The rest is just noise

November 28, Thanksgiving Day

Fortunately for Kobe, the team had the day off after a game that disappointed the coaching staff.

This means that Louis' dissatisfaction with him will subside somewhat during the festive holiday season.

However, the holiday was a holiday, and Louis' punishment for Kobe was not late.

On Thanksgiving Day, Kobe, who did not choose to go back to his hometown in Philadelphia for the holiday, was called to work at home by Louis.

Sunset Villa actually has no shortage of labor. Louis hired three nannies to take care of the family's daily life, and also hired two chefs who had worked in Michelin-certified star restaurants.

Today, those who were called to Sunset Villa by Louis include, in addition to Kobe, Liu Yuqing, Wang Zhidao, Wilson, Zhao Yuanzheng and the Bird family.

Although Zhao Yuanzheng has reached his thirties, he is still single, so during the holidays, he either goes to nightclubs or makes do by himself. He is not an ascetic, and he never lacks female companions, but

I never thought about starting my own family.

Liu Yuqing brought his parents to the United States a few years ago and had a white girlfriend, but that relationship didn't seem to last. Thanksgiving didn't mean anything to him and his parents, so eating at Louis' house today was still

Eating at home is no different.

Wilson not only had his own child two years ago and was preparing to start a family with an older woman, but he didn't have a good impression of Thanksgiving.

The reason involves another anecdote.

On Thanksgiving Day in 1986, Wilson did not go home and was called to his home by Ewing to help - Louis really didn't understand why these bad things were always related to Ewing - because Wilson was

He was a rookie, so Ewing could be described as calling him in and out at the drop of a hat. Not only did he let Wilson work, but he also asked him to roast a turkey for his family.

In order to ensure the successful completion of the task, Wilson asked his mother for advice and obtained the Wilson family's ancestral roast turkey recipe.

In order to satisfy the Ewing family, Wilson bought an oversized turkey. When he stuffed everything into the oven, he found that what he ended up with was a turkey on fire and a completely useless oven.

"How can you lead the Knicks to revival if you can't even do this well?"

This was a quote from Ewing that left a deep impression on Wilson.

When Wilson finished telling the story, Louis laughed and said: "I 100% believe the truth of this story, it's so Patrick."

"The harmonious relationship between you and Patrick always surprises me." Bird said lightly.

Wilson smiled and said: "Yes, the longer time passes, the stronger this relationship becomes."

At first, Louis didn't even think about inviting the Byrd family as guests. They talked on the phone and jumped from basketball issues to life issues.

When Louis was dissatisfied with the number of guests on Thanksgiving Day, Bird saw an opportunity to save money: "If you don't mind the trouble, I can bring a few mouths over."

Just like that, the Byrd family came.

Kobe said he was here to work as a labor force, but in fact he didn't need to do much.

Around four o'clock in the afternoon, Louis took them to his workplace where he usually worked overtime to watch a game video.

"No way, you have to review it today?" Bird felt like he was cheated, "I remember you said you wouldn't work today."

"We really won't talk about work today. Who said watching game videos is work? In your eyes, is basketball already a sport without any fun?"

What Louis showed them was the match between the Chinese men's basketball team and the Yugoslavia team at this year's Atlanta Olympics.

As soon as the video started, Liu Yuqing frowned.

As a participant in this game, he knew exactly how they lost.

"Jiang Duo, isn't this you?" Bird recognized Liu Yuqing at a glance.

Liu Yuqing admitted: "It's me."

"Isn't this this year's Olympic Games?" Zhao Yuanzheng understood Louis' intention immediately, "Lao Lu, watching this game is not just for fun, right?"

Zhao Yuanzheng did not believe that Louis would have fun watching this game as a spectator.

Who are the current NBA players of the Chinese team except the United States?

The most elites outside the national team are the talents that Louis spent great efforts to cultivate, but they were defeated by mysterious European powerhouses like Yugoslavia in the Olympics.

There's no way he's having any fun.

"Jiang Duo," Louis smiled at Liu Yuqing, "Do you have any impressions of this game?"

Liu Yuqing replied calmly; "I remember all the details."

"What do you think is the highlight of this game?"

"No. 4 of Yugoslavia." Liu Yuqing said, "Just looking at him is enough."

At this time, Wilson also became interested: "I remember him! This No. 4, we played against each other in the finals."

Bird asked casually: "How is he?"

Wilson's answer surprised Bird: "As good as you are."

"I don't believe this guy is as good as Larry!" Kobe watched the report of this game on TV. The Dream Team won by several points in the end.

If this No. 4 is really as good as Bird, even if Yugoslavia doesn't win, it can't lose by that many points, right?

As the game started, the performance of Yugoslavia's No. 4 silenced everyone.

Bodiloga showed his versatility in this game.

He has the skills of a point guard, the shooting range of a shooting guard, the single-point blast of a forward and the possibility of making a guest appearance in the post.

In terms of organization, he seems to have combined the characteristics of the Tragedian and Bird to form a novel thing.

He can instigate as a ball-carrying core like the Tragedian, or he can play without the ball like Bird and do some quick passing tricks. His passing technique and imagination are very good, and he is full of creativity.

On the offensive end, he overwhelmed the Cavaliers' leading man, Kang Chengbiao, to the point where he was almost invisible.

His offensive skills are a bit close to Bird's, but not like Bird's crisp finish. His similarities with Bird are mainly skills and rhythm. Because of his poor physical fitness, he cannot be like Bird.

His own template, the Tragedian, hit the wrong position in a big way.

In Louis' view, Bodilloga's ball-handling offense is really like Luka Doncic 20 years later.

Find time differences with skills and rhythm, gain space with physical confrontation, and win with touch.

Bodiloga completely dominated this match.

It can be said that he is the reason why the men's basketball team loses.

Bird asked Wilson: "How did he play in the finals?"

"He didn't get much of the ball in the finals, and Yugoslavia didn't give him enough tactical status, but he still performed well in limited opportunities." Wilson said, "He and Danny (Manning) were the same.

In those few rounds against one, Danny was completely played by him and applauded."

Kobe said: "Even so, is it too much to say that he is as good as Larry?"

Wilson asked back: "The media in Los Angeles said that you are as good as Michael. Do you think it's too much?"

"That's too much! How can they curse me like this?" Kobe said, "I won't be without a championship for the rest of my life!"

Everyone is getting more and more confused, what exactly is this high school kid?

If he is a fan of Jordan, why would he resent being compared with Jordan? He also keeps talking about Jordan's lack of championships.

Moreover, he himself said before that Jordan's lack of championships was due to his bad teammates. Why has his rhetoric changed now?

Louis smiled and said sarcastically: "Michael is so lucky to have a fan like you."

Kobe snorted, "I'm not a fan of anybody."

Halfway through the video, Kobe lost interest because he knew the result in advance.

Liu Yuqing didn't want to continue reviewing this game.

The two of them left first.

Only Louis, Byrd, Wilson and Zhao Yuanzheng were left in the room.

Bird asked, "How old is this Dejan Bodilloga?"

"Not too young." Louis said, "I am already 23 years old this year."

Bird smiled slightly and said: "The first year I played professional basketball, I was also 23 years old."

"Yes, and strictly speaking, you were already 25 years old when you won your first championship." Louis joked, "The media keeps comparing you with Erwin. In fact, this is not fair to him at all. You are older and better than him.

At what age, it stands to reason that you will be more powerful in combat

of course."

Bird didn't take the second half of Louis' words seriously.

Bodiloga gave Bird a big surprise. He believed that as long as he joins a suitable team, he can average 18 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in the NBA.

"He is 23 years old, why does he still want to stay in Europe?" Bird asked puzzledly.

Zhao Yuanzheng said: "Because he is not sure whether he will have good development opportunities in the NBA."

"There is another reason. The Kings selected him." Louis asked heartily, "Who wants to play for the Kings?"

Bird believed that Louis would not invite them to watch this game for no reason.

Not to mention that he would not let them watch this game just because he thought Bodiloga was a talent.

"Are you trying to bring him to Los Angeles?" Bird asked.

"I originally thought about letting Steve grow quickly to become the core of the Cavaliers, but now, I have given up this idea. Whether it is physical or mental, Steve is far away from the requirements of beautiful basketball."

It's a long distance, and I can't risk wasting several years waiting for an unknown possibility."

Louis looked directly into Bird's eyes: "Do you think Bodiloga can take on this important task?"

Bird's answer was very direct: "It has to be him."

"Then...coach, how do you plan to defraud his signing rights from the Kings?" Wilson asked.

"That's another question."

As soon as Louis finished answering, he realized something was wrong.

"Wait a minute, Benj, what does cheating mean?"

Louis and the others haven't finished watching the video either.

After talking about Bodilloga, Louis took them back to the living room.

There was still an hour before dinner time, and Lu Wuxia showed up with a basketball and invited Wilson, Wang Zhizhi, Liu Yuqing, and Kobe to play together.

Since there were 5 people and it was not possible to make up a round number, Bird temporarily joined them.

Louis was worried about his back at first, but when the game started, he found that his worries were unnecessary.

It's really hard for this country bumpkin to injure himself with the way he plays until he can't stand it anymore and asks to be replaced by his own father.