Now is the critical juncture of the playoffs, this season is Zhang Zifeng's first season, and he is full of expectations for the playoffs, so he has been working hard in the game, hoping to perform better in the game and help the team win.

Although Zhang Zifeng had a good idea, the reality was that he was ruthlessly beaten with a stick.

Pull-up jump shots, three-point shots, and European step layups are Zhang Zifeng's most proficient and skillful offensive techniques, and they are also the offensive techniques that give the opponent the greatest threat.

When Zhang Zifeng's characteristics are familiar and analyzed by the opponent, the opponent conducts targeted defense, forcing Zhang Zifeng to the bottom line and to shoot in the lowest position.

Zhang Zifeng immediately dropped his hit rate and made mistakes one after another.

In the 76ers' tactical system, Zhang Zifeng's role is the most important link.

His play on the court directly determines the outcome of a game for the 76ers.

This is not an exaggeration at all, and I believe that anyone who has watched the 76ers game, whether it is an opponent or a fan expert, will agree with this view.

If Zhang Zifeng is restricted on the court and does not play well, then the 76ers will lose their strongest spear.

The 76ers' offense is greatly discounted.

In the past, Zhang Zifeng thought that the technical movements he had mastered were enough to run rampant in the NBA, but when Zhang Zifeng was now in trouble and was restricted, he found that the offensive skills he mastered were enough for ordinary players, but for the core of a team, aiming to become a top superstar in the league, it was a bit less.

Zhang Zifeng knew that he had to improve his strength, whether it was for himself or for the team.

He already had a plan in his mind.

Back-to-back singles are very common in the game, especially in the penalty area, and it is one of the necessary skills for interior players.

Among the defenders, this trick is relatively rare, but Zhang Zifeng knows that he is a very good player who can practice his back-to-back singles skills.

In particular, Jordan and Kobe Bryant, two of the best players among the guards to hone their turn-and-back jumpers in back-to-back singles.

Because of this, the two of them are also the best and most difficult players to defend among defenders.

Because both of them are guys who don't have any shortcomings in the attack and can really attack from any corner of the frontcourt.

This is something that no one else can do.

NBA players basically know all basketball skills, but whether they can use them or not are two different things.

Zhang Zifeng used to have back-to-back singles skills, but he couldn't use them well in the game.

After the training on this day, Zhang Zifeng had to stay alone for his own training as usual.

Everyone is used to this point, and the teammates greeted Zhang Zifeng one after another, and left the training ground one after another.

At this time, according to Zhang Zifeng's instructions, Rose, a trainer specially hired by the team, also came to the stadium.

Rose, an NBA draft candidate in '11, is 1.97 meters tall and weighs 112 kilograms. The body is burly and full of strength. The explosiveness is not bad, but the disadvantage is that the physical fitness and shooting are not good.

Because of this, he has been a substitute for four years in college, and when he saw that he didn't have enough credits and couldn't get a graduation certificate in his senior year, he gritted his teeth and participated in the draft in 2011, but he was unexpectedly defeated.

Then, in order to support his family, Rose took up a career as a trainer.

Seeing that Rose was coming, Zhang Zifeng didn't talk nonsense, and beckoned Rose to start warming up and preparing for training.

Zhang Zifeng still has a very clear understanding of himself, as the most important member of the 76ers team now, and with the increase of fame, in the offense, he often encounters the opponent's marking more strictly.

A person who defends closely on the outside, once he breaks through, he will encounter the opponent's timely defense, and will not give you the opportunity to impact the penalty area.

Zhang Zifeng often falls into a situation where he can't advance or retreat in the low post, and the team's offense has come to a standstill.

Zhang Zifeng knew that he had to solve this problem, otherwise he would never be able to become a superstar and the team would not be able to move on.

I used to play well, but there were opponents who didn't pay enough attention to it, and there were reasons why my own characteristics were not understood.

But who would despise Zhang Zifeng now, and it is impossible for the entire league to treat themselves as rookies anymore......

It is not difficult for Zhang Zifeng to imagine that he will definitely not be easy in the future.

The opponent will definitely use their best and toughest defensive experts against them.

Zhang Zifeng knew that his skills were not enough, at least in the low position, he did not have enough skills to score consistently.

To solve the current problems, the most important thing is to practice the low post attack, to be precise, the back body single technique.

On the road to becoming stronger, Zhang Zifeng will never stop.

Zhang Zifeng took the ball and signaled to trainer Rose to come over from behind to defend him.

Ross acted in advance and defended Zhang Zifeng from behind. His left hand was stuck on Zhang Zifeng's waist, and his right hand was held high, simulating the situation of fighting on the court.

At the same time, his eyes were fixed on the ball that Zhang Zifeng was dribbling, ready to break the ball at any time.

Zhang Zifeng holds the ball with his back, his feet are naturally separated, and his upper body is leaning back.

The ball landed, Zhang Zifeng tightened his left hand, and hit Rose with his back.

Zhang Zifeng dribbled the ball step by step into his back, hoping to advance to the penalty area.

But it is obvious that Zhang Zifeng's back dribbling skills are not skilled, and when he crashed into Rose again, in order not to break Rose, he dribbled a little far away from him.

But at this time, Rose suddenly retreated, and although Zhang Zifeng did not fall, his center of gravity had been lost. Rose stepped forward and pounced on the basketball.

Zhang Zifeng didn't have time to take back the ball, and the ball was stolen directly.

Zhang Zifeng smiled bitterly when he saw it, shook his head, and then said, "Come again!" ”

Rose threw the ball to Zhang Zifeng, who took it and continued to practice his back-to-back singles skills.

This time, Zhang Zifeng only thought about moving his feet, but he forgot to dribble for a while, and the result was naturally a walking foul!

"Come again!"

"Come again!"

……

"Zhang, let's take a break!"

After thirty minutes of training, trainer Rose was the first to get tired.

Ross has good skills, but his biggest problem is fitness, and because of this, he didn't do much in college, and at most became a trainer to support his family.

Zhang Zifeng nodded when he heard this, walked to the side of the court, and threw a bottle of sports drink to Rose.

After a ten-minute break, Zhang Zifeng called Rose again and continued training.

Rose was surprised when he heard it, Zhang Zifeng had been training with the team for three hours, and now he had been practicing for another hour, and he still didn't relax.

After seeing Zhang Zifeng become famous, he still insists on exercising hard and is eager to become a stronger player. Ross has been a trainer for three or four years, and has trained dozens of professional players in between, including veterans and rookies, but it is the first time to see Zhang Zifeng.

Once a lot of black players sign an NBA contract or get a big contract, it's definitely hard to find them on the training floor as soon as the training time is over.

It's hard to see them on time even in the usual training.

If you want to find them, you have to go to a bar or a nightclub.

They're very talented, but a lot of times, they're just relying on talent.

In their rookie season, their talent may allow them to excel for a while. But when the opponent gets acquainted with their characteristics, they become quite ordinary.

Slowly becoming a role player, slowly becoming a substitute, and even disappearing from the league.

There is a high open and low walk, or a high-tech low-energy performance.

A Chinese like Zhang Zifeng, although his physical fitness is lower than many players.

But Zhang Zifeng relied on his diligence to make up for this gap little by little.

Watching the sweat on Zhang Zifeng's forehead fall bit by bit, and then thinking about the scene when he used to be afraid of hardship and tiredness in physical training, Ross was melancholy.

Zhang Zifeng was not in the mood to accompany Rose to reminisce about the past, he seized the time to hone his skills.

……

Although Zhang Zifeng would like to be able to master the technique of using the backbody singles immediately, it is obviously impossible.

Any kind of technique must be honed little by little over time before it can be truly mastered and used.

Zhang Zifeng hasn't fully mastered the back-to-back singles technique yet, so the 76ers are completely waiting and watching?

Of course not, while Zhang Zifeng is working hard to improve himself, the 76ers are also trying to correct their tactics and adapt to the game.

For example, try to avoid Zhang Zifeng's shortcomings and give full play to Zhang Zifeng's strengths. Let Zhang Zifeng run and shoot more and attack less with the ball.

For example, tell Smith, Noll and others to play more inside lines to create space for Zhang Zifeng.

However, this is only equivalent to a headache and a pain in the foot, and does not fundamentally solve the problem.

If Zhang Zifeng thinks that this is okay, then Zhang Zifeng has changed from a sharp knife to a player who can stand up and maintain firepower when the team is stalemate, or when the offense is stalled, to a 3D player.

If Zhang Zifeng can't solve this problem fundamentally, Zhang Zifeng won't be able to stand up at the critical moment and help the team win!

Maybe Zhang Zifeng can still rely on his previous popularity in the first few years, and the 76ers will not move him if he is still popular, and he will not be moved if he has commercial value.

But for several years in a row, Zhang Zifeng has done nothing, disappointing fans again and again, and this popularity will be consumed sooner or later.

At that time, Zhang Zifeng, who has no popularity and no outstanding strength, how can the 76ers still treat him as a treasure, but they are afraid that he will be swept out of the house immediately, or become a role player.

Just like Iverson back then!

Training every day and then participating in competitions, this is Zhang Zifeng's life now.

The 76ers let Zhang Zifeng run more and try to play to his strengths of accurate shooting.

This set of tactics, when Zhang Zifeng feels hot, there is no problem.

But once you don't feel good, or when you encounter a guy who has a strong defense on the other side, the 76ers' offense will have problems.

If there is a top interior player in the 76ers team who can attack with the ball on his own, he can not only help the team score, but also help Zhang Zifeng to pull the defense and open up space.

Zhang Zifeng will not be so easily restricted.

But the 76ers simply don't have such a player, and Noll is okay defensively, but not offensively. Smith has never been good at attacking from the outside box, preferring to shoot from the outside.

The only reliable Embiid, hey......

On Feb. 29, the 76ers took on the Wizards on the road.

The Wizards are still in 10th place outside the playoff rounds, but they are only three wins away from the eighth-place Pistons, and on their home court, the Wizards naturally hope to win and close the gap with the Pistons.

The Wizards went all out, winning the first half 60-48 to a double-digit advantage.

The 76ers, ranked 11th in the East, were clearly not going to sit still, and in the third quarter, the 76ers fought back frantically, starting the quarter with a wave of 22-6 and overtaking in one fell swoop.

At the end of the third quarter, the 76ers scored 34 points to take an 82-79 lead into the final quarter.

With 5:44 left in the game, the 76ers still led 93-86.

Wall also scored three points, and after that, he and Gortat successively "hit three points", and the Wizards played a wave of 9-0 to overtake the score in one fell swoop.

At the critical moment, Zhang Zifeng was frozen by Beal and did not score a point for 4 minutes, and in the end, Smith stepped up and hit a three-pointer to control the situation.

In the end, the 76ers narrowly defeated the Wizards by one point.

John Wall had 37 points and seven assists, Marcin Gortat had 18 points and 20 rebounds, Markieff Morris had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Bradley Beal had 16 points.

The Wizards held a 53-32 rebounding lead.

For the 76ers, Smith had 25 points and seven assists, Zhang Zifeng had 14 points, six assists and four rebounds, Noel had 11 points and Cannan had 13 points. Carl Landry, who came off the bench, scored 15 points.

On March 1, the 76ers played against the Hornets on their own.

The Hornets occupy the sixth man spot in the East, but they are only one game ahead of the ninth-place Bulls.

The outcome of any game has the potential to change the rankings. The battle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference is intensifying and could continue into the final game of the regular season.

Against a team like the 76ers, the Hornets are determined to win.

However, after the opening, the 76ers went on a 7-1 run in the first minute, catching the Hornets off guard.

Williams also hit a three-pointer, Walker hit a step-back shot, and the Hornets went 8-0 before they gradually found their senses.

The 76ers hit back-to-back three-pointers and hit six three-pointers in the quarter to make it 24-24.

Jeremy Lin hit a pull-up shot and the Hornets ended the quarter 8-5 to take a slight 32-29 lead.

Jeremy Lin scored eight points in the first quarter. With 8:52 left in the second quarter, he made a backhand layup to give the Hornets a 40-38 lead.

With 2:36 left in the quarter, Cannan hit a three-pointer to put the 76ers up 50-52, but they failed to hit another shot in the quarter.

The Hornets ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 58-50 lead in the first half.

Hornets point guards Walker and Jeremy Lin played well, scoring a combined 20 points in the first half. The Hornets shot 51.2 percent from the field, compared to 35.6 percent for the 76ers.

The Hornets started the third quarter with a 6-0 run in the second half to take a double-digit advantage at 64-50.

The 76ers recovered at this time, and Smith and Zhang Zifeng hit three-pointers one after another, hitting a 20-3 attack wave to overtake 70-67 in one fell swoop.

The 76ers didn't take the lead for long, and Walker drove to the basket before hitting back-to-back three-pointers with Courtney Lee to regain the advantage after the Hornets went on a 14-0 run. After three quarters, the Hornets led 83-74.

With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Kaminski hit a three-pointer to give the Hornets a 94-78 lead.

The 76ers fell into a scoring drought again, Zhang Zifeng fell one after another, and Smith fell into the problem of liking random shooting at the last moment, and finally the Hornets defeated the 76ers 119-99 away.

The Hornets won two in a row to maintain sixth place in the East. Kemba Walker had 30 points and seven rebounds, Cody Zeller had 15 points and six rebounds, Marvin Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Nicholas Batum had 12 points and seven assists. Jeremy Lin, who came off the bench, had 14 points and two assists.

The 76ers suffered a heavy defeat, Smith had 12 points and eight rebounds, Zhang Zifeng had 17 points and nine assists, and Noel also scored 17 points.

is always strictly marked by opponents at critical moments and falls into a scoring drought, which makes Zhang Zifeng, who has always stood up to help the team at critical moments, very dissatisfied with his performance.

After losing the game to the Hornets, Zhang Zifeng went directly back to the training hall to practice until one o'clock in the morning, and then went back to rest under the persuasion of the staff.

But soon in less than 4 and a half hours, Zhang Zifeng ran back at half past five in the morning to continue training!