Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 94: Wild West, Forbidden East

Today is a competition day, so only morning training is scheduled.

Not only that, they still have to go to the team in the morning to participate in the team's technical and tactical training.

The opponent tonight is the Supersonics.

Although Gary Payton is getting older and Vin Baker is far ahead on the road of self-indulgence, the rise of two young players, Rashard Lewis and Desmond Mason, makes the Supersonics still a team that cannot be underestimated.

Being ranked first in the Eastern Conference is a dose of poison that Rivers cannot refuse.

He now felt like he was hit by a pie in the sky, feeling dizzy. Looking around, he felt that the league was full of losers.

Supersonic?
It has already fallen into decline.

Before the game, he specifically told Brown to play well, not too much, just 30 points would be enough.

He felt no pressure.

This season, the SuperSonics acquired Calvin Booth from the Mavericks.

But who is this guy?

Rivers said he had no impression at all.

Not to mention that this 2-meter-tall, over 11-kilogram white center has no advantages at all except that he looks like Nicolas Cage.

Just an ordinary white blue-collar center.

This type of opponent is the player that Brown is easiest to control.

Davis next to him couldn't help coughing.

You are so proud. You are so proud.

Look at what you are saying. Brown is just a rookie. How many head coaches would ask a rookie to just score 30 points?

Unexpectedly, Brown actually did what Rivers just said.

In this game, the Magic beat the Supersonics 113-99, a 14-point victory.

Brown shot 15 of 26 and once again broke his personal score, scoring 35 points.

He also grabbed 9 rebounds.

This was a thrilling offensive battle, and McGrady was in hot form, scoring 30 points.

The Supersonics were completely unable to defend against the two of them.

Not to mention the outside shooting, Brent Barry has accurate shooting, but as a white shooter, his defense is terrible.

Desmond Mason's offense is powerful enough, but his defense is terrible.

With Brown showing his strength in the interior and opponents daring not to double-team him from the outside, McGrady played very comfortably.

And the inside.

Just as Rivers expected, Calvin Booth was completely beaten by Brown.

It will be crooked if squeezed, and the shot blocking that I am proud of has no room to play.

Brown's low-post style of play, which combines strength and confrontation, naturally restrains him.

In the middle of the game, Nate Milan made an adjustment, moving Lewis to the fourth position and letting Vin Baker deal with Brown.

Vin Baker is tough enough.

But the effect is still not good.

The reason is that Vin Baker himself has declined too much.

After being selected for the All-Star Game for the first time in 98, he became arrogant.

Just in time for the NBA lockout.

After a long offseason, when he came back, he had become as fat as a bun.

His movements became slow, he couldn't run any more, and his statistics began to decline severely.

He didn't care and became addicted to alcohol, which made his condition worse.

It seems that he has no ambition anymore.

Moreover, in the summer, there were trade rumors that the Supersonics planned to trade him, and he developed a mentality of giving up.

So even though he was experienced, Brown handled it fairly easily.

Brown's skillful and agile low-post footwork always gives him a chance to shoot.

Nate Milan looked helpless. After the game, he praised Brown with a few polite words and left Orlando in frustration.

4 games finished.

Brown averaged 28.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, beating Iverson and being named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

It was incredible that this honor could be given to Brown and Tang Sen.

Brown is a rookie after all.

But if you think about how Brown has improved the Magic's strength and helped them start their four-game winning streak, it would be no problem to give him the job.

There is not much meaning in scoring points; helping the team win is the real money.

Just as Rivers was imagining how many games the winning streak could last, the Magic encountered their first tough challenge since the start of the season.

After finishing the game against the Supersonics on the 5th, the Magic went to San Antonio the next day to challenge the Spurs back-to-back.

During the pre-game press conference, a reporter specifically asked Popovich what he thought of Brown's outstanding performance and winning the Player of the Week award.

"Trust me, he's going to be the next Patrick Ewing."

Popovich hesitated for a moment and said with a smile.

The surrounding reporters were all stunned.

"Greg, are you serious?" The reporter who asked the question was stunned.

Normally, there is nothing wrong with giving a few polite compliments.

After all, Brown is in the limelight now and even won the Player of the Week award, so it is not an exaggeration to praise him a little.

But the next Ewing?
Is this evaluation too high?

Maybe Brown once played back and forth with players like Mourning who were below the top four, but isn't it too early to be on par with the top four now?

Popovich just looked at him.

Many reporters suddenly realized that Popovich was joking.

The reporter who asked the question looked at Popovich resentfully.

You are so naughty!

Popovich laughed heartily and then said, "He's a good prospect, but I really think you're over-hyping him. He still needs time to grow. Excessive praise isn't conducive to his growth."

Popovich looked like he was the only one who dared to tell the truth while the whole league was praising him.

He also has enough reasons to pour cold water on Brown.

Because the media brought up Brown and compared him with Duncan.

The Magic's decision to trade Hill for Brown was a stroke of genius, just like the Spurs' decision to give up their game and get Duncan.

The decision to tank back then was definitely the move Popovich is most proud of.

How could Popovich not mind when the media brought him up for comparison?

In his heart, Duncan is the real genius and no amount of praise is enough.

Although Brown is good, he is not worthy of being compared with Duncan.

And in Popovich's opinion, Brown played very well at the beginning, because he did not encounter a very strong opponent.

Will you try again today?

At this point, Popovich thought of Bird and, in a rare display of pretense, told reporters, "When he scores 20 points in this game, come back and see me. I'll definitely give him a good pat on the back."

After saying that, he waved his hand and left casually.

When the locker room opened, Duncan was surrounded by reporters and asked how he planned to deal with Brown today.

David Robinson is old.

In the current Spurs' interior, Duncan is usually the main defender, while Robinson provides more support and space.

Brown is so strong, the Spurs will definitely let Duncan defend him.

Compared to Popovich's dominance, Duncan was much more humble. He smiled and said, "Who knows, but I'm fine."

There was no direct answer, but the confidence was full.

I am already considered the best power forward in the league, so it seems that a rookie can't challenge me.

David Robinson on the opposite side had the same idea.

Although this summer, the Spurs were once rated by the media as the most unsuccessful team in the transfer market, and lost a number of good players such as General Johnson and Derek Anderson in succession.

The lineup has declined significantly.

But in David Robinson's opinion, the Spurs are still not a team that a weak Eastern Conference team like the Magic can challenge.

This is the Wild West, not a place for the underdogs of the East to run wild!
And the Spurs really have the confidence to do what they say.

At the beginning of the game, they gave the Magic a warning with a 6-2 run.

"Tang, are the Spurs so strong?"

Far away in Orlando, Tang Sen and others were watching the live broadcast of the game. This was a game that was broadcast live across the United States.

Seeing that the Magic fell behind right from the start, Wesley couldn't help but ask.

Tabari, Guo Yonglin and others turned their heads to look at Tang Sen.

They are just fans who come to watch the fun.

Unlike Tang Sen, who was once very close to the NBA, his understanding of the game is much deeper than theirs.

Tang Senxin said that you are talking nonsense.

These are the Spurs. How many teams in the league can suppress them?

"Don't be impatient, the game has just begun."

Tang Sen said casually, but his eyes were always on Brown in the inside.

This kid has met his match!
The opponents Brown encountered before were, after all, ordinary inside players in the league.

Even Olajuwon was at the end of his career and was too old to run.

So Brown got whatever he wanted and got luxurious data.

There are many similar players in the league. Looking at their statistics, they are standard star-level players, but when it comes to the key games of the playoffs, they immediately fall apart.

It’s just that my level is not high enough and I haven’t met a truly strong person.

And there is no doubt that Duncan is such a top player.

The 25-year-old Duncan averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds per game last season and was the Finals MVP. He is a superstar who has never missed a game since entering the league.

Brown has a strong body and excellent confrontation skills, and Duncan also has them, or is even stronger. He can easily fight against inside monsters like O'Neal.

Brown has excellent athletic ability and is agile enough, and so is Duncan. He can cover a large area in assisting defense, fly, and block shots in various ways.

As for technology, there is no comparison.

Duncan is known for his comprehensive skills. He has solid and delicate footwork in the low post, balanced left and right hands, and unstoppable mid-range shots off the backboard. He has every skill set that an inside player should have.

No matter how you look at it, Brown is not as good as Duncan.

Therefore, from the beginning of the game, Brown was suppressed by Duncan.

Four minutes into the game, Brown had two attacks.

Once on the left side of the penalty area, he sat on Duncan, then cut across the middle and tried to hook the shot.

This is the offense he is best at, and he is always successful against ordinary inside players.

But this time I met the real boss.

This move can be regarded as Duncan's unique skill.

When Brown started dribbling and tried to gain a positional advantage through confrontation, he found that he couldn't do it at all.

So in that final shot, Duncan not only did not lose his position at all, but also used his experience to block Brown in advance.

A very subtle advance movement of the left leg.

At this moment, Brown felt extremely uncomfortable, his strength was insufficient, which affected his rhythm and caused his shot to miss.

On another ball, Brown received the pass from Grant in the low post, lowered his waist to push Duncan away, and chose to force a layup.

The shot selection on this ball was not good enough.

Because the arching effect was not good, the space was not completely opened up.

Naturally, the shot didn't go in and was caught by Duncan.

And these two goals are a microcosm of the entire first quarter.

In the first quarter, Brown made 1 of 5 shots and only scored 2 points, which was a far cry from his performance.

Wesley and his brothers around him sighed and were very anxious.

Tang Sen sighed silently.

Boy, don't be impatient!

In the second half of the first quarter, Tang Sen clearly felt that Brown was getting anxious.

He is no longer as patient as before, and his shooting choices are too simple.

In Tang Sen's opinion, facing a strong opponent like Duncan, one must have enough patience.

Even more patient than Duncan, he carefully observed him and looked for opportunities.

There is no use being impatient.

Fortunately, although the offense is poor, the basic defense is still okay.

Defense is more about the body.

Brown's size and confrontation are there, and he is strong enough to give Duncan more strength in various ways.

Like O'Neal Jr., Duncan is not afraid of confrontation, but he also hates high-intensity confrontation because it will affect his offense.

In the first quarter, Duncan made 3 of 7 shots and scored 6 points, with average efficiency, which is enough to show that Brown's defense on him was also good.

In the second quarter, Tang Sen saw that the Magic had made some adjustments.

Rivers gave Brown some tactical support.

No longer simply giving him the ball and letting him single out Duncan.

He should also realize the gap between Brown and Duncan.

This choice is correct.

The game is not meant to be a one-on-one duel between stars.

If one person can't do it, then two people can go up, cooperate and use tactics.

They also adjusted Brown's shot selection, asking him to pull out to provide support screens for McGrady, and then try to score through mid-range shots.

McGrady didn't have a good time in this game either.

This year the Spurs acquired Bruce Bowen from the Heat.

This guy is very good at defense and made it very difficult for McGrady.

Brown's shooting is neither long nor short, and he has been practicing for two months. His posture is already standard enough, but his hit rate needs to be improved.

The return pass after the pick-and-roll did give him some shooting opportunities.

In the second quarter, Brown made 3 of 5 shots and scored 6 points, which made the situation less ugly.

Even Hank Egan on the Spurs bench couldn't help but say to Popovich: "Greg, this kid is actually pretty good."

Popovich nodded.

Before the game, he said a few arrogant words in front of reporters.

But no matter what he said, he wouldn't really look down on Brown.

He has already won Player of the Week, so anyone who underestimates Brown would be truly foolish.

"He has pretty comprehensive skills," Popovich praised.

Many inside players lack comprehensive skills and only have a few moves. Once they are restricted, they immediately become silent.

But Brown is different.

He was suppressed by Duncan in the first quarter and couldn't open up his inside offense, but he was able to immediately adjust to the mid-range and score by shooting.

It's rare for a rookie to have these two skills.

Hank Egan nodded in agreement and added, "And the defense is fierce."

He used the adjective "very fierce", which was just right.

It's just mindless confrontation and persistence.

Duncan has enough size and body to defend against.

"Give him a season or two to grow, and it's going to be scary."

It's exaggerated that he has such strength at the age of 19.

"Yes."

Popovich agrees.

Brown is definitely no match for Duncan now.

But he is so young, and the growth he has achieved in two years is really immeasurable.

Maybe it won’t take two years.

Popovich couldn't help but frown.

Before the draft, although Brown did not come to the Spurs for a tryout, Popovich knew exactly what level he was at.

As a result, five months later, under Tang Sen's training, he has become an all-rounder in both offense and defense and was awarded the Player of the Week.

At this rate of improvement, who knows how much Brown's strength will improve by the end of this season.

Maybe we don't even have to wait until the end of the season.

As for the playoffs, with Brown's current performance and partnering with McGrady, it should be easy for them to make it to the playoffs.

By then, it is possible that there will be some trouble in the East.

(End of this chapter)