Champion, please stay!

Chapter 288, Section 286: The Dream Backcourt
During the offseason, Yi Shui observed that the combination that most impressed fans was not the super shooter lineup he formed with Curry, Ray Allen, Mike Miller, and Frye; nor the 03 draft class duo of Wade and Bosh.

It wasn't a lineup of Yao Ming and Deron Williams, the two most dominant one-on-one players at the center and point guard positions, paired with one-on-one specialist Ellis and Gerald Wallace, who excelled in both one-on-one and help defense; nor was it the Heat's Big Three...

It's Paul + Kobe!

This is a true team of two MVP-caliber players. In 08, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul were the second-highest MVP candidates, and together they received 88% of the first-place votes and 90% of the second-place votes.

Yi Shui noticed that many people were pessimistic about Pao Ge's chances, given that both of his knees had suffered structural injuries, and kept mentioning "58"... cough cough, he had said it many times as well.

However, many people also have very high expectations for Paul, after all, he is only 25 years old and has one of the best passing and ball-handling abilities in the league, as well as the best defensive fundamentals for a point guard.

Now, the Lakers have proven their choice was right. From the start of the regular season, Paul has demonstrated a top-tier offensive organization that the Lakers haven't had in nearly 20 years, completely freeing up Kobe.

Kobe not only achieved the highest offensive efficiency of his career, but his defensive efficiency also improved significantly compared to the previous three seasons.

As for Paul's poor performance in the preseason, which led to widespread ridicule, it now seems to have added a touch of legend to his career.

Yi Shui saw an expert's evaluation - if Paul hadn't suffered a major injury and had maintained his previous playing style, he believed that Paul would have been a top point guard for at most 5 more years. After his athleticism declined, he would have experienced a precipitous decline. On the contrary, the current Paul would become the core player of the Lakers for the next ten years.

This assessment makes sense, doesn't it? Why can't Pao Ge adjust his playing style after his athleticism declines? But it also makes no sense, doesn't it? There are too many players who seemed to have both physical and technical talent when they were young, and had a smooth career without injuries or illnesses, but then experienced a precipitous decline after they turned 30.

Some players, unless they encounter major setbacks, really have no intention of changing their playing style; instead, they become more stubborn as they get older.

The Knicks arrived at their Los Angeles hotel in the evening. Most of the players were ready to get some rest and conserve their energy for tomorrow's practice and the game against the Lakers the day after.

Yi Shui was just about to find a place to eat when he was seduced by several Hollywood actresses waiting at the hotel.

As Frye came downstairs with him, he asked the other two members of the Class of 08 group, "Big going out to have fun at this hour? Stephen, Mario, aren't you going to try and stop him?"

Chalmers: "Don't worry, Big's body is far beyond your imagination."

Curry: "When I went to try out for UConn in 06, Big was already the best player in the NCAA. He found NCAA games boring and didn't play or train much during his sophomore year. But after he became interested in basketball again in his junior year, he won all the NCAA awards, including the championship."

The elementary school student always thought his boss viewed him through a filter, little did he know that his own filter for his boss was incredibly thick. When he went to the University of Cornell for a tryout, he only caught a fleeting glimpse of Yi Shui, but now he's imagined that he's seen the strongest college player in the entire United States, and even imagined that if Yi Shui didn't indulge himself, he could lead the team to consecutive championships in his sophomore and junior years...

Frye felt that these two guys from the Class of 08 seemed to have an excessive amount of worship for the top scorer of their class; it wasn't that exaggerated.

At 10 a.m. the next morning, the Knicks began their training at the Lakers' Toyota Center.

Seeing Yi Shui dribble past Danny Green, grab the ball at close range, take a step with his right foot to avoid Amir Johnson's help defense, and then take a second step with his left foot to slam the ball into the basket before Chandler could block him... Frye, who was assigned to the same team and was waiting at the top of the arc to shoot a three-pointer, widened his eyes in astonishment.

He had seen the news: Yi Shui took two girls to a seaside villa last night, but Yi Shui was even more energetic now than when he got off the plane yesterday!
Yi Shui is a great basketball player, and Frye wasn't jealous of him. But this time, he really is jealous!
...

At 7:40 p.m. on November 10, the Knicks and Lakers entered the Staples Center one after the other.

During the pre-game greetings, Yi Shui noticed that Kobe's tone of voice was different from before.

The old blacksmith, while not as fond of showing off as King and acting like he was taking good care of him, still liked to put on airs of seniority. Even though he was selected to the All-NBA First Team in his rookie year, he was still like that. But when he won the championship, the old blacksmith seemed to be talking to the veteran superstars of his era.

This can be considered a case of treating people differently based on their status, but Yi Shui doesn't really dislike it. If the attitudes of other players are the same regardless of whether they win the championship or not, then the championship would be a waste.

He enjoys winning honors through his strength, making those accomplished predecessors look at him differently; he enjoys seeing the middle-generation players feel pressured and fearful of him; he enjoys seeing the envious and jealous looks on his contemporaries' faces when they see him win a championship ring.

After greeting everyone, Yi Shui looked at the big screen. On the 8th, the Lakers defeated the Kings 112-98 on the road, bringing their record to 5 wins and 0 losses.

那场比赛的战报他看了，科比20投10中拿到30分8板4助攻2抢断，正常表现。

保罗则是赛季首次命中率过5成，13投7中拿到18分11助攻3抢断。

However, Paul mostly took shots inside that night, and his long-range shooting was still terrible. He was still adapting. In Yi Shui's memory, after Paul returned from a major injury, it took him half a season to adapt to the new style of play. If it weren't for the fans selecting him as a starter, he might not have even made the All-Star team. He only really found his form after the All-Star weekend, leading the team to a comeback and making it into the playoffs. In the end, his overall stats were just average. His assists per game were still top-notch, but his scoring per game was lower than in his rookie year.

Curry and Chalmers will face less defensive pressure tonight. Cheeks also mentioned this when making defensive arrangements, saying that they could leave Chris Paul open if necessary.

However, the pressure on the interior defense increased. In the first 5 games, Bynum averaged 33 minutes, 17.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 2 blocks, with a field goal percentage of 61%.

This reminded Yi Shui of his performance during his junior year of college, before Bynum was sidelined with an injury in the middle of the NBA season.

That season, Bynum played 35 games, averaging 28 minutes, 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks. With such a center, Kobe immediately led the team to the top of the Western Conference... Then Bynum was sidelined for the season, and the Lakers urgently used their connections to acquire Gasol almost without any losses, which prevented their record from collapsing.

In the following two seasons, Bynum became a supporting player to Gasol, averaging only 15 points and 8 rebounds per game last season.

Now that Gasol is gone, the low post space has been freed up, and Bynum has become the main offensive option in the paint. With two passing masters, Paul and Kobe, feeding him the ball, he may not be a superstar center yet, but he's definitely an All-Star. Especially his low post back-to-the-basket moves, which even Marc Gasol couldn't handle one-on-one.

However, what Yi Shui most wanted to complain about about Bynum was that this guy was actually 4 months younger than him! He had just turned 23 during the preseason!
Josh McRoberts started all five of his opening games, which is a good start for him. With Odom and Gasol leaving, he got a chance to play pick-and-roll and facilitate for Paul, averaging 6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

While staring at the large screen, Yi Shui sensed something, opened the system, and a mission appeared!
"With Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul, the most dazzling backcourt in NBA history is born. The Lakers are bound to shake up the league for years to come... Mission: Dream Backcourt Triggered."

Goal 1: In the two games against the Lakers this season, your total points must exceed those of Kobe Bryant.

Bonus: A quick guide to Kobe Bryant's fadeaway jump shot.

Goal 2: In the two games against the Lakers this season, your total assists must be higher than Chris Paul's.

Reward: 1 Passing Talent Point.

Objective 3: Sweep the Lakers in the regular season.

Reward: Intensive training (month).

Note: Completing at least one objective will unlock the next stage of the Dream Backstage quest.

The blacksmith leans back! Passing talent point!
Yi Shui has been developing his fadeaway jump shot for a full 10 months now. He has the skill of a 'fadeaway expert' and can shoot even when he has to fall, but he can't 'leave space for defense' like Jordan or Kobe. He's not in a hurry. His athleticism is currently at its peak and will likely remain so for at least a few more years. If he keeps training, his fadeaway jump shot will naturally improve. Didn't Jordan and Kobe only start using the fadeaway jump shot as their regular shooting method after their athleticism declined?

Even if he got his hands on the old blacksmith's "fadeback package," he certainly wouldn't copy it entirely. Over the past 10 months, under the guidance of Clark and Mark Jackson, he has developed the fadeback motion and rhythm that best suits him.

But that fadeaway package contains all the basics of Kobe Bryant's fadeaway jump shot, the best in the league today. It can help fill in any gaps in his skills, provide a lot of detailed guidance, and offer systematic instructions for each movement... His fadeaway jump shot development will definitely benefit from this.

However, the difficulty of this mission... with only objective 1, it's not difficult. As for scoring points, who's afraid of who? He's a run-and-gun player.

But there's also objective 2! It seems to conflict with objective 1.

The reward for Target 2 is also very good. His passing ability has reached 88, which is very close to the talent ceiling of 89. There is very little room for improvement. He has started to focus on maintaining basic training and learning fancy passing moves from those passing masters.

Goal 3 must be achieved; stepping onto the field, the goal must be to win.

In the two years since entering the NBA, from the preseason to the end of the playoffs, I have played for 8 months and 9 months respectively. Every year I have a lot of training cards left over, mainly for passing, interception, and attacking the rim. However, the intensive training can be stacked with the regular training cards and can be used during the offseason. If used to practice low post turnaround jump shots, the efficiency of attacking the rim training cards, intensive training cards, and the talent low post genius can reach up to 400%.

Let's play one match for both objectives, and then work towards whichever objective is better in the second match.

...

At 8 p.m., Chandler defeated Bynum to win the jump ball, and the game began.

Knicks starting lineup: Curry, Ray Allen, Yi Shui, Amir Johnson, Chandler.

Lakers starting lineup: Paul, Kobe, Artest, Josh McRoberts, Bynum.

As soon as Yi Shui ran towards the frontcourt, he was met with a physical and close marking from Artest, whose movements were rough and whose footwork was extremely fast.

In Yi Shui's memory, Artest was ruined after playing for the Lakers for one year.

It wasn't because of injury, nor because the Lakers didn't give him a chance.

It's because they won the championship, signed a 5-year contract in 09 that allows them to play until they're 35, their pursuit of the championship has been satisfied, and they have no pressure to renew their contracts. Ninety-nine percent of players are already past their prime by the time they're 35, and they're still in the glamorous city of Los Angeles...

In the summer after the Lakers won their second consecutive championship, Artest indulged in changing his name and going to nightclubs, partying every night. By the start of the new season, his weight had ballooned to over 120 kilograms, almost matching Bynum's. His obesity was visibly obvious, his footwork was sluggish, and his defense collapsed. From scoring and rebounding to steals and blocks, he delivered the worst performance of his career in every aspect. Towards the end of the season, Phil Jackson was forced to put Odom in the starting lineup, which led to a significant drop in the bench strength and a large increase in the playing time of the starters. By the end of the season, Bynum was sidelined for nearly a month due to injury.

The playoffs were even worse. Normally, a power forward like Nowitzki, who is good at one-on-one shooting on the perimeter, shouldn't be guarded by Gasol.

If it were Artest, in his 10 playoff defensive form, he could at least limit Nowitzki, even if he couldn't stop Nowitzki's godlike performance. Phil Jackson tried it; in Game 1, Artest guarded Nowitzki.

As a result, the Lakers led 78-71 after three quarters, but in the final quarter, Artest was scored more than 10 points by Nowitzki in isolation. Not only that, because Artest missed all his shots in the first three quarters, he was left wide open in the final quarter, which caused Kobe, Gasol and Odom to lose their offensive space. The Lakers only scored 16 points in the final quarter, while Nowitzki's Mavericks scored 25 points, resulting in a tragic reversal.

Odom was actually quite suitable for guarding Nowitzki, but he was particularly prone to losing focus when guarding him one-on-one. In the last three games, Phil Jackson had to have Gasol guard Nowitzki... which allowed Nowitzki to take off completely. You could even say that the Silver Horn King's confidence was rebuilt in that series.

However, this Artest has even more defined facial features than last season. The scouting report also states that he weighs 113 kilograms, a full 4 kilograms lighter than last season, returning to the level he was at before his suspension in the 04-05 season. He averages 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 0.8 blocks in 35 minutes of playing time per game. His overall offensive and defensive performance is even better than last season!
Even without a championship, Artest is still the basketball beast he always was!
Yi Shui abandoned his plan to drive to the basket at the start and draw a foul from Bynum. He came to the left baseline under Artest's close defense and looked towards the top arc... Kobe was physically guarding Curry!
On the wing, Paul was closely marking Ray Allen off the ball, his hand even on his waist. Ray Allen's movement was being tightly marked, and he was already showing impatience on his face.

This defense... it feels just like the Jazz's!

That makes sense. With a perimeter lineup like Paul, Kobe, and Artest, this kind of defense is perfect. The Jazz are the only team so far this season to have held the Knicks to under 100 points.

However... Yi Shui glanced at the opposing front three and made a gesture towards Curry, who was shielding the ball at the top of the arc.

Curry called out to Chandler, and they started the offense with a pick-and-roll.

On the Yi Shui side, instead of going down the middle as usual at the start of the game, they went to the left sideline to set a screen for Ray Allen.

After the split, Ray Allen cut to the baseline mid-range, and Yi Shui ran towards the top arc.

Paul, who switched onto Yi Shui, stuck close to him and made a series of small, unorthodox moves, but he couldn't stop Yi Shui from receiving a lob pass from Curry at the top of the arc.

As Yi Shui received the ball, Ray Allen cut to the basket, shook off Artest, and returned to the sideline. Kobe, who was defending the pick-and-roll in the middle, noticed Ray Allen's movement and rushed to the sideline in time. Artest quickly switched defense and blocked Chandler's cut... The Lakers' three defensive masters on the perimeter showed amazing defensive chemistry.

However, Yi Shui did not pass to Ray Allen or Chandler, nor did he attempt a strong shot against the defense. Instead, he tossed the ball to the middle!

Curry passed the ball and came out from the right side. Using Amir Johnson's screen, he shook off Josh McRoberts on the right side of the free-throw line. He received a pass from Yi Shui just inside the free-throw line, took two steps to the left front of the basket, and launched a floater over the hastily rushing Bynum... and it went in!
The TV commentators were all exclaiming in surprise; the Knicks had come up with a new tactic!

This is a new tactic that Yi Shui and the coaching staff came up with after the game against the Jazz a few days ago: a 'multiple screen formation'. It creates opportunities for Curry, who is the team's most accurate shooter from close range, and targets opponents who are physically aggressive on the perimeter and whose centers are not particularly fast.

No matter how badly he and Ray Allen shoot, the opponent can't leave them open. With the two of them on the court, along with two strong screen-setting big men, this tactic is viable as long as they don't encounter opponents with forwards like Garnett or Gerald Wallace.

Long-range shots are difficult to make due to contact, so Yi Shui had elementary school students shoot closer to the basket... Unexpectedly, this method was first used on the Lakers.

Yi Shui happily received an assist, then retreated to the backcourt, putting aside his distractions and focusing on defense.

Paul, Kobe, Bynum, plus Artest who didn't go wild but instead trained hard to lose weight over the summer, and Josh McRoberts who can shoot, pass, and attack the rim... Just look at this lineup and you know it's hard to defend!

Paul moved to the frontcourt and initiated a pick-and-roll offense with Josh McRoberts.

Just like what we saw in the Knicks' pre-game video clips, the Lakers' offense was very...ordinary!
After Josh McRoberts screened for Paul, he cut to the weak side to screen for Kobe.

Paul drove straight to the basket after breaking up the defense, but Yi Shui quickly moved in to block Paul's path to the basket and his pass to Bynum on the right side of the rim.

Amir Johnson immediately moved towards the free-throw line, blocking the passing lane between Paul and Artest.

On the other side, Kobe used McRoberts' screen to run past Curry who had switched onto him and headed straight for the right side.

Paul slipped out along the baseline and made a bounce pass... Kobe reached the right mid-range, the ball was delivered perfectly, he caught the ball, turned around, and faced Amir Johnson who was in position to close in, he made a fadeaway jump shot... It went in!
When watching the Lakers' games live or in video clips, Yi Shui felt they were very difficult to defend against. He felt they were even more difficult to defend against when facing the Lakers' offense head-on!

It's just a very ordinary pick-and-roll drive-and-dish pass-and-cut, but in Paul's hands, it looks so exquisite!
(End of this chapter)