Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 213 get out of class is over
Inside Madison Raeden's office.

"How dare they say that!"

Ryden slammed the newspaper on the table in anger and yelled at his assistant, Mark Perry.

Leiden was in a good mood today.

After watching the Knicks vs. Pistons game yesterday, and seeing Yao Ming's unstoppable performance in the paint, I had only one thought in my mind.

Great undertaking can be accomplished!

Barkley's post-game rant was completely ignored by a cheerful Layden.

When he arrived at the office this morning and picked up the newspaper, ready to see how the New York Times and other media outlets would praise Yao Ming, he was dumbfounded.

The media certainly praised Yao Ming.

The New York Times bluntly stated that Yao Ming was never a rookie; he was a star player and should have gone straight to the All-Star game.

He played 33 minutes, scoring an efficient 36 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

He completely dominated a defensive stalwart like Ben Wallace in the paint. With this kind of performance, who would dare say Yao Ming is a rookie?

The same goes for the New York Post.

They exclaimed that the Knicks had ushered in a new king.

There was nothing wrong with these reports; in Leiden's view, they were all true.

But what came next didn't quite fit.

After praising Yao Ming extensively, the New York Times shifted its tone and harshly criticized a bunch of Knicks rookies.

They described everyone's performance as disastrous.

If it weren't for Yao Ming, Houston, and Billups's steady playmaking, we wouldn't have won yesterday's game at all.

They even called out names directly.

They say Chandler is as soft as a noodle, and Yao Ming could easily beat Ben Wallace. But when it came to him, the 7-foot-1-inch tall guy was completely outmatched by the less than 2-meter-tall Wallace, and couldn't even get into the paint.

This statement is certainly an exaggeration, but it is a microcosm of Chandler's game yesterday.

There's also Swift, Wallace, and DeShawn Stevenson.

Especially Stevenson.

He was traded with the reputation of being the next Jordan, but what happened? He only played 11 minutes and scored 3 points.

The New York Times's sharp satire.

To put it another way, Stevenson's performance was like that of a 50-year-old Jordan.

After thoroughly satirizing all the role players, the New York Times finally got to the point.

He launched a tirade against Leiden.

If this were a live television broadcast, it would be a series of beeps, as filthy as can be.

They quoted extensively from Barkley's post-game comments, saying that Layden was out of his mind, stupid as a donkey, and didn't even have one percent of his father's ability.

He even bluntly stated that Reden's actions directly cost the Knicks the chance to win the championship next summer.

He also called out to Dolan, telling him to fire Redden immediately, saying that he had ruined the Knicks.

"Mark, do you think there's a problem with my deal?"

Leiden retorted loudly.

"Latrell is just a borderline All-Star, and he's already caused us so much trouble. If we keep him, our locker room will explode."

Throughout his career, Sprewell never truly reached the level of a superstar.

He claimed to have reformed and become more restrained, but once he signed the big contract, his true colors were immediately revealed. He missed training and had conflicts with his teammates in the locker room.

Since the rebuild is centered around Yao Ming, why not get rid of this troublemaker and keep him around to cause trouble for Yao Ming?

"And we got Tyson, he was the second overall pick, and he has the talent to be Yao Ming's backup. Isn't that enough?"

Leiden felt confident that he could secure a good backup for Yao Ming.

"And Marcus, I'm really glad we got rid of him."

Mentioning Camby sends a chill down my spine.

It was supposed to be a case of exchanging sick patients, but Bender had been out of work for a whole season and was still healthy.

Camby went to the Pacers, played a few preseason games, then suffered a recurrence of his hip injury and was placed on the injured list.

That would likely make Camby a glass cannon.

"And then there's KT. Just comparing the stats, Stromiler isn't that much worse than him. Is there a problem if I trade him for a rookie with even better talent?"

"As for the remaining players..."

When asked about the remaining players, Leiden didn't want to talk about them.

They claim to be experienced, but they're really just a bunch of old guys with fixed techniques and limited skills.

Moreover, everyone has substantial contracts on their hands.

Sending away these old guys and getting a bunch of rookies who haven't lived up to their potential, gambling on Tang Sen's abilities for the future, isn't that a good idea?

Leiden felt somewhat wronged.

Perhaps it's a bit arrogant of him to be talking about being the next Garnett or the next Jordan.

But since the team has chosen to rebuild around Yao Ming, he felt that they should send away the veterans and bring in young rookies to develop.

He even claimed that he caused the Knicks to lose a championship.

With the Knicks' original roster, they couldn't even make the Eastern Conference playoffs. Even with Yao Ming, it would be difficult for them to reach the NBA Finals.

“Sir, you don’t need to take what the media says seriously,” Perry advised.

The media believes everything they hear; those who believe them are doomed.

"The most important thing is that we are winning, and that's enough."

New York fans are easy to please; they don't care about anything else as long as they win.

Leiden's eye twitched.

They say as long as we win, that's all that matters, but the problem is we actually have to win.

This season is a developmental period, so who can guarantee the team's performance?

There are also fans.

You can ignore the media's opinions, but who knows what the fans think?

If anyone actually believed Barkley's nonsense about the Knicks losing a championship, New York fans would be mortified.

Barkley's words were incredibly damaging to New York fans.

It's no wonder New York fans are going crazy at the thought of possibly losing a championship trophy.

What Leiden feared most came to pass.

After winning their first game against the Pistons, the Knicks lost their second game on the road to the 76ers.

86 to 98, lost by 12 points.

Yao Ming scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting.

The data is acceptable.

However, compared to the previous game, the efficiency has dropped significantly.

He was targeted by the 76ers.

This is the NBA.

Even a substitute player who performs slightly well can attract the attention of the opponent, who will then target him.

Not to mention Yao Ming, the absolute core of the team.

Larry Brown never expected that Todd McCalloch could single-handedly contain Yao Ming.

In a previous World Championship warm-up game between China and Canada, he was completely outplayed by Yao Ming.

But Larry Brown discovered a weakness in the Knicks.

That means that apart from the core players, no one else is good enough.

In this game, he substituted in Derek Coleman, who stayed in the paint and teamed up with McCalloch to limit Yao Ming.

As a result, a large portion of Yao Ming's points came from outside shots.

When Yao Ming was double-teamed in the paint, giving the Knicks' forwards numerous opportunities, no one was able to capitalize on them.

The paint was crowded, and Swift couldn't penetrate.

He only made 1 of 5 shots, wasting many opportunities.

Furthermore, Cheney continued to limit Yao Ming's playing time, so even though Houston scored an efficient 31 points, the Knicks still lost.

And this was just the beginning of the defeat.

Larry Brown set an example for all teams, showing them how to deal with the Knicks.

Other teams followed suit.

Back at home, the Knicks will face the Celtics.

Yao Ming dominated Tony Battie, but scored 31 points in a losing effort.

Pierce and Walker dominated the Knicks' frontcourt, both scoring over 30 points, handing the Knicks another loss.

They will face the Bucks again at home.

George Karl completely replicated Larry Brown's style of play, relentlessly double-teaming Yao Ming in the paint and leaving the Knicks' frontcourt open. 97-88, another blow to the Knicks.

Despite being double-teamed, Yao Ming still managed to score 23 points and grab 12 rebounds.

The Knicks' losing streak is far from over.

Facing the Western Conference powerhouse Sacramento Kings, they didn't bother to imitate the 76ers; they simply used fluid teamwork to teach the Knicks a lesson.

Yao Ming was somewhat affected by the cunning Divac, but still contributed 24 points and 11 rebounds.

With this result, after five games in the season, the Knicks have a record of 1 win and 4 losses, and have slipped to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

Even the Cavaliers, who were determined to tank, won two games.

This probably scared Gordon Gund half to death, making him think the Knicks were also going to target the Akron boys.

The series of losses, like an early Arctic cold front heading south, chilled the hearts of New York fans.

On this day, the NBA officially announced the Players of the Week for the first week.

Yao Ming won the Eastern Conference Player of the Year award with a phenomenal performance averaging 27 points per game.

This honor did not quell the anger of New York fans.

The following day, a report in the New York Times resonated with all New York fans.

Yao Ming is great, he's a genius, we're lucky to have him, but everyone else is trash.

Next to the title, there was a huge red word.

get out of class is over!

New Yorkers have lost patience.

The New York Times put it this way: "Yao is incredibly talented. He is a super genius. He is unstoppable in the paint and is the Knicks' hope for a resurgence."

"But the management's stupidity wasted Yao's talent! We originally had a championship-winning roster, but it was ruthlessly dismantled and replaced with a bunch of garbage."

These days, the New York media are using increasingly sharp language to describe the rookies.

It has rapidly escalated from waste to garbage.

This is also the general sentiment among New York fans.

During yesterday's home game against the Kings, the stands were filled with taunts and insults directed at Bender.

"Scott and Donald murdered the Knicks' future; they must be fired and pay the price."

This report ignited the anger of New York fans.

In front of Madison Square Garden, New York fans held up signs and chanted for Renden to be fired.

Spike Lee was equally outspoken, criticizing the management's incompetence and waste of Yao Ming's abilities in an interview with reporters.

The outcry was so loud that Dolan could no longer ignore it.

After the Knicks suffered another road loss to the Pacers, someone was fired.

It wasn't Ryden, it was Cheney.

Dolan quickly spent two million to send Cheney home, attempting to quell the anger of New York fans.

……

Training center.

Tang Sen crossed his arms and watched silently as Cheney packed his belongings, along with the others.

“That bastard Scott didn’t even dare to show up,” Steve Clifford muttered.

The media criticized Scott Layden, but Cheney ended up taking the blame.

"Okay, Steve."

Cheney put the family photos on the table into a storage box and spoke up to stop Clifford.

When Summer Layden launched his ambitious revival plan, Cheney had a bad feeling that he might be the scapegoat.

It's just happening ahead of schedule.

Everyone was silent.

Cheney, on the other hand, looked completely at ease and came up to hug and say goodbye to everyone.

When it was Tang Sen's turn, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Tang, although I think Scott is crazy, I think there's nothing wrong with his plan."

Tang Sen was slightly taken aback, not expecting Cheney to say such a thing.

Cheney continued, "We have a group of the most talented players, and we also have you as a top trainer who can develop their talent."

"Tang, our plan is fine, it's just that the New York fans lack patience. Give us time, and we will succeed, and succeed in an unparalleled way."

Tang Sen was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected that Cheney would become a supporter of Rhoden when it was time to leave.

Cheney said, "Don, I'm not joking, and I'm not crazy about gains or losses. I'm telling the truth."

Perhaps in the summer, Cheney was dismissive, with a mindset of lying down and letting Leiden do whatever he wanted.

But as the season began, his thinking slowly changed.

More than a month has passed since the training camp began, and Tang Sen has been in charge of training all the players.

He could see that every player was improving rapidly.

They grew stronger and stronger, yet they still maintained their original athletic abilities.

This capability has been reported by the media.

Now Cheney has seen it with his own eyes.

Therefore, Cheney can foresee that at some point in the future, these players will rapidly grow into outstanding players that the entire league cannot ignore.

There was nothing wrong with Leiden's plan.

"Tang, please persevere and don't give up in a hurry."

Cheney pleaded earnestly, fearing that Tangsen might not be able to handle the mess and would choose to leave.

"These lads are working very hard, and I can feel that the attitude of the fans and the media has influenced them."

"Tang, please talk to them and let them know what a bright future they have."

"And the Knicks, really, I'm really looking forward to the moment when our plan succeeds, and how powerful we'll become!"

A bunch of promising young talents with explosive physical gifts have lived up to their potential and developed excellent skills.

Excluding Houston, there are a total of 14 such players on the team.

Even if they only develop half of their skills, the Knicks would be incredibly formidable.

Tang Sen nodded slightly.

Even if Cheney didn't say it, he could sense it himself.

The media's comments and ridicule these days have already affected the players' mentality.

The group saw Cheney off.

Leiden arrived late, after everyone had already left the training center.

Dolan is now in a difficult position.

The lineup has been adjusted, and the plan has begun. There's no going back now.

That's precisely why we can't fire Leiden.

There's no other way but to make Cheney take the blame and get him fired.

As he happens to be the head coach, he also bears responsibility for the team's loss.

Leiden looked embarrassed.

Cheney, on the other hand, seemed quite at ease, gave Renden a hug, and waved goodbye.

Besides seeing Cheney off, Renden also came to announce the appointment of the interim head coach.

As expected, Tom Thibodeau replaced Cheney as interim head coach.

Thibodeau wasn't happy about becoming the head coach.

After Leiden left, he sighed, pulled Tang Sen aside, and asked when the players would be able to show results from their training.

"almost."

On that LED screen, several players have already completed their weight adjustments.

Progress is going very fast now.

Tang Sen estimated that these players would be able to complete their tasks by the end of this month.

"Tom, we're already at the bottom of the league, so let's be patient and give them time to grow."

Tang Sen patted Thibodeau on the shoulder and offered a word of comfort.

Since it's already the worst, what's there to be afraid of getting any worse?
Moreover, Cheney's words strengthened Tangsen's confidence.

When I actually train this group of players, how strong will the Knicks be?
Thinking it over, Tang Sen glanced at the system.

Tang Sen had already drawn the lotteries this month.

I was lucky enough to draw a gold-level badge.

Unfortunately, it's not a new badge, but the one we already own, the "Truth".

Tang Sen previously thought this badge was rather useless.

But given the team's current situation, this badge is quite suitable.

(End of this chapter)