Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 137: Train Him to Become a Kobe Killer

It's not just journalists who are blocking their own way.

I parked the car and got out, and someone called my name from behind.

Turning his head, he saw PJ Brown, carrying a bag, waving at him, then quickly walking over and extending his large hand.

"Did you wait for me here specifically?"

Tang Sen had a memory of PJ Brown. A few years ago, when Jordan made his second comeback, the East was much more exciting than the West is now.

The Magic's meteoric rise, the Bulls' triumphant return, the long-standing rivalry between the Knicks and the Bulls, and the Pacers, including Reggie Miller's classic chokehold.

Of course, the Heat and the Knicks are also included.

Riley's betrayal, PJ Brown's incredible one-for-five trade.

The East Coast in those years was truly amazing.

At their first meeting, PJ Brown was quite relaxed. He followed Townsend to the locker room, told him about Rivers's request for him to gain weight, and then asked curiously, "Town, can you really make me gain weight without reducing my athletic ability?"

Rivers was very confident, as if this wasn't even a problem.

According to media reports, PJ Brown also knew that Townsend was very capable.

But he still had doubts.

In PJ Brown's view, weight and athletic ability are completely incompatible.

Everyone knows that being heavy gives you an advantage in the paint, but who can have Shaquille O'Neal's freakish knees and agility?

A flexible fat person is a paradox in itself.

Tang Sen glanced at PJ Brown.

He is of a good size, with a well-proportioned body, slightly thin, and has muscle definition, but it is not very defined.

At least Tang Sen did not see any bulging veins.

The body fat percentage shouldn't be too low. I glanced at the system and sure enough, the body fat percentage was 12%.

The NBA's body fat percentage actually refers to subcutaneous fat percentage, not visceral fat.

Therefore, body fat percentages of less than 5% are often exaggerated.

If you really include the standard visceral fat level, which is 5%, then the muscles can be stretched into strands.

Like Brown, whose muscles are clearly defined, and judging from the photos taken by the media, his veins bulge when he exerts force. Under the standard of the system, that's only about 9%.

So physically speaking, PJ Brown is far from being a muscle monster.

"You'll know if you try it."

Tang Sen smiled but did not make any direct promises.

You'll know how effective it is once you try it.

PJ Brown nodded. "That's right. We'll see how good they are once we try."

Townsend and PJ Brown met for the first time since the trade, but the others did not.

He had already met with Ewing.

He traded one for five back then, and Ewing was also a victim.

However, as time passed, Ewing did not hold a grudge.

Even if they managed to get past the Heat, they would still have to face the Bulls, their nemesis.

The Heat, who eliminated the Knicks in Game 7, were then swept 4-1 by the Bulls. So, comparing the two teams side by side, even if they had beaten the Heat, it would still have been difficult for them to win the championship.

Therefore, for Ewing, the two had a history of grudges, but now they are more like fellow sufferers in misfortune.

The team as a whole welcomed his arrival.

The Magic's locker room atmosphere is great now, and there are no players causing trouble.

But the most fundamental reason is that everyone can see hope.

Just like a company that has the hope of successfully going public, all employees will naturally work hard and ignore any minor conflicts.

Tang Sen just came over to say hello, and then went straight to the scene.

Today's game is against the Hawks.

When Tangsen saw Kruger again, he seemed even more haggard.

The NBA and the NCAA are completely different concepts. The pressure of being a head coach in the NBA is astonishing.

This is also why many famous NCAA coaches are absolutely unwilling to come to the NBA.

But this was the path Kruger chose himself.

He did not mention asking Tangsen to go to Atlanta to help him again.

Given the relationship, he wouldn't put Tang Sen in a difficult position.

In this game, the Hawks rested their two key players, Terry and Rasheed, due to playing back-to-back games.

There's no reason for magicians to lose.

Brown scored 19 points and McGrady scored 21 points. The two played for only 30 minutes before leaving the court to rest early.

Rivers is now focused solely on the Finals, and therefore has begun to control the use of his core players.

In games where victory is assured, he usually reduces the playing time of both players.

They must have spoken with McGrady and his team.

After all, limited playing time also affects performance data.

PJ Brown came off the bench and played for almost 20 minutes.

His performance was similar to what Tang Sen remembered; he was an excellent blue-collar player.

His defense is good; after all, he's been selected to the All-Defensive Team three times, and even his second-team selection shows that his defense is among the best in the league.

Moreover, he has a very good awareness of defensive coordination, which is evident.

Some players always seem bewildered on the field, as if they've just woken up and been suddenly thrown onto the court, completely unaware of what to do.

Such players are mostly only able to stick with their assigned defender.

PJ Brown, on the other hand, constantly looks around, observing and reading the game.

Thanks to his good movement speed and positioning awareness, his help defense is really good.

Then Tang Sen could understand why the Magic's management had brought him in.

It was obvious that the plan was to have one Brown guard the inside and the other front the defense against O'Neal.

Grant is actually not bad either.

He was once a top defensive big man in the league, doing all the dirty work for the Bulls.

It also possesses comprehensive offensive skills.

But he's old and injured. Even if he trains with me and recovers some of his physical condition, he's not good at long-term defense. He can hold his own in the low post, but he can't keep up with the wide-ranging help defense.

So bringing in PJ Brown, in retrospect, is indeed a suitable choice.

Even the best players are beyond the Magic's reach.

On the offensive end, PJ Brown doesn't have many options, but his standard straight-arm mid-range shot is still quite reliable.

Rivers probably doesn't expect him to score many points.

The Magic's main scoring threats are still Brown and McGrady.

Tang Sen then understood the situation.

The game ended with the Magic defeating the Hawks by 13 points.

Billups once again dished out 11 assists, but scored only 9 points.

Rivers seems to have actually spoken to him and shared some experience, so Townsend can see that Billups is now focusing on passing.

His playing time has also increased; he played for almost 40 minutes in this game.

This shows that Rivers wants to give him more playing time and reduce his scoring during the regular season, in order to develop his ability to organize the offense first.

That's perfect.

After returning from China, Tang Sen specially commissioned a solid rubber ball, which weighs three times as much as a standard NBA basketball, nearly 2 kilograms.

Tangsen wanted to practice Billups' three-point shooting, which was also something he himself strongly requested.

It's difficult to train during the season, as it might affect muscle memory.

But since Rivers has asked him to reduce his scoring, it doesn't matter if it affects his shooting touch.

There are still more than two months until the playoffs. If we can really achieve some results by then, it might even have a surprising effect.

These balls are in the stadium; you can use them directly.

The match ended at 10 p.m.

After PJ Brown finished showering and changing his clothes, he noticed that McGrady and Brown left the locker room together.

The two did not change their clothes; they were still wearing their jerseys.

Where did they go?

PJ Brown turned to Ewing, who had just put on his shoes, and asked him.

Ewing said, "Practice more."

PJ Brown was taken aback.

He knew that some diligent and disciplined players would do extra training after the game.

The problem is, he already knew that the Magic had followed Jordan's example and started a breakfast club where they would get up at five in the morning to train.

I even plan to participate tomorrow.

He was actually looking forward to it.

Players who participated in the Townsend Breakfast Club said in interviews that training early in the morning was very effective.

But PJ Brown didn't expect that early morning training wasn't enough; he would have to do extra training after the game.

This training intensity is way too high.

Or rather, he's too diligent.

PJ Brown suddenly understood why the Magic had suddenly risen to prominence this season.

The arrival of the superstar rookie Brown is one aspect, but it is definitely inseparable from the hard work and dedication of these guys in their training.

With that thought in mind, PJ Brown went back to his closet and began to take off his clothes.

He left his wife and three daughters in Charlotte and came to Orlando alone, not to enjoy himself, but to take a gamble.

What reason do I have to slack off?
"Hey, what do you want to do?" Ewing quickly stopped PJ Brown.

Upon hearing that PJ Brown was also planning to do extra training, Ewing said, "No need. Whether or not to do extra training is up to Don. He has his own training plan and schedule, and we just need to follow it strictly." Come to think of it, he himself had also considered doing extra training before.

But Tang Sen refused.

Firstly, the extra practice will mainly focus on shooting, which I don't need to do myself.

Secondly, as he himself said, Tang Sen has a strict training plan, and adding extra training without proper preparation would only disrupt his plan.

"Alright, Tang has his plans. All we can do is train according to his plan."

After spending so much time with him, Ewing's biggest impression of Tangsen was that Tangsen was particularly well-organized in terms of training.

He can plan out exactly what to practice each day, how long to practice, and even when to practice until he gets tired.

It feels incredible.

But as I said before, if it's effective, then just keep practicing.

PJ Brown nodded, thought for a moment, and said he would go and take a look.

He was filled with curiosity about Tang Sen.

We arrived at the training hall.

Only five players—Brown, McGrady, Garetti, Miller, and Billups—participated in the extra training.

But they weren't the only ones there.

There were also several sparring partners.

Brown was surrounded by two men, one of whom was tall and followed Brown without offering any physical contact. Instead, he jumped to block Brown's shot, trying to get the ball out of Brown's hands.

There was another person under the basket helping to retrieve the ball.

In the other half of the court, Garetti and Miller were also practicing mid-range and long-range shots under interference, with someone specifically assigned to retrieve the ball under the basket.

McGrady also had two by his side.

McGrady seemed to be practicing his drives; he got past one player, but another was blocking his way.

PJ Brown noticed that McGrady slowed down after dribbling past his opponent, first using his body to block the person behind him, and then accelerating and changing direction to get past the defender in front of him when he rushed up.

Tang Sen was right beside him, giving him instructions step by step.

Finally, there's Billups. He was on the court for the rest of the half, with someone retrieving the ball for him. He was at the top of the arc, running back and forth between the two 45-degree angles on either side, receiving the ball and taking a three-pointer.

He shot a black basketball, and after catching it, he didn't dribble but shot it directly.

The black basketball slammed against the rim with a loud thud, sounding very heavy.

His shooting percentage was terrible, but Billups didn't seem to care. He just kept shooting, and his form was perfect.

"Let's go."

Ewing patted PJ Brown on the shoulder from behind.

Brown glanced one last time at the running figures, then turned and left.

Townsend didn't notice that PJ Brown had come over, so he stopped McGrady and went on the court himself to demonstrate for him.

"After you get past your opponent and slow down, you can still fake a pass and shoot."

"Because your passing is very threatening."

"But you have to be careful about timing and actions, such as using your eyes to mislead the defender."

Tang Sen wanted the ball, so he blew past the defender in one step, slowed down, and floated the ball while moving, turning his head to look to the left, giving the illusion that he was about to pass the ball.

He also gathered the ball, but instead of throwing it out, he lifted it up and pulled it out directly.

Even though the two sparring partners knew that Tang Sen was going to use the fake pass and throw trick, they were still fooled by Tang Sen's highly deceptive movements.

Tang Sen stopped, holding the ball, and said, "Tracy, change is the most important thing. You're smart, so make good use of that."

McGrady's amazing talent has made him accustomed to using his abilities to solve all battles.

But Townsend demanded that he learn to play with his brain.

If he doesn't change this, his achievements will still be high, but they will never reach the level of greatness.

McGrady nodded and noted it down, then told his two sparring partners to continue.

Tang Sen then wandered over to look at the other people.

Their gaze fell on Billups.

He has already started training with weighted balls.

Tang Sen's plan was to run back and forth between the three positions, ensuring a standard shooting motion as much as possible, and first build up the lactic acid.

I didn't let him shoot many shots, since he had just finished a game.

The three spots together can be used to throw 100 balls.

Then use a normal ball, slow down the speed, and maintain the accuracy until the accuracy drops to less than 50%.

Going any lower would be too tiring for the body, making further training pointless.

Shooting is a long process of training, and even with bonuses, there won't be much improvement in a short period of time.

Since the system simulation is indeed effective, let's practice for a while and see.

Tang Sen stared for a while, then looked at Garetti and Miller.

Garetti has nothing to say.

His role on the team is that of a substitute, someone who comes off the bench and occasionally throws up a three-pointer from the outside.

You can't ask anything more of him.

He's a white shooter with average athleticism and not strong enough; expecting him to excel in both offense and defense is simply unrealistic.

Moreover, now that the Magic have acquired PJ Brown, his playing time will be further reduced.

Of course, you can practice with the system's bonus effects, and it will definitely have an effect.

Tang Sen sometimes really felt that his system was like playing a video game, allowing him to add attributes to players in a targeted way.

They add whatever they need through training.

But efficiency is also a factor in this.

With training, there will definitely be results. If you work your butt off and put in a lot of hard work, anyone can potentially develop superhuman muscles.

Some people are talented and can learn it in three months, but for you, it might take a year or even longer.

That input-output ratio is unreasonable.

Therefore, given his current role on the team, all he needs to do is improve his shooting.

Miller, on the other hand!

Rivers had discussed Miller's development with him yesterday.

His demands on Miller were both simple and difficult.

He hopes Miller can defend Kobe!
At that moment, Tangsen almost rolled his eyes at Rivers, telling him to stop daydreaming.

If Miller can effectively defend Kobe, his next contract will be at least eight million.

Tangsen could understand why Rivers would make such a request.

The Magic are clearly developing their players with the expectation of meeting the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Ideally, Miller could guard Kobe at the shooting guard position, allowing McGrady to punish the Lakers by mismatching at the small forward position.

Having McGrady guard Kobe would definitely drain his energy.

But the key question is whether Miller is up to the task.

Miller is a white shooter with decent athleticism. Combined with his size and weight as a small forward, he can use his weight to punish some guards when he moves to the shooting guard position.

That's exactly what Rivers was thinking.

He suggested that Miller gain weight, from his current 97 kg to 100 kg.

The idea was still to use his weight to bully Kobe.

Since the start of this season, Kobe has increased his post-up game a lot, and his size advantage makes him more difficult to play against.

Of course, this was Rivers' personal opinion, and he also asked Tang Sen what he thought.

Tang Sen really didn't have any ideas, but he knew that gaining weight was definitely not a good idea.

Young Kobe was incredibly agile and nimble. In the last game against the Lakers, he used his speed and agility to completely outmaneuver Miller.

If Miller gains any more weight, he won't be able to play anymore.

Tang Sen stood on the sidelines, arms crossed, deep in thought.

To defend against Kobe, you first need to understand what kind of player Kobe is.

He is the right size and weight, has amazing athleticism, good stamina, and is excellent in physical confrontations.

He is now the initiator of the triangle offense.

It is also an important defensive asset for the Lakers' perimeter defense.

They hadn't scored yet, but they managed to get in once.

Therefore, his defense is excellent.

When you watch his defense, you get a very clear feeling that he is extremely agile.

It's not easy for it to lose its position; you can't shake it off, and you can't push it away.

He's improving every year in terms of offense.

In his rookie years, he relied on his athleticism to drive to the basket, but later he developed his shooting skills and had a decent mid-range shot.

It's not stable enough, and sometimes it's not very efficient.

Last season, he gradually developed some turnaround jump shots initiated by post-up moves. This season is almost halfway through, and it's clear that his post-up moves are becoming more and more stable, which is obviously due to his hard work.

From Tang Sen's perspective, there are many options for defending against a Kobe Bryant like this.

For example, Kobe made many breakthroughs. Like McGrady, his breakthroughs also relied on the explosiveness of his first step. If you are agile, you can stick to him when he starts to move and control his starting speed.

This is why McGrady's defense was quite effective when he went all out to defend Kobe, because McGrady was also fast.

Then you also need to have an amazing wingspan.

Players like McGrady and Marion, with their outstretched arms and wide coverage, could also limit Kobe's drives to the basket.

With longer arms, the blocking effect will be better when Kobe takes a mid-range shot.

Finally, if individual defense can't stop him, you can rely on the system, with mid-lane support to block his air cuts.

And Mike Miller really doesn't fit any of these criteria.

For Firth to think he could develop into a Kobe Bryant killer is an impossible task.

(End of this chapter)