Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 226 Twin Towers
Greenwich.

The movers came and went, and Donna Norbil walked into the study carrying several trophies.

The study wasn't fully tidied up yet, but Carlyle had already started working.

The large oak desk was piled high with statistics and match analyses.

“Rick, we just arrived in New York, and you haven’t even attended a press conference yet.”

Norbill put the trophy on the bookshelf and turned to mutter a complaint.

"At least help me clean up my house first."

She reached out and covered the documents.

Carlisle then looked up and quickly apologized.

After meeting with Leiden in Detroit, he thought Leiden would need some time to consider it, but to his surprise, Leiden extended an invitation to him the very next day.

Carlisle had made up his mind; he wanted to try his luck in New York.

Today is December 12st.

After confirming his move to the Knicks, he took the opportunity on the 24th to visit his father's ranch in Ogdensburg and spend Christmas with his family.

Then I rushed to New York without stopping.

He chose to live in Greenwich.

The reason is simple: it's close to the training center.

Then Tang Sen, Yao Ming, and Houston all lived here.

Of course, Connecticut's income tax is even lower.

The team helped us rent a house, and we just moved in today.

“I want to get started as soon as possible and get to know my team,” Carlisle explained.

The team will hold a press conference this afternoon.

The team then traveled to Houston to play the Rockets on the road, and then faced the Mavericks on the second night of the season.

Carlisle plans to officially take over the team after it returns to New York.

But he felt it was necessary to prepare in advance.

After helping his wife tidy up their new home, he sat in front of the TV that very evening to watch the Knicks vs. Rockets game.

Facing a weak team in the Western Conference, the Knicks had a tough time.

The backcourt duo of Francis and Mobley has caused the Knicks considerable trouble.

However, the Knicks' biggest advantage remains their interior defense.

靠着姚明27分14篮板4助攻4盖帽的全面表现，尼克斯还是4分险胜火箭。

After watching the game, Carlisle felt even more strongly that the Knicks were wasting their use of Yao Ming.

Or rather, Yao Ming's role on the court was not clearly defined.

He could tell that Thibodeau wanted Yao Ming to expand his range of movement and use his playmaking and passing abilities to participate in the team's offense.

However, they also rely too much on Yao Ming's ability to score in the paint.

However, the boundary between these two uses is not clear enough.

Thibodeau rarely calls timeouts; he always stands on the sidelines but rarely gives any instructions.

This resulted in Yao Ming's playmaking and passing efforts often going to waste.

It also wasted Yao Ming's precious energy.

If that's the case, it would be better to have Yao Ming stay under the basket and focus on offense.

But Carlisle saw Yao Ming's potential.

He leaned against the sofa, somewhat lost in thought.

1994 years.

PJ Carlesimo, who assisted Chuck Daly on the Dream Team, is ready to bring his talents to the NBA, taking over the Trail Blazers from Adelman.

Chuck Daly recommended two teaching assistants to him.

One was Dick Hart, a former Marine who helped Daly build the Bad Boys in the Pistons.

The other one is Carlisle.

Daly spent two years with the Nets, and Carlisle worked under him.

Carlisle remembers clearly that in the summer of '95, in Carlislemo's office, a few of them gathered together to watch a video.

That was in 1983, an exhibition match between the Soviet national youth team and the University of Virginia.

18-year-old Arvydas Sabonis started from the high post, mismatched against Carlisle's defense, and drove all the way to the basket, finishing with a powerful dunk over Carlisle's head.

Carlesimo and his group went crazy for Sabonis in the video.

Carlisle, who had experienced it firsthand, was even more impressed by this guy.

He can run and jump, he can attack from the low post and shoot from the high post, he can block shots under the basket and deliver exquisite long passes.

It's impossible to do anything.

The problem is this guy is 7 feet 3 inches tall!
Carlisle had never seen such a great player.

That summer, Carlisle was thrilled to have the opportunity to coach Sabonis.

But when Sabonis actually arrived in Portland, Carlisle realized that the guy's legs had been tortured beyond recognition.

That omnipotence never appeared again.

Carlisle left the Trail Blazers with some regrets.

Now, another player like Sabonis has appeared before him.

The key is that he's young, and he can run and jump.

Carlisle had a strange sense of destiny, as if he was destined to come to New York.

He implemented all the tactics he had painstakingly devised for Sabonis day and night on Yao Ming.

……

After a narrow victory over the Rockets, the Knicks' performance fluctuated, and they lost to the Mavericks in a back-to-back game.

On the 29th, the team returned to New York.

Because they have to play the Spurs at home on the 30th, only a recovery training session was scheduled for the evening.

However, even when the players are resting, the management team still has to work.

That morning, Tang Sen drove to the training center early.

The person who greets you.

Not Carlyle.

Ryden chose Carlisle as the new head coach, to which Townsend remained noncommittal.

After all, we're not familiar with them and don't know them well.

Tangsen just hoped that Carlisle would be easier to get along with.

Just like Cheney.

Although Cheney makes a lot of demands, he never interferes with his work, which Tangsen quite likes.

The concern is that Carlisle is too controlling and wants to take on too much.

Tang Sen was there to welcome someone else.

His mentor, Ron Kruger.

At the beginning of the season, in an effort to garner votes, the Hawks promised all season ticket holders that they would definitely return to the playoffs this year.

At the beginning of the season, the Hawks had a decent record.

Unexpectedly, they lost 7 out of 10 games before Christmas, including a 5-game losing streak.

Kruger faced criticism, compounded by the team's key player, Rasheed Wallace, subtly expressing his dissatisfaction with him.

So on the 23rd, after the last game before Christmas, Kruger was sacked.

Layden acted decisively, extending an invitation to him to join the Knicks as an assistant coach.

Knowing that Townsend was in New York, Kruger considered it and agreed.

He will report to the team today.

Upon arriving at the training center, Tang Sen did not rush inside but waited by the car.

Soon, a Ford drove into the parking lot.

Tang Sen's eyes lit up, and he quickly went to meet him.

"coach!"

Tang Sen reverted to his old way of addressing Kruger and gave him a warm hug.

Once released, Kruger looked Tang Sen up and down, his eyes filled with satisfaction and pride.

"Do you remember when I went to recruit you from a high school in mainland China? I asked you what you could bring to my team, and what was your answer?"

"I really do remember."

Tang Sen nodded and said, "I remember saying that I would bring victory to the team."

"Yes."

Kruger laughed heartily and said, "Back then, I was impressed by the confidence you had. And now, I see that confidence in you again." He still remembered Tang Sen's despondency and confusion after his injury.

And now, Tang Sen exudes that same powerful self-confidence.

Tang Sen smiled and led Kruger on a tour of the entire training center.

As they walked and talked, they also touched on Kruger's disastrous time with the Hawks.

Kruger clearly reflected on the situation, remarking, "The NBA and the NCAA are quite different; I feel I'm better suited for college."

At this point, he glanced at Tang Sen and said, "Actually, it wasn't because of you that I went back to university."

The Knicks also got a new head coach, and I was directly recruited by General Manager Layden.

Therefore, Kruger still doesn't know if Carlisle wants him.

If Carlisle has his own team, he won't have a comfortable life in New York.

Tang Sen understood the underlying meaning and joked that since the NBA pays more, why not stay in the NBA if you have the chance?

Tang Sen had a pretty good idea of ​​why Ryden recruited Kruger.

Based on this alone, Krug will have no problem with the Knicks.

Kruger laughed and said he had already seen Townsend's Ferrari, and that Townsend must have made a lot of money this summer.

I had just returned to my office and sat down when someone pushed the door open and entered.

Dressed in sportswear and with thinning hair, at first glance, you'd really think Jim Carrey had walked in.

That's Rick Carlisle.

"Don!"

Carlisle extended his hand to greet Tangsen with a smile.

He greeted Kruger again, and his attitude was very warm.

Being a head coach is not just about leading the team to play; it's about balancing relationships across all aspects of the team.

Therefore, Carlisle knew why Ryden recruited Kruger and knew about the relationship between Kruger and Townsend.

Because of this relationship, he will try his best to maintain a good relationship with Kruger.

Townsend is a key part of the Ryden plan, and is fully responsible for the team's training. If he and Townsend have conflicts on certain issues, Carlisle needs someone like Kruger to mediate between them.

"Tang, do you have time to have a meeting together?" Carlisle asked.

Tang Sen nodded.

I wonder if the new coach will make a splash with his first three moves.

In fact, Tang Sen hoped that Carlisle could provoke him and produce something useful.

The Knicks' record is really bad right now.

Upon arriving at the conference room, several of Thibodeau's teaching assistants had already arrived.

Thibodeau calmly accepted Carlisle's arrival.

He probably knew his own limitations and that he wasn't qualified to take over as head coach.

Carlyle had a decisive quality; after a brief exchange of pleasantries and getting to know each other, he got down to business.

He immediately began discussing tactics for tomorrow's game against the Spurs.

First, ask Thibodeau and his team what they think.

Thibodeau understood that Carlisle was testing him. After a moment's thought, he said, "We can do more on the outside, on Alan."

The reason why the Spurs can never beat the Lakers is because they have weaknesses on the perimeter; no one can stop Kobe.

Houston can punish the Spurs from the mid-range position.

Carlisle nodded in agreement, then added, "But there's still the inside game, Don."

He suddenly turned his head and asked Tangsen Bender what stage his training had reached.

"Suppress Duncan?"

Carlisle asked Bender if he was confident he could defend Duncan.

"Not too possible."

Tang Sen shook his head directly.

Bender has been performing well recently, averaging 9.2 points per game.

He relied on his decent shooting skills to receive passes from Yao Ming.

He has been working hard on his defense, but his weight is a disadvantage at the power forward position.

The only things you can utilize are your own defensive support and your own jumping ability.

He definitely can't defend Duncan effectively.

And let alone this fake Garnett, even if the real Garnett came, he wouldn't be able to stop Duncan.

Carlisle himself clearly shared this assessment, asking, "Don, how's Tyson? Is his defense good enough?"

During his two days at home, he watched a lot of game videos and player information, but Tang Sen was definitely the one who knew the players' level best.

Tang Sen fell into thought.

Chandler has been working very hard, and after gaining weight, his physical strength has improved significantly.

He's big, which gives him a natural advantage under the basket.

"Rick, you don't want Tyson to start, do you?" Tang Sen asked tentatively.

Since Carlisle asked that question, it's clear he wants Chandler and Yao Ming to start together.

Twin towers against twin towers.

Carlisle nodded and said, "To deal with the Spurs, we must find a way to deal with Tim."

This is the consensus when playing against the Spurs.

But Duncan was too strong; no one in the league could completely contain him.

“I have carefully studied Tyson’s recent fight videos. He has good defensive ability, great athleticism, and a certain awareness of help defense.”

"And no one in the current lineup has that ability."

Gadzuric is too rough, and neither Swift nor Bender are considered defensive power forwards.

As for Donil Harvey, he's too short.

After looking around, only Chandler remained.

"We will lose some points by giving up on Jonathan, but as long as Tyson can limit Tim, we can make up for the points we lose by taking them out on Tim."

"Moreover, when we have two giants in the paint, we can limit Tony Parker's drives. Tony's shooting ability is average, and many times, the Spurs need him to drive to pass the ball."

"If we can't get him to break through, then we'll have a chance."

Tang Sen nodded silently.

Speaking of which, during last year's draft, Chandler, with his exceptional athleticism, was originally a power forward/power forward hybrid.

Now, even if I play the power forward position, it shouldn't be a big problem.

Carlisle went on to explain his thoughts: "We had another problem before, which was that when Yao went out to shoot, Jonathan couldn't guarantee our rebounds."

"If Tyson starts, Yao can confidently leave the paint and utilize his playmaking and passing abilities."

Carlisle did not criticize Thibodeau for his use of Yao Ming.

Anyway, he had made up his mind that under his leadership, he needed Yao Ming to play a more well-rounded game, like Sabonis, who could play inside and outside, pass the ball and organize the offense, and become the true core of the team.

"What do you think?"

Carlisle looked around.

Thibodeau and the others exchanged glances and nodded.

Tang Sen, being a trainer, naturally wouldn't have any objections.

"That's it."

Carlisle made the decision, and then asked Tangsen if tomorrow's training plan could be adjusted to tactical training.

Tang Sen frowned slightly.

Although tomorrow is a match day, Tang Sen has still scheduled a training session in the morning.

If it's changed to tactical training, then I'll have to adjust the training plan myself.

Tangsen has already felt the pressure from the new coach.

But after thinking it over, Tang Sen nodded in agreement.

Actually, Tang Sen had previously felt that Cheney and his team had neglected tactical training, and that it was a cobbled-together team full of strangers.

They should do more joint training and tactical drills to improve their teamwork.

Moreover, after the meeting, Tangsen had a pretty good impression of Carlisle.

I feel that he really has ideas and abilities when it comes to team tactics.

Both Cheney and Thibodeau were incredibly rigid in the past.

Twin Towers?

Tang Sen raised an eyebrow slightly, unsure if it would work.

(End of this chapter)