Champion, please stay!

Chapter 136, Section 134: Let's see who can cause more trouble!
When he received the assignment, Yi Shui thought that the "McGrady version of the triple threat" was similar to the "Beasley version of the mismatch isolation play" in that it was mainly a matter of playing philosophy.

There are video demonstrations of 'mismatched singles', but they are not very useful for reference. The key is to 'break down the video' and provide detailed analysis.

He initially learned the 'mismatch isolation' inside scoring technique by practicing it simply on his own. Then he sought help from coaching consultant Mark Jackson, guard development coach Phil Webber, and shooting coach Herb Williams. The three of them helped him develop the necessary inside scoring techniques based on his actual situation.

The 'McGrady version of the triple threat' even includes three of McGrady's signature techniques.

After careful consideration, Yi Shui felt that these three moves were essential.

Even though the technical details and movements are different, you can tell that the "Beasley version of mismatch one-on-one" is based on Beasley as long as you play it that way.

However, the three-threat strategy lacks any signature supporting offensive techniques and shows no connection to McGrady whatsoever.

In the afternoon, Yi Shui arrived at Madison Square Garden. After warming up, he excitedly practiced three supporting techniques according to the 'video disassembly and analysis'... and found that it was much more difficult than he had imagined.

Just as he had previously thought, McGrady's three signature offensive moves all heavily rely on physical attributes. Once physical attributes decline, the techniques become useless. However, they should not be difficult to learn, but in reality, it is not that simple.

Take the pull-up jumper for example. He himself has almost no skills. He relies purely on his height, speed, shooting fundamentals, and the advantage of being a "tower sniper". Except for crucial shots when he is being guarded, he generally will not pull up when he is being guarded, and he does not need to care about the "rhythm".

But McGrady's version is different; he has many rhythm-finding moves, often during physical confrontations.

Moreover, McGrady's version of the pull-up jumper seems to only be effective in the 'triple threat' style of play; otherwise, it's no different from a mindless forced shot.

Comparing the two, Yi Shui felt that he seemed to have no idea how to pull out a weapon...

Of the other two moves, the 'bombing' breakthrough is the 'simplest,' but it's the hardest for him to learn.

First, you need to initiate an extremely fast first step to establish position, and then rely on explosive power and continuous bursts of acceleration to take even faster second and third steps in combat...

To use this move effectively, one needs to have excellent long-range shooting ability, rim-attacking ability, and ideally, the ability to pull up and shoot from mid-range.

Ideally, the startup should be initiated while the system is in a state of 'triple threat'.

The 'Z-step back shot' is the least noticeable of McGrady's signature moves. When Yi Shui thinks of McGrady's playing style, the first things that come to mind are the 'quick three-step' and the 'pull-up jumper'.

But Yi Shui felt that this move was the hardest to defend against, the least dependent on the 'triple threat state', and also the hardest to learn.

This step-back shot is very 'unconventional'.

Normally, a step-back shot should involve stepping back in the opposite direction of your dominant hand; McGrady also had that kind of standard step-back.

The 'Z-step back' involves using your dominant hand to control the ball and initiate a conventional fake drive. During the recovery process, you seize the opportunity to flick the ball with your non-dominant hand and step back in the direction of your 'unconventional' dominant hand.

Yi Shui remembered this move when he practiced it. McGrady used it last night, but it didn't achieve the effect shown in the 'video demonstration and breakdown' of the learning method.

This seemingly insignificant move actually demands a higher level of physical fitness than the other two moves!

Furthermore, it requires two-handed offensive ability, excellent shooting ability, a sense of rhythm, and an even greater impact on the shooting rhythm than a pull-up jumper...

Before his injury, McGrady's talent was absolutely amazing!

All three of these moves have one thing in common—they're hard on your legs.

This put him in a bit of a bind.

Previously, when there was a possibility of obtaining the 'Wade version of Eurostep', Yi Shui asked the system whether 'destructive injuries' could be cured by the 'functional repair card'.

The system's answer is 'yes,' but only by completing the 'last day' training and fully utilizing the 'repair card's' functions can a cure be achieved.

Yi Shui didn't hesitate for too long. If it's tiring for your legs, then use it less. With such a complete learning method and the trainer resources provided by the team, it would be a waste not to learn.

The great man was right: a sword may not be used, but it cannot be without!
Moreover, even if you don't use them, some of the technical concepts behind these three techniques are worth considering.

...

The next day, fully recovered, Yi Shui left New York with the team and embarked on another round of away games.

Playing in New York has many advantages, but disadvantages are also inevitable.

Teams that are difficult to work with, and people who are easily targeted... these are actually not so bad. If you have a strong enough mentality or a big enough heart, you can ignore them.

But Madison Square Garden was too 'busy' to change.

The first half of the month saw a wave of music festivals, and now it's the Christmas-New Year's Eve concert season. On the plane, the elementary school student and Chalmers were both complaining about it, and Yi Shui replied, "We'll get used to it after a while. This is New York."

They arrived in Boston at noon, had lunch, and then went to TD Garden for training with Mark Jackson, who had arrived at the hotel earlier.

The primary school students did not come this time, and the tight schedule in December left them physically and mentally exhausted.

On the way, Yi Shui asked Mark a question that had been on his mind after training the day before: "Mark, you've been helping me optimize my playing style and make the techniques simpler. So, should I not learn overly complicated techniques and just learn simple playing styles?"

Mark Jackson responded, "How can that work? If you only learn the simple way of playing, you won't be able to play when you encounter defensive difficulties."

I suggest you optimize your technique and playing style. Your physical condition is too good, so you have the ability to simplify your movements.

You still need to learn the technology, regardless of its complexity. Only by mastering the technology can you improve and optimize it... Do you really have any technology you need to learn?

"I'm very interested in McGrady's triple threat style of play. I've studied his game and analyzed some of his most frequently used triple threat techniques. I want to practice them. This is the information I've compiled..."

Yi Shui opened his backpack, took out the disassembly and analysis of the three supporting technologies that he had copied down and printed out before going to bed last night, and handed them to Mark Jackson.

Mark Jackson, looking at the extremely detailed technical breakdown analysis, began to question what Walsh and D'Antoni had secretly told him: Yi Shui had high basketball IQ but some intellectual problems.

But then I thought about how Yi Shui felt everything he did was ordinary, something everyone would do...

Mark Jackson chose to dismiss his doubts, saying that the guy must have some intellectual problems, he must have some problems, otherwise he would be very uncomfortable.

After calming down, Mark Jackson said, "I need to study McGrady's triple threat with Phil and Herb first. You can practice his strong shot and starting details first. You can practice the step-back, but don't practice that yet. I'm worried it will affect your playing rhythm..."

...

After leaving the professional matters to the professionals, Yi Shui temporarily stopped worrying about this and focused on practicing what he needed to practice.

On the 28th, at 6 p.m., the Knicks faced off against the Celtics, who were playing at home, at TD Garden.

The Celtics currently have a record of 24 wins and 4 losses, the same as the Lakers, but because they lost to the Lakers in their head-to-head matchup, they are ranked second in the league and first in the Eastern Conference.

Averaging 102.3 points per game, ranking in the top ten in the league; allowing an average of 92.1 points per game, ranking second in the league in limiting opponents' scoring; and having a net point differential of 10.2, ranking first in the league.

After the game started, the Knicks lost their offense and defense.

Yi Shui, who was heavily guarded by the Celtics, had a very difficult time.

Unable to break through, their positional offense was also stifled in the middle by the Pierce-Garnett combination, with Rondo also interfering with their wing defense and rebounding. After a few minutes, Yi Shui gave up.

So you think Garnett's the best defender? So you think Rondo's the best rebounder? Let's see who can cause more trouble!

Yi Shui volunteered to play the power forward position, leaving the offensive play to Swift, Wilson Chandler, Birdman, and others, and the shooting to Curry, Big Q, and so on. He put all his effort into battling Garnett, disrupting the opponent's pick-and-roll and playmaking, and keeping an eye on Rondo when it came to rebounding!

In terms of defensive skills, Yi Shui is just so-so. His defensive performance mostly relies on his physical condition. He definitely practices, and every training session includes defensive footwork, but his focus is still on offense.

However, when it comes to defense, in addition to having a good mind, high motivation, and good awareness, physical fitness plays a much bigger role than technique!

Yi Shui's sudden outburst caught Garnett and Rondo off guard, impacting the Celtics' overall offense.

Although Garnett didn't have many assists, he was the key to the Celtics' offense, even more so than Rondo. As the pivot, he connected his teammates and was always the 'highest passing point' that Rondo could find.

Rondo's rebounding is also extremely important for the Celtics.

Perkins' rebounding was average, Garnett's defensive focus on the middle and mid-range was good, Pierce's rebounding was poor for his size, he only averaged over 7 rebounds per game once in his career, and Ray Allen and the bench players didn't have many rebounding specialists...

Among the top defensive teams, the Celtics rank last in rebounding ability.

Harden: I'm a 'defensive' player averaging 15 points per game, why are you targeting me like this? Pierce is done with it? Ray Allen is done with it?
Coach Long: How can this guy always predict my path when I try to go around the cones and grab the board, thus blocking me?

After all that effort, Yi Shui was unable to reverse the defeat.

The gap in strength is too large. The Rockets have the disadvantage of poor interior depth and bench players who have the hustle but lack ability. The Cavaliers have the disadvantage of collapsing when James can't get open at the rim. The Celtics have no obvious weaknesses. They can almost be regarded as a deluxe version of the 04 Pistons or a weakened version of the 02 Kings with a stronger defense.

Ultimately, the Knicks lost 93-103, and Yi Shui only scored 13 points. However, he also grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds, along with 3 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. The opposing twin towers, Garnett and Perkins, combined for two fewer rebounds than him.

(End of this chapter)