What? The trainer is warming up.

The host's voice was loud and clear. After the introduction, he seemed to have more to say and added, "He is not only a new player for the Idaho Pentagon, but also the head trainer for the Portland Trail Blazers. He is the miracle doctor who cured Oden. I believe everyone has heard of him."

"Come on, let's all call his name!"

Hearing the host's words, Qin Yu touched his nose in annoyance. "You can just introduce me as a player, why add all this?"

Are you deliberately trying to provoke me?

Sure enough, as soon as the host finished speaking, the audience did not erupt in cheers, but instead fell silent. In the silence, Qin Yu even heard some boos.

This wasn't just embarrassing for him; many people felt awkward too!

This was his home turf, yet instead of cheers, he was greeted with boos—what terrible treatment!

Qin Yu looked around with a dark expression, trying to find the annoying host, but there were too many people and he couldn't find him, so he had to give up. He waved to the audience, but all he got in response was an "awkward" response, which amused the away team's players.

A group of players from the away team, the Iowa Energy, huddled together, their faces full of mockery and laughter: "Haha, I feel embarrassed for him. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was on our side."

"A player who was 'parachuted in' at the last minute, with no professional playing background whatsoever, just a strength and conditioning coach—the fans aren't stupid, do you think he can play in a professional league?"

"Hey, you know what, they actually came! For the Trail Blazers' management to do something like that, it's not something just anyone could do..."

In their view, this was just someone who came to "dabble".

I don't know how Qin Yu convinced the Trail Blazers' management, but what does it matter if he's a strength and conditioning coach with amazing skills? Does it have anything to do with playing basketball?

Although they are both trainers, physical trainers and shooting trainers are quite different due to their different roles. In terms of basketball skills, shooting trainers are obviously more professional.

Following Qin Yu, the other players entered the game one after another.

The atmosphere at the scene returned to normal.

The fans cheered loudly to welcome the players onto the field, especially when Taylor came out, the cheers rose several octaves, clearly showing his popularity.

A group of Energy team players couldn't help but look at Taylor, their expressions turning serious, because Taylor was their biggest problem today.

As long as Taylor can be contained, the rest of the Bentei team is nothing to fear!

......

After a warm-up, the competition officially began.

The starting five for the Pentium team are Andre Barrett, Donnell Taylor, Milden Umbres, Lance Aldridge, and Joe Dabert.

The Energy's starting five are Curtis Stinson (point guard), Jeff Trepagner (shooting guard), Pat Carroll (small forward), Cartier Martin (power forward), and Earl Baron (center).

When the referee blows the whistle, the players from both sides jump for the ball.

Dabert slapped the ball into the backcourt, Tainer controlled it and passed it to Barrett, and the Pentium team began their attack...

Qin Yu sat on the bench, and Mike sat next to him.

Mike was still introducing the Energy team players to him: "The player Barrett will be facing is Stinson. This season, he's averaging 15.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 10.9 assists per game. He leads the league in assists and is the assist leader. He's technically versatile, has excellent court vision, and accurate passing. While his defense is slightly weaker, it's not bad either. He's..."

Mike had actually mentioned these things before, but Qin Yu had never met anyone from the Energy Team, so he patiently repeated them again.

Qin Yu listened patiently while glancing at Stinson on the field.

This guy is the core of the Energy team. He has a good scoring ability, a strong organizational ability, and a certain rebounding ability. He is also much taller and bigger than Barrett.

You could say Stinson is a taller, bigger version of Barrett!

Therefore, Barrett felt both troubled and somewhat determined when facing Stinson, as he was determined to defeat his opponent in their matchup.

"Pull it open!"

Barrett gestured and increased his dribbling speed. He was at a height disadvantage, but he could use his speed and agility. This wasn't the first time the two had faced off, and he knew exactly how to play.

Of course, Stinson knew exactly how to defend. He quickly retreated, raised one hand, and made a hand gesture—his teammates understood and quietly tightened their defense.

Barrett managed to get past Stinson using his speed, but then he was surrounded by the Energy team.

"Damn it!" Barrett cursed under his breath, instinctively wanting to pass the ball.

Standing at 1.8 meters tall, he struggles to get a shot off when facing a tight defensive formation.

But just as he passed the ball, a figure flashed out and snatched it away.

"Damn it." Barrett's heart skipped a beat. He turned his head and saw that Stinson, whom he had just beaten, had already grabbed the basketball and launched a counterattack. "Fuck."

This infuriated Barrett even more. He had failed to take down Stinson one-on-one and instead had the ball stolen from him, which was quite embarrassing.

Several players quickly chased after him, but Stinson played calmly and did not rush to the basket. Instead, he slowed down in the frontcourt, stopped outside the three-point line, pretended to shoot a three-pointer to attract the defensive attention, and then flicked a clever bounce pass with one hand.

The basketball bounced off Taylor's feet, and he thought to himself, "Oh no."

Turning around, he saw Energy guard Jeff Trepagner rushing over. The ball bounced up and was right in front of him. He grabbed the ball and made a layup.

Goal! 2-0!

"They got the ball stolen right at the start; that's not a good start!" Assistant coach Mike said worriedly.

"Barrett's play is too easy." Qin Yu frowned slightly. "His breakthrough and passing is fine, but he's too short, and the opponent was prepared. As soon as he goes a little deeper, he gets surrounded, his passing lanes are compressed, and it's difficult for him to pass out."

The biggest problem with this play was that Barrett wanted to get past Stinson and score himself, so he drove a little too deep.

If the ball had been passed earlier, it wouldn't have been intercepted!

......

In the following rounds, the Ben Teng team fell into a disadvantageous position.

On offense, Taylor was double-teamed by the opposing team. Every time he got the ball, he was double-teamed, which made him very uncomfortable and prevented him from fully utilizing his abilities.

Furthermore, Barrett seemed to be affected by the loss of possession on the first ball, and did not perform his playmaking duties well, nor did he play calmly enough.

With their main scorer double-teamed and their playmaker losing their composure, the result was that the Ben Teng team's offense became chaotic.

In contrast, the energy team.

At point guard, Stinson clearly has the upper hand; he can score and orchestrate the offense. At small forward, Pat Carroll is a versatile player on both offense and defense, with an outstanding three-point shooting percentage of 42.4% this season. At power forward, Cartier Martin is the team's leading scorer, averaging 17.3 points per game, and is also a stretch big man with a remarkable 45.5% three-point shooting percentage this season. Center Earl Baron averages 16.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, contributing both points and rebounds. The only seemingly weaker player at shooting guard, Jeff Trepagner, is a defensive stalwart, leading the team in steals with 2.3 per game this season.

This lineup, when put together, makes them both offensive and defensive, flexible and versatile on offense, with clear division of labor and excellent teamwork on defense.

After a few rounds, Qin Yu realized that the starting lineup of the Ben Teng team was no match for the opponent!