Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 243 In the first year of rebuilding, they're already aiming for the championship. Is that what rebuilding is all about?

Van Exel is no nobody.

He was an All-Star, dominated Gary Payton, and the Los Angeles media called him Payton's nemesis.

If you ask Kobe who was the first NBA player to dominate him, he would definitely say Van Exel.

He pinned the inexperienced Kobe to the bench and made him carry his bag.

He once remembered himself as a point guard, focused on passing, and averaging eight or nine assists per game.

It wasn't until he turned thirty and had wasted another season with the Nuggets that he realized passing the ball was useless; he had to do it himself.

From then on, there was only one principle in his world: there is no such thing as reasonable or unreasonable. If I think it is reasonable, then it must be reasonable!
If the league were to introduce a four-point line, he would definitely agree with it wholeheartedly, just like Antoine Walker.

Like Walker, he got into his rhythm, and once he crossed halfway, the entire field was within his shooting range.

A body that is 1.85 meters tall, but a heart that is 2.85 meters tall.

And that's exactly why Nelson took a liking to him.

Defense? Not needed.

Organization? My eyes are only on the ball.

All I do is score, score. Give me some space, and I'll shoot.

So when he dribbled the ball past half-court and saw Dooling waiting for him at the three-point line, Van Exel scoffed at his own naiveté and, with the ball still two meters from the three-point line, pulled up and shot.

Dulin didn't even realize what was happening before he hurriedly turned his head to look.

That ball actually went in!
While sitting on the bench, Van Exel had long since looked down on the smug New Yorkers.

They're only down by a dozen points. With the Mavericks' offensive firepower, they can catch up in no time if they get into a hot hand.

So after scoring, as he ran past the scorer's table, Van Exel arrogantly waved to the stands in front of him, as if jeering.

Come on, why aren't you shouting anymore?
As soon as he finished the move, he saw old Nelson yelling at him from the side.

He quickly turned his head.

But the Knicks were about to inbound the ball, and all five players rushed forward.

Previously, the Knicks' bench lineup often relied on its youth and speed to attack opponents.

But with a seven-foot-tall Chandler, even the fastest man would have a hard time keeping up with a bunch of smaller guys.

But things are different now.

Xavi is only 2.03 meters tall, a standard small forward's physique, and he can definitely keep up with the pace.

In this situation, Swift would undoubtedly be the spearhead of the charge.

This is his best and favorite rhythm, using his speed and explosiveness to create opportunities.

Harvey made a long pass, Prince received it, dribbled once and passed it to Jones.

Jones arrived late and was the fastest. He had already rushed into the penalty area when he received the ball. Although Adrian Griffin was keeping up with him, Jones had no eyes on the basket at all.

Taking advantage of the speed, throw the ball directly into the air.

Griffin quickly turned his head and saw a tall man wearing a headband rushing towards him.

A high-difficulty alley-oop!
But Swift would say it was just right.

If it's not difficult, and it's not flashy, how can I show off my stag-like agility in jumping?

He leaped up, his waist level with Griffin's head.

He caught the basketball in mid-air and, in an almost dunking motion, slammed it into the basket.

The impact was so strong that he almost lost his grip on the rim, and then he and Griffin slammed hard onto the floor.

They acted fiercely, completely disregarding whether they would get hurt.

But he's just handsome, just cool.

Guaranteed to be one of today's top five goals!
The scene was boiling.

Despite limited playing time, Swift's jerseys have consistently sold well.

His playing style is eye-catching; it's all about dunking, and he has a huge following in New York.

Old Nelson was so angry he stomped his feet and yelled at Van Exel.

What are you so smug about?
The key is the Knicks' bench speed and explosiveness on the fast break; it's so fast that even Don Nelson had to look away.

With the Warriors, he created the Golden State Track and Field Team, and the TMC combination became a force to be reckoned with in the league.

Despite having a long-standing tradition of being among the league's best offensively but among the worst defensively, and getting crushed in the playoffs.

But let me tell you, is it fast or not?

After joining the Mavericks, Don Nelson attempted to recreate the miracle of the Golden State fast-paced offense.

He once demanded that the team complete the attack within 7 seconds.

Seven seconds felt like a very, very fast time to him.

The Knicks' current attack will last at most 5 seconds, let alone 7.

Getting completely crushed in your area of ​​expertise can be incredibly frustrating.

Even more critically, the Knicks' bench has a defense?
Harvey, like a spring, bounced twice in a row from LaFrentz's side to grab the offensive rebound.

And Prince.

Finley was old and moved very slowly.

As Prince cut out to receive the ball and shoot, he quickly bypassed the screen and leaped from behind, poking the basketball that had just slipped from his grasp.

He is 2.06 meters tall with a 2.18-meter wingspan. He looks thin, but he also has springs installed in his legs.

This defensive capability is exactly what the Mavericks lack most.

But what kept Don Nelson's eyes glued to the perimeter was Kenyon Dooling.

After one goal, he learned his lesson and started following Van Exel closely as soon as he crossed halfway.

There's another reason why Van Exel likes to shoot from very long distances.

That is to force the opponent to choose to defend in a high position.

This way, he can have plenty of space to overpower his opponent with his speed.

He's short, and with his head down, he can squeeze past his opponents using his speed.

However, this time he met his match.

Dulin followed the same path as Sasser, and after nearly four months of hard training, he was able to develop the same dynamic and elusive defensive skills as Sasser.

Or rather, the lightness and power he exuded were even better than that of Sather.

The reason is simple: in terms of physical talent, Dulin is better than Sasser.

In 97, at the age of 17, he was selected for the U.S. youth team.

At the University of Missouri, his head coach Roy Williams described him as someone who "everyone saw flying."

This is enough to prove his athletic talent.

Such a defense prevented Van Exel from going on a rampage.

You rely on speed to break through, but Dulin's predictions are extremely accurate, and his lateral movement is incredibly fast.

Engaging in physical confrontations is simply asking for trouble. When it comes to showcasing skill, Durant rarely falls for feints.

This season, Van Exel is primarily playing as the sixth man, and he's still averaging 13 points per game.

As a result, under Dulin's defense, halfway through the second quarter, they made 1 of 5 shots, including that initial three-pointer.

Old Nelson was going crazy. He grabbed his son Donnie and pointed at Dooling on the court, asking, "Who is this guy?"
Fan Fengzi is very selfish now; his role is to act as the sixth man and score points.

If they can't get going, the Mavericks' bench firepower will be reduced by at least half.

Little Nelson looked bewildered. He had done his homework before the game and of course knew Dooling's name.

The problem is that Dulin wasn't even on the roster for the last game!
Who would have thought that Carlisle would bring him on as a substitute?

Even if I were to gather more information on my opponents, I wouldn't go so far as to collect information on players like this.

"damn it!"

Old Nelson was extremely annoyed.

His current feeling is that any unknown player from the Knicks' bench could be used as a starter.

Isn't this Knicks a bit too scary?

In other words, the Knicks' bench offensive firepower is limited; otherwise, the point difference would have continued to widen during the bench phase.

With the point difference approaching 15, Don Nelson hurriedly began to bring the starters onto the court.

Carlisle immediately substituted his starters.

He stood on the sidelines, raising his hand, welcoming Dulin with a proud expression.

What a boy!

He was tasked with containing Van Gundy, and he did it. What coach wouldn't like a player like that?

The return of key players still couldn't reverse the Mavericks' downward trend.

Old Nelson paced irritably on the sidelines. He knew where the problem lay: the interior defense couldn't stop Yao Ming.

The three-tower lineup, positioned in the paint, also neutralized the Mavericks' drives and cuts.

If you rely entirely on shooting, at least you have a shooting percentage.

If their touch cools down and they can't keep up the score, the game could collapse at any moment.

And the words came true.

When the game entered the third quarter, the Mavericks collapsed.

Playing back-to-back games on the road, the players were exhausted, and the Mavericks were playing a fast-paced game and desperately trying to catch up.

In this situation, it's perfectly normal for the players to be exhausted and unable to keep up.

In the third quarter, the Mavericks narrowed the gap to 9 points thanks to Nowitzki's consecutive 3-pointers. However, in the last 3 minutes, they only managed to score 2 points by drawing fouls and didn't make a single shot.

The Knicks employ a slow-paced, half-court offense, focusing on high success rates.

A 7-2 run brought the score difference back to 14 points.

Watching Nowitzki leave the court panting heavily, Old Nelson sighed inwardly and prepared to give up.

After all, it's just the regular season. If you're not in good form, losing to a bad team is acceptable.

But the problem is.

Old Nelson frowned.

Given the Knicks' performance, is this a bad team?

Or rather, the Knicks were terrible at the beginning of the season, but the Knicks now are anything but terrible.

Does losing to a team like the Knicks signify anything?
Old Nelson didn't want to think about it too much; he was still planning to struggle with it.

If the substitutes can close the gap to within 10 points during the fourth quarter, they might still have a chance.

However, after seeing Dooling's aggressive defensive play and his quick reflexes to steal Van Exel's basketball, Don Nelson decisively gave up the struggle.

He even had the illusion that the Knicks' bench was better defensively than the starters.

"Who is this guy?"

Inside the TNT studio, Barkley exclaimed in surprise as well.

He knew of Fan Fengzi's reputation; when he went crazy, he could be as good as Jordan.

But in this game, under Durant's defense, he became a complete madman.

The two people opposite each other looked at each other in bewilderment.

Smith said, "All I knew was that he was the tenth pick in the 2000 draft, and then..."

Then there is nothing.

Although it was a lottery show, it didn't really make a splash.

Not to mention the Clippers, who receive very little attention.

If he hadn't been traded to the Knicks, he might have been eliminated from the league after a few seasons.

Fans wouldn't even label him a flop.

It's not unusual for a first-round pick (10th overall) to be a bust.

Yet this player, who previously had no chance to even play, suddenly emerged from the cracks in the rock and defended Fan Zhongyan, a former All-Star player, so effectively.

Ernie Johnson quipped, "Look at his defense, it's just like Jerry's, they're practically cut from the same mold."

Barkley thought to himself, "They're all cut from the same cloth; they're all trained by Tang Sen."

"The Knicks are terrifying. They're like Batman; you never know what kind of weapon they've prepared to deal with you."

"What's even more terrifying is that they still have room for improvement."

These players have really mastered defense these days.

Then, if they develop their offense, how powerful will the Knicks be?

Barkley couldn't believe it and said, "The Mavericks suffered a huge loss. They underestimated their opponents, which is why they lost so badly."

To be the top team in the West and lose like this is truly devastating.

"It wasn't exactly an accident."

Smith paused for a moment, then offered a different perspective: "We always think the Knicks are weak, but if you think about it carefully, where are they weak?"

"Yao has been confirmed as an Eastern Conference All-Star starter; he is the league's top center."

"And then there's Allan, and Chauncey. There aren't many teams in the league with a roster like that. Normally, a roster like that, with a few good role players, would be a team in the top half of the playoffs."

"So the Knicks are really not weak."

After a moment's hesitation, Smith said, "If these role players continue to improve, then I think they still have the potential to contend for the championship."

Barkley instinctively thought, "Are you kidding me?"

First year of rebuilding, aiming for the championship, is this what you call rebuilding?

But consider the Knicks; any player you pick off the bench can become a defensive specialist, and Rodman can pop up out of nowhere. Who can say for sure?

(End of this chapter)