Chapter 762 - 687: The Necessary Path to Superstardom

Chapter 762: Chapter 687: The Necessary Path to Superstardom

Chen Yu certainly had something to say about that.

"If they come to me for treatment, I can guarantee they’ll make a full recovery."

’I’m not some quack doctor. With my accumulated experience and the knowledge I’ve gained from the system, I’d still be one of the world’s top sports medicine doctors even without the system’s direct effects.’

’So my treatment is worth this price.’

The man outside on the street had already been driven away.

But it wasn’t easy to completely stop people like him from showing up.

He wasn’t breaking the law. He had the right to promote his own treatment philosophy.

Beckenbauer clearly understood this as well. He said, "Chen, is there any chance you could spare some time to be based in Berlin and treat injured players, just like you did at the Athens Olympic Games last year?"

During the Athens Olympic Games, Chen Yu had set up a clinic right in the Olympic Village, benefiting a great number of athletes.

’So that’s what you were leading up to,’ Chen Yu thought.

"I’ll consider it."

Chen Yu didn’t refuse him outright. "But you know I’m the team doctor for the United States Team, so I have to stay with them," he said.

Beckenbauer replied instantly, "That’s no problem. Your team can just set up its base in Berlin. I can arrange the best hotel, provide top-tier security, and even help you coordinate the best training facilities."

The United States Team’s security was already a top priority, and having their base in Berlin would make it even more secure.

Providing a few extra conveniences on top of that was a trivial matter.

If he could get Chen Yu to oversee the medical center in exchange, he wouldn’t have to worry about the medical side of this World Cup at all.

With an undisputed expert like Chen Yu in charge, no national team or media outlet could find any reason to complain.

Beckenbauer was clearly determined to get his way.

Chen Yu had to show him some respect.

"I’ll discuss it with Robert," Chen Yu said.

He had to discuss it with Contiguglia, after all.

Beckenbauer nodded and, along with Wolffat, led Chen Yu on an inspection of the entire hospital.

The entire inspection lasted for a week.

The inspection didn’t just cover the hospital; it also included the medical facility arrangements at the twelve stadiums and the transfer procedures for injured players.

It also involved doping control procedures.

Doping is less common in soccer and basketball, but the procedure was still necessary.

After completing the inspection, Chen Yu submitted his report, leaving the German side to follow up on the required improvements. He then scheduled a final review for the following March before returning to the United States.

The new season had already begun in full swing.

In the season opener between the Phoenix Suns and the Spurs, Hardaway and Nowitzki combined for 56 points, helping the Suns secure their first win of the season.

However, some problems were also exposed.

Facing Duncan’s defense, Nowitzki shot 7-for-19, a very low field goal percentage.

He was a star, but he wasn’t dominant enough. In high-stakes games, he still seemed out of his depth.

"Chen, Aaron, what are your thoughts?" Skiles asked in the meeting room.

This was the first review meeting after the new season started.

After making adjustments to the lineup, opponents study you and work to exploit your weaknesses.

This is precisely the time when problems are exposed.

Moreover, the starting lineup hadn’t changed. After a full season of playing together, their style was set. Opponents had studied them for a whole season and were bound to have figured some things out.

In the season opener, Nowitzki’s slump was the problem Skiles’s coaching staff urgently needed to solve.

Naturally, they turned to Chen Yu’s professional team for help.

Chen Yu glanced at Nelson, signaling for him to speak.

Nelson began, "We’ve carefully analyzed the past few games. By combining that with Dirk’s previous performances on the Mavericks, we’ve identified a few issues."

He stood up and began to present the data.

"In 2000, after Nash became the Mavericks’ primary ball-handler, Dirk’s stats also exploded across the board."

In the 2000-2001 season, Nash officially became the Mavericks’ undisputed starting point guard. His stats skyrocketed from 8.6 points and 4.8 assists the previous season to 15.6 points and 7.2 assists.

And it was that same year that Nowitzki’s scoring average also surged from 17.5 to 21.7 points per game, elevating him into the ranks of 20-point scorers.

"In those few seasons, under Nash’s playmaking, Dirk became an excellent off-ball finisher. His shots were concentrated on corner spot-up threes, and catch-and-shoot jumpers after pick-and-rolls and off-ball screens."

"In the 03-04 season, the percentage of his made two-pointers and three-pointers that were assisted reached 67% and 97%, respectively."

"Then last season he came to the Suns. Anfernee is a great passer, but he isn’t a pass-first point guard like Nash; he has to carry a significant scoring load himself."

Hardaway and Nash are just not the same type of point guard.

"So last season, Dirk’s assisted-shot percentages for two- and three-pointers dropped to 49% and 80%, respectively. That’s a very significant decline."

"Yet his stats didn’t drop significantly—in fact, they even went up. This means the shots that were no longer assisted became one-on-one isolation plays and low-post-ups."

Skiles nodded in agreement.

Last season, he had indeed adjusted his tactics and asked Nowitzki to play more isolation ball, and they had specifically worked on training his post-up game.

Nelson continued, "We’ve found from studying game film that his isolation plays and post-ups are very effective against taller, slower defenders, and his success rate is quite high."

"However, when he goes up against certain types of defenders, his weaknesses start to show."

"Take the season opener, for example. Duncan would body him up, providing plenty of physical contact, and then Bowen would come over to help, fronting Dirk to prevent him from even receiving the ball."

"There are two key factors here. First, Dirk’s post-up game isn’t polished enough. Against a defender with excellent experience like Duncan, Duncan is very good at timing his turn to disrupt the shot."

"Second, when an athletic, experienced defender like Bowen comes over to help, Dirk has limited options for dealing with the double-team. His ability to pass out of the trap is very poor."

"So, as you can see, his field goal percentage was very low in the opener. But in the second game against the Jazz, facing Boozer, and the third game against the Celtics, facing Lafrentz, he performed exceptionally well."

"And we believe he’s going to face double-teams more and more often, as other teams gradually figure out how to defend him."

Getting double-teamed is an unavoidable part of the path to superstardom.

A true superstar is someone who can still produce consistently even while being double-teamed.

So this was a path Nowitzki had to walk.

Besides, as a championship-caliber team, the Suns had a target on their back. Every team in the league was watching them.

The moment you expose a weakness, other teams will immediately follow suit and use the same strategy to defend you.

If you don’t adjust and improve, the problem will only get bigger and bigger.

Skiles furrowed his brow, thinking. He agreed with the analysis from Chen Yu’s team. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Setting aside the team’s tactics for a moment, on an individual level for Dirk, this means we need to train his post-up game and his ability to pass out of double-teams."

The Suns have shooters on the perimeter. As Nelson said, if an opponent uses their athletic small forward to help on Nowitzki, then Marion will be open.

And Marion is very accurate from the corner.

"But will we have enough time to make these improvements mid-season?" Skiles asked, concerned.

Players usually work on their skills in the offseason. Trying to do it mid-season not only yields limited results but can also negatively impact their performance in games.

"If we don’t start training now, it’ll definitely be too late," Chen Yu said.

"Right now it’s still the regular season. When the playoffs come, opponents will only target him more aggressively. What will we do then? If we start practicing now, it might affect some games, but it’s just the regular season, after all."

"Most importantly, for Dirk, this is a necessary step on his path to becoming a top-tier superstar!"

If he wanted to shake off those insulting labels—"soft," "not clutch"—he had to make a change.