Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 581 - 193: The Art of Commanding (Another Short and Small - )
What can be considered excellent command in the NBA?
On the court, as Murphy and Curry consecutively hit three-pointers, seeing the Celtics' defense starting to passively expand outward, Qin Yue immediately dribbled on the wing, faking Horford out of his ankle.
Horford's footing became unstable during Qin Yue's first dribble change.
As a result, just when Qin Yue shifted the ball again to accelerate, Horford, who had barely kept up with Qin Yue, instantly lost his balance.
Subsequently, Qin Yue breezed straight into the Celtics' paint, scoring with a finger-roll layup, easily securing two points for the Warriors.
Brilliant passing is certainly an essential part of commanding a team's offense.
But compared to those mediocre organizers...
That night, in just half a quarter, Qin Yue demonstrated to the Celtics the pinnacle of command — commanding the enemy.
Soon after the game started, Qin Yue, noticing the Green Army's crowded paint area, first completed a connection with Murphy with a no-look pass.
Then, observing the Celtics remain unmoved, Qin Yue decisively instructed his teammate, allowing Curry to execute an off-the-ball three-point play.
It was then, with the Celtics forced to expand their defense outward, Qin Yue secured those two points for the Warriors using his personal ability.
Under Qin Yue's tactical maneuvers, with each offensive round, the Warriors always managed to attack unexpectedly.
In front of the technical desk, the Green Army's coach, Gentry, called another timeout to adjust the team's defensive deployment right after the official timeout.
Because in the previous possession before the Celtics called a timeout...
Qin Yue once again mobilized the Celtics' defense, using his presence to create an open corner three for veteran Bell.
Although Bell's offensive and defensive stats have notably declined this season due to age...
But as a 3D shooter with a career three-point shooting percentage over 40%, such open corner threes Bell still takes with confidence.
Swish!
Bell's three forced Gentry to call a timeout.
Only...
At the moment of pulling out the tactic board to set up plans, Gentry's mind suddenly went blank.
Because after Qin Yue fed his teammates with smooth passes, the choices Gentry could make in a short time were none other than...
Either block Qin Yue's passing routes to teammates.
Or continue to gamble on the Warriors' other players missing shots.
Before, while studying the Lakers versus the Warriors in the Western Finals, Gentry couldn't help but criticize Jackson for lack of wisdom, Ma Long for lack of strategy, only now realizing...
The reason why the Lakers could only watch Qin Yue dominate the game was precisely because they could not simultaneously block the Warriors' other players while concentrating forces on besieging Qin Yue.
And the Warriors' seemingly reliance solely on Qin Yue, without any novelty in offensive tactics, was indeed the optimal solution concluded by Ma Long after thorough research.
Now, the test has fallen upon Gentry.
He needs to make a choice before this timeout ends to prevent the Celtics' defense from constantly being commanded by Qin Yue on the court.
Post timeout, Gentry chose to trust Al Horford.
The game continued on the court.
In the second half of the first quarter, Brown, who substituted Murphy, swiftly stepped forward in defense, successfully saving "Big Soldier Stephen."
The Celtics initiated a point-man targeting tactic unsuccessfully, then Duncan engaged in a powerful low-post attack.
Qin Yue applied ample physical confrontation with his alumnus, forcing Duncan to shoot almost while twisting his body.
Unfortunately, the basketball Duncan seemingly flung casually nestled into the net after intimately bouncing off the backboard.
"Lucky shot!"
"Luck is also part of skill!"
Compared to the time Qin Yue first entered the league, Duncan's ability to overcome challenges has faded with time.
Yet at this moment, the still-potent Stone Buddha made Qin Yue recall himself, at the age of twenty-one, standing like a minion before Duncan.
Back on the other side, it's the Warriors' turn to attack.
Qin Yue initially wanted to use a pick-and-roll to switch Duncan in front of him and then respond with an Answer.Ball.
However, the Celtics, who chose to trust Horford, managed to reclaim the time needed for Horford to regain his position thanks to their high-quality rotational defense.
Qin Yue realized, the Celtics clearly intended to have Horford face him one-on-one.
Thus, Qin Yue hesitated no more, promptly launching an attack while holding the ball high.
However, during this defensive bout...
Having learned from past experience, Horford not only resisted Qin Yue's fierce drives but also attempted to intercept the ball from Qin Yue's hands using the defensive allowances of "Qin Yue's Law."
On the court, Horford's vicious hand-chop seemed to cut both the hand and ball together.
In this era where hand checks are prohibited...
If it were anyone else, Horford would surely be penalized for fouling due to this excessive defensive conduct.
But since the player he was defending was Qin Yue, naturally the referee wouldn't whistle against Qin Yue.
Yet the next second...
Not only did Horford fail to cut the ball from Qin Yue, but Qin Yue also proactively engaged in body contact, and after securing position, forcefully put the basketball into the hoop.
TNT TV Station, seeing this scene, Barkley shook his head repeatedly and said, "Al Horford has done all he can, yet even so, he still cannot stop the Messiah's advance!"
