"I’ve been in a movie, you know," J Kidd said.

During the last season, he had a cameo in a movie called *Jordan’s Heir*—though Jordan himself wasn’t in it—which was scheduled for release this summer.

J Kidd had spent a day on set for it, so he’d seen the filmmaking process and knew about these kinds of motion capture suits.

Chen Yu understood. "That’s right," he explained. "This is an optical motion capture system, the same kind they often use in movies. The cameras track the glowing markers on your body, and the system creates a highly accurate trace of your movements on the screen."

Chen Yu pointed to a large digital screen mounted on the wall.

The Suns were still using sensors. Although they were already quite small, there was a limit to how many you could wear, and the precision didn’t compare to motion capture.

Last year, Chen Yu had watched a movie, *The Lord of the Rings*. The promotional material mentioned that the character Gollum was created using an actor’s motion-captured performance. That gave him the inspiration to use motion capture for this.

After doing some research, he learned that as early as 1983, MIT had developed a "graphical marionette" system—a prototype for motion capture. The technology had come a long way since then and was now quite mature.

And Chen Yu had spent a fortune on this system.

One of the six members on Nelson’s team was a technician responsible for operating this system. Chen Yu didn’t understand some of the software aspects himself.

"So what do you need me to do? And I can’t train in this skinsuit, can I? Moving around is fine, but what happens when I start sweating? I’ll die of heatstroke," J Kidd said, stretching his body.

The suit was a large size, but it still felt a bit ill-fitting, clinging tightly to his frame.

Chen Yu replied, "Of course we’re not going to have you train in the motion capture suit. This stuff is expensive, and you guys are all so tall. What if you break it? Besides, the reason we call this a ’lab’ is that our first step is to identify your issues. We use this tech to find ways to help you improve. So for now, you’ll just wear it for some tests to collect data."

If it were just about simple training, any ambitious NBA player would find a trainer to work with during the offseason.

But what Chen Yu was doing was different. He used various pieces of equipment to analyze a client’s technical flaws, then devised suitable solutions to create a tailored training regimen.

As for the actual practice afterward, that was something they would do on their own time back home.

The focus, therefore, was on analysis and problem-solving, not just straightforward training.

J Kidd nodded thoughtfully. He was starting to get it. He then asked what to do.

Chen Yu signaled for Nelson to begin.

For such a high fee, they naturally provided top-tier service. A targeted improvement plan was prepared in advance for every client.

Nelson had a trainer step forward and instruct J Kidd to take shots from various positions and distances.

They also tested his shooting under different conditions, such as spot-up shooting, catch-and-shoots, and shooting under defensive pressure.

On the large screen nearby, J Kidd’s shooting motion quickly appeared.

Through multiple repetitions, a large amount of data was generated, which would then be collected and analyzed.

The Suns had been using this method of data analysis for a whole season and had developed their own analytical model, so they knew which data points were most useful.

Of course, the extensive experience of a top-tier trainer like Nelson was also indispensable.

The whole process was long and tedious. Even with the air conditioning on, after nearly two hours of data collection in the skinsuit, J Kidd was sweating profusely and felt uncomfortably sticky.

"That’s enough for today," Nelson said, telling J Kidd to stop.

J Kidd quickly stripped off the suit and walked over, curious about what data they had collected.

Although it had taken a long time, he hadn’t actually taken that many shots. Much of the time, he was just holding poses as Nelson instructed.

Nelson operated the computer, displaying some data on the large screen opposite them. "Jason," he began, "we actually noticed during regular team practices that your shooting percentage on wide-open, spot-up catch-and-shoots is significantly higher than on your pull-up jumpers."

"At first, we thought it was due to physical contact and defensive contests, but now I don’t think that’s the case."

During the tests just now, we also had you do spot-up catches with a defender contesting the shot. By comparing the data, we found that the contest wasn’t the main factor affecting your accuracy.

"In my experience, your release is a bit slow, your release point isn’t very high, and your jump is also slow. Look at your shooting form."

Nelson pointed at the screen, where the high-definition cameras had clearly captured J Kidd’s entire shooting process—from bending his knees to rising up and flicking his wrist. He then turned to a middle-aged man beside him. "Chip, what do you think?"

The man he asked was Chip Engelland, an excellent shooting trainer, one of the best among the many trainers in the NBA.

His own playing career had been unremarkable, and he transitioned to being a trainer after retiring. In ’99, Engelland had served as a shooting consultant for the Pistons.

Before that season, Hill almost never shot threes. It was only starting that season, under Chip Engelland’s guidance, that he adjusted his shooting form and began taking three-pointers, even averaging a 35 percent success rate from beyond the arc.

He ran his own basketball training camp, but the offer Chen Yu made was too good to refuse, so he joined Nelson’s team.

Of course, it wasn’t a full-time position—just a collaboration for one offseason.

The same went for the other team members.

Once the season actually started, not only would the players have no time, but Chen Yu himself wouldn’t have the energy to mess with the sports lab.

Engelland pointed to the screen and said, "Jason, your shooting form is very standard. When you’re wide open, your shot is very stable, and your percentage is good. The fact that you don’t score much is purely related to your playstyle."

There was a reason he was known for being reluctant to shoot.

He continued, "But have you noticed that when you’re shooting on the move and under pressure, you rush things a bit? You’re a relatively tall point guard, and when you shoot on the move too quickly, it causes your center of gravity to become unstable, which in turn affects your shooting stability."

"I think you need to work on decelerating and adjusting your footwork. If you can’t do that, then you’ll need to improve your body’s stability by strengthening your core."

"Finally, your wrist. We need to adjust your wrist snap. You should try to spread your fingers as wide as possible and strengthen your elbow, and especially your finger strength and flexibility."

"This part is difficult to train. We’ll need to have a serious discussion about how to design the training plan."

After speaking, he couldn’t help but say to Nelson, "Nelson, this system is absolutely amazing."

In the past, when he trained players on their shooting, he relied mostly on experience. It would take a long time of observation to slowly identify a player’s flaws. But now, not only were the issues immediately obvious, but he could also use quantifiable data to analyze shooting power and the arc of the ball for targeted improvements.

Nelson glanced at Chen Yu. The Phoenix Suns had spent a lot of money to introduce this training method, and it was all because of Chen Yu.

At that moment, Chen Yu chimed in, "As for training finger strength, I might have a method."

Chen Yu had been listening and generally understood the issue. ’Simply put,’ he thought, ’it’s the difference between a soft touch and a hard-release shot.’

’A player like J Kidd could be categorized as having a soft touch, which ensures better accuracy when wide open. But in contested situations, a harder release, like Jordan’s, allows for a faster shot and greater stability under pressure.’

’That’s why it requires greater finger strength.’

Seeing them all look at him, Chen Yu said, "I took a trip to China before, and while I was there, I saw some elderly people using a method to train their hand strength. They rotate two relatively heavy iron balls in their palm. Because the balls are heavy, you constantly need to use your fingers to keep them spinning. I think this method could probably increase finger strength while maintaining flexibility." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

It’s easy to build finger strength, but the risk is making the hands too stiff.

You need to build strength while also maintaining flexibility, which is why Engelland said it would be difficult.

The two of them didn’t quite understand.

"It’s like this." Chen Yu thought for a moment, then turned, went to the recreation area, and came back with two pool balls.

"Watch." Chen Yu started rotating the two pool balls in his palm. "Their hands are big, so they can use a larger size. I’ve even seen people do it with three balls, which requires a great deal of strength and flexibility in the fingers and wrist."

With that demonstration, they all understood.

"That’s interesting," Nelson said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Engelland took the pool balls and tried it himself. He nodded in agreement. "That’s right. It really can increase finger strength while also training flexibility, because you have to constantly nudge the balls with your fingers to keep them stable. The key is that it’s convenient—you can practice anytime, anywhere."

You could grab two balls and practice while sitting and watching TV.

"It’s just that the size and weight would need to be custom-made," Engelland added.

The hands on these NBA players are no joke.

Chen Yu smiled. "That’s easy. I’ll find someone to make them. The main thing is that you guys think it’ll be useful."

’A couple of iron balls? How hard could that be?’

J Kidd, meanwhile, was playing with the two pool balls, thoroughly intrigued and unable to put them down.

Of course, this was just one small part of the improvement plan. To address J Kidd’s shooting issues, training for core strength, leg strength, and balance would certainly still be necessary.

But that was a matter for later. For now, this was just a simple trial run to see if there were any problems with their process and methods.

It seemed there were no major issues.

Besides, in Chen Yu’s plan, all this high-tech equipment was just one aspect. ’The most crucial part,’ he thought, ’should be the Training Effects from my system.’

’Good technique is important, but the system’s effects are even more important.’

Since he first obtained the Training Effects, Chen Yu had barely used them, saving them up instead. He had now accumulated about thirty Training Effects of varying levels, just waiting to be used after the sports lab opened.

For instance, now that they had a training adjustment plan for J Kidd, applying a Training Effect to it would definitely allow him to achieve twice the results with half the effort.