Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 267 Matchup Zone Defense
5 month 13 number.

The Knicks and Nets' semifinal series has ended.

Carlisle didn't give the Nets a chance to sell tickets for another game. He swept the Nets 4-0 without holding back, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

In yesterday's game, Yao Ming scored 37 points, but his assists dropped to only 3.

This is a good sign.

This shows that the conversation was effective, and he adjusted his playing style.

Although we won, training cannot stop.

They stopped physical training and focused mainly on tactical drills.

Carlisle needs to work hard on tactics against the Magic and any team in the West.

After yesterday's game, I went back to my home in Manhattan, which is far from the training center, so I still had to get up early to leave.

As I was leaving, my neighbor's door opened.

Swank's husband, Chad Lowe, is seen walking his dog.

Upon seeing Tang Sen, he immediately raised his hand to greet him: "Tang, I went to watch the game yesterday, your performance was amazing!"

He gave Tang Sen a thumbs-up and then ran over.

“I read the morning paper. The New York Times said that the Knicks have now proven that we have the ability to contend for the championship.”

"Tang, do you think we can really win the championship this year?"

Although he is not from New York, he has lived in New York for many years and is considered a veteran Knicks fan.

Tang Sen pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Of course, we have the capability."

They've already made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, so what's wrong with bragging a little?

In the end, I didn't get it, so who can say anything?

At the beginning of the season, probably no New York fan dared to dream that the Knicks could contend for the championship this season.

But the team did it, so whatever the outcome, New York fans will only feel regret, not complain.

After waving goodbye, Tang Sen drove away.

I need to hurry to the training center before the morning rush hour starts.

When they arrived at the training center, Brittenham and his team had already arrived.

I feel the team has a good chance of winning the championship, and the management team has become much more proactive.

Today's training focused on tactical drills.

By looking at the player groupings, Tang Sen could guess what starting lineup Carlisle would use to face the Magic in this series.

He played a twin-tower lineup, with Yao Ming and Chandler as his partners.

It feels like he's not just aiming for the Magic, but also for one of the top teams in the Western Conference.

The twin-tower lineup will be useful for both the Lakers and the Spurs in the future.

Prince has been dropped from the small forward position.

Carlisle opted for Wallace, who was better at defense.

The defensive line remained unchanged.

Moreover, he didn't practice offensive tactics today; he practiced defense.

Tangsen stood on the sidelines, watching Carlisle run back and forth on the field, telling the players how and when to move.

After watching for a while, Tang Sen gradually figured it out.

In terms of positioning, it should be a zone defense.

But after the zone defense was relaxed last season, it created a trend that quickly faded away.

Most of them are NBA stars, they can't handle this kind of thing.

Wolves manager Saunders is so skilled at zone defense that he led the team to a good start to the season, but they quickly went back to where they started.

But now that the zone defense has been relaxed, some teams are still studying it.

The current trend is zone defense.

Focusing on regions is not enough; we also need to focus on people. We need to combine our efforts to achieve a result greater than the sum of its parts.

That's how NBA teams are; they want this and that.

Carlisle is practicing zone defense right now.

Overall, it was a 3-2 zone defense setup, with Yao Ming and Chandler in the low post.

However, it is not fixed and varies a lot.

For example, Yao Ming would definitely defend the inside, provide backup defense on both sides, and block the outside shots that are about to break through.

With McGrady on the team, the Magic were a formidable force capable of making breakthroughs.

Chandler's task was more demanding. Carlisle instructed him to quickly move up to the top post when the opponent initiated a high pick-and-roll, switch positions with the three players on the top post, and intercept the screen.

The Magic have a lot of plays where they have PJ Brown pull out to the outside and then initiate a high pick-and-roll.

But the most crucial one is Wallace.

His position is not fixed. He needs to keep an eye on McGrady's position, move in a timely manner, switch between left, center and right positions, and cooperate with others to block McGrady.

Carlisle's main intention is now obvious: he is targeting McGrady.

In a 3-2 zone defense, there will be gaps in the two bottom corners.

That's alright, because the Magic don't have anyone who can hit a corner three-pointer.

Mike Miller doesn't shoot many corner three-pointers.

The Magic did have one last season, namely Billups.

Tangsen hoped Carlisle's tactics would work, but he also knew that when it came down to a fight, tactics didn't really matter.

They'll double-team your key players relentlessly, and then see who can hold out until the very end.

If that really happens, Townsend hopes the Knicks can hold on.

After all, he had helped the Knicks develop so many excellent players.

After training, Tang Sen prepared to return to his home in Greenwich to rest.

With the season nearing its end, the coaching staff has a heavy workload.

Tang Sen's training group actually had a much lighter workload.

But just as he was about to leave, someone came looking for him.

It's the same person who came to see me last time and asked me to go to the NBA headquarters.

He came on behalf of Stern to ask when Townsend would be free to visit NBA headquarters again for a meeting and further discussion.

Stern had Tangsen's phone number, but these kinds of things were obviously better discussed in person.

“Cage, tell David that we’re going to play in the Eastern Conference Finals now. I’m busy right now and don’t have time to seriously consider his advice. We’ll talk about it after our season ends.”

Tangsen declined Stern's invitation to meet, citing various excuses.

It's been a while since we last met. Tangsen said he'd consider it for a few days, but so much time has passed; I guess Stern couldn't wait any longer and came to press him again.

But Tang Sen had figured this out after so many days.

Tang Sen felt that Stern's two plans, the one-city-one-star plan, were not a big problem.

I had planned to do this all summer anyway.

However, Tang Sen felt that the rookie development plan was very unreliable.

Tang Sen still believes that if this were to be done, the league wouldn't be able to accommodate so many rookies.

While star players won't be affected, the numerous role players will definitely be greatly impacted.

Especially those blue-collar workers.

He could have managed to get a contract by playing defense diligently.

Nowadays, any rookie can easily become an excellent defender through their own training, so where is there any room for these blue-collar workers to survive?

For a team, isn't it more appealing to benefit from rookie contracts?
Role players already have short careers, and this will only shorten them further.

Moreover, newcomers are happy while veterans are sad; as soon as these rookies finish their rookie contracts, a new batch of rookies emerges.

So if this is done, the players' union will definitely cause a huge uproar.

Stern was clamoring for military expansion, but expansion isn't something that can be done just like that.

Therefore, after much consideration, Tang Sen decided to postpone the matter.

Stern is in high spirits right now, so it wouldn't be good to dampen his enthusiasm or refuse him outright.

Let's just postpone it for now, at least until the end of the season.

Time passes day by day.

The Western Conference was still locked in a fierce battle, but Rivers knew he couldn't give the Knicks a chance to rest and prepare. He quickly eliminated the Celtics 4-1.

Therefore, the two teams will start their match on the 16th.

On the 15th, the entire Knicks team flew to Orlando.

Townsend not only has an old house in Orlando, but also a villa in Windermere.

Therefore, upon arriving in Orlando that day, Townsend did not check into the hotel with the team, but instead returned to his villa in Windermere.

It wasn't because the hotel wasn't luxurious enough; it was mainly because the Brown family had invited him to be their guest.

McGrady is coming too.

And there's Ewing, Grant, and the others.

These are all old buddies I've spent a whole season with.

Tang Sen called Guo Yonglin and Hall, and also asked Yao Ming if he wanted to go.

Yao Ming thought about it, worried that it might not be suitable.

The life-or-death battle begins tomorrow. Are we still sitting together eating and drinking the day before?

"What does it matter? On the field, you're on the field, but off the field, you're still friends."

Only after Tang Sen said that did Yao Ming change his mind.

The group drove to Windermere.

When they arrived at Brown's house, they bumped into De Klerk getting out of the car.

"Don!"

He immediately came forward and gave Tang Sen an excited hug.

This is an old classmate.

De Klerk then asked curiously why Kruger hadn't come over.

Tang Sen laughed and said, "They're figuring out how to defeat you."

De Klerk laughed and said Rivers was the same.

Enter the villa.

Brown's mother, Joyce, was already waiting at the door. She greeted him warmly and excitedly, and hugged Tangsen tightly.

She was always grateful for the effort that Tangsen put into Brown.

"gentlemen!"

Brown was just as excited.

Tang Sen nodded slightly; this was his eldest disciple.

Brown's brother was also released from prison, and the whole family was finally reunited, enjoying a happy reunion.

Later, McGrady arrived with his girlfriend, Ewing, and Grant.

Ewing and Townsend hugged tightly, then Ewing grinned and said, "Town, although I believe we can win the championship again this year, it would be great if the Knicks actually won."

"Scott seems to have some skills after all."

He was angry when Leighton betrayed him.

Now, watching Redden's plan come to fruition step by step, and the Knicks quickly becoming a championship-caliber team in just one season, he couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.

This is, after all, the Knicks, the team he dedicated his life to.

Tang Sen smiled and didn't dwell on the topic of who won the championship.

We won't talk about the game today.

Tang Sen asked Ewing what his plans were after retiring.

He only has one year left on his contract, and he originally planned to retire right after winning the championship last year.

At Rivers's urging, he stayed for another year.

But he barely gets any playing time anymore; he just stays on to help develop the team's interior players.

After a moment's thought, Ewing said he wanted to become a teaching assistant.

"pretty good."

Tang Sen nodded. A textbook center like Ewing could easily become an assistant coach and mentor the team's interior players; there would be plenty of teams willing to take his place.

It's just that the Knicks' assistant coaching staff is too crowded; otherwise, returning to New York would have been a good option for him.

Actually, Tang Sen asked this mainly because he was thinking about whether he could invite Ewing over in the summer to help train his players.

Even if he were to train a bunch of star players, Ewing would still be qualified.

And it wasn't just him, it was also Hakeem Olajuwon.

I can teach the Dream Shake myself; I've been teaching Yao Ming for a year now.

But ultimately, the original teacher is still better at teaching.

However, after Hakeem Olajuwon retired last year, it seems he went into the real estate business, and it's unclear whether he'll ever return to action.

(End of this chapter)