Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 309 At least the victory had some skill involved.
In the last game against the Magic, Billups scored 13 points and still dished out 9 assists.

My teammates are so great, it's so easy to rack up assists.

In this game, Billups showed a strong desire to score from the very beginning.

Most importantly, he's a point guard; the ball is in his hands.

In the first round of the game, he scored three points with a one-on-one play.

In the second possession, he dribbled the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt and once again sat down with his back to Parker.

There was no indication that they intended to pass the ball.

There were no hand signals indicating a tactical maneuver.

Yao Ming and the others could only watch as he backed down Parker twice in a row, sending him to the free-throw line.

Billups is 1.91 meters tall and weighs 95 kilograms, which is heavier than some shooting guards, making him a true heavyweight guard.

His explosiveness and athleticism aren't actually that good; he doesn't rely on speed to make a living, so he just gained weight.

Tang Sen also worked hard to improve his strength and enhance his combat capabilities.

He has no problem even with a tall point guard like Kidd.

Near the free-throw line, Billups timed his pace and then, with an extremely cunning gesture, pretended to pass the ball.

The defender backs down to advance the ball, then suddenly passes it – these are all standard maneuvers.

Parker was jolted by the sudden movement.

Then Billups leaned against Parker and forced his way around.

Against a fast point guard, Billups might not be able to drive straight to the basket.

His current method of breaking through is to back down the opponent and then use his physical advantage to force a turn and drive to the basket.

With a powerful push and a flick of his wrist, Billups threw Parker behind him.

It can be said that everything was completely cleaned up.

However, he didn't venture deeper; with Duncan's help defense, there was absolutely no chance of him penetrating.

Billups took a quick stop and shot right after facing the basket.

Even so, Duncan was already making a move to rush over and help defend.

Go in again.

Yao Ming and others had strange expressions.

The game has started, but the ball hasn't even been touched yet.

On the sidelines, Tedeschi quickly nudged Tang Sen with his elbow and whispered, "What's going on?"

Billups didn't used to play like this.

Even when they want to attack, they only do so when the tactics haven't been fully implemented.

Now, nobody passes the ball anymore.

Tang Sen thought for a moment and said, "Actually, he was originally an offensive point guard."

Offensive point guard?
Tederski was genuinely taken aback.

In his memory, Billups was the only point guard in the entire league who had passed the elementary school training program, a team-oriented point guard who was also the head coach's brain on the court.

An offensive point guard? That's completely out of the question.

Tang Sen countered, "Think about the first few seasons of Chauncey's season. Am I wrong?"

Billups, who had only been in the league for a few years, was primarily a scoring point guard.

In his rookie season, he averaged four three-point attempts per game.

In his second season, he averaged 5 shots per game.

The reason he ended up without a team and was called a bust was because he took too many shots with a very low shooting percentage, earning him the label of "reckless shooter".

In previous seasons, his field goal percentage never exceeded 40%.

Based on the data, he is a point guard who likes to shoot and score.

It was only after he came to the Magic and followed me that he developed an excellent overall perspective and outstanding organizational skills.

Now that he has developed offensive skills, it wouldn't be a problem for him to be a little selfish and score more points in his contract year.

In the end, I'll say it again: he made the shot, and scoring points is what matters.

As we were talking, the third round began.

Billups continued to dribble the ball from the backfield all the way to the front.

There was no indication that they intended to pass the ball.

The others also instinctively pulled away, watching Billups' performance.

He started with a back-to-the-basket move, pushing Parker into the three-point line, then turned around and used his upper body to create space.

Hold the ball at your waist, suddenly blast it, step back, pull it up and throw it.

Still three points.

Parker couldn't interfere even with his outstretched arm.

Go in again!

Carlisle touched his chin again, feeling that this was not good. Everyone spread out and stopped even running the tactics, just watching Billups play one-on-one.

Does this sound like a word?

The problem is that Billups was on fire and scored.

In three rounds, they scored 8 points in a row.

Leading the team to an 8-2 lead, a perfect start.

Carlyle felt extremely awkward, like he had written something random during an exam and ended up getting it all right.

He was still able to sit still, but Popovich on the other side had already started standing on the sidelines roaring.

His only feeling right now was, "What the hell is this?"

You're a top head coach, what about your tactics?

Have everyone spread out, and then watch a point guard isolate and attack from the high post?

They fought for three rounds in a row.

Moreover, this strange state seems to have infected the Spurs as well.

When Parker was repeatedly called out by Billups while he was in a high position, everyone else just stood there dumbfounded.

It was the people from the past who helped!

Popovich angrily yelled and gestured at Stephen Jackson.

"What the hell!"

After giving him a word of advice, Popovich sat back down, cursing under his breath.

Watching the Knicks play now is like watching a group of star players mindlessly go one-on-one during last year's Men's Basketball World Championship, when he was an assistant coach sitting on the bench.

Even though the Dream Team could win against this team, at least they won with some skill involved.

Duncan scored against Bender in a one-on-one situation.

Popovich applauded and cheered.

Duncan remains the Spurs' strongest scoring option.

Then, Billups came along.

Parker was still named by a high-ranking player.

Parker felt like cursing too.

I'm anxious to defend, but you can't bully people like this.

Stephen Jackson pounced on him quickly.

As soon as he got close, Billups passed the ball.

While he plays one-on-one, Billups doesn't just blindly go for it.

If you have the ability to take on Parker one-on-one, why not take the opportunity when it comes?

Wade was open, and he pulled up for a long two-pointer.

Throughout the summer, starting from the second month, he practiced high-intensity shooting drills, shooting at least 500 shots a day. With such open opportunities, Wade had no reason to miss.

On the sidelines, Popovich had no time to yell or complain about the Knicks' overly simplistic tactics.

The tactics are simple, but effective. In fact, this is the core of tactics: using offensive strengths to draw the defense and create scoring opportunities for teammates.

Popovich simply didn't expect that this strength would come from Billups.

In his memory, Billups was unassuming and quietly organized the attack.

When did I develop such a consistent scoring ability?

Just then, under Billups's relentless defense, Parker almost lost the ball.

Popovich's gaze grew even more serious.

He watched the Knicks vs. Magic game video many times.

The more I looked, the more frightened I became.

The most striking thing is that every player on the Knicks, from the starters to the bench, has impressive defensive skills.

Billups has weight, is strong in physical confrontations, and has decent lateral movement; he was originally an excellent point guard.

When he returned this season, his defense had improved and he was incredibly experienced.

This kind of high-pressing defense is very effective.

Jackson's mid-range shot missed.

Billups is back.

In this quarter, he played entirely as the ball-handler.

Parker, despite his physical disadvantages, simply couldn't defend Billups, and if a Spurs player came over to help defend, Billups would pass the ball without hesitation.

His support capabilities improved dramatically.

With almost three minutes left in the first quarter, Yao Ming finally received the ball.

Nestero sat with his back to him, not even glancing at him, and immediately turned to strike.

Even with that big white guy, Yao Ming could beat him with one hand.

However, in the first quarter, Billups undoubtedly stole the show.

He turned Parker's French sports car into a French junk.

He scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the quarter.

He also made one steal.

They even held Parker to 0-for-3 shooting in the quarter, scoring no points.

Billups was wary of Duncan and couldn't penetrate him, but Yao Ming standing in the paint had an intimidating presence no less than Duncan's, so Parker dared to penetrate.

In terms of pure shooting, his shooting ability is far from adequate.

Moreover, Billups scored 12 points in a single quarter in just over 9 minutes of play.

If they play the whole quarter, it's possible to score 15 points in a single quarter.

The Knicks are making rotations.

Popovich hesitated for a moment, but still kept the starters on the court.

At the end of the first quarter, the Spurs trailed 19-31, down by 12 points. How could he dare to rotate players?

Moreover, Popovich had considered before the game to give the starters more playing time in order to minimize the Knicks' strong bench advantage.

But it seems to have had limited effect.

Because the Spurs' own offense wasn't working well either.

Firstly, there's the long-standing problem of poor scoring ability, consistently scoring in the 80s or 90s.

If you can score over 100 points, you're already in a hot hand.

Secondly, the Knicks have a sharp offense and a strong defense; apart from Duncan, everyone else was completely shut down.

Popovich didn't expect Nesterovic to score any points against Yao Ming's defense.

Bowen's offensive abilities were also limited; he was a defensive player.

Gerrard can guard McGrady, so how is Bowen going to score?

Parker was defended like this again.

Then there's Stephen Jackson. He has a height advantage against Wade, but Wade has amazing speed and his defense is also quite good.

There's only Duncan left.

In this situation, the Spurs were still able to score 19 points, all thanks to Duncan's 11 points in a single quarter, which dominated Bender.

So after one quarter, Popovich had quickly grasped the situation.

The Spurs' advantage lies solely in Duncan.

In other positions, they are not as good as the Knicks in every aspect.

If the Knicks choose to double-team Duncan at this point, the Spurs are doomed.

But it didn't.

Even in the second quarter, when Duncan repeatedly scored against McDyess, who had a leg injury and was slow on his feet, Carlisle's buttocks seemed glued to the chair, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Carlisle didn't care at all.

Because the Knicks were still leading in the score, and even intended to widen the gap.

The Spurs' bench is not as good as the Knicks'.

The scoring ability of the Knicks' role players is not much worse than that of the starters.

Chandler's low-post hook shot, Prince's outside shot.

There's also Wade playing with his substitutes.

Finally, Billups went down.

In the first quarter, he took 3 shots and scored 4 points.

Now we've finally gotten a chance to make a move.

Facing the Argentinian in front of him, Wade remained fearless, making a breakthrough and pulling up for a jump shot, scoring 6 points in a very short time, causing a stir among the Spurs' perimeter players.

Once the main players returned, Yao Ming tried to exert his strength again.

Then Billups came back and went one-on-one against Parker time and time again.

In the second quarter, Billups scored another 8 points.

The first half has reached 20 points.

At halftime, the Knicks led by a full 21 points, with the score at 63-42.

Popovich was completely stunned.

He felt that even against the Lakers, the Spurs wouldn't have been beaten like this.

Moreover, after thinking about it carefully, he felt that the Spurs' performance wasn't problematic.

Parker is still young, and his performance is often inconsistent.

The Spurs are poor, their roster isn't good enough, and their role players' performances are inconsistent.

But in this situation, Duncan would usually step up to support the team.

Duncan preserved the Spurs' floor.

So even when things are at their worst, the Spurs can score 40 points in the first half and 80 points in the whole game without much pressure.

By utilizing their strong defense to suppress the opponent's offense, the Spurs can still win.

Parker was completely outplayed in this game, but the Spurs still managed to score 42 points in the first half.

Duncan also scored 23 points in the first half, fulfilling his role as the team's anchor.

On the offensive end, the Spurs were a bit lacking, but Popovich felt it was okay, just the Spurs' normal level.

This allowed the Knicks to score over 60 points in the first half...

Popovich suddenly understood why the Knicks weren't double-teaming Duncan anymore.

Because it's completely unnecessary.

Carlisle probably thinks that even if he lets Duncan score freely, how many points can he actually get?

60 points in the first half?
Even if the Spurs worked themselves to death, they couldn't do it.

Therefore, the Knicks simply didn't bother to double-team Duncan.

He was the regular season MVP.

(End of this chapter)