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Chapter 373: I can burst you anytime I want.

Chapter 373: I can burst you anytime I want.

Felton obeyed, stopped on his feet, and advanced the ball, but complained, "I can’t take on Davis alone."

Zhang Yang pinched his thigh, "You could look for a pick-and-roll."

Felton: Σ(⊙▽⊙"a!!

Seeing Zhang Yang pick up his pace toward the frontcourt, Felton thought, Am I being shunned? No! That can’t be. The kid just wants to quickly get there and use his movement to disrupt the defense, creating opportunities for me. Yes, that must be it.

Felton didn’t speed up, taking until 7 seconds to cross the half-court line. Although they were both on the offensive, the Warriors wanted to play on the run, whereas the Mavericks preferred to settle into a half-court game and take their time.

Felton arrived at the perimeter, fending off Baron Davis’s physical pressure to keep the ball securely in his possession.

Hmph, his ball protection, just like the one he learned from the kid, was solid as a rock!

Still, the aggressive defense felt a bit unsettling. He’d retaliate on defense later... Felton waved toward the inside lane, Okafor came out to block Baron Davis, and Felton exploited the screen to break into close range. He managed a floater before Biedrins could catch up on defense and Harrington could close in from the wing, scoring before they could set up their defense... It’s in!

Biedrins did quite well switching on the pick-and-roll, but Harrington’s help defense from the weak side baseline was lacking.

to 13, the Mavericks reclaimed the lead.

On the sidelines, old man Nelson grimaced, looking like a white thug past his prime. With his towering two-meter frame, he’d be more fitting wearing a leather jacket with studded accessories or donning work clothes and holding a chainsaw.

The chubby guy on the other side had figured out his strategy! Worthy of being the new generation’s top leader, capable of subduing the bad boy Zhang San as his underling.

Old Nelson wanted to signal Ellis to provoke Zhang Yang, to incite a shootout between the two.

But before he could gesture, Ellis had already taken the initiative to catch up with Zhang Yang on defense, yapping incessantly.

Old Nelson was quite pleased; this player rarely spoke, but when he did, he was incredibly annoying, and coupled with that irritating face, he could easily provoke his opponents.

However, on the court...

Ellis: "You don’t dare to guard me? Scared I’ll blow you up? Coward!"

Zhang Yang: "Could you use some high-level vocabulary? Oh, that’s right, you didn’t go to college, so you didn’t learn proper English."

Ellis: "Aren’t you a high schooler too! You didn’t even finish high school!"

Zhang Yang: "Sorry, but I skipped grades and am currently a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Playing in the NBA is just my part-time job."

Ellis felt like he had just heard an urban legend, yet he actually believed it was true! After all, journalists could easily verify the story; there was no need to boast, but it was so outlandish... Could those wild tales all be true?

Ellis drifted off for a moment, and by the time he heard the bearded man’s calling, Gerald Wallace had already gotten up close to him, and Zhang Yang had followed Stephen Jackson to the left corner.

Baron Davis, standing with the ball, didn’t protect it as well as Felton. He passed it as soon as Stephen Jackson got open.

Stephen Jackson took on Zhang Yang at the 45-degree angle, dribbled a few times, and pulled up for a three-pointer but was heavily contested by Zhang Yang and missed. However, the ball bounced to a favorable spot, and Harrington quickly leaped up for a follow-up shot, securing two points.

As the Mavericks started their offense, Zhang Yang had just reached the frontcourt when Ellis stuck close to him.

Ellis kept going: "Why aren’t you shooting anymore? Don’t you have the green light? Is your team just using you to brave through the busiest stretch of the schedule?"

Well, look at that, a sneaky player indeed, coming up with some complex vocabulary...

Zhang Yang sneered internally while moving to the left, "Don’t worry, I can blow you out anytime I want.

You’re not about to retire, are you? Is it because once your second-round pick contract ends, the Warriors won’t need you anymore?

I thought you could at least last three to five years in the NBA."

Ellis was hit hard by the term ’second-round pick’ and recklessly closed in on Zhang Yang, who dodged at the right moment and sprinted toward the lane!

Ellis lunged and hastily turned to chase, but even with his speed advantage, it was already impossible to catch up.

Stephen Jackson couldn’t get there in time to block, and Zhang Yang entered the three-second zone from the left, received a pass from Felton, and leaped for a floater... He got hit by Harrington, who had turned to block, but Zhang Yang had already released the ball before the contact!

The referee’s whistle blew, the ball went through the net, and cheers erupted from the crowd!

Zhang Yang, regaining his stance after landing, said to Ellis who had followed him into the paint, "See, scoring on your defense is something I can do anytime."

Ellis, watching Zhang Yang turn to walk to the free-throw line, turned as red as a liver, unable to out-trash talk and ridiculed on top of that!

Zhang Yang received the ball, took a deep breath to adjust his rhythm, and amidst the cheering, he made the free throw!

to 14, the Mavericks lead once again!

Ellis urged his teammates to inbound the ball and quickly advanced it after receiving the pass.

Coach Nelson hesitated for a moment but didn’t call for a timeout; he noticed that Ellis was in a very irritable mood.

This player excelled at playing emotionally charged basketball. During a game against the Mavericks, he had hit 11 of 17 shots, scoring 31 points, all because he was provoked by Terry’s celebratory gestures after making a three-pointer, leading his team to massacre the Mavericks.

Ellis advanced to the frontcourt, and the sight of his defender changing excited him so much he felt like jumping for joy.

Blow him up! Destroy him!

Guarding at the top of the arc was none other than Zhang Yang!

When Zhang Yang had just signaled Gerald Wallace to defend Stephen Jackson, the prince had decisively slipped away from the top of the arc.

The opponent was a shorter shooting guard, and many point guards were taller than Ellis. Ellis was also faster than most point guards, making it a real torment for Gerald Wallace to defend him.

As for whether Zhang Yang could handle Ellis... Although it was rare for Zhang Yang to defend the opposing team’s offensive spearheads, when he really had to, he didn’t worry much about those famed superstars. Against the new generation of perimeter players, even if they were talents like Paul, Deron, or Roy, Gerald Wallace wasn’t very concerned...

Ellis approached the right side of the top arc, with Zhang Yang taking quick steps to stay in front of him.

Ellis made a fake breaking move, which Zhang Yang completely ignored; Ellis remembered that this bastard didn’t fall for fakes!

Shoot directly? Ellis felt like he was completely covered. He chose to sidestep and break through directly!

Zhang Yang fought a retreat, making a strenuous effort to keep up with Ellis’s pace. Ellis charged inside the free-throw line, slightly shaking off Zhang Yang, but still feeling enveloped. Ellis charged all the way to the right edge of the paint, just past the midpoint on the sideline near the elbow area, came to a sudden stop, raised his hand to fake a shot, and this time Zhang Yang flew out.

Ellis really jumped... and another block came flying in!

Gerald Wallace had sprinted over from the left 45-degree angle. As Zhang Yang leaped for the block and Ellis pulled the ball back for more power, Wallace had the time to get into position for the help defense.

Ellis was already in the air, ball raised, when he twisted his body midway for a shot... and missed!

Jumaine Jones grabbed the defensive rebound, holding the ball up to avoid Al Harrington’s aggressive steal attempt, and only passed it on after Felton had moved back.

If it had been Okafor or even Perkins who snagged the rebound, they would have launched a fast break by now... Felton complained inwardly, but he praised outwardly as his little brother had advised him, "Nice job."

Felton continued to run the pick-and-roll with Okafor in the frontcourt. Noticing Biedrins’s defensive positioning against the pick-and-roll, Felton unassumingly rounded the pick and accelerated into a drive. After stepping one foot beyond the three-point line, he toed the line with his left foot, then forcefully retreated out of the three-point line with both feet. Facing Biedrins’s rushed defense, he shot a three-pointer...

The ball sailed over Biedrins, traced a high arc, and dropped into the hoop!

to 14, the Bobcats leading by 5 points!

Coach Nelson called for a timeout!

He was not in a good mood right then.

Being down by 5 points wasn’t really the issue, but his strategy had been seen through!

Fortunately, he had only arranged what the players should do, without explaining why they should do it.

One reason was that most players wouldn’t understand even if he did tell them, and some players who did grasp his intentions might get too clever and try to adapt on their own, which for most meant autonomous adaptation was worse than simply following the coach’s instructions.

He had learned his lesson during the first half of the season, coming to the profound understanding that not every offensive nucleus was as smart as Marquis Johnson, Sidney Moncrief, Tim Hardaway, Steve Nash... those guys.

Leading this team, which had been abysmal for over a decade, to achieve that goal was indeed quite challenging.

...

"Is the Crazy Scientist using Davis to wear me out? No way! That’s an All-Star player!"

On the other side, after entering the official timeout, Felton approached Zhang Yang to ask why he had suddenly been called upon to spearhead the offense. Although he found playing the pick-and-roll easy, rotations between Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor wouldn’t have been more demanding than his pick-and-roll plays; they might even have been easier.

But Felton was incredulous upon receiving the answer.

Zhang Yang: "Because with you on the court, we can restrain Davis. Ellis participating in the offense has a higher efficiency than Davis."

With that explanation, Felton nodded in understanding. It made sense.

Zhang Yang continued: "Moreover, he’s not using Davis in a one-for-one exchange with you; it’s more like half of Davis for one of you. Your main scoring methods are long-range shooting and short-range floaters, which rely on touch, while Davis’s three-point shooting accuracy is far behind yours, and his shooting consistency from distance is much worse compared to yours. He’s engaging you in a physical contest to degrade your shooting touch, and after depleting your long-range shooting and penetration drives, he can still score inside and counter-attack when you’re off the court. Meanwhile, if you lose your scoring threat, our offensive rhythm gets disrupted when we play a team game, and my, Gerald’s, and Emeka’s solo plays will suffer."

Felton nodded as he listened. Then, a question struck him, "But that’s pointless, right? Even if our team offense falls apart and my shots don’t go in, you three are still there, aren’t you?"

Zhang Yang nodded toward the opposite side, where Felton saw Matt Barnes, Kelenna Azubuike, and Adonal Foyle stripping off their warm-ups – two defensive hawks on the perimeter and a solid center inside.

If it wasn’t clear by now, Little Big Felton really wasn’t too... bright.

Still, he had a lingering question, "How could the Crazy Scientist be sure I would engage Davis physically?"

"You don’t need any tricks for that... um..." Zhang Yang searched for the right words and found them: "Everyone knows you play with a lot of passion and never admit defeat. If Davis goes physical on you, you definitely wouldn’t want to lose to him."