The longest river

Chapter 74: The Corner of the Clothes is Slightly Dirty
One steal, one block – that's Jackson's stat line in the final three minutes of the first quarter.

One steal, one block, and two tomahawk dunks – that's Yang Shuai's performance in those three minutes.

Although the game is far from over, based on what was shown in those three minutes, the fans at the scene already had ample reason to believe that Yang Shuai had indeed dominated Jackson.

After all, only a little over half a year has passed since that one-on-one match, so even if Yang Shuai makes further progress, it will be limited.

When Yang Shuai returned in the second quarter, he remained on the court.

Meanwhile, Jackson was still on the court for the Mavericks.

Yang Shuai's earlier comment, "Are you going to run away again?" made it impossible for him to stay on the court after playing poorly for three minutes.

However, Kidd was substituted in by Motta at this point.

As the team's head coach, he naturally wouldn't watch his key players be beaten until they lost their fighting spirit.

Moreover, the main conflict among the three Js stems from Jackson and Mashburn, both of whom are versatile wing players with similar playing styles.

On the contrary, as the team's main point guard, Kidd can play a supporting role and his pairing with any of the players is quite effective.

Upon seeing the opposing team's lineup, Yang Shuai immediately realized that Jackson wasn't going to fight him one-on-one, but rather to use tactics.

"See, you just wouldn't listen to advice before," Yang Shuai said with a grin.

"Negative energy from Jim Jackson +268".

Jackson's face darkened; Yang Shuai's close-up taunt was like a knife to the heart.

However, he didn't get carried away like before, because after the first quarter he knew he was no match for Yang Shuai in a one-on-one game.

If he insists on proving himself through one-on-one matches, he'll likely end up like Stackhouse.

But he had already made those tough remarks before the match, so he couldn't just admit defeat.

Moreover, in basketball, besides direct responses, there are also indirect responses.

Even if I can't beat you one-on-one on the court, as long as my stats look better than yours after the game, I can still say that I have the upper hand.

The Mavericks took the lead.

After advancing to the top of the arc, Kidd began to make tactical hand gestures.

Jackson suddenly started running, and after he had run a distance, Mavericks' backup center Lauren Mayer set up a screen on the right high post.

This is a classic pin-down mid-range tactic.

Kidd's pass came very quickly, and Jackson's rhythm from receiving the ball to shooting was also very smooth.

However, the moment Jackson made his move, Yang Shuai's familiar figure reappeared in mid-air.

"when!"

This sudden and intense interference caught Jackson off guard, and more importantly, it caused a dramatic fluctuation in his mentality, resulting in his shot hitting the rim and going wide.

Moreover, after successfully defending, Yang Shuai immediately accelerated forward and launched a fast attack.

Kidd reacted quickly, fouling Yang Shuai beforehand to stop his fast break.

When the game went dead, the big screen showed a replay of the previous play.

Mayer's pick-and-roll quality is not bad, especially his timing in choosing the right screens, which is why Jackson is confident in taking shots after receiving the ball.

However, Yang Shuai's reaction in the replay was even more surprising.

He was originally chasing Jackson, but when he encountered the screen, he suddenly stopped and turned, going around Mayer on the other side, and then jumped at the same time Jackson released the shot.

The timing of this turn and the body control he displayed were truly astonishing.

Not to mention the fans, even Brown, who was standing on the sidelines, felt a sense of awe.

It's only been less than two months since the game against the 76ers, and Yang Shuai's defensive ability has improved so much that it's unbelievable.

Yang Shuai also let out a long breath and a smile appeared on his face.

When he first got 5 points, he faced a choice: whether to continue improving his individual defense or to improve his help defense in order to improve his overall defensive capabilities.

Ultimately, he chose to exchange for lateral movement speed, which means continuing to improve single-target defense.

This is mainly considered from two aspects.

The most obvious aspect, which is what he is showing on the court now, is that the increased lateral speed not only allows him to stay closer to his opponents in one-on-one defense, but also allows him to get around high pick-and-rolls more quickly.

Of course, this also requires combining the small steps and sliding steps from the dog's gait to complete this instantaneous turn.

On the other hand, there's the issue of competition within the team.

In the short term, it will be difficult for him to take playing time away from Miller; the only way for him to continue to increase his playing time is to get playing time from McGee.

McGee's one-on-one defense is solid, but his selection to the All-Defensive Second Team last season was mainly due to his help defense.

If measured by a system, McGee is around 80 in single defense and 88 in help defense.

It will be quite difficult for Yang Shuai to raise his help defense to 88 in a short period of time; in comparison, it is more likely that his individual defense ability will be raised to 80.

If he continues to improve his one-on-one defense, he will possess abilities that even McGee doesn't have, making him a rare asset on the team.

In that case, he could not only get more playing time, but even get a starting opportunity in some specific games.

For example, against a shooting guard like Jordan, who has strong individual offensive ability and quick footwork, McGee actually struggles. You can't expect Miller to guard McGee just to utilize his help defense ability, can you?
Even if Miller were willing, Brown wouldn't do something so stupid.

Turning back, the Pacers' half-court offense.

Yang Shuai successfully created a three-point opportunity by using Antonio Davis's screen.

However, at this point, the Pacers' primary point guard was Walker, whose passing awareness was significantly worse than Robertson's, and the pass was noticeably slow.

Moreover, Kidd saw through this tactical intention and made a steal by turning sideways.

Kidd's defensive ability has always been underestimated. He is excellent in physical confrontations. Although his dynamic talent is relatively average, he has a high basketball IQ and a very strong ability to read the game.

And Kidd's choice after making the steal also proved this point.

He immediately moved forward to intercept the ball, not giving Workman a chance to foul prematurely.

George McLeod received a pass from Kidd and scored on a fast break layup.

Yang Shuai continued to run the same tactics when he got to the frontcourt, and this time he used a cut and a reverse run to get rid of Jackson, whose dynamic talent was not as good as his own. The whole movement was very beautiful.

Because he had just been dispossessed, Walkman hesitated when making this pass, and by the time Yang Shuai got into position, the ball still hadn't been delivered.

By the time Walkman tried to pass the ball again, Jackson had already retreated to defend Yang Shuai.

Workman eventually signaled a low-post isolation play, passing the ball to Antonio Davis in the paint.

Davis's isolation shot missed, and the Pacers still couldn't score.

A commotion arose in the arena; they probably now understood the root cause of the team's struggles at the start of the season.

Workman is far less capable than Mark Jackson!
Fortunately, the Pacers managed to retreat on defense in time, preventing the Mavericks from launching another fast break, and the two teams returned to half-court offense.

Kidd's tactical hand signals at the top of the arc changed. After Jackson started running, the Mavericks set up two screens in succession, one near the baseline and the other on the left high post.

Jackson started moving from the right and then moved to the left.

Such tactics are definitely a test for the defenders.

Jackson moved through the screens like a fish, and he was already very familiar with this pick-and-roll tactic.

Moreover, he believed that such a pick-and-roll would definitely leave Yang Shuai behind. What he needed to consider was whether he would be met with help defense after receiving the ball.

That's what he thought, but when he got to the position, he found that Kidd's pass hadn't come.

This damn Bay Area guy actually messed up at the crucial moment?

Just as he frowned, he turned around and found Yang Shuai behind him, smiling at him.

He was startled.

This scene could be a horror movie!

Kidd was also surprised at this moment.

If Jackson's movements were like a fish, then Yang Shuai was the ripples behind the fish, inseparable from it.

Moreover, Yang Shuai's instantaneous turning and sidestepping during the chase reminded him of another person in the league, the SuperSonics' "The Glove" Payton.

Kidd scored a layup after a pick-and-roll with Mayer.

Although Yang Shuai's defense against Jackson was very successful, the Mavericks relied on Kidd's performance to go on a 4-0 run in the second quarter.

In the Pacers' half-court offense, Yang Shuai continued to use Davis's screens to create opportunities, but Workman's passes still failed to arrive.

Finally, just as Workman was about to continue organizing the attack, Yang Shuai yelled at him directly:
Give me that damn ball!

The sight of a rookie yelling at a veteran player on the court stunned everyone present.

What's even more surprising is that Walker actually passed the ball over!

That slap in the locker room made Walkman realize that Yang Shuai was a formidable figure, and he dared not provoke him.

After receiving the ball, Yang Shuai immediately signaled to pull away.

The tactics shifted to one-on-one duels at this moment, and the City Square Stadium seemed to have become the training hall of the Gund Stadium.

Yang Shuai held the ball and made a three-point shooting motion. After forcing Jackson to move forward, he directly passed the ball and broke through to the right.

The difference in explosiveness meant that Jackson struggled to keep up with Yang Shuai.

However, Yang Shuai immediately switched to the left side with a crossover dribble.

Jackson tried to catch up with Yang Shuai, but he couldn't keep up and could only manage to grab the hem of Yang Shuai's clothes.

A familiar scene unfolded once again: Yang Shuai's charge forward caused Jackson to stumble and fall.

In order to avoid falling again, Jackson tried to brace himself with his hands, but the rapid drop in his center of gravity caused his knees to hit the floor first.

Amidst the shocked gazes of the fans at the scene, Jackson knelt down and watched Yang Shuai charge toward the basket.

"Oh!"

Yang Shuai slammed the ball into the basket with a powerful tomahawk shot.

A reporter standing under the basketball hoop pressed the shutter button and captured this world-famous painting.

(End of this chapter)