can still beat a lot of guys."

"You see, that white-haired old gentleman is Jerry Sloan, right? How did he get here? Didn't I hear that he was very sick? ”

"Hey, Roy, why aren't you excited at all? Seeing so many legends, are you also indifferent? While everyone was amazed at what they saw, Roy was the only one whose face did not change color and his heart did not beat.

This made Hernangomez, who was already amazed on the side, a little curious, "Your reaction is too calm, aren't you?" They're all prehistoric monsters inducted into the Hall of Fame. ”

It's not that Roy isn't excited, it's just that he doesn't really like these veteran stars, and he hasn't seen their games or read much about them. Let's talk about the older generation of stars, except for Michael Jordan, who is so famous that his old lady and grandfather know, Roy really doesn't know a few.

It was only today that Roy met Malone and Stockton's real people for the first time, and before that, his knowledge of these two was limited to knowing, knowing that they were once strong, knowing that they were famous, and that's it.

Seeing that the players arrived, Phil Jackson also began to speak, in fact, he didn't need to say much, except for the famous but unfamiliar Thomas Carter, the other three were all regulars on the TV camera, and Phil Jackson even needed to announce their names to win a round of applause and cheers from the players.

"Zen Master" didn't talk too much nonsense, he told all the players that from today, the team will add four new members, among them: Jerry Sloan will be the team's chief technical adviser, responsible for the team's tactical development, and due to the old coach's physical problems, he will only appear in the training gym at certain times of the week; Karl Malone and John Stockton will be the team's new assistant coaches, with Malone in charge of coaching the team's interior players and Stockton coaching the team's outside players; In addition, Thomas Carter will become the team's chief team physician, responsible for the health of all members of the team, which will also reduce the burden on the original team of team doctors (shared by the New York Knicks and New York Rangers).

After introducing the four new members of the team, Jackson walked off the court with Sloan, and the others immediately got to work.

Unlike Hornacek, who has been coaching for more than three years, Malone and Stockton have not yet gotten used to the habit of wearing suits to coach players.

The "Utah Second Elder" who changed into jerseys and sneakers immediately exuded an innate domineering, which made those young juniors embarrassed.

Of course, Hornacek knows the thoughts of these two old comrades, and they must want to guide these juniors by themselves, and by the way, relieve their football addiction, so he also divided the team into an "inside group" and an "outside group".

Roy was naturally assigned to the outside team, and he was coached by one of the NBA's strongest point guards, John Stockton.

"Roy, I know you." Before training began, Stockton caught Roy first.

"Hello, Senpai." Roy replied respectfully.

"Anyway, you beat our Jazz team so badly last time, and you beat Gordon (Hayward) in an interview with the media, right? I'll have to settle this account with you first. ”

"Uh......" looked at the expressionless Stockton, Roy really thought he was here to settle the score, but Stockton immediately brought it over with a clumsy joke.

"Forget it, for Jeff's (Hornacek's) sake's sake, I won't pursue it, but next time for my sake, don't fight the Jazz so hard, you know?"

Stockton smiled innocently after speaking, but unfortunately Roy didn't get Stockton's humor, so he had to look at the new assistant coach helplessly.

"Well, before training begins, how about we warm up for two warm-ups?"

Hit two? Without waiting for Roy to agree, Stockton beckoned to the other side of the field, "Carl (Malone), you haven't started yet, have you?" Why don't we practice with these young people first? ”

Hearing Stockton's call, Malone immediately twisted his big ass and ran over, speaking of which Malone had already itched his hands, and his old partner's proposal was in line with him.

"So, I'm in a group with Karl (Malone), Roy and you are in a group with Porzingis, and we're going to play three sets of balls, and by the way, look at the quality of your usual training, okay?"

O, as soon as Stockton said this, the training hall exploded in an instant, and the players immediately circled, and even Hornacek in the distance came over curiously.

"Coach, are we really playing against each other? Or ......" The honest Porzingis is still a little worried, he is really afraid that beating the two Hall of Fame veterans will make them lose face.

"Of course you have to fight seriously, are you still afraid that we will release the water?" Ma Long showed his strong personality at this time, and his words could be regarded as cutting off the retreat of both sides.

Derrick Rose volunteered to be the referee, and the simple two-on-two match began.

Roy/Porzingis got the first move, Roy was not polite, anyway, he didn't have much feeling for the two old-timers in front of him, he hit the basket with the first ball, and Stockton and Malone, who suffered from speed, couldn't defend at all, so they could only watch Roy dunk and score 1 point first.

"Good, good, keep going." Stockton, who was scored, was in a good mood, and he was even clapping his hands to encourage Roy.

This time Roy was even more unkind, in the second round he repeated his old trick, directly using speed to force Stockton, but Malone, who had been prepared, immediately made up for it, Roy was not greedy, a ground pass to Porzingis, and the latter easily scored 1 point in the vacant position.

2:0, it seems that the victory and defeat of this warm-up game have been decided, and the onlookers began to whisper, they can't help but feel that the years are ruthless, even the top "Utah Elders" in the league back then have times when they can't beat time.

But there was no nervousness or embarrassment on Stockton and Malone's faces, they might be ready to lose to these young men, or maybe they still had the cheats they hadn't come up with.

"Carl (Malone), we seem to be underestimated, have you neglected to exercise in the past few years?"

"Just kidding, John (Stockton), I do more work a day than you eat breadcrumbs."

"Hahaha." In the laughter of everyone, Roy's third attack began, it was still the old routine, using speed to make a strong breakthrough, but this time, the "two Utah elders" came up as if they had said yes.

Porzingis was again in the open space, and Roy saw the gap and raised his hand to pass, but at that moment, a fast hand slapped the ball down.

Stockton's block steal! Roy reacted immediately, this is Stockton's unique orange skill, the name of this skill is simply too appropriate for Stockton's current moves.

With Stockton's steal, the Malone/Stockton group finally got the ball, and the ball was in Stockton's hands at this time, don't look at this uncle who is 54 years old this year, his ball control skills have not degraded at all, a few dribbles in front of the body, both solid and stable, Roy can't find a chance to break the ball at all.

The first attack of the "Utah Double Brake" let Roy understand what is called tacit understanding, without warning, Stockton suddenly accelerated, almost at the same time, Malone's huge body also blocked Roy's vision, the ball and Stockton suddenly disappeared together, and by the time Roy got rid of the covering Malone, Stockton had already completed the layup.

"Awesome." The players watching the game saw the trend of the ball clearly, and Stockton used Malone's high-quality cover to complete a sneak attack under the basket.

Continuing to attack by the Malone/Stockton group, the second ball was the turn of "Postman" Malone, who received a pass from Stockton, leaned forward to push Porzingis away, and then made a steady shot on the spot, as easy to deliver the "package" as back then.

It only took half a minute for the "Utah Elders" to tie the score, and as soon as the situation reversed, the teammates outside the court also saw the wind and rudder.

"Roy, KP (Porzingis), you have to come on, don't lose to the two uncles."

"Coach, you guys are playing so well, you're my idol."

"It's okay, Roy, there's no shame in losing to Uncle Hall of Fame."

The teammates outside the field have begun to coax, Roy can't help but lift his pants, the last ball, he has to be serious.

But the cooperation between Malone and Stockton is too incomprehensible, the third ball they finally came up with a blocking and demolition stunt, it is so simple a block and a demolition, Roy and Porzingis were cut by Malone's generous body, and when Porzingis changed Stockton, Stockton made another accurate ground pass to Malone who was inserted into the penalty area, and in the face of the rushing "postman", Roy had nothing to do, and Malone ended the teaching game with a heavy buckle that pulled out a thousand pounds.

With admiration and sighs, everyone dispersed, and Stockton, who was still wiping his sweat, called Roy again.

"Roy, do you know why I'm talking to you?" Stockton was still the same expressionless face, and Roy, who had just lost, was a little in a bad mood, he just shook his head.

"Because you're the most playmaker on this team, and I don't watch the Knicks play a lot, but my instincts have always been accurate. Tell me, what do you usually do when you get the ball? ”

How? Roy was stunned, this was a question that was difficult to answer directly.

"To put it simply, I dribble and watch the opponent's defense, and if I have a chance I do it myself, and if my team-mate has a better chance, then I give it to my team-mate."

"Well, that's one of the qualities that a good playmaker should have, read the game, look for opportunities, and then, what would you do if the opponent's defense was tight, like the Celtics and the Hawks before us, or like we did?" Stockton also didn't forget to tout his and Malone's defense.

"Well......" This is another difficult question to answer, and in the face of the Celtics and Hawks' bag defense, Roy's offensive efficiency is really not high.

"I guess I need to improve my body and technique even better." After thinking for a long time, Roy gave the answer.

"Do you think you're going to be able to solve everything when you become LeBron like that? No, LeBron lost four times in the Finals, and it's not like a stronger individual can solve all the problems. ”

"Oh......" Stockton's words made Roy think, indeed, even if he is as strong as LeBron James, the number one in the league, he can't beat all the opponents on his own, James can't do it, and Jordan can't do it.

According to Stockton, it should be about tactics, and the clever Roy seems to have guessed Stockton's intentions, but he still chooses to listen quietly.

"I dare say that if I go back to 20 and participate in this year's draft, I'm afraid I won't even make it to the second round." Stockton smiled brightly, "But even if I can't run fast, I can't jump high, I don't have height or body, it doesn't affect me in the slightest to blow up those proud muscular men, well, just like just now...... On the basketball court, in addition to individual ability, there is also a more powerful weapon, that is, tactics. ”

"Roy, you have a strong enough talent, and I will teach you how to use tactics to blow those paper tigers with teeth and claws, just use my eyes and your brains, and we can create a big scene together."