Chereads / Super Basketball System / Chapter 13 - Ignoring the defense

Chapter 13 - Ignoring the defense

Madison Square Garden.

The super showdown between Thunder's Big Three and Heat's "Big Three" has entered the fourth quarter, with only 1 minute and 27 seconds remaining. 

Thunder (118): (119) Heat. The Heat is temporarily leading by one point. 

Thunder has possession of the ball. Durant, holding the ball at the left arc top, faces LeBron's tough defense again. The two players, who have been exploding against each other all night, are about to determine the winner. 

"Wow!" 

Dribbling, Durant suddenly pulls up. Facing LeBron's defense, Durant shoots a three-pointer with astonishing height and terrifying wingspan, and even LeBron cannot block it. 

"Swish!" 

Right through the net. A hollow shot. 

"Durant's shot is so tough." 

The commentator couldn't help but praise, but LeBron remains calm, pushes the ball, and also shoots a three-pointer, taking control of the situation. Westbrook passes the ball, accelerates, and takes a mid-range jump shot.

 "Bang!" 

No... 

Fortunately, Durant jumps to grab the rebound, but Wade and Bosh rush over for a double-team. Durant withstands the defense. 

"Wow!" 

Forcing a fadeaway... With enough height and bounce, he completes the shot, but it is disturbed and misses. LeBron protects the rebound, passes to Wade to push the ball, Wade cuts from the free-throw line, uses a hesitation step to shake off Perkins, and easily lays it in. The Heat leads by 3 points. 

The Thunder has only 22.4 seconds left for a comeback. 

"In the final attack, the Thunder must make a 3-pointer to tie the score and force the game into overtime. What strategy will the Thunder use? It seems they are relying on Durant again." 

Holding the ball at the arc top, Durant faces LeBron, not rushing to attack, but controlling the time, looking for the best opportunity. 

10 seconds, 8 seconds, without a screen or double team, Durant lowers his center of gravity, drives to the right, fakes a drive, and then directly pulls up, shooting against LeBron. 

Will this shot go in? 

Oh no, Bosh grabs the rebound and throws the ball into the air as time runs out. In the end, the Heat wins by 3 points on the road against the Thunder in this exciting and thrilling duel. 

The Thunder Big Three is still a bit young. 

The emergence of the Heat "Big Three" is aimed at sniping the league and competing for the championship. They form the pinnacle, unparalleled in strength. 

The Thunder Big Three couldn't make it, who else can stop the Heat "Big Three"? 

"Boom!" 

With the impassioned commentary, the deafening cheers erupted in the arena, and the Heat "Big Three" enjoyed the cheers of victory. 

"Clap!"

 LeBron, Wade, and Bosh slap each other's hands, and in each other's eyes, they seem to have seen a trophy, a championship trophy gleaming with gold! 

Their existence is solely for the championship. ...

 Turning to the Suns vs. Hornets matchup. Center Carlos, on the outside, shook the top-tier guard Paul in circles, igniting the hot atmosphere in the Suns' home arena. Even though the score is currently tied, the Suns completely control the momentum of the game. 

"Beep-beep!" 

Coach Montgomery had to call a timeout. After the timeout... Paul deliberately reduces the direct confrontation with Carlos. However, the forward Ariza can't keep up with the speed, and the guard Belinelli lacks the height. On the outside, there's Carlos, who possesses the mid-range jump shot skills of Anthony at its peak. Nearly invincible... 

At the end of the second quarter... 

Carlos scored another 13 points in the quarter with 2 rebounds and 2 assists. "28 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks at halftime, helping a bottom-ranked Western Conference team win against a playoff-level team by 7 points. Rookie Carlos... is too strong!"

Jon Barry exclaimed, "Yeah..."

Mark Jackson nodded repeatedly, saying, "Not only is his scoring high, but Carlos' attacks on the perimeter are also full of aesthetics, especially that play where he confused Chris, making him spin in place—it's simply amazing."

"And the block he made on Chris when facing each other was equally awesome."

"Exactly. A rookie center, excelling on both ends of the court, suppressing 'CP3'—he's truly formidable and a phenomenal player in terms of offense and defense."

"Um..."

Halftime... the two commentators continued to praise Carlos enthusiastically.

In the Hornets' locker room, Coach Montgomery scratched his head, urgently discussing with players like Paul how to limit Carlos and restrain the unconventional attacks of this center.

Soon... the second half began.

Back to the game... Hornets have possession of the ball. Paul controls the ball, looks for an opportunity, gets a screen, drives to the left, distracts the defense, and lightning-fast passes to West at the right high post, who takes a mid-range shot.

"Swish!" It goes in.

Nash takes the baseline throw-in, Carlos receives the ball and advances to the center arc, gets another screen, and once again finds Paul, forcefully attacking Paul in a big-small mismatch.

"Swoosh!" Paul quickly reaches forward, making a swift and precise move.

"Slap!" He slaps the ball out of Carlos's hands, but... Carlos promptly recovers without losing possession, dribbles back, and faces Paul's defense again.

"Easy!" Paul shrugs and says.

Obviously... this phrase is in response to what Carlos said when he blocked Paul's shot in the first quarter. Carlos hears it, smiles faintly, and retorts, "Hey, Chris, do you really think that stealing the ball from me once means you can stop me for real?!"

"Isn't it?" Paul asks back, trying to provoke Carlos in this way. As he intended, Carlos is a bit annoyed, so the next moment...

"Whoosh!" Without dribbling to deceive, Carlos pulls up for a jump shot right in front of Paul.

"What?!" Paul is momentarily stunned, hastily attempting to block the shot. However, the height and arm length difference is too great, and his block is meaningless, with the basketball flying far beyond his fingertips.

"Swish!" Accompanied by the crisp sound of penetration. The basketball pierces through the net.

"Wow—Carlos, facing one-on-one defense, facials Paul?" Yes, this is a facial! 10 minutes and 13 seconds.

Carlos continues with a screen, bypasses Ariza's defense, rushes to the right high post, sees Paul coming over for help defense, executes a quick stop, and once again pulls up, facing Paul directly—another jump shot, another facial.

"Swish!" In again. 8 minutes and 13 seconds.

Taking over Nash's pass at the free-throw line, Paul immediately tries to wrap around, but Carlos remains calm, lifts the basketball high. Then... he takes another jump shot, facing Paul once more. The height difference is adorable—no, absolutely, outrageously high—relentlessly making the shot.

Another facial! "Damn it!" Paul roars, jumping up to block, slapping Carlos's arm with a palm.

"Beep-beep!" The whistle blows...

"Swish!" Carlos, slightly disturbed, still makes the mid-range shot once again. 5 minutes and 14 seconds.

Carlos counters against Paul once more, as always, ignoring the defense, pulling up for a jump shot head-on, unstoppable, making another facial against Paul.

"My God!" Jon Barry shakes his head and says with amazement, "After being stolen by Paul once, Carlos no longer goes for the drive but opts for a more brutal approach—ignoring the defense and directly shooting over Chris's head, precise mid-range shots, crushing Chris!"