Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 516 - 171: Being Able to Play Basketball is the Happiest Thing (5K - , Begging for Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets!)
For NBA athletes with extremely strong athletic abilities, even adopting a retreat defense strategy, they can still pounce beyond the three-point line in an instant.
Therefore, to avoid being penetrated by the GOAT with that unparalleled human-ball integration ability, retreat defense has become Odom’s only choice going forward.
Although the Lakers will inevitably have to give the GOAT a lot of outside three-point shooting opportunities, considering the three-point shot is the only shorter section among all of the GOAT’s long boards...
Thus, in Xiao’s view, as long as Odom can maintain his attention at all times and apply some weak interference when the GOAT takes a pull-up three, then the rest...
"We can only leave it to fate." Xiao recalled Jordan back in the day and said, "He’s already formed a set of exclusive rules, a set that’s different in form from Michael Jordan, but identical in nature."
In the second quarter, Qin Yue returned to the court after a four-minute rest.
It is worth mentioning that, due to the influence of a failed dunk in the first quarter game, Curry still had not scored his career’s first basket until Qin Yue came on.
At this moment, Curry’s technical statistics board was an awkward 0 for 3, totaling 0 points, 1 rebound, and 2 turnovers.
During Qin Yue’s absence, the Lakers successfully closed the score to 47 to 40.
As the defending champions from last season, this Lakers team would often be led by Ellis and Odom during the rotation phase.
But today, because Odom was brought up to the starting lineup, it was Ellis and Battier leading the second unit.
Nevertheless, the Lakers’ second unit remained strong.
After coming on, the other four players on the Warriors court were Murphy, Hill, Deng Liwei, and Curry.
Qin Yue knew very well that before the Warriors gradually rotated back their main players, this was a lineup that could only compete offensively with the opponent.
Thus, in the first offensive possession, Qin Yue, holding the ball at the top of the arc, immediately called Curry over for a hand-off play.
Before forming the so-called "Curry’s Gravity"...
Being able to cooperate with Qin Yue, who already had inherent gravity, Curry was undoubtedly lucky.
On the court, because Qin Yue had already posed to drive into the Lakers’ basket, Battier and Ellis had their attention drawn to him in that instant.
The next second, seeing Curry left open on purpose by the Lakers, Qin Yue then back-passed to him and took advantage of Ellis’ rush towards Curry, using Murphy’s screen to enter the Lakers’ basket area.
This was an offensive possession where Curry could choose either to shoot or to pass.
Bang——!
Clank——!
In the Lakers’ restricted area, following Curry’s missed three-pointer, Qin Yue directly followed up with a put-back dunk!
On retreating defense, Curry, who thought he would be scolded for missing again, was comforted by the GOAT, "That was a good shot, just make it next time."
Qin Yue wasn’t worried that Curry would lose his shooting touch.
And through this offensive play, Qin Yue had already confirmed that Curry was indeed his most perfect partner.
As is well known, no matter how powerful a top star is individually, they cannot always handle the ball alone on the court.
Because even Michael Jordan couldn’t take all the team’s shots by himself.
Therefore, to achieve the most efficient offense, Qin Yue also needed cooperation from his teammates to complete it.
Perhaps Curry was a little nervous during his career debut.
Perhaps the Staples curse in his memory was still haunting Curry.
But none of it mattered.
What’s important is that with Curry’s growth, his shooting range will surely provide Qin Yue with ample offensive space.
In the next offensive possession, Qin Yue was still holding the ball at a high position and called Curry over for another hand-off play.
This time, Curry, who had yet to get on the scoreboard, was still selectively left open by the Lakers players.
Seeing this, Qin Yue back-passed to Curry once again and quickly moved to the other side, ready to crash the offensive boards.
Swoosh!
At Staples Center, on his fifth shot attempt, Curry finally made his career’s first basket.
Curry excitedly pumped his fist and immediately looked up towards where his family was sitting.
Then...
Curry was subbed out by Nash, who finally got a dead ball opportunity.
Off the court, through these two hand-off plays between Qin Yue and Curry, Nash quickly reviewed his first-quarter playstyle and, after self-reflecting, finally understood what Qin Yue really wanted.
Qin Yue was not Stoudemire.
He didn’t need to rely on Nash’s threading passes to score.
On the contrary, he himself was able to thread the needle for his teammates.
Therefore, to partner with Qin Yue, Nash first needed to elevate his own aggressiveness.
Back in the 1980s, the Lakers were world-renowned for their famous "Show.Time."
And now?
Now it belongs to the Warriors’ Show.Time.
The defending champion Lakers have become the perfect object for the Warriors to conduct tactical research.
In this night, when they were lacking alertness, Nash, after taking the court, consecutively hit two three-pointers from outside, providing Qin Yue with opportunities to easily penetrate the Lakers’ basket.
As the Lakers gradually rotated back their main players, they attempted to block the paint with the height of the Gasol Brothers.
But under Odom’s defense, which left things to fate, Qin Yue, now on a physical decline, decisively fired frequently from outside.
At halftime, 77 to 61.
Qin Yue tallied 29 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal in the first half.
Facing that mercury-like offense from the Warriors, Kobe, who had just received his fourth career ring before the game, had a displeased expression on his face.
