Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 241 Don't call us salted fish, we've turned the tables!

Training center, Carlisle's office.

He stood in front of the calendar hanging on the wall, on which some days were circled with a pen.

Now Carlyle, holding a red pen, takes two steps back, ponders for a moment, then steps forward again to tick off some of the circled days.

"Rick, what are you doing?"

The sudden sound startled Carlisle, who was completely absorbed in his work.

Turning my head, I realized that the camera was pointed at me.

Next to him is Gavin O'Connor, the executive director of the documentary.

"Gavin, when did you come in?" Carlisle asked, clutching his heart.

O'Connor glanced at his watch: "I came in ten minutes ago, and I even greeted you."

"Have it?"

Carlisle looked bewildered.

O'Connor pointed to the calendar on the wall and said, "These circled days are our match days, right? You ticked them because you think we can win the game?"

Carlisle glanced at the camera.

These guys are extremely professional. They don't have any complete filming plan; they just wander around and film whatever they see. Sometimes they can really give you a fright.

After a moment's hesitation, Carlisle said, "Yes, just like you said, this is a game I think we should win."

"Isn't that a bit too much?" O'Connor leaned closer to take a closer look.

Tomorrow, the 20th, we will host the Heat.

Then, on the 31st, there are 7 games left in January.

He discovered that Carlisle had checked off 6 of the games, leaving only the game on the 24th, the home game against the Mavericks, unchecked.

That's probably a bit too much.

The Knicks have risen to prominence, but not quite to this extent.

"many?"

Carlyle didn't argue, but smiled and remained silent.

Whether it's a lot or a little, you'll see after we win.

O'Connor then pointed to number 24 and asked, "So what does this question mark mean?"

On the 24th, Carlisle didn't put an X, but instead put a question mark.

Carlisle said, "The question mark means I think we have a chance to win."

His tone was full of confidence.

O'Connor secretly grinned, thinking, "Is there still a chance to beat the Mavericks?"

Last year after Christmas, in an away game against the Mavericks, Yao Ming had an advantage in the paint, but they still suffered a crushing 14-1 defeat.

He's even more dominant than the Kings now, leading the Western Conference and having only lost 8 games so far.

You're fifth from the bottom in the East, yet you think you can beat the Mavericks? Isn't that a bit arrogant?

Carlisle still offered no explanation.

He looked at the schedule on the calendar, silently calculating in his mind.

The rapid growth of players like Xavi gave him a rather crazy idea.

He had considered it before, but never had the chance to make it happen. Now, he feels there is hope.

O'Connor, unaware of Carlisle's plans, glanced at the calendar and said, "If things go as you say, wouldn't we be on a ten-game winning streak?"

Since their comeback victory against the Bulls, the Knicks have won three straight games.

Carlisle thought to himself, "If you flip through the pages, a ten-game winning streak isn't my goal."

The next day, the Knicks hosted the Heat.

The rivalry between the two teams needs no further explanation.

However, Riley was very humble before the game. He knew that the Knicks were in a frighteningly good state. It was easy to make tough statements, but once they were made, they were hard to take back.

As promised, Carlisle once again chose to start Xavi.

The Knicks have a significant advantage in the paint against the Heat.

The biggest problem for the Heat this season is their lack of height in the paint.

Of the 15 players on the team, only one stands 7 feet tall: Vladimir Stipanne from Georgia.

But his skill level is terrible; even with the Heat, he was just a bench player.

Yao Ming's opponent was Brian Grant, who was only 2.06 meters tall.

All Riley could do was have Malik Allen double-team Yao Ming, betting that Harvey's shooting would be off.

Harvey's shooting is bad; he spends too much time practicing rebounding.

However, he doesn't have Swift's habit of rushing to the basket even when he's open; if given the chance to shoot, he has a good chance of making it.

Moreover, as soon as Carlisle noticed the Heat were showing signs of doing this, he made adjustments.

On offense, he would have Harvey block the opponent's starting small forward Caron Butler to screen for Kadrick Brown.

Brown has the ability to shoot, and he's quite accurate.

Carlisle's tactics were somewhat rigid during his time with the Pistons.

But when he joined the Knicks, there were all sorts of players, and he had many options, so he made very frequent in-game adjustments.

The effect is also immediate.

After Brown hit consecutive mid-range shots, the Heat immediately relaxed their double-team on Yao Ming.

However, in Carlisle's view, these adjustments were minor.

On the offensive end, he still wanted to use the tactical system and the triangle offense to create space for Yao Ming and create one-on-one opportunities.

The starting lineup has indeed been adjusted, but only two positions have been changed.

During the morning's tactical training, Carlisle also noticed that Harvey and Brown were quite receptive to the triangle offense.

Firstly, over such a long period of time, Tang Sen led everyone in running tactics, without adhering to specific fixed positions, but rather constantly instilling a certain awareness in everyone.

That means don't stand still, run around, observe your teammates, look for opportunities, be patient, pass the ball more, and think more.

Whether it's the triangle offense or the Princeton offense, in the end, it all boils down to these most basic things.

Having this awareness, regardless of whether the running is the right one or not, at least he's running.

This is also the source of Carlisle's confidence to keep changing the starting lineup.

Secondly, and most importantly, there's someone at the helm.

Carlisle has been replaced many times, but Billups has remained the same.

He led the team in the starting lineup and also contributed significantly off the bench. He averaged only 9.6 points per game throughout the season, yet consistently held a starting position.

His overall strategic vision is sometimes more important than simply executing tactics successfully.

So the game didn't fall into chaos just because of the change in the starting lineup.

Coupled with the difference in overall strength, the Knicks dominated the game against the Heat.

At this point, Tang Sen noticed that Carlisle had made some changes in how he used the core.

Seven minutes into the first quarter, Yao Ming and Houston were substituted off the court.

Then, in the second quarter, the substitutes played for half the quarter before Yao Ming and Houston were brought back.

In the first half, Yao Ming and Houston, the two core players, only played for 13 minutes, which is less than the normal rotation time for a core player.

Tang Sen glanced at Carlisle standing on the sidelines, wondering what he was thinking.

Is the intention to give substitute players more playing time?
Fortunately, even with their key players out, the Knicks maintained their advantage.

The Heat's poor performance is one thing, but the main reason is that these players have all developed into skilled players.

Putting everything else aside, at least on the defensive end, no one is a liability.

With hard work in shooting, lots of running, and passing the ball, someone will eventually get a good shooting opportunity.

If they can defend their opponent and score themselves, the Knicks won't be bad on the court.

Even if the key player isn't on the field.

At halftime, the Knicks led 51-43, an 8-point advantage.

In the second half, Carlisle continued to control the playing time of the two key players.

When they had a significant lead in the final quarter, he didn't bring in Yao Ming and Houston until the last four minutes, when the Heat were gaining momentum.

Ultimately, the Knicks won the game 95-86, a 9-point victory.

The two key players only played for less than 27 minutes in the entire game.

This time is far less than the playing time a normal core player should have.

As a result, Yao Ming only scored 19 points, while seven players on the team scored in double figures.

No one knew what Carlisle was planning, and Riley couldn't figure it out either. After the game, he sighed helplessly.

"The Knicks are different now."

In the past, NBA teams with deep benches were often described as having a group of bench thugs.

When they got to the Knicks, they were upgraded to true benchwarmer thugs, thugs from head to toe.

The Knicks' winning streak has now reached four games.

After the game, Carlisle specifically sought out Tang Sen and asked him to arrange sufficient recovery training for Yao Ming and Houston in the next few days to adjust their condition as much as possible.

This request is quite reasonable.

After all, it's still the middle of the season. Although it's not yet March or April, and the second half of the season is when everyone is exhausted, after playing for almost half a season, the body must have accumulated a lot of fatigue.

Therefore, Tang Sen's first thought was for Carlisle to start controlling the core players' playing time to prevent them from getting injured.

Good thing, Tang Sen supports it.

They dug for gold the next day.

Antonio McDyess's season-ending injury has caused the Nuggets to abandon all illusions and begin their onslaught against the Akron Boys in the Western Conference.

In this game, Carlisle went even further, bringing on Yao Ming and Houston as substitutes.

The two of them each played for 20 minutes.

But the Knicks still won.

Chandler and Harvey unexpectedly found common ground.

The shorter Harvey crouched in the paint, frantically grabbing rebounds over Nene Hilario's head.

The taller Chandler became the power forward, sweeping and providing defensive support both inside and outside the penalty area.

The high and low positions turned the Knicks' interior defense into an impenetrable wall.

Chandler kept suggesting going out to provide cover for the outside players.

Jones started in place of Houston and, thanks to Chandler's excellent screens, made 3 of 4 three-pointers, scoring a career-high 18 points.

Harvey once again transformed into a rebounding fanatic, grabbing a total of 14 rebounds.

Then, seven more players scored in double figures, and the Knicks easily secured their fifth victory.

They've won 5 straight games.

New York media outlets have begun to enthusiastically praise the Knicks.

They said we only made a slight move and already had a 5-game winning streak.

Stop calling us salted fish; we've turned things around.

Look around the entire league, is there any team that can win games while its starters are on the bench and its bench players are playing?

These arguments greatly provoked New York fans.

They are the kind of fans who get carried away and blindly praise the Knicks whenever their team wins.

When Don Nelson stood on Madison Square Garden, the stands chanted "Game 6" in unison.

"The Knicks have won five straight games?" Old Nelson asked, somewhat surprised.

He didn't pay much attention to the Knicks.

However, news reports say that many head coaches are praising the Knicks, saying that the Knicks have unlimited potential.

But those are all Eastern Conference head coaches; it's just internal praise within the East and doesn't affect the West.

A five-game winning streak can say something.

Del Harris, with his completely white hair, nodded, glanced at the person opposite him, and said, "The Knicks are on a roll right now, and Rick has some ideas too. You know what? He actually made Yao play as a substitute."

It wasn't just a one-off occurrence; it happened in the last game too.

The cornerstone and absolute core of the team's rebuilding is now relegated to the bench.

Putting aside the reasons behind this, Harris is more curious about how Carlisle persuaded Yao Ming to accept it.

Too many head coaches have been sacked because they couldn't manage the team's key players.

Carlisle is one of them.

When he came to the Knicks, he dared to do the same thing again, even more ruthless than the Pistons.

When Yao Ming was mentioned, Don Nelson remarked, "He was a super genius."

Because of Wang Zhizhi, Don Nelson knew a lot about China and was aware of Yao Ming's existence.

After glancing at Yao Ming warming up on the opposite court, Don Nelson added, "Actually, it would be suitable for him to go to New York. With Tang Sen there, his future will be even brighter."

(End of this chapter)