Chapter 764 - 689: Nowitzki’s Mentor

Chapter 764: Chapter 689: Nowitzki’s Mentor

Skiles and Brian were stunned. They both looked at Chen Yu, waiting for an explanation.

Chen Yu said, "We need Sean’s help defense to cover for Dirk."

"In one-on-one situations, Ron is a top-tier defender, but his help defense is relatively poor."

"His offensive tools are limited. He can shoot threes, and so can Sean. His mid-range shot is a bit better, but Sean’s cuts to the basket are more of a threat."

"Also, his rebounding isn’t good enough. Sean is a better rebounder."

"So, all things considered, Sean is still a better fit for us."

Every player has their own characteristics, but the most important thing is always finding the right fit.

Artest had his strengths, but Marion was definitely the better fit for the Phoenix Suns.

With the Kings and the Pacers, Artest played like a core player. He needed the ball in his hands to be effective.

But with the Phoenix Suns, he wouldn’t get that kind of treatment.

That’s why a player like Marion, who scores off assists, was obviously a much better fit.

"As for Bender, he’s very talented. If you really want him, just wait until his contract expires next summer and then try to get him."

"Alright, that’s my opinion."

After speaking, Chen Yu turned his attention back to his laptop.

The screen was replaying Nowitzki’s test videos.

Over the past month, Chen Yu’s team had, it was safe to say, analyzed Nowitzki down to the last detail.

His problem was clear: his back-to-the-basket game wasn’t good enough.

He could use his speed and face-up drives to punish slow-footed big men.

But when facing elite defenders, his advantage disappeared, and when forced to play with his back to the basket, his skills were insufficient.

This was especially true when opponents sent a help defender to double-team him; he had no way to break the trap or handle the ball.

To sum up the problem, he could score at will against average opponents and easily play at an All-Star level. However, as soon as he faced top-tier defenders like Duncan and Garnett, or teams with excellent overall defense, he struggled to perform like a superstar.

That’s why he was labeled as a player who couldn’t perform in high-stakes games and tended to choke in crucial moments.

Now that the problem was identified, the next step was to figure out how to solve it.

Beating the double-team was simple enough: pass the ball.

He wasn’t fighting alone. He had teammates.

The Suns’ outside shooting and cuts to the basket were still very threatening. If he practiced passing out of the double-team, that problem could be solved.

Chen Yu also had plenty of training methods to simulate these situations and help him practice his passing.

The key was how to improve his offensive skills.

Chen Yu’s team had been discussing this for a long time.

Right now, Nowitzki’s main offensive weapon was his shot—all kinds of shots, from all over the floor.

He was very dependent on his teammates’ passes.

Before, he had Nash. Now he had Hardaway, so it wasn’t a huge problem.

But when he couldn’t get an open look and had to go into isolation, his only option was to use his agility and speed to punish his opponent and muscle his way in for a score.

He needed a reliable way to score in one-on-one or back-to-the-basket situations.

Nelson and the others had discussed it back and forth, and their suggestion was the back-down turnaround jump shot.

This was the go-to move for agile big men.

It was for Garnett, and it was for Yao Ming too.

Especially Garnett.

He didn’t have the weight, which gave him the agility of a small forward. Expecting him to play like O’Neal, backing his man down under the basket and using a variety of hook shots—a classic center’s low-post game—was unrealistic.

So he chose to shoot. ℯℯ𝑙.

All sorts of shots out of the triple threat, shots off screens, and turnaround jumpers after faking left and right from the post.

It was very hard to defend.

So, with this successful example, Nowitzki could completely replicate it.

At first, Chen Yu also supported this suggestion, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt it wasn’t right.

Or rather, it didn’t fit Nowitzki’s playing style.

Garnett’s skills were more well-rounded, whereas Nowitzki was a purer shooter.

Therefore, the focus of his improvement should be on maximizing his strengths.

Shore up his weaknesses and enhance his strengths.

The core of any star player who could establish himself and make a name for himself in the NBA was creating an advantage that others didn’t have.

And what were Nowitzki’s advantages?

His agility, his soft touch, and his excellent body coordination and balance.

The turnaround jumper could make use of these talents, but Chen Yu felt it was a bit too convoluted.

However, making adjustments and improvements is a long process. Completing an adjustment within a single season would already be very fast.

So they could give it a try first.

The meeting ended without reaching a definitive conclusion.

「The next day.」

During a break between games, Chen Yu began to schedule training for Nowitzki on his back-down turnaround jump shot.

He started with his dominant hand and the different speeds of his turns to the left and right, adjusting and training step by step.

This amounted to extra training, so Chen Yu also had to massage Nowitzki’s muscles after every session to help him recover and maintain his game condition.

At the same time, Chen Yu also applied all the available training effects.

After all, the Phoenix Suns had paid for Nowitzki’s adjustment and improvement.

And the fee wasn’t cheap—a full two million US dollars.

Besides, even if money weren’t involved, as a minority owner of the team, Chen Yu had to give it his all.

「And just like that, it was December.」

"Dirk, take a break."

At the training center, Chen Yu stopped Nowitzki.

"This isn’t working."

Chen Yu turned his head to Nelson.

After nearly a month of special training, Nowitzki’s shooting percentage on his back-down turnaround jumper was still below thirty-five percent.

A percentage like that was nowhere near good enough for it to be used as a regular weapon in his arsenal.

Nelson knew what Chen Yu meant. He thought for a moment and said, "Chen, don’t you think you’re being a little impatient? After all, we’ve only just started training. No player can develop a reliable shot in just one month."

Anyone who could master it in a single season would be considered a genius.

Chen Yu still shook his head.

’This month was a short time, but I’ve used quite a few of the system’s training effects on Nowitzki. Combined with the customized training methods and all the auxiliary equipment, this one month of training is equivalent to a normal six months. To only get this far after half a year of progress means there’s a problem.’

"Actually, I’ve been thinking about something. Dirk’s shooting arc is very high. Look at the data."

Chen Yu pulled up some data on the computer.

"Especially his free throws. His release angle is consistently between 47 and 48 degrees. That creates a very high arc."

Normally, a big man’s shooting arc will be high because of their height, but not this high.

"This is a characteristic of his shot. And I also noticed that his free-throw percentage is extremely high. Based on last season’s data, he shot 87.3% from the free-throw line. Among big men, he was the second highest in the entire league."

That percentage ranked 11th in the entire league.

Everyone ahead of him was a guard.

The only one ahead of Nowitzki was Austin Croshere of the Pacers.

But Croshere only took 256 free throws, while Nowitzki’s number was 708.

So Nowitzki’s free-throw percentage was clearly more significant.

"And on his mid-range shots, his release angle is also very high. With his height, there’s absolutely no need to shoot like that, so I was quite curious."

At this point, Chen Yu called Nowitzki over and asked him why his shooting arc was so high.

When asked about this, a smile suddenly appeared on Nowitzki’s face. He said a name, using the word "teacher" to describe the person.

His name was Holger Geschwindner.

"Oh? Tell me more."

Chen Yu pressed, hearing the high regard in Nowitzki’s voice for this Holger Geschwindner.

It turned out that Nowitzki had played tennis as a child, but like many players, a sudden growth spurt forced him onto the path of basketball.

At 16, he was playing for a local second-division basketball team, DJK Würzburg.

It was also that year that he met the team’s assistant coach, Holger Geschwindner.

"Mr. Holger is very famous. He even scored 102 points in a single game!" Speaking of Holger, Nowitzki’s eyes lit up as he proudly recounted his teacher’s life story.

From his description, this Holger was truly extraordinary.

Holger had a teacher named Theo Clausen. He was a prisoner of war during World War II and was sent to Springfield, USA. There, he was influenced by James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. After returning to Germany in the 1950s, he was the first to bring the sport to the country.

Clausen later became a teacher at the middle school Holger attended, and he became Holger’s mentor.

At just 17, Holger achieved the incredible feat of scoring 102 points in a single game and later became a star player for the German Men’s Basketball Team.

And he was the one who single-handedly discovered Nowitzki.

And with his unique training methods, he developed Nowitzki into a tall shooter.

Truly unique.

He didn’t have Nowitzki do weight training. Instead, he had him practice rowing to train full-body coordination, dribble to the sound of jazz music, practice fencing to train his footwork, and even learn to dance. During shooting practice, he would have him do all sorts of things like spinning in place and standing on one leg to train his shooting stability and coordination.

As for Nowitzki’s release angle, Holger had calculated it through modeling and analysis, keeping it at 47.5 degrees.

Because he also loved math and physics.

After hearing Nowitzki’s story, Chen Yu suddenly became interested in this Holger.

Some of his training philosophies were strikingly similar to the "mad science" team Chen Yu had specially assembled.

Chen Yu had specifically put a team together just to have them brainstorm and create all sorts of bizarre and novel training methods.