Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 520 - 172: "Qin Yue’s Law" (Single-day 10,000-character update, begging for subscription and monthly votes!) _3
And, as Qin Yue gradually felt that the calls he received on defense were even more favorable than before, he quickly began having fun on the court by tormenting the players he was tasked with defending.
Kobe, who led the Lakers to face the Warriors in mid-November, saw his teammate Pau Gasol suffer miserably.
In the game, Big Gasol was repeatedly knocked to the ground by Qin Yue’s aggressive hits, ending the night with a mere 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, shooting only 2 of 10 from the field and making all 4 of his free throws.
And Qin Yue?
Qin Yue totaled 31 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 blocks, and 4 steals.
With the referees’ tacit approval...
Qin Yue, using his physical gifts to bully his opponents, often managed to strip the ball from Big Gasol on the court.
In this second match against the Lakers, it was by freezing Big Gasol through Qin Yue’s efforts that the Warriors effectively restrained the Lakers’ triangle offense initiation.
Moreover, after this game, with the Lakers losing again at 106 to 118, they couldn’t protest against Qin Yue’s on-court actions after the game.
Because to protest, they’d first have to admit using various non-basketball tactics to disrupt Qin Yue’s offense during the game.
This is precisely where Stern’s balancing act shines.
Stern just didn’t want to see Qin Yue scoring too easily on the court.
But if Stern didn’t provide Qin Yue with a certain degree of countermeasure...
Then even if the league forbids other teams from maliciously fouling Qin Yue, surely some villains would try using malicious fouls to assault the GOAT.
Qin Yue and the Warriors, in their game against the Celtics in late November, ushered in the latest version of the "Qin Yue’s Law".
In this game, Alvin Gentry, who replaced Piggy Rivers as the Celtics’ head coach this summer, did not, like other teams, double-team or force Qin Yue to pass in the first three quarters, even when he voluntarily assigned Al Horford to match up against Qin Yue.
"We can’t let his teammates easily receive the ball and shoot in the first three quarters," Gentry told the Celtics before the game, "even if he fully explodes with his power, it doesn’t matter. We must wait until the fourth quarter to change our defensive setup."
Moreover, when Horford was defending Qin Yue, the Celtics supported Horford with sufficient assistance through overall formation movement.
This finally gave Horford, who lacked confidence in confronting Qin Yue, the courage to face him squarely in his third professional season.
Although in the game, the GOAT remained unstoppable, dropping 36 points in the first three quarters under Horford’s intense defense.
But in the fourth quarter, as the Celtics suddenly altered their strategy, frequently sending Duncan and Pierce to surround the GOAT alternately, the Warriors’ other players’ shooting percentages upon receiving GOAT’s passes clearly did not compare to previous games.
On the court, the Celtics, who kept it a close game, battled head-to-head with the Warriors into the final moments.
With 57 seconds left before the end, the Celtics still led the Warriors by two points and had control of the ball.
This was a defensive possession likely to decide the outcome of the game. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
Pierce, responsible for holding the ball on the wing and executing a solo play, after faking out Wallace, awkwardly drove into the Warriors’ paint.
Yet, at the moment when this strangely paced elderly car was challenged by Qin Yue’s help defense, the basketball was deftly passed into Duncan’s hands.
Luckily, Qin Yue’s reaction speed, honed by his full commitment on defense over this period, successfully helped him rotate quickly and block Duncan’s shot.
However, this clean block, one that had no relation to fouling from any angle, was instead called a foul by Joey Crawford, who afterward should visit an ophthalmologist.
Qin Yue couldn’t accept this call that could likely alter the game’s course.
And Joey Crawford?
In fact, at the moment he blew the whistle, Crawford himself was quite upset.
Because it was completely a mistaken call.
Crawford clearly knew that Qin Yue’s block could only be described as clean and pure.
He only forgot that the player completing the block against Duncan in this play was Qin Yue because he had been consistently granting Duncan star calls earlier in the game.
In Crawford’s view, let alone that Qin Yue’s block wasn’t a foul, even if it was, as long as it wasn’t overly obvious, he shouldn’t have blown the whistle.
But since the whistle had already been blown, Crawford had no choice but to carry on with his misjudgment.
Ultimately, by capitalizing on this highly controversial call, the Celtics became the first team in the new season to defeat the Warriors.
"Don’t be upset, I know you didn’t hit my hand at that time."
After the game, seeing Qin Yue still feeling indignant, Duncan took the initiative to comfort his junior, "Joey’s officiating standards are always so perplexing, I don’t enjoy games officiated by him either."
Hearing this, Qin Yue said discontentedly: "It’s one thing for him to allow you to roughhouse me during the game, but how can he help you steal the victory that rightfully belonged to us?"
Duncan understood Qin Yue’s character, knowing he was hotheaded at the moment, so he deliberately shifted the topic, saying, "Speaking of which, it’s the first time I’ve seen you so anxious in a game."
Qin Yue replied, "If you were in my shoes, you’d be anxious too."
"No, I wouldn’t be able to withstand such a blow." Duncan spread his hands, "Trust me, if it were me, I’d likely have knelt before Joey."
Qin Yue didn’t believe Duncan would kneel before Joey Crawford over a mere erroneous call.
After all, in his memory, even when Duncan received a technical foul for smiling on the bench from Joey Crawford, all he showed was a face of astonishment.
Nevertheless, with Duncan saying so, Qin Yue, whose mood significantly improved, laughed and said, "If you really knelt to Joey, I think it’d definitely become a sensational headline across the entire league."
Duncan nodded and said, "Do you think people would use ’A Kneel to Remember’ to describe that scene?"
Qin Yue nodded without hesitation, "They would."
Duncan pondered, "Then if there’s a chance, I’d really like to try it out. You know, ever since my divorce from my ex-wife, it’s been a long time since I’ve been on the headlines."
"..."
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