Generation Z Artists

Chapter 197, Second Painting
"So this is your strategy? Let me shoot threes?"

Fang Xinghe and Danzi stuck together, and while waiting for him to catch the ball, they didn't stop talking and increased the intensity of their taunts.

It's really infuriating; Danzi has increased the frequency of chewing gum by 50%.

The referee serves.

Danzi pulled his right hand back, holding the ball horizontally in mid-air with one hand, using his left shoulder to block Fang Xinghe's attack, and opened his mouth to retort with a trash talk.

"So this is your strategy? To stay close to me?"

This pose paired with that sentence is really quite sarcastic.

Danzi's sideways, one-handed ball handling is so powerful that only a long-armed monster like Wenban Yama could possibly interfere with him.

Fang Xinghe didn't even bother to stretch his arms; he simply used his chest to press firmly against Jordan, secretly exerting his strength.

Um... I can't push it up.

He knew he was unlikely to withstand Danzi's power, but he still wanted to personally verify the difference in strength.

In static physical contact under basketball rules, strength is not solely determined by numerical strength, but rather by a combination of strength and weight.

If he were allowed to use his fists, Fang Xinghe's Pi Gua, Beng Quan, and Zuan Quan could kill Da Dan.

Once they are firmly in place, they use their chests, shoulders, and backs to fight each other; whoever is bigger is the stronger one.

Yao Ming's bench press stats were far worse than Ben Wallace's, but in actual matches, it was like an adult beating a child; he slammed the ball over Wallace with just a couple of bumps.

The same principle applies to Fang Xinghe's rivalry with Jordan.

His stance training was useful in this situation, but not very useful.

To sink a stake, you have to lower it, which means the center of gravity will drop to a lower position, and lowering the center of gravity will inevitably affect agility... Danzi gave Fang Xinghe a strong challenge, then blew the ball, turned around, and shot.

The distance instantly widened the moment he turned around.

Fang Xinghe barely managed to catch up, then quickly jumped to interfere... but couldn't reach him.

High speed versus long strides: Jordan used a short, powerful jump to create enough space.

"Shh!"

The sound of the goal was also very crisp.

"Pretty!"

Barkley slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Such an easy comeback! Michael Jordan is still Michael Jordan!"

The audience erupted in cheers, cheering wildly for Jordan's response.

"A fierce battle between dragons and tigers!"

Zhang Heli spoke at a rapid pace, breaking down the first round of this one-on-one match for the domestic audience.

"Jordan spreads out to defend his drive and open up the shot, and Fang Xinghe counters head-on, taking every opportunity to shoot; when it's Jordan's turn, Fang Xinghe closely guards him to defend his drive and shot, but Jordan just goes in head-on, shooting even when he's told not to... Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!"

"This is the ultimate showdown in the league today!"

In the first round, neither of them made any mistakes, and their play was far from ugly, showcasing a powerful and effortless offensive capability. It was a fantastic match.

In the second round, when Fang Xinghe received the ball again, the audience held their breath and watched intently.

Fang Xinghe still held the ball with both hands, hanging down between his legs.

So, should we continue releasing them?

"Humph!"

Danzi snorted coldly and took a slight half-step forward.

This half-step ensures more effective shot interference, but also reduces the pressure of defending against drives.

When defending against smaller enemies, the most important factors are distance and positioning.

Small guards are known for their agility and speed, and can easily be beaten by forwards once they get close. This risk is even more pronounced for Fang Xinghe and Jordan.

Just as Jordan moved forward, Fang Xinghe dropped the ball and rushed half a step to the right front.

boom!
Danzi had just moved her front foot over when she had to shift her entire body to maintain her position.

As a result, Fang Xinghe quickly pulled back and passed the ball to his left hand.

boom!
With superhuman speed, he instantly adjusted his direction and rushed past Jordan on his left before Jordan could even regain his footing.

Danzi was truly amazing; without even turning around, he executed a series of crossover steps, positioning himself diagonally in front of the basket.

Hold the line but not the player, position yourself and wait to attack the basket.

If it were a 5v5 game, Fang Xinghe could easily throw up a high lob and dunk over Danzi, crushing him.

But this is a 1v1 situation, and Fang Xinghe's only options are to force a layup or to stop and shoot during a high-speed charge.

"Beautiful! Michael Jordan has set a trap for SR with his Defensive Player of the Year-level defensive experience and adaptability! What will he do?"

Barkley spoke very quickly, but before he could finish, Fang Xinghe had already carried Jordan high into the air.

Force it!

A pull-up jump shot is the worst option, and it's what Jordan wanted to force Fang Xinghe to do.

The pull-up jump shot after a full-force drive has the worst consistency of all shot selections, bar none.

A good pull-up jump shot is made by preparing in advance, completely shaking off the defender, and taking a high-confidence shot at the most comfortable pace in your shooting range.

Even so, the success rate of a pull-up jump shot is far lower than that of a regular shot.

Fang Xinghe was no exception.

Despite having a basic coordination score of 99, making his shooting consistency higher than others in any situation, his high-speed sudden stop is still not as reliable as a layup.

The closer you are to the basket, the higher your shooting percentage—that's always true.

So he boldly jumped up with his dantian protruding.

The ball's speed was extremely fast, but Danzi's no-look crossover interception took the shortest route, blocking Fang Xinghe's inevitable path. Furthermore, he jumped diagonally one meter in front of the basket, eliminating Fang Xinghe's possibility of forcibly dunking with high speed.

The sudden aerial confrontation left all the spectators holding their breath.

In the instant the confrontation began, another of Fang Xinghe's extreme qualities played a crucial role—maximum flexibility.

After taking off, he half-turned in the air, changing from face-to-face to double-faced, colliding with Danzi with his shoulder and back, shrinking his body and turning half a circle, and then suddenly stretching out!

In the close-up shot, Fang Xinghe leaned on Jordan in mid-air and completed a 360-degree curl-up spin. When he stretched out his body again, he had just managed to get away by half a body length and passed Jordan.

What follows is extremely simple.

Raise your hand, flick the basket, and use the strength of your fingertips to send the basketball flying.

The orange basketball neither touched the backboard nor the rim, but gently fell into the net, as softly as a drop of water falling into a lake.

Swish.

The two landed one after the other, and Danzi turned her head in astonishment...

"Wow!"

The scene erupted; Barkley slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"Spinning and weaving! This isn't Star River! This is Michael Jordan from '88!"

Smith was also extremely excited: "Yes, I remember that move, I remember it!"

Barkley continued wailing, "But nobody's lighter than SR! Nobody! Look, he's like a leaf, swirling and floating in mid-air... This fucking... This fucking!"

The director cut to a close-up on the big screen, and the audience erupted in cheers and whistles.

Even Danzi wasn't in a hurry to catch the ball. He stood under the basket with his hands on his hips, looking up at the big screen.

As slow-motion footage from different angles was repeatedly played on the screen, the cheers grew increasingly intense.

In NBA history, there have been at least ten or eight players who have made a 360-degree spin layup, so it's not particularly rare.

One of them was the hard-boiled egg in front of him; he even hooked the basketball in from behind.

But no one can be as graceful as Fang Xinghe.

A slender build and a weight of 80 kilograms are a significant disadvantage in combat.

But his strong, lean physique gives him a unique style when he does any movement – ​​graceful and flowing.

Core strength brings ease to any movement; the lower the weight, the higher the jump; the stronger the coordination, the more rhythmic the movement; and maximum flexibility brings ultimate extension from every joint and every muscle...

This is a type of player that the NBA has never seen before. If you have to make a comparison, the only one is the skinny Jordan when he first entered the league—but Jordan at that time was not strong enough and his flexibility was obviously much worse.

From a purely visual perspective, Fang Xinghe today is arguably the epitome of a graceful player, surpassing even Joe Johnson and Tracy McGrady.

In fact, the NBA has never produced a player with an extremely fluid and graceful style.

It's impossible for a normal person to possess such strong core strength while maintaining an extremely lean and streamlined physique. And if the core isn't strong enough, it's impossible to perform high-difficulty movements with ease and grace. This is science.

But the skills Fang Xinghe displayed were theological.

After watching the replay twice, Jordan laughed in exasperation.

No one knew why he was laughing; they could only sense the rising fighting spirit within him.

Fang Ge, however, wasn't afraid. He even chased after him and uttered the trash talk he'd been holding back all game: "DPOY?"

Simple, straightforward, and poignant.

Danzi glanced at Fang Xinghe, then moved to a low position and raised his hand to ask the referee for the ball.

Fang Xinghe felt a chill run down his spine.

You son of a bitch! You really won't accept even the slightest loss?
Jordan, right low post, back to the basket.

What comes to mind?
It's so obvious, anyone who knows a little basketball would understand.

Fang Xinghe became fully alert, bracing his forearm against Da Dan's back to reduce instability.

but……

It's really not very meaningful.

Danzi was furious, so he used the simplest and most bullying tactic—a shoulder bump without passing the ball, followed by a turnaround fadeaway jump shot.

Swish!
The basketball floated lightly into the net, and Danzi put his hands back on his hips, grinning at Fang Xinghe.

"I only have one Defensive Player of the Year, but I have ten scoring titles. Do you like this shot?"

Damn it, he got me.

But Fang Xinghe really has no way to deal with this kind of ball. As long as he gets hit, he won't have time to jump. If he can't jump immediately, he can't interfere with Danzi's backflip.

In fact, given Danzi's height, wingspan, and backward lean, even if he jumped immediately, he could only watch.

Only Wenbanyama has a chance; for someone with short arms like Fang Xinghe, it's better to pin our hopes on cutting the ball.

Fang was so angry he couldn't say a word. He walked to the three-point line with a cold face and gestured for Jordan to come and defend.

As a result, Danzi packed it up.

He waved his hand, not moving an inch: "Don't rush, let's watch the replay. I haven't used a fadeaway jump shot in a long time, I don't know if my form is still cool."

He's naturally handsome.

In slow motion, Jordan seemed to return to his first three-peat era, with fluid movements, elegant posture, and coordinated physique, appearing significantly more composed than in 98.

Weight loss and dedicated rehabilitation ultimately allowed Dani to briefly glimpse his peak form.

This guy's physique is indeed abnormal. Even in his 50s, he could still beat up the newcomers on the team in one-on-one matches. It's just that his stamina couldn't keep up. After a few points, he would run away after gaining enough advantage.

His physical condition isn't a big problem now; that thuggish fadeaway is just too much to handle.

Barkley suddenly became normal and spoke solemnly.

"This is bad! SR is in big trouble!"

Smith, being a professional himself, nodded in agreement: "Yes, Michael has unleashed his signature move, a style that is extremely simple, but SR has no way to counter it. If this continues, it will be very difficult to win!"

To cater to viewers who don't understand basketball, Barkley provided an extremely insightful analysis.

"Friends, don't let those messy techniques bind your thinking. The basic logic of basketball is very simple. On the offensive end, there are only three main abilities."

The first item is ball control, including passing, receiving, controlling, and dribbling.

The second point is getting rid of the defender, which is how to get rid of the defender and gain offensive space.

The third skill is finishing ability—getting the ball into the basket, shooting, layups, three-pointers, dunks…

What you may not know is that in the entire NBA, all forwards and guards have roughly the same finishing ability. Whether they are stars or benchwarmers, their mid-range shooting percentages in daily training are not significantly different.

The real difference between star players and superstars lies in their ability to break free from defenses.

SR's dazzling breakthrough and Michael Jordan's turnaround fadeaway are essentially both forms of breaking free; you must break free first before you can finish.

However, due to the difference in static talent, SR needs to put in a lot of effort and consume a huge amount of stamina to get rid of Michael Jordan's defense, while Michael Jordan's fadeaway jump shot is simple, practical and almost impossible to interfere with.

Michael Jordan became a basketball god precisely because of this skill.

Low energy consumption, difficult to trap, unaffected by interference, and its accuracy is minimally affected by energy levels...

If they continue playing like this, SR's stamina will be depleted much faster, and he'll soon be unable to guarantee an offensive success rate, while Michael can rely on fadeaway jumpers to play for a full hour straight!

This is indeed the case.

In the 02 season, this old rogue was still able to average 20 points per game despite having two crippled legs. This was because as long as he was put in the low post and received the ball with his back to the basket, he could immediately guarantee a 44% shooting percentage.

What's the most outrageous thing?
This thuggish fighting style is not only accurate, but also fucking spectacular!
I wonder how many spectators bought tickets to go to the stadium just to see this old man's fadeaway jump shot.

"Beautiful as a painting" has been used to describe this technique from the very beginning.

But Fang Ge obviously won't accept that.

"He's really handsome, as beautiful as a painting."

Fang Xinghe nodded and praised Danzi. Danzi was puzzled but couldn't help being happy, and accidentally grinned widely.

At that very moment, Fang Xinghe added the next sentence.

"But this is only the second painting. The first one, I just taught you how to paint."

With a whoosh, Danzi abruptly shut her mouth, her face turning as black as charcoal, and couldn't help but press herself against Fang Xinghe.

Good grief, they've completely abandoned any defense against a sudden attack; they're looking for a confrontation, letting you attack freely!

Fang Xinghe knew what it meant, of course. This old rogue had completely given up on his plan for a quick victory and was now prepared to wear Fang Xinghe down for the long haul.

Every powerful breakthrough comes at a huge cost.

Fang Xinghe is only 16 years old this year. Logically speaking, his bones and muscles are not fully developed yet. How many games can he last against such a sudden burst of attacks from Kuku?

Once the absolute advantage in speed decreases, the greatest defensive guard in history will regain his all-around strong interference ability.

"It's obvious you really want to win."

Fang Xinghe left behind this trash talk, then used a spin move followed by a crossover dribble to pull back, blocking half his body's distance and forcing a burst of speed, finally finishing with an extremely beautiful layup to easily pull the ball in.

However, forcibly fighting against Danzi, who was so much heavier than him, eventually had some impact on him.

After landing, he took a couple of quick breaths, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"At any time, I will pursue victory with all my heart."

Danzi received the ball at the top of the arc, feinted his shoulder, and pulled up to shoot.

He's on fire, hitting two-pointers from just outside the line with ease.

This was followed by trash talk: "You're going to lose, can you feel it?"

Fang Xinghe retorted sarcastically, "You won by your words?"

Danzi shrugged, his attitude incredibly composed: "Perhaps you're a top-notch point guard, but your offensive capabilities are ultimately limited. So why not focus on doing your job well? Under my leadership, you can continue my legacy."

Danzi was clearly getting cocky, but you couldn't call him arrogant.

The disparity in physical exertion was such an obvious fact that, given his ability to read the game, he even calculated in which game Fang Xinghe would lose his offensive stability.

Danzi didn't think there was anything wrong with opening champagne now.

But Fang Xinghe disagreed.

He opened the system, glanced at his 90 points of physical fitness, and then looked at the starlight panel.

The star value skyrocketed.

The Star Value is fluctuating slightly; it's currently 1, but could easily become 2.

In the first three rounds, Fang Xinghe and Jordan went back and forth, and their moves were so spectacular that it made you want to pee.

Western audiences might not care that much, but what about Asian audiences?

How many people are truly excited and thrilled about the new Southeast Asia, China, Japan, South Korea, and the world?
Only the purest emotions can generate Star Value, and now may be the best time for that purity.

That being the case...

Then give it your all and unleash the spectacular performance you desire!
Even beyond limits and beyond imagination, let me show you what a waltz on the basketball court is like!

Again--

I can afford to lose.

I'm going to win! I'm going to win in the most spectacular way possible!

(End of this chapter)