Training Routine: My Bad! I'm a Rebound Genius!

He could deliver blood-pumping alley-oop slams and knock down astonishing three-pointers. With a style that was soft at times and hard at others, talented netizens jokingly dubbed him the "King of Softies" and "the Hardest Softie."

Zhou Ze was utterly speechless.

Those people really didn't understand. If someone was hard all the time, that was an illness—they should go see a doctor.

This week's schedule was relatively easy. Aside from the Knicks, whom they had beaten yesterday, there were only two games left, against the Chicago Bulls and the SuperSonics.

Both would be played at the Los Angeles Lakers' home court.

Inside the training facility.

"What? No! I want to practice three-pointers!" Zhou Ze refused the rebounding drills the team had arranged for him.

This left the team's head coach, Zen Master Phil Jackson, quite helpless. No matter how he tried to persuade him, Zhou Ze simply would not listen.

Unable to take it any longer, Kobe walked over with a cold expression and pointed at Zhou Ze's nose as he cursed, "You bastard. You're a legitimate 206-centimeter big man, yet you often grab fewer rebounds than I do. Aren't you ashamed?"

"What, do you want me to grab rebounds for you?"

Kobe went right at Zhou Ze's face.

Zhou Ze remained unruffled. "Kobe, you don't understand."

Naturally, Zhou Ze knew about his rebounding problem, but there was only so much time.

Practicing three-point shooting, alley-oop dunks, and upgrading badges all offered much better value for his time.

"Zhou, don't tell me you're scared. Scared that our rebounding trainer will destroy you on the boards." Seeing that Zhou Ze remained impervious to reason, Kobe resorted to provocation.

"Kobe, put away that pathetic attempt at provoking me." After saying that coldly, Zhou Ze turned to the rebounding trainer the team had hired for him. "Coach Carver, let's begin."

Watching Zhou Ze's departing back, Zen Master Phil Jackson showed a hint of delight in his eyes and could not help smiling at Kobe beside him. "You really know how to handle him."

Kobe smiled and nodded, thinking to himself, I knew that guy couldn't stand that kind of provocation. After all, he and I are the same kind of player.

The Lakers had hired a rebounding trainer, but he had not originally been brought in for Zhou Ze. He was there for the Los Angeles Lakers' promising young rookie, the youngest player in NBA history—Andrew Bynum.

Thanks to Zhou Ze's performances during this period, Zen Master Phil Jackson's expectations for him had risen higher and higher. At the same time, he found Zhou Ze increasingly regrettable.

Such a strong build, outstanding leaping ability, speed, and agility—yet his rebounding was a complete mess. Over the course of an entire game, his rebound total often failed to match that of Kobe, a shooting guard.

Of course...

The coaching staff did not hold particularly high expectations for Zhou Ze's rebounding, either.

After all, with that wingspan and his ordinary explosiveness off the ground, fighting for rebounds was indeed asking a bit much of him.

When battling for rebounds, quick jumping mattered more than vertical height, and boxing-out awareness mattered more than strength.

The Lakers' coaching staff arranged rebounding drills for Andrew Bynum, Kwame Brown, and Zhou Ze.

The three of them first took turns facing the trainer—Carver.

NBA trainers were no pushovers. In fact, even many NBA stars struggled to defeat them one-on-one.

Carver, the Lakers' newly hired rebounding trainer, smiled as he shook hands with and hugged Zhou Ze and the others who had joined his specialized training session.

Trainer Carver was a Black man in his early thirties, around two meters tall, broad-shouldered and thick-backed, with an estimated weight of over 120 kilograms.

After the customary greetings, Carver looked at Zhou Ze with a somewhat surprised expression.

This inevitably made Zhou Ze feel a little uncomfortable.

When you come across ads asking, "Are you a real person?" there is no need to pay attention to them. Just close them. Do not scan any codes or send text messages!

"What is it, Coach Carver?" Zhou Ze asked curiously.

"Zhou, the news media have all been calling you a Tyrannosaurus..." Carver's gaze fell on Zhou Ze's arms.

The corner of Zhou Ze's mouth twitched.

Indeed, his wingspan had always been criticized by the media.

"Tyrannosaurus" had become his player label.

"But after seeing you in person today, I realized you're not a Tyrannosaurus. Your wingspan isn't particularly long, but it definitely isn't short, either."

"Could the United Center have recorded your pre-draft measurement data incorrectly?"

Carver asked in confusion.

Zhou Ze smiled.

His wingspan had now increased to 215 centimeters, nine centimeters longer than his height.

It was just that his shoulders were too broad, so his standing reach was still lacking.

It had increased by 2 cm since he entered the league, reaching 269 cm—uh... exactly the same as the God of Basketball, Michael Jordan.

And for an interior player, that was obviously inadequate.

"Haha, Coach Carver, maybe it's because I just turned nineteen..." Seeing Carver unable to make sense of it, Zhou Ze casually made up an excuse.

And Carver believed it.

After all, quite a few people could still shoot up a little before turning twenty.

After the small talk, the rebounding training session officially began.

"To protect the boards well, boxing out and anticipating where the rebound will land are especially important."

"Zhou, let's use you as an example. You usually don't watch the ball's spin after a shot. If it has backspin, it will usually produce a long rebound."

"Watch the shot's arc and speed as well. Fast shots where the shooter clearly snaps their wrist are also more likely to result in long rebounds."

"On shots powered by the arms with wrist adjustment, the rebound will land closer to the basket."

Zhou Ze, suddenly called out by Carver, froze for a moment before realizing that it really was true.

"Timing your jump is also very important. You need to judge based on your own circumstances. For example, Kwame Brown, don't wait until you're descending before jumping. And Zhou, your second jump is a little slow, but your jumping height is excellent. You can jump earlier."

"You also need to adjust your posture when jumping. Your waist and core need to work together, fully extend your body, and maintain your balance. Otherwise, after taking contact in the air, you won't be able to grab the rebound immediately—or hold onto the ball securely."

And so on.

And so on.

Carver pointed out the problems Zhou Ze, Kwame Brown, and Bynum had when fighting for rebounds.

Zhou Ze had the biggest and most numerous issues.

But instead of getting angry, Zhou Ze absorbed the lessons at a visibly rapid pace.

Provoked by Kobe's taunting, Zhou Ze had initially only wanted to crush the trainer as quickly as possible, then focus on his three-point shooting and alley-oop dunk training. But now, he had been captivated by the appeal of rebounding.

Trainer Carver gave Zhou Ze's rebounding issues an in-depth analysis.

Next came practical rebounding drills.

First, Zhou Ze and the other two took turns matching up against the trainer.

This site has added a font-changing feature. Click the "Settings" button to give it a try!