dognovel Chapter 569 Does this Chinese man really have magic powers?
Chapter 569 Does this Chinese man really have magic powers?
Mobley bent over, supporting his knees, feeling somewhat exhausted.
He didn't know how to defend against Wang Xiucheng.
He considers himself a good defender, and many experts and coaches in the league have praised him on different occasions for having the potential to be the Defensive Player of the Year.
But he really felt powerless when facing some players in the league.
Doncic is like that, and so is Wang Xiucheng.
If you defend Wang Xiucheng's shot, he can break through.
If you defend his drive, he can pass the ball.
If you stop his drives and passes, he can draw fouls on you.
And the referee actually gave the whistle.
How do you defend against a player like that?
Swish!
Wang Xiucheng made the free throw, completing a three-point play.
7:2.
A good start.
In the next possession for the Cavaliers, Garland found an open look and made a three-pointer.
The score was now 7-5.
The two sides are evenly matched.
Wang Xiucheng was once again marked by Mitchell, who prevented him from receiving the ball.
Westbrook then dribbled the ball and faced Garland. After two physical confrontations, he finally reached the frontcourt.
Towns, who had already reached the paint, settled down in the corner.
Wang Xiucheng circled around Towns, first entering the paint, and then Mobley, who was following Wang Xiucheng after the switch, could only move with Wang Xiucheng all the way to the outside.
His ability to move at his height is achieved at the cost of his extremely light weight.
This is similar to Claxton.
Wang Xiucheng received the ball from Westbrook with a handoff, and the next moment, Wang Xiucheng jumped up and threw the ball to Towns, who had already run to the three-point line.
Standing in front of Towns was Mitchell.
Mobley, who had previously been with Wang Xiucheng, had already switched defensive assignments with Mitchell.
Seeing that Mitchell, who is only about 1.9 meters tall, was in front of him, Towns chose to jump and shoot.
Mitchell could only reach out and try to cover Mitchell's face to obstruct his vision.
As soon as the ball left his hand, Towns felt it was off-target.
This is related to his insufficient warm-up before the match.
As it was the first game of the new season, Barclays Center had prepared too many programs, which somewhat delayed the players' warm-up.
Towns had already started charging in.
With only Durant in the paint, Towns is unsure if Durant can hold off Mobley and Strus, who are already running back for the rebound.
but……
With a swish, the beautiful sound of the basketball going through the net rang out.
Towns seemed a little incredulous, and after taking two more steps, he stopped.
After glancing at the basketball bouncing on the floor, Towns realized what was happening, clenched his fist, and immediately turned and ran back.
On the way, Towns even reached out to look at his hand, somewhat unable to believe that his shooting touch was so good today.
The next moment, Towns looked at Wang Xiucheng.
Does this Chinese man really possess magic?
Towns patted Durant and Wang Xiucheng on the shoulder, took his position, and prepared to face the Cavaliers' counterattack.
The Cavaliers' outside shooting gradually recovered, with Mitchell's three-pointers and Garland's passing and penetration keeping the team's efficiency at a very good level.
The Nets, buoyed by the cheers of their home crowd, also had a well-rounded performance.
Whether it's Wang Xiucheng, Durant, Towns, or Westbrook, they all scored points.
Only Dillon focused on defense, taking only one three-pointer which he missed.
The first quarter quickly came to a close with just one minute remaining.
At this point, the Nets had made three substitutions.
Wang Xiucheng and Dillon remained on the court, along with Royce O'Neal, Claxton, and Oubre, who were substituted in during the previous timeout.
Compared to last year, the Nets have a much deeper bench this year.
Sharp, who was considered to have great potential, has been relegated to the third-choice center position.
Thomas, who has great potential for development, is finding it increasingly difficult to get playing time.
In addition, the Nets signed Joe Harris back to the Grizzlies on a one-year minimum contract.
There are also players like Choi Young-hee and Lofton, who need time to develop.
The Cavaliers were on offense at that moment. Mitchell, who hadn't rested, ran down the clock until the last second before driving into the paint and scoring with a floater.
With this basket, the Cavaliers tied the score.
The score is now tied at 32-32.
This is the fifth tie between the two sides tonight.
With 40 seconds left in the first quarter, Wang Xiucheng received the ball and advanced forward. Just as he crossed the center line, Garland, who hadn't committed a foul in the first quarter, grabbed Wang Xiucheng and hugged him.
At the same time, Galan knocked the ball out of Wang Xiucheng's hand with one hand, fearing that Wang Xiucheng would make a shooting motion.
With a whistle, the referee blew his whistle.
Garland committed a foul.
The Cavaliers employed the "Hack-a-King" tactic in the final minute of the first quarter.
The "Hack-a-King" tactic is no longer a tactic that arose because of Wang Xiucheng's low free throw percentage.
Instead, they deliberately gave Wang Xiucheng two free throws to prevent him from scoring three points.
This is tantamount to tacitly assuming that Wang Xiucheng will definitely get three points as long as he makes a move.
So I'll give you two points, and I still win one point.
Wang Xiucheng was not unhappy at all.
He has adapted to the situation.
On the commentary stand, O'Neal shook his large head, seemingly disgusted by the foul: "Coward, this is the behavior of a coward. Intentionally letting the opponent go to the free-throw line, this is not the choice of a man."
Although O'Neal said that, Barkley, who was standing next to him, raised an objection.
"Why not? As long as the team can win, any tactic is acceptable. As long as the rules allow it, why not?"
O'Neal glared at the annoying guy but didn't say anything.
Of course he knew this was allowed by the rules. Back then, Popovich fouled himself at the very beginning of the game, which was much more lenient than fouling Wang Xiucheng in the last minute.
On the court, Wang Xiucheng stood at the free-throw line, received the ball from the referee, spun it around, and then shot it.
Swish.
Bang!
One of the two free throws was made.
In the first quarter, Wang Xiucheng drew several fouls on his drives, and with these two free throws, he had already made 4 out of 5 free throws.
The rebound was grabbed by Mobley, who also hadn't rested.
Seeing that Wang Xiucheng had already turned around and caught up with Mitchell, Mobley had no choice but to dribble on his own and head towards the frontcourt.
Claxton followed closely behind Mobley.
Both players are very athletic and have similar height and wingspan. The only difference is that Mobley has a stronger ability to create his own offense.
Mitchell gave Wang Xiucheng a push and turned around to ask for the ball.
Mobley lobbed the ball over Claxton's head.
Claxton's athleticism made Mobley hesitant to use ordinary passes.
Claxton raised one hand high, but didn't touch the ball.
Mitchell reached out to grab the ball.
But at that moment, Mitchell felt a sudden darkness before his eyes.
A large hand appeared on his head, and the next moment, a finger poked into the basketball.
Mitchell's hand grasped at nothing!
The basketball flew towards Claxton.
Claxton hadn't even pulled his hand back yet; he just instinctively turned around and saw the basketball flying towards him.
Claxton instinctively held the ball in his arms, and then saw Wang Xiucheng behind Mitchell. Almost instantly, he started running towards the frontcourt.
As Wang Xiucheng passed by, Claxton saw him extend a hand to ask for the ball.
Without any hesitation, Claxton passed the ball over.
However, it seems the angle wasn't right, or perhaps Wang Xiucheng was too fast, and the pass was a bit too far back.
Wang Xiucheng tossed the ball over, but his hand scooped it back from behind.
The next moment, Wang Xiucheng slammed the ball to the ground and charged towards the opponent's half!
Claxton, Royce O'Neal, Sharp, Thomas, Joe Harris
Wang Xiucheng, Towns, Westbrook, Cui Yongxi, Dillon, Durant
Kelly Oubre Jr., Kenneth Lofton Jr.