No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 182 - 107. Upset Knight!

Perkins, who was prepared to cover for Felton, grabbed the defensive rebound and passed it quickly to Felton, who was stunned by the turn of events. That outrageous defensive strategy had unexpectedly worked!

Felton was also dumbfounded. He had never anticipated this outcome. Moments ago, his mind had conjured up images of being ridden over by an opponent for a score. And yet, this was the result?

However, Felton did not stop moving. After catching the ball and seeing Zhang Yang and Gerald Wallace fast-breaking on both flanks, he took a couple of steps and passed the ball!

Upon seeing the opponents launching a fast break, James sprinted to catch up with them, aggressively countering to cover up his embarrassment. Seeing Gerald Wallace catch the lobbed pass, he swiftly closed in, wanting to play chase from behind Wallace to regain the face he had just lost.

It’s undeniable how exceptional James’s physical fitness was. He started from the baseline while Gerald Wallace started from the free-throw line, and James actually caught up.

But Gerald Wallace was merely a decoy to attract the defense, another pass!

Zhang Yang shook off Snow and received the ball in the mid-distance area on the right side of the key. He strode forward, took off powerfully, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!

The dunk wasn’t very high or particularly violent, but it was swift and agile. The dunk was straightforward and decisive, with long legs and long arms stretching gracefully. Key point, he looked good doing it.

The cheers from the fans at the venue erupted again, and the female students from North Carolina felt compelled to rush in and offer themselves.

Gerald Wallace excitedly rushed up to high-five Zhang Yang, not for the fast-break dunk but for the defense that had just happened.

When Zhang Yang had instructed them earlier, Gerald Wallace couldn’t understand why this defensive strategy seemed outrageous just like Perkins. He chose to trust because the freshman had a bright mind, helping to, well, not mislead... not incite... tease... still not quite right... essentially, he helped to make Felton willing to defend that way.

It also helped to conserve some of his energy. His stamina was good, but grappling with James was still draining.

Unexpectedly, this blind trust actually worked in their defense!

Zhang Yang was pleased as well. The strategy was effective!

This move wasn’t originally from the Mavericks in the 2011 finals, but from the Magic in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals.

In the earlier days, Howard couldn’t effectively restrict James before the ’09 Eastern Finals. When the two clashed, players like Turkoglu, Keith Bogans, an often-injured Hill, and Morris Evans attempted to guard James on the perimeter. Basically, all were easily bypassed by James. When James headed unimpeded towards the basket, Howard didn’t really have effective measures to stop him.

In the 08-09 season, during the regular games, against the basket protected by the best defensive player of the season, Howard, James managed 27 shots for 15 baskets scoring 42 points; first game of the Eastern Finals, James got 20 out of 30 for 49 points, and in G2 of the same series, 12 out of 23 for 35 points.

It wasn’t until Game 3 of the Eastern Finals that Van Gundy came up with the unusual strategy of using Alston to guard James, which shifted the dynamics between Howard and James, reducing James’s shooting accuracy to 39% in G3, allowing the Magic to start dominating the Knights in the subsequent games, with the Magic winning three out of the next four games.

After that, teams that could, used that strategy against James, with the 2010 Playoffs’ Celtics and the 2011 Finals’ Mavericks both employing variations of Van Gundy’s defensive strategy.

However, not every team could employ this defensive strategy as it had stringent requirements that most teams didn’t meet.

Firstly, there needed to be a presence inside that could pose a threat to James; the Magic had Howard, the Celtics had Perkins and a post-injury Garnett; the Mavericks had Chandler and Marion.

Just like a moment ago, with Perkins converging from the left side of the three-second zone and Gerald Wallace pulling towards the free-throw line, James was forced to go right, creating the opportunity for Felton to closely follow James.

The point guard also needed to be brave enough; although Alston did many outrageous things, he was indeed brave, and Rondo’s courage goes without saying. Most point guards wouldn’t even dare to challenge James defensively.

Even Felton took on the challenge only after being pushed by Gerald Wallace.

Zhang Yang initially had little hope that they could restrict James with this tactic on their first attempt against him. Perkins lacked experience and technique, the Prince rushed into decisions, the old boss acted tough but was mediocre inside... Fortunately, James wasn’t as strong as he would be three or four years later; their flawed version of the emperor-eating strategy was enough to handle him!

However, just because they had managed to stop James’s direct drives didn’t mean they had this game in the bag... it still required a struggle!

When it was the Knight’s turn to attack, the recently embarrassed James went hard, continuing his forceful drives. Before being closely guarded by Felton, he picked up the ball, took two strides to shake off Felton and entered beneath the basket. Perkins, who had been in position, focused and jumped as James took off... but James didn’t go for a layup; he took a jump step! Landing beside Perkins, he took another leap!

Perkins couldn’t stop him then and could only watch as James jumped up and scored a basket.

Zhang Yang, seeing this, could only clap his hands towards the scorer’s table, acknowledging the undefendable move.

Felton immediately protested, claiming a traveling violation to the referees, but they ignored him.

Only a rookie like Felton, who hadn’t seen much of the world, would get so upset about this; the others were already used to it and had adapted.

Moreover, the rules had changed; this was now a play that conformed to the NBA regulations.

Previously, when Zhang Yang was playing an away game, he had incidentally tried to ’learn’ this move. After the pre-game warm-up ended that day, he had been forbidden from further practice. Bored, he had attempted the move... completely unable to adapt to the three-step layup that still included hop steps and stride steps, he decisively gave up.

And after giving up, despite the coaching staff’s ban, he practiced the three-step layup for an additional half an hour. Just earlier, he had felt a momentary lapse in his ability to execute a three-step layup, prompting him to hurriedly practice it to ensure his hard-earned two-and-a-half-year rhythm for attacking the basket wasn’t disrupted.

This move really isn’t something ordinary people can learn. freēwēbnovel.com

Besides that, Big Z’s precise catch-and-shoot also prevented the Mavericks from completely locking down James, allowing him to continue leading the team in scoring.

However, having Felton guard James indeed limited James, making him play even more complexly.

Angered, Felton guarded him even more aggressively, adjusting his defensive steps, and tried more forcefully to stop James.

Perkins, encountering another high school rookie who was also a top draft pick, also strived to guard James closely while simultaneously cutting off James’s passing routes to Big Z.

Gerald Wallace had the highest defensive IQ, and his timing for collapsing and trapping improved steadily...

The rise of the Knights was because of James, but the biggest vulnerability of the Knights was also James. When James faced restrictions, the offensive performance of the Knights declined.

The Mavericks successfully pulled the Knights, who had a better record of 27 wins and 18 losses, down to their level!

The game entered a "dog-eat-dog" situation, both teams were drawn into a prolonged tussle.

In such a game, the Mavericks, more experienced than the Knights, played patiently and were very excited, as their opponents were fourth in the East! They were actually able to keep up with the score!

The Knights were not so patient. As a top team in the East, playing against a team with a 19–26 record, they couldn’t even gain the upper hand...

Finally, in the latter half of the second quarter, after the Mavericks gained a 4-point lead, James went nuts, recklessly charging forward, hitting two iron shots! There was also another misfired pass to Snow, whose three-pointer also missed!

The Mavericks seized the opportunity to attack fiercely. Gerald Wallace scored from an alley-oop pass by Zhang Yang, Felton scored a three-pointer after a fake drive and step-back, and Zhang Yang took advantage of Big Z being switched out to rest, driving into the paint and scoring a layup against Gooden’s defense...

The Mavericks delivered a 7-0 run against the Knights, ending the second quarter with the score at 53–42, extending their lead to 11 points!

Bickerstaff was stunned by the performance of his players!

In the latter part of the first quarter when he brought in Zhang Yang, it was indeed to make the offense easier for Felton and Gerald Wallace. The idea was to allow Gerald Wallace to devote more energy to defending James one-on-one, with Zhang Yang’s good team defense sense helping on the flank to provide greater restrictions.

But the result was Felton guarding James, Gerald Wallace responsible for scoring and helping on defense, and Zhang Yang purely focused on scoring!

This bizarre defensive switch actually worked! It wore down the Knights’ patience, and they seized the opportunity to increase the lead to 4 points, which triggered the opponent’s emotions... then extended it to double digits!

Bickerstaff could guess with his toes who came up with this idea—it was Jack, who had only two and a half years of basketball training!

Bickerstaff had already increased his appraisal of Zhang Yang multiple times, but Zhang Yang still managed to surprise him!

...

Leading the fourth-ranked team in the East by 11 points, the young Mavericks were extremely excited and their morale reached the summit!

The Knights attempted a counterattack when they returned after halftime, with James playing fiercely and desperately seeking scoring opportunities on the break.

Faced with the ferocious James, the Mavericks firmly executed their defensive strategy.

Bickerstaff adjusted that unusual defensive strategy involving Zhang Yang, incorporating Brezec’s low post play against Big Z into the offensive scheme. This created opportunities for Zhang Yang to rest off the court and also increased the defensive burden on Big Z.

Wave after wave of counterattacks from the Knights were staunchly resisted by the Mavericks!

In the final moments of the game, with Brezec scoring a hook shot after a low post turn against Big Z..., the Mavericks’ lead once again reached 7 points!

With 15 seconds left, the Knights didn’t call for a time-out; James received the inbound pass and immediately passed it to Snow, giving up the play.

If Brezec’s one-on-one against Big Z hadn’t gone in, the Knights could still have played for a three-pointer or a strategy foul, but since it went in, there was no point in struggling anymore.

The final whistle sounded soon after.

Zhang Yang scored 21 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, Gerald Wallace 30 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, Felton 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, Brezec 14 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, Perkins 6 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 5 fouls, Matt Carroll 10 points...

James shot 31 for 12, including 1 of 5 three-pointers, and with 4 of 6 free throws, he scored 29 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, and 6 turnovers.

103–96, the Mavericks defeated the Knights by 7 points!

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