Almighty Coach

TD Banknorth Garden.

The Celtics center, Fred, wiped the sweat from his head. He looked at Gray and there was a hint of fear and helplessness in his expression.

Fred couldn’t help but think of a night from a few years ago. It was the NCAA final and the University of Florida team, led by Fred, played against the University of Kansas team, led by Gray. The University of Florida won that game, but Fred was defeated by Gray.

Fred still remembered how invincible Gray was on that day. Gray could handle two opponents single-handedly. He easily defeated Fred and another player inside the three-point line.

This had left a scar on Fred’s memory.

Fred was currently an all-star center. His partner, who had also been beaten by Gray, had also become an all-star. Both of them had been named “Best Defensive Player” by the NBA. Meanwhile, the talented center who defeated them in the NCAA finals had fallen prey to injuries.

After many years, Fred had forgotten about the opponent that embarrassed him that day. Now, Fred saw him again. It was a version of Gray in extremely good condition.

It was as if he was the Gray from years ago, the Gray that defeated him with just one hand.

Being both an all-star defender and a center was rare. He was one of the most talented players even when he was younger. He could take on two opponents at the same time. The only word that could describe him was “terrifying.”

On the court, the Celtics used a pick-and-roll tactic. After the pick-and-roll, Gray changed his position to guard against the Celtics’ point guard.

The Celtics’ point guard sped up, rushed to the free-throw lane, and stuck to Gray. He then maneuvered and attacked from the rim. Right as the ball left his hands, Gray smacked the ball with one big slap. He knocked the ball right out of the air.

It was a beautiful block!

Unfortunately, this was the Celtics’ home court. The fans wouldn’t cheer when their own players’ shots were blocked.

On the bench, Arnold, the Celtics’ coach, frowned. He had not expected Gray to block that shot.

Arnold’s coaching record in the NBA was quite good, but his basketball coaching career started in the NCAA. He had been the head coach at Butler University for more than a decade. Coaching the Celtics was his first coaching job in the NBA, so he had not experienced the era when the centers had dominated the NBA.

It was because of this that Arnold could not come up with any good counters when facing Gray.

“Is another super center going to emerge?” Arnold licked his lips.

In the NBA, there had been no incredible centers for over a decade. People had forgotten how terrifyingly good the centers had been. A young coach like him didn’t know how to deal with these centers because he did not have any experience playing against them.

“So what if he is another great center? The NBA is no longer the same as it was a decade ago! The small ball playstyles are popular in the NBA right now. The era where a center can defeat an entire team is over!” Arnold said in disdain.

A player from the Clippers picked up the ball outside the three-point line. He was facing off against a defensive player. He suddenly sprinted forward and broke through his opponents’ defensive line.

The Celtics’ defensive player immediately moved back. He tried to stop him from moving forward. Another defender on the other side was preparing to move in to give some assistance.

The Clippers’ player suddenly stopped, jumped, and his body began to lean back.

A sudden stop and a step-back jump shot. It was beautiful. It was like it came out of a textbook.

After the ball left his hands, it moved in a perfect arc in the air. It then went straight into the basket.

A perfect sudden stop and step-back jump shot. It was picture perfect!

“Nathan Hall!” The live commentary said the name of the player who scored in a low voice.

Arnold, the Celtic head coach, subconsciously looked at that player’s stats. It was at this point he realized he had forgotten about this person.

The terrifying “Yellow Mamba” Hall from the past!

The mamba was a poisonous snake. An African-American shooting guard who had ruled the NBA in the past had been given the nickname “Black Mamba.” Hall had the nickname “Yellow Mamba” because his skin color was slightly lighter than the legendary “Black Mamba.” In terms of skill, he was similar to the “Black Mamba.” His height, weight, basic fundamental skills, shooting skills, and physical condition were all ideal. He was well-balanced in every aspect. He had almost no weaknesses. The picture-perfect sudden stop and step-back jump shot was similar to the “Black Mamba.”

In the past three decades, the sudden stop and step-back jump shot was the most commonly used scoring method for guards and small forwards.

When a guard or small forward broke through the defense, the defender would be slightly away from them. This created space for the jump shot. If a fadeaway was added, the defender would only be able to stop and stare; they wouldn’t be able to interfere with the shot. It depended entirely on whether or not the person who threw the ball was able to get it into the basket.

Shooting three-pointers had become the mainstream tactic in the NBA. The number of players who used the sudden stop and step-back jump shot was lessening. Many players chose to shoot outside the three-point line even if they knew how to perform the sudden stop and step-back jump shot.

Hall once again used the technique that he was best at, the sudden stop and step-back jump shot. Many old fans felt a sense of nostalgia. It was like they had been transported to the past.

The Celtics’ coach, Arnold, seemed to be rejoicing. He realized that the Clippers had brought back a terrible thing.

Wood, Gray, plus Hall, super centers and super guards. The Clippers’ lineup should not be underestimated! Fortunately, the Clippers are in the Western Conference. Unless in the playoffs’ finals, we won’t play against one another again. Let the teams in the Western Conference worry about them!

On the other bench, Dai Li was looking at Hall’s statistics.

“Hall has scored more than 15 points in recent games. Although he did not have many chances to shoot, he has been able to score consistently,” Cassel said, standing beside Dai Li.

“He has a lot of offensive methods. He is especially consistent with the sudden stop and step-back jump shot. I think we can give him more chances to shoot. Although he has a good field goal percentage, I don’t want him to only focus on shooting the ball,” Dai Li said.

“Would you like Wood to reduce the number of shots he takes?” Cassel asked.

After a few seconds, Dai Li nodded, “Wood doesn’t have a high number of assists, but he is good at them. I remember that his highest number was 17 assists in a single game, right? As a point guard, he has the ability to act as the glue that holds the team together”

The gist of what Dai Li was saying was that he wanted Wood to score less and pass more. This would give Hall more opportunities to shoot.

…

On the court, Hall received the ball, did a pump fake, and then broke through the defender’s defenses. His opponents immediately rushed forward to meet him, but they did not expect Hall to suddenly change direction. He rushed past the three-point line.

The defender was shaken by Hall and felt embarrassed. He quickly rushed forward and wanted to stop Hall.

Hall stopped and then jumped. The defender was sprinting too quickly. When he was finally able to stop, he was already five feet away from Hall. Even if he jumped now, he wouldn’t be able to block Hall.

This was a middle-distance shot that no one was able to block. Hall’s steady hands got the ball into the basket and received two points.

The pump fake, single-handedly breaking through the defenses, the change of direction, the rush, the sudden stop and step-back jump shot, all of Hall’s technical movements were extremely smooth. If one were to slow down everything to one frame at a time, his performance could be used in a textbook to demonstrate how to perform the sudden stop and step-back jump shot.

After he scored, Hall did not celebrate but instead looked down at his knees subconsciously.

His knees felt good and there weren’t any problems with them at all.

Hall felt much more at ease.

The pump fake, the continuous change of direction, the sudden stop, the sudden rushes, and the sudden stop and step back jump shot were all techniques that were called “knee killers.” The menisci in Hall’s knees were already gone and they were gone because of his use of these techniques.

After retiring and making a comeback, Hall had become weaker. He did not dare to do the moves that were very damaging to the knees. He played relatively conservatively. This was the NBA, however. Their opponents were strong and all of them were going all out. Trying to stay healthy while playing would mean that he would neither be able to attack or defend well. He would get completely destroyed while attacking or defending.

Hall was a top-level athlete, he had his ego. If he were completely destroyed in every game, he would be embarrassed. He became more and more daring one game after another. He slowly started to attempting the knee killing moves again.

If Hall was willing to use those technically difficult moves, the terrifying “Yellow Mamba” had been reborn!

…

In the next game, the Clippers played against the Lakers at their home court.

Although it was their home court, in actuality, the Staples Center was also the Lakers’ home court.

The Lakers were one of the most important teams in the NBA. They had the well-deserved spot of top dog in the L.A. sporting scene. The Lakers had more fans than the Clippers, so even when the Clippers played against the Lakers as the home team, the number of Lakers’ fans were much higher than the Clippers’.

This was actually quite unfair. Both teams had to play against each other four times a year. They each got two games as the home team. The Clippers’ home court was also the Lakers home court. This basically meant that the Clippers had two fewer games as the home team.

The Lakers had been rebuilding their team in the recent seasons. Their performance had degraded greatly. They were getting less and less attention from their fans. On the other hand, the Clippers had been signing megastars. This created a lot of interest from the fans. The Clippers’ recent performances had been quite good. They were currently ranked second in the Pacific Division. They were in the top eight of the Western Conference. They had a chance to make the playoffs. Under these circumstances, the Clippers were in a much better situation. There were just as many fans at the stadium for the Clippers as there were for the Lakers.

Before the start of the game, the Clippers decided to increase the opportunities for Hall to shoot. Wood, as the point guard, would strictly stick with the decision by the coaching staff. In fact, for a point guard, it was more important to aid in the team’s offense than to score. If his teammates could contribute to the attack, it was easier for Wood to not attack by holding the ball and rushing to the basket to meet the strong defenders inside the three-point line all on his own.

Hall did not disappoint his coach or teammates. He broke through the defense by continuously changing directions. Together with the sudden stop and step-back jump shot, he was able to completely decimate the Lakers’ defense.

“Swoosh!”

It was another sudden stop and step-back jump shot. As the basketball went inside the basket, the fans screamed deafening cheers.

It wasn’t just the Clippers’ fans who cheered, but the Lakers’ fans began to cheer as well. They cheered because they saw a picture-perfect sudden stop and step-back jump shot. It was something that was absent from basketball games for a long time.

The top NBA player, the “Black Mamba,” had used this picture-perfect sudden stop and step-back jump shot to bring the Lakers to the playoffs and, ultimately, to win the championship multiple times. Since his retirement, many Lakers’ fans thought that they would never see this picture-perfect shot again.

Now that the “Yellow Mamba” had been resurrected and he was using the same shot, it triggered a sense of nostalgia for the fans. It also ignited the fans’ fervor.

The city of Los Angeles had a long history of sports. There were many people who grew up and grew old with the Lakers. There were many longtime fans at the current game. It was easy to trigger these longtime fans’ fervor.

At a time where small ball playstyles were popular, the fast switch between offensive and defensive was very enjoyable. The three-pointers that were impossible to make marveled people again and again. However, in Los Angeles, in the hearts of this generation of fans, it was not as good as seeing that picture-perfect sudden stop and step-back jump shot. It represented the youth of a generation. It was the memory of an entire generation!

Even if the actual shot itself wasn’t good for the Lakers, the memory was still beautiful.

Those beautiful memories were like a person’s first love. It would always remain beautiful in a person’s mind. It was something that was hard to give up. In fact, if one were the look at the picture of the girl they liked, they would realize that the girl was actually not as beautiful one remembered her to be.

…

In this game, Hall felt that he had a good handle on the ball. He scored 35 points. The Clippers beat the Lakers.

The next day, the headlines of sports papers were dominated by one headline: “Resurrection of the Yellow Mamba!”