nycdaug Chapter 35 Green's Frustrated Dream Chase
Chapter 35 Green's Frustrated Dream Chase
Although it wasn't a full-power jump, Little Payton was already out of control when he landed, inevitably intruding into Wang Xiucheng's cylinder and crashing into Wang Xiucheng's shoulder.
Green's three-pointer came first, followed by the foul, so Wang Xiucheng needs to make the free throw.
After landing, he seemed to have twisted his ankle again. Payton limped towards the players' tunnel, no longer paying attention to the game.
With four seconds left in the game, Kerr didn't call a timeout.
Wang Xiucheng scores the free throw.
The Warriors quickly inbounded the ball, and Moody took a logo three-pointer in the frontcourt, but it missed.
The first quarter of the game is over.
The Warriors lead 37-32, a five-point advantage.
The Warriors' assistant coach helped Payton back to the locker room, and the Warriors' bench players could not hide their worry.
Payton Jr. is the Warriors' primary perimeter defender off the bench. To put it bluntly, he's even better defensively than the starter, Poole. However, his scoring ability isn't as strong as Poole's.
"You'll be on the court soon, mainly to defend Wang Xiucheng," Cole said to Draymond Green in a deep voice.
Curry looked at Kerr with some surprise.
Assigning Green to guard Wang Xiucheng is the greatest recognition for Wang Xiucheng.
only……
Curry glanced at the Rockets' bench in the distance. Could that Chinese guy, who wasn't any bigger than him, withstand Green's defense?
Green, seemingly unconcerned, took the towel and stood up.
The second quarter begins.
Draymond Green replaced Gary Payton; the rest of the players remained the same.
The first offensive possession belonged to the Rockets. Wang Xiucheng controlled the ball, and Green gave him space, not sticking close to him.
Green may look like a big, burly guy with no brains, but he actually has a very high basketball IQ. He dares to confront Durant to his face, and he also knows that sticking to Curry's coattails will keep him out of trouble.
So even if Green gets into fights on the court multiple times and engages in unethical behavior unrelated to basketball, resulting in penalties from the league and teams, he can return quickly.
Because Curry desperately needs him to shield him from the storm.
Green had actually watched some of Wang Xiucheng's videos privately, especially those of the players he had faked out. He had studied them carefully.
His final conclusion was that the more seriously he defended against Wang Xiucheng, the more likely he was to fall for Wang Xiucheng's feints.
However, as long as you step back a certain distance, although you may still be beaten, at least you will have enough time and space to correct yourself and won't be easily knocked down.
Furthermore, Green believes that Wang Xiucheng neither likes nor is good at confrontation.
And my greatest strength is precisely physical confrontation.
Boom boom boom!
Wang Xiucheng suddenly accelerated. Although Green was more than an arm's length away from Wang Xiucheng, Wang Xiucheng still used his speed to make up for the space and then changed direction in front of him to get past Green.
Green retreated step by step, then changed his angle to face Wang Xiucheng directly, making sure he didn't disappear from his sight.
But Wang Xiucheng was too fast, and Green's footwork frequency was not enough to make up for the gap.
The next moment, Wang Xiucheng changed direction and was already beside Green. Just one more step and he could trap Green behind him.
Just then, with a loud thud, Green's shoulder collided with Wang Xiucheng's shoulder from the side, causing Wang Xiucheng, who had just changed direction and had not yet regained his balance, to lose control of the basketball in his hands.
Green lunged towards the floor, pinning the ball beneath him, and gestured for a timeout.
But just then, the referee's whistle blew.
Green committed a defensive foul.
Green jumped up in a flash, leaping high like a rocket, and incredulously ran to the referee who had called his call, roaring at him.
"I fouled? Did you see that? Where did I foul? My hand didn't even touch him!" Green roared incessantly, spitting as he spoke.
The referee didn't waste any words with him, but just shook his head, looking impatient.
Cole stood with his arms crossed in front of the scorer's table, talking to the only female referee, Ashley Moirgray.
"Green definitely didn't move, there was only contact between his shoulder and the other person, that shouldn't be considered a foul, right? Can't we make contact? Why don't we just put a net in the middle and play tennis?"
“He was clearly not going for the ball; he was out of position and couldn’t touch it at all,” Glacy and Cole explained.
Cole shrugged and smiled helplessly.
Green stopped arguing. He saw the impatience in the referee's eyes, and the seasoned veteran knew it was time to shut up.
Fortunately, at the beginning of the second quarter, there weren't enough fouls to warrant free throws.
The Rockets inbounded the ball from the sideline, and Green once again gave Wang Xiucheng a pass.
With little time left on the shot clock, Wang Xiucheng received the ball and immediately stepped into the three-point line, then jumped to shoot.
"dream!"
Green had been waiting for Wang Xiucheng to shoot, knowing that Wang Xiucheng had a good floater. With little time left, the safest way for Wang Xiucheng was to drive to the basket and then shoot.
So he kept waiting for Wang Xiucheng to shoot.
Green leaped high, his long, shiny black arms covering Wang Xiucheng's head.
However, Wang Xiucheng, in Green's eyes, did not jump up.
To be precise, one foot didn't jump.
Wang Xiucheng retracted his other foot, and his hand, which seemed to be holding the ball, actually let go. Then, Wang Xiucheng took half a step forward, jumped, and gently tossed the ball.
Swish!
beep!
Two points in.
Green commits a foul and gets an extra free throw.
Curry jumped up. From his angle, he could see clearly that Wang Xiucheng had definitely dribbled the ball; it was definitely a second dribble.
"He's combined the ball, he definitely combined the ball." Cole saw it clearly and immediately protested to Gladys on the sideline.
Wang Xiucheng's foot didn't leave the ground just now, but he definitely controlled the ball.
It was this seemingly Buddhist-like but actually feint that allowed Wang Xiucheng to get behind Green, making it impossible for Green to dodge after landing, and he could only push Wang Xiucheng out.
"Do you want to take on the challenge?" Glacy asked calmly.
Cole choked, a challenge?
For a newbie?
Although he is confident he can succeed in the challenge, what happens afterward? Once the challenge is over, what if Curry wants to take on the challenge again?
This damn challenge rule needs to be changed by the league.
Seeing that Cole had stopped talking, the referee came to the baseline and gave Wang Xiucheng the free throw.
Kerr immediately substituted Green, who had only played for a minute.
In just one minute, Green has already committed two fouls, bringing his total to three, including one in the first quarter.
The second quarter has only just begun...
Cole then looked at the culprit who had caused all of this.
There aren't many people who can make Green suffer such a setback.
Of course, it's also his fault. He was the one who sent Green to guard Wang Xiucheng. Oh, and it was Payton.
In just five minutes, two of their players had already gotten the better of Wang Xiucheng.
Green sat on the bench, and the front office handed him a towel.
Green took the towel and slammed it to the ground. He had only been up there for a minute and hadn't even broken a sweat yet. Was he going to hang himself with the towel?
It's so frustrating, so incredibly frustrating.
Green took a deep breath.
A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, and Green knew it was Curry.
No one else on the team dared to do that.
"It's rare to see such an interesting young man these days, isn't it?" Curry said quietly.
Green's anger dissipated almost instantly.
He knew Curry was praising the rookie.
The last time Curry praised a rookie like that was Doncic.
Cole looked at Wang Xiucheng, who was taking a free throw in the distance.
Can't you break through?
I'll let you break through.
Pulling a teammate aside, Cole covered his mouth and began to whisper instructions.