On May 5, local time in the United States, Houston, the space city.
At the Toyota Center, amidst the disappointed voices of fans in the stadium, the timer on the sidelines still showed the number "0:00".
This is Game 7 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Utah Jazz challenge the Houston Rockets away from home. Although the two superstars "Yao and Mai" both scored 29 points, they still could not stop Boozer's 35 points. The Houston Rockets lost to the Utah Jazz at home 99:103, ending their playoff journey this season.
Zhang Guan, who was watching the game, looked at the disappointed Dayao on the court. At this time, Dayao was still encouraging his teammates, as if telling them that they would make a comeback next year, but Zhang Guan knew that Dayao had missed the best moment in his career. An opportunity, starting from next year, he will be plagued by non-stop injuries until he finally retires.
"What a pity!" Zhang Guan shook his head. Although he already knew the result, he still felt very sorry when the game was over.
The Rockets lost the game, and Dayao was naturally a little depressed. However, since Zhang Guan came to Houston specifically, Dayao still had to express his gratitude to the landlord, so he hosted a banquet for Zhang Guan and Sharapova at Yao Restaurant the next day.
"Try this roast duck, authentic Beijing roast duck." Dayao pointed to the roast duck on the table and continued: "There used to be a Quanjude restaurant in Houston, but it closed down later, so I invited the roast duck chef there."
"It's not easy to be able to eat Peking duck in the United States!" Zhang Guan sighed, then changed his voice and said, "Do you feel that the current Rockets lack a good offensive organizer."
"Offensive organizer? Although Alston is not a star point guard, he is still qualified. The current Rockets offense should be pretty good. Tracy McGrady averaged 24 points per game this season, and I averaged 25 points. The two of us combined are faster. 50 points. The inside center strengthens the outside line, but this is the tradition of the Rockets." Dayao smiled, and then said: "Coach Van Gundy is also a coach who emphasizes defense, and now sports experts have been saying that the Rockets lack a A good substitute inside to share my pressure."
"That's right, you and Tracy McGrady's offense is indeed unsolvable. When you two are firing on all cylinders, other teams in the NBA really can't defend you. But have you ever thought about what happens if it's you? Is one of them feeling bad? Or is one of them injured? As long as the other person is restricted, your offense will not go smoothly. You are all good offensive terminators, but you are not professional. Offensive organizer." Zhang Guan continued: "In addition, I think the Rockets should introduce another All-Star player or a superstar player!"
"Bringing in another star? How is this possible! Don't you know that the owner of the Rockets is the stingiest in the NBA! We are not the Lakers or the Knicks." Dayao said with a smile.
"I think the 'Big Three' model is a trend in the next few years. Just imagine if LeBron, Wade and Bosh were on the same team!" Zhang Guan said.
"How is this possible! The three of them should all be NBA superstars, and they are all in their prime. Three superstars on one team? Even if the three of them are willing, the NBA team's salary cap is also limited. Dayao continued: "But I don't have to worry about that. I'm not the team owner anyway, so what I say doesn't count."
"In the future, if I buy a team and become my own boss, I won't just have the final say, just like Jordan did!" Zhang Guan said with a smile.
"Don't make fun of me. NBA teams are so expensive. I can't afford them! But if I save money in the future, I can buy a CBA team." Dayao changed his voice and continued: "Speaking of basketball players What's the matter, you suddenly changed your career from track and field, why don't you come to play basketball?"
"Playing basketball? I really didn't think about it at the time." Zhang Guan said.
"You should switch to playing basketball!" Dayao looked at Zhang Guan and said, "You are over 1.9 meters tall and have more physical talent than black people. The key is to be fast enough. Once your explosiveness and speed soar Get up, who can keep up with the breakthrough with the ball! If you really play basketball, I will definitely drag you into the national team. When the time comes to play against the Europeans, I will walk outside the three-second zone and bring out their center. You make a breakthrough and immediately break up the opponent's defense."
"Is it that easy to play basketball? Haha, I don't study well, so don't lie to me." Zhang Guanke ignored Dayao's confusion.
Dayao smiled awkwardly, and Zhang Guanze continued: "Playing basketball is much more troublesome than playing tennis. At least I can't enter the NBA. Do I have to start playing in a low-level league in China? I can't play tennis. It’s the same, a sponsor’s wild card helped me enter the Australian Open, win a Grand Slam championship, and I will have no problem participating in all tennis competitions in the future.”
"That's right. Playing basketball does take too much time." Dayao nodded, and then said: "I saw a tennis masters tournament in Miami two days ago, but you didn't seem to go to participate!"
"I didn't go. I've been doing special training during this period." Zhang Guan said vaguely: "You will know the news from France Network in a few days!"
"Okay, I wish you the French Open championship in advance!" Dayao smiled and raised his glass.
…
A few days later, Zhang Guan left the United States and flew to Europe to prepare for the French Open.
The biggest feature of the French Open is the clay court. In tennis, the clay court is second only to the hard court in terms of its popularity. Especially in continental Europe, there are many clay courts. Not only in France, but also in many countries in Western Europe, clay courts are covered in clay courts. field. For example, the Tennis Masters in Rome and Hamburg, the Tennis Tour in Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Croatia, the gold medal events in Germany and Austria, etc. all use clay courts. It is precisely because of this that Naomi A player like Dahl who is good at playing clay courts can push his points to the second place in the world. As long as he can win a French Open and a few clay court championships every year, he can push his ATP world ranking to over 4,000 points.
Zhang Guan did not rush directly to Paris, France, where the French Open is held, but rushed to Germany first. Firstly, it is because Sharapova needs to go to Germany for a series of recuperation due to old injuries, and secondly, because the training conditions in Germany are better than those in France.
In Germany, Zhang Guan specially rented a clay court used for competitions for training.
"Clay court!" Zhang Guan stepped on it hard, then couldn't help but bend down and touch the ground. Although the ground is paved with red soil, it is actually very solid.
"It's quite strong!" Zhang Guan said involuntarily.
"Nonsense, this is red clay. You thought it was sand!" Coach Zhang smiled and then said: "The clay courts at my time were not so solid, but with the new technology used now, the clay courts are better than before. It is much stronger. Don’t underestimate this kind of clay court. It is much more troublesome to lay than a hard court. The bottom of the clay court is a drainage system, and then a layer of large gravel is laid on top, and then a layer of small gravel is laid. Then it is rolled. After rolling, the diameter of the surface gravel cannot be larger than 5 mm, and then clay and sand are laid, and finally red soil is laid. The red soil is not natural red soil, it is red soil that has been treated with anti-slip agent, and the diameter must not be larger than 0.3 mm. With such fine red clay, even if an athlete falls, there will be no skin trauma.”
"It sounds more troublesome than laying a plastic field, and it also has anti-slip agent, so you don't have to worry about slipping." Messenger Zhang Guan slid his steps.
"Although some anti-slip agents have been added, it does not mean that it will not slide anymore. I always feel that the effect of using sliding steps on clay courts is very good." Coach Zhang continued: "Let me get used to the court and teach you. Some special clay court sliding skills.”
"Special sliding skills?" Zhang Guan's eyes lit up. He suddenly remembered that Coach Zhang won the French Open championship at the age of 17. Clay is also Coach Zhang's favorite surface. He must have many unique skills on clay.
The first chapter has arrived, during the double monthly pass period. In addition, I have something to do this Saturday. I promised to break it out every weekend this month, so let’s move it to tomorrow.
(End of chapter)