Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 317 Top scorers in the league don't seem so out of reach after all.
Like Jackson, Carlisle used the same tactic for this game.

That means Yao Ming was given a rest.

He announced that he had a cold and would miss the game against the Celtics on the 17th.

Whether someone has a cold or not, New Yorkers know perfectly well.

But I don't care.

For teams in smaller markets, there's also the concern that tickets won't sell if their star players don't play.

Knicks?
This situation simply does not exist.

Even if Yao Ming misses every game, it doesn't stop Madison from having a high demand for tickets.

Not to mention that, besides Yao Ming, many of the team's role players also have a large following in New York thanks to last year's Road to Glory documentary.

For example, Chandler.

After the players came out to play that evening, Chandler immediately spotted a boy in the stands holding up a sign.

There is a sentence written on it.

That guy's finally resting, Tyson. Fight hard and make sure he never comes back.

Chandler understood what he was trying to say.

But if you think you can push Yao Ming to the bench with just one good performance, you're overestimating yourself.

For the visiting Celtic players, it felt like a windfall.

Jim O'Brien was particularly humble before the game.

This season, Ainge began to make his mark, ruthlessly trading away Walker.

Boston media called it settling a personal score.

The two had argued because Walker was taking too many three-pointers.

But Ainge argued that the Eastern Conference is not what it used to be, and that you can't survive in the East without a strong center.

So he set his sights on LaFrentz, praising him as someone who could anchor the Celtics' interior defense.

The idea was beautiful, but the reality was cold and cruel.

After the trade, Lafrentz excitedly boasted that he could average 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, but before the season even officially started, his right knee was already sore.

He barely managed to play 7 games before being sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Anyway, the Celtics plunged headfirst into this deep pit.

Most importantly, in recent seasons, the competition in the East has been no less intense than in the West.

With the Magic, Nets, Knicks, Pacers, and Pistons rising in succession, the Celtics' record has gradually declined, and they have fallen out of contention for a top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Therefore, O'Brien knew he was inferior to his opponent and only asked for a lenient beating.

He figured that with Yao Ming absent, he couldn't possibly lose by 40 points again.

But unexpectedly, with Yao Ming absent, Wade exploded.

The Celtics' starting shooting guard, Jumaine Jones, is a standard small forward with a significant height advantage over Wade.

However, this advantage turned into a disadvantage in the game.

Wade is too fast.

It starts quickly and can easily get past Jones in one step.

Once the game started, Jones couldn't keep up with Wade's pace at all.

The Celtics' interior defense was wide open, despite their obsession with three-pointers.

In the first quarter, Wade dominated the Celtics' paint, scoring 13 points with a combination of drives and shots.

After a powerful dunk, Wade couldn't help but grab his jersey and roar with excitement.

Finally, I've found a bit of the feeling of being a savior.

After all, when he came to the Knicks, he knew what his responsibilities were.

He trained hard all summer, hoping to shine like Brown or Yao Ming, but he never expected that the Knicks didn't need him to save them at all.

Sometimes Wade thinks that it's not a good thing that the team is too strong, because it makes it hard for him to show his skills.

The key is that I'm really amazing.

With Yao Ming absent today, Wade finally found his rhythm and could score at will.

He was on fire, and in the second quarter, seeing that the opponent had strengthened their defense, he immediately switched his playing style, trying to pull up for a jump shot after a drive, as well as shooting three-pointers from the outside.

Summer is over, the new season has begun, but training is not over yet.

With his wife and son away, living in an apartment, and practicing relentlessly between home and work, Wade had only one thing on his mind: to become famous.

His side-step shooting felt better and better, and Tang Sen said that once he mastered his shooting, he could teach him his post-up game.

To match McGrady and Kobe, you need post-up skills.

After all, his goal was to become like Jordan, who was 5 centimeters shorter.

In the second quarter, Wade scored 11 points in 7 minutes of playing time.

24 points at halftime.

The milder form of abuse that Jim O'Brien hoped for did not occur.

Yao Ming didn't play, but if Chandler were to follow Brown's development path and really let loose, he could also get 20 points and 10 rebounds.
At halftime, Chandler had 13 points and 8 rebounds.

Tony Batty was so badly beaten that he questioned his existence.

The score was 58-41 at halftime.

Despite missing a key player, the Knicks still dominated their opponents by 17 points.

Jim O'Brien turned green.

But there was nowhere to vent my anger.

They gave up a top-class center; what else can you say?

He felt that if Yao Ming were on the court, the score difference would likely be more than 20 points by halftime.

Ultimately, the Knicks easily defeated the Celtics 114-83.

Despite Yao Ming's absence, they still managed to create a huge point difference of 31 points.

After the game, O'Brien left New York dejectedly, saying, "I think only the Lakers can challenge them."

There's only one opponent left: the Lakers.

On the 18th, the Lakers lost to the Pistons 86-89, a narrow 3-point defeat.

O'Neal had the same old problem again: pain in his big toe, which caused him to miss the game.

If Yao Ming has caught a cold, then Shaquille O'Neal's toes must be really sore.

Malone and Payton played for a combined 30 minutes.

Kobe, on the other hand, played a grueling 37 minutes, scoring 34 points in a losing effort.

After the game, Pistons' new head coach Larry Brown joked that although they won the game, he wasn't happy at all.

Because the Lakers weren't playing seriously.

Then, like the Lakers, they boarded a plane to their away game that very night.

The Lakers flew to New York overnight.

It was already 1 a.m. when I arrived in New York.

Although it was late at night, the airport was still packed with reporters trying to interview the Lakers players.

No one agreed to be interviewed, and the group hurriedly boarded the bus and headed to the hotel.

The hotel was the same; it was full of reporters.

And there are fans in New York.

This is New York, the world-famous city that never sleeps.

The restless New York fans tried to give the Lakers a hard time.

Right outside the hotel entrance, a large number of Knicks fans held up various signs and taunted the Lakers.

The words above infuriated the Lakers players.

Karl Malone, if you had retired with the Jazz, you would have been a legend. It's a shame you went to the Lakers, you coward!

Malone's eyes immediately turned red.

Our defense is definitely tighter than the girl you slept with yesterday.

Payton's face darkened as well.

You'll always be number two.

Someone held up a sign and banged on the car window to show Kobe what they were saying.

Kobe wasn't angry; he just coldly gestured for him to shut up.

Only O'Neal.

Not only was he not angry, but he was also cheerful, pointing at a cartoon of Yao Ming riding a shark and laughing out loud.

It's not that he's carefree.

O'Neal is certainly not petty. The next day, after the locker room opened, O'Neal directly yelled at the reporters.

"Although Yao calls me Lu Bu, and I like that nickname, today I'm going to score 50 points on his head."

O'Neal proudly raised his large hand, opened it, and placed it next to his cheek, gesturing for reporters to take photos.

He remembers it all.

Last season, in their first encounter, Yao Ming treated himself to a hotpot meal and scored 49 points over his own head.

One point short of 50 points!
This revenge must be avenged.

Apart from O'Neal, no one else from either team made any harsh remarks.

Kobe simply said he was too busy and declined all interviews.

The two head coaches did the same thing, exchanging a few perfunctory pleasantries before ending the interview.

This oppressive atmosphere gave many reporters a sense that a storm was brewing.

Inside the TNT studio.

The atmosphere became inexplicably tense.

Barkley finally couldn't take it anymore and yelled, "This is like Star Wars!"

It was as if two empires had deployed all their starships, lined up in formation across the universe, and were preparing for a great battle.

One team has four All-Stars, each a household name, and can be considered a legendary player.

On the other hand, the young calves are not afraid of tigers, or rather, these young calves have grown into fierce tigers.

They are undefeated since the start of the season, with a 10-game winning streak and an average of 117 points per game, leading the entire league and a full 12 points ahead of the second-place Mavericks.

The atmosphere at the scene was extremely heated.

Looking out from the sidelines, all you see are socialites and celebrities.

Even Jordan caught a whiff of it and came over.

The camera focused on Jordan.

He was standing on the sidelines, talking to Tang Sen.

Jordan was stood up by Townsend when it came to becoming a team owner, but he wasn't angry.

At this moment, the camera panned to Becky Harmon next to Tangsen.

Tang Sen had his arm around Harmon, as if he were joking with Jordan, his face full of smiles.

Smith suddenly spotted something interesting and said, "Isn't that the girl next to Tang the point guard from the Liberty team? What's her name again?"

Barkley immediately perked up and asked in surprise, "Is Tang in love?"

After saying that, his eyes darted around, and he exclaimed, "Oh no, does this mean Tang will stay in New York forever?"

Since we're in a relationship, I'll definitely have to take care of my girlfriend and stay in New York to develop my career.

While many media outlets analyze the Knicks' strength, they believe what's even more terrifying is that the Knicks' path can be replicated indefinitely.

The key figure is Tang Sen.

As long as the Knicks can retain Townsend, they can continue to replicate Redden's team-building plan.

Select rookies, nurture them for a few years, and once they've made it big and are ready to sign big contracts, trade them for draft picks, then continue selecting talented players and start another round.

In this way, the Knicks can always remain competitive and don't even have to worry about their salaries exploding.

Some media outlets have predicted that if the Knicks actually do this, they will be even more formidable than the Celtics who once dominated the league.

The camera moved away, then quickly moved back.

Several times in a row, even after Tangsen and Harmon sat down, he kept lingering on the two of them.

"They seem to get along quite well," Smith muttered.

It's very likely that Tang Sen will stay in New York forever.

Tang Sen was completely unaware that he had inadvertently stolen the spotlight. He stood outside the crowd and listened to Carlisle's final words of encouragement before the match.

"Let the people of Los Angeles know that they only won the championship by luck last year."

Carlisle was menacing.

The subtext is that if the Knicks had made it to the Finals last year, the Lakers would have been out of the running.

Last year, the Magic overexerted themselves in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Knicks didn't. They have a bunch of useful role players, and if they make it to the Finals, they might just crush the Lakers.

"Win."

Yao Ming stretched out his hand and looked around at the crowd.

Hands were placed on top of each other, and finally everyone turned their heads to look at Tang Sen.

Tang Sen paused for a moment, then squeezed into the crowd and placed his hand on it.

"champion!"

Tang Sen shouted "Champion!"

Everyone was taken aback, then echoed in unison.

The match officially started at 7:30 p.m.

During the jump ball, O'Neal had already started making threats, gesturing with the tattoo on his shoulder and saying arrogantly, "Yao, I am Lu Bu."

Yao Ming saw those two words, his eyes twitched, but he didn't say anything.

He leaped forward and, as always, swiped the basketball away.

The game officially begins.

Billups controlled the pace, while the others quickly spread out.

The area under the basket is open.

Billups lobbed the ball into the paint.

On the left side of the basket, O'Neal immediately exerted force, pushing Yao Ming outwards.

The force was as great as ever, and Yao Ming was forced to retreat uncontrollably.

But don't panic.

I'm not a novice anymore; I have enough experience to handle any challenge.

He retreated smoothly, swayed towards the baseline, and pretended to turn and cut inside, causing O'Neal to instinctively pull back and prepare to block.

Yao Ming turned around, but took a big step outward with his left foot, and then completed the turn and jumped.

As he turned, he had already raised the ball, and after facing the basket, he immediately pulled it up and shot backwards.

That precise control of the moment left O'Neal speechless.

2 points earned.

Yao Ming didn't say a word and quickly ran away.

Previously, when he leaned back to shoot, he would turn towards the baseline, but now he can also turn towards the baseline.

It's nothing more than a few more footwork movements; it won't stump him.

O'Neal cursed under his breath and immediately moved towards the paint, reaching out for the ball.

Payton didn't pass it; he passed it to Kobe instead.

Carlisle glanced at Jackson on the other side of the court, and it seemed that the Lakers had also chosen to use a strategy of one-on-one attacks.

Kobe tried to back down Wade, but after a couple of attempts, he realized he couldn't really get past him.

The guy in front of me was stronger than I had imagined.

He feints with his left shoulder, turns towards the top of the line, and pretends to shoot. The movement is realistic. If the opponent is faked out, he can take a step up or down to finish the shot.

But this time, Wade didn't fall for the fake. He even took a step to the side on the upper line, blocking Kobe's possible up and down steps.

Kobe had already collected the ball, but the attack was forced to stop. Helpless, he faked another shot and opted for a fadeaway jumper.

Only then did Wade leap up as if following closely behind.

Don't let his short stature fool you, he can jump high, and the key is that he can leap up in a flash.

With a clang, the basketball hit the frame and came out.

Yao Ming didn't catch the rebound.

O'Neal looked indignant and gave Kobe a look that seemed to say: Why didn't you pass it to me?

Kobe ignored him and just looked at Wade with surprise.

Just that one attack, he felt that 95 percent of the players in the league would fall for the fake, but Wade didn't fall for it at all.

Wade ignored him and ran away quickly.

But in my heart I was thinking, all those moves you used were taught to you by Tang Sen. He tortured me all summer long. If I were to fall for his tricks, wouldn't all that torture have been for nothing?

Also, Wade suddenly remembered that Tang Sen had mentioned Kobe to him before, commenting that Kobe's acting skills weren't very good. Now that he was talking to him, he found that it was indeed true.

That feinting motion to shoot was just too fake.

Moreover, it lacks the ability to immediately turn a fake into a real one if it fails to work.

Thinking about this, Wade suddenly realized that the league's top scorers weren't so unattainable or invincible after all.

(End of this chapter)