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Chapter 509 - 220. The Emotionless Stone Buddha

Chapter 509: 220. The Emotionless Stone Buddha

Zhang Yang let out a sigh and sprinted toward the paint, saying to Duncan who was retreating, "Working so hard against an old teammate, do you owe him money?"

Duncan thought, ’Whose fault is that?’ but didn’t respond to Zhang Yang. He ran back to the backcourt and after retreating under the basket, he popped a question: Shouldn’t it be ’Does he owe you money’?

Seeing Zhang Yang pushing forward, Duncan focused his attention on protecting the basket.

Zhang Yang advanced to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Felton, who continued to create mismatch isolation opportunities for Zhang Yang at the high post.

Zhang Yang slipped along the baseline using Okafor’s off-ball screen; Felton burst through Parker and passed the ball, and Zhang Yang continued to isolate Parker at the high post.

Parker stuck closer than the previous round, immediately closing in after being pushed off by Zhang Yang.

But Zhang Yang didn’t pull back for a jump shot, instead he turned and drove straight into the lane!

After blocking Felton, Duncan quickly came back, Zhang Yang took two strides, unveiled the Euro step, arrived on the right side of the restricted area, and tossed up a shot... Duncan anticipated well and turned to block Zhang Yang, but Zhang Yang pulled off a quick ’David and Goliath’, and before Duncan could block him, the ball fell into the basket!

When it was the Spurs’ turn to attack, Duncan faced a double team at the low post, played a rhythm off the beat, and amidst the pincer movement, he turned and hooked the ball in!

At the sideline, Carlisle said with a heavy heart, "We run so many plays just to create a mismatch isolation, and Duncan simply posts up to respond."

Bickerstaff replied, "If needed, he can still fetch 25 points a night like Yao, it’s incredible. I remember this is his second time changing his style of play."

Carlisle said, "Indeed, last regular season Duncan had the worst performance of his career, I thought he was past his prime, but he was actually using the regular season to practice his skills. Come playoff time, his style completely changed, turning into the strongest ’floor play’. In the second round against the Mavericks, he averaged 32 points in seven games, if I remember correctly, that was the highest scoring in a playoff series in his career. If not for Ginobili’s foul on Terry’s three-pointer in the last moments of Game 7, the Spurs could very well have defended their title."

"Nazr can’t hold Duncan, Emeka has to double team early or he won’t be able to disrupt effectively, Finley is averaging 2.2 three-pointers in the Western Finals; Gerald can’t go for the double team, or should we put Kendrick on?"

Bickerstaff said, "Putting Kendrick under the basket to guard Duncan would definitely work better, but that would make it hard to create mismatch opportunities for Jack. Jack isolating Finley certainly doesn’t have a higher success rate than isolating Parker.

"Even if Kendrick plays, it’s not guaranteed he can stop Duncan. The Jazz Team used Okur to guard Duncan, with Kirilenko and Haplin doubling, and Duncan still shot 57% from the field, also helping Oberto to achieve a 70% shooting rate. We must prioritize ensuring Jack’s high post isolation success rate; we can only hope Nazr and Emeka can trouble Duncan more and survive his strong start."

Carlisle said, "That’s true, but with Jack playing this way, might the strain be too much?"

The Bobcats’ beginning two possessions might look simple, but in fact, there are many details.

Felton’s pace on the drives needs to be well controlled, and Okafor’s timing when setting screens must be precise.

When Zhang Yang slipped the baseline from the left side of the three-second area, Muhammad on the left baseline also had to seize the moment to cut in and distract Oberto, while Gerald Wallace on the right sideline had to take the opportunity to cut in timely, to prevent Bowen from helping at the high post.

Not only are several players required to coordinate well; Zhang Yang’s running pace, catching timing, and overall execution must also be on point to create an isolation opportunity against Parker amidst the Spurs’ league-leading team defense.

Playing this way, Zhang Yang’s isolation success rate is higher, but his energy consumption is significantly greater than simply isolating against Finley.

Bickerstaff said, "No worries, he’s just a scorer. As long as he completes the scoring tasks assigned, that’s enough. If Jack can outplay Duncan, then it’s a huge gain."

Carlisle: "Is it enough for a scorer to just do what a scorer should do?"

"Right, that Eastern Finals year, if Billups was just responsible for scoring rather than having to score, organize the offense, and also handle defensive flanks under Kidd’s defense, wouldn’t he have played better? Back then there were also Clifford Robinson, Atkins, and Jon Barry; at least they wouldn’t have been swept, right?"

"That Eastern Finals was probably the most miserable playoff series of Billups’s career, averaging 9.8 points on 2.8 out of 10 shots per game while Kidd averaged 23.8 points."

Bickerstaff’s words, although not exactly an enlightenment, did inspire Carlisle with new insights into coaching... A good coach is always willing to learn.

On the court, when Zhang Yang saw Duncan respond to his mismatch isolation by scoring against a double team, his thoughts completely diverged from Carlisle’s; far from being anxious, he was even more excited!

Competing in the Finals against peak-Duncan!

Although he relied on his teammates’ help to create easier isolation opportunities to compete with Duncan... it didn’t matter, he was competing!

It was the Bobcats’ turn to attack again, and Zhang Yang continued to move.

After getting mismatched in two consecutive possessions, the Spurs made defensive adjustments. As Zhang Yang slipped out from the baseline, Oberto immediately let go of Muhammad and moved up to block in front of Zhang Yang after he used Okafor’s screen, while Finley, chasing Zhang Yang, moved directly to block Muhammad’s cut.

Although Zhang Yang quickly shook off Oberto and got to the high post to catch the ball, the defensive switch by Oberto and Finley delayed Felton from passing immediately. By the time Felton passed the ball to Zhang Yang, the wing’s Bowen had already moved up to block in front of Zhang Yang, and Parker, not staying at the free-throw line as in previous defenses, rushed to the baseline to block the cutting Gerald Wallace.