Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 262: Change the starting lineup for every game, what's with the pretense?
As the most outspoken head coach in NBA history, after losing Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs on his home court, George Karl recalled what Ray Allen had said before the trade deadline.

With his iron will and explosive style, George Karl replicated the SuperSonics' miracle with the Bucks.

This allowed the team to quickly unleash its energy, and in 01 they even made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they battled the 76ers for seven games before narrowly losing.

However, the arrival of Anthony Mason, a notorious troublemaker in the league, completely ignited the battle for the Bucks' leadership.

George Karl was a man of principle, and after a dismal 01-02 season, the old man became ruthless.

You wanted to be the boss, right? Stop fighting, all of you get out of here.

He traded away Glenn Robinson, and before this year's trade deadline, he also traded away Ray Allen, acquiring his former favorite player, Payton, from the SuperSonics in return.

Ray Allen then launched a scathing attack on George Karl, telling the media that Karl would definitely pay the price and that he was also a scapegoat who would not fare well.

Even Payton was unhappy.

He was all alone in one city, and in the end, he was ruined by Schultz of Starbucks setting a bad precedent for him, tarnishing his reputation in his later years.

Now that he's been eliminated in the first round, George Karl is reminded of Ray Allen's words.

The boomerang, as expected, hit him.

He knew his Bucks career was coming to an end.

Before the playoffs began, the owner had already revealed his hand: if there was no breakthrough, he would be fired.

This game should be my last game with the Bucks.

Although he had no trouble finding another job, George Carr was still unhappy.

Byron Scott, a young kid, actually boasted to himself before the game, saying that he would never give the Bucks a chance to force a Game 7.

Who are you looking down on?

If it weren't for Kidd carrying the Nets, would you even have a say in this?
So he started criticizing directly.

Or rather, it predicted the outcome of the next round.

"The Nets are no match for the Knicks!"

"4-0, that's right, believe me, the Knicks will win the series 4-0."

"Byron Scott proudly told the media that they didn't have any star players; they played team basketball."

"But their team basketball is nothing compared to what the Knicks have, and the Knicks not only have team basketball, they also have superstars."

"Carlisle could become the best head coach in the league. Under his leadership, the Knicks will not give the Nets any chance."

"In the entire East, perhaps only the Magic can give the Knicks any real trouble."

"I'm telling you this: the Nets will definitely lose the next game!"

He dealt a heavy blow to the net.

The Nets were furious.

Scott retorted directly, saying that since they'd already lost the game, he should be worrying about where to go on vacation instead of meddling in other people's business.

Kidd also complained that George Karl was meddling, saying that the Nets weren't as bad as George Karl made them out to be.

He also said that he would definitely lead the Nets to the NBA Finals this year.

This is the Nets.

Their home arena is just across the Hudson River from New York.

To put it simply, it's the difference between Manhattan and the countryside.

The slightest sound from over there can immediately reach the ears of New Yorkers.

The New York Times immediately responded, providing a serious analysis of the upcoming semi-final.

The report also touched on the Nets' Achilles' heel, focusing on the Mutombo situation.

After losing to the Magic last year, with their interior defense dominated by Kwame Brown, the Nets learned their lesson and, at a considerable cost, took on Mutombo, a player currently sidelined with injury, by pairing their starting center with Van Horn.

They are counting on this former All-Star center to anchor the Nets' interior defense.

As a result, he fell victim to a scam, and Mutombo played 24 games before his season was over.

The key point is that he also receives the highest salary in the team, 1600 million.

Kidd only has a little over nine million.

Having just paid Jason Williams's ridiculous $30 million buyout contract, he's now saddled with Mutombo's remaining two-year, $35 million contract.

The New York Times almost implied that the Nets were being taken advantage of.

The key issue is that they traded away two key players, meaning the Nets' starting lineup this season has been downgraded.

Even if Van Horn is a liability, he still averages over ten points per game.

Last year, the Nets were thrashed by the Magic. How are they going to compete with the Knicks this year?

On May 3rd, the Knicks and Nets played their first semifinal game.

For Tangsen, this is definitely the most comfortable away game ever.

The straight-line distance from Manhattan to the Nets' home arena, the Army Air Corps Arena, is only about ten kilometers.

It's not even as far as my usual commute to the training center.

However, shortly after the team bus departed that afternoon, it got stuck in the Lincoln 1 Tunnel.

“It’s not rush hour yet,” Rick Carlisle complained.

He wanted to get to the stadium early to prepare for the game, so he set off at 2 p.m., but he still got stuck in traffic.

Sitting next to him, Tang Sen spoke up to remind him, "Rick, didn't you read the newspaper? The Post is calling on all New York fans to buy tickets and turn the Army Air Forces Arena into our home arena."

I reckon this huge traffic jam consists of New York fans heading to New Jersey to watch the game.

In the minds of New Yorkers, New Jersey is the countryside, and New Jerseyans are all country bumpkins.

In the eyes of New Jersey residents, New Yorkers are just rich, annoying nouveau riche.

The people on both sides looked down on each other.

So even though they live very close by, New York fans rarely go to the Nets' home arena to watch games.

But this year is different.

This year, New York fans are showing special support for their home team.

Especially after the fourth episode of Road to Glory aired the day before yesterday, a lot of footage was used to depict the atmosphere of self-redemption, self-proof, and the pursuit of the championship, as the playoffs began.

The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the ratings skyrocketed.

Especially at the end of the documentary, everyone took a group photo, and then each person sent their blessings to themselves a month and a half later.

Hoping that in a month and a half, he could finally lift the championship trophy, this heartwarming group photo was featured on the front page of The New York Times, resonating with countless New York fans.

New York fans are now showing their unwavering support for the Knicks.

That would be a good excuse to come to the countryside of New Jersey to watch a game.

"A bit boring."

Carlisle muttered something and sat back down.

So what if it's late? He doesn't take the Nets seriously anyway.

In his mind, only magic in the entire East could catch his eye.

Nets?

While the New York Times may be overly sensationalist, he acknowledges the merits of this analysis about the Nets.

According to Carlisle, although the Nets won the Eastern Conference title this year, their roster was relegated.

And this year's Knicks are practically an upgraded version of the Magic.

Last year, the Nets couldn't beat the Magic, and this year their roster has been downgraded, so it's even less likely they can beat the Knicks.

Most importantly, Carlisle had the confidence to back it up.

After the All-Star Game, he asked Tangsen to help all the players develop offensive skills, and Tangsen actually did it in two months!
The Knicks today have both strong defense and strong offense, making them a true two-way team. How can the Nets possibly win?

Thinking of this, Carlisle moved closer to Tang Sen.

"Tang, there's still a month and a half until the finals. Could you focus on improving Tayshaun's scoring ability?"

The Knicks' bench is raking in coins again.

After an unexpected outburst in the third game, scoring 24 points, Prince started in the fourth game and scored 21 points with a 58% field goal percentage.

Two consecutive games with 20+ points in the playoffs are quite impressive.

Carlisle welcomed this unexpected delight with open arms.

Therefore, Carlisle wants to give Prince more opportunities in the future.

Most importantly, he felt that Prince would be a better fit to deal with the Lakers in the future.

Because of the need to counter Kobe, Houston might field some strong defensive players at the shooting guard position, sacrificing their offensive firepower.

The sacrificed offense must be compensated for by the small forward position.

With his height and stronger offense, Prince became the best choice.

“Especially his current move, I think it’s very good, and we can practice it more,” Carlisle added.

He was referring to Prince's move of sliding left and right before launching a direct attack.

This was also specially designed by Tang Sen based on the Princeton point.

In particular, his left-handed sliding step allows him to take advantage of his left hand.

"can."

Tang Sen nodded readily, agreeing that Carlisle's request was not unreasonable.

Now that the playoffs are here, Tang Sen is already considering activating the "Last-Minute Cramming" badge.

Tang Sen discovered that he seemed to have really drawn all the badges.

In March, April, and early May, there were a total of three chances. I drew the Air Force badge once, and the remaining two times, I got the badge I already owned.

In April, this badge was upgraded to gold level.

Once activated, it will grant a 60% training bonus.

This effect is very strong.

Tang Sen was also considering how to tap into the potential of this move.

In general, the goal is to connect some breakthrough moves to freeze the defender.

There are actually quite a few specific options.

For example, start with a scissor step to the right, then step forward to change direction, and slide to the left to strike directly.

Or, like Iverson, you can use the most basic crossover to induce movement.

Once you unlock the badges, targeted practice should yield results.

There's also the release point and the shooting form.

If we want to continue developing based on this technique, there are still many areas that need adjustment.

Especially this shooting form.

To be honest, Townsend had long disliked Prince's shooting form.

But it's not easy to make adjustments during the season, so it's been dragged on until now.

It's not just a matter of whether the posture is ugly or not; the main problem is that the strike is too slow.

Tang Sen is still undecided about which direction to adjust his strategy.

If the goal is to achieve a faster release, then you can learn from Marion and use a bounce shot.

If you don't care about being slow, then you should aim to make your opponent unable to defend against it.

The best method is undoubtedly to lean back.

But with the added fadeaway, the shooting range will definitely be shortened, and Tang Sen hopes he can shoot more three-pointers.

Under the current Knicks' tactical system, he has this opportunity.

Tang Sen decided to observe further.

To be honest, the original intention was to groom Prince to be like Larry Bird.

Now, it's getting further and further away.

As expected, Carlisle chose to start Prince in the evening's game.

And he adjusted the starting lineup once again.

Instead of playing with two towers, they switched to Swift.

This tactical change made Byron Scott's skin even darker.

Just like how New Jersey residents look down on New York's nouveau riche.

You change your starting lineup every game? Just because you have players doesn't mean you're so great! Stop acting like a big shot!

(End of this chapter)