NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 240: Learning with an Open Mind

Once in the living room, Jia Fei and Art Mayork sat down, and soon after, the nanny brought in coffee, juice, and snacks.

"Please use it. Yao has told me about your situation, and I'd love to exchange technical information with you!" Nash said generously. His face was full of wrinkles when he smiled; the once swift and agile man had finally grown old.

No one can deny the effects of aging. Even a basketball legend like the one who loved chewing gum, during his time with the Wizards, experienced missed dunks, blocked shots, and brutally slammed blocks. Keep in mind that at his peak, he could jump before his defender and wait for them to land before shooting. Sometimes, thinking about it really makes you sigh.

Beauty fades with age, heroes meet their end; no one stays young forever. The NBA is incredibly competitive, and even the most outstanding player will grow old eventually.

Age may take away your explosiveness, speed, and stamina, but it can't take away your height, shooting ability, passing vision, and technique. This is why players who rely on physicality decline as their bodies age, while those with technical skills can play for many more years. They can adapt to new circumstances, but you can't, so you'll inevitably be eliminated by the times.

It’s so realistic!

"Thank you, I really hope to learn passing, playmaking, and breaking double teams!" Jia Fei didn't mince words and stated the purpose of his trip. He felt that beating around the bush wasn't good, especially in the West, where people wouldn't buy into the usual preamble.

Nash smiled slightly: "Let's have something to drink, and chat while we drink."

Jia Fei and Art Mayor immediately agreed.

"You two have a really good relationship!" Nash couldn't help but exclaim.

Art Mayork laughed, "We were teammates at Cornell University, and we cherish this bond that allows us to be teammates together again."

Jia Fei nodded in agreement.

“I’ve watched all your playoff games!” Nash got back to the point. “Mainly this season. Before that, when you were with the Thunder, to be honest, you didn’t get many opportunities on the court, so I didn’t have a strong impression of you.”

Jia Fei was somewhat surprised, not expecting that the old monk had watched so many of his matches. In that case, the other party should already know some of his weaknesses, so he wouldn't need to explain them much, saving him a lot of trouble.

"Jia Fei, you are truly talented! Yao Ming and you are both Asian, but your physical attributes are simply outstanding. I suspect that even among Black people, let alone Asians, your physical talent is top-notch. Besides your physical talent, your individual skills are also excellent. You can handle the ball and play off-ball, you play rationally, you can read the game, you are not too impulsive yet passionate. I really find it hard to find any fault with you!"

The old monk's praise made Jia Fei a little embarrassed. He didn't come here to hear this senior praise him; he came to find his shortcomings and learn techniques.

Jia Fei did not interrupt Nash, hoping he would talk about his shortcomings and ways to improve.

Nash continued, "As for your loss to the Heat, while there is certainly a difference in strength between the two teams, part of the reason lies with you!"

"Here it comes, the important part is here!" Jia Fei thought to himself.

“You can’t break through the opponent’s double team, you can’t maximize your offensive threat, and the other players are not enough to dominate the game, so your offensive magic has disappeared.” Nash said, looking into Jia Fei’s eyes, “I’m glad that you can recognize your shortcomings and are willing to learn. I will do my best to help you.”

"I will definitely study hard, thank you Steve!" Jia Fei said sincerely.

Nash laughed: "Don't mention it, Jia Fei. I really like young people like you who are eager to learn skills and constantly seek breakthroughs. Your passing vision is quite good, what you lack is some passing techniques and experience. When you can truly break through double teams, it will be difficult for anyone in this league to stop you!"

On the second day, at a training facility in Los Angeles, Jia Fei and Nash began learning passing techniques.

Nash brought in his personal trainer and some players to simulate game conditions and provide hands-on instruction.

"When passing the ball, be decisive so that your teammates are prepared and don't miss the best passing opportunity!" Although Nash was injured, he could still do basic training. He constantly reminded Jia Fei during training, instilling technical tips and some offensive concepts in him.

“When facing a double team during a pick-and-roll, protect your ball. If you can’t find a teammate on the far side or are unsure if you can pass to them, you can choose to make a short pass and then pass back and forth after getting rid of the ball. You don’t necessarily have to find an open teammate right away. Doing so can sometimes lead you into the opponent’s trap, and the opponent may cut off your passing lanes!” Nash continued.

"But wouldn't passing like this still not create open spaces and waste offensive time?" Jia Fei raised his question.

Nash explained, "Instead of risking a long pass, it's important to make sure there are no turnovers with short passes. As long as you pass the ball quickly enough, it won't have a big impact on the offensive time. As the ball handler, controlling turnovers and maintaining possession are also things you need to do."

Nash also taught Jia Fei some tips on bounce passes: when to choose a bounce pass, when to choose a short pass, and when to choose a long pass to find open space. The choice of pass is more important than the passing technique itself.

Jia Fei benefited greatly from this. Many of his assists came from drawing double teams and passing the ball after posing a threat on offense, much like Allen Iverson back in the day. Controlling the offensive tempo, directing teammates' positioning, setting up play, and finding defensive gaps in half-court situations are all abilities required of an elite playmaker.

Many fans only look at assists and use them to measure a player's playmaking ability. This is, of course, very one-sided! Often, when an elite playmaker initiates an attack, he finds a great passing opportunity, a teammate receives the ball, passes it to another teammate, and then another teammate scores. It's a great offensive play, but the playmaker doesn't actually have an assist on their stat sheet, even though they initiated and led the attack.

Conversely, some players are like those who shirk responsibility, spending ages at the top of the key, dribbling the ball for ages, and then passing the ball when the shot clock is almost 24 seconds left. Their teammates then take the blame and shoot, and if it goes in, it's attributed to them as an assist. Such stats seem particularly fake.

Jia Fei trained with Nash in Los Angeles for five days, from the 9th to the 14th.

Afterwards, Jia Fei treated Nash and everyone who participated in the training to dinner, giving each of the others a gift. As for Nash, he gave him a Rolex watch worth $10 that he had prepared beforehand.