dognovel Chapter 184 Durant: This is fucking awesome!
Chapter 184 Durant: This is fucking awesome!
Whenever Wang Xiucheng throws down a free-throw line dunk in a home game, these die-hard fans in the stands will respond with a Poznan dance!
Fans in other stands, watching the season ticket holders dancing, were surprisingly envious.
Damn it, why weren't they notified me beforehand about this?
Durant and Ben West also came over and high-fived Wang Xiucheng in celebration from the die-hard fans' stand.
The Nets scored their first point in this way, which was also their first point of the season.
A very good start.
Valanciunas reached the baseline, glanced at the fans still dancing, and snorted coldly, "Let's win the game first."
It would be interesting if you ended up contradicting yourself!
Valanciunas bent down to pick up the basketball, then hurled it forward, sending it flying into Zion's hands at the center line.
Ben Simmons, who was not far away, immediately followed.
The Nets don't have anyone physically capable of matching Zion.
Neither Durant nor Wang Xiucheng could defend Zion.
This task can only be assigned to Bensi, who at least looks tall.
It's hard to believe that the tall Ben Simmons plays point guard.
Zion, however, did not seem to take Ben West seriously.
Although both of them were top scorers.
With the ball in hand, Zion barely raised his head as he shoved and bumped into Ben West, driving into the paint. Then, with a spin move that seemed disproportionate to his size, he flicked the ball into the basket before Claxton could get there.
A healthy Zion is like a bulldozer; he can score easily without any skill.
Who cares about skill? Just go all in.
Claxton picked up the basketball, went to the baseline, and was about to pass the ball to Bensi, who was not far away.
But the next moment he saw Wang Xiucheng had already rushed across the halfway line, a step ahead of McCollum who was defending him.
"If there's no one in front of you, just try to flick it directly, don't be afraid of making a mistake."
Claxton suddenly remembered what Wang Xiucheng had said during training.
So Claxton held the basketball and waved it back, then immediately delivered a quarterback-style long pass, sending the ball over Zion's head as he ran back.
With a whoosh, Zion felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively shrank his neck.
It was this movement that caused the basketball to graz his scalp.
Claxton's expression changed the moment he launched the long pass.
It seems like too much force was used, and the angle was also not good.
The basketball flew straight towards the sideline.
Wang Xiucheng needs to turn around to intercept the basketball.
Claxton wasn't sure if it would be in time.
Although he knew that Wang Xiucheng was very fast, he did not know where Wang Xiucheng's limit was.
Wang Xiucheng, who kept looking back as he ran, saw that the basketball was passed a little crooked, so he made a screeching sound as his feet scraped against the floor and forced a turn, rushing towards the sideline.
Durant also ran towards this side, leaving his defender behind.
Durant also thought that even if Wang Xiucheng could reach it, it would be a very difficult feat, but he had witnessed too many impossible things from Wang Xiucheng, so he followed him anyway.
Indeed, that was the case; Wang Xiucheng only arrived here after the basketball had already flown out of bounds.
Without a second thought, Wang Xiucheng jumped off the court on one foot and then used one hand to block the basketball.
At that moment, Wang Xiucheng turned his head and caught a glimpse of Durant out of the corner of his eye.
With a forceful pull, Wang Xiucheng scooped the basketball with one hand and passed it to Durant.
Then, at the same time Durant received the ball, Wang Xiucheng also fell to the ground with a thud in the middle of a group of people.
The first row of seats was filled with New York celebrities, both men and women, but when they saw Wang Xiucheng fly over, everyone instinctively reached out to hug him.
Although he was groped a few times, Wang Xiucheng was not really affected and was well protected by these people.
Durant received the ball and drove towards the basket.
McCollum remained vigilant, constantly trying to block Durant after he received the ball.
Durant is just too tall, and he often hunches his back to hide his 211cm height.
But when it's time to get going, all these problems disappear.
The huge height and wingspan difference meant McCollum had no chance of stopping Durant from scoring.
But McCollum did it anyway, because Zion also ran back and followed right behind Durant.
McCollum knew Zion was waiting for an opportunity; as soon as Durant dared to go for a layup, Zion would immediately deliver a big block.
McCollum had seen this kind of thing many times before.
His job was to draw Durant's attention from the front.
Durant seemed unaware of Zion behind him, quickly penetrating the defense and then, leaning against McCollum, preparing to jump for a shot.
Zion's eyes lit up behind him; this was the moment he had been waiting for.
Almost with a loud bang, an explosion rang out beneath Zion's feet, sending him soaring into the air like a high-yield missile, hurtling towards Durant.
Judging by this move, if he manages to swat the basketball, it'll definitely be a top-five play.
But at that moment, Durant suddenly threw the ball out with one hand under his other arm.
The basketball flew towards the bottom corner.
Zion jumped with all his might, only to watch helplessly as the basketball left the paint and reached the corner, leaving him powerless to do anything.
Zion couldn't even turn his thick neck to see what was going on at the bottom corner.
Zion soon found out what had happened.
The moment he landed, the net swished open with a "whoosh".
Zion didn't look at the net; instead, he immediately turned back to look at the baseline.
Wang Xiucheng slowly withdrew his hand and ran back along the sideline, pointing at Durant with his finger.
Durant responded by extending his hand in return.
Zion put his hands on his hips and subtly twisted his ankles.
He jumped with all his might but missed everything, which caused him to lose his balance upon landing and appear to have twisted his ankle.
But he dared not say it.
He's already rested for a whole season, and he simply can't accept getting injured again at the start of this season.
The fans can't accept it either.
The boss couldn't accept it either.
Upon receiving McCollum's serve, Zion dribbled while simultaneously straining his ankle, only to find it was just a slight pain, likely a minor injury, which put him at ease.
The ball was returned to McCollum, who carried it forward and then passed it to Ingram.
Zion simultaneously moved to Ingram's side, providing cover for the latter.
He dribbled to create some space, and Ingram pulled up for a three-pointer.
Bang!
The basketball hit the backboard, and Claxton and Valanciunas jumped at the same time to grab the rebound.
The two players touched the basketball almost simultaneously, but neither could control it.
The basketball flew towards the corner.
Herbert Jones of the Pelicans was waiting there, and when he saw the basketball coming, he reached out his hand.
Seeing Herbert Jones's action, Zion cursed him inwardly as an idiot!
Because he saw Wang Xiucheng also rushing towards the basketball at that moment.
Zion Williamson was simply standing still when the first goal of the game was scored, which led to the goal being conceded.
As a result, Herbert Jones learned nothing from the experience and just stood there waiting.
This is practically telling Wang Xiucheng, "Come and take my place!"
If he had taken just a few steps toward the ball, he could have controlled it before Wang Xiucheng.
Sure enough, Zion watched helplessly as Wang Xiucheng intercepted the ball in the corner.
A figure suddenly rushed out beside Zion.
Zion immediately followed him out and discovered that it was Durant.
Wang Xiucheng then turned and passed the ball from the bottom corner, leaving the dangerous area.
Furthermore, Wang Xiucheng did not accelerate, seemingly wanting to maximize his success rate.
But the next moment, Wang Xiucheng suddenly gathered his strength behind his back and swung the basketball, sending it flying towards the frontcourt with a whoosh!
Everyone looked at the ball, which flew out in a straight line.
This means that Wang Xiucheng used a great deal of effort.
If the person in front can't catch it, or doesn't even react in time, that's a mistake.
Even if Durant can catch the ball, no one can guarantee it.
As it turned out, Durant did not catch the ball directly.
The ball was so fast that Durant only instinctively reached out his hand to block it, and then his hand was bounced away.
The basketball, slowed down by Durant's hand, actually veered off course and bounced towards the basket.
The basketball, which had slowed down considerably, bounced off the ground and decelerated again, and was caught by Durant, who had also slowed down and entered the paint.
Then Durant took two big steps and jumped up for a powerful dunk, scoring the Nets' 6th point.
After landing, Durant patted his chest hard and yelled at the fans outside the baseline.
That shot was so satisfying for them!
None of you could possibly know how I feel right now.
Only those who actually participated in the play will realize just how incredible Wang Xiucheng's pass was.
Wang Xiucheng's ball appeared to be thrown with great force and flew in a straight line.
But only Durant knew that although the ball was traveling in a straight line, it was also spinning violently.
That's why his hand was knocked away.
Furthermore, the ball's spin was inward, so after slowing down with his hand, it changed direction and headed towards the basket.
This allowed Durant to easily catch up with the ball.
Durant can hardly imagine how long it would take to hone his skills to make a pass like that.
What kind of insight is needed to make such a decision in the blink of an eye?
Especially compared to Claxton's pass just now, it's like night and day!
Durant has never met someone who can pass the ball like this before.
Amidst enthusiastic applause from the fans, Durant and Wang Xiucheng gave each other another high five.
Durant didn't ask you how you made that pass.
Even if Wang Xiucheng had said it, he didn't think he could do it.
There's a reason why so many teams in the league highly regard Wang Xiucheng.
Nash, who had been pacing in front of the bench in the distance, saw this and, for the first time, sat down on a bench seat.
Nash even crossed his arms, looking extremely smug.
But the next moment he realized that there seemed to be a camera on him, so Nash reverted to his usual act as if someone owed him millions.
Others didn't see it clearly, but Nash knew exactly what Wang Xiucheng had just done.
Wang Xiucheng incorporated spin into his long passes.
The situation on the field can change in an instant, and sometimes you need to pass the ball very quickly.
However, this kind of ball makes it difficult for teammates to catch. How to pass the ball quickly and catchably has always been the skill that Nash most wanted to develop throughout his career.
"What if you added spin to a fast pass?"
Nash then posed the question to Wang Xiucheng.
Wang Xiucheng was completely dumbfounded.
Basketballs are already moving very fast; if you add spin to them, it becomes even more impossible to catch them.
To catch this kind of ball, you must first slow it down, for example, by touching the ball with your palm. Only after the ball has slowed down can you control it.
Wang Xiucheng experimented several times on the training field and discovered something.
That's a pass with added spin. When the receiver touches the ball, the basketball slows down and sometimes changes its original direction.
This is related to the speed and direction of the spin, as well as the direction in which the receiver makes contact with the ball.
"It seems there's some truth to it."
Wang Xiucheng spent an entire afternoon carefully studying this passing technique with Xiao Zeng.
Wang Xiucheng concluded that if spin is added to a fast pass and the desired acceleration and turning are to be achieved, a thorough understanding of the characteristics of the receiving hand is required.
It sounds simple.
But actually... it's still quite rare.
Just now, Wang Xiucheng was just trying it out. When he saw Durant's big hand outstretched, Wang Xiucheng thought of passing the ball in this way.
He himself was unsure whether he could succeed.
If it doesn't work out, Durant will need to make up for it with his own abilities, so Wang Xiucheng doesn't feel any pressure.
Anyway, the mistake is yours...
Pelicans head coach Willie Green crossed his arms, looked down at his toes, and gave up on the idea of calling a timeout after just over two minutes.
They started 7-2, but the score seems acceptable.
But if you look at the content, then it becomes interesting.
Wang Xiucheng, who plays shooting guard for the Nets, participated in all three offensive possessions.
And all three of those attacks were successful, with Wang Xiucheng scoring 5 points and 1 assist.
On the contrary, Ben Simmons, who plays point guard, had no effect other than dribbling the ball.
It seems there was some conflict when Wang Xiucheng and Ben Simmons were both present.
In Willie Green's view, Wang Xiucheng must be kept in check.
Normally, he would need to take a timeout to arrange tactics or assign someone to specifically defend against Wang Xiucheng.
But in fact, he doesn't think anyone on the team can stop Wang Xiucheng.
It's as if no one on the opposing team can stop Zion.
There's a reason why so many teams and managers in the league hold Wang Xiucheng in such high regard.
Wang Xiucheng didn't even have the ball, yet he was incredibly fast.
Even McCollum couldn't keep up with Wang Xiucheng, let alone anyone else.
But not being able to contain Wang Xiucheng doesn't mean they can't win.
Willie Green blew a foul whistle and then made a gesture toward Zion, who was walking past him as he came on the court.
Zion was slightly surprised. Was this tactic going to be used so soon?