The longest river

Chapter 88 The sun comes out from the west
At the end of the first quarter, the Heat led the Pacers 23-14.

Yang Shuai and Robertson's excellent defensive coordination effectively limited Hardaway's performance, but this also gave Danilovic an opportunity to shine, as he hit two three-pointers in the first quarter.

This second-round pick from Serbia was signed by the Heat just a month ago. Riley signed him to be a replacement for starting shooting guard Rex Chapman when he was injured.

In his previous 16 starts for the Heat, he averaged 13.4 points per game with a 43.6% three-point shooting percentage.

However, the Pacers' defense wasn't actually bad tonight, limiting the Heat to only 23 points in the quarter.

The bigger problem lies on the offensive end.

Yang Shuai was tightly guarded, and Schmitz did not have much of an advantage against Mourning in the low post.

Although Mourning is only 2.08 meters tall, he has a wingspan of 2.29 meters and possesses both strength and explosiveness, making his defense in the paint impenetrable.

The second quarter began, and the camera focused on Yang Shuai on the sidelines.

Yang Shuai only had two shot attempts in the first quarter, going 0-for-2 and scoring no points.

"Hansen is a very promising player, but he still needs time to develop," commented Ernie Johnson from the commentary booth.

As a commentator who is optimistic about Yang Shuai, his evaluation is very fair. After all, no one really expects Yang Shuai, a high school student, to become the Pacers' savior in his rookie season.

"He simply doesn't have the ability to be a starter in the NBA. He only benefited from Reggie (Miller)'s success. If you put Bob Sura on this Pacers team, he could do better than Yang." However, Mavericks poured cold water on this idea.

(Sura averaged 14 minutes per game for the Cavaliers this season, contributing 5.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists.)

Albert tried to save face at the All-Star Game, but the result was even worse than when he was humiliated in New York.

Now that he's finally found an opportunity, he's definitely not going to hold back.

Yang Shuai was on the bench talking with Schmitz and Robertson.

Brown is a defensive coach, one of the best in the league.

But the higher his defensive skills, the lower his offensive level.

His team basically relies on defense to compete with others, and then on offense, they hope their offensive core will have a breakout performance.

There is no tactical system, and there are only a few tactics.

The only advantage is that he seems to know that his offensive level is not good, so he leaves the offensive responsibility to Malone, who in turn gives the point guard a lot of freedom on the court.

The three of them started by exchanging ideas, but then it became Robertson and Schmitz listening to Yang Shuai.

The reason for this is that Yang Shuai was referring to the tactics he used before he traveled through time.

Schmitz was listening attentively. Although he had no interaction with Yang Shuai back then, he was not one of those who isolated Yang Shuai.

To put it bluntly, those who isolated Yang Shuai were all African Americans. They had their own circles, and Schmitz from the Netherlands obviously couldn't fit into those circles.

Perhaps because they are all international players, Schmitz passed Yang Shuai the most times on the court than any other player on the Pacers.

Five minutes into the second quarter, both sides began to rotate their players, and Yang Shuai was substituted back onto the court.

The score was now 28-18, with the Heat holding a double-digit lead.

"The Pacers will not be able to take a win from Miami tonight." In the commentary booth, Albert concluded immediately after glancing at the score.

Brown was also frowning. Miller's season-ending injury had completely disrupted his plans. If they lost to a team like the Heat, who were on the edge of the playoffs, he really didn't have much confidence in making it to the second round.

In the Pacers' half-court offense, Yang Shuai used Schmitz's screen to run off-ball plays, but the Heat's defense was impenetrable, and Yang Shuai had no chance to receive the ball.

Everything looked the same as when it started.

Until Schmitz's move after the pick-and-roll.

In the original tactical system, Schmitz would cut to the basket after a pick-and-roll, looking for an opportunity to attack the rim directly.

But this time he didn't do that. After setting the screen, he moved directly to the top of the key and set another screen for Robertson.

Robertson drove toward the basket, but Mourning and Hardaway double-teamed him.

However, at that moment, Robertson turned and passed the ball to Schmitz.

Schmitz got a wide-open long two-point opportunity with no one around him.

Hardaway reacted quickly and lunged out to cover, but Schmitz had already made his shot.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, the basketball went in.

A stir broke out in the arena. After a nearly constipated start, the Pacers' first possession after their starters returned was smooth and effortless.

Yang Shuai gave Schmitz a high-five while retreating on defense and praised him, saying, "Well done."

The basketball techniques of the future may not be better than those of this era, but one thing will definitely be better: the utilization of space.

In a sense, the development of basketball is a process of constantly pursuing and utilizing court space.

Most tactics in this era started from the low post, so big men, and even wing players, were required to constantly launch attacks from the low post.

Furthermore, the lack of a no-hadn-check rule has led to a shortage of three-point shooters, resulting in most games being a battle of who can gain the upper hand in the paint.

Schmitz couldn't gain an advantage against Mourning, and with Riley's targeted and tight defense on Young, and Robertson, McGee, Davis, and others unable to create space on the weak side, the Pacers naturally couldn't win.

So, just like when Yang Shuai, this time traveler, chose to use the hint card from the newbie gift pack on the three-point attack, he thought of the space.

Schmitz is very similar to Yao Ming, not only in height but also in playing style, especially in his high-post shooting range, which is rare for big men in this era. Moreover, the tactic just now was evolved from the Pacers' existing tactics and did not require special training.

After hearing Yang Shuai's praise, Schmitz also gave Yang Shuai a thumbs up.

European players, even tall ones, are required to practice high-post shooting from a young age. This is the biggest difference between European and American tall players.

But after arriving in the NBA, all Schmitz heard was the message that he should shoot towards the basket, as if he was a softie if he shot from the high post.

But he could have gotten easier scoring opportunities there.

So in that round just now, he was able to be himself again.

Brown then turned and looked at Malone with surprise, as if he wanted to get something from him.

Ma Long was also completely bewildered; he had no idea what was happening on the court.

A successful offense led to better defense; Mourning's strong post-up play was disrupted by Davis's help defense, and the rebound was secured by Schmitz.

Back to the point, the Pacers still used the same tactics.

This time, Hardaway didn't chase Robertson, but instead chose to trust Mourning's ability to defend in mismatches within the penalty area.

Robertson still chose to pass the ball back to Schmitz.

Schmitz's fake shot after receiving the ball caused Hardaway to jump up.

It's not that he's easily fooled, but rather that if a 1.83-meter-tall person doesn't jump in front of a 2.24-meter-tall person, they're practically invisible.

Right after shaking off Hardaway, Schmitz gathered the ball and immediately switched to a drive.

Schmitz strode forward and launched a long-range throw, spaced across the line, at the onrushing Mourning.

The basketball landed in the hoop with incredible precision, as if it were equipped with a tracking device.

In this round, Schmitz fully demonstrated his rhythm variation and soft touch.

Yang Shuai also felt a strange sense of familiarity.

What he didn't know was that Yao Ming's draft comparison was Schmitz.

Schmitz scored 4 consecutive points, and the Pacers finally regained their composure on the court.

Hardaway's dribbling breakthrough was double-teamed by Yang Shuai, who then passed the ball to Danilovic.

However, McGee demonstrated his help defense ability this time, interfering with Danilovic's shot.

Danilovic's three-point attempt missed again, and Davis secured the defensive rebound.

The Pacers scored in quick succession, while the Heat's offense faltered, and the situation on the court began to change.

Riley then stopped sitting on the bench like a godfather and got up to go to the sidelines.

This is a common way for head coaches to put pressure on their players.

The Pacers used the same tactics, but this time Mourning's defense came through.

But the moment he came out, the Pacers' offense changed again.

Robertson began moving towards the weak-side corner to draw Hardaway away, while Yang Shuai, who had finished running the play and was creating space at the three-point line on the strong side, suddenly accelerated and cut towards the basket.

The moment he started, Yang Shuai instantly left Danilovic behind.

The ability boost brought by explosive power takes time to reach its limit, but the change at the start is very obvious.

Almost instantly, Yang Shuai had already cut into the free-throw area.

"Under the basket! Under the basket!"

Riley had no longer cared about his godfather image, waving his hands and shouting at Mourning.

Mourning turned around and saw Yang Shuai looking surprised, but before he could do anything else, he saw a ball fly over his head.

Then, Yang Shuai in front of him suddenly shot up from the ground like a rocket.

He tried to stop it, but it was too late.

Once he leaves the three-second zone, his ability to protect the restricted area drops by at least half.

"Oh!"

Amidst the gasps of the fans, Yang Shuai completed a powerful alley-oop dunk, slamming the ball into the basket.

He even gave the rim a celebratory tug after completing the dunk before landing.

The scene was in an uproar.

28:24.

The Pacers went on a 6-0 run, narrowing the gap to 4 points.

Riley reached out and called a pause.

He turned his head to look at the Pacers' half of the court, and at that stubborn old man.

The sun must have risen in the west today; Larry Brown has even mastered offensive tactics.

(End of this chapter)