Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 251 Is there a possibility that he couldn't defend against it?

The cheers echoed across Madison from the Great Wall, rising in waves.

This place has had its share of superstar centers.

It has Willis Reed, the iron-willed captain, and Patrick Ewing, one of the four great centers.

But no one else could score as many points as Yao Ming against Shaquille O'Neal, the great shark.

And it looks effortless.

He could even limit O'Neal on the defensive end and block his shots.

How could Yao Ming not drive New York fans wild?

Especially the Chinese fans at the scene.

Each of them proudly held up the national flag and shouted incessantly.

In the media area, the large number of Chinese journalists present were beaming with pride.

This is Shaquille O'Neal, the undisputed best active center in the world.

Before the game, he boasted that he would let Yao Ming taste his big pork knuckle.

What now?
Who treated you to hot pot? And who was it that kept shooting over your head and scoring?

Su Qunzhen, among the group of reporters, really wanted to ask the American reporters around her, who were all staring wide-eyed and incredulous.

Didn't you guys keep saying Yao Ming wasn't good enough, that he couldn't beat Shaq?

what about now?

Who is really incompetent?
Inside the TNT studio.

Barkley, with an expression that suggested he was enjoying the drama, yelled at O'Neal from afar, "Shaq, where's your big elbow? You can't just score yourself, you also have to guard Yao!"

"You need to show Yao how good you are. Before the game, he was saying he was going to score 30 points on you."

"Damn it, he's already got 16 points in one quarter. This guy has already accomplished half the task in just one quarter."

"Shaq, you have to work hard!"

Smith on the other side was practically a mind reader for Barkley, immediately knowing exactly where Barkley wanted to attack.

On camera, he pretended to ponder for a moment, then said in a serious tone, "Charles, do you think there's a possibility that Shaq... can't guard Yao?"

Barkley would love to kiss him for his witty banter.

"No way."

Barkley exaggeratedly clutched his head and yelled, "Shaq, Yao is just a rookie!"

He then pretended to flip through the blank paper in front of him and said, "Damn it, Shaq, I just realized you only got 13 points. You couldn't defend Yao and you didn't even score as many points as him. What's wrong with you?"

His funny expression made Smith on the other side unable to hold back any longer, and he slapped the table and burst into laughter.

Ernie Johnson looked at the two clowns with a wry smile and commented seriously, "Yao is really terrifying. Shaq has no way to deal with his turnaround jump shot."

"Moreover, his performance today was unbelievably good, scoring 16 points in a single quarter. He could easily have scored 40 or even 50 points today, let alone 30."

"I remember reading a report before that said Yao's rookie season stats were very good, but he had a big problem, which was that his scoring ability was not explosive enough."

"So now I want to say, could it be that Yao just didn't want to score high points? If he wanted to, he would have the same explosive scoring ability."

Scoring 16 points in a single quarter is an astonishing scoring ability.

Barkley nodded in agreement and shouted into the camera.

As fellow students of Townsend, Kwame Brown is the youngest player to score 50 points. He's young, and there's nothing you can do about it; you can't beat him.

But so far this season, he hasn't scored 50 points even once. Isn't that a bit unacceptable?
Ernie Johnson continued, "And importantly, the Knicks are in the lead."

"Guys, this is the Lakers. When we talk about who will win the championship, the Lakers are a team we can never ignore."

"And now, the Knicks are actually in the lead."

"They have Yao to deal with Shaq, and they've also developed a lot of Kobe killers. In a battle of the starters, the Knicks aren't that much worse than the Lakers."

"And they have even better substitutes. I was deeply moved when I read Donnell's story."

"Guys, the Knicks are really stronger than we all thought."

He mentioned the Knicks' superior bench, noting that the Knicks gave the Lakers a small surprise at the start of the second quarter.

In the second quarter, even if Jackson didn't want to rotate, he had no choice but to do so.

Even Shaquille O'Neal isn't made of iron.

Against a team of the Lakers' caliber, Carlisle didn't show off his five-in-five-out strategy again.

He kept Houston and Billups on the court and played with the substitutes.

Harvey, Bender, Swift.

When the Knicks switch to this lineup of forwards, there's no doubt that their only tactic is to go all out.

Carlisle was clamoring for a bench lineup to play against Princeton, but there's no fixed formula.

The lineup he's cobbled together now combines the ball-sharing style of the Princeton offense with the extreme speed of Don Nelson's fast-paced style.

Of the five players on the court, the slowest was surprisingly Houston, the team's core player.

Often, Billups would make a long pass, sending the ball into the attacking third, before Houston had even crossed the halfway line.

This kind of impact made things very difficult for the Lakers.

Furthermore, the lack of height in the paint gave Harvey a significant advantage in grabbing offensive rebounds.

When Harvey once again snatched the ball from Medvedenko's head and grabbed the offensive rebound, Jackson disregarded his composure and angrily roared at Medvedenko.

Look at them, and then look at you. You can't even protect a backboard. What use are you?

Harvey remained focused on rebounding, and once he secured the rebound, he immediately passed it to Bender.

Facing Samaki Walker, Bender displayed his agility, executing a guard-like crossover dribble past Walker and lobbing the ball high into the net.

The score difference came to 10 points.

This was like a red line, putting Jackson's nerves on edge.

Fortunately, the next moment, Kobe, under pressure from Houston's defense, made a tough three-pointer, which calmed Jackson down.

He grumbled inwardly, thinking that none of the substitutes were reliable.

But there is no way.

Not every team is like the Knicks, with a bunch of good players on the bench, but they're all rookies with pitifully low salaries.

Tang Sen!
Jackson was silently annoyed.

If they had made a greater effort last summer and brought Townsend to Los Angeles, then all the advantages the Knicks have now would belong to the Lakers!
Seeing his teammates underperforming, Kobe decisively took over the game.

He dribbles past his opponent, faces a double team, immediately turns to back down, fakes a shot, and then turns and jumps to shoot.

The body was stretched out to its fullest extent, reaching an astonishing height.

The only problem is that the right leg swings out farther.

But it also blocked the opponent's attack.

Go in again!

Jackson clapped.

You can only rely on star players.

But the next moment, when he thought that Kobe had also trained hard with Tang Sen for three months last summer to make such great progress, Jackson couldn't help but feel discouraged again.

If we bring Tang Sen over, Kobe will continue to evolve throughout the season.

And Shaquille O'Neal.

If Tang Sen can manage so many players so well and train them so intensely, maybe he can also manage O'Neal and get him to lose weight?
What a pity, some bastard beat him to it.

Jackson turned his head, trying to find traces of that bastard Layden on the scene.

Kobe's outburst prompted Carlisle to make a decisive change, bringing on Yao Ming and simultaneously substituting Jones and Dooling into the game.

This is a defensive backcourt.

And on his very first game, Jones was already entangled with Kobe.

His two legs, as if equipped with springs, clung to Kobe like a shadow.

This familiar feeling made Kobe want to curse.

How many Kobe killers have he prepared for himself?

Moreover, there is also auxiliary defense.

Even if Kobe calls for a pick and roll, Dooling will come over to help defend immediately.

Kobe was surprised to find that Dooling's defense was just as good.

Yao Ming immediately unleashed his power, squeezing the ball under the basket and sending Medvedenko flying.

Then he slammed the ball in with a powerful dunk.

Aside from O'Neal, Yao Ming could easily overpower short and stocky big men like Medvedenko with his sheer physicality.

Jackson sighed silently and substituted back the starters.

However, the effect was limited. O'Neal couldn't stop Yao Ming.

Because Yao Ming can pass the ball, double-teaming him is not as effective as expected.

This kind of Yao Ming really gave Jackson a huge headache.

If he were to face Kwame Brown, Jackson felt he still had some ideas and could come up with a solution.

But Yao Ming?
Jackson felt like his brain was mush, and he had absolutely no idea what to do with this guy.

In the past, the NBA had never seen such an all-around center.

Sabonis doesn't even count; he was already finished when he came to the NBA.

What's even more crucial is that Yao Ming is so tall, giving him a natural advantage.

When Jackson saw Yao Ming and Jones set a screen, receive the pass back, and then launch a three-pointer from beyond the arc with a catapult-like motion, the basketball plummeting high into the basket, he was completely stunned.

Just looking at the way he played, even Jackson thought it was awful.

You're so tall, shooting three-pointers is already insane, but you still hide the ball behind your head when you shoot.

So they're really not giving the defenders any chance to block the shot?

Halftime ended.

The Knicks still held a 7-point lead at 57-50.

Although Yao Ming only played for a little over 6 minutes in the second quarter, he still scored 9 points.

The score is already 25 points at halftime.

O'Neal only scored 19 points in the first half, which isn't low, but compared to Yao Ming, he was still somewhat suppressed and dominated.

Not to mention comparing Yao Ming's role on the offensive and defensive ends.

Three blocks and four assists are the best proof of that.

Back in the locker room, Jackson crossed his arms, his eyebrows seemingly welded together.

O'Neal stopped yelling and sat there sulking.

All the boasting and arrogance you displayed before the match will become boomerangs, hitting you hard.

I rarely get proven wrong.

But today, Yao Ming experienced it firsthand.

Kobe looked at Jackson with dissatisfaction.

Although they had scored 17 points by halftime, what was the point of scoring more if they couldn't win the game?

Kobe doesn't even rely on Shaq anymore.

He had said before the game that Yao Ming was a tough opponent.

Kobe hoped Jackson could come up with a solution.

Wasn't this supposed to be a preview of the finals? If this is the finals, does that mean we'll get nothing this year?

Jackson actually had a plan in mind.

Or rather, it gradually appeared after the start of this season.

Because of Tang Sen's training, Kobe's post-up game had been developed.

Jackson was thinking about whether he could get Kobe to drive in and post up more often.

There are many benefits.

After driving in, Kobe had more offensive options.

Most importantly, after he creates a threat, he can also draw the opponent's inside players out of the paint, creating better offensive opportunities for O'Neal.

But the prerequisite is to first establish a threat.

In other words, the offensive focus should be on Kobe, drawing defensive attention to him.

In that case, O'Neal became the secondary shooter.

Jackson was wary of this, fearing that O'Neal would be upset and it would affect the harmony of the locker room.

He's a Zen master, trying to maintain balance among the players. If he can't even control the locker room, how can he compete for the championship?

With that in mind, Jackson decisively abandoned the idea.

We'll just play the current way. If we lose, it's just one regular season game, and we'll accept it.

And he also prepared a trump card for the Knicks.

That's Yao Ming's stamina.

Jackson had already studied this; once the fourth quarter arrived, Yao Ming's stamina was running low, and his shooting percentage began to decline across the board.

Therefore, if the suspense of the game can be dragged into the fourth quarter, and the star player has an explosive performance, it is not impossible to win the game.

That's what he thought, and that's how he arranged it.

In the third quarter, both sides once again engaged in a fierce offensive and defensive battle.

The Knicks continued to rely on Yao Ming, who was incredibly active, scoring 13 points in the quarter and leading the Knicks to a total of 28 points in the quarter.

However, Kobe scored 14 points in the quarter, which helped the Lakers keep the score close.

The Lakers trailed 85-77, but with one quarter remaining, they still had a chance to win.

Jackson felt it was about time.

He grabbed O'Neal and told him that he had given him a few extra minutes of rest in the third quarter, and now it was time for him to unleash his power and dominate the game.

Then let everyone know that even if Yao Ming scores 40 points, it still won't help the team win the game.

O'Neal scored 7 points in the third quarter, which can be considered as playing conservatively.

O'Neal liked Jackson's plan and nodded fiercely.

Then it was gone.

In the few minutes after Yao Ming left the court, Carlisle's strategy was clear: foul.

Add Zurich, and if you can't defend him, you'll foul him, repeatedly sending O'Neal to the free-throw line.

Within four minutes, Gazuric, carrying four fouls, walked off the field with pride.

O'Neal only made 5 of them.

Jackson's face turned green.

He planned to use staggered rotations, allowing O'Neal to have a breakout performance during the few minutes Yao Ming was off the court, and tie the score.

As a result, they were effectively stifled by Carlisle's fouling tactics.

But it wasn't over yet. When both teams' starters returned to the court, Jackson was surprised to find that the Knicks had once again fielded a lineup with three tall players.

Chandler and Bender stayed in the paint, one guarding and the other helping to close out.

If you can't stop him, you foul him, which suffocated O'Neal.

Yao Ming, on the other hand, was pulled into a high position to unleash his attacks.

Reduce the physical exertion in the paint and focus on shooting and playmaking.

Clearly, Carlisle had also considered the issue of running out of energy in the fourth quarter.

At this moment, Jackson was in an extremely bad mood.

It wasn't just that O'Neal failed to dominate Yao Ming, proving himself to be the world's best center.

It's not that they didn't win any games.

Rather, it was his own tactical arrangements that were inferior to Carlisle's.

I am a Zen master!
When Yao Ming saw Fisher standing in front of him and easily made a long two-pointer, the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt.

111:101.

The Knicks had a significant advantage and defeated the Lakers at home.

O'Neal scored 37 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, impressive stats.

In any other game, O'Neal would have arrogantly flexed his muscles at the reporters afterward, telling them that the Big Diesel had once again torn his opponent to shreds.

But not today.

Not only did he fail to tear his opponent apart, he was also suppressed by him.

49 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 blocks, with a field goal percentage close to 8%.

With a dominant performance, Yao Ming proudly declared to the world that he was not only the world's number one center, but his skills were also sharp.

So O'Neal was very upset when he walked off the court, and he had a dark expression on his face the whole time.

He broke his guard.

Jackson glanced at Carlisle across from him, and his defense crumbled just like hers.

The first time, he felt he had no chance against his opponent in a battle of wits.

At the same time, Jackson couldn't help but wonder, what if the Knicks really made it out of the East and the two teams met in the Finals? In that long series, how would he deal with such a smart and cunning guy?
(End of this chapter)