Chapter 488: Chapter 147: Unconcealable Radiance

Jordan was confident he could withstand Zhang Hao’s impact; his strength was greater than that of most power forwards, and even Zhang Hao was among those most.

However, this time, the impact Jordan felt was more ferocious than he had anticipated, causing him to be knocked back a step!

Zhang Hao sought to turn around and shoot directly. Although Jordan was surprised to be knocked back, he quickly pressed forward again, moving extremely fast.

Zhang Hao had just turned around to grab the ball and hadn’t yet made a shooting motion before Jordan was on him again!

This defense was suffocating! Zhang Hao’s left arm was pressed by Jordan, and he stretched his right hand holding the ball backwards to avoid being stolen.

The ball was dead!

Drexler wanted to come to support, but Anfernee Hardaway stuck so close that there was no chance.

Fortunately, Olajuwon got position under the basket, but Zhang Hao saw Jordan’s "I won" expression. Though he admired Jordan and thought that he would surely lose if they played one-on-one ten times now, he was still quite annoyed!

Feeling Jordan pressing against or even grabbing his left arm... Zhang Hao had a sudden inspiration, pivoting on his left foot without moving, and stepping back half a step with his right foot... Jordan immediately pressed forward, anticipating that Zhang Hao might step back with his right leg and then take off with both feet, a method of creating space without a traveling violation when the ball was dead.

As Jordan made a clear motion to press forward, Zhang Hao forcefully lifted his left arm upwards... Jordan, whose center of gravity was shifting during movement, was swept aside by Zhang Hao’s arm!

Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Hao rose up and shot...

Even if he thought it wasn’t his time to perform before the game, Zhang Hao did not become negligent about this match. When the team drill ended in the afternoon and his temporary teammates went to have fun, he had already started warming up. This was his secret to having a good touch in most games!

This time was no different; he made his first mid-range shot at the opening!

The screams of the live fans erupted again! Surprising, very surprising, Zhang Hao and Jordan were both very serious, their confrontation seemed about to turn into a fight... The most surprising was that Zhang Hao bravely scored in a one-on-one battle with Jordan!

Even though Zhang Hao was a power forward, not many thought he would perform well in a solo battle under Jordan’s full defense. Jordan’s confrontation was completely at an inside level, and Zhang Hao was indeed forced very hard, but in the end, Zhang Hao still found the opportunity to make the shot.

But what was even more shocking was the other players on the field, seeing Zhang Hao, who calmly retreated after scoring, they all wanted to give him a thumbs up.

The players on the court, even the younger ones like Grant Hill and Anfernee Hardaway, knew how strong Jordan’s defense was, his use of the rules, his judgement of the officials’ blind spots, his little tricks and use of his body—Jordan was absolutely top-tier, at the level of a Defensive Player of the Year.

They could see that Jordan was using his body and experience to bully Zhang Hao, but somehow Zhang Hao could also seize opportunities to use little tricks, and he used them quite roughly... Truly daring!

But for the other All-Star players, this situation wasn’t unexpected.

This was a tough guy who dared to elbow back after a conflict with Malone during a game.

Jordan wasn’t surprised either. Just now, Zhang Hao’s ability to use the official’s blind spots was clearly better when on offense than defense. The results showed that Zhang Hao exerted effort, but the moves that weren’t seen didn’t cause conflict or hurt others; thus, it was as if they didn’t happen.

"Haven’t learned much else, just learned Malone’s elbow trick! Wait, Barkley’s backing, Adams’s shot-put push, Malone’s elbow trick... Xiette! My turnaround fadeaway has been sullied one after another... no, been defiled one after another!"

Offense-defense transition, this opening offense-defense exchange between Zhang Hao and Jordan got the players on the court and the fans present all hyped up.

Relaxed shooting after getting rid of defense, tactical teamwork... it was naturally very pleasing to watch.

But intense physical battles, iron-blooded defense, equally had strong allure.

When such physical battles came from a group of All-Star players, the viewership was naturally more thrilling than a harmonious three-point contest or a slam dunk contest lacking extraordinary level!

When Jordan rushed to the frontcourt, amidst the cheers of the fans, he continued to look for Pippen for off-ball pick-and-roll, but when switching defenses, Zhang Hao held onto the Magician. Off-ball double-team? No!

The Magician was still "defending" Pippen, reacted quickly, facing Pippen, but two meters away from Pippen who ran to the sideline beyond the three-point line.

Anfernee Hardaway, with no desire to perform in the All-Star game, immediately passed the ball to the open Pippen.

Pippen didn’t shoot upon receiving the ball, charging towards the baseline, avoiding the Magician’s path, baseline drive... Zhang Hao immediately moved to block!

When defending off-ball picks, as long as you’re quick enough and the pick-and-roll executor hasn’t shot a three, it’s actually easy to defend—this is what Zhang Hao learned from James Worthy.

Zhang Hao originally thought Pippen would shoot; this season Pippen made 1.9 threes with a 37% shooting rate, quite impressive, but Pippen didn’t shoot, and he easily blocked Pippen who was driving.

Facing Zhang Hao’s block, Pippen suddenly stopped, changed direction to break through!

Pippen thought Zhang Hao would leap immediately due to that sudden stop, as Zhang Hao had done before, but this time, Zhang Hao also suddenly stopped but didn’t leap to block, instead pressing directly towards Pippen to make contact!

This block was done very well!

Pippen looked for Jordan, even though the Magician’s defensive ability had diminished, his awareness was still there, blocking the sideline space for Jordan’s reception. Jordan had to move to the middle and caught Pippen’s pass a step inside the free-throw line.