in2ebook Chapter 308 A Spare Substitute Bench
Chapter 308 A Spare Substitute Bench
The referee, unusually, smiled at Mazura and said politely in a low voice, "Want a challenge?"
Mazura choked, almost swearing out loud.
I'll pick your sister!
You want me to challenge you in the very first quarter? Dream on!
Mazura stopped talking and went back alone to sulk.
Wang Xiucheng stood at the free-throw line, first wiping the sweat from his hands on his jersey before taking the ball from the referee.
He turned slightly, crouched down a bit, and threw.
Swish!
I'm having a really good shooting night, and I made that free throw too.
33:26.
The Nets' lead has now grown to 7 points.
There are 4 seconds left.
The Celtics could only quickly cross midcourt and then shoot from beyond the three-point line.
At this point, it's almost impossible to attack the paint.
All Nets players were to stick with their defenders one-on-one to delay receiving the ball.
Tatum finally managed to shake off Wang Xiucheng and receive the ball.
With one arm supporting Wang Xiucheng, Tatum dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. Seeing that time was running out, Tatum had no choice but to hastily shoot just after crossing the center.
This position is similar to where Wang Xiucheng shot the ball earlier.
But the results were quite different.
This time, the basketball didn't even touch the rim; it hit the cameraman directly.
The first quarter of the game then came to an end.
Everyone walked toward the bench.
Durant stood up and high-fived everyone, especially Wang Xiucheng who was walking at the back, and Durant even bumped chests with him.
Durant was very happy to be leading by 7 points at home.
This also left him some room for error when he led the team in the second quarter.
Wang Xiu plopped down on the bench and accepted the drink and towel.
Although the beverage Wang Xiucheng was drinking was in a sponsor's bottle, it was specially prepared for him by the team.
It's not very tasty, so the team doesn't require Wang Xiucheng to drink it regularly.
However, you have to drink this during the competition, as it is said to quickly restore your stamina.
It seems to have a similar effect to bananas.
Although Wang Xiu admitted that his increased physical strength had nothing to do with the drink, but rather with his system.
I didn't even hear what Nash was chanting while squatting on the ground, and soon the second quarter started.
The two teams are led by Durant and Jaylen Brown respectively.
The difference is that the Celtics' bench looks more reliable.
The Celtics' three-point shooting was on fire in the second quarter.
With four three-pointers in six minutes and Jaylen Brown's drives to the basket, the Celtics had already scored 15 points by the time the second quarter was called.
Despite having a slightly weaker bench, the Nets maintained their lead thanks to Durant's repeated successful isolation plays.
But apart from Durant, the Nets' Seth Curry, Watanabe, and others were all very tightly contained.
Only Thomas the Tank Engine scored 4 points.
Benci, now dressed in a suit and tie, sat on the bench with a serious expression, but his eyes seemed to be looking somewhere else entirely.
Ben West's injury has significantly weakened the Nets' rotation options.
Without Ben West, Durant, who was leading the team alone in the second quarter, also needed to increase his ball-handling time.
Mills was gradually dropped by Nash.
The Nets seem to desperately need a backup guard who can handle the ball.
At the timeout in the second quarter, the score was 44-41.
The Nets' lead has become 3 points, but they are still ahead.
Wang Xiucheng stood up, threw the towel on the chair, and high-fived Durant as he came down.
Wang Xiucheng did not sit down again; he had rested enough.
So Wang Xiucheng stood next to Nash like an assistant coach, watching Nash squat on the ground drawing up tactics.
"Pay attention to defense. Tatum and Jaylen will be on the court at the same time. When it comes to offense, leave it to Wang... Where is Wang?"
Nash suddenly paused, looking up but not seeing Wang Xiucheng.
“I’m the coach here,” Wang Xiucheng quickly replied.
Nash saw Wang Xiucheng standing right next to him from outside.
Nash himself didn't realize that he was becoming increasingly dependent on Wang Xiucheng.
Perhaps this is the downside of superstar basketball.
What? You're saying Wang Xiucheng isn't a superstar?
Is Durant a superstar?
At that moment, Durant was obsessively picking up Wang Xiucheng's unfinished drink from the ground, screwing it shut, and handing it to the uniformed staff behind him for safekeeping.
With a beep, the referee called for his team.
Wang Xiucheng led Royce O'Neal, Joe Harper, Claxton, and Thomas onto the court.
Thomas's performance just now earned him the opportunity to stay on the court.
In fact, due to his height and playing style, Thomas rarely had the opportunity to play alongside Wang Xiucheng.
Cameron Thomas' official height is 191 cm, but Wang Xiucheng believes that this is somewhat exaggerated.
This height makes him an easy target for the opponent to exploit.
The game resumes.
Nets possession.
Claxton stood on the baseline, and Jaylen Brown stood next to Wang Xiucheng.
Claxton didn't dare pass the ball to Wang Xiucheng, so he passed it to Thomas instead.
In terms of ball handling, Isaiah Thomas is second only to Wang Xiucheng, after all, his center of gravity is much lower than others when he has the ball.
As the Nets' lowest point, White was naturally the Celtics' lowest point as well, guarding Thomas.
Thomas, using his speed to get to the frontcourt, found an opportunity to enter the paint.
Based on his playing style, the basketball wouldn't be able to be passed out at this point.
But now that the Nets have Wang Xiucheng, he doesn't dare to force a shot when there are players in the paint, so he circled around and passed the ball to Joe Har on the outside.
However, this round trip took some time.
There were 8 seconds left when Joe Har received the ball.
Wang Xiucheng gave Jaylen Brown, who was following him, a push, and then immediately ran towards Joe Harper.
Joe spotted Wang Xiucheng and immediately went to meet him, successfully passing the ball to Wang Xiucheng before stopping a step ahead.
Wang Xiucheng circled Joe Har halfway around, and when Jaylen Brown hesitated for a moment, he turned back and circled back.
Just by going around like that, space is created.
Wang Xiucheng immediately slammed the ball into the basket.
The basketball flew towards the hoop.
But then, with a loud thud, the basketball hit the top edge of the rim.
The ball fell almost straight down without bouncing outwards.
Claxton and Horford both jumped at the same time to grab the basketball.
With his superior jumping ability and greater height and wingspan, Claxton slammed the ball into the basket with one hand.
This is one of the Celtics' weaknesses: rebounding.
Although the Celtics have a good average height, they don't have a traditional center. Horford plays center, but besides shooting three-pointers, rebounding is not his strong suit.
After a game, Horford didn't even grab as many rebounds as Tatum.
Horford picked up the ball and went to the baseline to serve.
Jaylen Brown came over to receive the ball and carried it up the court.
After roaming around the perimeter for a while, Tatum ran into the paint and established his position. Jaylen Brown then passed the ball to Tatum and suddenly started running towards the basket.