novelhk Chapter 187 Nash: But we can make a substitution now!
Chapter 187 Nash: But we can make a substitution now!
Nash looked at the four substitutes who had been hanging out with Wang Xiucheng, including the Chinese rookie whose full name he didn't even remember.
"You played very well. Keep it up and stay aggressive."
I won't replace you, but if I replace Wang Xiucheng, can you still perform this well?
Nash didn't believe in such things.
But there has to be a legitimate reason to replace these substitutes.
Wang Xiucheng nodded upon hearing this.
Wang Xiucheng was indeed a little tired, but he was far from being unable to play.
Today is the first game of the season, and Wang Xiucheng, who has been resting for a long time, needs some time to adjust.
In addition, the intensity of the regular season is completely different from that of the previous preseason.
With a whistle, the referee blew the whistle, and the timeout ended.
The Pelicans' starters and the Nets' four reserves, plus starting point guard Ben Simmons, played in the game.
The Pelicans finally scored on their first basket.
Even with Ben West practically covering Zion's face, the latter still managed to score two points off the backboard.
Zion may seem reckless, but he can also be quite skillful when it comes to playing it safe and delicate.
In this particular play, Bencić appeared to be the clumsier one.
Possession changed, the Nets were on offense, and Ben West saw that his compatriot Wang Xiucheng seemed to be in good form today, so he passed the ball to Zeng Fanbo.
Although he didn't completely shake off his opponent after making his run, Zeng Fanbo still managed to throw the ball thanks to his height and the advantage of jumping first.
Unfortunately, the basketball slammed into the rim with a loud thud.
The rebound was grabbed by Valanciunas and then passed to McCollum.
McCollum took it twice and then gave it to Ingram.
Swish!
Ingram drove into the paint and scored a long two-pointer.
Ingram finally breathed a sigh of relief after clenching his fist.
He was very frustrated during that match.
He spent most of his time on defense, but his shots kept missing.
It seems like they're finally getting into form. It's only the second quarter, so it's not too late yet.
Ingram was right, he really is back in form.
Possession changed, and the Nets missed another shot. Ingram received a pass from Zion and made a three-pointer.
The Pelicans scored 5 points in a row.
Willie Green breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the team was back to normal.
Nash also breathed a sigh of relief.
But his mother could be replaced.
He was worried that Durant might catch a cold.
Nash quickly asked the referee for a timeout.
The referee hadn't seen him at first, which angered Nash so much that he went straight onto the court and almost confronted the referee.
"Not bad, you guys can rest now," Nash said to the four substitutes who were still eager for more.
He then looked at Durant and the others, took the tactics board from the assistant coach, and began to arrange the tactics.
Soon, the timeout ended, and both teams entered the court, with 5 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Durant and his teammates rested for a full 7 minutes.
The Nets have the biggest gap between their starters and bench players in the entire league, bar none.
Therefore, these players always play for a very long time.
Sometimes eight players rotate, or even seven players rotate.
When is it possible to rest for such a long time?
If they dared to rest like this, the competition would have been ruined long ago.
When Durant stood on the court and saw the score, he felt a sense of unreality.
48 is better than 31!
Before the end of the second quarter, the Nets led by 17 points!
Durant glanced at Wang Xiucheng, who was drinking water and talking to Nash, who was squatting on the sidelines.
When did this competition become so easy?
Lost in thought, the competition restarted.
The Nets' current roster is clearly stronger defensively than Wang Xiucheng and his bench players.
Especially Ben West, who is a big man who can guard positions one through five.
As long as you prevent him from shooting, everything else is negotiable.
With Wang Xiucheng absent, Durant took over the scoring duties.
The entire Pelicans team knew that Durant was going to go one-on-one.
But it just can't be prevented.
With his long arms and height like a gibbon, plus his backward lean, you just can't block him.
Fortunately, the Pelicans still have their own scoring ability.
The score remained unchanged until three minutes were left, with the score at 53-36, still a 17-point difference.
While Benci passed the ball to Zion and it went out of bounds, Nash substituted Wang Xiucheng in and took Benci out.
Logically speaking, Ben West's defense is clearly stronger than Wang Xiucheng's; he just lacks long-range shooting ability.
If Wang Xiucheng is brought on, the defense will only get worse.
However, basketball games are ultimately about who scores the most points.
Just as the Pelicans scored two points, Wang Xiucheng dribbled the ball across half-court and passed it to Durant, who was just outside the three-point line.
Durant caught the ball and glanced at Valanciunas, who had somehow switched onto him to guard him.
What are you even thinking about?
Durant drove into the paint with the ball, and then Wang Xiucheng also entered the paint.
Durant tossed the ball high toward the basket.
Claxton's eyes lit up when he saw the basketball coming towards him; it was meant for him.
Claxton jumped up, reaching for the basketball with one hand, intending to dunk it with one hand.
But just then, Zion ran in from the free-throw line. After taking only one step, Zion jumped up and, like a ball, collided directly with Claxton in mid-air.
Shoulder to shoulder, chest to chest.
Claxton was sent flying, hurtling towards the basket.
Zion charged forward, while "Zhao Si" jumped from the spot.
There are probably very few players in the entire league who can withstand a Zion charge.
Zion intercepted the basketball with one hand in mid-air, but his eyes were already searching for his own teammates.
McCollum had already rushed out and was looking back at Zion at the same time.
Zion, who was in the air, decided to teleport directly without waiting to land.
Opportunities are fleeting.
So the hand that intercepted the ball swung it forcefully, and then...
Then Zion felt the basketball in his hands disappear.
I didn't spread it myself.
It was stolen.
He watched helplessly as a yellow hand snatched the basketball away from the side.
So much so that he performed a passing maneuver without the ball in his hands!
Bang!
A loud bang rang out behind us.
Zion landed and immediately looked back, only to see Wang Xiucheng holding the basket with one hand, swinging it once before landing lightly on the ground.
The fans started cheering and applauding, but to Zion, it sounded so jarring.
He was dispossessed in mid-air!
As Wang Xiucheng ran back, he patted Old Vimi's outstretched, wrinkled hand.
He picked up the basketball from the ground and passed it to McCollum, who had already returned.
Zion looked at Wang Xiucheng, who was about the same height and had a similar wingspan as him.
He hadn't even noticed Wang Xiucheng standing next to him.
"attention."
Willie Green shouted from the sidelines, drawing Zion's attention back to the game.
Zion crossed halfway and reached for the ball, which McCollum immediately passed to him.
He knew Zion was going to beat up that Chinese guy.
He gave McCollum a look, and McCollum, along with Wang Xiucheng and Zion, provided cover.
Then McCollum left immediately.
Wang Xiucheng was rotated to defend against Zion.
Zion's eyes were fixed on Wang Xiucheng.
Wang Xiucheng also bent down slightly, ready for battle.
Zion, who seemed like a brute, actually did a crossover dribble in front of Wang Xiucheng, then turned and leaned his back against Wang Xiucheng.
After sensing Wang Xiucheng's position, Zion immediately spun around behind Wang Xiucheng like a spinning top, and took a big step to get inside the free throw line.
Ignoring Claxton, Zion jumped and, after another collision with Claxton, put the ball into the basket.
Zion yelled at Claxton to vent his frustration, while stretching out his arm to show off his exaggerated biceps.
It seems like he's saying, "Come on, you weakling!"
Just as Zion's arm was extended, the basketball flew out in front of him with a whoosh.
Before he could even pull his arm back, he immediately turned around with his arm still raised.
The basketball arced through the air to the frontcourt, and Wang Xiucheng caught it at that perfect moment.
At this moment, the player closest to Wang Xiucheng was McCollum, who hadn't even crossed the halfway line yet.
It's obviously too late.
And coincidentally, Wang Xiucheng had just stepped into the three-point line.
A jaw-dropping scene appeared.
Wang Xiucheng didn't drive straight into the paint. Instead, he dribbled the ball, took a step back, and ended up at the three-point line.
Then Wang Xiucheng threw the basketball in his hand.
Bang!
The basketball missed!
A wide-open three-pointer, and it missed.
No one expected the ball to bounce out.
Wang Xiucheng hadn't expected this either.
With such a large opening, you could probably guess and even get in if you changed your book.
So none of them, including McCollum, quickly got back on defense, seemingly having given up on the ball.
So Wang Xiucheng charged into the paint without any hindrance, met the rebounding basketball, stepped on the free-throw line, and made a simple one-handed dunk.
The Poznan dance took place again, and after landing, Wang Xiucheng looked at Durant on the opposite baseline.
He was pointing his finger in Wang Xiucheng's direction.
Just now, he directly passed Wang Xiucheng a quarterback long pass.
However, he didn't have Wang Xiucheng's straight and spin-filled pass; he just passed a high lob shot.
Zion's face was extremely ugly. He had worked hard like an ox to score a goal, while Wang Xiucheng had easily returned one.
And he even dunked it on a putback after missing a three-pointer.
This made him look more like a brute.
Time quickly came to the last minute of the first half.
With Zion Williamson's offensive onslaught and the firepower of players like Brandon Ingram on the perimeter, the Pelicans' scoring efficiency suddenly improved.
The gap between the two sides has narrowed to 13 points.
Swish!
Ingram received a pass from Zion and made a three-pointer.
The point difference finally reached 10 points.
Ingram clenched his fist.
There are 43 seconds left.
Ideally, each team could launch a complete offensive attack.
On the Nets' offense, Wang Xiucheng didn't try to shake off McCollum, who was guarding him, but instead, Durant unusually dribbled the ball forward.
Wang Xiucheng opened up the space and stood at the bottom corner.
Durant used his long arms to dribble the ball behind him where his opponent couldn't reach it.
Looking at the time, there were still 37 seconds left, and Durant wanted to make a quick shot.
Just as Durant was about to fake a drive and shoot a long two-pointer with a higher probability of success, he noticed that Wang Xiucheng had suddenly run into the paint.
Durant caught the ball and was about to pass it into the paint when he saw Wang Xiucheng suddenly brake and return to his original position.
With the sudden stop and start, McCollum was thrown off balance and crashed directly into Valanciunas.
Durant passed the ball directly to Wang Xiucheng, who was unguarded.
Swish!
Wang Xiucheng made a direct, one-shot attack.
Three-pointer scored!
"Guaranteed entry within three minutes" card is now active!
Nodding as he backed away, Wang Xiucheng slapped Durant's hand.
There are 34 seconds left.
McCollum checked the time with the ball and gave up the idea of taking a shot himself.
With almost three seconds left on the clock, McCollum attempted a three-pointer, but it missed.
Valanciunas grabbed the rebound, dodged Durant's hand, held the ball in his arms, and, once he was sure it was safe, passed the ball to Ingram on the outside.
There are 5 seconds left.
Ingram only had time to dribble once to find his rhythm before he threw the ball.
but……
With a snap, the basketball was slapped down by two hands.
Ingram was even pulled down to the ground.
Wang Xiucheng and Durant both fell from the sky.
With a whistle, the referee sounded the final whistle of the first half.
Durant and Wang Xiucheng slapped their hands together again with a loud thud.
On the final play, both players simultaneously came over to block Ingram's shot.
Time was running out, so Ingram had to do it himself, which is why both players gave up on having a defender come over to block him.
60:47.
The Nets led by 13 points at halftime.
The entire arena rose to their feet and applauded the Nets players.
For the fans, this score is quite good.
And after the first half of the game, Wang Xiucheng proved to be a perfect fit for the Nets.
Now, fans are no longer thinking about Wang Xiucheng's problem.
The question is not who is a good match for Wang Xiucheng, but rather who is not.
Wang Xiucheng returned to the bench and sat down, picking up a towel to wipe his sweat.
He originally wanted to wait a bit and enter the players' tunnel last.
This has been his habit all along.
Unexpectedly, Durant also sat down, took a sip of water, and then sat still, seemingly waiting for Wang Xiucheng on purpose.
About half a minute later, Wang Xiucheng got up and walked towards the player tunnel. Durant also got up, and naturally put one arm on Wang Xiucheng's shoulder.
The key point is that this guy doesn't say a word.
They bumped fists with the fans on either side of the players' tunnel before entering.
There's a fan area a little further away on the second floor.
Looking at the somewhat frenzied fans around her, Zhang Jiani experienced the charm of American professional sports for the first time.
"So, now you know why Wang Xiucheng is the true top star in China, right?"
The chubby uncle next to Zhang Jiani, wearing a Nets jersey with the number "12", said something to her.
"Uncle Li, are there really that many people watching basketball in our country? Then why do the basketball teams seem to be performing so poorly?"
Zhang Jiani is not a sports fan, but she knows that sports like basketball and football are far less successful than sports like table tennis.
He was in high spirits and was even bragging to the foreigner next to him who was wearing a Durant jersey with the number "7". But when he heard Zhang Jiani's words, the fat man's enthusiasm immediately vanished.
Why did you have to talk about basketball and football achievements?
Isn't this just making things difficult for me?
The fat man had originally wanted to show the foreigner a photo of himself and Wang Xiucheng on the plane, but he lost interest this time.
"I'm going out to buy something. Don't move. This place is huge, and it's easy to get lost."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiani nodded, resting her chin on her hand, seemingly lost in thought.
CCTV Sports Live Broadcast Room.
After an advertisement ended, Yu Jia and Su Qun appeared on the television screen.
After the first half of the game, Yu Jia felt he would no longer be excited.
But when he saw the technical statistics provided by the director, his voice still trembled slightly as he said, "Welcome back, everyone. During halftime, let's take a look at the halftime statistics."