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Chapter 375 - 174. It seems easy to guard against you_2

Chapter 375: 174. It seems easy to guard against you_2

Ellis received the inbounds pass and went one-on-one against Rondo outside, stopping abruptly for a jump shot one step inside the foul line on the right side of the three-second zone and scored!

Rondo’s defensive awareness was on par with Zhang Yang’s, but his footwork was inferior; however, he moved faster and stuck close. It was just that he was too short and as a rookie weighed only 77 kilograms. He couldn’t hold his ground and could only rely on speed to keep Ellis from driving straight to the basket, so his interference with the shot wasn’t very effective.

During the transition from defense to offense, Rondo took charge of organizing the attack.

Zhang Yang was closely guarded by Azubuike, with the frontcourt players Barnes and Biedrins doing a good job with their help and switch defense, cutting off Rondo’s passing lanes to the wings.

Foyle, the big man, squatted under the basket while Gerald Wallace cut inside, circled under the hoop and came out again, with no opportunity presenting itself.

Recall the summer of 2004 when Foyle, a center who played an average of only 13 minutes per game with 3.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1 block, was sought after by several teams, and it took the Warriors a six-year, $42 million US dollar deal to keep him. Over the next two years, the Nets, Pistons, Spurs, Mavericks... all the contending teams except for the Suns wanted to trade for Foyle. Even the Miami Heat was one of the teams making an offer, but the Warriors held out for a high price, feeling that a first-round pick was too little... This year, they were stuck with a bad deal.

Nevertheless, although Foyle wasn’t worth the $8 million annual salary, he had the necessary abilities of a tough, rim-protecting big man; his presence under the basket meant the Warriors’ players from positions 2 to 4 could confidently execute their team defense strategy.

Old Nelson watched his players’ defense with satisfaction and thought that Rondo, who had made his way through, could only either force a shot or pull up. But then, Rondo made a pass!

Zhang Yang, using Gerald Wallace’s screen on the left 45-degree angle, ran from the baseline to no avail and rushed to the left corner for a long two-pointer.

Biedrins, covering the left side line of the three-second zone, didn’t switch over; he and Foyle had already blocked Rondo’s passing vision and space. Switching over would break their defensive formation.

Biedrins suddenly felt a draft between his legs... How did the ball end up in that bad kid’s hands?

Biedrins quickly closed in, but it was too late.

Zhang Yang caught the ball and scored a long two-pointer!

Old Nelson’s eyes widened in surprise.

This vision and anticipation... couldn’t be a coincidence.

Nelson thought of that player from the East!

He deduced that his defense wasn’t going to hold up tonight; the defensive system he had in place was, frankly, to guard against isolation scoring, similar to how the Bobcats guarded James.

The difference was that Bobcats had only Gerald Wallace who could be called a defensive ace on the perimeter; the others were specialized defensive players. Rondo was fast, Felton was strong in a matchup, Zhang Yang had strong interference capabilities, and Alan Anderson was versatile in defense, able to guard positions one to three, though his abilities were just passable.

Under normal circumstances, the Bobcats still played conventional team defense.

But the Warriors had more players who could play defense on the perimeter, which is why he implemented that defensive plan at the start.

Felton realized his defensive plan and made in-the-moment adjustments. The other main scorers on the opposing team didn’t get bogged down in isolation plays; team offensive coordination and tempo were still in place. It was unnecessary for players like Azubuike, Barnes, Zhang Yang, and Gerald Wallace to clash head-on with stronger individual defenders.

The plan to tire out Felton’s hot hand had failed. When they put up a lineup to cut off isolation scoring, there was Rondo, the rookie with an astonishing talent for organizing the offense...

Just as Nelson predicted, after two more rounds, Rondo always managed to pass the ball to an open teammate. He might not get the assist, but he successfully tore through their defense, which was imbalanced.

However, there was still hope for a win!

With Gerald Wallace, Felton, and Alan Anderson not fast enough to guard Ellis, and with Rondo lacking in height and physicality, Ellis was mismatched against anyone he played, paired with Biedrins supporting inside and two quality 3D players spaced out on the wings, the Warriors’ offense remained fiercely powerful, and there was a chance to win.

Old Nelson was more open-minded and optimistic than most coaches, going for it whenever there was a chance, regardless of stability!

It was Zhang San’s defense against Ellis right before the official timeout that made Nelson somewhat wary.

But that bad kid had to focus on offense, throwing twenty-five or twenty-six shots per game, so he couldn’t expend too much energy on defense or he’d run out of steam...

Against Nelson’s expectations, something happened again!

With 9 minutes 11 seconds left, the score was 24 to 26. An enraged Ellis led his team to narrow the gap to just two points, with the Warriors in possession of the ball.

The Warriors went on the offensive again, with Ellis pushing to the frontcourt, ready to take the lead in one fell swoop... Zhang Yang was guarding the top of the arc!

Seeing Zhang Yang’s face, Ellis was seething with rage, but even more thrilled.

He wanted to score over Zhang Yang to take the lead!

Ellis approached the three-point line, facing Zhang Yang. He observed his defense, crouched as if to make a drive, then suddenly snatched up the ball and shot! But!

Zhang Yang had also jumped up to extend his hand at the first opportunity!

Although Ellis jumped higher than Zhang Yang, with a 191 cm height and a 190 cm standard arm span for a Warriors’ core point guard, he was completely covered by the 195 cm tall Zhang Yang with a 210 cm arm span.

This time, before Ellis could even get the shot off, Zhang Yang slapped the ball down right on top of it... a face-to-face block from outside the three-point line!

Knocked over by the force of the ball, Ellis fell to the ground, and the ball flew away towards the outside of the three-point line.

Zhang Yang landed and immediately rushed to pick up the ball, setting off the counterattack.

Ellis tried to chase after getting up but it was already too late, with Barnes and Azubuike on the sidelines even further behind.

Zhang Yang charged into the paint and jumped, dunking the ball with a left-handed chop amidst cheers and boos.

to 24, the Bobcats lead by 4 points!

Ellis ran back for the inbound, his mind boiling with rage. That block was utterly humiliating.

As he brushed past Zhang Yang, one sentence from Zhang Yang made him even angrier.

"Defending you seems pretty easy."

Ellis wanted to swing a punch... but he didn’t dare.

The video, GIFs, of bad boy Zhang San slapping Raja Bell till he passed out, are still circulating online, becoming the most popular meme in the sports world at the moment.

This seemingly sunny, gentle, and humble big boy, once he gets angry, is ruthless, vicious, and insidious... If he really started hitting, his teammates wouldn’t know how to protect him.

Fear, either flee or cover it up with rage.

On the Warriors’ offensive, the ridicule’s anger + the block’s anger + the anger covering fear... Ellis had completely lost his reason.

Facing Zhang Yang’s defense on a mid-range shot, Ellis drove straight into the paint. After entering the key, he shook off Zhang Yang, but Millsap and Perkins surrounded him. Jumping into the layup amongst the tussle, Ellis had a good waist, but it couldn’t withstand the two muscular men’s battering, and his layup missed!

Rondo got around Biedrins to secure the defensive rebound, glanced at the formation on the other side, and pushed the fast break!

Reaching the opposing three-point line, Rondo passed the ball to Zhang Yang, who then lofted the ball to Gerald Wallace on the other side of the key. Wallace received the pass, took a step, and directly jumped... Barnes retreating had no choice but to get out of the way as Gerald Wallace slammed the ball into the hoop with both hands.

The difference reached 6 points!

In the following few possessions, Ellis aggressively attacked the paint, but his shooting was terrible.

In fact, with the space opened up that much, it wasn’t so easy for Zhang Yang to defend Ellis one-on-one. Ellis could definitely find better shooting opportunities than attacking the basket, but Ellis had already been blinded by anger, playing recklessly.

Rondo continuously initiated fast breaks, and if they couldn’t get the fast break going, he was also able to pass the ball to Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, or Millsap when they were in better positions, creating better offensive opportunities for the trio.

After Ellis led his team to a 10 to 7 run against the Bobcats in 3 minutes, the Bobcats responded with an 11 to 3 run against the Warriors in the next 3 minutes!

Ellis hoarded all the Warriors’ shots in the last 3 minutes, scoring only one basket. Although it was a 2+1, it couldn’t cover up his poor performance during that time.

At the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats led the Warriors by 10 points, 37 to 27, widening the gap to double digits!