Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 141 The Level of Point Guard

Inside the Turner Television Network studio.

Barkley and his two companions, unusually, refrained from joking and chatting, and instead provided a serious and methodical commentary on the game.

The media are saying this is a preview of the finals, so we have to treat it like we're commentating on the finals.

Ernie Johnson, in his standard announcer's voice, delivered the commentary at breakneck speed.

"Grant's mid-range shot, unfortunately, Horry was not out of position, the ball didn't go in."

"The first quarter is over!"

"24 to 19, the Magic have taken a five-point lead."

"Shaq's performance in the first quarter was mediocre, scoring only 5 points on 2-of-6 shooting."

"However, Kwame only scored 4 points, and Tracy became the hero of the Magic's lead, scoring 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting."

"In the first quarter, the rest of the Lakers didn't perform well. Fisher missed two three-pointers, and if it weren't for Kobe's six points, the Lakers might have lost by even more."

"Kenny, what do you think of the two teams' performance in the first quarter?"

The camera cuts back to the studio, where Johnson looks at Kenny Smith.

Smith hesitated for a moment, then began by praising Billups.

"The Magic's offense is very steady. Compared to before, they are more patient. Everyone is running and participating in the offense. This is inseparable from the arrival of Chauncey."

The Magic used to play basketball like this: once the ball crossed half-court, it all depended on McGrady's performance.

He had the ball, he attacked, he couldn't score, then he passed the ball to the others, but they couldn't score either, so they lost the game.

"This season, the Magic acquired Kwame, but they have only gone from a single-core team to a dual-core team. In terms of playing style, there has not been much change."

In Smith's view, Brown's arrival brought about changes to the Magic.

What started as one person swinging the ball became two people swinging it, and with the occasional little bit of internal and external coordination, the media sensationalized it as a so-called "chemical reaction."

"But after Chauncey came, the Magic really changed; their tactical execution became much stronger."

"As I said before, Chauncey's arrival filled the most important gap for the Magic. Tracy has organizational skills, but they still need a true point guard."

Barkley nodded in agreement.

Bad teams rely on star players, mediocre teams rely on systems and tactics, and championship-caliber teams have both tactics and star players.

When you're a bottom-feeder in the East, you can rely on McGrady to carry the team.

But if they want to move up the ranks, they need to develop their own tactics and have a true point guard.

"I think the key to the Magic's lead is that they have done a good enough job defending Shaq."

When Barkley gets serious, his insights are sharp and incisive.

"The Lakers' core is Shaq. He can punish opponents endlessly in the paint, and he also has a good passing ability when he is double-teamed."

"The Lakers have been shooting a lot of three-pointers in the last two seasons."

"And double-teaming Shaq will disrupt your defensive formation."

"Like building blocks!"

He gave an analogy, saying, "If one corner of a building block loses its balance, the whole building block will collapse."

"Every team in the league knows how to properly defend Shaq, but nobody can do it."

"But the magic tricks were quite good."

"Kwame is really strong. Look at the slow motion, look at his arms. My God, look how terrifying his muscles are."

Under the basket, Brown gritted his teeth, stretched out his arms, and suppressed O'Neal.

O'Neal's face was contorted in an exaggerated way from the effort he was putting in.

Brown's outstretched arms resembled those of a monstrous beast, with incredibly defined muscles and bulging veins, making them quite frightening to look at.

“I’ve guarded Shaq. His strength is incredible. You have to give him enough resistance before he even gets going.”

“Once you relax and don’t provide enough resistance, allowing him to start making moves, almost no one can stop him.”

“That’s not enough. You also have to be agile enough, because this bastard is agile to an inhuman degree.”

"You also need to have enough defensive experience, be familiar enough with his playing style, and be able to anticipate his movements."

Barkley counted on his fingers, explaining just how difficult it was to defend O'Neal.

No exaggeration, just the truth.

Shaquille O'Neal was like the ultimate demon king in the paint, making all the interior players who tried to challenge him feel hopeless.

“But Kwame did it, look at their confrontation.”

He unleashed a segment of O'Neal's offensive play.

After receiving the ball, O'Neal immediately lowered his shoulder to post up.

In slow motion, you can clearly feel how powerful his impact was; at the moment of impact, his muscles seemed to ripple.

Brown, with his cheeks puffed out and neck veins bulging, was not knocked away.

Then O'Neal simultaneously stepped forward and started his run, aiming to cut across the middle and hook shot.

"Many interior players lose their position completely when Shaq bumps them the first time, making it even more impossible for them to keep up with Shaq's pace afterwards."

O'Neal's downward shoulder thrust was like a critical hit to other big men, instantly depleting their health.

But for O'Neal, it was just a basic attack.

Therefore, O'Neal still has energy left to complete the corresponding technical moves.

Having lost the initiative, how can you keep up with his pace?

And that doesn't even include his agility buff and final skill bonus.

"But Kwame held on. His lower body and core are really strong. I don't know how Tang trained him to develop such a strong body."

"Kwame also has excellent agility, so you can see that he did not lose his position, kept up with Shaq, and jumped at almost the same time as Shaq, interfering with Shaq's shot."

"This time, when PJ couldn't double-team him, Kwame completely relied on his individual ability to limit Shaq."

"This is really difficult!"

Barkley sighed.

This wasn't a flash of inspiration from Brown; it was something that had been happening throughout the entire quarter.

PJ Brown's help defense awareness was excellent, and his double-teaming was timely. However, other teams also double-teamed, but the effect was limited because the person guarding O'Neal did not immediately contain him before the double-team.

"So you see, Shaq had a tough time in the first quarter."

According to Barkley, while McGrady's 9 points in a single quarter were certainly a factor in the Magic's lead, the biggest credit went to Brown for limiting O'Neal in the paint.

Otherwise, with their full offensive firepower and key players playing for nearly 11 minutes, how could the Lakers have only scored 19 points?

Kenny Smith nodded in agreement.

Everyone knows that when playing against the Lakers, the first priority is to defend Shaq. If you can handle Shaq, you've at least won half the game.

"Now it all comes down to the bench players on both sides."

In the main battle phase, the Magic seemed to have a slight advantage, or rather, they were evenly matched, each with their own strengths.

However, it's impossible to rely solely on the starters in a series; the performance of the substitutes is also crucial.

The Lakers' bench is by no means good.

With Shaq and Kobe alone accounting for over 30 million in salaries, it's no wonder the bench was so weak.

However, the Magic are similar, with a lack of experienced, infirm, and skilled players.

The scene of the game.

As soon as Brown left the court, he was panting heavily and sweating profusely.

De Klerk hurriedly handed over a towel and a drink.

"Kwame, you played very well, you were great." Rivers squatted down in front of Brown, grabbed Brown's shoulders, and kept praising him.

He knew all too well how much Brown had contributed.

Without him containing O'Neal in the paint, the Lakers' offense wouldn't be constipated, and their triangle offense wouldn't be unable to function.

Brown was panting and couldn't speak; he was clearly exhausted.

Everyone witnessed this and couldn't help but sigh.

Watching Brown perform so well makes you forget his age. He's only 19, a high school graduate entering the league. If he can't guard Shaq, nobody will say anything to him.

Based on his current performance, he could easily secure a big contract and coast along in the league for over a decade.

But Brown showed enough responsibility, fighting tooth and nail to defend O'Neal.

Rivers turned to look at Ewing.

Ewing understood what he meant, reached out and patted Brown on the shoulder, saying, "Get some rest, we're here for you."

Grant, standing beside him, nodded, his expression grave.

This guy is almost forty, and he gets up at five in the morning to train, all for this moment, to help relieve some pressure on the core.

"gone."

Ewing stretched his shoulders and walked onto the court with a blank expression.

The 5-point lead that the main players fought hard for must not only be maintained, but efforts should be made to widen the gap and take an even bigger lead.

Looking across at the other side, Ewing was filled with mixed emotions.

He felt as if he had returned to 94.

That year, the bald-headed guy who made the Knicks grit their teeth retired.

That year, the Knicks defeated the Bulls for the first time.

But the road ahead was not smooth. They faced another tough Game 7, defeating the Pacers once again and advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time.

That year, Ewing felt for the first time how close he was to the championship.

On the eve of the finals, Ewing was just as emotional as he is now.

As a result, he ran into Hakeem Olajuwon.

And now, Ewing once again feels that he is not far from that championship trophy.

So we have to give it our all!

Ewing bent down to adjust his knee pads and stood in the restricted area.

His opponent was Medvedenko, a power forward, who was forced to play center.

This also demonstrates the Lakers' limited bench strength.

Horry set a screen, and Fox dribbled straight to the basket, seemingly disregarding his own position.

Who are you looking down on?
Ewing moved quickly and pushed forward.

His two old legs did not slow him down.

I've been training with Tang Sen for quite some time now, and my weight has dropped a little; I'm only 113 kilograms now.

But what's being reduced isn't the atrophied muscle, but rather the fat accumulated in middle-aged people.

If you look at photos from before Ewing trained with Tang Sen, you can clearly see that his muscle definition was much better.

Muscles are power, enabling Ewing to run faster and jump higher.

He blocked the shot in time, leaping forward and, as if returning to his peak form, poked the thrown basketball down.

Control the ball immediately and pass it to Billups.

Billups controlled the pace, and after everyone was in position, he lobbed the ball into the paint.

Ewing sat low on Medvedenko, slightly lowered his shoulder, and turned toward the baseline.

The movements were precise and without any hesitation.

Ewing couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing that health truly is the foundation of everything. With his two injured legs, it was really difficult for him to turn around and score like he used to when he was younger.

But now, I really feel much more relaxed.

And Medvedenko.

Ewing wasn't looking down on him; he genuinely felt that compared to Brown, he was far inferior.

During their first joint training session, that kid Brown practically figured me out.

The pace and rhythm were perfect; the ball went in easily.

Billups immediately lunged at Lynch Hunter, delaying the Lakers' fast break.

During the bench phase, with O'Neal off the court, the Lakers frequently launched fast breaks, relying on speed to score points.

Billups recalled that yesterday, Rivers and Davis had specifically sought him out and shown him Lakers game footage, instructing him on how to control the pace of the game.

Everyone, from the head coach to the players, has made thorough preparations for this match.

However, in Billups' view, the experience Rivers has been sharing with him these days is more important than figuring out how to deal with the Lakers.

Tangsen's training methods taught Billups how to seize opportunities in combat.

But it was the experience shared by Rivers, an All-Star point guard, that gave Billups a profound understanding of the point guard role.

Rivers believes that the point guard is the head coach on the battlefield.

First, he needs to understand the characteristics and strengths of each teammate and each opponent.

Then, arrange the troops in a reasonable formation.

Because the ball is in your hands, you can decide what tactics to use and who to pass the ball to.

Rivers also taught a method.

Treat the whole game like a war.

Each stage is a local battle.

So, in this battle, the first thing to do is to clarify the objective, which is to maintain the lead and even score points to relieve the pressure on the main players.

Once you've set your goal, then think about how to achieve it.

Who can score?

Both Monty Williams and Grant are defensively inclined, and their offense may not be as reliable.

Ewing has a better chance, with the advantages of his physique and experience.

There's also Courtney Alexander, who has a decent scoring ability, but he's a bit unpredictable. We might need to devise a strategy for him, setting up a couple of plays to help him find his rhythm.

Once Billups understood this, he knew what to do.

In the next offensive possession, he called for Grant to set a screen, then dribbled towards the basket, drawing Medvedenko to help defend before passing the ball directly to Ewing behind him.

Horry lunged forward, but it was too late; Ewing made the layup.

After scoring two consecutive goals, Billups had already marked Ewing as a priority in his mind.

He was like a commander directing a battle on a sand table.

Then they discovered that Ewing was in superb condition, defeating his opponents in droves.

He immediately devised tactics, much like supplying resources, to help Ewing achieve even greater results.

But the opponent will not stand idly by.

Therefore, the situation on the sand table immediately changed, and the opponent tried to mobilize resources to encircle and strangle the outstanding part of Ewing.

Medvedenko began to reduce his defensive coverage, and Hori also stayed in the penalty area more often.

The Lakers began to tighten their defense.

Billups struggled to pass to Ewing, and after receiving the ball, he too became surrounded and unable to score.

Placed on the sand table, it shows his outstanding move that was repelled by the enemy's concentrated forces.

However, the situation is constantly changing. When the opponent concentrates its forces on Ewing, it will inevitably create weaknesses in other positions.

At this point, in Rivers' words, a skilled point guard would have already noticed the problem and begun to shift the offensive focus.

Billups noticed this and, during the inbound pass, he quickly exchanged a few words with Alexander. He then initiated a pick-and-roll, but halfway through the drive, after drawing the defense, he passed the ball to the weak side at a 45-degree angle.

Meanwhile, Alexander happened to be out of his way and arrived.

He receives the ball and shoots a three-pointer.

The team was united today, which may have influenced him; he was in good form and made the shot.

Billups clenched his fist, feeling even happier than when he actually made the three-pointer.

He suddenly felt as if he understood what Rivers meant by a true point guard.

(End of this chapter)