Chapter 656 - 582: Durant is a Special Player

Chapter 656: Chapter 582: Durant is a Special Player

50-46.

The Grand Canyon team, led by Curry, pulled off an upset, defeating the Little Horse Team on their home court.

With a crowd of professionals in attendance, it was inevitable that they would offer some commentary after the game.

"Grand Canyon won with their defense," Popovich said in a low voice.

On the surface, Curry hitting 7 of 11 three-pointers and dropping 31 points seemed to be the key to victory. But in Popovich’s view, Grand Canyon won the game because of their interior defense.

"This Mackie kid is good." Popovich’s eyes gradually lit up.

From his perspective, Mackie’s technique was incredibly raw. He would muscle his way into space under the basket, but when he jumped for a layup, he would somehow still miss.

But his athleticism was so rare that even Popovich was impressed.

Curry, limited by his physique, was a defensive liability that everyone exploited. He was often overpowered in a single step by the taller, stronger Gordon.

But whenever Gordon drove to the basket, Mackie was always there to provide help defense in an instant.

His rotation was incredibly fast. He could cover the ground to the basket in practically a single step. Then, without needing much of a wind-up, he would leap up to contest Gordon’s shot, seemingly covering the sky.

In other words, Mackie was plugging the defensive hole that was Curry.

And that kind of athletic talent, combined with his height and wingspan, was absolutely top-tier.

He was only 16, so he should still grow. He didn’t need much, just to reach 7 feet. If that happened, even with his raw technique, his athleticism alone would guarantee him a future as a defensive anchor—an excellent blue-collar big man.

If he could be paired with Duncan, it would be absolutely perfect.

"By the way, Chen, are you doing this show again next year?" Popovich suddenly asked.

Chen Yu paused for a moment, then shook his head. "Definitely not next year. Even if we do continue, it would have to be in ’06 or ’07."

They had practically scouted every kid from 14 to 16. At the very least, they’d have to wait for the next age group to be old enough before they could do it again.

Popovich figured as much. He crossed his arms, his eyes fixed on the highlights playing on the TV, his mind racing.

Kids born in ’88 would be eligible for the draft in ’06.

And this crop of kids was different from the high schoolers who had entered the draft before. Not only were they exceptionally talented, but thanks to this show, they had received NBA-level training ahead of schedule.

Or rather, the best training in the world.

Chen Yu represented that ceiling.

This age was a critical period for player development.

Why did so many high school draftees fail to pan out, needing to spend a couple of years in college first? It was because the level of training and coaching in high school was limited. They had to go to college to get polished and develop for two years.

But could college training and strategy even compare to Chen Yu’s?

Therefore, receiving this top-tier training several years early was incredibly important for these kids’ development.

They would take Chen Yu’s training philosophy and methods and grow into the best possible players, instead of letting their talent go to waste.

In that case, the probability of this rookie class producing successful players would be extremely high.

’Thinking of this, Popovich had already made a decision. He couldn’t trade away his ’06 and ’07 draft picks, no matter what. In fact, he should even try to stockpile a few.’

’He even had the idea of tanking.’

’If they could get a player of Oden’s caliber, the Spurs’ hopes for the next decade would be secured.’

After a short commercial break, the second game began.

During the regular season, Devil’s Mountain had lost to the California Boys twice. One of those was a forfeit because of an outburst from Little Jordan. The other loss came in the second half of the season, when Devil’s Mountain was making a furious comeback in the standings. To lose at a time like that could only mean there was still a genuine skill gap. Especially since during the final trade phase, Love had drawn the fifth pick and successfully traded for a forward named Dante Green, filling a hole in their lineup.

Chen Yu had a strong impression of the player, Dante Green.

He was born in Germany to athletic parents; his mother, in particular, was an all-around athlete.

As a result, Green fell in love with sports from a young age.

At first, Green played soccer, only focusing on basketball after he started growing taller.

Then, when he was 13, tragedy struck: his mother died of a heart attack.

At just 13, he felt his life was hopeless. He not only gave up basketball but also attempted suicide twice.

This dark period in his life made him work even harder after he returned to the court.

Last season, he attended Towson Catholic High School, the same school Carmelo Anthony went to before transferring to Oak Hill.

In other words, you could consider him Anthony’s underclassman.

Even the AAU team he played for was named after Carmelo’s nickname, "Melo."

In his sophomore season, the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 20.3 points, 11 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks. A two-way player, he had long been a well-known high school star in Maryland.

Because of this, his story was seen as a case of self-redemption in the face of adversity. During the show’s production phase, the crew had even considered designing and filming some segments centered on his experience.

But Chen Yu rejected the idea.

He was an outstanding athlete with a shooting range that extended to the three-point line, and his defense was sharp—his regular-season average of 2.8 blocks was the best proof of that.

Love picking him was a case of the strong joining forces with the strong.

However, once the game started, the California Boys ran into the same problem as Gordon’s team.

Teamwork!

Dante Green was clearly a step slow in his positioning and help defense, unable to read his teammates’ intentions instantly.

This led to Durant getting numerous scoring opportunities.

The towering Durant moved like a guard, blowing past Green with a change of direction and taking advantage of the defensive gap to drive to the basket for a powerful dunk.

And this type of play happened more than once.

Popovich remarked with emotion, "Chen, this player Kevin is very special."

Seeing everyone look at him, Popovich continued, "For someone his height to be able to handle the ball and change direction on a drive so fluidly is extremely difficult. As far as I can remember, there has never been a player like that in NBA history."

"With someone like Oden, everyone can see his future. But with Kevin, I truly can’t."

Popovich pointed at the television.

Oden was the type of player whose future you could see with just a single glance.

That’s why they call it "so-obvious-a-blind-man-could-see-it" talent.

But Durant was different.

The league had some tall guards, like Hardaway and Magic Johnson, who were famous big point guards. But Popovich really couldn’t think of anyone as tall as Durant, especially not with such a ridiculous wingspan.

The key thing was, Durant was only 16. He still had room to grow.

If he grew a few more centimeters and could maintain this level of fluidity and agility, it would be even more absurd.

That’s why Popovich said he couldn’t figure out Durant.

Chen Yu nodded in agreement. Durant was indeed a very special player.

But since they were on the topic, a question popped into Chen Yu’s mind. He asked, "Greg, with all the rule changes, do you think big men who expand their range of activity, even playing from the outside-in, will have a place in the league?"

Chen Yu was actually asking this question for the Pioneer, for Milicic.

Over the past two years, the league’s rules had been changing constantly, but Chen Yu could sense the general direction was a gradual shift favoring perimeter play.

This was because dominant centers like O’Neal were too rare, and an inside-oriented style of play made the game a bit dull, which wasn’t good for ticket sales.

As a purely commercial league, you could mess with anything except viewership and profits.

So under these circumstances, with the paint gradually opening up, a center’s range of activity could definitely be expanded.

Take Milicic, for example. Based on his characteristics, Chen Yu had been training his dribbling, his on-ball offense, his ability to drive from the high post, and even having him stretch out to shoot threes.

His operational range extended all the way to the three-point line; he was nothing like a traditional center.

And after the grind and training of last season, he was starting to show some of the results Chen Yu was looking for.

But Chen Yu wasn’t sure if this style of play would actually work, or if it was just a waste of Milicic’s talent.

That’s why he wanted to ask Popovich and get the championship-winning coach’s opinion.

Popovich shot Chen Yu a quizzical look, as if trying to understand why he would even have such an idea.

After a moment, unable to figure it out, he just shook his head and said, "Impossible. Without outstanding ball-handling skills, a center who expands his range is completely useless."