My Manor

Since Rondo left... Well, actually, before Rondo left, the Celtics' record wasn't very good. After Rondo left, the Celtics' record seems to have gotten even worse...

Except for the one home win over the Timberwolves, they have suffered two consecutive losses, losing to the Heat and the Magic, both of whom also have poor records. Now that the Celtics are gone, they are definitely not a strong team in the league. So, the Christmas game everyone was looking forward to has nothing to do with them. But after all, they are one of the faces of the NBA, so a game was scheduled for Carnival Night.

That game is tonight, against the Brooklyn Nets. Although the Nets are also quite bad now, at least, on paper, they are much better than the Celtics. If it were an ordinary team without a top player, they might need to think about ways to play badly or consider trades, but the Celtics don't have such a tradition.

Even if they lose badly, they will never play poorly. So, the team still has a spirit to fight for victory.

Level is level, and spirit is spirit. It is not their style to admit defeat before the game.

So when Jiang Hai came to the training ground below, he was surprised to find that although the record was poor, the atmosphere of the team was not bad.

At this time, in a large training ground, the players of the team were gathered in groups of three or five. Some were practicing shooting, some were working on strong shots, rebounding, positioning, or passing.

The NBA training hall is not a small place with only one basketball court. Jiang Hai came in and took a quick look. He found that there were ten basketball hoops here, meaning five basketball courts. There was a lot of empty space next to each court. Many boys stood by the wall in the distance. They were wearing uniform clothes and were not very old. They were mainly responsible for retrieving basketballs that bounced away and sometimes helped with defense and passing.

These people should be the legendary caddies, and among them, Jiang Hai saw a familiar figure, who was likely the guy who challenged him on the basketball court. His name seemed to be John, but he was a white John.

"Oh, you're here. Come on, Jiang, follow him over there. I've arranged a shooting trainer for you. They will evaluate your abilities. I've heard Bradley talk about your shooting skills. Show us," said Brad Stevens when he saw Jiang Hai and Bradley approaching.

As he finished speaking, two coaches came over and took Jiang Hai to the half-empty court next to him.

"How is he?" Seeing Jiang Hai being taken away by the two coaches, Brad Stevens pulled Avery Bradley beside him and asked in a low voice. Hearing his words, Bradley hesitated a bit.

"I'll remind you, you can call him a monster. Mr. Bray-Bo will give you the specific data later." After that, Bradley didn't say anything more and went directly to the court to warm up with shooting.

As for Jiang Hai, he ran to this half of the court, where an assistant coach explained how to run. This was the most basic Z-shaped run on the outer line. From the bottom corner on the left or right side, run up the line. After reaching the 45-degree angle in the opposite direction, cut straight inward. After passing the backboard, turn and run outward, toward the outside of the three-point line, then run along the arc to the 45-degree angle on the opposite side, cut straight inward again, and turn around to run out of the three-point line.

From above, this looks like a Z-shaped run, which is a basic move for all guards.

Since it's a basic run, it's not complicated. After the assistant coach demonstrated it once, Jiang Hai understood. What he needed to do was catch the ball passed by the assistant coach at any time while running these positions, immediately catch it, and shoot.

This is one of the most challenging training routines for a person's shooting accuracy, but it seems too simple for Jiang Hai.

"Swish, swish, swish..." Jiang Hai never missed, continuously sinking perfect shots, all swishes. After all, it was only within the three-point line, and the farthest position was just outside the three-point line. Was it difficult for Jiang Hai to make such shots?

"This is boring, let's make it a wider range!" Finally, after scoring more than 30 consecutive shots, Jiang Hai stopped and said to the assistant coach. After hearing Jiang Hai's words, the assistant coach glanced at Brad Stevens in the distance.

Stevens had actually been observing Jiang Hai and noticed that Jiang Hai's shooting was exceptional.

The main reason he asked Jiang Hai to try out was that Bradley had said Jiang Hai could make super-long three-pointers in a row. As for the claim that he could make 100% of shots within half-court, he didn't believe it. After all, this is the real world, not a fantasy world. Where does such a terrifying skill come from?

If it were really that scary, why bother playing? Just give him the ball past half-court and let everyone move out of the way. When did basketball become so easy? How could he not know?

So he thought it was a joke, but now seeing Jiang Hai's shooting, it seems to be truly amazing. Hearing Jiang Hai's words, Bradley thought for a moment, nodded, and agreed to Jiang Hai's proposal.

Seeing him nod, Jiang Hai smiled, took the basketball from an assistant coach, stepped one step beyond the three-point line, and without hesitation, jumped and shot. The ball went straight through the hoop—still a perfect swish!

Then, two steps, three steps... even a meter and a half away from the basket, it was still a perfect swish!

Seeing this, Brad Stevens was slightly stunned. Could it be that what Bradley said was true?

At this moment, more people noticed Jiang Hai, who was practicing shooting in the distance. That terrifying three-pointer was indeed terrifying.

"Hey, we seem to have found a monster." At this moment, Bray-Bo entered from outside, holding a form and handing it to Brad Stevens. When Brad Stevens saw the form, his hands suddenly trembled. He then looked at the guy throwing three-pointers in the half-court with awe.

"Are you sure there is no mistake?" Brad Stevens asked, confused, looking at Bray-Bo's form.

"I swear to God," Bray-Bo said seriously.

"Hiss, if this is true, then this guy is really a monster, a super monster!" Brad Stevens stared at the information in front of him, his eyes almost burning with excitement. He glanced at Jiang Hai, who was still shooting, and thought for a while. He had seen Jiang Hai's shooting ability, but he didn't know how well he could shoot under defense. So he wanted to test it out! Thinking of this, he set the information aside and clapped his hands enthusiastically.

"Everyone, gather first! Let's play a 15-minute team practice match!" Hearing Brad Stevens' words, everyone who had been watching Jiang Hai practice shooting three-pointers was immediately drawn to the court.

At the coach's command, everyone quickly gathered. With no clear leader on the team now, and no troublemakers, Brad's authority was naturally the strongest.

"Jiang, come here too. Let me explain. We're going to play a 5-on-5 game for 15 minutes. Your performance will determine your playing time tonight," Brad said seriously, looking at the group.

Currently, the Celtics have signed a total of 15 players. Of these, veterans Gerald Wallace, Marcus Thornton, and James Young are unable to play due to injuries, leaving 12 players available. Among these 12, there is no fixed starting lineup. Whoever plays well may be the main player, and whoever plays poorly may be benched.

Upon hearing this, the faces of the players instantly became serious.

"Jared (Sullinger), Evan (Turner), Avery (Bradley), Tyler (Zeller), Jeff (Green), you guys, put on the white jerseys. Jay (Claude), Kelly (Olynyk), Marcus (Smart), Brandon (Bass), and... Jiang, you guys put on the yellow vests." Brad paused when he reached Jiang Hai's name and added, "Go put on the yellow vest."

Hearing that there was still something for him to do, Jiang Hai was a little surprised, but he didn't say much. He just went to change into a vest. Although he had no interest in playing in the NBA or playing professionally, since he had come here to play, he wasn't going to back out now. He changed his vest and briefly spoke with his teammates.

"Are you No. 1 or No. 2?" Marcus Smart, the point guard of the Yellow Team, walked up to Jiang Hai and asked.

Marcus Smart, the sixth overall pick this year, was one of the reasons the Celtics traded Rondo. Although he looked tough on the outside, he had a great personality. He was willing to do anything to help the team on the court and wasn't like current point guards who focus solely on offense.

His defense and offense were both above average. He would actively grab rebounds and had good foul-drawing ability. The most important thing was his strong desire to win. Even in a practice game, he wanted to win and hated losing.

"Uh, No. 2!" Jiang Hai replied. Though his height was more suited for the No. 1 position, he knew that although he had practiced dribbling at home, it was only for light jogging. If he had to run, the No. 2 position would be more suitable for him.

"Okay, you'll stand in your usual spot, and I'll pass the ball to you," Marcus Smart said, smiling at Jiang Hai. The ten players then walked onto the court to prepare for today's practice match.