in2ebook Chapter 73 Masterful Anticipatory Passing
Chapter 73 Masterful Anticipatory Passing
Shen Jing habitually puts the basketball to his mouth, mutters some incantations that others don't understand, and then throws it.
Swish!
The free throw went in.
Wang Xiucheng frowned slightly, wondering if he should learn Shen Jing's free throw pre-shot gesture himself?
Rockets 40-32 Celtics.
The game continued, and the Celtics were on offense.
Smart passed the ball to Jaylen Brown.
Jaylen Brown used his long arms to shield Jaylen Green behind him, then drove into the paint and pulled up for a shot in front of Shen Jing.
Swish!
The ball goes in.
Rockets 40-34 Celtics.
Possession changed hands, and the Rockets attacked again.
This time, Wang Xiucheng leaned in front of Smart and reached out one hand to receive the ball. Smart immediately took a step back, widening the distance between himself and Wang Xiucheng.
Smart has truly witnessed Wang Xiucheng's breakthrough.
But as soon as he gave Wang Xiucheng a chance, Smart's hands started waving wildly in front of him, and he almost poked Wang Xiucheng in the eye once.
Wang Xiucheng instinctively dodged, then looked at the referee with dissatisfaction, spreading his hands to express his discontent as he had no control of the ball.
The referee stared at Smart, and Smart immediately became much more obedient.
After crossing half-court, Wang Xiucheng dribbled with his back to the basket. Jalen Green shook off Brown, and in the instant they passed each other, Green took the ball from behind Wang Xiucheng.
Brown bypassed Wang Xiucheng and saw that Jalen Green had already pulled up to shoot a three-pointer, so he took a big step and jumped up to block him.
Brown has explosive power. Although he jumped later, Brown, with a wingspan of 213cm, had his big hand covering the front of the ball before Green even released it.
Brown's eyes lit up; he was certain Green would block the shot if he made the first move.
Who isn't a high-profile star?
However, Brown, who was in the air, saw the ball in Jalen Green's hand but did not shoot.
As Green began to descend, just as his feet were about to touch the ground, Green made his move.
But instead of shooting, he flung the ball behind him.
Brown was startled. Looking down at the basketball, he saw that Wang Xiucheng had appeared behind Green at some point.
Smart, whose attention had been drawn to Green, only then realized that Wang Xiucheng had already run away.
He quickly ran towards Wang Xiucheng, while simultaneously reaching out his hand, because he saw that Wang Xiucheng's hand was "gathering strength" again when he received the ball.
Green landed on both feet and then vanished from his spot in an instant, grazing past Brown, who had just jumped back and hadn't landed yet, as he entered the paint.
At that moment, Wang Xiucheng's large hand, holding the basketball, paused for a split second before moving!
Snapped!
The ball in Wang Xiucheng's hands flew past Brown's legs like a cannonball once again.
Brown looked shocked because Green had just entered the paint, and the basketball had also entered the paint at that moment.
The outcome is then obvious.
Bang!
Just then, Brown heard a loud bang behind him, followed by Jalen Green's unrestrained roar.
Brown, who had just landed, quickly turned around and saw Green yelling at Lowe.
Meanwhile, Luo Wei was standing outside the baseline, bending over and talking to the referee.
A murmur of surprise rippled through the audience.
Many people looked up, waiting for the replay.
Uduka's pupils dilated at this moment, seemingly in shock.
But the next moment, Udoka turned to look at the assistant coach who was in charge of reviewing the footage, waiting for him to give him a hint as to whether or not to take the challenge.
The teaching assistant quickly shook his head.
Uduka frowned. Was the chance of successfully challenging this ball slim?
He saw it clearly: after receiving the pass from Wang Xiucheng, Green took a big step and jumped up, while Luo Wei, who was blocking Shen Jing behind him, also jumped up to defend against Green's dunk.
But Lowe, who was 206cm tall, was pushed away by Green's bent knees.
Uduka believes this is a foul.
But that's not what shocked Uduka.
Wang Xiucheng's pass just now seemed to pause for a little half a second, but it was precisely that moment that gave Green time to drive into the paint.
It looks slow, but it's actually extremely fast.
Udoka knew that Paul could make that kind of pass, just like Nash and Kidd used to.
But they can only occasionally make such passes after they have dominated the league for more than a decade and when their experience and physical condition are at their peak.
He had never seen anyone as simple as Wang Xiucheng, who seemed to drink water so easily.
Point guard is indeed a position where talent outweighs effort.
After giving Green a high five, Wang Xiucheng slowly stepped back.
"Is this the power of a master-level anticipation pass?"
Unlike expert-level anticipation passes.
Master-level anticipatory passes not only anticipate the opponent's moves, but also those of teammates!
In this way, Wang Xiucheng can play off the ball, avoid becoming the focus, and still achieve the goal of assisting through his final pass.
The Rockets led 42-34, an 8-point advantage.
The Celtics brought in their starters, but in just two minutes, they lost by another point!
Ha ha!
Uduka was so angry he laughed.
He wasn't laughing at his own players; he was laughing at Silas, or rather, he was laughing at the Rockets.
With the Rockets' current strength, they can at least compete for a play-in tournament spot, if not make the playoffs.
If they make some trades, sending away fringe players along with draft picks to acquire a few immediate contributors to support young players like Wang Xiucheng and Green Shenjing, the Rockets could actually become a dark horse this year.
After all, none of the teams are familiar with Wang Xiucheng this year.
Even if they don't make the playoffs this year, these young players have already adapted to winning and are used to all kinds of situations. They will play more calmly the following year and will have a better chance of making the playoffs.
But the Rockets insisted on tanking and fighting for the number one draft pick.
You can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep—isn't that exactly what describes a rocket?
The Celtics continued their attack on the court.
This time, Tatum used a screen to sink a three-pointer, bringing the score back to a 5-point gap.
Possession changed, and the Rockets went on offense. Wang Xiucheng dribbled into the paint but didn't shoot. Instead, he passed the ball to Green on the perimeter.
Green pulled up and shot.
Bang!
The ball didn't go in!
Green turned around and followed Tatum back on defense.
As Jalen Green ran past him, Udoka clearly saw the change in Green's expression from disappointment a month ago to defiance now.
He's just not convinced, which shows that Green will still shoot if given another chance!
But a month ago, he probably wouldn't have dared to shoot, and would have chosen to make a breakthrough instead.
The rocket has changed!
Or rather, Wang Xiucheng's existence changed many people.
With 5 minutes and 30 seconds left in the second quarter, Silas called a timeout to prepare for a rotation, bringing in his key players.
Uduka smiled helplessly again.
If he were in Adam Silver's position, he would have definitely penalized the Rockets for losing this year's draft pick.
I'll teach you to give up!
Place a piece of poop on the ground!
"Good, take a rest." Silas rarely praised a substitute.
Wang Xiucheng plopped down on the bench and covered his head with a towel.
Seeing the two fists appear in front of him, Wang Xiucheng knew that they were Shen Jing and Green's fists.
Bang!Bang!
He bumped fists with each of them.
Wang Xiucheng leaned back in his chair, his arms resting on the shoulders of Green and Shen Jing on either side, his legs crossed, and he slightly raised his face, which was covered with a towel, revealing a pair of sharp eyes.
Wang Xiucheng's slightly upturned lips, sexy Adam's apple, and sculpted nose were faintly visible under the towel!
A camera captured this moment of Wang Xiucheng, and instantly, many female fans in the stadium erupted in screams.
Ouyang Na, standing at the entrance of the players' tunnel, unconsciously covered her mouth as she looked at the boy on the big screen.