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Chapter 220 - 120. Dueling Wade!

Chapter 220: 120. Dueling Wade!

Haslem charged but failed to secure the ball, and Brezec protected the defensive rebound well.

Payton led his teammates in a retreat to prevent the opposing team from initiating a fast break.

During the offensive and defensive transition, Felton and Okafor began their attack with a pick-and-roll.

Wade happened to be the kind of defender Felton dreaded: taller, faster, and stronger than him.

Moreover, Wade was an excellent defender. By mid-season, his defense was ranked sixth or seventh among guards by the media, with only Kidd, Kobe, Billups, Raja Bell, and Hinrich securely ahead of him.

However, this time, it was not Haslem who stepped out to defend the pick-and-roll but Anthony Walker!

Haslem and Anthony Walker switched defenses!

Felton drove in but couldn’t shake off his defender; his shooting space was covered.

Zhang Yang was closely guarded by Payton. Although Payton wasn’t very fast now, his predictive movement and early navigation around screens always positioned him between Zhang Yang and Felton.

Felton passed the ball to Gerald Wallace, who was tightly guarded by Haslem. Gerald Wallace drove into the paint and attempted a floater, but Mourning disrupted his shot.

After the Miami Heat changed their frontcourt lineup from James Posey, Haslem, and O’Neal to Anthony Walker, Haslem, and Mourning, their defense became stronger... specifically, better suited to defend against the Hawks team!

The mastermind’s PUA skills were truly impressive; somehow, he had managed to persuade 29-year-old, prime Anthony Walker to join the team on a pay cut and commit to playing defense.

Last season, the Hawks team had sent Anthony Walker, who averaged 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists, back to the Celtics because they did not accept his desire for more than a 4-year, 40 million US Dollar contract renewal. After meeting with the mastermind last summer, Anthony Walker agreed to a 4-year, 36 million US dollar sign-and-trade deal to join the Miami Heat as the sixth man.

Anthony Walker had the frame of a power forward and the mobility of a small forward, making him very effective in defending pick-and-rolls. Having him on the team meant that the Miami Heat’s centers could be spared from extending their defense on pick-and-rolls.

Of course, another factor was that aside from the initial two rounds, O’Neal’s defense began to slacken, making Mourning’s rim protection seem stronger than O’Neal’s.

When it was the Miami Heat’s turn to attack, Payton continued to isolate Zhang Yang and asked for the ball. Although Wade felt that Payton might not be able to handle it, he passed it since the veteran demanded the ball.

As Wade had expected, Payton’s back-down turn-around jump shot was again disrupted by Zhang Yang!

Payton was shocked by the rookie’s defensive improvement! Just two months ago, in their early January matchup, he was still able to toy with him at the post, but this time he was completely read!

Actually, the situation wasn’t quite what he thought. Payton’s back-down moves, based solely on skill, were unmatched in the league today.

Zhang Yang’s defensive ability, experience, and physical condition had improved compared to two months ago; however, not enough to one-on-one defend against Payton’s back-down moves. Anyway, he hadn’t figured out Payton’s feints these two times; he just decided to only block the shot without worrying about anything else.

Previously, Zhang Yang wouldn’t dare defend this way because he was anxious about the back; back then, the basket was only guarded by the slow-footed Perkins or the soft-defending Brezec. Now that Okafor was back, he could entrust the back to his teammates.

As the Hawks team took the offense, Zhang Yang actively called for the ball against Payton at the high post.

Felton signaled his teammates to adjust their positions and lobbed the ball to Zhang Yang.

He thought it was a good idea. This perimeter couldn’t be driven; naturally, neither could Zhang Yang; Gerald Wallace couldn’t drive in, so Zhang Yang definitely couldn’t either; and since Zhang Yang couldn’t shake off Payton’s savvy off-ball defense, and a fast break was out of the option... then the only option left was a high post back-down, otherwise, there would be no point for Zhang Yang being on the court.

But Payton felt humiliated. He had just missed back-to-back back-down plays against this rookie, and now this rookie came to back-down against him? What was the meaning of this?

Containing his anger, Payton tried to recall how he defended Jordan’s back-downs, focusing on defense and refraining from trash talk. He was determined to shut this rookie down!

Payton defended fiercely, but Zhang Yang’s back-down was not what he expected!

Zhang Yang’s tempo changed from slow to fast. His one-handed ball-swinging motion tricked Payton into stepping back. Zhang Yang turned, stepped back, and shot... it went in!

to 13, the Hawks team tied the score!

As Zhang Yang retreated, Payton looked at him with bewilderment. Jordan’s prodigious scoring guard was using a floor gamestyle for back-downs?

It was fine that it was a floor game; Jordan was also a floor game player at the Wizards. But Zhang Yang’s back-down wasn’t even the Wizards’ version of Jordan; Payton remembered it seemed like... Larry Bird’s style? Unbelievable! Hadn’t Jordan always continuously expressed his regrets about not facing Bird in the playoffs again?

Clearly, he hadn’t watched this year’s All-Star game, nor had he seen the video of Zhang Yang showcasing his skill against Kobe.

During the transition between offense and defense, Payton, feeling humiliated, wanted to retaliate, but Wade gestured that he would take over.

Only then did Payton remember that it wasn’t three years ago anymore. Although he was still an All-Star reserve in the 02-03 season, after he signed the mid-level exception to join the Lakers in the summer of ’03, he became just a role player. When he missed the first isolation against Wade, and Wade gave him another chance, he could only focus on defense.

Wade took over the offensive lead for the Miami Heat, stirring up excitement among the fans, who loudly chanted "defense."

The fans’ response was influenced by the media hype about the "three generations of number 3 players."

They were well aware of the gap between Zhang Yang and Wade, Iverson, but that didn’t stop them from getting excited.