Chapter 114 Unseld: Should we replace Rui 8?
Chapter 114 Unseld: Should we replace Rui 8?
Hanging from the basket, Wang Xiucheng jumped down only after his body swung backward.
Rui Hachimura looked like he'd just eaten shit. He glanced at the referee's gesture and then at his head coach, Unseld.
"I didn't touch him, I swear..." Rui Hachimura felt wronged and tried to explain to the referee at the baseline.
The referee was in a very good position and should have seen very clearly that he avoided Wang Xiucheng after Wang Xiucheng jumped.
But the referee didn't even look at him, bending down to pick up the ball and waiting for Wang Xiucheng to take the free throw.
Rui Hachimura shook his head helplessly. He knew Wang Xiucheng's ability to fake fouls, and he had been deliberately avoiding Wang Xiucheng from the very first minute.
He knew Wang Xiucheng would definitely come looking for him; it was just a matter of time.
Wang Xiucheng went to the free throw line, took the ball from the referee, twirled it in his hand, and then shot it.
Swish!
Lucky you, the ball went in.
Three points scored successfully.
Bill stood at the baseline, turned around, and pressed his hand down, indicating that he was aiming for a high success rate.
Although Beal is only 28 years old, playing against the young Rockets is tantamount to suicide.
Beal received a pass from Gafford and slowly advanced the ball.
Green and Wang Xiucheng both stood in their own half of the court, showing no intention of closely guarding each other.
Upon seeing Wang Xiucheng, Bill suddenly felt a sharp pain in his groin.
He gritted his teeth in hatred. Although he wasn't injured, that position meant that if he wasn't careful, he would lose the greatest joy of his life.
He passed the ball to Kuzma.
Green suddenly went to guard Kuzma.
Wang Xiucheng stood right in front of Bill.
After shoving Wang Xiucheng and moving a little distance away, Bill received the ball from Kuzma and, using Kuzma's screen, pulled up and shot a three-pointer.
Bang!
The basketball missed and bounced out.
Shen Jing pushed Gafford aside with his buttocks and reached out to grab the ball.
He flicked the ball directly to Wang Xiucheng, who jumped high.
Bill also jumped up, but he didn't jump as high as Wang Xiucheng.
Bill watched as Wang Xiucheng received the ball, and then saw Wang Xiucheng pass the ball behind him with one hand before it landed, allowing Green to receive the ball and immediately drive towards the penalty area.
Bang!
A windmill dunk.
The Rockets scored 5 consecutive points.
Bill shook his head helplessly; the Rockets' young players were just too athletic.
Almost every counterattack they launch results in a point.
Bill picked up the ball, went to the baseline, and passed it to Kuzma.
Kuzma took two steps, and after Beal got to the side, he passed the ball back to Beal.
This time, Bill lobbed the ball to Gafford.
Garford has completely shut down Shen Jing.
After receiving the ball, Gafford leaned back slightly and then turned around to score with a bank shot.
Snapped!
Wang Xiucheng had somehow slipped into the paint and jumped up, slapping the ball off Gafford.
The basketball flew out and Gordon caught it just as he ran a couple of steps.
Beal, Rui Hachimura, and Kuzma were all on the perimeter. As soon as Gordon received the ball, the three of them ran back simultaneously, quickly searching for Wang Xiucheng.
Sure enough, Wang Xiucheng had already accelerated, but with three people surrounding him, Old Gordon didn't dare to make a long pass easily and could only dribble past the halfway line.
Gafford was still complaining to the referee, holding out his hand to show the referee, trying to tell the referee that Wang Xiucheng had just slapped his hand, which was a foul.
Wang Xiucheng slowed down, and Bill and the other two breathed a sigh of relief.
But the next moment, Wang Xiucheng accelerated again, leaving all three behind, and received the ball directly in front of Gordon.
Then Wang Xiucheng executed a crossover dribble, facing the nearest opponent, Rui Hachimura.
Rui Hachimura felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the look in Wang Xiucheng's eyes.
When Wang Xiucheng took a tentative step, Rui Hachimura had told himself countless times not to fall for Wang Xiucheng's actions, whether they were real or not.
However, it is difficult for people to fight against their subconscious reactions.
As Wang Xiucheng quickly extended his foot while holding the ball, Rui Hachimura moved a few centimeters to the left.
Just a few centimeters is enough!
Wang Xiucheng, holding the ball in his left hand, broke through directly to the right.
Rui Hachimura looked at Wang Xiucheng's hand holding the ball, the one closest to him, and after thinking for a moment, he reached out to try and steal the ball from Wang Xiucheng.
Although the huge sum of money from the interception has been donated to charity, it still holds considerable appeal.
However, just as the image of donating a huge sum of money in his own name flashed through his mind, Wang Xiucheng suddenly pressed down and pulled back with his left hand.
Then Rui Hachimura saw Wang Xiucheng take a step back and put his hands together to form a ball.
Furthermore, after Wang Xiucheng brought the ball together with both hands, he placed it on his wrists, making a throwing motion.
Swish!
Three-pointer!
beep!
Rui Hachimura committed a foul!
Rui Hachimura held his head in one hand and shook his fingers in disbelief with the other.
Unseld gave a wry smile.
Wang Xiucheng had been looking for Rui Hachimura since the second half. Although he had reminded him to pay attention to this, Wang Xiucheng had obviously found an opportunity.
However, it was clear that Wang Xiucheng intentionally feigned a foul, and the referee couldn't possibly have been unaware of it.
But the referee still blew the whistle.
What does this mean?
Unseld knew very well that this meant Wang Xiucheng already had a certain status in the league.
It's at least much stronger than Rui Hachimura.
Unseld glanced at Kuzma and Bill, who had their hands on their hips.
This status seems to be higher than that of Kuzma and Bill.
If these two players were to feign a foul like this, Unseld had no confidence the referee would give them a penalty.
Should Rui Hachimura be replaced?
Unseld immediately abandoned the idea.
If Rui Hachimura were to be replaced, he would likely find it very difficult to accept.
Bang!
The penalty was not scored this time.
Wang Xiucheng clapped his hands helplessly.
Free throws are definitely a major problem for me.
The Wizards are on offense.
Kuzma received the ball, attempted a drive, and then scored a long two-pointer.
Transition of possession.
Rockets offense.
Green dribbles the ball forward.
Wang Xiucheng stood at the bottom corner, supporting his knees.
Bill, however, dared not relax for a moment.
At the same time, Bill was also paying attention to Shen Jing's position behind him.
Wang Xiucheng has used Shen Jing's screens to get away from him several times.
Bill's eyes suddenly narrowed; sure enough, Shen Jing was coming again.
Bill deliberately took a half step back so that if Wang Xiucheng made a move, he could bypass Shen Jing.
But just then, Green passed the ball to him.
The basketball was passed a little low, and Wang Xiucheng had to bend down to catch it.
But that's enough.
Upon receiving the ball, Wang Xiucheng made no unnecessary movements this time; before his feet even left the ground, the basketball was already thrown.
Wang Xiucheng moved the basketball upwards from a very low position, so he didn't need to jump to accumulate enough kinetic energy.
Bang!
It's a pity that I didn't get in.
But the basketball bounced right in front of Shen Jing.
Shen Jing grabbed the basketball and immediately made a behind-the-back pass to Wang Xiucheng, who was still on the outside.
Without even thinking, Wang Xiucheng hit another three-pointer.
Swish!
The ball went in.
Wang Xiucheng extended his hand and gave Shen Jing a high five.
Shen Jing is a good passer, but with Wang Xiucheng on the current Rockets team, there aren't many times when he needs to pass the ball.
But once an opportunity arises, Shen Jing's passes can catch the opponent off guard.
For example, in this instance, Bill had already circled around to try and steal the ball from Shen Jing, but Shen Jing had no intention of shooting herself.
Unseld shook his head as he stepped onto the pitch and called a timeout.
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