Chapter 645: A Clash of Titans
"Team USA called timeout. Both teams started well, and the efficiency on both sides is high," Kenny Smith said.
"That is exactly how China needs to play," Barkley said. "Against Team USA, you have to be decisive and keep your shooting percentage high, because their transition speed is ridiculous. If you are careless for even 1 stretch, they can pull away fast."
After the timeout, Dream Team 9 adjusted its lineup.
Coach K took out Rose and put in Odom, moving Durant to small forward.
This substitution increased Team USA's average height, and Odom could also handle part of the playmaking and shooting responsibilities.
On the 1st possession after the timeout, Team USA executed a smooth play.
Billups passed the ball to Durant on the wing. After taking 1 step inside, Durant saw China's defense collapse and decisively made a long pass to Odom in the opposite corner.
Odom quickly passed to Iguodala at the top of the arc.
Iguodala moved the ball without stopping it.
Billups found himself open at the right 45 degree angle beyond the 3 point line.
Sun Dasheng had already dropped back near the free throw line and could not close out in time. Billups, completely open, confidently sank the 3 pointer.
13 to 11.
That was why Coach K chose to take out Rose instead of Billups.
Billups had a stronger and more consistent ability to punish open opportunities from the perimeter.
On the next possession, China ran a simple and direct isolation.
Yi Jianlian and Yao Ming occupied the low block, while Sun Dasheng and Zhu 8 stretched to the 3 point corners.
Chen Yan went 1 on 1 against Iguodala, continuously stepping out with his right foot while dribbling between his legs on 1 side.
Iguodala maintained his defensive position and slowly retreated. He neither reached recklessly nor lost his balance.
It was a very stable defensive strategy.
Chen Yan would not drive or pull up in that situation. He preferred to shift his opponent's center of gravity before making his move.
Iguodala was not falling for it?
Then Chen Yan would increase the intensity.
Another between the legs dribble on the right, but this time, the motion was clearly much wider than the previous ones.
Chen Yan hung the ball in his right hand, gave a shoulder fake, then quickly switched the ball to his left.
Iguodala still could not resist reaching in for the steal.
However, Chen Yan's switch from right hand to left hand was too fast, and his center of gravity was too low. Iguodala swiped at nothing.
Chen Yan created 1 step of space and rose into a jumper from 1 step inside the 3 point line.
While the ball was still in the air, China's bench had already started celebrating.
The rhythm of that shot was too perfect.
"Swish!"
A second later, the crisp sound of the net followed.
13 to 13.
Team USA attacked.
As soon as Billups crossed half court, Durant waved frantically for the ball.
Every basket Chen Yan scored was stimulating Durant.
The root of Durant's strong offensive desire tonight was his need to compete directly with Chen Yan.
Yi Jianlian played half front defense, disrupting Durant's catch.
Yi defended very hard on this possession, and to some extent, he did interfere with Durant's ability to receive the ball.
Seeing no opening, Durant circled along the baseline and successfully caught the ball from the other side.
Yi Jianlian stayed tight on him.
From the start of the game, he had been defending with strong pressure because he understood the difficulty of his assignment.
He had to guard Team USA's primary scorer, Durant.
But sometimes, being too tight did not necessarily mean good defense.
After catching the ball, Durant quickly raised his hands.
It looked like a shot, but his true intention was elsewhere.
Durant was trying to draw a foul.
He swung his long arm from low to high, colliding with Yi Jianlian's arm.
A single arm sweep.
It was a very obvious intentional foul drawing move.
However, the referee had no choice but to blow the whistle.
Because Yi Jianlian had genuinely hit his hand.
Although Yi was also an NBA player, he was not known as a strong defender, and he had very little experience guarding perimeter players. It was normal for him to be caught off guard and tricked into a foul.
Durant made all 3 free throws.
16 to 13.
Chen Yan watched while grinding his teeth.
That move was truly shameless.
Chen Yan only regretted not having Durant's long arms. Otherwise, he would definitely use that trick every day.
Many fans looked down on foul drawing, but in reality, drawing fouls was also an offensive skill.
In fact, only stars could draw fouls frequently, because the prerequisite for drawing a foul was offensive threat.
It was difficult for role players to draw fouls because defenders often would not get that close to them in the 1st place.
China offense.
Sun Dasheng crossed half court and handed the ball to Chen Yan.
Iguodala continued defending.
In the previous few possessions, Iguodala had not actually defended very well, but Dream Team 9 had no better perimeter defender than him.
Billups was also a good defender, but he was a full size smaller than Chen Yan.
Asking Billups to guard Chen Yan would probably make Chen Yan ecstatic.
Yi Jianlian came up to set a screen.
Chen Yan pulled 1 step to the right, then passed the ball to Yi.
Team USA switched.
Yi Jianlian now had a height advantage over Iguodala.
Yi played steadily, 1st backing him down, then stepping inside while turning.
This was 1 of Yi Jianlian's most common attacking moves, using the fewest dribbles and simplest actions to create the greatest result.
Normally, from this position, Yi could reach the area near the restricted circle in 2 steps.
This time, however, Yi stopped after only 1 step.
Because the ball in his hands had been stripped by Iguodala.
Yi Jianlian's center of gravity was too high, making it impossible for him to protect the ball perfectly.
After being stripped, Yi tried to recover it, but Iguodala was 1 step faster.
He picked up the ball and passed it to Durant.
Durant surged up the court with long strides.
Chen Yan also retreated into the defensive half, creating a 1 on 1 situation.
Durant was smart.
He knew Chen Yan had explosive dynamic athleticism, so he did not give Chen Yan enough space to jump fully.
Durant raised the ball high, leaned into Chen Yan, took 2 strong steps, then used his static athletic advantages of height and wingspan to score.
18 to 13.
After the basket, Durant glared at Chen Yan, as if saying he had avenged Chen Yan's fast break 3 pointer from earlier.
China offense.
Chen Yan took the ball and once again signaled for isolation.
Chen Yan continuously dribbled between his legs with crossovers.
His speed was not fast, but Iguodala did not dare reach aggressively.
He knew Chen Yan's change of pace could happen in an instant. Once he lost position, open space would appear behind him.
After continuous fakes, Chen Yan made a fierce drive to the right, then used a behind the back dribble to switch the ball to his left hand.
The moment Iguodala closed in, Chen Yan pounded the ball and stepped back.
This move was the key to the crossover.
If Iguodala did not step forward, Chen Yan would have shooting space.
If Iguodala did step forward, he would have fallen into the trap.
While Iguodala was still hesitating, Chen Yan executed his most signature hesitation fake.
As soon as the move appeared, Iguodala had no choice but to step forward.
Chen Yan quickly changed direction to the right.
Iguodala could not stop his momentum and almost slipped again.
After shaking off Iguodala, Chen Yan did not drive all the way in. Instead, he prepared to take a mid range jumper from an open area.
Unexpectedly, Durant had already left his assignment to help.
The situation on the court always changed so quickly.
Chen Yan immediately adjusted and used another hesitation fake.
A double hesitation.
Durant, eager for the block, was completely faked into the air.
After getting past Durant, Chen Yan easily scored with a floater.
"Swish!"
18 to 15.
After the basket, Chen Yan looked at Durant.
The meaning was clear.
You score on me, and I will definitely score back.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]