NBA: Rising Superstar!-Chapter 182 - 139: The Crazy Paul, Suppressing the Nuggets?

"Hey, this guy is just like me in my younger days, using three-pointers to excite the fans." Reggie Miller reminisced as he watched the young star on the court. He had come up the same way back then.

"I think he has a core like a shark inside him." O’Neal shamelessly remarked.

Barkley, Smith, and Miller simultaneously looked at O’Neal with disdain upon hearing this.

The game resumes after the timeout.

Paul started to explode, executing pick-and-roll plays consecutively with Little Jordan.

Facing Jokic after the pick-and-roll, Paul succeeded in exploiting mismatches in two consecutive possessions, leaving Jokic very frustrated.

During Paul’s peak, his offense was very comprehensive; he had strong shooting ability and often used his rhythm difference with big players to find advantages in mismatch offense.

Of course, Paul’s greatest strength is his ability to control the team’s offensive rhythm; he always calmly delivers the ball to the most suitable player. Compared to Zeng Xingyang, a pseudo-point guard who switched positions halfway through, Paul is a traditional guard who fully controls the team’s organization and coordination tasks.

But this is also the Clippers’ problem; the ball is too concentrated in Paul’s hands, making it difficult for others to initiate attacks.

If you can lock down Paul one-on-one, the Clippers’ offense will face trouble.

This is often why the Clippers encounter major reversals.

Once opponents become familiar with Paul’s tactics, they can phase restrict him, causing the Clippers to fall into scoring droughts.

Facing the Clippers’ overwhelming momentum, Zeng Xingyang and Jokic countered with another pick-and-roll. After the pick-and-roll, Zeng Xingyang dribbled and broke through, passing the ball to Jokic in stride.

After receiving the ball, Jokic scored with a high-arching shot over Little Jordan.

to 14

This pick-and-roll ignited cheers from the crowd.

Clippers’ offense.

Paul dribbled past half-court, this time not defended by Harris, but Zeng Xingyang proactively defended him.

Having connected on consecutive isolations earlier, Paul seemed to find his offensive rhythm.

Griffin came to set a pick but was bypassed by Zeng Xingyang.

"Chris, are you scared to make a move against me?" Zeng Xingyang taunted while shadowing Paul.

Paul ignored Zeng Xingyang’s verbal provocations and remained calm, knowing he couldn’t go hard.

One screen isn’t enough, so let’s try double screens.

Griffin and Little Jordan set up horns, Zeng Xingyang was blocked, and Grant and Jokic stepped forward to encircle Paul.

But Paul found an opportunity and bounced a pass between them to the rolling Griffin. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Griffin got free from Zeng Xingyang, grabbed the basketball, and slammed it with an extreme tomahawk dunk.

"Boom!!"

to 14.

Griffin grabbed the rim with one hand fiercely and then let go, causing the basketball to buzz.

Zeng Xingyang was just half a step slow, resulting in Griffin charging past him.

Although Griffin isn’t as explosive as in earlier years due to injuries, he can still pull off such dunks.

Paul’s passes always put him in a comfortable position.

The Clippers bench players were roaring; the play was a visual delight.

"Hey, Chris and Blake’s pick-and-roll was beautiful, Zeng’s defense got pierced."

"Zeng’s one-on-one defense is indeed good, but defending a pick-and-roll isn’t just one person’s defense that matters."

"Chris seems serious today." Barkley chatted with Smith.

On the court, Paul’s eye contact with Griffin showed a firm signal.

He’s not worried about the team’s offense but is concerned about the defense.

Winning the game isn’t that simple.

In the ensuing game, the Nuggets continued creating opportunities centered around Jokic. Zeng Xingyang was tightly guarded by Wesley Johnson, and Paul sometimes came over to double-team him, giving him few chances. Jokic was mobilizing others to launch attacks.

On the Clippers’ side, they were entirely in breakout mode. Under Paul’s offensive coordination, Griffin and Little Jordan were feasting, while Redick and Wesley Johnson hit three-pointers.

Paul’s personal offense was decent; he smartly avoided Zeng Xingyang’s defense to find opportunities.

Nuggets’ individual defense wasn’t bad, but were always discovered by Paul with some loopholes.

At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers came from behind, changing the score to 30 to 25.

Nuggets trailing by 5 points.

Paul grabbed 8 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals in this quarter, silencing the cheers at the Pepsi Center with his magical all-round performance.

Intermission.

Zeng Xingyang sat on the bench gulping down water, glancing at the stat sheet and feeling speechless at Paul’s numbers.

Collecting 8 points and 8 assists in the first quarter, the entire team had only 4 points unrelated to him; it was so exaggerated.

Looking again at his own stats, only 11 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds....

The second quarter continues.

Both teams fielded their bench lineups. Nurkic played well today, drilling a few in the low post to help the Nuggets catch up on the score.

The Clippers, on the other hand, saw Crawford underperforming, missing several jump shots from beyond the arc.

Crawford, JR Smith, Nick Young, these players are peak streaky performers; terrifying when on fire, but when not, they might drag the team down.

Today, Sixth was a bit of a drag.

Of course, it’s also related to Harris mainly defending him. Harris couldn’t handle Paul but could somewhat restrict Sixth, forcing him to settle from the outside.

Seeing the score catching up, Rivers decisively waved his hand, bringing Paul, Griffin, and Little Jordan back onto the court.

The Clippers’ starters earned considerable trust today.

Paul’s presence indeed had an immediate effect on the team.

Upon entering, he continued to drive the team’s offense, consecutively assisting Redick and Griffin on threes and mid-range shots.

Helping the Clippers regain a 5-point lead.

"Chris is in great form today, constantly controlling the whole game." Barkley exclaimed.

"At this rate, it will be very challenging for the Nuggets." Smith noted.

"Hey, this guy has turned the tables, overshadowing Zeng’s brilliance." O’Neal chuckled.

"I believe Zeng will regain control of the situation, defeating him isn’t easy." Miller stated.

"Don’t place too much hope on that rookie; Chris will have a crazy night tonight, with double-digit assists." Barkley declared.

"Charles, last night you didn’t have such an attitude towards Zeng." Smith teased.

"I’ve always said every night he has to re-conquer me." Barkley glanced at the camera.

"Why does he need to conquer a zero-championship loser like you? Your big butt holds no appeal for him." O’Neal retorted.

"Hahaha!!!"

The studio burst into laughter.

Throughout the second quarter, Paul continued to dominate.

While relentlessly connecting and coordinating the team, his individual scoring steadily increased, exemplifying superb performance that allowed the Clippers to successfully suppress the Nuggets.

Nuggets players generally struggled with their shooting; after facing the Knight in the previous match, their stamina was somewhat impacted.

However, with support from substituted Nurkic and Galinarli, the team hadn’t collapsed yet.

Zeng Xingyang attempted to pressure Paul, but the effect wasn’t notable.

Paul’s dribbling skills had reached an extraordinary level; he wouldn’t slow down when entering the painted area, making it impossible for Nuggets players to determine whether he would assist or make a layup, nor could they execute effective double-teams.

A very low turnover rate better demonstrated Paul’s formidable control skills, making it very difficult for Zeng Xingyang to effectively steal from Paul, and occasionally, a gamble on a steal would result in mistakes.

Zeng Xingyang had few opportunities in this quarter, with only an average performance scoring 5 points.

At halftime, the score was 62 to 51, with the Nuggets trailing at home by 11 points.