Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 431 Do You Want to Be a Hero?
When the Suns came to Sacramento, they stayed at a hotel not far from the Kings' home stadium, ARCO Arena, for convenience.

The team booked half a floor of the hotel. D'Antoni's room faced the ARCO arena, and from the balcony, he could see the promotional posters outside the ARCO arena from afar.

Whether it was a provocation or not, one of the promotional posters displayed the score of 3-0 in a huge number.

This made D'Antoni very upset.

But the reality is that the Suns are down 0-3 and are struggling to secure a win.

In NBA history, there has never been a case of a team coming back from a 0-3 deficit in the playoffs to win the series.

Not once.

Even when it went to a tiebreaker, they only managed two attempts, and lost both.

So even though he was unwilling to accept it, D'Antoni's rationality told him that there was no hope left and he had to accept defeat.

Even the players seemed to have given up, their momentum completely gone.

But D'Antoni's inner resentment prevented him from returning to Phoenix with such a defeat.

Even if we lose, we can't lose 4-0. We have to win at least one game to show the world that our tactics aren't so bad.

With that in mind, D'Antoni turned around, ready to find his assistant coach to discuss tactics for tomorrow's game.

At that moment, he received a call from Peterson.

Over the phone, Peterson expressed his regret and advised D'Antoni to take it easy.

No team can succeed overnight.

Even the mighty Knicks experienced disappointment and failure in their first season.

Last year, the Suns were chasing the number one draft pick, and this year they've already made it back to the playoffs. This is a great result, and D'Antoni has proven himself.

"I know, but I'm just not reconciled. I don't think we have any problems." D'Antoni clenched his fist silently.

They even beat the Knicks, so that must prove something.

Peterson remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Mike, I do have some ideas."

As an outsider, I shouldn't be pointing fingers.

Peterson would only feel guilty if his ideas led to the team's loss.

If that's the case, then it's better not to say anything.

But he could tell that D'Antoni hadn't given up yet, and after some hesitation, he decided to share his thoughts.

In the past few days, he watched the Suns' games and also watched the recordings of the first two games. He studied them carefully and actually came up with some ideas.

“Mike, do you remember 84?” Peterson’s words pulled D’Antoni back to distant memories.

Peterson continued, "In '84, when we were just learning from the NBA and introduced the three-point line, I had you try to learn the Lakers' style of play."

In the 1980s, the Lakers' Showtime era became world-renowned.

Peterson from the United States tried to imitate this style of play, asking D'Antoni to pass the ball like Magic Johnson and shoot like Byron Scott.

D'Antoni nodded; they were very successful in Europe during that period.

Peterson continued, "To put it bluntly, your current fast-paced style, or what you call run-and-gun, is actually just Showtime's style of play."

D'Antoni seemed to be deep in thought.

The media always says that the Suns are playing the fast-paced style of Don Nelson, and some media even joke that they should pay Nelson royalties.

But deep down, D'Antoni didn't quite agree with this view.

My own Run and Gun style of play definitely has elements of Fast & Furious, but it's more structured.

The source of this inspiration was that he himself had followed Peterson in Europe back then, imitating the Lakers' Showtime style of play.

The two are very similar.

For example, when initiating a rebound play, great importance is placed on securing defensive rebounds.

For example, during the Showtime period, Magic Johnson would often pass the ball to Worthy and Scott in the bottom corners during fast breaks.

Then, with Magic Johnson as the core, he would handle the ball, distribute it, and connect the team.

They will also play a lot of high-low post combinations.

"Dan, what are you trying to say?" D'Antoni countered.

Peterson said in a deep voice, "Mike, I want you to understand that back then, there was no doubt about Irwin's role in that Lakers team, but without Kareem, they might not have achieved such glory."

"Karim is an unstoppable offensive player and the core of the defense. Most importantly, he is always reliable when the team needs to score."

“Mike, Dwight may not be at the same level as Karim, but he is strong enough. He is like Karim, and when the team needs someone to step up, you have to trust him.”

"And you're facing the Kings. Think about why the Kings have never been able to win a championship before. It's because their interior defense isn't strong enough."

"But you have such an excellent center, I really think you should build around him and maximize his abilities."

"Mike, think about it carefully."

Peterson hung up the phone. D'Antoni sat there, not getting up for a long time.

Peterson's words unsettled him and also served as a wake-up call.

D'Antoni couldn't help but think that the current Suns were quite similar to the Showtime Lakers of yesteryear.

There was a top-tier point guard named Nash, who had excellent offensive skills and unpredictable passing abilities.

There are strikers like Scott, as steady as Ray Allen.

There's also someone like Worthy, who can play both the three and four positions, can drive and shoot, is physically strong, and can defend like Marion.

Most importantly, there is a top center in the league, Dwight Howard, who is ranked fourth.

As Peterson said, the core of that Lakers team was Johnson, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was equally important, especially in tough games.

After sitting for an unknown amount of time, D'Antoni finally got up, found his assistant coach, and discussed tomorrow's strategy.

He hasn't given up yet and believes there's still hope for the team.

The next day, in the locker room before the game.

D'Antoni rarely gives motivational speeches.

Tell it to Nash, tell it to Ray Allen.

Especially Nash, you said you were willing to accept the Suns' contract and come to Phoenix, was it just for a first-round playoff exit?

Are you willing?

And Ray Allen, you've been relentlessly pursuing a championship, are you truly content with that?

His words silenced the two men, but their eyes blazed with fury.

As for Howard, D'Antoni changed his strategy again.

It's still praise.

“Dwight, Brad is a big idiot, he doesn’t even deserve to be compared to you.”

"In today's match, I will play with you as the core player."

"You want to become a superstar, don't you want to shine God's glory all over the league? Then do you want to be a hero, a hero who saves our whole team?"

"Dwight, I believe in you. I believe you can lead us to victory like God."

These words struck a chord with Howard, igniting his passion.

He jumped to his feet and pointed at everyone in a resounding voice, saying, "Pass me the ball, I'm sure I can score!"

Howard said it, and he did it.

In the first quarter, he stopped muttering to himself, and his serious expression was no longer that of a boy, but that of a man.

His playing style can be summed up in one word: tough!

What great polar bear? They're all just chickens and dogs.

In the first quarter, the Suns changed their playing style from the previous three games and started playing a positional game.

He repeatedly lobbed the ball into the paint.

Then, under the watchful eyes of 20,000 fans at ARCO Arena, Howard repeatedly scored against Miller in one-on-one battles.

He used every trick in the book, completely overwhelming Miller with his physical and technical abilities.

In the first quarter, he scored a whopping 17 points, single-handedly dominating the Kings' interior defense.

That wasn't enough; after only two minutes of rest in the second quarter, Howard returned to the court.

With a body that's just turned 20, playing the entire game is a piece of cake.

In the second quarter, Howard continued his dominant performance, with Miller repeatedly becoming his backdrop.

He scored 14 points in the quarter and 31 points in the first half.

With rebounds and blocks, Howard truly displayed the dominance of the world's fourth-best center in this game, becoming virtually invincible inside the paint.

Returning for the second half, Adelman attempted to double-team Howard.

Despite this, Howard still managed to score 11 points and bring Miller's foul count to 5.

Not long into the fourth quarter, Howard delivered a powerful and-one play, sending Miller back to the locker room to rest.

Once Miller went down, no one could stop Howard.

He scored 13 points in a single quarter, leading the Suns to maintain their lead until the end of the game.

He scored 55 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, dished out 0 assists, and blocked 5 shots.

Howard, carrying the sun, forcefully pulled it back from the edge of the cliff.

(End of this chapter)