Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 299 Who Should Be the Top Scholar?

Tang Sen didn't get up, but casually clapped twice along with the others.

Wade didn't play in the Summer League, so it was the first time New York fans had seen him play, which they found quite novel.

But Tang Sen was all too familiar with him.

Tang Sen was aware of Wade's progress, however small.

Tedeschi, standing next to him, remarked, "His shooting is getting more and more consistent."

Tang Sen said, "It's alright."

In the first month, Tang Sen made him practice his shooting form diligently to adjust and correct it.

It wasn't until the second month that I started practicing shooting diligently.

But it's just basic spot shooting.

It wasn't until the third month that the difficulty was increased, with practice of shooting after contact and shooting with various connecting techniques.

I've practiced step by step, so my foundation is very solid, and my advantage lies in my stability.

Like this play, James defended very well, and taking advantage of his height and wingspan, his hand really looked like it was covering Wade's face.

But Wade was still able to score because he had already adjusted his posture and aimed while in the air.

With the forearm upright, the little finger and thumb support the ball like a bracket, creating a hollow, hard hand.

His posture has been refined through countless trials.

Tang Sen hopes that he can reach a point where, from the moment he jumps, what affects whether the ball goes in or not is not the opponent's defense, but his own state of mind.

This depends on core control, upper limb posture stability, and strong finger strength.

Just like Jordan, he made many incredible shots.

Sometimes, even when he's already blocked in mid-air, the basketball stays in his hands and he can still make the shot.

It's almost like cheating.

These are the abilities he relies on.

Wade has some of that skill now, but it's not enough.

He needs to keep practicing.

On the court, James tried to respond by taking a step to gain a positional advantage the moment he received the ball, and then dribbled towards the basket.

This is still his most proficient offensive method.

In high school, his physical advantage was too great; he just charged straight ahead, and no one could stop him.

But Wade blocked it.

Wade's current weight is between 95 and 96 kilograms.

This weight is about the same as his weight during the draft.

In the future, Tang Sen plans to have him gain some weight to increase his physical strength.

But this summer, the main focus is on helping him build muscle and, in the process, improve his athletic ability.

When he first started training with Tang Sen, his body fat percentage was 13%, which is not in line with NBA standards.

Now, after three months of physical conditioning, plus a certain amount of medication, he has recovered.

His body fat percentage has dropped to around 9.5%.

The abdominal muscles are clearly visible, and the blood vessels are also somewhat prominent.

This number is already very close to Kwame Brown's 9% muscular physique.

This improvement greatly increased Wade's competitiveness.

Even though James is also very muscular, Wade is not at a disadvantage.

Moreover, he is fast and can keep up. When he defended James' shot at the end, many players were already struggling to keep up and simply didn't have the strength to jump and block him quickly.

But Wade can.

His speed is truly terrifying, especially after Tang Sen strengthened his leg muscles, increasing his explosive power.

James let out a cry, his mid-air interference hampered his ability to throw the ball, which slid off the rim.

Bender gets the ball.

Wade has already launched a fast break.

He received the ball without slowing down, dribbled and clashed with Ricky Davis for a moment, and then in two more steps he had already created a positional advantage.

Facing small forward Jumaine Jones blocking his way, he maintained his speed, using his left hand to reach the ball to the lower right while shifting his body to the left, pulling the ball past him in one step.

Wade's posture was awkward, and Jones's defense was also awkward.

Especially with the sudden shift in his center of gravity, when he tried to adjust and follow, he tripped over himself, lost his balance, and fell to the ground with a thud.

Wade, who had just gotten past him, did not slow down. Facing Boozer, who was coming over to help defend from the other side of the paint, he was fearless and jumped up to make a high-arcing layup.

Buzel leaped forward and fanned the air, but his fan only created air.

The ball went in, and Wade staggered to the ground.

Madison was in an uproar once again.

Wade's attack involved first defending James, then initiating the attack from the backcourt.

He overtook Davis in one move and changed direction to get past Jones.

He even gave Jones a taste of ankle-breaking skill.

Then, facing Boozer's help defense, he made a difficult layup.

The difficulty of this shot is comparable to that of a player making a long run in a football match, beating several players in one go, and finally getting past the goalkeeper one-on-one.

He demonstrated his speed, body control during high-speed propulsion, coordination, and finishing ability to the fullest.

It's no exaggeration to say that there are only a handful of players in the entire league who can pull off the same offensive play.

On the sidelines, Carlisle once again raised his arms.

His face was full of pride, as if to say, "Who else can compare?"

Who can defend against such an attack?

Behind him, in a corner where no one was watching, Leiden did the same thing.

He raised his arms high, as if he were the one who scored the goal.

He believes that given Wade's current performance, the voices questioning his trade of Houston for the third overall pick in the draft should completely disappear after the game.

He's already scoring like Jordan, so who dares to say this trade wasn't profitable?

At this point, the Nuggets and Vandeweghe should be the ones regretting it the most.

Tang Sen also stood up and applauded along with everyone else.

While others focused on Wade's sharp and unpredictable breakthroughs, Tang Sen was more interested in the finishing touch of Wade's final shot.

He's really put his practice into making that side layup.

His final straight-arm high-arcing layup off the backboard was actually a very advanced offensive technique.

In the 98 NBA Finals, Jordan made a game-winning shot that was dubbed the "Shot of the Century" and became world-famous.

But before that shot, there was another crucial layup. In that play, Jordan displayed impeccable attention to detail and gave it his all.

He used his left arm to protect the ball, interrupting Brian Russell's attempt to steal it.

During the advance, he shielded the ball with his waist in advance, avoiding Stockton's attempt to steal it.

When Russell finally reached for the ball again, he was a beat too slow, creating a rhythm difference.

Finally, he used the same move as Wade had just made, avoiding Antoine Carr's block, and scored with a high-arcing layup.

This technique is actually quite similar to a skyhook.

In mid-air, they rely entirely on their strong core strength and body control to turn sideways and avoid defenders.

Finally, raising the arm high, parallel to the backboard, and making a layup off the backboard relies heavily on finger strength and touch.

It looks simple, but it's actually quite difficult.

The fact that Wade can perform this means that his body has been trained to the point where it is ready.

The whistle sounded.

Cavaliers head coach Paul Silas called a timeout.

Wade scored 8 consecutive points, almost taking over the game.

Most importantly, it's impossible to defend against.

He couldn't help but glance at James as he walked off the court.

Silas was overjoyed when he had the opportunity to coach LeBron James.

With James's almost overflowing talent, which head coach wouldn't like him?

But at that moment, Silas had a strange feeling that Wade's talent seemed to be even better than James'.

That kind of extreme speed, body control, and dramatic changes of direction during breakthroughs—he's simply a monster.

In terms of defensive anticipation, offensive decision-making, and shot consistency, he seems to be superior to James in every aspect.

This kind of person seems to be the one who should be the top scholar.

He couldn't help but turn his head to look for Tang Sen's figure across the street.

Is this the magic of top trainers?

A player whose prospects were considered bleak under Tang Sen's guidance underwent a complete transformation in just three months.

Silas couldn't help but wonder what James would become if he trained hard with Tang Sen for three months.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing.

Upon returning from the timeout, James' performance against Wade remained subpar.

His offense was limited, and his defense couldn't stop Wade either.

It didn't feel like a showdown between two rookies; it felt more like a seasoned star in the league was giving a rookie a stern training session.

Yao Ming was already sitting on the sidelines.

Wade became the Knicks' offensive focal point.

In the final three minutes of the first quarter, Wade scored another four points.

12 points in a single quarter.

Compared to James' 7 in a single quarter, it's a complete domination.

This dominance became even more pronounced in the second quarter.

For half of the first quarter, Wade was observing and adapting to James.

In the second quarter, Wade played for more than 9 minutes, shooting 4-for-6 from the field, plus free throws, and also hitting a 3-pointer, scoring 11 points again.

23 points at halftime.

By halftime, the stands were filled with Wade's name.

With over 20 points in the first half, his performance was reminiscent of Yao Ming in his prime.

But today's protagonist, James, only scored 3 points in the second quarter.

Wade's defense against him was spot on.

When it's time to stand up, we won't give an inch.

His predictions were quite accurate, especially when he was blocking James's driving routes.

He would also decisively reach out from time to time to interrupt James' offensive rhythm.

With such defense, James' 1-for-5 shooting percentage proves how badly he was defended.

Wade did not return to the court in the second half.

Carlisle also fielded an all-substitute lineup.

But the score difference has only widened.

The Knicks don't have any bench players; it's the same group of players from last year.

Last year they were already excellent role players. This summer, after three months of hard training with Tang Sen, their physiques were further refined and their skills improved.

These three months of dedicated training have actually yielded results comparable to training during the mid-season breaks of last year.

With its strong offense and defense, the Knicks' roster is not afraid to even play against the opponent's starting lineup.

At the start of the third quarter, they sped up the pace, going on an 11-2 run against the Cavaliers and narrowing the gap to 20 points.

Silas had originally planned to let James play more games.

Looking at it this way, what's the point of fighting?

He felt that the Knicks' players on the court were not much worse than the starters.

107:79.

In a preseason game, the Knicks managed to beat the Cavaliers by almost 30 points.

A perfectly good game of the top draft pick was stolen by Wade's 23 points in the first half.

At the post-game press conference, James, who only scored 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists, tried to explain his poor performance by saying that a preseason game doesn't mean anything.

But the New York media won't let him off the hook so easily.

Or rather, when the New York media wants to lavish praise on Wade, they need to find someone to compare and contrast him with.

Sorry, it can only be James.

The next day, the New York Times ran an extremely exaggerated headline.

[Re-ranking the 03 draft class, the number one pick should change hands]

It's true that some media outlets often like to re-rank rookies, but this time, the season hasn't even started yet, and they're already doing it. It's like they're attacking me directly, questioning whether LeBron James deserves to be the number one draft pick.

When praising their own people, the New York Times feels no qualms or moral boundaries.

They conducted a detailed comparison of Wade's and James' performances when they matched up against each other.

Finally draw a conclusion.

Everyone misjudged Wade; his talent is no less than James', and may even surpass James'.

(End of this chapter)