Chapter 37

(Sweat, in the previous chapter, I made a mistake with the draft position of Peyton. This player is so familiar that I didn't check any of his information, and just relied on my subconscious over the years. It turns out that my memory of Peyton's draft position was wrong, which led to such a simple mistake. I'm really sorry, and thank you to the reader for pointing it out.)

"Stop sighing. You're such a strange guy. I don't know how to describe you. Are you unlucky or lucky?"

"If I say you're unlucky, you managed to learn a golden skill from just five hours of personal training with Rick Barry. You know, even if you have a good personality, it's almost impossible to learn any skill above golden without at least ten hours of one-on-one training with a star player."

"But if I say you're lucky, you had ten hours of free training from Wilt Chamberlain, and in those ten hours, you didn't learn a single skill from him. If you had learned the finger roll from George Gervin in just five hours, which is almost the strongest golden offensive skill, you might have had a chance against Peyton. But you didn't."

"What? You don't know George Gervin's finger roll? I remember he's not too far from now. Although the Ice Man's skill is just a golden skill, it's absolutely the pinnacle of all golden skills. Just imagine, a forward or guard can break through and perform a finger roll from any angle at the free-throw line. How much of a threat is that? And no matter how many people are in the way, as long as he jumps, he can perform a finger roll. In terms of power, this golden skill is not inferior to some purple-gold skills, and it might even be stronger. Of course, Gervin's finger roll is a special type of floater, the most powerful and wide-ranging floater. Just like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's skyhook is a special type of hook shot, Gervin's finger roll holds a similar status in the world of floaters as the skyhook does in the world of hook shots. Isn't it strong?"

"Moreover, Gervin's 180-degree finger roll from below the free-throw line, like Kareem's skyhook, has been lost. Although I remember Michael Jordan had a golden skill called the finger roll, Jordan's finger roll is far inferior to Gervin's in terms of range. It's like Magic Johnson's mini skyhook, a weaker version."

To avoid embarrassing himself in the upcoming game, Lin Han almost seized every opportunity to become stronger. He naturally didn't miss the chance to use the three star training cards he received from the system after scoring 62 points in a single game. However, these three training cards didn't give Lin Han what he wanted.

"What's the point of you saying all this now? I can't get it. If I had known, I would have saved them."

At this moment, Lin Han, sitting on the floor of the system training gym, glared at the shameless girl in front of him, clearly unhappy.

After using the three training cards, he worked hard in the system's gym for 20 consecutive hours—10 hours with Wilt Chamberlain, 5 hours with George Gervin, and 5 hours with Rick Barry. In the end, the only skill Lin Han learned from these three training cards was the 'Hack-a-Shaq' free-throw technique from Rick Barry. The other two didn't teach him any skills. Chamberlain's 10 hours of training only added 3 points to his offensive rebounding and 2 points to his defensive rebounding. For Lin Han, these five skill points would be better if added to key stats, but adding them to the least important rebounds was just a waste. As for George Gervin, after Lin Han learned the 'Hack-a-Shaq' free-throw technique from Barry, he hoped that the 5 hours with Gervin would bring him luck, but in the end, Gervin only added 3 points to his dribbling.

However, with his current abilities, Lin Han didn't dare to play with the ball on the court. What use was an increase in dribbling? Lin Han didn't think that adding 3 points to his dribbling would help him break through Peyton's defense.

Moreover, the golden free-throw skill 'Hack-a-Shaq' he got from Rick Barry couldn't be learned immediately. To learn the first level of this skill, he needed 15 points in free-throw ability, and Lin Han currently had only 11 points, so he needed to waste 4 valuable attribute points to learn this not-so-useful golden skill.

Unfortunately, Lin Han's free-throw ability was indeed poor. In fact, apart from mid-range jump shots, Lin Han had no other standout skills. In the previous game against the Timberwolves, he made only 5 out of 9 free throws, a very low free-throw percentage for a guard. After learning this skill, according to the skill description, Lin Han's free-throw percentage would never be below 75%. The skill's attribute is that the first level of 'Hack-a-Shaq' can ensure a minimum free-throw percentage of 75% for a player with 15 free-throw points. The higher the free-throw attribute, the higher the initial accuracy. According to Alice, if this skill is trained to the highest level (LV3), Lin Han's free-throw percentage would be over 85% even with only 15 free-throw points. This skill is one of the best free-throw skills in the NBA's over 100-year history.

However, this best free-throw skill was still not what Lin Han urgently needed.

"Is the only way to improve my strength now to upgrade the level of Kobe's spin move jump shot?"

At this moment, Lin Han was very frustrated. It's not that he didn't want to upgrade this skill. It's a purple-gold skill, one of the strongest, and his biggest reliance and guarantee. He wanted to upgrade it more than anyone else, but it required points, and he only had 1100 points left.

Although the proficiency of the LV1 Kobe spin move jump shot had already reached 90%, 50% of which was due to Lin Han's perfect use of the skill in the first game against the Mavericks, and the other 40% was from making 40 shots with this skill in the two NBA regular-season games. Lin Han scored a total of 103 points in these two games, with 80 points coming from the Kobe spin move jump shot. Each successful shot with the LV1 skill increased the proficiency by 1%.

This means that in the next game against the SuperSonics, Lin Han only needed to make 10 more shots with this skill to level up, without needing to spend points to have Kobe teach him. However, the key was that he had to make 10 shots in the next game. If the SuperSonics bullied him too much, who knows if Sloan would deliberately protect Lin Han and keep him off the court to cool down the pressure and focus on him.

Therefore, the next game against the SuperSonics, the team that reached the Western Conference Finals last season and is the top contender for the Western Conference this season, is the biggest challenge for Lin Han. Everyone is watching this game.

To upgrade this skill before the game, Lin Han could only spend points to have Kobe teach him. One hour of training increases proficiency by 1%, and one hour with Kobe costs 100 points. For 10%, which is 10 hours, it would cost 1000 points. Lin Han currently has 1100 points, which he can afford, but after spending them, he would only have 100 points left. This would only last him 100 days, or about three months, at the system's minimum consumption rate of 1 point per day.

Now that the system has opened the training gym and the store, it's impossible to maintain the minimum consumption. Moreover, Alice, who has gotten used to a luxurious lifestyle, would not be willing to sleep on a cold floor and eat steamed buns every day. In this situation, Lin Han would have to use all the $200,000 he has saved.

"Money, it's all about money. If I had a few million dollars, I could exchange it for a hundred thousand points and hire five Kobes, five Jordans, five Magics, and five Larry Birds to teach Peyton a lesson in a minute."

At this moment, Lin Han was extremely melancholic. A few months ago, after receiving his first salary from the Jazz, he thought he was rich. Now, he realizes he's still a pauper.

Should he put all his attribute points into important attributes or upgrade his strongest skill?

Lin Han was very conflicted as he looked at his attribute table.

Ball Handling: 9, Passing: 8, Shooting: 15, Three-Point Shooting: 9, Free Throws: 15, Dribbling: 10, Personal Offensive Rating: C

Steals: 6, Blocks: 7, One-on-One Defense: 5, Offensive Rebounds: 10, Defensive Rebounds: 9, Personal Defensive Rating: D-

Judgment: 5, Leadership: 2, Tactical Talent: 6, Positioning: 5, Teamwork: 2, Team Offensive and Defensive Rating: E

Strength: 11, Speed: 11, Explosiveness: 11, Agility: 12, Vertical Jump: 15, Balance: 15, Stamina: 10, Physical Talent Rating: B-

Overall Player Rating: C- (This player is a very capable NCAA near-top player who can start for any NCAA team and has the qualifications to enter the draft. His offensive and physical talents meet the minimum requirements for the NBA, but his mediocre offensive and physical talents, combined with poor defense, teamwork, and tactical ability, make it impossible for him to succeed in the NBA.)

Although Lin Han's attributes have changed significantly from the beginning, he has transformed from a beginner with no basketball training to a player who can start for any NCAA team. If he put the remaining 19 attribute points into jump shots, balance, or strength and shooting, Lin Han believed his one-on-one ability would improve, even if Kobe's skill didn't level up, his overall strength would definitely increase.

However, even if his strength did increase, would it be enough to handle the strong opponents he will face next?

It's uncertain, very uncertain.

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