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Chapter 491 - 215. One win, one loss, the situation is stable_2

Chapter 491: 215. One win, one loss, the situation is stable_2

Carlisle had stepped into Bickerstaff’s shoes while watching the video, thought for a day, but besides hoping for a player explosion, he really couldn’t think of any strategy.

Just like in the 02-03 season when he coached the Pistons during the Eastern Conference Finals and faced Kidd, he was out of options and got absolutely schooled by Kidd.

However, what he considered a dead end, Bickerstaff miraculously managed to turn around!

The way Bickerstaff played tonight greatly reduced the gap between the two teams in terms of lineup structure, postseason experience, and other aspects.

Carlisle was deeply shocked; so, the game could be played like this...

Of course, if it were up to him, he still wouldn’t be able to play as wildly as Bickerstaff, that wasn’t his coaching style, but there were worthwhile lessons to be learned.

He wasn’t a rigid academic; he had learned from many, starting with the Celtics legend KC Jones, then truly from his mentor, legendary coach Bill Fitch for several years, followed by witnessing PJ Carlesimo being choked, and later hung around with Sloan for two years, even assisting Alvin Gentry and Doug Collins...amalgamating strengths from various sources, he had now learned something new.

Carlisle was not a perfect coach; until now, he hadn’t even achieved truly meaningful success—he was still learning, still improving, still making mistakes.

Even after joining the Mavericks in ’08, he faced consecutive failures for two seasons; in the ’08-’09 playoffs, they were thrashed 1-4 by the Nuggets Team in the second round, and in the ’09-’10 season, they were surprisingly ousted in the first round by the Spurs. His reputation as a coach hit rock bottom then; the media labeled him a "rebuilding coach," good at building teams but unable to lead them to victories; during that time, the opinion about him being overshadowed by Larry Brown in ’03 was that Larry Brown was indeed justified...

The Mavericks’ championship win in the ’10-’11 season was not only a redemption for Nowitzki but also saved Carlisle’s coaching reputation.

...

The next day, at 9:30 AM, Carlisle arrived at Tuhang Stadium.

He couldn’t resist and requested Bickerstaff to let him attend the morning briefing, wanting to sit in—a request Bickerstaff gladly accepted.

After game 2 of the Eastern Finals, the teams rested for two days, the next match scheduled for May 30th at the Auburn Palace Arena.

The Bobcats’ training times were scheduled at 3 PM today and 9 AM tomorrow before heading to Detroit tomorrow afternoon.

However, this morning Bickerstaff had scheduled a 10 AM meeting, which some players would also attend.

When Carlisle arrived at the training facility, he saw Jack, directly nicknamed "Bad Boy" within the Bad Boys Legion, already drenched in sweat from practice.

Carlisle had heard about Zhang Yang’s physical recovery capability; a 17-year-old who could last till the fourth game in a five-day, four-game battle was indeed a rare talent.

Last night, he had seen Zhang Yang completely exhausted at the end of the game, sitting collapsed on the bench, yet here he was early in the morning, vigorously practicing shots... This still amazed him!

Carlisle, having played in the NBA himself, understood from more than 40 years of basketball from elementary school to now that physical stamina is undoubtedly one of the most crucial talents for a basketball player.

Hamilton, whose speed was not very fast, just not slow; his mid-range shot wasn’t top-tier either, with a career-long two-point shooting percentage at 41%, mid-range at 43%, and close mid-range at 42%—barely touching elite level, but he was recognized as the king of mid-range shots, such consistent threat at mid-range surpassed even the peak Alan Houston, thanks majorly to his league-leading physical stamina.

As accurate in the first quarter as he was in the last quarter, even in the final moments, continuously tormenting the defenders.

There’s a legend—over a decade ago, Kobe and Hamilton were both attending high schools in Pennsylvania, occasionally training together, but Kobe refused to do any aerobic exercises with Hamilton because Kobe loved to compare, loved to win.

After Zhang Yang completed a set of triple-threat to step-in mid-range shots and saw Carlisle, he greeted, "Good morning, Mr. Carlisle."

This address... Carlisle smiled and said, "Just call me Rick. Coming to train this early, you’re even harder working than I thought."

Zhang Yang: "Thank you. I’ll need to do more solo plays in this Eastern Finals, and I’ve been watching a lot of Michael Jordan’s mid-range isolation videos over the past few days, thought I’d practice more, might come in handy during the games."

Carlisle: "Studying videos? Doesn’t Michael teach you? I’ve been staying at his place these days, and he seems not too busy, should I talk to him for you?"

Zhang Yang: "No, no, let the boss rest a bit. He’s been busy this season, rare for him to have some rest time, I can manage on my own."

Carlisle: "Is that so..."

Carlisle thought of Jordan, who had nothing better to do than to ambush him seven times at his door to drag him to Charlotte, didn’t seem very busy... Seeing Zhang Yang continue training, he didn’t press further, it wasn’t much of a matter during the playoffs.

Just then, little Bickerstaff arrived; Carlisle said hi before they both headed to the general manager’s office.

Carlisle remarked to little Bickerstaff how polite Zhang Yang was.

Little Bickerstaff twisted his face in a conflicted expression: "Jack is indeed very polite, rare for an athlete to be that courteous, just..."

Carlisle: "Just?"

Little Bickerstaff: "Not important, you’ll find out after spending more time around. Let’s go, we should first meet with Bernie to go over the discussion topics for the meeting."

Carlisle had an indescribable feeling: This team is pretty weird, isn’t it?

Passing the resting room, Carlisle heard voices talking. Glancing inside, he saw Felton, Okafor, Rondo, Gerald Wallace, and Derek Anderson in intense discussion.