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Chapter 224 - 121. Win!_2

Chapter 224: 121. Win!_2

Wade dug such a big hole in the first quarter, and the 8-point deficit wasn’t the main issue; O’Neal quickly regained the points once he exerted his strength. The biggest pit was the energy consumption!

Last night they had just played an overtime game against the 76ers, and today they were in a catch-up game...

It wasn’t just O’Neal, Anthony Walker, Payton... even Wade’s energy dropped visibly in the last minute or so.

That didn’t matter anymore. Riley reassessed the Bobcats and decided this opponent also had to be placed in the list of teams they didn’t want to meet in the first round.

So tenacious!

Such a young team was too tough to chew, giving you a nasty surprise once they got going.

And they even had the ability to adjust on the court... Riley watched as Felton walked toward the players’ tunnel.

People said that this little fatty was the worst of the three great point guard talents of the 2005 class, but Riley didn’t think so; the ability to lead on the court was also a talent.

...

During the halftime break, in the Bobcats’ locker room, Bickerstaff emphasized utilizing the counterattack in the third quarter, preparing to harvest the game.

The Miami Heat was in a physical crisis, and that had to be exploited.

Fighting a war of attrition against the back-to-back Miami Heat was mentioned in the Bobcats’ pregame preparation meeting, but it got rejected in the end.

That kind of test of roster depth wasn’t suitable for them.

But predicting a basketball game is difficult; you never know what might happen. Their North Carolina genius had actually gotten Wade pumped up...

In any case, the current situation was even better than the best scenario they had envisioned before the game.

If you defend well and the opponent keeps missing shots, they always find their touch again.

If you’re racking up points, the opponent might outscore you even more.

But getting into a physical crisis was something that wasn’t solvable no matter how hard you try.

Bickerstaff analyzed the situation from the perspective of the Miami Heat. Anyway, he couldn’t think of any way to turn the situation around. If the master strategist had some clever tricks, he wanted to see them for himself.

Zhang Yang also felt the game was in the bag. In the last minute of the first half, the advantage had shifted back to their side.

He also couldn’t fathom any miraculous methods the master strategist could come up with, until they came back from the halftime break and saw the players taking the court opposite them...

The Miami Heat fielded Jason Williams, James Posey, Shandon Anderson, Michael Doleac, and Mourning, leaving out Payton, Wade, Anthony Walker, Haslem, and O’Neal—the opposing team’s strongest five were not on!

Zhang Yang guessed the other side’s intent as soon as he saw this lineup.

Very bold, but it was indeed a good strategy! Worthy of the master strategist indeed!

After the third quarter started, under Felton’s leadership, the Bobcats played very hard on both offense and defense.

The opponent’s intent was clear—they wanted to use this lineup to hold the score and create rest time for their core lineup.

If they wanted to rip apart the opponent’s plan, the method was simple: just widen the point gap.

The Bobcats successfully limited the Heat’s scoring; in this lineup, Jason Williams was the only one who could initiate attacks.

Jason Williams this season had posted the best efficiency of his career, with a shooting accuracy of 44%, a three-point shooting accuracy of 38%, and a high assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.3 to 1.6... No one would have believed before 2002 that White Chocolate could produce such performance.

Transformed by Hubie Brown, White Chocolate had become a coveted player among championship-contending teams: his passing was steady and reliable, his three-point shooting was precise, and his defense was dependable, making him a luxury version of Fisher.

However, while playing efficiently, Jason Williams had also lost his original creativity; his unpredictable passes were no longer seen, and his way of initiating attacks was no longer mysterious; everything was by the book.

The Heat didn’t substitute those five players in the entire third quarter, only using Derek Anderson and Kapono for rotation; Doleac and Mourning, the interior duo, supported each other through the period.

The Bobcats managed to hold the Heat to just 15 points in the third quarter.

But the Bobcats only scored 21 points themselves!

The Heat’s veteran group might not have been good on the offense, but they were very dedicated on the defense, fighting as if their lives depended on it, and they kept the point difference within 10 points!

At the end of three quarters, the Bobcats led the Heat by 8 points, 75 to 67!

Bickerstaff was at his wit’s end and could only marvel that it was truly... O’Neal!

Since O’Neal joined the Miami Heat in the summer of 2004, the Heat had become the favorite team of veterans chasing championships in the last two off-seasons. The Heat’s second unit was too strong; even the last man on the bench was a player like Shandon Anderson.

Before joining the Heat, Shandon Anderson had averaged 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal per game—extremely valuable as a role player known for his defense. Signed to a hefty 6-year, 42 million US dollar contract, Anderson became a fringe player upon joining the Heat, mostly sitting out and tending to the water cooler, but he played diligently whenever he was given a chance, all for that coveted championship ring.

But Bickerstaff didn’t just sit through the period idly. Zhang Yang played for only 3 minutes before Bickerstaff benched him; Felton, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor all got their rest in turns, preparing for the final quarter.

An 8-point lead... not secure at all!

...

Payton, Wade, Anthony Walker, Haslem, and O’Neal, the Heat’s strongest five, returned to the court after resting for a quarter!

O’Neal had a very powerful feature, one that even Duncan before his plantar fasciitis and Yao Ming after bulking up to 140+ kilograms also had—as long as his energy held up, he could play at his strongest on the court!