masters-orleans Chapter 768 274: When Demon King Satan Returns
Chapter 768 274: When Demon King Satan Returns
That night, Qin Yue's outstanding on-the-court performance even made Warriors fans forget that they had a star guard who was currently injured.On the sidelines, as his eyes shifted to the Heat's zone defense moving smoothly around Qin Yue, Eric Spoelstra remarked to his mentor Pat Riley, "He's simply a BUG in this sport called basketball."
In response, Riley, with no change in expression, said, "But to force out this level of play from him proves that our current zone defense strategy is successful."
Ever since Qin Yue entered the league, creating ways to break zone defenses for the team has become his daily routine.
But it was different from the zone defense strategies other teams used against the Warriors.
Relying on the players' high tactical execution on the court,
The Heat, capable of seamlessly switching between zone and man-to-man defenses, stubbornly adhered to the zone defense's purpose, clearly intending to cut off Qin Yue's connection with his teammates.
This forced Qin Yue to set the tone for the team by initiating individual offense to break through the stalemate.
As the GOAT of the new era,
Qin Yue did not disappoint Riley's expectations, hitting 5 out of 7 shots in the first half of the first quarter, including 1 out of 2 from three-point range, and making 3 out of 3 free throws, scoring 14 points and grabbing 4 rebounds in just half a quarter.
However, when the first quarter reached its official timeout...
At the American Airlines Arena, the score between the Warriors and the Heat was 17 to 18.
Through high-intensity physical confrontation in the off-ball phase of the game, "The Farmer" Riley once again verified his viewpoint from last season.
That is, as long as the NBA is a league allowing physical confrontation, players who can consistently provide a stable three-point output on the court will always be a minority.
"I don't think basketball will turn into a game where each team attempts fifty or sixty three-pointers per match in the future." Riley expressed this view when discussing the future development of basketball: "Because that doesn't conform to the objective rules of this sport."
"Three-pointers will certainly become increasingly important to modern basketball. But in one high-intensity game after another, how can you ensure that your three-point shooting accuracy consistently stays above 35%?"
In Qin Yue's previous life, shortly after he traveled to this world, during the 24/25 playoffs, the Celtics, who frequently shot fifty or sixty three-pointers per game in the regular season, proved this point with their failed experience.
Admittedly, for modern basketball, the three-pointer is a very cost-effective scoring method.
However, once on the court, if the opponent no longer provides you with the good shooting environment seen in the regular season,
as Riley stated,
how can you ensure that every player on your side is like Curry and Klay?
High-intensity physical confrontation is bound to affect a team's overall shooting percentage.
Especially on this night without Curry,
in Riley's eyes, the Warriors clearly lack a super shooter who can overcome the limitations of the confrontation on the court.
And this is the main reason the Heat continue to stubbornly deploy a zone defense on the court.
Because in the real world, where there are no "ifs" or "buts,"
Riley and Spoelstra need not consider whether the Heat could play this way if Curry hadn't been injured; they need to lead the Heat to defeat these Warriors without Curry.
Thus, in response to the Heat's zone defense, Warriors coach Ma Long in the latter half of the first quarter preemptively brought in Ray Allen and JR Smith.
The former, as solid as ever, is an experienced sharpshooter.
Even if his current three-point production can no longer compare to his younger days, as long as Ray Allen is on the court, he must be given the respect he deserves.
As for the latter, he is a famously streaky shooter.
JR Smith's three-pointers never depend on whether the opponent has defended well.
Instead, it depends on whether he can make the shot himself.
However, with Ray Allen and JR both on the court, the Warriors were forced to request a timeout in less than three minutes.
Because on this night when the Heat forcefully elevated the game to playoff level,
Flash Wade, punching the Warriors' kindergarten and kicking the Golden State retirement home, immediately entered "Divine Zhao Yun" mode following the deployments of Ray Allen and JR.
On the court, in the defensive possession before the Warriors called for the timeout,
Qin Yue, having provided two successive delays for his teammates at the top of the key, had done his best.
Yet, under the repeated pulling of the Heat players, at the moment Wade pierced through the Warriors' defense, Qin Yue could only helplessly watch as his opponent single-handedly executed a powerful split.
On TNT TV Station, O'Neal, whose job is to praise Qin Yue but whose true passion is for James, said, "In this defensive play, if it were LeBron, I think he'd express his dissatisfaction with his teammates by throwing up his hands immediately."
In response, Barkley, feeling that Shaq's love for James was not deep enough, said, "Shaq, you're overthinking it. If it were LeBron, how could he possibly waste the energy to provide two successive large-range delays for his teammates?"
O'Neal laughed and said, "Indeed, if such defense happened a few more times, where would LeBron find the energy to sneak in for a fast break on the court?"
On the sidelines, Ma Long did not expect the Heat to put in so much effort for a regular-season game.
As a strategic master,
indeed, if possible, Ma Long believed that, given the Warriors' lack of manpower, there was no need to fight the Heat tooth and nail this night.
But on the Warriors' bench, noticing Qin Yue's eyes full of fighting spirit, Ma Long immediately seemed to transform into a different person.
Holding a tactical board, Ma Long quickly drew up tactics on it, saying, "Next, in our offense, we need a second ball-handler to ease Messiah's burden on attacking."