Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 217 Seven feet five inches tall and still leaning back, isn't that going too far?

Training center.

Seeing the numbers on the electronic scale, Bender silently clenched his fist.

He tried to hold it in this morning, but he couldn't and went to the toilet anyway.

I'm afraid my weight will drop below 102 kilograms.

Fortunately, it met the standard.

Tang Sen nodded slightly, then led the applause for Bender.

It wasn't easy; I was the second to last one to finish.

“Jonathan, sometimes I really wonder if you secretly throw away all the lunchboxes you bring back.”

Swift egged them on.

Eating five meals a day and consuming tens of thousands of calories, yet gaining weight so slowly, is simply illogical.

"Tyson, did you spill your lunchbox?" DeShawn Stevenson teased Chandler as he turned to him.

Now, Chandler is the only major problem left.

"How can it be."

Chandler was startled.

Seeing that Tang Sen was looking at him, he hurriedly raised his hand and swore that he would ensure quality and quantity without wasting a single bit.

After saying that, he himself was also frustrated.

Before, at least I had Bender as a companion, but now I'm all alone.

If it weren't for continuous improvement and hard work in training, I might have lost my substitute position.

This guy currently weighs 110 kilograms, still some distance from his goal of 112 kilograms.

In Tang Sen's view, his situation was similar to Bender's, probably just that his body's metabolic capacity was too strong.

Some people are born with a high metabolism and can eat whatever they want without gaining weight.

"Alright, we lost pretty badly yesterday, so let's all practice hard." Tang Sen clapped his hands and called on everyone to start practicing.

Yesterday, they played the Timberwolves at home.

The New York media has already given up on hyping up the showdown between the real and fake Garnett.

New York fans were motivated to buy tickets to see Yao Ming dominate the opponent's interior defense.

Bender's expression changed slightly when yesterday's game was mentioned.

These days, his defense has improved. After gaining some experience in one-on-one defense, he has also tried to pay attention to the situation on the court and try to practice help defense.

If we're going to learn from Garnett, we should learn from him in every way.

In yesterday's game, he came on as a substitute and was fortunate enough to face Garnett.

Then they got completely crushed.

He then realized that Garnett, who was often criticized by the media for his soft playing style, was actually very strong in physical confrontations.

And those skillful and fluid back-to-the-back moves were completely undefendable, leaving me utterly bewildered.

Only then did he realize just how vast the gap was between himself and Garnett.

What others consider weakness or inadequacy is, in my own eyes, a peak that I cannot reach for the time being.

We still need to learn and practice.

Thinking of this, Bender took the initiative to walk over: "Don, I'm at the right weight now, when can I start training my skills?"

Tang Sen's answer remained the same: no rush.

"Aren't you already practicing?" Tang Sen asked back.

While rigorously training his physical abilities, Bender also honed his technical skills.

Practice jump shots and ball handling.

As he spoke, Tang Sen pointed to the large screen behind him.

The technical roadmap has been planned out for you; you still have a long way to go.

"I did not mean that."

Bender quickly shook his head.

He wanted to make a smooth dribbling breakthrough and a nimble turnaround jump shot.

But now he is very clear-headed and no longer dares to be overly ambitious.

He also enjoys this process of gradual accumulation and growth, bit by bit.

“I mean, can I watch some other videos?” Bender asked.

He had already watched that video hundreds of times.

He really liked this video-based teaching method; he felt he could actually learn something from it.

"Oh, this?" Tang Sen realized and smiled, "It's being made. You should continue practicing according to the plan. You've made progress recently."

Tang Sen offered a word of encouragement.

It's not just in training, but also in their performance on the field that you can see it.

Bender's data is slowly improving.

Not only in terms of the basic data, his efficiency is getting higher and higher.

He improved some advanced metrics, such as defensive efficiency and plus/minus.

He is making progress slowly.

"Ok."

Bender felt a little regretful, but didn't ask any more questions.

[Believer] Here, his bonus has reached 23, which is very high.

Bender is now convinced that he will just train hard according to Tang Sen's instructions, and there's no need to think about anything else.

There was a match yesterday, so his training today will be more technical.

After doing some primarily static recovery exercises, he officially began training.

The main focus is on dribbling.

The Knicks have plenty of money, and their main task this season is to level up.

Therefore, the Knicks invest a lot in team training.

The money saved on salary was basically all spent on training.

For example, sparring partners.

Tangsen assigned each player a dedicated sparring partner.

He's a sparring partner, not a trainer.

Bender's sparring partner was Little.

He used to be a rugby player.

Of course, those who didn't make it to the major leagues are now playing for amateur teams.

He plays as a strong guard, is 198 cm tall, and weighs 94 kg.

His job was to let Bender experience what it's like to have someone interfere with you and challenge you anytime, anywhere on the field.

When Bender got the ball, Little grinned at him, showing his white teeth, ready to pounce.

There are designated spots on the court. Bender needs to dribble in front of the spots and then, according to the plan, complete a pull-up jump shot at the designated spot.

He had just started dribbling when Little was already right there with him.

Among ordinary people, Little's size is exaggerated and enormous.

But compared to Bender, he was still a few sizes smaller.

However, being a strong guard, he is very aggressive and has a lot of impact.

Bender slightly lowered his body so that he wouldn't lose the ball during the confrontation.

Of course, after nearly two months of hard training, Bender's strength gradually improved.

After all, I've gained weight.

So Bender was still able to handle it, and after reaching the point, he squeezed to create a little space before jumping to shoot.

Little has a great jumping ability, and his jump block is very intimidating.

However, the huge difference in size had limited impact on Bender.

Ultimately, it was himself who affected Bend.

The basketball hit the hoop.

“You’re too slow again,” Little “kindly” reminded him.

"I know."

Bender silently ran away.

He felt that his body was still not strong enough.

102 kilograms is far from enough.

Garnett weighs 109 kilograms.

He took the ball and continued.

In this training session, his goal was to achieve an 80% shooting percentage under Little's interference.

Now?

At most, it's 40%, and there's still plenty of practice to do.

Tang Sen didn't pay much attention to Bender's training. He had completed the first phase of weight gain, but it wasn't over yet.

Tang Sen hopes he will develop into the power forward position.

Therefore, after a period of adjustment, he will need to continue to gain weight.

Tangsen, Tedsky, and Cheney had discussed Bender's development many times.

Their suggestion is to develop him for the small forward position.

Given Bender's long-range shooting ability, we should strive to develop him into a tall, shooting forward like Peja or Van Horn.

That's exactly what the Pacers did.

People are professionals too; they can also spot the awkward situation that Bende is in, neither here nor there.

Tang Sen, however, offered a different opinion.

Tangsen felt that Bent should develop into a power forward.

He has no advantage at the small forward position.

Height? That doesn't count.

Peja and Van Horn are defensive sieves.

If the goal is simply to get Bender some good stats, then this kind of training is fine.

But if the Knicks are aiming for the championship, then they can only let him play the power forward position.

Even Garnett knew that if he wanted to lead the Wolves further, he had to become stronger and work hard on his low-post skills.

The current league, lacking toughness and defense, is destined to never win a championship.

That's just how leagues are; you just have to adapt.

As for whether gaining weight will increase the burden on the knees and cause more injuries.

Tang Sen also considered this point.

In Tang Sen's plan, there's no more jumping around; it's all about a methodical, floor-based approach.

This can greatly reduce injuries.

Of course, whether they can actually be trained remains to be seen.

So there's also a Plan B.

In other words, as Thibodeau envisioned, he wanted to develop a Rodman-esque power forward at the number four position.

He would grab rebounds, play defense, and do the dirty work for Yao Ming to lighten his burden.

No need to score, we have Yao Ming.

Then he also needs to become a bodyguard, someone who can protect Yao Ming and stand up for him in case of conflict.

Tangsen plans to choose between Swift and Donil Harvey.

Tangsen, however, preferred Harvey.

He was a short, stocky inside player with great athleticism, especially his explosive speed, which was astonishing.

With the Mavericks and Nuggets, his role was that of a blue-collar player. Last season, he averaged 18 minutes of playing time and grabbed 4.8 rebounds, which was a pretty good performance.

Tang Sen had learned about Donovan's past experience from him.

Whether in college or high school, he was a rebounding monster.

During his four years of high school, he grabbed 1334 rebounds, averaging 14 rebounds per game.

In college, he averaged 7 rebounds per game, setting a franchise record for the most rebounds in a freshman season.

Multiple scouting reports have stated that he has a Rodman-like nose for rebounds.

Rebounding isn't just about physical strength.

You can train your body, and you can practice techniques like positioning, but there's one thing that's not so easy to learn.

That is judging the position of the rebound.

Rodman has top-notch talent in this area.

The fact that Xavi was given such a label by scouts is enough to prove that he has a certain talent in this area.

However, following in Rodman's footsteps is no easy feat.

Rodman paid a heavy price to become a rebounding fanatic.

Just to mention one point, because of the height difference, Rodman would always use his fingers to poke the falling basketball.

His middle and ring fingers are always wrapped together with bandages, and even then, they are frequently injured.

Imagine poking a falling basketball with your finger; it would hurt terribly.

Fortunately, Harvey's will was strong enough.

Donovan has already said that he has his own shadow, so Tang Sen believes he can endure this kind of hardship.

However, right now, Tang Sen's more pressing concern is Yao Ming.

The Knicks have played 12 games in a month, which is neither a long nor a short time.

In this month, Yao Ming averaged 26.6 points per game, remaining sixth on the scoring list.

Very strong.

Just as Tang Sen predicted, this season, stars like McGrady and Kobe, who had trained during the summer, saw significant increases in their stats.

Kobe Bryant was the most extreme example.

Last season, he averaged only 25.2 points per game.

This season, perhaps because O'Neal was on paid leave to recover from injury, he was in complete control and averaged 31.6 points per game.

He topped the scoring list.

Simply incredible.

Jackson has publicly told reporters on more than one occasion that he is grateful to Townsend for his training and improvement of Kobe.

Following closely behind is McGrady, who averaged 29.5 points per game even with Brown on the court.

His offense is currently unstoppable.

Yao Ming's stats improved, but his efficiency declined.

His average field goal attempts increased from 19 to 21 per game.

For a guard on the perimeter, 21 shot attempts isn't a high number.

But Yao Ming is an inside player.

Thibodeau has spoken with Tang Sen several times already.

The conclusion is that as time goes on, opponents become more and more familiar with Yao Ming and know how to defend him.

Double-team inside, and switch outside defense promptly.

If the center can move out of the box, he should follow; if not, the faster power forward should follow.

In short, the inside players cannot allow Yao Ming to easily get close to the basket and score, and the outside players cannot allow Yao Ming to easily shoot.

This results in decreased efficiency.

This downward trend is likely to continue.

Opponents will become more and more familiar with Yao Ming and then come up with more effective ways to counter him.

So Yao Ming is currently averaging nearly 27 points per game, but by the end of the season, he will have dropped several levels, and averaging just over 20 points per game is what he should be doing at his current level.

On the court, Yao Ming is practicing with Gazuric.

Gadzuric is a strong, athletic man who can put a lot of pressure and competition on Yao Ming.

As Yao Ming's sparring partner, Gazuric can also gain experience and grow.

Yao Ming didn't physically bully Gazuric, but continued to showcase his low-post footwork, striving to one day truly master the Dream Shake.

Tang Sen stood to the side, silently observing and calculating.

I've been thinking about it for two days and have some initial ideas.

There's a rule: when your opponent can defend against you, it's because you're not strong enough.

This may seem like a truism, but it is an unbreakable truth.

In Tang Sen's view, Yao Ming still has two paths if he wants to continue to improve.

Further refine existing technologies.

They are more accurate with outside shots and have more skillful and efficient footwork in the low post.

Then comes the development of new technologies.

His offense has covered the paint and the three-point line, from inside to outside.

But there is still a gap, which is the mid-range position.

Having a pick-and-roll jump shot alone isn't enough; it's too simple and makes you an easy target.

There is no solution.

The Skyhook was originally designed for this distance.

But he can't master it in a short time.

So, it's still the same direction Tang Sen was considering: a turnaround jump shot.

This is also an indispensable skill for interior players, especially those who are agile enough.

But Tang Sen had considered it.

Yao Ming couldn't do what Garnett did—continuous, rapid feints.

He is so tall and bigger after all.

At the same time, they can't do what Brown did, using explosive power to force a back-to-the-basket move like the bunny hop.

It still needs to be considered in light of his own characteristics.

Undoubtedly, his greatest strength is his height; he can gain a height advantage without excessive jumping.

Therefore, Tang Sen's idea was that he could use his height advantage to turn around directly.

Reduce unnecessary pre-swinging movements.

It's just the most basic sigma step.

But there's another problem.

space.

Adding feints is to freeze the defender and create space for the player to shoot.

If you turn directly, how do you create space to make a move?

Leaning back?

Tang Sen crossed his arms.

There are only a few ways to create space, and the most effective one is undoubtedly leaning back.

Otherwise, why would McGrady want to practice his fadeaway jump shot?

But a 2.26-meter tall guy doing a fadeaway jumper?

Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?

After careful consideration, Tang Sen felt it was worth a try.

One reason why leaning back is difficult to practice is to maintain stability.

Especially when jumping that high.

But Yao Ming doesn't actually need to jump much; he has a natural height advantage.

Looking at Yao Ming on the court, Tang Sen fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)