Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 371 There's only one reason: they're too bad.

Stern, a lawyer by training, is a cunning old fox with a formulaic smile on his face; who knows what he's really thinking?

Tang Sen then silently observed Granick and Stu Jackson.

Let's recall the discussion we just had.

Stu Jackson is responsible for the NBA's day-to-day operations and rule-making; he is in charge of that.

He was a short-haired Black man with a stern, unsmiling face.

He's actually quite humorous; he even cracked a corny joke during the welcoming ceremony.

He undoubtedly supports the changes.

Granic's attitude, on the other hand, seemed rather ambiguous. Recalling what he had just said, it felt like he was just trying to fool or evade the issue.

I've said a lot, but upon closer reflection, it's all just nonsense.

He's in charge of labor relations, but the legal aspects aren't his area of ​​expertise, so he doesn't seem to worry about the rules much.

Thinking of this, Tang Sen said, "David, I need to think about it before I can give you an answer."

Tang Sen is not simply a peacemaker.

Even if the rules are changed, they are still very important and could directly affect the players' playing style.

As a trainer, that would be creating trouble for myself.

These guys always come up with a plan to change the rules on a whim.

After the changes, the players need to adapt.

Players need to adapt, and trainers like Tang Sen also need to help players adapt.

Before, I was just a trainer and couldn't manage these people in the NBA, but now I can.

I need to think this over carefully.

David Stern nodded slightly; his inquiry was clearly not just a polite formality, but rather a genuine indication that he valued Tang Sen's opinion.

So when he heard that Tang Sen needed to think about it, he took the initiative to stop the meeting and said that they would arrange another time to discuss it later.

At this point, Stu Jackson's stern face relaxed, and he even invited Tang Sen to come back for a drink.

"must."

Tang Sen agreed and prepared to leave.

But Stern stopped him.

He just wants to have a drink with Tang Sen right now.

The two arrived at his old-fashioned office.

With no outsiders present, Stern wasn't so aloof and asked Townsend about which team to focus on improving.

Tang Sen mentioned the 12 teams he had chosen.

“Okay.” Stern nodded, which was not much different from what he had expected.

Focusing on strength aims to create a competitive landscape with multiple strong contenders.

But we can't just look at strength; we also have to consider those big cities with good football markets.

As for those small places that lack both strength and a strong football market, it can only be said that the top teams haven't even gotten a taste of success yet, so how could they possibly get a turn?

Then Stern brought up the issue of rule changes.

Clearly, he cares a lot about this.

He spoke quite frankly about why he made this change.

Or rather, he recounted his psychological journey of frequently changing the rules over the past few years.

"After Michael retired, our attention decreased, and our influence among the four major American sports leagues is declining."

Stern was deeply worried.

During Jordan's era, the NBA was once a force to be reckoned with, even rivaling the NFL.

With Jordan's retirement, an era came to an end.

The NFL remains the top dog, while MLB is also developing rapidly.

The NBA these days is almost sitting at the same table as the NHL, which is at the bottom of the league.

"Last season, we were very successful because of the Knicks. The whole of America was talking about us, which is a good thing. So I hope you will join the league and help us."

The Knicks' success this year has truly boosted the NBA's popularity.

The question of when the Knicks will lose is so popular that even the president is concerned, which shows just how high the level of interest is.

Stern continued, "The Knicks were a pleasant surprise, and before that, I was thinking about how to make the game more exciting."

He talked about some of the efforts he had made.

Tang Sen's explanation was essentially that the goal was to weaken O'Neal.

Shaquille O'Neal played with such reckless abandon, yet he was also incredibly strong.

It's a good thing that such a dominant player has emerged in the league.

But even as a center, he can't sell his shoes well, so his influence is definitely not as great as that of a player like Jordan.

So Stern has been looking for the so-called successor to Jordan.

His overall thinking was that audiences still preferred guards. Otherwise, why would fans prefer watching Jordan's flashy one-on-one plays to Shaq's powerful dunks in the paint, even though they were both dominant players?

So he changed the rules, restricting inside players, in an attempt to shift the NBA's focus from the paint to the perimeter.

"Tang, the defenders can help us play a more exciting game."

Stern seemed to have anticipated how Tangsen would refute him, saying, "I think you'll say Yao is special, but he's just an exception."

"In recent years, we have conducted a lot of surveys among fans, and almost 80 percent of the fans said that they prefer to watch the defenders score in the coolest way."

Tang Sen frowned and said, "So you want to further change the rules to make them more favorable to the players' offense?"

At this point, Tang Sen understood Stern's thoughts.

Stern nodded, saying he thought the change would make the game more exciting.

According to the survey, this is what the fans are saying.

Online and in the media, everyone is concerned about how to attack and who can get a higher score.

Go look at the basketball courts; everyone's wearing number 23 or number 8 jerseys, hoping they can be like Jordan or Kobe and score the ball in the coolest way.

The team may be more concerned about the inside game, knowing that the inside game is the cornerstone of the team and that only with a strong inside game can they win a championship.

But the fans don't care about that.

"No!"

Tangsen interrupted Stern.

The old man insisted on asking me what I thought, probably because he felt that as a former player and trainer, I knew more about basketball.

He himself was undecided, so he wanted to get his own support.

Tang Sen gathered his thoughts for a moment and then said, "David, you are the league president. For the sake of the league's revenue, you want to make the games more exciting, which is fine."

Business alliances, after all, are ultimately about making money.

Tang Sen changed his tone and said, "However, basketball is ultimately a competition, a game. What moves the audience may be the players' excellent skills, but more fundamentally, it is about winning and losing."

"I don't think any home team fan who spends tens or hundreds of dollars to buy a ticket to enter the stadium would want to watch their team lose."

"They might enjoy watching what you call a beautiful attack by the defenders, but that's just icing on the cake. They care more about winning and losing."

"If they just want to see flashy scoring, they might as well watch the Harlem Globetrotters. They can spin around in the air and then slam the ball into the basket. That would be much cooler."

Stern nodded thoughtfully and gestured for Tang Sen to continue.

Tang Sen continued, "Like I said, basketball is ultimately a competition. No one likes a one-sided game, and your rule adjustments have actually disrupted the balance between offense and defense."

If I can't even extend my arm when guarding perimeter players, what's the point of defending them?

Just move aside and you can rush in however you want.

Previously, there was also a three-second rule, which was similar in meaning, but it disrupted the balance between offense and defense.

I was originally standing under the basket, and if you came in, I could have blocked your shot.

Now, because of the three-second rule, players must leave the restricted area, which creates an imbalance between the offensive and defensive sides.

At least that was only for three seconds. Now, they're not allowed to reach out at all. It's like treating the defenders like human stakes.

Tang Sen said, "David, you said you did a survey, and all the fans said they like beautiful attacks."

"But have you ever thought that, as viewers, they will only focus on the offense first, so naturally, they will also give feedback that the offense is more important."

"They can't see the defense at all."

"But there's a problem: without a good defense, how can there be a good offense?"

"He is an excellent defender, which forced me to work hard to improve my skills and use more powerful moves to complete the offense."

"Think about those thrilling game-winning goals and incredible shots; they all come from extreme defense that forces out the strongest attacks."

"If you want the game to be more exciting, it's like a spear and a shield. Only when they are equal will both sides keep working on a sharper spear and a stronger shield."

"If you're now demanding that people with shields not raise them in defense, what's the point of them researching powerful shields? They're going to get killed anyway."

"And those who wield spears will not bother to research more powerful spears, because the balance has been broken, and ordinary spears can kill their opponents."

Tang Sen made an analogy.

In Tang Sen's personal opinion, setting aside off-court factors, basketball is ultimately a game.

A balance between offense and defense, where extreme defense forces out extreme offense, is the most reasonable approach.

After a pause, Tang Sen picked up the glass on the table and drank it all in one gulp. Finally, he said, "And David, if you think the perimeter players' offense isn't exciting enough, not entertaining enough..."

"That's definitely not because the rules are against them; there's only one reason: they're too bad."

Back then, with handchecks, elbows were flying everywhere, and you'd get blocked as soon as you drove in. But Jordan still managed to play what Stern called "wonderful basketball."

So why are today's players no good?

Ultimately, it's because they didn't practice enough; they're just bad at the game.

The training level has been continuously improving, and even the drugs have been updated so many times.

At this point, the reason why they couldn't develop the same level of basketball skills as Jordan was simply because they were bad at the game; there was no other reason.

Therefore, instead of the referee stepping in and adjusting the rules to show favoritism, it would be better to think of ways to improve the players' skills.

Stern frowned and fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)