boyutpedia Chapter 192 The Vanished Basketball!
Chapter 192 The Vanished Basketball!
The Vanished Basketball
Halftime break, Penguin Live Room.
"Wang Xiucheng played 15 minutes in the first half, scoring 20 points and adding 7 assists."
After reading the data, Wang Meng looked directly at Yang Yi without saying a word, waiting for Yang Yi to give his opinion.
The halftime break is too precious; besides the guests needing to speak, there are also many commercials that need to be played.
This season, Wang Xiucheng's game sponsorship advertising prices have doubled compared to last year, and the slots are limited, so many brands are scrambling to get in.
Yang Yi looked relaxed. "Nash made Wang Xiucheng play a fake starting role today."
"Like I said, just let Durant swing as much as he wants, just keep the score close."
"The Nets' chance to catch up will only come when Wang Xiucheng comes on the court."
"The Nets led by 10 points at halftime, which was actually achieved by Wang Xiucheng leading the bench players."
"Coach Nash needs to think carefully about whether to make Wang Xiucheng a substitute or a starter."
Yang Yi was not worried about Wang Xiucheng's position.
With Wang Xiucheng's current abilities, even if he plays as a substitute, it will not affect his status at all.
He even somewhat hoped that Wang Xiucheng would play more as a substitute, because of Zeng Fanbo.
"As I said before, Wang Xiucheng and the Nets have not had enough time to gel. The entire Nets team, as well as Nash and the coaching staff, are still figuring out how to maximize Wang Xiucheng's potential."
"Also, Zeng's performance today, although not as amazing as the last game, was still pretty good."
"I heard that after the last game, quite a few teams have been looking for Zeng's information."
Wang Meng laughed at this moment, and then interrupted with an advertisement for a sports protection brand, which once again dampened Yang Yi's enthusiasm.
The halftime break ended quickly.
Yang Yi then concluded his analysis, which still felt somewhat unfinished.
But the next moment, he and Wang Meng exchanged a surprised glance.
As the camera panned to the stadium in front, the starting players for both teams in the second half were already on the field.
Even Nash was stunned for a moment when he saw this starting lineup.
He looked at Nick Nash across from him, and Anunoby sitting not far from Nick Nash.
Anunoby didn't start in the second half and instead sat on the bench.
In response to Wang Xiucheng leading the substitutes to a performance comparable to the starting lineup in the first half, Nick Nash made changes in the second half.
That means using the best perimeter defenders specifically to guard Wang Xiucheng.
Nash turned to look at Wang Xiucheng sitting on the bench and found that Wang Xiucheng's expression did not change, remaining as casual as before.
Nash even saw Wang Xiucheng say something that made his fellow villager laugh so hard he almost fell over.
Nash was relieved and focused on the game on the court.
He didn't believe the opponent's lineup had any cards that could limit his trump card.
The second half of the game has begun.
Despite the absence of Anunoby, Achiuwa's coordination with the starting players was not problematic.
Achiuwa even made a rare three-pointer, which bounced twice on the rim but eventually went in.
At the start of the second half, the Raptors' shooting percentage was significantly higher than in the first half.
They scored in the first three possessions, including a three-pointer by Achiuwa.
On the Nets' side, Durant took three shots in a row but only made one, as if the cold Toronto weather had made Durant's hands a bit cold.
Fortunately, with Claxton in the paint and Ben West frequently penetrating the paint, the Nets maintained a good rebounding record.
Yes, Ben West, this point guard, often goes to the basket to grab rebounds, which is a rare sight in any team.
In the fourth minute, Barnes drove into the paint and made a layup, giving the Raptors two more points.
The Raptors narrowed the gap to 57-62, trailing by only 5 points.
Nash remained calm throughout.
With six minutes remaining, Nash called a timeout.
Nick Nurse glanced at Nash; he knew Nash was going to send Wang Xiucheng.
So Nick Nurse also glanced at Anunoby, who was constantly looking for a chance on the bench.
Anunoby stood up and took off his coat.
He knew it was time for him to go on stage.
He couldn't remember the last time he played as a substitute.
Nick Nass didn't say anything to Anunoby; he believed Anunoby could do a good job of locking down King Xiu Cheng.
The timeout ended quickly, and both teams returned to the court.
The Raptors did not make a large-scale rotation, but simply brought in Anunoby.
But the Nets made two changes.
Wang Xiucheng replaced Benxi, and Zeng Fanbo replaced Joe Harris, who had just recovered from injury and whose playing time was limited.
Zeng Fanbo seemed a little nervous, not even noticing that his shoelaces were undone.
This was the first time he had been on the court with Durant at the same time.
The two were actually in the same position, and he didn't know if he could fulfill the task of creating space.
The referee specifically reminded Zeng Fanbo, and then waited for more than ten seconds.
Wang Xiucheng patted Zeng Fanbo's butt, which made Zeng Fanbo feel much more relaxed.
"With Brother Wang here, what's there to be afraid of?"
For him, Wang Xiucheng was his biggest support.
The game resumed quickly, and Claxton stood on the sidelines to serve.
Wang Xiucheng pushed Anunoby, who was specifically guarding him, and then ran forward two steps to receive the ball.
Wang Xiucheng immediately slowed down, forcing Anunobi, who was about to accelerate, to slow down immediately to avoid a rear-end collision.
Just then, Wang Xiucheng accelerated again, cutting past Claxton into the paint.
Anunobi chased after Wang Xiucheng.
The Raptors' frontcourt features Barnes, a former All-Rookie First Team player.
At this moment, Barnes had already positioned himself with his hands protecting his groin, waiting for Wang Xiucheng to crash into him.
According to Barnes, Wang Xiucheng now only has two choices.
One way is to turn around and get past you for a layup, but that would allow Anunoby behind Wang Xiucheng to steal the ball while Wang Xiucheng is turning around.
Another tactic is throwing, which Anunoby can also use to disrupt Wang Xiucheng.
As for the others, they were all marked on the outside, and it was too late to pass the ball at that point.
Wang Xiucheng has entered a dead end!
This is the result of the discussion the two of them just had downstairs.
Attack Wang Xiucheng from both sides!
But what happened next completely stunned Barnes.
Wang Xiucheng had already reached Barnes, and just as Barnes had expected, Wang Xiucheng turned around.
Barnes' eyes lit up slightly, and he couldn't help but look at Anunoby behind Wang Xiucheng.
Anunoby, who was prepared, should have been able to intercept the ball, right?
Last season, no one could directly intercept Wang Xiucheng's ball.
Is this record already broken so early in the season?
The next moment, Barnes saw shock in Anunoby's eyes.
Barnes immediately saw that what Anunoby held in his hand was not a basketball, but Wang Xiucheng's wrist.
And basketball has simply disappeared!
At this moment, Wang Xiucheng had already turned around and, using Barnes' body as an axis, moved to stand behind Barnes.
Then Barnes heard a loud bang behind him.
He immediately turned around and saw Wang Xiucheng gently lowering the basket with both hands.
The basketball hit the ground at that moment, bounced up, and made a crisp sound as it struck the backboard.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, with many fans holding cardboard cutouts of Wang Xiucheng jumping and shouting.
How did basketball get there?
Barnes still doesn't know how basketball disappeared or how it reappeared.
beep!
Just then, the referee blew his whistle and pointed to Anunoby, who also looked constipated.
Wang Xiucheng committed a defensive foul and needs to take a free throw.
Anunoby shook his head vigorously, but didn't refute it at all.
Barnes went straight to the sidelines, looked up at the big screen, and waited for the replay of the play.
He wanted to find out exactly what Wang Xiucheng had done.
The replay appeared quickly.
What Wang Xiucheng did was very simple: he passed the ball to the player!
Wang Xiucheng turned to Barnes' right, and before turning, he passed the basketball to Barnes' left and behind him.
Wang Xiucheng seemed to have added a spin to the basketball, so when the basketball landed, it bounced right towards Wang Xiucheng, who had already finished turning around.
This allowed Wang Xiucheng, who had one hand held by Anunoby, to scoop up the basketball with one hand, then bounce up and break free from Anunoby, slamming it home with both hands.
Not only Barnes, but even VanVleet was standing on the sideline watching.
He immediately shook his head and returned to the field.
Fans may not know what happened, but VanVleet, who is also a defender, knows very well how difficult it is to get the ball to spin to the opponent you need after it lands.
Moreover, Wang Xiucheng did it in the blink of an eye.
VanVleet didn't think he could do it.
Swish!
Wang Xiucheng scores the free throw.
Three points scored successfully.
Barnes watched as Wang Xiucheng slowly retreated to his half of the field.
He picked up the basketball and passed it to VanVleet, who reached out for it.
Wang Xiucheng didn't come over to defend him until he reached the center line.
Anunoby was guarding Wang Xiucheng, but Wang Xiucheng was guarding VanVleet.
VanVleet charged forward with the ball, and seeing Wang Xiucheng blocking his way, he slowed down and bumped into Wang Xiucheng with his shoulder.
Wang Xiucheng was knocked back half a step by the short and stocky VanVleet, which allowed VanVleet to break through and then pass the ball to Siakam a moment after Claxton came over.
Siakam scored two points with a powerful two-handed dunk.
Anunoby, who was defending Durant in the distance, suddenly noticed something and seemed to have found a way to defend Wang Xiucheng.
Zeng Fanbo reached the baseline at some point, picked up the basketball, and threw it directly to the frontcourt.
At this moment, Wang Xiucheng had already rushed forward, with no one beside him.
The fastest player, VanVleet, had just come out of the paint and hadn't even reached the center line yet.
Anunoby is still with Durant.
Wang Xiucheng was the only player on the court for the entire first half.
Zeng Fanbo's shot seemed a bit too big; Wang Xiucheng didn't catch it until the baseline.
After glancing at VanVleet, who was already past half-court, Wang Xiucheng stood in the corner and immediately chose to shoot a three-pointer.
After shooting the ball, Wang Xiucheng did not wait for the result, but ran straight to the basket.
If the shot misses, Wang Xiucheng will immediately grab the rebound and score two points.
This incredibly fast long pass from the backcourt quarterback gave Wang Xiucheng time to do so.
Swish!
Three-pointer scored!
"Three-point shooting percentage stacking card" activated!
Wang Xiucheng, who had run halfway, turned a corner with a smile on his face and ran past Van Fleet, who had a black line on his face.
Van Fleet felt he had encountered an unsolvable problem.
When he breaks through the penalty area, the opposing team always passes him long passes like this.
However, if he doesn't break into the penalty area, his effectiveness will be greatly reduced, and he won't be able to create space to pass the ball.
Given Wang Xiucheng's speed, even if such a long pass isn't perfect, he can usually catch up and score.
After a lot of work, both sides scored, so it was as if nothing had been done.
The opponent even scored an extra point.
Shaking his head in exasperation, VanVleet went to the baseline and passed the ball to Anunoby, who had rushed back.
In the next possession, the Raptors finally made a three-pointer.
After Wang Xiucheng broke through, he passed the ball to Durant on the outside, who hadn't fully opened up space.
Durant didn't even glance at the person guarding him; he simply pulled up and sank a three-pointer.
The two sides traded baskets, one scoring a three-pointer and the other immediately responding; one dunked and the other made a layup.
The score went back and forth, with the difference remaining between 5 and 8 points.
Until the end of the third quarter.
Throughout the third quarter, apart from Wang Xiucheng, Anunoby, and Zeng Fanbo, the other seven players all played the full 12 minutes.
Neither side dared to make a substitution, as if whoever made the first substitution would instantly widen the score gap.
But the question is, what do we do in the fourth quarter?
Is it possible to play a full 12 minutes?
Do you understand farmers, become a farmer, and transcend farmers?
Nash stood on the sidelines watching his players.
He was not dissatisfied with the score.
He also knew that the Raptors were no ordinary team.
Last year, they even won four more games than the Nets, ranking 6th in the regular season standings.
However, the Nets underwent a major overhaul this season, bringing in Wang Xiucheng.
Nash doesn't believe this move has caused the Nets to regress in strength.
Especially their resounding victory over the Pelicans in the first game.
While the two teams' starters appeared to be locked in a stalemate, it was the substitutes who truly revealed the difference between them.
Nash didn't believe that the Raptors' key players wouldn't take a rest.
Just as Nash had predicted.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Raptors had to bring in their bench players.
But it wasn't all substitutes; besides Anunoby, the young and energetic Barnes was also on the field.
For the Nets, Wang Xiucheng finally took to the court with four pure substitutes.
And the Nets scored on three consecutive attacks.
Wang Xiucheng delivered three consecutive assists, including a three-pointer by Zeng Fanbo and layups by Thomas and Joe Harris.
The Raptors only scored one basket, which instantly increased the point difference from 6 to 11 points, reaching double digits.
Anunoby, who had only rested for two minutes during the break, looked at Wang Xiucheng, then received the ball and advanced it past the halfway line.
While protecting the ball, Anunoby bumped Wang Xiucheng with his shoulder, knocking Wang Xiucheng off his spot, and then Anunoby made a three-pointer.
Anunobi gave a barely perceptible smile.
Sure enough, this referee encouraged confrontation.