Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 599: Chapter 525: Little Jordan Quits (2)

He didn’t really remember that.

Jim continued, "Compared to your stats from previous games, if we’re just talking about your pull-up jumper off the dribble, your field goal percentage has dropped significantly. That’s because you habitually go to your right. Or, to put it another way, your opponents are forcing you right and then defending you accordingly."

Durant was stunned for a moment. "Jim, is that possible?"

’Deliberately forcing me to drive right?’ The idea seemed incredible to him.

Jim smiled. "Nothing is impossible. You might think, ’I’m just playing against other high schoolers, how could they be thinking so much?’ But don’t forget, behind them stand NBA-level professional scouts and Trainers."

"In the NBA, there’s a whole group of people who will watch your game tapes, frame by frame, looking for your weaknesses and flaws, then set up targeted defenses against you."

Durant was silently alarmed. He believed what Jim was saying.

Because after interacting with them these past few days, he was only now beginning to understand what the professional standard of the NBA really represented.

That was a level that they, as high school players, could not even hope to reach.

"But why?" Durant couldn’t figure out the reason.

Based on what Jim was saying, someone had already discovered his flaw and was starting to exploit it.

He had indeed felt that scoring had become more difficult in recent games, and the team had lost several times.

"Because of your shooting form."

Jim took the ball and mimed the motion. "Have you ever noticed? After you gather the ball, because of your wingspan and body proportions, you bring it up to your left side first. Then, as you continue the upward motion, you adjust it back to the center. There’s a whole swinging, looping process to it."

"During that process, you expose the ball on your left side. So when you drive to your right, it’s right there in front of your defender, making it much easier for them to disrupt your shot."

"That’s what I mean when I say opponents are forcing you to your right."

"Also, your release point is too low. You jump off both feet simultaneously, and your stance is too narrow. All of this is reducing your shooting stability."

"Your core strength is insufficient, preventing you from generating full power. Logically, with your height and wingspan, you should have a higher release point and a higher arc on your shot. That would make your shot harder to interfere with."

"You’re tall, and you try to get your shot off quickly like a guard. In that situation, if you could stand with one foot in front of the other, when you jump, your left foot would naturally extend forward to keep your body balanced. This would actually give you a slight fadeaway, which would also make your shot harder to block."

Jim demonstrated.

He had been observing Durant for several days since arriving in Safford, and only today had he reached some solid conclusions.

"Of course, this is just a preliminary direction for adjustment that I think is suitable right now. I’ll give you two weeks to a month to adjust and adapt. We’ll track your shooting percentage before and after to see if this direction is wrong. If it’s not, and you’ve gotten better, then we’ll use this as a foundation and continue to make adjustments."

"But for now, you must be conscious of not letting opponents guide you to your right. Use your crossover to your advantage. Going left, you’ll find your shot is more comfortable."

Durant nodded dazedly, once again grasping just how high the Professional Level was.

The biggest thing he’d learned these past few days was that Professional Level Trainers were obsessed with the details.

Especially with technical moves, like a hook shot, they could be so meticulous as to adjust the angle of every single finger.

This kind of training was something he, a high schooler, could never have imagined.

Of course, the rewards were also extraordinarily huge.

「At 7:00 p.m., the game began.」

The gymnasium could hold six hundred people, but today, only a little over a hundred were seated.

Safford was too small a town, and the basketball atmosphere wasn’t that strong. The locals preferred baseball.

Love’s team was called the California Boys because its three main players were all from California.

Kevin Love, his good friend Klay Thompson, and a small forward named Maurice Miller.

Without a doubt, their offensive core was Love.

So before the game, Presti pulled Little Jordan aside, repeatedly drilling into him that he had to shut down Love.

Little Jordan’s face was tense. He just nodded slightly and said nothing.

After giving his instructions, Presti then looked at Durant. "Kevin, Maurice Miller is heavy and slow. He’s no match for you. Use your speed and blow him out. I need 40 points from you today!"

Durant nodded slightly, but his mind was still on the shooting form adjustments Jim had told him about before the game.

The game began amidst sparse cheers.

Love was the first to strike. After receiving the ball, he used a jab step to fake, then quickly pulled back for a turnaround hook shot and scored.

He was on the heavier side, but surprisingly agile.

In contrast, Little Jordan, who also had a thick build, seemed much more clumsy.

On the offensive possession, without a doubt, the ball was delivered to Durant’s hands right away.

In that instant, Durant remembered Jim’s words. He crossed over, drove left, and pulled up for a shot.

CLANG! The basketball hit the rim and bounced out.

The moment he shot, Durant deliberately raised his release point, which made the final motion feel awkward.

That one awkward shot immediately threw off Durant’s touch. Afterward, no matter how he shot, it just felt wrong.

to 12. The California Boys were the first to reach 25 points.

「Halftime.」

Presti didn’t pay any attention to Durant, who was 4 for 14 in the first half. Instead, he grabbed Little Jordan and repeatedly told him to be more focused on defense.

Love was 8 for 11 in the first half, racking up 16 points. A big part of that was Little Jordan’s inability to keep up with his rhythm.

Little Jordan wore a pained expression and didn’t say a word.

When the second half started, nothing changed.

Love’s offensive skills were clearly more polished.

And importantly, he was just as strong as Little Jordan in physical confrontations.

The longer they played, the more confident Love became.

After receiving the ball, he used a jab step and actually blew past Little Jordan like a guard, finishing with a one-handed tomahawk dunk.

Throughout the entire play, Little Jordan merely lifted his arm before being left in the dust.

Presti, standing on the sideline with his hands on his hips, couldn’t help but roar again, clapping his hands to signal for Little Jordan to focus.

But just then, the perpetually silent Little Jordan suddenly flung the basketball from his hands.

The basketball shot past Presti like a cannonball, violently knocking over the drink cooler on the sideline.

CRASH! The loud noise stunned everyone.

The audience in the stands was also stunned, their heads all turning in unison.

"Fack you! I quit!"

Little Jordan roared, then strode directly off the court and toward the locker room.

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