Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 259: A Retirement Ceremony for Jordan in Madison

After the first match, Carlisle had a good idea of ​​what to expect.

He knew the Wizards couldn't stop the Knicks.

Yao Ming didn't even have a chance to shine. The Wizards won the game with just a bunch of role players. How can they possibly turn the tide?
You can tell by looking at the data from the first game.

The Knicks' bench scored a total of 48 points.

For the Wizards, the number is 21 points.

The Knicks outnumbered the Wizards by more than double.

In other words, the Wizards' starters fought with all their might and barely lost by 10 points.

Even so, we are still far from seeing the Knicks' limits.

Facing an opponent he was destined to lose to, Carlisle had no need to say anything harsh.

At the post-match press conference, he made some polite but harsh remarks.

They say Jordan is still going strong even in his old age, consistently scoring over 20 points a game.

Stoudemire is said to be incredibly talented, scoring 21 points and grabbing 9 rebounds, displaying tremendous impact.

They also said Hill is still the best small forward in the league.

But his words sounded extremely harsh to the Washington media.

If he were really as strong as you say, how could the Wizards have lost?
After the game, Stoudemire even contacted Townsend and invited him to his home.

He bought a house in Washington.

They brought their mother and younger brother over.

The whole family is together, except for his brother's release from prison.

Tang Sen met his mother, Kelly, at last year's draft.

Now that her son has made a lot of money, she no longer has to go in and out of prison because of money.

After spending a season in Washington, his complexion has improved significantly.

Upon meeting Tang Sen, they felt even more grateful.

She knew that without Townsend's help, Stoudemire might not have gotten such a high draft pick, and naturally, he wouldn't have gotten such a high salary.

"Sir, I feel we're going to lose the game."

After dinner, while chatting in the yard, Stoudemire said with a troubled expression.

Outsiders may not know, but he did. After the first game, the team's locker room was as quiet as a tomb.

Before the game, Hill boasted that he would lead the team to victory in the series.

He remained silent after the match.

With Stoudemire on the court, he had a clear sense that the Knicks were very strong.

Not only are all the players strong, but Yao Ming is too.

He could sense Yao Ming's unfathomable depth.

Because throughout the entire game, he noticed that Yao Ming hadn't sweated much.

Without a doubt, they definitely didn't fight with all their might.

The Wizards couldn't beat this Knicks team, let alone a Knicks team that comes down to their full strength in the decisive moments.

Therefore, Stoudemire is mentally prepared to take an early break at the end of the season.

Faced with his opponents, what could Tang Sen say? He could only reply, "It's alright, you still have a chance."

Stoudemire shrugged self-deprecatingly, then directly asked Tang Sen when the training camp would be held in the summer, so he could start preparing in advance.

They even cautiously inquired about the number of people to be recruited this year and whether the cost would still be three million US dollars.

"It's unlikely to be three million."

Tang Sen waved his hand.

The reason they were so vocal last year was purely because they were provoked by the league's so-called Townsend Rule, and wanted to prove that they were worth that price.

This year, it definitely won't be that high.

A price tag of three million is something that only a few superstar players can afford.

As for the number of recruits, Tang Sen did consider it as the season was nearing its end.

Since they couldn't raise prices, they had already established their brand and become the sole benchmark in the industry.

Then there's no need to pursue the elite route anymore; instead, we should focus on low prices and high sales volume.

Anyway, I have more badges now, and the title bonus is also higher.

By the end of this season, I estimate my title will reach level 6.

A 60% training bonus, and that's for the group. Just assign a Five Point Club member to it, and that's almost double the bonus.

You could say that without any special training, just by absorbing these effects, your strength can improve significantly over the course of a summer.

"I haven't thought of any specific plans yet. Let's talk about it after the season ends. Even if we're going to start a training camp, it won't be until July."

So after the Wizards' elimination, Stoudemire has two months to go on vacation and relax.

In the second game, Collins and several assistant coaches racked their brains and made some adjustments.

He referenced some of the Spurs' playing style.

You're talking about playing with two towers, right? Well, the Spurs are the most famous team in the league with a twin-tower lineup.

And the team that gives the Spurs the biggest headache is the Lakers.

The Lakers beat the Spurs in the mid-range, thanks to Kobe.

Therefore, Collins wanted Jordan to play Kobe's role and to build the tactics around him.

When discussing tactics before the game, Collins certainly wouldn't dare suggest that Jordan should learn from and emulate Kobe.

That's practically defying the heavens.

Deep down, Collins was actually a little worried.

Because today's Jordan is no match for Kobe in terms of finishing plays.

However, with the Knicks' starting lineup confirmed before the game, Collins no longer needs to worry about whether his strategy will be effective.

Because the Knicks have changed their lineup again.

Collins' face darkened.

You won, and you still changed your formation? That's going too far.

Collins would be even more frustrated if he knew Carlisle's true thoughts.

Carlisle was thinking that facing a weak team like the Wizards would be a good opportunity to try out several different starting lineups.

In this game, Carlisle fielded a starting lineup of Yao Ming, Bender, Prince, and Houston Billups.

Apart from Yao Ming, all four players have outside shooting ability. He needs to create space and give Yao Ming opportunities to score inside.

We also need to use Yao Ming's unstoppable inside offense to create shooting opportunities for the outside players.

Collins figured out this offensive strategy not long after the game started.

Yao Ming positioned himself in the low post, and the four players spread out in a fan shape.

At this point, the Wizards will be in a dilemma.

If Stoudemire doesn't follow up to defend Bender, Bender's shooting ability will be enough to punish the Wizards.

If Yao Ming goes out, Haywood alone in the paint has no chance of stopping him.

Unfortunately, Yao Ming also had the ability to pass the ball.

"Isn't this just like a rocket launching four satellites at once?" Johnny Bach muttered.

Back when Jordan retired and Hakeem Olajuwon was unstoppable in the paint, the Rockets developed a one-star-four-shooter strategy for him.

Just like the Knicks right now.

You double-team Olajuwon, and the outside shooter goes in with a bang.

Without a pincer attack, who can defeat Hakeem Olajuwon?

Moreover, Yao Ming today is practically like Hakeem Olajuwon; he can shoot himself, and his shooting range is even longer than Olajuwon's.

"I know."

Collins muttered to himself, "I know, I figured it out, but it's no use."

There are only five players on the court. When one player is so strong that you have to double-team them to deal with them, then this tactic is unsolvable.

The only thing you can pray for is that your opponent misses the shot.

But when Yao Ming started to dominate Haywood in the paint, scoring 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting and free throws by the halfway point of the first quarter, Collins really started to have a headache.

He felt that if they continued playing like this, it wouldn't be an exaggeration for Yao Ming to score another 50 points.

Even more critically, the Knicks weren't bad on the defensive end either.

Just as Collins worried in the last game, because the bench strength is so deep, the starters are willing to expend all their energy on defense when they are on the field.

The Twin Towers are gone, but Bender's defense is still pretty good.

He and Yao Ming formed two lines of defense, with various coordinated attacks, making it very difficult for the Wizards to break through.

It's like going back to the same old path as the last game.

The Wizards couldn't defend, and their own offense wasn't good enough either.

The substitutes aren't performing well, so the team is relying entirely on the starters' form.

2:0.

Even with Jordan scoring 29 points, the Wizards still failed to make any impact.

Yao Ming dominated the paint, scoring 38 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, forcing Haywood to sit out the game after just three quarters, effectively shutting down the Wizards' interior defense.

The New York media are raving about how strong the Knicks are.

After taking a 2-0 lead, the New York Times had no more reservations and directly declared: Knicks are the champions!
The Wizards are not a weak team. They have Jordan, Hill, and the superstar rookie Stoudemire, and they also have Hamilton, who can compete for the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Looking at the Eastern Conference, this lineup is also extremely impressive.

The New York Times started by praising its opponent.

It's not exactly against my conscience.

If the Wizards were weak, they wouldn't have made it to fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Even at the end of the season, they still deliberately slipped from third place.

They achieved 48 wins, a number that would make them a playoff contender in the Western Conference.

We still dominated the Wizards on both offense and defense.

The New York Times used the word "crush".

They felt there was no problem.

In both the first and second games, the Knicks led throughout, giving the Wizards no chance to gain momentum.

The New York Times directly predicted the score of this series.

4-0, there's no suspense whatsoever.

He even went so far as to say that a proper retirement ceremony would be held right here in New York, right here in Madison, for Jordan's last game of his career.

The New York Times' report has prompted the Knicks to actually begin preparations.

The team's marketing department has called on fans to come to the stadium to send their best wishes to Jordan.

Even the NBA headquarters contacted the Knicks and began inviting legends to prepare for Jordan's retirement ceremony.

This attitude provoked strong dissatisfaction from Collins.

It's one thing to do this during the regular season, but this is the playoffs! What if we win?

The boss has spoken: if we lose, we lose. This year's Knicks are too unpredictable; we can't beat them.

But at least they won one game, and then went back to Washington to hold a retirement ceremony for Jordan.

Do you know how many tickets Jordan's last game would sell?

So at the pre-match press conference for the third game, Collins said directly, "We will win the game when no one in the world believes in us."

Then, lost again.

Prince unexpectedly stole the show, making 4 of 5 three-pointers and scoring the team's second-highest 24 points despite Hill's defense.

Yao Ming scored 31 points, and Houston scored 22 points.

With a 110-89 victory, the Knicks made it clear to Collins that he could only dream of playing another game.

Carlisle didn't care where Jordan held his retirement ceremony.

But Carlisle wouldn't accept playing another game.

The Nets and Bucks are also up 3-0, and he was thinking of ending the first round early so that the players could rest for a couple more days.

This day was April 27th.

The day before happened to be the deadline for audition registration.

At the training center, after a day of training, an unexpected staff member from NBA headquarters came to see Tang Sen and asked him to go to NBA headquarters.

He said that David Stern wanted to meet with him.

Come to think of it, Tang Sen has been in New York for quite some time now, but he hasn't had the chance to visit the NBA headquarters on Fifth Avenue yet.

Furthermore, Tang Sen was somewhat curious as to what Stern, the president of the alliance, had to talk to him about.

(End of this chapter)