in2ebook Chapter 72 Silas: Udoka, you can't play this game!
Chapter 72 Silas: Udoka, you can't play this game!
Boston, the city of wisdom.
Boston has this title because it has many institutions of higher learning.
For example, MIT and Harvard University, where Ma Xiaoxuan studied, are both located here.
Therefore, Bostonians have the highest overall level of education in the United States.
This means that, at least on the surface, Bostonians should be polite and courteous.
But if you go to TD Garden, you'll know that's not the case at all.
At that moment, the Celtics' home fans were yelling and cursing loudly.
He criticized the visiting Rockets, and even more so his own home team, the Celtics.
The reason is that the Celtics actually let the Rockets take the lead.
Moreover, they were leading by as many as 7 points.
Uduka frowned as he looked at the Chinese boy on the field, and finally called a timeout.
There were 8 minutes left in the second quarter.
The Celtics trailed the Rockets 30-37, down by 7 points.
Wang Xiucheng scored 4 points and 4 assists after coming on in the second half of the first quarter.
Four of his assists translated into 10 points, with Green hitting two three-pointers in the final minute of the first quarter.
Udoka glanced at Wang Xiucheng, who was walking towards the bench.
In just one month, he never expected that Wang Xiucheng would have grown to the point where he could stand on his own.
Yes, that means being able to stand on one's own.
A month ago, he was just a two-way contract player who played during garbage time.
And now, he has become the commander on the field.
Although most of the commander's players are substitutes, all the head coaches in the league know that these substitutes are the future of the Rockets.
These substitutes were the ones who led the Celtics by 5 points when they came on in the first quarter, but now they're down by 7.
It means that Wang Xiucheng, leading the substitutes, beat the Celtics by 12 points.
Moreover, no matter how you look at it, Wang Xiucheng is much taller and stronger than he was a month ago.
"Watch out for Wang's passes. Let him drive, no problem. Keep an eye on the others and don't give them open three-point opportunities," Udoka instructed the bench.
Udoka believes that both Wang Xiucheng and Doncic play a core-player style, but Wang Xiucheng is more willing to pass the ball.
Wang Xiucheng would only choose to score himself when he absolutely couldn't pass the ball out.
Although Wang Xiucheng once had a record of 5 three-pointers in a single quarter, it was only that one time.
If we extend the sample period to one month, Wang Xiucheng takes very few three-point shots, and makes even fewer.
Therefore, Udoka has reason to believe that Wang Xiucheng is a pure point guard of the same type as Kidd and Stockton.
These two players often have more assists than points in a single game.
Assists are the rune etched into Wang Xiucheng's bones.
The game begins again.
Celtics fans noticed that even though it wasn't time to call a goal, Udoka had already substituted all the key players onto the court.
Not only Smart, Lowe, and Horford, but even Tatum and Jaylen Brown played.
Silas looked at Udoka, and his eyes changed.
You can't take a joke!
I only let Wang Xiucheng play for about 20 minutes in a game, so he could practice with other teams' substitutes, but you want to increase the intensity for me?
Silas woke up Green, who had just rested for four minutes, and prepared to bring him back onto the court after the ball went out of play.
Green's explosiveness and Wang Xiucheng's passing are becoming increasingly well-coordinated.
With these two players on the court, it will be very difficult for the opposing team to contain the Rockets' scoring.
The game begins again.
Tatum reached the baseline, reached out for the ball, and then dribbled the ball all the way to the frontcourt.
Wang Xiucheng was matched up against Smart, but Smart didn't receive the ball. Wang Xiucheng was originally standing at the center line, but Tatum brought the ball towards Wang Xiucheng.
The towering Tatum charged forward, and Wang Xiucheng couldn't stop him at all. He reached out to grab the ball but failed. Tatum dribbled into the paint and scored off the backboard, leaning against Shen Jing.
Shen Jing's official height is 211cm, but Wang Xiucheng knows that his real height is only about 208cm with shoes on, which is about the same as Tatum's.
However, Shen Jing is currently unable to compete with Tatum in terms of strength and experience.
Wang Xiucheng habitually patted Shen Jing's butt.
Shen Jing shook his head, picked up the ball, stepped out of bounds, and prepared to serve.
Smart closely marked Wang Xiu, preventing him from receiving the ball.
Christopher came over to receive the pass, and with one second remaining, Shen Jing passed the ball to Christopher.
Christopher glanced at Wang Xiucheng and saw that Wang Xiucheng was already running forward slowly, so Christopher dribbled the ball forward.
After crossing the center line, Wang Xiucheng suddenly accelerated and ran towards the baseline.
Smart immediately started up and followed Wang Xiucheng.
But Wang Xiucheng suddenly slowed down, then turned around and reached out.
Christopher, who had been keeping a close eye on Wang Xiucheng, didn't even think about it. The moment he saw Wang Xiucheng reach out, he had already passed the ball to Wang Xiucheng.
Snapped!
Smart, who had just stopped the car, saw Wang Xiucheng wave his hand, and then he heard a loud bang behind him.
Smart quickly looked over and saw Shen Jing hanging on the rim, with Tatum's hand on Shen Jing's arm.
beep!
The referee blew the whistle, and Tatum committed a defensive foul.
Shen Jing landed and stared intently at Tatum. Wang Xiucheng quickly slapped him on the butt, afraid he would get another T.
Shen Jing then withdrew his gaze.
The technical table gave the order to substitute, and Christopher quickly came off the court and high-fived Green as he substituted.
Smart stood by the technical table with a suspicious look on his face, looking up at the big screen.
He didn't see how Wang Xiucheng passed the ball at all; he didn't even see the trajectory of the ball.
He only saw Wang Xiucheng wave his hand.
Sure enough, the big screen started playing the replay.
Smart noticed that Wang Xiucheng slowed down slightly after receiving the ball, which felt very uncomfortable, like a disc jamming.
This slight scramble caused the basketball and the hand in Wang Xiucheng's hand to move back a few centimeters due to the force of the impact.
In less than half a second, Wang Xiucheng's palm seemed to have gathered enough power, and he suddenly swung it out!
The basketball flew out like a cannonball!
Then, Shen Jing blocked Luo Wei and slammed the ball in with an alley-oop dunk. Tatum tried to intercept, but it was too late, and he also committed a foul.
Smart twisted his neck.
Watching the replay of the ball on the big screen, it didn't seem like anything special.
But only when you're next to him can you feel how wonderful that feeling is.
First it was slow, so slow that it stalled.
Then it was fast, as fast as a cannonball.
Smart found it hard to imagine that the two speeds could switch so quickly.
Uduka was also shocked at this moment.
He was very close to Wang Xiucheng when, just as Wang Xiucheng swung the ball, he felt a strong gust of wind on his face.
After reviewing the video, Uduka noticed that Wang Xiucheng's eyes were fixed on Shen Jing's direction for half a second before he waved.
In just half a second, Wang Xiucheng changed the direction of the basketball with a single hand's effort.
How could such a thing happen?
If the ball were just a little higher, or a little lower, or a little slower, or a little faster...
If there's even the slightest deviation, Shen Jing won't be able to receive the call.
But the fact is, Shen Jing received the ball, and it was turned into an assist.
Udoka had never seen such assist ability and technique before.
If Wang Xiucheng keeps making assists like this, the person defending him might not even have time to react.
"Was it just luck? Or was this how they trained, and they developed a tacit understanding long ago?"
Udoka crossed his arms and paced slowly, his eyes fixed on Wang Xiucheng beyond the three-point line.