Yang Rui returned to Manhattan and changed his goal to the Knicks.

The Knicks are a strong team in the playoffs. The reason why they are a good choice is because he knows that Jeff Van Gundy is very stable in the coach position and has worked until the 2001-02 season. And he is a stubborn guy and may not be willing to listen to his assistant's opinion.

The Knicks have the same obvious advantages, that is, their lineup depth. From 1995 to 1999, the Knicks have always had the ability to compete for the championship. There are many defensive players in the interior, and two powerful scoring points on the outside, except for the point guard's strength, they have everything.

Yang Rui is confident that he can make the Knicks better. As long as Van Gundy listens to some suggestions, don’t always pursue defense and win.

On June 20, Yang Rui came to the "Front Face of New York" - Madison Square Garden.

He did not immediately send his resume to the Knicks management, but instead worked in a nearby "return snack bar". This was a store opened by a Chinese boss. Seeing that he had a good image and was neat, he kept it and calculated his wages based on hourly wages.

Yang Rui has no money to eat. If he doesn't call Thomas for help, he will starve to death if he doesn't find a job. This is a killing two birds with one stone. He must always pay attention to the situation of the Knicks and find a good time to go for an interview.

After his trip to New Jersey, he figured it out that if he just took the certificate like this, he would definitely not have the chance to show his performance. His age and qualifications would become factors that would be sentenced to death.

He has to wait for other coaches to compete for the competition, and then make a comparison together. Everyone has certificates, so you can't even give him the opportunity to participate in the discussion, right?

Yang Rui had a good memory in his previous life. He had been working in NBA materials for many years and remembered most important things. He knew what the Knicks were facing this summer, and Van Gundy's life was not easy.

Last season, the Knicks led the Heat 3-1 in the second round. Charlie Ward, who was 188cm in the fifth match, was picked up by 211cm PJ Brown and fell off the court. The two teams immediately started to fight together, and the melee was very fierce. After the game, the Knicks, including Ewing, Starks, Larry Johnson and other main players were suspended, but the Hots team only had Brown suspended the game.

In the sixth game, Ewing and Alan Houston both missed, and in the seventh game, Starks and Larry Johnson were absent, causing the team's strength to drop significantly. The Knicks paid a heavy price for their championship and were reversed by the Heat 4-3.

This way of eliminating the Knicks boss and fans are very angry.

Rex Hughes, the old assistant coach of the Knicks, chose to retire, and another assistant coach Andy Greer expired. He responded to Pat Riley's call and turned to the Heat. With Bob Salmy who left in 1996, the only one left in the Knicks coaching staff was Van Gundy, the bare commander.

According to the original history, Thibodeau, who was cut by 76ers, will join and become the Knicks' number one assistant coach. Others Yang Rui don't know. He just wants to wait for Thibodeau to compete with him.

The 76ers' management's vision was speechless. Not only did they lay off Thibodeau, but the assistant coach Ron Adams, who was laid off, was also very famous. Later, he became a good helper for Popovich.

In addition to working as a waiter in a snack bar every day, Yang Rui also took time to go to the arena to chat with the security guard and guard to get first-hand information. He used the special snack mung bean cake to buy a fat guard named Kenning, begging him to call the snack bar when someone came to interview for the assistant teacher.

Hard work pays off. On the 27th, Yang Rui finally came to see Thibodeau, and there was another person who was recruiting publicly.

"Xiao Xiao, I'll go out and tell the boss something urgent." Yang Rui took off his work clothes and shouted in Chinese to the Chinese girl working together.

"When will you come back?"

"afternoon."

Yang Rui took the certificate and rode the bicycle delivering food at the door to the stadium. The snack bar was two streets away from the stadium, and he used the public bus without hesitation.

This opportunity must be seized, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable. For this reason, Yang Rui also investigated the location of the stadium office. He was familiar with the situation and thought of the words when he met the staff.

"Sorry, sir, you can't walk around the work area at will. Do you have an appointment?" asked the female assistant.

"I applied for the job as an assistant coach of the Knicks, I was with two of them." Yang Rui handed over the certificate with a smile.

He didn't say he had made an appointment, he just indicated that he was here to apply for a job and played a word game. Even if Van Gundy asked, it was not considered a lie.

The female assistant had just seen two similar certificates and knew that the management called to ask someone for an interview today. She was not suspected of having a fraud and said with a smile: "Sir, please please here."

"Thank you, I'll go in by myself." Yang Rui deliberately sent off his assistant to avoid embarrassment.

He knocked on the door first, and after hearing the sound of "please come in", he opened the door and walked in. There were four men in the room, two of whom he recognized at a glance.

The forehead is shiny and the hair is slightly long on both sides. It looks like a small man who has experienced vicissitudes and looks like the Iron Fist Game Mishima Hirahachi, is Jeff Van Gundy, born on January 19, 1962. Well, he is actually only 35 years old.

Another guy in a suit is Thibodeau, who is much younger than Yang Rui’s impression and has a flat head. Thibodeau is also easy to recognize, and looks like Batman’s old rival "Penguin Man".

He didn't know the other two older white men, Ernie Grenfeld, general manager and Ken Boyd, who came to recruit assistant coaches.

Boyd is a big deal. He has worked as an NCAA coach for 10 years and played briefly in the NBA in the 1970s. He is a white defender with poor physical fitness.

"Hello everyone, my friend introduced me to the interview. This is my ID." Yang Rui first smiled at Thibodeau, Van Gundy, and then handed the ID to Ernie because Ernie was sitting in the manager's position.

Van Gundy is the one with the most decision-making power present and must please him.

Yang Rui smiled at Thibodeau to confuse the public and gave everyone an illusion that Yang Rui was introduced by Thibodeau. After this time, if you are asked about it, it doesn’t matter that Yang Rui said it was introduced by other friends.

Out of courtesy, Thibodeau also smiled at Yang Rui. He and Boyd were both surprised because Yang Rui was too young.

Is this Asian here to compete for a coach? Are you kidding?

Ernie asked everyone's doubts. "Your name is Jerry Young, you are only 23 years old this year? Chinese?"

"Well, I grew up in the United States, and today I only want one opportunity to show myself. I participate in this assessment. I know that the hope I left behind is very slim, and I am satisfied if I can learn something. I also ask the manager, Coach Van Gundy, to give me this opportunity." After saying that, Yang Rui bowed to the two of them politely.

From the few minutes from the time he came to the stadium to the entrance, Yang Rui had done all the calculations.

As the saying goes, don’t hit a smiling person, let alone put his posture so low?

Ernie nodded and thought he was introduced by a friend. Van Gundy also ignored the details of how Yang Rui came about.

The Knicks urgently need to make an assistant coach, otherwise no one will lead the team in the summer league in July, so they have to find a team of marginalists to inspect new players.

"Okay, let's start the assessment now. Everyone listens to my questions and everyone has to answer them." Van Gundy said seriously.

The three people who came to compete for the assistant coach nodded solemnly. Van Gundy was eager to decide the candidate and directly talked about the topic.

"If the Knicks face the Bulls in the playoffs, how should they arrange offensive and defensive tactics? You must have watched the finals and have five minutes to think about it and you can answer the questions."

Van Gundy believes that in the East, except for the Bulls, he has his own way to deal with it, and the assistants in need must mainly come up with ideas on the offensive end.

This question is directly related to the Knicks' goals for next season and also tests the coach's reaction, just five minutes.

To become an NBA-level coach, you must not only know how to arrange basic training, but also have tactical concepts that suit the team and sufficient on-the-spot adaptability.

Van Gundy responds badly on the spot. If he is surrounded by a verbal assistant, he is engaged in a spiritual victory method or flattering the stars, the Knicks will have no hope.

Excellent coaches have a certain amount of accumulation, and Thibodeau and Boyd have considered this issue when watching the finals.

Even so, they did not speak first. Thibodeau was 39 years old and Boyd was 45 years old. He was knowledgeable and restrained.

Let’s speak first, if the idea is not good enough or if Van Gundy doesn’t feel like he is in a bad situation. Let’s speak later, you can integrate the ideas of your competitors and deepen your tactics.

The person who speaks later also has disadvantages. If the other party’s tactics are too perfect or his ideas are similar, and he cannot express his objections and can only agree, he may lose the opportunity to show off.

Thibodeau and Boyd are both chief assistant coaches, treating each other as opponents and not wanting to make any mistakes.

Just as they were in a ideological struggle, Yang Rui raised his hand, pointed to a white tactical board beside the wall and said, "I have considered this issue, can I talk about it first?"

Yang Rui observed Van Gundy's expression, with a subtle frowning movement, and seemed to be a little dissatisfied with him after thinking about it for less than a minute.

Strangely, this industry clearly requires coaches to adapt quickly, but thinking too fast and speaking too directly will make people dislike it.

Van Gundy only felt that Yang Rui wanted to show himself too much and was unstable. Since he said that he was studying, shouldn’t he listen to his seniors first? Even if he asked a question, the two agreed to what he said first and then speak.

Neither of the two opposed the objection, smiled and did not take Yang Rui seriously.

Van Gundy is also 23 years old and has the coaching qualification. He is 27 years old as an assistant coach of the Knicks. He has been training for four years before he can impress the management. This is the current record of the NBA. If Yang Rui wants to successfully obtain this job, he must be more genius than Van Gundy.

Van Gundy comes from a basketball family. What does Yang Rui do?

Their views are similar to those of Nets head coach Kalipari. Their Chinese basketball level is not good. Even if a young Chinese has watched the game since he was a child, how deep can he understand the tactics? This person is not very strong, and it is just right to stand up and throw a brick and attract jade.

Yang Rui asked for a tactical pen, drew a few quick strokes on the tactical board, and smiled and said, "I first talk about defense. I think the Bulls' attack strength lies only in Jordan and Pippen's personal ability, not in the overall. The focus of the triangle offense is to help the stars create singles opportunities. Therefore, my defensive strategy is to shrink the players to the near-the-scenes penalty area, ensure that the two men assisted in defense and double-teaming, and force the opponent to shoot from a long distance."

He drew a simple court line on the tactical board, and the players marked it with No. 12345, and their positions were extremely clear. Except for the point guard, the other four people were huddled near the penalty area.

In 1997, computers were not yet common products for homes. Very few ordinary people know how basketball referees work, and it is even more impossible to draw these tactical pictures.

Yang Rui's future work is related to NBA tactics. In exciting cooperation, Wujiao Ball and other websites, he has to match the flash tactical running map to the goals. If he is knowledgeable, he has become an expert, and he is more advanced than Jerry's drawing method in the five-star training camp.

Van Gundy immediately had a strange look, which coincided with his thoughts.

At present, the NBA does not allow joint defense, but Van Gundy's trick to survive is "pseudo-joint defense". In positional battles, follow the opponent's movement and shrink the formation, block the penalty area with 3 or 4 people, and force the opponent to make mid-range and long-distance shots instead of breaking into the basket and making layups or dunks.

This defensive effect is obvious. Last season, the Knicks averaged 92.2 points per game, second only to the Heat's 89.3 points, ranking second in the league. The Bulls can only rank third with 92.3 points.

All the experts here, and they immediately understood Yang Rui's tactical intentions.

Thibodeau and Boyd both frowned, feeling as disgusting as if they had eaten a fly, and could not refute it at all. They felt that Yang Rui had taken the opportunity, and the Knicks had won the game by defending, and he just told Van Gundy about the tactics he liked.

Van Gundy also doubted, so he asked: "Why? Can you explain it in detail?"

"The reason is very simple. The Bulls lack three-point shooting points. Jordan and Pippen's three-point shooting are not strong points. Jordan can break through the frame or play with the ball at a low post. At this time, double-teaming can interfere with the shooting and force him to pass the ball. We can empty Rodman and Langley on the periphery. How many points can we score in one game? These two people are very poor in the long-distance shooting and generally will not shoot."

Van Gundy asked without expression, "So, how did the Knicks break through the Bulls' defense line? They are also good at protecting the penalty area. Do you need time to consider offensive tactics?"

"No, it's very simple." Yang Rui smiled.

All four of them were surprised, and it was not so easy to talk about it on paper. If the Knicks were good at attacking, they would not have been reversed by the Heat in the second round. He actually said it was very simple?

Because of the Knicks' bad offense, the media did not give Van Gundy a good look. He has been suffering from May and has not recovered yet.

Yang Rui was not at all nervous and drew another offensive line map on the whiteboard.

"Ward or Chiles' three-point line organization, Houston and Ewing run without the ball on one side to get rid of the defender, Johnson and Oakley both have mid-range shooting ability and attract defense on the other side. At this time, the man-to-man switch to Houston is usually Langley, who moves slowly. If he doesn't defend himself from the three-point line, Houston's catch-up shot is almost an open opportunity."

With a clear tactic, General Manager Ernie also thought it was a good strategy and asked: "What if Lang Li defended it?"

Yang Rui added a few more strokes to the picture and smiled: "Houston is not a simple pitcher. He can attack with the ball in a misplaced position. He can pass Langli's emergency stop and jump shot, or choose to pass the ball. Langli was pulled out of the penalty area, Ewing cut the basket at a blank, and it is a good opportunity to catch the ball. Rodman is only 201cm tall, and even if he makes up for defense, he can't do anything to Ewing. If the Bulls shrink, we will transfer the ball and shoot at mid- and long distances, which is better than them."

It's really that simple? Van Gundy was a little excited. "How to attack the substitute, have you considered it?"

"Same, relying on cover to create misalignment opportunities, players will pull away, and maintain at least two stable three-point shooting points on the court. Fortunately, the Knicks is such a team. Starks is the first player in the NBA to score 200 three-pointers in a single season, and he will definitely play well."

Van Gundy smiled and clapped his hands a few times. "Well said!"

Thibodeau and Boyd both turned dark and sadly discovered that Yang Rui's offensive tactics could not object to them.

This is not about throwing bricks and attracting jade, but just throwing bricks into their faces.

Yang Rui breathed a sigh of relief. For him, he successfully passed the most important first level.
Chapter completed!