Chapter 605: 605
The NBA announced the player of the week for the second week of the regular season in the Eastern and Western Conferences . The Clippers' center substitute, Karaby, was awarded the acclaim in the Western Conference .
His last season was not bad, but he was only ever able to get a double-double . This was common in the star-filled Western Conference . Getting a triple-double, on the other hand, was rare . Getting a triple-double was enough for him to get named the player of the week .
Karaby was very happy . At 35, he had regained his youth and been named the best player of the week . He hadn't even won this title in his prime .
Karaby treated the entire coaching staff and his teammates to a meal; they did not hold themselves back . They all came with the thought of using as much of Karaby's money as possible . They ordered a table full of luxurious foods .
In the private dining area of the hotel's restaurant, Karaby happily handed his credit card to the waiter . Karaby had earned tens of millions of dollars in his career, so the cost of such a meal wouldn't bother him . If he had to treat his team to a meal every time he achieved a triple-double, he would happily go bankrupt .
His teammates were very happy, but Gray was spacing out a bit .
As the substitute center of the team, Karaby had been maintained an average double-double of 10+10 this season . Now, he had gotten a triple-double through his blocking . In contrast, Gray had been plagued by fouls . He played even less than Karaby, a substitute .
Dai Li noticed Gray's worries . A starting player doing worse than his substitute would obviously make one feel depressed .
Dai Li went to Gray's side and sat down . After thinking in silence for a few seconds, he asked, "Are you feeling worried?"
"Hhmm?" Gray was slightly absent-minded . He quickly composed himself and replied, "No, no . "
"I thought you were worried about Karaby taking away your spot in the starting lineup," Dai Li said with a smile .
Gray did not answer this time . He did indeed have this fear in his heart . After all, Karaby's performances were much better than his and Karaby was much more experienced . As long as Karaby maintained his current performance, he could play in the starting lineup of any team .
Dai Li said, "The reason why I keep you in the starting lineup instead of Karaby is that I recognize your potential . Karaby has done well recently, but he has reached his limit . You are different . I cannot even see your limit . "
Dai Li was not trying to comfort Gray . Gray had a rare genius that only appeared once every 30 years . The detector rated him as an S+ level talent . He definitely had much room to grow .
"However, you need to solve your problem with fouls . You get too many . This fragments your playing time and affects your stats," Dai Li said . An eccentric expression flashed on his face .
Gray was plagued by fouls . In 20 minutes of playing time, he was able to get an 11 + 8, plus 2 . 3 blocks . If this were converted to 36 minutes, it would definitely be a double-double .
Taking into account that his playing time was very fragmented, his stats could definitely improve . Dai Li also thought that if Gray could control his personal fouls like the other players inside the three-point line, he could very easily average 20+15 .
Gray, who was sitting opposite Dai Li, listened to him . He agreed with him and nodded as he listened . He knew that he committed too many personal fouls .
"Coach, what should I do?" Gray asked .
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"According to my observations, your fouls occur when you block and when you fill in . When you are defending during a one-on-one situation, your fouls are under control . You need to improve in these two areas . "
Dai Li extended his finger as he spoke . He then said, "First of all, let's talk about blocking . You definitely can block, I might even say that you are good at it . . . "
Gray heard this and smiled timidly . His face looked very old, and a few wrinkles suddenly appeared on his face .
Gray could get 2 . 3 blocks per game with his 20 minutes of playtime . This proved that he was very good in this respect . If converted to the 36 minutes of playtime of an average player, Gray might get four blocks per game . He was able to be blocked shot leader by just by getting three blocks at the beginning of the year . If he got four blocks in a game, he could enter the hall of fame .
Dai Li suddenly changed his tone, "You should not block for the sake of getting a block . "
Gray hesitated and then tentatively said, "I don't do anything like that coach . I really don't . I'm not trying to push up my stats . "
"I didn't mean to say that you were deliberately trying to boost stats . I mean you always want to block the ball . " Dai Li paused and said, "Sometimes, you don't need to block at all . You just need to interfere with your opponent's throw to keep the ball from going into the basket . Then you can get the rebound . Wouldn't that be easier?"
Without waiting for Gray to answer, Dai Li already lifted up his second finger . "We are now going to talk about defense . You have a major problem with guarding . You are too obsessed with guarding an opponent . You want to block off his path completely . You have the ability to do so, but it bears the risk of getting more fouls . In fact, many times you just need to interfere and put some pressure on your opponent to make him lose his rhythm . That's enough . That would be considered successful defense . "
Dai Li changed his tone and then asked, "Do you think that, as a defender, you should guard against the ball or the player?"
"That . . . " Gray obviously hesitated .
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In basketball, there were 10 players on both sides . TThe most important thing in this sport was the basketball itself . The goal of the attacker was to put the ball into the basket and the defender's goal was to stop the ball from entering the basket . Simply put, the defender should guard against the ball .
In the development of basketball over the years, the answer had become less clear . The players on the field had different roles to play . They needed to cooperate and implement strategies . In the end, the game was still being played by people . In the NBA, guarding against the player was mainstream . Regardless of whether there was a ball in the opponent's hand, the defender should guard against the attacker he was responsible for . Nowadays, even junior high school students knew they needed to guard against the people that were in front of them . The defenders should be guarding against the people instead of guarding the ball .
"Guard against the people," Gray replied .
Dai Li smiled and said, "But you like to guard the ball .
"When I asked you this question, you hesitated a bit . Obviously, you also know about your bad habit . "
Gray nodded . Of course, he knew .
The coaches in the NBA were not useless . If Dai Li could realize this, other coaches would realize it too . They definitely used this to exploit Gray .
Dai Li became serious . "If you know, why not change?"
Gray lowered his head and was silent .
Dai Li was able to understand Gray .
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Sometimes, being too talented might not be a good thing! Dai Li lamented in his head .
What made Gray stand out was his talent . He was tall and had a large wingspan, a strong body, exquisite technique, an amazing jump, and quick moves . He really was a genius that only appeared once every 30 years . This wasn't something that people said without reason .
Gray's habit when defending was that he would always rush towards the ball, instead of guarding against the players . This was because he was too talented .
For example, when an opponent rushed underneath the basket to attack, other defenders thought about how to interrupt their opponent . The first thing that came to mind was interfering with the opponent when they shot the ball . Gray thought about how to block the ball . Because of his height and wingspan, he was able to block the ball easily .
Blocking, when compared to interrupting a shot, required more technical movements, increasing the chances of committing a foul .
For example, when defending or filling in, other players tried to prevent their opponents from advancing, closing the space the attackers were able to maneuver in . If the defenders could force the opponent to pass the ball or force them to shoot, the defense was considered a success . However, Gray wanted to put maximum pressure on the attackers when defending . He was not afraid of confronting anyone because he was strong enough and fast enough . If his opponent was nimble, he was able to keep up .
The probability of getting fouls was greater when maximum pressure techniques were applied and the opponents had no room to maneuver . After all, the ball was in the attacker's hands, and they were the ones who had the initiative . It was much easier for the attackers to make the defenders commit a foul than the other way around .
Gray was seven feet tall . When defensive tricks used by the players outside the three-point line were used by Gray, it was magnified . If done by someone shorter, the referee might not notice it . When done by Gray, the referee definitely saw it . He would then get a foul .
At the end of the day, Gray had a lot of fouls because he was too talented . Any other player inside the three-point line, a player who couldn't jump, couldn't block, and sometimes shouted to intimidate their opponents, just went underneath the basket and waited for a rebound .
Gray was not like this . He was able to touch the board just by jumping . Why wouldn't he block his opponents?
Any other player with a big physique wouldn't put all their effort into guarding the point guard . Point guards were fast and nimble, they wouldn't be able to keep up . It was hard for players with big physiques to guard against those with small physiques . Guarding against a point guard was just asking for trouble! Being able to interfere with them for a while was considered good enough .
Gray was different . Although he had a big physique, he was as fast as a point guard . He was taller and stronger than them . Of course, he would want to pin them down!Please download our sponsor's game to support us!