No.1 in basketball scoring

Moreover, there's one thing that's making Nash very frustrated right now—hosting the All-Star weekend at home, yet as the star player, he wasn't selected for the All-Star.

This is also why, even though the All-Star weekend is being hosted at the Phoenix Suns' home court, Nash has been staying at home and not going out after finishing the last game before the midseason break. Last December, Hook did not renew his endorsement contract when it expired, and his commercial value hit rock bottom within this year.

Everyone feels regretful about this, but they also find it quite normal. The Suns' lineup looks so luxurious, yet their record is only ranked tenth in the West. If Nash, as the tactical core, or Stoudemire, as the leading scorer, were selected as starters, nobody would object, but if they were really selected as All-Star reserves, those voting coaches would actually get criticized. The guards and forwards selected as All-Star reserves are all more qualified than the two of them.

As for O'Neal, even if he doesn't make the starting lineup, he's highly likely to make the reserves because O'Neal and Bynum are the best-performing centers in the West. There's no one better than these two, and the third-best-performing center in the West after them is the Clippers' Camby. Even at his peak, Camby wasn't at an All-Star level and never made it, let alone now.

After lunch, Emma Roberts took Nash's twin girls around to take photos, while Zhang Yang was pulled by Nash to the training court. He originally planned not to practice for the next two days, wanting to spend time with his little babes, but Nash wanted to relieve his frustrations through training, so Zhang Yang decided to accompany him.

Both the Nash here and the one from the 10-time line have given Zhang San a lot of help.

After practicing for a while, Zhang Yang found himself 'taking advantage' again. Nash taught him something that the '14 version Nash' couldn't—quickly turning an action into a shot upon hearing the whistle in an offensive play.

This isn't a foul-drawing skill; it belongs to the 'create opportunities' through reaction speed.

There are two scenarios: one is when the opponent fouls him, it's originally not a shooting foul, but if he reacts quickly enough to immediately make a shooting motion, it might influence the referee's final call.

The other is when a teammate is fouled. At this time, he not only needs to react quickly but also needs to make the shot. If done correctly, it might influence the referee's call and potentially result in an 'alternative 2+1.'

This story goes back to decades ago—at the inception of the NBA, Lakers' legend George Mikan was overwhelmingly powerful. Opponents came up with various antics to deal with him, one of which was to foul other Lakers whenever Mikan was about to shoot to stop him from successfully taking a shot.

This tactic wasn't very effective, at most slightly disrupting Mikan's attack rhythm. The ball possession still belonged to the Lakers, and Mikan could continue asking for the ball to attack. But it did severely damage the spectacle of the games. The professional basketball league was just starting, and attendance wasn't great. This tactic made it even less appealing to buy tickets.

As a result, the officials quickly established the rule—the Principle of Offensive Benefit: when the offensive player is shooting, the defensive side's off-ball foul will generally not be called.

Based on the Principle of Offensive Benefit, if the offensive side makes a basket while the defensive side commits an off-ball foul, the referee can choose to whistle, and the basket counts, and the fouled offensive player gets an additional free throw.

The little trick that Nash taught to Zhang Yang is not original. Players in the fifties and sixties tried to use this rule, but Nash could be said to have used it the best in history. In recent years, a player close to Nash in this aspect has emerged—Kevin Martin from the Rockets.

Zhang Yang tried learning it and found that although it seems simple in theory, it's quite hard to practice. It even requires some adjustments in dribbling rhythm.

But he's still ready to practice it well. The chances of using it might be scarce, and the referees might not even award free throws, but if he does get the free throw, it's like 'getting something for nothing.'

All he has to do is remember what Nash taught him, relay it back to Ingles and Grove, and he doesn't need to worry about designing a training plan according to his actual situation; all he needs to do is practice.

Nash is called 'the most technically skilled point guard in NBA history' because he's learned almost all the techniques he could use and integrated them into his playing style. Even when the probability of using a certain skill is low, he perfects it as much as possible.

This aligns with the saying—having a sword and not using it is entirely different from not having one at all!

…

On the first rest day, Zhang Yang spent a day with Nash, who was in a low phase of his basketball career. He knew it couldn't provide substantial help to Coach Nash, but as people, we need to have a heart of gratitude. This served as a token of appreciation.

In the evening, Zhang Yang and Emma Roberts picked up his parents and younger brother at the airport, along with DeRozan and his parents. The next day, the two families toured the major attractions in Phoenix City.

With a professional guide planning the route and plenty of US dollars on hand, the day's tour was compactly scheduled but not tiring for the group. They had lots of fun.

After a day of sightseeing, in the evening, the group went to the US Airways Center to watch the All-Star Rookie Game, cheering for Harden and Yi Jianlian.

This time, the Rockets have four players selected for the Rookie Game—one rookie, Brook Lopez, and three sophomores: Aaron Brooks, Yi Jianlian, and Scola.

Aaron Brooks, averaging 12.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game, held up the task of organizing the offense when Lowry was still slowly developing;