Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 410 Potential to be tapped
at the post-game press conference.

Jackson spoke candidly: "The Suns played well, but we are stronger. Kobe and Shaq played exceptionally well; they are the best players in the world."

"And I have always reiterated that we have only one goal, and that is the championship."

After exchanging a few perfunctory words, Jackson hurriedly left the scene.

He returned to the locker room, gave a few instructions, and then went back to his office.

After the players left and Rambis was about to leave work, he noticed that the light was still on in Jackson's office.

Push the door open and enter.

In the cramped office, Jackson was wearing glasses and watching television intently.

The TV is showing a recording of the match that just took place.

"Phil, aren't you going back yet?" Lambis said with a hint of teasing.

Satisfying Jenny is no easy task.

Jackson waved to Rambis, gesturing for him to sit down, then pointed at the television and said, "Kurt, the Suns' current style of play is quite interesting."

In today's game, the Suns once led the Lakers, but ultimately lost by only 7 points.

A 7-point difference isn't really a big deal.

It's possible that they didn't execute their tactics well in the last few rounds and lacked some luck.

"The Suns played really well right up to the end of the game, which is incredible."

The Lakers played well today.

Kobe scored 39 points and Shaq scored 31 points; these were both normal performances for them.

But they only won by 7 points, which is alarming.

Jackson continued, "I rewatched the game and I noticed that the Suns' offensive focus has changed, shifting from Dwight to Steve."

"Throughout the game, Steve was in possession of the ball. His pick-and-roll drives were very threatening, and he was always able to pass the ball out after his drives."

"Under this style of play, Dwight's scoring has not decreased; on the contrary, their offense has become more fluid."

In this game against O'Neal, Howard scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, a truly impressive performance.

Jackson believes that Nash deserves most of the credit for Howard's performance.

Nash made several drives to the basket, creating offensive opportunities for Howard.

Rambis reflected on the game and said that Jackson might be right: the Suns had changed their offensive focus.

but?
"Phil, what exactly are you trying to say?" Lambis asked.

Jackson was watching television.

Marion set a screen, and Nash suddenly started moving the moment he gathered the ball.

This is his usual tactic; he's adept at finding a balance between movement and stillness. After making his move, Nash didn't go any deeper.

Upon reaching the free-throw line, he immediately moved sideways and made an L-shaped breakthrough.

But that was enough to lure O'Neal out to help with defense.

As Nash moved, without even looking, he bounced the ball off the ground, sending it flying past O'Neal's armpit and precisely into Howard's hands under the basket.

With a wide-open shot, Howard slammed the ball into the basket with a windmill dunk.

Jackson's gaze deepened, and he said, "What I mean is that the Suns have great potential and may become a formidable opponent for us."

To be honest, Jackson didn't take the Suns seriously before.

But today's sun is different.

Rambis was startled and said, "Phil, stop joking. Even if the Suns make the playoffs, what will they use to beat us?"

They've become a formidable rival to the Lakers; they don't deserve it.

Jackson had guessed that Lambis would say that.

Based on the Suns' performance last month, it was not worth paying attention to.

But now?

The sun is changing, and it looks like it's getting better.

There was another point that Jackson dared not ignore.

Those are the five starting players for the Suns, all of whom were trained by Townsend.

Especially Howard.

Even before entering the league, during his high school years, Tang Sen personally took notice of him and brought him under his wing, training him for a full six months.

Jackson felt that Howard still had untapped potential.

For example, defense. A center who combines strength, athleticism, and jumping ability is a natural-born excellent defender.

But D'Antoni, whether he's bad at coaching defense or something else, didn't seem to capitalize on Howard's strengths in that area.

Once D'Antoni realizes this, he should start developing Howard's defense.

Then the Suns team will be in a very competitive situation.

Seeing that Lambis didn't believe him, Jackson didn't argue and told them to go home.

The Suns are a distant concern, and it's uncertain whether they can become a formidable rival. The Lakers' immediate concern is the Knicks.

That giant on the East Coast is the Lakers' biggest rival.

This season, with the loss of some players and a decline in roster strength, Yao Ming has taken on more offensive responsibilities.

A month later, Yao Ming began to exert his strength.

He's already earned the honors of assist leader and triple-double average, so he's no longer fixated on passing and is now fully focused on attacking.

Since the beginning of December, Yao Ming has scored over 40 points on consecutive occasions.

Such offensive firepower has attracted the attention of the entire league.

On the scoring list, Iverson leads the league with an average of 33.8 points per game, but it feels like Yao Ming could take Iverson's throne.

His attack is now unstoppable, with no blind spots; it's impossible to defend against him.

Meanwhile, D'Antoni, with his team, returned to Phoenix overnight, completely satisfied.

This head-to-head matchup against the Lakers solidified D'Antoni's thinking.

We have to make Nash the core of our tactics, and let him handle the ball and distribute it.

On the 10th, the Suns will host the newly formed Bobcats.

Howard will face off against another top prospect in the draft's frontcourt.

Having played three years in college, Okafor's skills are clearly more mature than Howard's.

But Tang Sen didn't look at this during training camp.

Winning first doesn't guarantee victory; sometimes, even a slow starter can come from behind and surpass the finisher.

Most importantly, Tang Sen believes that Okafor's potential is visible.

His physical attributes are really not as good as Howard's, and he doesn't have the top-level talent of a supermodel.

He is undoubtedly a basketball genius, but he is also too mediocre. He has no obvious weaknesses, but he also does not have extraordinary talent.

His career is unremarkable; his potential might only be 20 plus 10.

Therefore, during the training camp, all Tang Sen could do was to strengthen and improve upon his existing skills.

However, the Bobcats have played quite well this season, currently ranking seventh in the Eastern Conference. As a new team in the league, it's not bad to maintain this position.

A large part of the reason is because of Prince.

Prince averaged 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, a very impressive performance, and he was practically the current Elvis Presley.

He and Okafor, one inside and one outside, are enough to carry the Bobcats.

However, the Suns won this game very easily.

After confirming Nash as the tactical core, Nash on the court seemed to suddenly know how to play basketball, making all sorts of flashy passes and leading the Suns to a lead throughout the game.

112 to 101.
It's rare to see the Suns defeat the Bobcats by 11 points.

With such an excellent point guard feeding him the ball, Howard completely outplayed Okafor, scoring a team-high 29 points.

The efficiency was also extremely high, with 13 out of 19 scores.

After defeating the Bobcats, the Suns faced another challenge.

They will host the Magic.

This was broadcast live across the entire United States.

Before the game, Barkley was still saying that this game was a foregone conclusion.

Recently, I don't know which media outlet started stirring up the idea that the strongest shooting guard in the post-Jordan era is.

Iverson, Kobe, McGrady.

Carter has fallen behind.

The media stirred things up, and fans from all three sides engaged in heated online debates, creating quite a stir.

Spurred on by these comments, McGrady has been playing exceptionally well in recent games.

Surprisingly, the Suns won this game 108-104.

(End of this chapter)