Eight days ago, Beijing Shougang faced Jilin for the first time this season, and in that game captain Zhai Xiaochuan scored 13 points, the second highest score in the team, and his plus-minus on the field was as high as +17. After the game, head coach Yannis had this impressive description: "I actually knew him (Zhai Xiaochuan) before coaching shougang, what kind of player he is, what kind of personality he is, I know him very well. When I coached Shougang, I further deepened my impression of him. I have infinite trust in him. To use an analogy, if I could only choose one soldier to go to the battlefield, then I would definitely choose Zhai Xiaochuan. ”
In Zhai Xiaochuan's body, there are many characteristics of a warrior: he is a player who can endure extreme pain, which is already a very serious injury in the eyes of the outside world, but he will still take the initiative to go to the battlefield. Remember that playoff game with Shanghai in 2017-2018? Zhai Xiaochuan, with one broken ligament in his foot and three bone edemas, resolutely demanded to fight. Although he only played less than nine minutes, he had already brought great mental energy to the whole team on the field. Yannis's words after the game were touching: "We know what kind of player he is, he just broke a leg and still wants to contribute to the team. Before the game we had been trying to persuade him not to play, but his desire to fight was too strong for us to persuade him. ”
Over the years, Zhai Xiaochuan's large and small injuries are difficult to explain clearly, and the description of minor injuries not falling into the line of fire has long been commonplace. I remember Zhai Xiaochuan said such a sentence: "I hope that I can help the team a little more on the field, even if it is useful to grab one more rebound." "That's why the fans love Zhai Xiaochuan so much, he's so desperate and constantly making sacrifices for the team.
This self-sacrifice isn't just on the field. Before the start of last season, the team needed to take a physical test. According to the regulations at the time, each team could have one free quota. At that time, Zhai Xiaochuan had just finished pRP treatment for his legs, and the doctor advised him not to undergo high-intensity training. It is reasonable to say that this exemption quota should be given to Zhai Xiaochuan. But Zhai Xiaochuan took the initiative to give up this free quota to Li Muhao, who has just joined the team. The reason for this choice is that Zhai Xiaochuan feels that Li Muhao's physical condition is not very good, and if he participates in the physical examination, it may be difficult. In order to allow the whole team to participate in the new season in its entirety, Zhai Xiaochuan once again made self-sacrifice.
This season, Zhai Xiaochuan has been making his own adjustments and changes. The challenge he faces this time could be even tougher. This season, the Shougang team began to frequently use the combination of li Muhao and Fan Ziming's twin towers, and after achieving good results in the first stage, the second stage became the team's regular weapon. But when the twin towers are on the field, the narrowing of the inner space is undoubtedly a serious problem, and this is a very uncomfortable situation for Zhai Xiaochuan.
As we all know, Zhai Xiaochuan's most distinctive feature of playing is to get offensive opportunities by actively running in the air. In previous games, Zhai Xiaochuan always got good layup opportunities through his own active running and interspersing, but after the second stage of this season, such scenes were rare.
You can look at Zhai Xiaochuan's scoring in the second stage: none of the first four games have scored in double figures, which is rare before. Five days ago, after the Shougang team and the Liaoning team finished playing, Zhao Jiwei said of Zhai Xiaochuan when chatting with friends: "Now watching Zhai Xiaochuan play, I feel that he is very depressed." "This is the big truth, what Zhai Xiaochuan is best at, can't play, which is a very big challenge for a player who has played for so many years." He needs to make particularly big changes and adjustments, but it won't be easy.
"I think there are a lot of people playing in the team right now, maybe sometimes there aren't so many opportunities and you have to make sacrifices, but I aim to win. For example, we have two players over 2 meters and 10 tall, and if I go to the empty cut inside, it will be too crowded and will take up space under the basket again, so I can only make changes. Zhai Xiaochuan told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter, "This change process is not very easy, I need to let myself pull out, but once the feel is not good, my role on the field is gone." But including Qin Zong, Shuhao, etc., they all encouraged me and let me attack decisively and shoot. They are also creating more opportunities for me to attack. ”
In this match with Jilin team on the 8th, Zhai Xiaochuan scored 17 points, which was his highest score in the second stage. In this game, Zhai Xiaochuan completed a one-handed dunk. After the dunk, his eyes were full of determination and determination. The familiar Zhai Xiaochuan seems to be back. "That dunk feels like a long time gone. But I've always had confidence in myself, and I think that since I can complete such a dunk, it proves that my body is recovering well, I have firm confidence, and naturally I have a firm look. Zhai Xiaochuan said.