Chapter 896 - 274: As Long as Courage and Passion Endure

On March 1st, a new month has arrived.

Zhang Hao woke up at 6:15 as usual, reviewing the crossover and the Kobe+Jordan combination stop-jump shot from the simulation training early this morning. He got up at 6:30, washed his face, and prepared to go for a morning run.

Aprile Clark also woke up at this time. When Zhang Hao came out of the bathroom, Aprile Clark was flipping through her notebook.

Seeing Zhang Hao come out, Aprile Clark reminded him, "Aix, there’s an exclusive interview at 4 p.m., keep an eye on your training schedule."

As an assistant, Aprile Clark is serious about her role. She manages things Zhang Hao doesn’t care about, helping him in detailed aspects. As a feminist, she doesn’t allow herself to be incapable.

Looking at his girlfriend who wasn’t wearing a top, Zhang Hao unconsciously got close, replying, "Don’t worry, I’ll probably finish training at 3..."

"Aw... wait... wait a minute! Aren’t you supposed to train? Go, go... It’s early morning! Le Lin is still in the next room!"

"This room has good soundproofing... In the morning, you say it’s early morning; at noon, you say it’s broad daylight; at night, you say it’s late night..."

Zhang Hao didn’t delve into the origins of life, he had a training plan today.

As Zhang Hao left the bedroom, turning back every three steps, Aprile Clark patted her own thigh. Ideally, she should be worried about Zhang Hao’s back, but instead, she was worried about her own back and legs...

After his morning run, Zhang Hao returned home after 7 for breakfast and drove to the Time Warner Training Center. He began today’s crossover drill at 8.

Today and tomorrow, the Lakers have two days off. On the 3rd, they play the Warriors; on the 5th, the Brooklyn Nets; and on the 7th, the Rockets, with three home games in a row. Including the game against the Grizzlies, it’s four straight home games.

After playing 57 games, they have 25 games left, with 8 games in April, meaning they have 17 games in March. The upcoming home matches seem to be the easiest part of the schedule.

Although they will face some weaker teams later, there are more strong teams, and the schedule is tight. From the 9th to the 30th, they have 14 games in 23 days! It’s even denser than having a week off during the All-Star Weekend in February.

If there’s time now for more training, they should train more.

After finishing 4 sets of training, at 12:40 p.m., Zhang Hao, while having lunch, asked the staff about the awards announced today. He felt a tiny bit of regret... But it wasn’t Jordan or Malone who won, which wasn’t too bad.

In February, Grant Hill led the Pistons to a 9-4 record, averaging 22 points, 10.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.3 blocks, earning his fourth Player of the Month award.

Currently, Jordan, Mr. Zhang, Malone, and Grant Hill have each won Player of the Month once. These four are among the top five players predicted by the media to have the highest odds of winning the MVP.

The other top 5 MVP candidate, unexpected before the season, is Glenn Rice from the Hornets.

As a superb shooter, he’s currently predicted by the media to have the fourth-highest chance of winning MVP, even higher than Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao dropped to fifth place after O’Neal’s explosive performance.

The Lakers’ lineup is just too strong, much like Curry and Durant teaming up after winning consecutive MVPs and making the first team five years in a row. Despite Curry’s stats of 25+4+6 and Durant’s 25+8+4, and their improved record, neither made the first team. It’s not just Zhang Hao and O’Neal’s impressive performance; the key is they also have Kenny Anderson, Barkley, and Magician...

Zhang Hao is somewhat fortunate that at least his teammates aren’t joining because they couldn’t beat him.

As for the Rookie of the Month, this time it’s Marbury.

In February, he averaged 16.9 points and 8.1 assists, with the Minnesota Timberwolves’ record staying above 50% wins. Marbury successfully stood out among Iverson, Raheem, Camby, Corey Kittles, Nash, and others, becoming the most recognized rookie in February.

At 3:10 p.m., after completing the second day of the third phase of crossover training, Zhang Hao had physiotherapy and took a bath. At 4 p.m., he accepted an exclusive interview with the Imperial Channel in the team’s training center reception room.

The interviewer was Zhang Weiping.

Zhang Hao didn’t know why, but he always felt Zhang Weiping’s attitude toward him was different from other domestic media people.

It wasn’t because Zhang Weiping was a former national basketball player; anyway, Zhang Hao just felt it was odd.

When asked about O’Neal’s injury, Zhang Hao replied, "I hope Mr. O’Neal can return soon so we can win more games."

"Does O’Neal’s absence due to injury mean you have more chances to compete with Jordan for the scoring title?"

"Um... When O’Neal wasn’t injured, I was already competing with Jordan for the scoring title."

"I like your answer..."

Seeing Zhang Weiping indeed displaying an appreciative expression and gaze, Zhang Hao just felt something was off. If he appreciates him, why ask these provocative questions?

Forget it, it’s lazy to think about it. A controversial topic is better than blowing things out of proportion, like Xu Jicheng and Su Qun, who wish to praise him as the strongest in the world, which he finds hard to accept.

Taking a closer look, Zhang Weiping’s pace is the normal interview rhythm, similar to occasionally encountering a tricky question during interviews with American media.