The longest river

Chapter 69: Pay close attention, I'll only demonstrate once.

When Stackhouse, who was already standing at the free-throw line, turned around and saw Yang Shuai being substituted onto the court, his eyes lit up.

There is a gap in strength between the 76ers and the Pacers, making it very difficult for them to win.

However, whether the team can win or not is a different matter from whether he can dominate Yang Shuai.

For him, the latter was clearly more important than the former.

As he watched Yang Shuai walk towards him, he couldn't help but fantasize about the media reports after the match.

Come on, become my stepping stone!
Stackhouse made both free throws, and the Pacers resumed their half-court offense.

At that moment, Robertson made a tactical gesture for the small forward position.

Having a fellow townsman on your team is an advantage, especially if that person is the starting point guard.

Of course, this is also related to the opponent's relatively weak strength and Stackhouse's pre-match comments.

Despite some internal discord within the Pacers, they remain united in their external relations.

This is a weak-side three-point play. Miller and Schmitz set a screen and moved to draw the defense away, while Yang Shuai suddenly started running quickly from the baseline to the 45-degree angle.

Robertson's pass came at just the right time, but when Yang Shuai received the ball and prepared to shoot, Stackhouse was already in position to defend.

Stackhouse's defense is often criticized, but that's mostly a matter of focus. When he's focused, his excellent physicality and speed still make him a decent defender.

Now he's single-mindedly focused on using Yang Shuai as a stepping stone, so his concentration is naturally at its peak.

However, Yang Shuai did not stop shooting; he seemed to be preparing to shoot a three-pointer over Stackhouse.

This choice is also fine, after all, Yang Shuai has an advantage in physique and he also has the first move.

Stackhouse saw this and prepared to jump, but at that moment, Yang Shuai quickly gathered the ball and broke through.

Yang Shuai's fake shot and subsequent drive was brilliant, but Stackhouse quickly recovered and relentlessly pursued Yang Shuai from the side.

His speed comes from his exceptional agility and dynamic talent, which is key to his becoming the third overall pick in the draft.

The two chased each other into the three-second zone.

At this point, Schmitz had already pushed White out of the paint, leaving the area under the basket completely empty.

Yang Shuai immediately jumped up.

Stackhouse jumped up from the side almost simultaneously and went to block Yang Shuai.

His jumping ability is no worse than Yang Shuai's, but when the two of them are actually in the air, he can't reach the ball in Yang Shuai's hand at all.

With Michael Jordan already a shining example and the draft being relatively weak, the fundamental reason why Stackhouse ultimately failed to become the number one pick was his lack of physical attributes.

Although his height with shoes on reaches 1.98 meters, his wingspan is only 2.03 meters. While this is slightly better than "Tyrannosaurus Rex" in the NBA, it is still only slightly better.

In comparison, Yang Shuai's barefoot height of 1.98 meters and wingspan of 2.14 meters completely overwhelm him.

"Oh!"

Yang Shuai slammed the ball into the basket over Stackhouse!

There was a commotion in the place.

The two had barely faced off when Stackhouse was dunked on head-on, which was quite different from what they had expected!

In the stands, a group of fans cheered for Yang Shuai's performance, standing out among the crowd. They were Eskritch and Yang Shuai's former teammates.

They are usually die-hard 76ers fans, but tonight they came only for Yang Shuai!

Kobe stared wide-eyed, his expression one of disbelief.

He returned to Philadelphia with his father four years ago and has lived there ever since, so he had certainly heard the legendary stories of Stackhouse.

Moreover, Stackhouse, who became the team's leader in his rookie season, was also a big shot in his eyes.

Even Stackhouse's previous provocations of Jordan were something he admired.

Stackhouse's performance at the start of the game also aligned with his expectations.

Although the Pacers are a strong team, Stackhouse did not perform poorly because of the strength of the opponent.

But Yang Shuai's dunk just now completely overturned his idea.

He has faced Yang Shuai before, and more than once.

Although he was never a match for Yang Shuai, he knew Yang Shuai's strength.

Has Yang Shuai become even stronger?
Or is Stackhouse not as strong as he imagined?

As Yang Shuai retreated on defense, he saw Kobe, who was still in shock, and shouted at him:

"Ah Dou, watch carefully!"

Immediately after retreating to his own half, he made a gesture of waving inwards towards Stackhouse, who was already almost red-hot.

Didn't Stackhouse say he was going to beat him to a pulp?
So come on!

A chorus of jeers immediately erupted from the crowd.

Yang Shuai is far too arrogant!
"Negative energy from Jerry Stackhouse +278".

Stackhouse is really in trouble now.

He had assumed that even if Yang Shuai wasn't intimidated by his boast, he should at least have some reservations and hesitate on the field. After all, the other person was just a high school student.

To his surprise, the high school student in front of him was not only not intimidated at all, but he actually felt like he was being manipulated.

He immediately asked for the ball and then signaled to move away for a one-on-one play.

His choice was met with cheers from the fans in the stadium.

Defense is not Stackhouse's forte; offense is.

They couldn't wait to see Stackhouse teach this arrogant high school student a lesson!
Yang Shuai had already taken a defensive stance.

Robertson's comments about "puppy footwork" need time to digest before he can better address the defensive issues surrounding high pick-and-rolls.

But if Stackhouse turns the game into a one-on-one match, then his newly improved one-on-one defense will immediately come in handy.

Stackhouse launched an attack, choosing to drive to the basket with the ball.

However, he was unable to get past Yang Shuai in the same way he had gotten past McGee before.

On the one hand, Yang Shuai's lateral movement speed has improved, and on the other hand, when the match turned into a one-on-one duel, Yang Shuai's one-on-one experience immediately came in handy.

Knowing that Stackhouse is not accurate from three-point range, let him take a step back for a three-pointer;
Knowing that Stackhouse is unbalanced with his left and right hands, we should force him to move from the right side of the court to the left.

Stackhouse felt his breakthrough suddenly become inexplicably awkward.

Finally forced into the middle lane, he opted for a sudden stop, a mid-range fake, followed by a turnaround fadeaway jumper.

Even when he's not at his most comfortable rhythm, he can still perform these difficult moves.

Yang Shuai, however, was not fooled.

Having observed from the sidelines for so long, he was well-prepared for Stackhouse's move.

As Stackhouse took his final jump, Yang Shuai followed suit.

The two players had similar jumping ability, but the difference in wingspan became apparent again.

To avoid Yang Shuai's block, Stackhouse was forced to increase the angle of his backward lean.

His final angle of attack was extremely high, and the ball he released barely cleared Yang Shuai's fingertips.

However, the ball failed to hit the rim after falling!
Stackhouse was defended so badly that he missed three shots!

The scene was in an uproar.

After being dunked on and airballed by the defense, can Stackhouse really still dominate Yang Shuai?

Stackhouse turned pale.

After this back-and-forth attack and defense, he realized that he had completely underestimated Yang Shuai's strength.

How could a high school student be so strong?!
He suffered because of the times. If the internet were more developed in the past, and he could watch Yang Shuai's game videos online, he would never have made such a statement before the game, saying that he would beat Yang Shuai.

From a systemic perspective, in Stackhouse's eyes, Yang Shuai, even if he is a talented high school student, should have a bunch of attributes 40+, some attributes 50+, and a few attributes 60+.

However, in reality, Yang Shuai now has most of his attributes at 60+, some at 70+, and a few at 80+.

While Yang Shuai may not be as technically comprehensive as Stackhouse, he has surpassed Stackhouse in terms of individual ability.

Kobe instantly sprang to his feet as if springs had been inserted into his buttocks, excitedly throwing a punch in Yang Shuai's direction.

Even when the audience behind him gestured for him to sit down, he remained unmoved.

After watching this offensive and defensive play, he was certain of one thing: Yang Shuai was indeed getting stronger, but Stackhouse was weaker than he had imagined.

He felt that if he were on the 76ers team, he might not score less points than Stackhouse.

And it was after realizing this that he had a bold idea.

Yang Shuai rose to fame by defeating Jim Jackson in a one-on-one match, which brought him into the NBA spotlight. Could he replicate Yang Shuai's model and challenge Stackhouse in a one-on-one match?

Stackhouse may not be as good as Jim Jackson, but as Jordan's junior and a big mouth, his fame in the league is no less than Jackson's.

Moreover, his father has a close relationship with 76ers head coach John Lucas and could easily arrange this.

After having an idea in mind, Kobe could hardly contain his excitement:
"Hansen, smash him!"

Kobe's shout immediately drew strange looks from those around him.

Many of them actually knew Kobe, after all, Kobe's father, Joe Bryant, was a legend of the 76ers, and Kobe had already made a name for himself this season.

They had no idea what had gotten into Kobe, especially since this was the 76ers' home court.

Yang Shuai also heard Kobe's shouts.

Why does he feel that things are starting to deviate from what he expected?
However, he didn't have time to pay attention to Kobe at this moment, because after seeing Stackhouse's reaction, he had to hurry up and collect points.

He smiled at the other person, then said in a cheeky tone:
"I heard you're going to beat up a high school student. Is that high school student me?"

"Negative energy from Jerry Stackhouse +418".

Stackhouse's dark face seemed to turn red at that moment.

If he were white instead of black, he'd probably be redder than a monkey's butt.

(End of this chapter)