in2ebook Chapter 259 The Optimal Use of the 3-Point Shooting Percentage Stacking Card!
Chapter 259 The Optimal Use of the 3-Point Shooting Percentage Stacking Card!
It was rushed!
Nash felt that Wang Xiucheng was a bit too hasty with that shot.
Fortunately, Claxton and Durant each managed to get Davis on the court, one pulling him up and the other jumping up to tip the rebound out.
Davis yelled at the baseline referee, "Fuck, foul!"
At this point, the referee dared not easily stop the game.
The rebound was tipped towards Wang Xiucheng and Westbrook.
Both of them jumped up and reached for the backboard.
Wang Xiucheng was superior to Westbrook at that time in terms of height, wingspan, and jumping ability.
However, Westbrook was ahead of Wang Xiucheng, giving him a positional advantage.
So the two of them touched the basketball with their fingers almost simultaneously.
The basketball flew slightly upwards.
Westbrook's eyes lit up. He began to gather his strength as he landed, preparing for his next jump.
However, when Westbrook looked up, he saw that the hand, which was much whiter than his own, was frozen in mid-air!
No, it's not still!
Wang Xiucheng is still rising!
When they were vying for the ball just now, Wang Xiucheng hadn't even reached his highest point yet!
This is impossible!
I've already fallen, so why is he still in the air?
Snapped!
Westbrook had just landed and hadn't even jumped again when he saw Wang Xiucheng scoop the basketball into his arms with one hand!
Wang Xiucheng actually touched the ball twice in mid-air!
With a thud, Wang Xiucheng bounced back and, before Westbrook could react, launched another three-pointer!
Swish!
This time, the basketball went cleanly into the net.
This was Wang Xiucheng's 9th three-pointer and the Nets' 16th.
The Nets are now trailing by one point, with the score at 103-102.
And at this moment, there was exactly one minute left.
"Three-point shooting percentage stacking card" activated!
If Wang Xiucheng misses his last three-pointer, and if he attempts another three-pointer within one minute, he will be guaranteed to make his first three-pointer due to the "guaranteed three-pointer card".
Since the three-pointer went in, the "three-point shooting percentage stacking card" will become ineffective.
That means Wang Xiucheng's missed three-pointer was a waste of time, as it didn't improve his shooting percentage.
That's why Wang Xiucheng made a three-pointer just before the one-minute mark, activating the "stack card".
This is the optimal solution for shooting three-pointers.
Nash breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines and looked back at the assistant coaches behind him. Who said it was rushed?
Ham scratched the large bump on his bald head vigorously, gritted his teeth, and called a timeout.
"Our inside game is much stronger than theirs. We'll use our inside game to score, and then when we get back, we'll double-team Wang to force him to pass the ball and prevent him from shooting three-pointers."
Before the Lakers players were even fully seated, Ham was already yelling at them.
Wang Xiucheng has already made 9 three-pointers.
And with one minute left in the game, it was precisely the moment when Wang Xiucheng most liked to shoot three-pointers.
Ham received a report from the technical department before the game.
The report included statistics on Wang Xiucheng's three-point shooting percentage at various times throughout the season.
Data shows that Wang Xiucheng has a 65% three-point shooting percentage in the last minute of each quarter.
This shows that Wang Xiucheng prefers to use three-pointers to win games, especially in crucial moments.
"Wang Xiucheng has a big heart!"
This is the conclusion given by the head of the data department.
So Hamm knew that with one minute left in the game, Wang Xiucheng would definitely keep shooting three-pointers.
In this era of small-ball, the three-pointer is the simplest and most direct way to solve problems!
On the other side, Nash was drawing on his whiteboard: “Everyone get moving. If they want two points, give them to them. Don’t foul. Come back and look for open three-point opportunities, Wang.”
Both head coaches were focusing their tactical arrangements on Wang Xiucheng.
It seems that the key to victory or defeat lies with Wang Xiucheng.
beep!
The referee blew the whistle to end the timeout.
The Staples Center fans all stood up, watching the final minute of the game.
Davis came to the center line, received the ball from the referee, and passed it to Reeves.
Wang Xiucheng did not stop Reeves from receiving the ball, but instead stood in front of Reeves.
Davis, back on the court, set a screen for Reeves, who used the screen to cross the mid-court line and waited a moment before passing the ball to Davis.
Davis received the ball, backed down Claxton, and drove into the paint after a few dribbles.
Claxton, who already had four fouls, didn't play aggressively, allowing Davis to score the two-pointer.
105:102.
The Lakers are now leading by 3 points.
There are 42 seconds left.
During the replay, Davis clenched his fist at James on the sidelines.
It seems to be saying, "I said I could handle it, right?"
Nash had one foot on the court and was about to call a timeout during a dead ball situation.
I haven't even used my two pauses yet; if I don't use them soon, I'll take them home.
But at that moment, Nash saw Wang Xiucheng and actually waved to him.
What does he mean?
Nash paused for a moment, but still withdrew his foot from the court.
Wang Xiucheng reached out and received the ball from Claxton, then immediately displayed his exaggerated speed of advancement.
Having already broken the 100 mark, Wang Xiucheng unleashed his full speed, like a bolt of lightning, almost instantly overtaking Westbrook, who was trying to grab him, in a "Z" shape.
And just as Davis reached the mid-court line, while he was still cuddling with James, James overtook him like a gust of wind.
With a whoosh, Davis felt a sharp pain on his face, as if something had scraped against it.
The next moment, he saw Wang Xiucheng appear as if by lightning to the 45-degree angle of the three-point line beside him.
What left Davis speechless was that, with no one in the paint, Wang Xiucheng drifted along and shot the ball out from beyond the three-point line.
The basketball slammed into the net with an extremely high arc!
Three-pointer, in!
That ball went in!
The crisp sound of a basketball swishing through the net echoed throughout the Staples Center.
At that moment, the entire venue fell into an eerie silence.
Davis frowned, his thick eyebrows almost overlapping.
He discovered that the timer on the backboard showed that Wang Xiucheng's attack only took 5 seconds!
105 is better than 105!
The score is tied!
There are 37 seconds left.
"come!"
Wang Xiucheng, unusually, patted his chest and shouted at Davis, who was walking by.
Ham scratched his head again in anger, leaving several scratch marks on his bald head.
The team doctor behind them, holding a medical kit, was considering whether to apply some medicine to Ham.
Ham yelled at someone, I don't know who he was yelling at: "I told you guys to guard Wang Xiucheng, and what did you do? You didn't even commit a single foul?"
Wang Xiucheng extended his hand, quickly high-fived Durant and the others, and then took his defensive position.
Ham only had one timeout left, and he didn't use it at that moment.
On the other side, Nash was even less likely to call a timeout for the Lakers.
The Lakers then inbounded the ball from the baseline.
This time, Westbrook received the ball, advanced to the frontcourt, ran around the perimeter for a while, and found a mismatch opportunity.
There was still plenty of time left on the shot clock, but Westbrook didn't wait any longer. If this shot went in, the Lakers would still have a few seconds left after the Nets finished their offensive possession.
Westbrook then used his footwork to get past Claxton, who had switched to defend him, and made a three-pointer.
108 to 105, the Lakers lead by 3 points.
There are 27 seconds left.
Upon seeing the ball go in, Westbrook immediately mimicked Wang Xiucheng's earlier actions and yelled at him, "Come on!"
beep!
Nash called a timeout at that point.