The longest river

Chapter 89 He is not the second Bird

"Well done."

Brown turned around and patted Malone on the shoulder.

He was delighted by the look of disappointment in Riley's eyes when they met just now.

It's quite rare to get Riley, who calls himself a "master strategist," to react like that.

All of this is thanks to Malone.

Malone was also completely bewildered at this point, but he didn't offer any explanation.

You can't just tell Brown, who thinks it was his arrangement, that it wasn't him, but rather the players' own adjustments.

Doesn't that make him, the assistant coach in charge of the team's offense, seem like a mere figurehead?
As they left the field, Schmitz, looking slightly excited, bumped chests with Yang Shuai.

Instead of going head-to-head with those muscle-bound guys, you can use softness to overcome hardness and outmaneuver them.

Although it was only a few rounds, they were some of the most enjoyable rounds he had since entering the NBA.

Yang Shuai was also quite excited.

He wasn't a tactical mastermind; he was just trying to save himself after getting into trouble.

It can only be said that the Pacers are a rather unique team in this era.

Apart from Jordan, the other strong teams, such as the Magic (O'Neal), Rockets (Olajuwon), Knicks (Ewing), Spurs (David Robinson), Jazz (Karl Malone), Suns (Barkley), etc., all have a dominant low-post weapon.

But the Pacers' core player is Miller, a shooter.

Even their center can pull up to the high post to shoot.

This unconventional team, ironically, brought out the effectiveness of this future basketball tactic.

After the timeout, Mourning received the ball in the low post, turned and broke through, then dunked hard over Schmitz.

Although he is known for his defense, Mourning is also very strong in the low post, otherwise he wouldn't be able to put up 20+10 numbers.

This shot reignited the atmosphere, and the shouts of the defenders were deafening.

The clash between two teams vying for a playoff spot is by no means an easy one to decide.

After retreating to the defensive end, Riley also made his defensive adjustments.

He switched Mourning and Thomas on defense.

Thomas is a mobile center. Although he can't limit Schmitz in the low post like Mourning can, he can still keep up with him in the high post.

Riley's adjustment was extremely targeted.

However, upon seeing this, Schmitz signaled for them to move away and then launched a back-to-the-basket attack from the high post.

After being dunked on by Mourning, he was determined to get his revenge.

He backs down the ball, turns and dribbles, breaks through, and then hooks it off the backboard before Mourning can come to help defend.

The basketball flew past Mourning's fingertips, bounced off the backboard, and landed in the net.

Schmitz's actions were the best response to the "Dutch windmills" on site.

He even excitedly pumped his fist after scoring the goal.

He's completely in the zone.

In fact, although he failed to be selected for the All-Star game this season, his performance was the best since he entered the NBA, averaging 18.5 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists per game with a 52.1% field goal percentage.

The Heat are in trouble now.

And there's more than one.

After seeing Schmitz score, Yang Shuai turned around and shouted directly at the Heat's bench:
Are you sure you want to use a rookie to defend against him?

After shouting, he didn't forget to shrug and spread his hands.

"Negative energy from Chris Gatlin +126".

"Negative energy from Rex Chapman +148".

"Negative energy from Kevin Jamber +98".

……

Yang Shuai's words immediately provoked a burst of anger from the Heat's bench.

Aren't you a newbie too?!

And what does Schmitz's goal have to do with you?
Riley's brows furrowed sharply.

Yang Shuai's actions just now not only reminded him of the words he heard during his trial training, "Now you know why you're here, right?", but also reminded him of Bird.

Bird trash-talked the opposing bench more than once during games throughout his career.

Looking back at what Yang Shuai did at the All-Star Game, he really is the second Bird.

No, Bird wouldn't do something like imitating Jordan's celebration.

Yang Shuai seemed intent on provoking them and setting no limits for himself.

As Riley thought of this, his tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

Schmitz is in form right now, and Yang Shuai is provoking him to draw more defensive resources so that Schmitz can perform better.

This guy is so smart, maybe the previous tactical arrangements weren't Brown's idea, but his.

Yang Shuai had no idea what Riley was thinking. After gaining so many points, he happily retreated to defense.

Mourning continued to post up and isolate in the low post.

But this time, after he received the ball, Davis chose to quickly help defend.

After turning around, Mourning found no space and, amidst the double-team, passed the ball to Thomas on the weak side baseline.

Mourning is averaging a career-high 2.3 assists per game this season. Thomas receives the ball and quickly releases it, demonstrating his solid mid-range shooting ability.

However, just as he made his move, a figure suddenly pounced from the side.

Although he cleverly leaned back to avoid the block, his shooting rhythm was clearly disrupted, and his mid-range shot bounced off the rim.

Davis turned and grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Heat's offense failed to continue.

It was at this moment that the camera focused on Yang Shuai, who had just been distracted and was now outside the baseline.

With the Pacers' current roster, McGee isn't the only one with excellent help defense.

The scene erupted into a commotion.

Although Schmitz was the Pacers' most outstanding player during this period, Yang Shuai's contributions on both offense and defense were equally significant.

He always manages to deliver the most fatal blow at the most crucial moment.

Riley rested his right elbow on his left palm, his right fingers touching his chin, lost in thought.

For some reason, he had a premonition that if he didn't shift his defensive focus back to Yang Shuai, Yang Shuai would soon bring him some more unexpected surprises.

The Pacers' offense continued to employ the same pin-down strategy.

Mourning had already moved to the edge of the three-second zone, and he was confident he could defend against Schmitz's similar one-on-one attack.

But all the plans went awry in the very first step of this tactic.

Perhaps the consecutive points gave Schmitz enough confidence, and this time he suddenly cut quickly towards the basket after the pick and roll.

Because of his consecutive points, Thomas retreated, and Hardaway did not immediately go around the screen, but moved a distance towards the route Robertson passed to Schmitz.

This was a very experienced defensive decision. Hardaway, a 1.83-meter guard, has maintained an average of 2+ steals per game for many years thanks to this kind of awareness.

Or perhaps the Heat executed a very successful defensive play, if Schmitz was the one who closed down the Pacers' play.

In fact, Robertson did not expect Schmitz to suddenly change his tactics and cut inside, but that's the uncertainty on the field.

Players are not NPCs in a game; they won't necessarily execute any tactics you set for them.

At this moment, Robertson demonstrated his experience as a veteran. Instead of passing the ball to the basket, he passed it directly to Yang Shuai.

When the Heat shift their defensive focus to Schmitz, the defensive pressure on Young will inevitably decrease.

His judgment proved correct; when the ball was delivered to Yang Shuai, he had a fleeting opportunity.

The reason it was described as a fleeting moment is because Hardaway reacted and was very fast; he had already reacted and lunged at Yang Shuai when Robertson passed the ball.

But Yang Shuai's next move was something no one expected.

He didn't shoot immediately, but instead stepped back from the three-point line.

This move allowed him to extend the league's shortened three-point line back to its original length.

But this step also gave him enough space to make a move, instead of a fleeting opportunity.

Jump, straighten your arm, flick your wrist.

Before Hardaway could close in, Yang Shuai completed a step-back three-pointer.

The basketball traced a long parabola.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, the basketball slid straight into the net.

Yang Shuai's long-range three-pointer went in!

There was an uproar at the scene.

They had never seen any player make such a shot before.

Even a shooter like Miller, when taking a step-back shot, only steps back to the three-point line; no one would receive the ball at the three-point line and then step back.

Of course, Yang Shuai couldn't resonate with their reactions, since this was routine for Curry, Harden, and even Lillard.

However, Yang Shuai's ability to make such a shot is also related to his training over the past few months.

This season with the Pacers, he mainly focused on defensive training, but in addition, he also continued to train his three-point shooting ability because it hadn't reached its full potential.

After practicing defensive footwork, he then does a certain amount of three-point shooting practice, which is a very consistent process for him.

In his current level 2 interface, all of his three-point attributes except for interference-resistant three-pointers have been trained to their maximum level, including ultra-long-range three-pointers.

A score of 78 doesn't mean you're infallible, but it's still a pretty reliable three-point line distance from where the NBA line was shortened before.

Riley's face darkened; the feeling of his uneasy premonition coming true so quickly was awful.

After sinking the three-pointer, Yang Shuai stopped his follow-up motion and turned to look at the Heat's bench again.

The Heat's bench players suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Where's your defensive coach? Is this how you let a rookie score?"

"Negative energy from Chris Gatlin +226".

"Negative energy from Rex Chapman +248".

"Negative energy from Keith Askins +168".

……

The familiar voice rang out again, and Yang Shuai shrugged contentedly.

Riley clenched his fists instinctively.

He's now certain this guy isn't the next Bird; Bird definitely isn't as hated as this kid!

(End of this chapter)