Hello everyone, I'm A-Du.

Chapter 13 Harmonious Changing Room

In contrast, Billups was very enthusiastic towards Durant. The two complement each other's positions, and he liked his teammates the more powerful they were.

As the third overall pick in 97, Billups experienced a rough start in the league, becoming a bust before achieving Finals MVP status with the Pistons. He understands all too well the importance of strong teammates. He wasn't originally a superstar player; besides his steady passing and clutch plays that were both risky and cold-blooded, his biggest strength was his defense.

Scoring has never been his strong suit, and he doesn't need to take too many shots, making him a perfect match for Durant.

After a brief medical examination, the coaching staff arranged targeted training programs for both new and veteran players.

Du Xiaoshuai just idly spent the morning jogging and practicing his shooting.

After a three-hour break at noon, the coaching staff will arrange an intra-squad scrimmage at 3:30 pm to assess the players' abilities and evaluate the team's tactics.

Before the start of the game, head coach PJ Carlesimo addressed the team with a serious expression, emphasizing that everyone should play seriously and give their all, and that they should have the right attitude, as this was an important test before the season began.

Du Xiaoshuai's team was grouped with Chauncey, Damian, Thomas, and Collins.

Group Two mainly consists of West, Green, Posey, Joe Smith, and Swift.

From the start of the game, the situation was one-sided. Du Xiaoshuai, who hadn't played for a long time, got into form very quickly, throwing the ball as soon as he got it, and almost every shot made.

They made six consecutive shots to start the game, and their seventh three-point attempt was blocked by the rim.

Billups said he never knew getting an assist could be so easy. Just lob the ball high over the head of the tallest person on the court, don't be afraid of being tackled, just throw it in an arc, the higher the better, and Durant will definitely be the first to catch the ball when it falls.

So easy!

The second team's substitutes were completely outmatched, unable to defend and even had two of their attacks blocked!

It's so hopeless!

With his body significantly enhanced compared to his original form, Du Xiaoshuai discovered that in low-intensity games, he could transform into Garnett on the defensive end, covering the entire three-point line!

22-4! That's a pretty big difference!

What's even more frustrating is that the head coach on the sidelines started to lose his temper!

PJ Carlesimo seemed to think that his well-intentioned pre-match pep talk was being ignored, and he unleashed a torrent of abuse on the second team, who were being utterly crushed.

His voice is high-pitched and shrill, and he enjoys making personal attacks, with a very high profanity level.

Don't assume that foreigners don't involve relatives when they insult each other. Foreigners like to reason with each other when they argue because they are unsure whether the other person is telling the truth. Therefore, it is best to argue based on the facts of the matter.

If you can't win an argument with reason, a normal person will feel guilty. If you don't reason at all and just vent your emotions, everyone will start pulling out the truth when things get heated! That won't benefit anyone.

Being simple and honest is also out of necessity, unlike in China where gun control by law can actually save your life.

However, bullying is based on the assumption that the other party has no truth to their claims, and the main purpose of insulting someone is to do whatever they want.

P.J. has a criminal record. He was previously warned by the league and the union for verbally abusing players. If being a head coach isn't about disciplining players, then what's the point of being a coach?

Durant is the team's core asset and can't be criticized. Billups is rumored to have gang connections, so no one dares to criticize him. Everyone else gets a beating on the first day of training to establish authority.

Otherwise, how can the head coach have a sense of presence?

At 5:30 p.m., the final score was 69-23.

A one-sided game always ends relatively quickly, and this is also true for men's and women's recreational activities. If it were a sport involving a man and his five fingers, it would end even faster!

P.J.'s insults hastened the second team's defeat. Although they lost the game, the second team players were mentally and physically strengthened, and they will probably not be so easily intimidated when playing away games.

In the locker room, some people looked dejected, while others looked refreshed.

Du Xiaoshuai was the first to enter the bathroom and finish showering. He then went to the cabinet near the door to pack his beloved little backpack, preparing to go home.

Locker room culture? Cliques and factions? The unspoken rules and shady practices of veteran NBA players bullying rookies?

Where is it?

The uniformed officers stated that there are no cliques within the Supersonics.

Players who dared to trip up Du Xiaoshuai received no warnings, only expulsion.

At least when Du Xiaoshuai came today, I felt that the whole team was quite kind.

Let's say it together: Peace and Love!

Billups came over and patted Du Xiaoshuai on the shoulder, exuding the air of a gangster boss from the Black community: "Bro, I booked a private bar room at the Silver Cloud Hotel. Let's go sing karaoke tonight! Thomas and Joe are coming too, they're all teammates, it'll be completely private! Hmm?"

After saying that, Yu Douyan winked knowingly at Du Xiaoshuai.

Jiang Wu once said, "Isn't singing just a way to find prostitutes?"

Understand!

"Okay, but I need to tell my mom first." Du Xiaoshuai had long wanted to experience the decadent side of capitalism, but unfortunately he had never had the chance, so he agreed without hesitation.

"Uh—" Billups, who had prepared a lot of persuasive and inviting lines, suddenly got stuck.

He couldn't tell whether Du Xiaoshuai was naively obedient or had been eager to try for a long time.

Regardless, the fact that Du Xiaoshuai agreed is the best outcome.

The Silver Cloud Arena Hotel is located on the east side of downtown Seattle and has a prestigious background. Its private club is not open to the public.

Billups was already very familiar with the place, and he led several veteran players and some promising rookies into a large box with a central stage.

Groups of young black and white girls lined up to welcome them.

After a few drinks, a black woman was performing a striptease on the dance floor. The lights were flickering and dim, and the performer almost blended into the darkness!

"Relax, Kevin. This is the first time we've all met. Tonight's gathering will help us bond. It's very private and safe here. The boss is a friend of mine. A little drink won't hurt." Ge You, who plays a theatrical performer, lay on the sofa, a thick cigar dangling from his lips, urging the underage drinker to drink. He had a young woman on each side, and balls in both hands, a man of all kinds of vices.

After playing ball for so many years, can't you enjoy yourself a bit?

Let the music play and the dancing continue!

Du Xiaoshuai, imitating his older brother, drank and sang while challenging his two weaknesses, leaving James Posey, who was standing next to him, stunned.

"Kevin, I thought you were a good boy."

"Although I smoke, drink, go to bars, and play around with women, I'm a good kid!" Du Xiaoshuai said, toasting the other person.

"Not bad at drinking." Joe Smith raised his glass to him and said, "A toast to our good boy, Cheers!"

Honestly, setting aside the glitz and glamour of the venue and the girls stalking around, a gathering in a private room is pretty much the same as a regular dinner party. It's the first time people meet, and to facilitate better cooperation in the future, they use the slight intoxication and the smooth talk of the girls to exchange goodwill. How businesslike? How proper?

It's all for basketball, and for work!

I love my job so much!

It was almost 11 o'clock at the party. Du Xiaoshuai, who had just finished two rounds of the game, was drunk and needed to pee. He found that the toilet in the private room had been occupied for a long time, and his teammate Thomas and the two girls he had ordered were not there. He couldn't hold it any longer and had to leave the private room and walk out.

The public restroom was at the far end of the central corridor, separated by several large private rooms. Refusing the waiter's directions, Du Xiaoshuai hurried away.

Just two private rooms away, a petite figure rushed out of the door and bumped right into Du Xiaoshuai.

The figure was a woman dressed in thin, disheveled clothes. She was drunk and didn't react much after the collision. Instead, she forcefully pulled Du Xiaoshuai into the private room.

The private rooms here are similar in layout to those in Changxi. At this moment, there are more than a dozen young men and women inside, all of them disheveled and dancing wildly.

Before Du Xiaoshuai could speak, he was pulled into the dance floor and gestured to dance together.

Du Xiaoshuai gave a perfunctory twist and turned, eager to leave, but was stopped by another woman...

After struggling for a while, Du Xiaoshuai bypassed the chaotic crowd and came to the other side of the dance floor. He lifted his long legs and stepped over the partition wall of the dance floor, heading towards the toilet in the private room.

Everyone has to relieve themselves! Do you even know how much I drank?!

Thankfully, no one was in the restroom!

Just as Du Xiaoshuai entered the restroom and was about to lock it, the door was pushed open again by a white woman.

"Together?" The drunken woman didn't care at all and sat down on the toilet.

Du Xiaoshuai was speechless for a moment.

He simply left the door open, walked to the urinal next to the toilet, and turned on the water.

Feels great!

After the two finished relieving themselves and became a little more sober, an awkward silence fell over the bathroom.

Pulling back his "equalizer," Du Xiaoshuai noticed the woman's gaze was still fixed on his pants, her eyes practically drooling. He gestured frantically as he explained, "I'm from next door. I just came out to use the restroom and your friend dragged me in—"

Just then, the petite figure at the door rushed into the restroom, muttered "Paris," and expertly pushed the woman sitting down aside before sitting down herself...

Awkward....

Du Xiaoshuai turned to leave, but saw the white woman, without even lifting her skirt, bend over and lock the bathroom door from the inside.

The next day.

Du Xiaoshuai didn't report to the team until after 3 p.m. because he had quietly slipped back to his room around 5 a.m., afraid of waking his mother Wanda, and had been catching up on sleep all morning and at noon.

This was a serious lateness, but P.J. didn't say much when Durant returned to the team.

After last night's team building activity, the veteran players on the team became noticeably more familiar with each other.

Du Xiaoshuai was forced to blend in with everyone.

In the following preseason training, Du Xiaoshuai, who understands a bit more about interpersonal relationships, noticeably went much easier on his teammates in the intra-team scrimmages.

Because Du Xiaoshuai returned to the team too late, the coaching staff only had time to design two offensive tactics for him before the new season.

The first set of Durant's positions is shooting guard or small forward, an omnipresent "finishing point". When off the ball, he plays shooting guard, and on offense he can cut along the baseline, make cuts, and use the pistol offense. When he has the ball, he plays small forward and can set high screens to clear one side for isolation plays.

The second tactic is a flexible offense specially designed for Du Xiaoshuai by P.J. and the coaching staff. It first obscures Du Xiaoshuai's position on the court. If the opponent relaxes their defense on Du Xiaoshuai, it is a flexible offense, and Du Xiaoshuai can shoot before everyone is in position. If he is pressed or even double-teamed by the opponent, his teammates need to create offensive space for Du Xiaoshuai through continuous screens.

In short, it can be summed up in one word: one-on-one.

Just like in the Summer League, there are still unlimited shot attempts.

In fact, the original Durant in the original timeline also played like this during his rookie season, but that young Durant's physical skills were too immature. His stats were decent, but his efficiency was appalling.

In this lifetime, given the immediate impact Durant has demonstrated, the coaching staff believes that he alone will be enough to give many teams a run for their money in the new season.

As for defense?

Kevin Durant does have some of the Timberwolves' lateral movement and defensive talent, but you can't expect a rookie to shoulder both the offensive and defensive burdens, can you? He's still on a rookie contract!

Defensive system training has always been a long-term plan. We'll emphasize defensive discipline first, and use games as practice during the new season. We'll take it slow and steady.

The preseason begins on the 8th.

Seattle SuperSonics vs. Phoenix Suns, Suns home court.

The SuperSonics' starting lineup for positions 1-5: Chauncey Billups (point guard), Jeff Green (shooting guard), Kevin Durant (small forward), Kurt Thomas (power forward), Jason Collins (center).

The Suns' starting lineup for positions 1-5: Steve Nash (point guard), Raja Bell (shooting guard), Grant Hill (small forward), Shawn Marion (power forward), and Amar'e Stoudemire (center).

The difference in roster strength is obvious on paper!

This is a typical example of the difference between a championship-contending team and a rebuilding team.

Although the Suns, who started their offensive onslaught in 05, gradually showed signs of decline and their championship window closed quickly, their foundation remained strong. The players' strength, talent, and reputation completely overwhelmed the SuperSonics.

The Suns' seven-star, seven-second fast break, with four All-Star starters, Raja Bell being an elite 3-and-D player, and Brazilian lightning Barbosa and French star Diaw on the bench.

Although head coach D'Antoni also has the problem of blindly copying the starters, his strengths outweigh his weaknesses.

According to outside media and experts, unless the Suns throw the game today, the weaker SuperSonics are likely to face a tough challenge.

With four months without games, even in the preseason, the Suns are unlikely to throw the game in front of their enthusiastic home fans in their first game.

Before the game, Seattle media discussed how the biggest highlight of the game would be how many points Durant could score.

The preseason results don't affect the overall standings. The intensity is lower than the regular season, but it's still a level above the Summer League. After all, the star players are the same as in the regular season, while the Summer League is basically a battle of mediocre teams.

Du Xiaoshuai's title as Summer League King remained in the summer; now his true strength needs to be tested again.

Before the game, Du Xiaoshuai's main focus was on the home team's cheerleading squad.

The thin, tight-fitting suit was printed with the letters "Suns". During warm-up, sexy Mexican girls kept rubbing against him, making him restless and annoyed!

—I'm not a womanizer, but the flowers are in full bloom, and if I don't look at them, I'll seem like I'm not romantic.

"Doesn't 'Suns' mean 'sun' in Chinese? What girl would print the sun on her clothes?"

Bah, despicable!