NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 638 "Brotherly Basketball" is the destination (5000 words chapter)
On Saturday, May 2009, 5, after a short break, the Knicks flew to Miami and faced Game 9 of the Eastern Conference semifinals that evening.

The semi-final schedule is always tight every year, and although the defending champion is no longer young, the first round of the competition has bought time.

In contrast, the Heat, who had experienced a decisive battle in the seventh game, still could not completely get rid of their fatigue after returning to their home court on consecutive away games, and gradually fell into a disadvantage after the game started at 20:.

The American Airlines Arena was packed tonight. For some fans, the result of the game was not important. Everyone bought tickets just to have fun!
While the Heat were taking a timeout, the ABC broadcaster focused the camera on black actress Union in the front row, and then moved on to Yankees captain Derek Jeter.

Although the two had broken up two years ago, Derek Jeter's mockery of Wade before the game still made the onlookers happy.

The Yankees captain was also quite active during the game, which may be the reason why Wade was a little sluggish after the opening.

At this time, there were 1 minutes and 6 seconds left in the first quarter. Coach Spoelstra looked serious in front of his players, holding the tactical board to make important decisions, and repeatedly reminded his players loudly:
"Zone defense, pay attention to remind each other, don't miss the backcourt rebounds again!"

The Heat have always insisted on man-to-man defense, which is also the choice of most teams in the league. Changing the defensive strategy is also a last resort.

Wade was unable to limit Li You's breakthrough. He lacked height under the basket and had problems protecting the rim. As a result of the chain reaction, he only made one transition attack at the beginning of the game. If it weren't for the free throws, the score gap would have been widened again.

13:9, the difference of 4 points is not big, but Wade has only taken one shot and scored zero points, which makes the Heat fans at the scene a little worried.

Wade, who was wiping his sweat with a towel, felt relieved when he heard the coach's arrangement. It was obviously to strengthen the defense.

The bad things that happened before the game did affect his mood, but the main reason he didn't score was that he found it difficult to break through the restrictions. He was double-teamed in the pick-and-roll, and the Knicks played very well together on the defensive end.

"Give me the ball, Bro, coach is right, we have to get the ball out faster."

When the timeout was over, David Lee stood up, hugged Wade and reminded him loudly. The Heat fans at the scene saw the two of them communicating intimately and shouted out loud. The new New York player has already established a foothold in the team and has been recognized.

Wade didn't say anything, just nodded expressionlessly. In fact, David Lee was the main attacker at the beginning of the game, from inside to outside. James Jones also hit a three-pointer, and Artest also made a free throw.

His teammates performed well, which made Wade look unsatisfactory. This was why the Flash was a little anxious. This was not the game he expected.

On the ABC commentary booth, Mike Breen noticed that the Knicks took the initiative to replace Paul Gasol, who had only played for 3 minutes in the first round, and immediately said with some surprise:
"It seems that coach D'Antoni is full of confidence. He replaced Gasol who returned from injury in the crucial game. This is a bold decision!"

Jeff Van Gundy did not show any surprise. Instead, he acted as if he had seen through the situation and gave his conclusion again with a smile:

"The Heat are likely to use zone defense, and they must find a way to limit Lee."

"Once they change their defensive strategy, Gasol can play a key role. Diaw was a little slow tonight, and this was the right decision."

In the first round after the timeout, Wade received the ball in half court and started a pick-and-roll with David Lee on the left wing. Gasol, who had just come on the court, saw his former teammate's fake screen and was a beat slower for a moment.

Due to hesitation, Gasol failed to cooperate with the double-team. Although Wade, who held the ball in his right hand, was disturbed by Li You, he still found his teammate with a ground pass near the top of the arc.

In the left blocking area, David Lee received the ball without any hesitation, almost facing the defense, and made a decisive jump shot!
"Oh!!"

At 13:11, cheers resounded throughout the stadium. Many Heat fans stood up and applauded David Lee. Wade felt inexplicable emotions and had mixed feelings.

"You're right! The Heat changed their defensive strategy and they no longer continued the man-to-man defense."

Mark Jackson saw that Wade was the only one on the line who was still defending hard, and Artest on the wing was assisting in defense, so he immediately praised him.

"Defense!."

Seeing that Li You, who was surrounded, threw the ball to the right corner in advance, the cheers from the defense became louder. Artest was familiar with the habits of his old teammate and quickly chased after him, not giving Prince any chance to shoot easily.

As expected, Prince quickly passed the ball back to the three-point line before the defense was in place. When Li You approached the right wing to receive the ball again, Wade called out to his teammates again while defending.

The ball moved faster than Wade imagined. Gasol quietly came to the free throw line. When he received the pass from Li You, facing the card-swipe help defense of James Jones, he quickly threw the ball to the left corner.

JR Smith didn't make much adjustments after receiving the ball. He ignored David Lee's defense and made a decisive jump shot but missed.

Seeing that Wade protected the long rebound, the cheers in the American Airlines Arena became louder. It seemed that their defense worked!

Gasol, who had just come on the court, raised his eyebrows as he retreated. Li You looked relaxed and made the same tactical gesture, indicating to continue passing and throwing.

JR Smith slapped his thigh and slapped himself twice. He had a good touch since the start of the game and even made a shot against the defense. It was a pity that he missed the open opportunity.

Amid the cheers, Wade, who was being defended, dribbled across half court in almost 8 seconds and used the same tactic again. Faced with a big delay, he bumped into Gasol's arms and immediately sent a through ball.

Near the left baseline, David Lee received the ball again and saw that Chandler had moved his feet. He did not attack the basket again and made a decisive jump shot but missed.

"Oh"

Failing to seize the opportunity to tie the score, the Heat fans at the scene cheered. Chandler easily grabbed the rebound, and with Li You receiving the ball, the Knicks quickly launched a counterattack.

Without waiting for his opponent to get into position, Li You accelerated to the left wing and observed that Artest had moved ahead, so he passed the ball to Prince on the other side again.

Faced with this open opportunity, Prince took a decisive jump shot, but missed.

Haslem suddenly accelerated and returned to the basket. Before he could gain a foothold, Chandler, who followed up, swiped the ball from behind his head and fought for the frontcourt rebound again.

In the crucial game, Haslem also showed his tough guy character. He pulled and tugged, not only did he not give Chandler a chance to easily release the ball, he also made his opponent almost lose the ball. His rough action caused the fans to cheer.

Faced with the tough defense of the little guy, Chandler simply threw the ball out, then complained to the baseline referee and started to pull with his opponent.

Wade immediately passed the ball to Li You when he saw him make a tactical gesture again. For a moment, he could only cut inside from the middle and then run to the left corner.

Prince on the left wing pretended to pass the ball back to Li You, and while Gasol was moving towards the paint area in front of the basket, he decisively lifted the ball into the inside.

Continuing the defensive strategy from the previous round, as James Jones once again came from outside the three-point line to assist in defense, Gasol immediately passed the ball to JR Smith who was in an open position on the right wing.

JR Smith still threw the ball as soon as he caught it, without any hesitation, and the basketball went into the net amid boos!
"what!!"

JR Smith seemed very excited, patting his chest and shouting at the top of his lungs. The score difference widened a little bit to 16:11.

The three-pointer made the Knicks bench cheer. Marion did not care about the emotions of his former teammates and shouted at the top of his voice, while also not forgetting to tease Wade:

"Attack, man! You only have 0 points, don't even think about reporting after the game."

Although there were not many people on the Knicks bench, everyone was mocking him loudly and pointing at him and laughing from time to time, which still made Wade angry.

It was the same tactic, but this time Gasol didn't cooperate with the double-team when defending the pick-and-roll. However, Li You saw through the fake screen and chased Wade.

When the two big men of the Knicks squeezed to the basket, Haslem decisively went to the free throw line to respond. Wade first passed the ball to James Jones on the other side, and then ran to the right blocking area without the ball.

After receiving the ball, James Jones immediately passed it to the free throw line, then moved toward the top of the arc, pretending to pass the ball to create space.

As Haslem came to the right wing, Wade began to ask for the ball with his back to the basket in the blocking area. The Heat continued with their previous tactical strategy on the offensive end.

Wade successfully received the ground pass from his teammate, allowing the big man to leave the basket in order to break through, but Li You's top defense did not give him a chance to turn around easily.

When facing the basket, Wade had to lower his head and hump the ball, protecting it at his side, and sweeping the ball quickly and continuously, trying to squeeze through the offensive space, but although Li You kept moving his feet, he always gave physical confrontation.

Holding the ball for too long made head coach Spoelstra anxious. He complained loudly to the referee about the defense. Wade didn't find any good offensive opportunities, so he chose to release the ball with his right hand and forced a breakthrough.

The left foot continued to test the space to force the offense. Wade, who released the ball, still couldn't get rid of the defense. He gathered all his strength, broke through the defense, and arched to the basket to complete the offense. When approaching the paint area, Wade suddenly exploded the ball and jumped, then pulled his arm sideways, trying to hit the backboard and let the basket go.

The Heat fans behind the basket screamed and watched Li You jump up, press on Wade in the air, and swing his left arm to block the shot.

From breakthrough to block, it was done almost in the blink of an eye. Wade is indeed stronger than Iverson. He did not fall out of the baseline and slide for a while like his idol, but just fell to the floor in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

"Wade needs to cut back on these forced attacks! The Knicks are counterattacking too fast!"

Mark Jackson wanted to continue commenting on this reckless breakthrough, but the basketball was hit on the backboard and bounced into Chandler's hands. As Li You landed and accelerated, the transition offense appeared again.

The Heat team was unable to take care of Wade. Haslem wanted to chase him immediately, but the moment Li You received the ball, he led the ball forward and instantly broke through the first line of defense.

James Jones at the top of the arc tried his best to retreat, and when he approached the three-point line, he found that Li You, who was accelerating at full speed, had caught up to him. He mustered up the courage to continue defending and then took off into the air in the paint area.

"Oh"

Seeing James Jones flying in the air with an obviously insufficient height, the Heat fans behind the basket exclaimed again. In the blink of an eye, Li You was already riding on his opponent.
Grabbing the ball with his left hand, Li You, who was hanging on defense, stretched his body in the air, pulled his arm back briefly to accumulate strength, and then swung his arm to dunk!

"boom!"

James Jones felt like he was "flying in the clouds" and completely lost his balance. He flew horizontally from the air and fell to the ground. His mind went blank until he hit the camera, then he groaned in pain.

"Oh my goodness!"

"Oh my god! Li smashed his opponent again!"

"Oh!!"

The three people in the commentary booth shouted out loudly, and cheers and applause followed in the American Airlines Arena. Li You first showed off his arm muscles in front of the camera, and then quickly walked to James Jones:

"How's it feel, man?"

James Jones still looked very painful and did not respond. Seeing this, the referee separated the people who gathered around him and hurriedly waved to the sidelines.

On the Heat bench, Michael Beasley covered his mouth with his eyes wide open. He was really scared. When he saw the team doctor enter the court, he immediately whispered to Daequan Cook beside him:

"God, James is crazy!"

Seeing coach Spoelstra wave his hand, Daequan Cook quickly took off his training suit. Before going on the court, a trace of "fear" appeared on his dark face, and he whispered to his teammates:

“I don’t defend like that.”

The coaching staff has been giving players encouragement these past two days. Many people on the Heat team have been encouraged. In order to help Wade, James Jones even took the initiative to express his willingness to defend with all his strength.

However, Li You's fierce dunk brought many members of the atmosphere group back to reality. They were not the boss of the team and did not earn much, so why should they risk their lives?
When James Jones was carried out of the court, the excitement on the Heat bench was visibly gone. Haslem on the court did not "ask for an explanation" for his teammates as he did in the past. He immediately turned his head when he saw Li You.

Perhaps it was the "betrayal" of some fans that irritated Wade. When he saw his good brother being carried away, he was furious for a moment and shouted at Li You with an angry face:

"You should apologize!"

Li You was surprised at first, but when he saw Wade's angry look, he shrugged and responded simply:

"Hey guys, please make way."

Seeing that the two seemed to have an argument, the referee immediately intervened. The angry Wade found that no one supported him, only Haslem whispered to comfort him, which made him feel even more upset.

18:11, the score gap was widened again.

Head coach Spoelstra on the sidelines saw Wade immediately step back and make a jump shot near the free throw line after the pick-and-roll. For a moment, he could only shout anxiously.

Although he gained the shooting space after the confrontation, Wade still couldn't find his touch. The basketball hit the back edge of the basket, eventually flew over the backboard and fell out of the baseline.

"Shet!"

The scattered boos made Wade curse under his breath. It was difficult for him to control his emotions, especially when he saw his "ex-boyfriend" grinning. He felt that he had lost all his face.

The defensive cheers were no longer louder, and perhaps recalling past experiences, some Heat fans began to "sway".

Daequan Cook, who had just come on the court, took position on the left wing. Although he noticed that Wade took the lead in defense, he did not provide timely assistance, but instead followed JR Smith to the bottom corner.

Gasol noticed the situation on the line and suddenly moved up. When Wade realized something was wrong, he had already hit the screen.
Haslem, who was defending, did not react at all when Li You suddenly pushed the ball with his left hand and changed direction. He bent down symbolically and was then directly broken through.

He led the ball forward the moment he broke through the defense. When Li You took a step with the ball in the paint area and took off into the air again, David Lee under the basket completely gave up defending and watched the basket roar.

"what!!"

Screams were heard again in the American Airlines Arena. Apparently, some fans who were just there for fun had completely turned against the team. Seeing Li You's tough guy celebration, they all started shouting with joy.

Two consecutive dunks completely ignited the Knicks bench. In the last few minutes, although the Heat were about to get free throws, Gasol and his players became more and more courageous and completely found their form.

Wade had just broken his scoring drought with a free throw, but the defense was too far away. After continuous passing of the ball, Li You suddenly made a through ball and found Gasol who quietly went around the screen and came to the lower left side of the basket.

After receiving the ball and turning around, Haslem was squeezed past and watched Gasol walk to the lower right side of the basket and made a reverse layup.

When David Lee's low-post attack on the left side failed to attract the defense and he had to pass the ball, Daequan Cook broke through and made a difficult pull-up jump shot in the left elbow area.

It was a rare goal in running play, and the Heat fans didn't have time to cheer because the Knicks started running in after their opponents got into position.

Gasol came to the top of the arc to set a screen and immediately moved down. Wade squeezed to the side of Li You. Artest noticed that Chandler created an opportunity for JR Smith to set a screen in the right corner, and immediately moved to cut off the passing route.

At the top of the arc, Li You, holding the ball in his right hand, secretly confronted and then took a cross step back. Wade just lost his position when he saw his opponent force a jump shot.

Wade subconsciously stretched out his left arm and tried to stick to Li You, but such interference seemed to have no effect at all, and cheers rang out in the stadium again.

Seeing Wade's surprised expression of "How did he score again?", Li You smiled and comforted "New No. 3" again:
"You should learn how to lead a team! Meta and others will share their championship experience without reservation."

"."

Wade's face turned even darker as he didn't retort. Instead, he looked towards the sidelines. The Heat's zone defense was collapsing, which was not their best defensive style.

Coach Spoelstra did not request a timeout, seemingly confident that such a defensive strategy would work, but as time passed in the first quarter, the score gap became larger and larger.

D'Antoni, who was strolling on the sidelines with his arms folded, could no longer hold back the smile on his face. He did not expect the opponent to use such a "stupid move". This kind of double team defense was simply giving away points.

When Marion, who came off the bench, also hit a three-pointer in the right corner, the Heat bench became even quieter. Finally, Wade stood on the free throw line again and barely maintained the score difference.

35:20, the first quarter ended, and the American Airlines Arena suddenly erupted with huge boos.

Looking at Li You surrounded by the crowd, Wade, who was all alone, didn't even look at David Lee and Artest beside him. He returned to the bench and covered his face with his hands. The surging emotions in his heart were difficult to control:

“I need a real brother”

(End of this chapter)