Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 222 With this kind of strength, who would believe they're second to last in the East?
"The Knicks are not as weak as we think."

"They are only temporarily behind. They have huge potential. They have Yao. In the East, no team can completely stop Yao, not even the Magic."

"And they also have Tang, and everyone knows how capable Tang is."

"Scott Layden is a genius. He found a bunch of outstanding rookies for Don. These rookies may only need one season to develop."

"By then, the Knicks will be terrifying. Believe me, I'm not kidding. Just look at Jonathan Bender."

“He was like this at the beginning of the season, and he is like this now. His defense has become excellent, and he also has a great mid-range shot that can cover the three-point line.”

"I think they even have the ability to challenge the Magic and contend for the Eastern Conference championship."

These are O'Brien's exact words after the game.

It was almost entirely copied and published in the New York Times.

So much so that when Leiden woke up the next day and saw the newspaper, he was a little confused.

Was Scott Layden a genius?
Upon seeing this sentence, Leiden almost burst into tears.

Finally, someone understands my grand vision and can comprehend me.

These short-sighted New Yorkers can't see their own vision.

The Magic almost won, defeating the fifth-ranked Celtics in the East. Jonathan Bender scored over 20 points and is starting to resemble Kevin Garnett more and more.

The Knicks are about to take off.

Sure enough, as soon as he arrived at the office, his assistant Mark told him that some media outlets wanted to interview him.

Clearly, they saw the Knicks getting better and better and understood their grand plan.

"No!"

Leiden pouted and refused with an air of haughtiness.

How you all mocked me and told me to quit get out of class back then.

Now, look me in the eye and tell me, is my plan working or not?
And this is just the beginning. When the Knicks truly take off, Layden will make sure that the world's media knows just how amazing his plan is.

After imagining those scenarios in his mind, Leiden was pulled back to reality by Dolan's phone call.

Clearly, Dolan also noticed O'Brien's praise.

Praise from your rivals is the most genuine.

"Scott, we need a great head coach." James Dolan praised Ryden a few times before getting to the point.

Cheney was fired, and Thibodeau was only a temporary replacement.

Dolan doesn't believe Thibodeau is qualified to lead the Knicks to a championship.

He's never even been a head coach.

“That’s what I think too,” Leiden immediately agreed.

Thibodeau was an emergency measure and was not part of Redden's original plan.

Dolan mentioned a name, Jack Ramsey, and asked if it was possible to invite the old man over.

Leiden frowned slightly.

He guessed that Dolan remembered his father-in-law because he saw O'Brien's words.

As a legendary coach in the NBA, second only to Auerbach, his qualifications are beyond doubt.

If Renden remembers correctly, this old man is 74 years old this year and hasn't been a head coach for ten years.

He hasn't completely retired or distanced himself from the basketball world; he now works as a commentator and analyst for ESPN.

But it feels a bit unreliable for him to come out of seclusion again.

Can you keep up with the energy?

And given his age, with the team full of young people, won't there be a generation gap?

After Cheney resigned, Leiden seriously considered the issue and had an idea in mind.

Ron Kruger.

After two consecutive seasons with a winning percentage of less than 4%, the Hawks have lost patience with this renowned NCAA coach.

Rumors are already circulating in Atlanta that Kruger might be sacked.

Layden thought of him because, on the one hand, he was a renowned NCAA coach who was skilled at developing young players.

His college approach won't work with the Hawks.

But the Knicks are full of rookies and newbies, so maybe it will work.

Another reason was that Leiden knew that Kruger was Townsend's mentor.

If we bring over Tangsen's mentor, with that friendship, how could Tangsen not stay with the Knicks for a long time?

If the Knicks' plan succeeds, Layden believes that some team owners will definitely spend a fortune to try and poach Townsend.

For example, that tycoon in Portland.

“James, let me think about it.” Renden remained noncommittal.

After hanging up the phone, he thought for a moment and asked Mark to contact Jack Ramsey.

Since Dolan specifically mentioned it, let's get in touch with him.

It mainly depends on whether the old man still has the idea of ​​returning to public life.

At his age, and being a head coach is a very demanding job, Leiden is really worried that the old man won't be able to handle it.

Mark nodded and noted it down, then hesitated for a moment before adding, "Sir, if we are to select a new head coach, I think you should know something."

"You said."

Mark said: "The Detroit Free Press broke the news last week that Ben Wallace had a heated argument with their head coach Rick Carlisle in the locker room."

"The rumor is that not only Wallace, but also Stackhouse, and several other key players on the Pistons are dissatisfied with Carlisle."

"They complained that Carlisle gave them too many training sessions during the season, which overwhelmed them and affected their match performance."

"But Carlisle seems to be sticking to his stance, criticizing some players in the team for not training hard enough."

"The media doesn't know who the management supports. If they support the players, then Carlisle might be sacked."

"Sir, Carlisle almost won Coach of the Year last year, leading the Pistons to a winning percentage of nearly 60%. He might be a good choice."

Leiden perked up.

In his memory, Rick Carlisle was very hardworking, just as hardworking as Thibodeau.

Having worked as a teaching assistant for many years, I am highly experienced.

He values ​​defense, but when he played for the Pacers alongside Larry Bird, he was also responsible for the team's offense, earning him the reputation of a tactical mastermind.

In this respect, it does fit the current Knicks somewhat.

The Knicks need a coach to reorganize the team's offense.

"Let's see, Joe might not even fire him."

With a winning percentage of nearly 60% last season, Dumars wouldn't just fire such a coach, would he?

While Layden was preoccupied with coaching, the Knicks rushed from Boston to Washington to face the Wizards in a back-to-back game.

After the locker room opened before the game, a large number of reporters surrounded Jordan.

However, Jordan's expression wasn't very good.

They are also playing back-to-back games; yesterday they played the Magic away.

The game was broadcast live across the United States, and the media began hyping it up several days in advance.

There's no way around it, it's just too much of a topic.

Leaving aside the feud between Jordan and Brown, to this day, the media and fans still don't know whether the two have truly reconciled or are just putting on a show.

Now that Hill has returned, he should be included in the discussion of last year's trade.

In addition, there's Stoudemire, who studied under the same teacher.

Hill and McGrady's past relationship.

In short, it generated a lot of buzz.

Jordan was also ambitious and wanted to win a game.

pity.

Brown, that kid, keeps saying there's no problem, then he goes on the court and goes all out.

When Brown returned after a summer, his skills had improved and he was even stronger, beating Haywood was like child's play.

He exploded, scoring 39 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

And McGrady.

The two boys combined for 70 points, handing the Wizards a crushing defeat.

If it were just a loss, that would be one thing.

The key is Sasser.

Facing this defensive expert and Kobe killer, whom Tang Sen had personally trained, Jordan felt a sense of awe, like a country bumpkin trying to bully an old man like himself.

Throughout the game, Jordan made 8 of 19 shots, scoring only 19 points.

This was what really annoyed Jordan. "Who?"

Jordan looked at the reporter who had asked the question.

The reporter's heart pounded wildly at the sharp look in his eyes.

But journalists are like dancers on a knife's edge. The angrier Jordan got, the more excited he became, saying, "It's DeShawn Stevenson. The Knicks' plan is to have him become the next Michael Jordan."

"And his draft comparison is you, so I want to ask you what you think of him, do you think he has a chance?"

The next Michael Jordan?

Jordan made no attempt to hide his disdain, letting out a contemptuous laugh.

Who gave you that title? Yourself, right?
Jordan's answer was simple and direct. He pointed to Hill not far away and said, "Go ask Grant if he dares to say he'll be the next me."

One of Jordan's successors is sitting right here.

"And Kobe, would he dare?"

Jordan pressed on with a domineering question.

This left all the reporters speechless.

"So stop joking around, DeShawn. Who is he? Does he even deserve to be called one?"

Jordan gave an arrogant sneer and waved the reporters away.

A bunch of idiots.

David Stern has been looking for a successor for several years. Has he found one yet?
An unknown nobody dares to try and extort money from me.

But Jordan actually remembered that name.

He planned to teach this kid a lesson when he went on stage later.

The reporter left.

Doug Collins also returned to the locker room from the pre-game press conference.

He clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention, then reminded them to be careful of the Knicks and try to win the game.

Clearly, Collins had also heard what Rivers and O'Brien had said.

The key point is that when he thought about it carefully, he realized that these words really made sense.

Yao Ming has already demonstrated his ability as a cornerstone of the team's interior defense, and Houston still has a fighting chance.

Billups is a championship point guard and is still developing.

If we only compare the team's core players, the Knicks are not weak. Their struggles at the beginning of the season were due to their role players.

Two months later, these rookies have begun to show their potential.

The season is long, and with Tang Sen's help, they will only get stronger.

Who dares to underestimate a Knicks team like this?

So Collins shared the same idea as O'Brien: to let the Knicks lose a few more games before these rookies had a chance to level up, so they wouldn't cause trouble when they made it to the playoffs.

His strategy was simple and clear: double-team Yao Ming.

Then let Hildo attack.

Collins believes that no one on the Knicks can guard Hill at the small forward position.

The idea was good, but when the game actually started, the situation was not as easy as Collins had anticipated.

The Knicks also want to win.

So far this season, they haven't even had a single winning streak.

After realizing the Wizards' decisive double-teaming, Yao Ming promptly changed his playing style.

It used to be the point guard dealing cards from the high post, but now it's the low post.

All of the Knicks' movement now revolves around getting the ball to Yao Ming.

If the ball gets to Yao Ming, as long as the Wizards don't double-team him, it's practically a direct score.

Haywood's skill level is so high that Yao Ming could easily beat him.

Once Stoudemire came to double-team, Bender would start looking for open space.

Yao Ming would also pass the ball to him at the right time.

Bender scored 6 points in the first quarter thanks to Yao Ming's low-post playmaking.

And it's not over yet.

The Wizards are also making adjustments.

Hill is a top-notch defender, and he's physically strong enough to play the power forward position without any problem.

After Bender was marked more closely, Yao Ming started to pull out and pass the ball.

Outside the paint, if there's no double-team, Yao Ming can shoot; if he feels the right position, he can even show off a skyhook.

If the team continues to double-team, Yao Ming can also post up in the mid-high position and pass the ball to an open player.

Yao Ming's playing style made things extremely difficult for the Wizards.

There's simply no way to defend against it.

Collins also discovered a problem.

That is, Yao Ming's role on the defensive end was enormous.

His height makes him incredibly intimidating when he stands under the basket.

Hill, Stoudemire, and even Larry Hughes are all players who drive to the basket.

With Yao Ming in the paint, he can neutralize 30% of their strength.

Halftime ended.

The Knicks led 49-43, a six-point advantage.

Although Yao Ming only scored 7 points in the first half, he delivered 5 assists.

Bender seized every opportunity, going 4-for-7 from the field and adding free throws to score 10 points, bringing his total to double digits once again.

Back in the locker room, Collins spoke directly to Bach.

See? This is the Knicks. With this kind of strength, who would believe they are second to last in the Eastern Conference?

Bach gave a wry smile.

Indeed, starting this month, the Knicks have made visible progress.

After a moment's hesitation, Bach said, "Doug, double-teaming Yao won't work; he's too special."

I've never seen a player like this in the league.

So tall and so agile, he's everywhere on the court, with scoring methods covering everything from the paint to the three-point line.

The key is that it can also pass the ball.

All the fantasies the American media had about Sabonis have now come true with Yao Ming.

"I remember Chinese media reported that Yao started practicing passing intentionally when he was playing in the Chinese league last season, using passing to help his teammates score."

The Wizards have been paying attention to Yao Ming since last year, and they are aware of his changes.

Therefore, Bach was not surprised that Yao Ming had the ability to pass the ball.

"Double-teaming such a player would be too disruptive to our defensive formation. Let's just play what we do best."

This season, the Wizards are raising the banner of offense high.

Their defense is really not good.

Collins hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

In the second half, the Wizards abandoned double-teaming and launched a full-scale offensive attack.

Stoudemire can drive to the basket, but he also has a mid-range shot. He developed his mid-range shot first, which made his drives to the basket a threat.

And Hill, his shooting was equally deadly.

With Yao Ming in the paint, we can focus on the mid-range game.

As for Yao Ming, Collins could only let him be.

Unexpectedly, when the two teams started trading baskets, the Knicks were the first to fall behind.

Especially the fourth quarter.

Back to back, Yao Ming's stamina began to wane.

Besides Yao Ming, the Knicks don't have a second player with a sufficiently consistent offense.

Houston won't work either.

Jordan's defense against him was very effective.

What Jordan didn't expect was that when Houston went to the bench early to rest, a guy he didn't even know dared to head straight at him and sink a three-pointer.

As he watched him run away, Jordan suddenly realized what was happening.

Isn't this...the guy the reporter was talking about?

(End of this chapter)