Li Feng began his rigorous training after only one day of rest.
After Li Feng had trained for a few days, Mike Lancaster conducted a complete and comprehensive analysis of Li Feng's technical characteristics.
American basketball, after all, was the highest level in the world, so Mike's analysis was indeed very professional.
"Li Feng, your physical fitness has reached the top level, your offensive methods are diverse, your defensive anticipation is very accurate, your speed is extremely fast, and you have excellent passing ability and broad vision."
"These are all your strengths."
Li Feng nodded repeatedly. He had already performed at his best level in the games these past few days, and Mike had analyzed them so accurately.
However, Li Feng also wanted to hear about his shortcomings and areas for improvement.
As expected, Mike continued, "You don't have many weaknesses, but they are also fatal. I'll mention them, and you need to focus on training to compensate."
"Okay, please tell me," Li Feng listened attentively.
"When you're on offense, your change of pace is a bit lacking. Against experienced defenders, you'll be shut down. Of course, I'm referring to the intensity of the NBA playoffs."
"Also, although your dribbling has improved rapidly and is very flashy, you sometimes miss the best opportunity to shoot. This is also why Irving has never won a scoring title."
"You should watch more Jordan's game footage, because Jordan's scoring methods are more concise and efficient."
Li Feng suddenly realized that the problems Mike pointed out were indeed very accurate.
Although Irving's moves were very entertaining, he had never won a scoring title. In contrast, players like Jordan and Kobe had the characteristic of achieving great things with simple methods, scoring more points.
"Another thing is defense. Although your anticipation is accurate, you are too aggressive with steals, which sometimes leads to being out of position. You need to pay attention to this as well."
Li Feng took note of Mike's suggestions one by one, and then Mike arranged a specific training plan to improve Li Feng's shortcomings.
On the morning of the first day, Mike's training content for Li Feng was to practice quick shots under the interference of a defender.
This training looked simple but was very difficult to execute.
Anyone who has played basketball knows that if a defender is very strong, the opportunities to shoot are very few.
Sometimes it's fleeting. By the time you want to shoot, the space is already gone.
Therefore, finding the most suitable shot requires not only high basketball IQ but also extremely strong observation skills.
Li Feng trained very hard. Under the interference of Mike's assistant, he took various quick shots, but his shooting percentage was extremely low.
This surprised Li Feng. He initially thought it was a simple training exercise, but it turned out to be so difficult.
While Li Feng was wiping sweat and resting, Mike came over and patted his shoulder.
"How was it? Not easy, right?"
Li Feng's resolute face showed no expression as he replied, "It's indeed not easy, but I will persevere. I must become the best scorer!"
"That's the spirit!" Mike saw that Li Feng seemed a bit impatient earlier and thought he might give up.
After a short rest, Li Feng continued his training. He asked the assistant to defend more aggressively.
The assistant held rubber sticks with both hands, imitating defenders, and desperately interfered with Li Feng.
Li Feng used his body to fend off the rubber sticks while looking for opportunities to shoot.
As expected, his shooting percentage increased, reaching over 30%.
Although it was still much lower than his shooting percentage in normal games, Li Feng was already very happy because the improvement was rapid.
As long as he worked hard enough, he would definitely continue to improve.
Mike's training content was arranged scientifically. In the morning, he trained Li Feng's offense, and in the afternoon, he trained his defense.
The defensive training consisted of two parts: one was watching game footage, mainly highlights from NBA playoffs or finals on both offense and defense.
As the saying goes, NBA regular season and playoffs are two different games.
This is because the playoffs are too targeted.
There are many stars who dominate the regular season but are severely limited in the playoffs, becoming soft.
On the other hand, some superstars play even better in the playoffs than in the regular season, and even more fiercely in the finals than in the playoffs!
As Li Feng's trainer, Mike naturally hoped that Li Feng would become a true superstar.
After watching the footage, they began defensive training.
Logically speaking, defense is not easy to train.
However, Mike's training method was unique. He would have assistants hold the ball and attack from different directions, and then have Li Feng intercept them early. In intense playoff games, being able to position oneself early and block the offensive player's driving lane is very important. This requires not only extensive game experience but also innate instinct.
Li Feng had been beaten by defenders quite a few times in previous games, but his speed allowed him to chase and block, making up for his deficiencies.
However, if he were to face superstars in the NBA, this tactic might not be effective.
This is because NBA stars' speed is much faster than that of the players in the Olympics.
If you are beaten, it's almost impossible to catch up and block.
To slow down Li Feng's speed, Mike deliberately tied sandbags to his legs while he performed defensive movements.
This made things very difficult for Li Feng. He found it exhausting to defend without his speed advantage.
His anticipation was insufficient, and his experience was lacking.
Therefore, Mike began to focus Li Feng's training on defense.
While other Chinese players were mainly resting, Li Feng was still training, sweating profusely.
Sun Dasheng saw Li Feng training and found it incomprehensible. He secretly found Li Feng.
"Li Feng, what are you rushing for? You haven't even entered the NBA yet. This training is too hard."
Although Li Feng and Sun Dasheng had a good relationship, Li Feng did not appreciate Sun Dasheng's professional attitude.
However, everyone has their own aspirations, and Li Feng was not a coach, so he couldn't say much.
In fact, Sun Dasheng's talent was considered quite good in China, especially in defense, where he was exceptionally gifted.
If he could train diligently and improve his skill level, there would be a high probability of him entering the NBA and playing as a substitute.
Unfortunately, Sun Dasheng only played based on his talent, had a poor training attitude, and lacked ambitious goals.
He felt that playing in the CBA in China was also good and quite comfortable.
Li Feng knew Sun Dasheng's thoughts and smiled, saying, "I'm mainly restless and just like training. I'm used to it."
Sun Dasheng whispered, "Actually, an athlete's career is not long. It's better to enjoy life promptly. After the Olympics, I'll take you out to have some fun."
Li Feng shook his head, "Forget it. After the Olympics, I still have to prepare for NCAA games. Let's talk about it when I return to China!"
Seeing Li Feng refuse, Sun Dasheng sighed and said, "Honestly, I think although the NBA earns a lot of money, it's really too tiring, and it also increases the risk of injury. It's not worth it."