boyutpedia Chapter 169
Chapter 169
This time he didn't hesitate and took a jump shot—the ball flew over Sun Hao's fingers with a high arc, hit the backboard when it fell, and bounced into the basket.
Some people on the bench applauded.
Next, Lin Feng made a steal on the defensive end. He anticipated Zhang Lei's pass to Liu Yang, reached out and snatched the ball, changing its direction. He dove to the floor to catch the ball and passed it to Gao Yuan. Gao Yuan scored a layup on the fast break.
Coach Li shouted "Good shot!" from the sidelines.
In the end, the white team still lost—24 to 34, a loss of ten points.
But for Lin Feng, those ten minutes were his best performance in the provincial youth team. He held firm on defense, made two mid-range shots and a steal on offense, and committed no turnovers.
After the match, Coach Li gathered all the players at midfield.
"Today's scrimmage exposed a lot of problems. On the Red Team's side, Sun Hao's finishing under the basket was good, but his footwork was too slow when defending pick-and-rolls. Liu Yang, you didn't move enough off the ball, and you wanted to isolate and attack as soon as you got the ball. Zhang Lei, you made too many mistakes—all three, all due to careless passing."
Then he turned to the white team.
"Team White, the biggest problem is in the paint. Zhou Qiang, you were too soft when guarding Sun Hao, you need to be tougher in boxing out. Gao Yuan, your playmaking is good, but your offensive threat is too small, you don't dare to shoot even if the opponent gives you two steps."
Finally, he looked at Lin Feng.
"Lin Feng".
Lin Feng stood up straight.
"Your defense was poor for the first ten minutes, but improved in the second ten. The problem was mental—you were too tense at the beginning, and your footwork was stiff. You relaxed when you were matched up against others later, and that's when you defended better. On offense, your shot selection was good, but your release was too slow. Provincial-level defense won't give you that much time to prepare. Go back and practice your quick release."
He closed the notebook.
"Tactics session at 7 PM, we'll review today's game video. Everyone must be there."
The team members dispersed.
Gao Yuan walked over and put his arm around Lin Feng's shoulder.
"You played well in the last ten minutes today. Zhang Lei is the top defender on the provincial youth team, and you managed to hold him off for several rounds, that's impressive."
Lin Feng took the towel off his neck and wiped his face. "He still scored quite a few points."
"That's for sure. You can't completely stop him; you'll be lucky if you can just limit him." Gao Yuan patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, let's take a shower; the cafeteria's almost out of food."
Chen Hao walked ahead, heard them talking, glanced back, but didn't say anything.
Evening, tactics class.
The projector displayed key moments from today's match on the whiteboard. The image wasn't very clear, the colors were bluish, and the figures were blurry, but you could still make out who was who.
Coach Li pointed at the screen with a pointer, analyzing it frame by frame.
"Look here, Lin Feng's defensive positioning is too far to the left, leaving the right side completely open. Zhang Lei broke through from here."
The image freezes on the moment Lin Feng is passed by. His body is tilted, with his right foot forward and his left foot back. His center of gravity has completely shifted to the left, leaving his right side wide open.
"Stand in the center and keep your center of gravity stable. Don't try to guess which way your opponent will attack; wait for them to start before reacting. You are faster than them, so you don't need to move in advance."
Lin Feng wrote in his notebook: Defensive positioning, center of gravity, no anticipation.
The next scene shows Lin Feng's steal.
"Here, Lin Feng read the opponent's passing route. Zhang Lei's habit is to pass to the right, but Lin Feng moved half a step ahead and intercepted the ball. That's the ability to read the game."