Chapter 317 316. Let’s go!

After landing, Zhang Yang turned around, raised his eyebrows at Iverson, and immediately ran to the backcourt.

A thousand alpacas were running through Iverson's mind.

He seemed to have heard that Zhang Yang knew this trick, but he had never seen it with his own eyes. He also hadn't seen it when watching the live broadcasts or recordings of the Bobcats' games against other strong teams.

Therefore, he thought that Zhang Yang just learned this trick for fun because of the saying "bad boys are like answers". He also deliberately learned the assassin's aerial drifting shot because he was called a "little assassin".

Everyone says he is the assassin's successor, so why not learn it for fun?

But Zhang Yang's butterfly step breakthrough just now didn't seem like something he was learning for fun.

Without considering the actual effect when facing top defenders, just looking at the technique, Zhang Yang has already learned the essence of this move!

Seeing Zhang Yang retreating and high-fiving Hill with a big smile on his face, Iverson understood that it was this guy who taught him that.

Hill was also good at the butterfly step when he was on the Pistons. Although the way of using it is different, Hill pulls the ball fast, unlike his opponent who pulls the ball slowly and has a poor rhythm. But the technique itself is similar. As long as Zhang Yang has the talent to learn, there is not much difference between Hill's teaching and his teaching.

But this time Iverson was not happy that Zhang Yang "looked like him", but was annoyed instead.

He hadn’t realized how annoying his playing style was before, but now that he was faced with a butterfly step, he finally understood why the people defending him were so easily upset. It was really annoying…

Iverson ran to the frontcourt, asked for the ball, and continued attacking!

The Nuggets were in a positional battle with only one way of playing - Iverson, Anthony, and JR Smith took the ball and went for it!

Zhang Yang defended very hard, but Iverson still easily broke into the inside, stopped suddenly before Okafor blocked him, and threw the ball...but missed.

Hill grabbed the defensive rebound, turned around and quickly passed the ball to Zhang Yang, who launched a counterattack!

Iverson and Anthony Carter retreated to the basket first, and Anthony chased after Zhang Yang, forming a 3-on-1 defense against fast breaks!

Zhang Yang rushed into the encirclement of three people and passed the ball to the right side... Okafor followed up from the wing, received the ball and slam-dunked to score two points!
Iverson originally wanted to make up for it after Zhang Yang passed the ball, but when he saw Okafor receiving the ball, he just stepped aside.

Zhang Yang was a little surprised by the Nuggets' three-man perimeter defense against fast breaks. The Nuggets' defense was so bad, but these three guys could defend so well.

Mike Miller hasn't played yet. If Okafor hadn't lost weight and couldn't keep up, this fast break would have been in vain.

But then he realized that Iverson's poor defense was not due to his defensive IQ and enthusiasm, but due to his physical limitations. In the iron-blooded era, when there was Snow on the wing and Mutombo or Ratliff behind him, Iverson was never said to be a defensive black hole. He could do this basic retreat and double-team very well.

Anthony Carter is known for his hard work, so it is normal for him to retreat aggressively on defense.

Although Anthony is not active in one-on-one defense, his retreat and team defense are not bad before he gained weight. The Nuggets used to play a track and field defensive counterattack. George Karl fully embraced fast breaks this season due to objective conditions. Like Carlisle, George Karl still guarded the defensive bottom line. Only then could the Lakers directly rush to second place in the Western Conference after getting Billups in the future, reach the Western Conference Finals, and become the second strongest team the Lakers encountered in the playoffs in the 08-09 season.

In the original time and space, in the 08-09 season, the Lakers' strongest opponent in the four rounds of the playoffs was the Rockets led by Yao Ming and Artest, and the second strongest opponent was the Nuggets led by Billups and Anthony. The games against the Jazz and Magic were completely one-sided massacres...

Understanding that the Nuggets' three-man perimeter defense was active and in place, it only took a moment for Zhang Yang to start retreating, and was still thinking about high-fiving Okafor to celebrate this fast break while retreating. When he saw Anthony Carter pick up the ball and pass it to Iverson without any hesitation, and Iverson started a fast break without hesitation, he quickly quickened his pace to retreat.

Okafor also saw the opponent's move and pressed forward to interfere with Iverson's advancement. This choice was fine in theory, but he didn't touch the person! Iverson was too fast!

Anthony and Anthony Carter also ran towards the other side with all their strength. Okafor failed in defense and was left behind, unable to keep up with the speed of the opponent's three-man outside team. Also left behind was Jarrett Jack, who had just followed up with a fast break.

Zhang Yang did retreat to the right position, but there were only him, Hill and Muhammad in the backcourt, 3 defending 5!

Iverson passed Zhang Yang and went straight to the basket. Muhammad came up to defend and Iverson lobbed the ball...Kenyon Martin made an alley-oop slam dunk to get two points!

Jarrett Jack ran back to the inside at this time, and seeing the messy positions on the court, he quickly called on Muhammad to serve the ball, and after receiving the serve, he started a fast break!

This offense and defense transition was played beautifully, Jarrett Jack broke through to the opposite basket and passed to the left.

Zhang Yang followed up in the middle to contain the defense, Okafor stood on the left to receive the ball and made a mid-range shot!

However, the Nuggets immediately fought back!
As soon as the ball fell from the basket and before it hit the ground, Iverson caught the ball and stepped out of the baseline to pass it to Anthony Carter. Anthony Carter received the ball, passed Zhang Yang who was blocking him, and quickly rushed to the opposite basket with his short legs.

Facing Muhammad's rim protection, Anthony Carter slipped around the baseline, turned around and made a jump shot!

The veteran is experienced and knows how to best attack one-on-one in the interior against smaller players on fast breaks.

The ball bounced on the ground, Muhammad caught it, quickly retreated to the baseline, and passed it to Jarrett Jack who had chased back. Jarrett Jack turned around and advanced under the pursuit of Anthony Parker. Camby, who had just run outside the three-point line, immediately retreated to the backcourt. Seeing this, Muhammad hurried to catch up. He was a bit of a threat as an inside player rushing up in the fast break... Led by Jarrett Jack, the Bobcats followed the Nuggets!
George Karl saw this scene and smiled. It was a good start!

Without Felton, the steady, traditional point guard, the Bobcats' two remaining point guards couldn't keep up the tempo.

As he expected, Jarrett Jack was easily carried away.

The Bobcats were able to score points by running and playing like this, while the Nuggets had the discipline to retreat but lacked the ability to coordinate defense.

But the Nuggets scored more! This kind of running and disrupting the game is what the Nuggets are best at now.

At 4 minutes and 22 seconds, Anthony received the ball in the frontcourt and took a quick step forward for a jump ball. Iverson rushed in from the wing, suddenly jumped up as if he was stepping on a spring, and slammed the ball into the basket!

The Bobcats scored 4 points in more than 12 minutes, which was not a bad scoring performance, but Iverson's dunk increased the Nuggets' score to 18 points, and the score difference came to 6 points!

It was the Bobcats' turn to attack, and Jarrett Jack wanted to continue playing fast breaks. He saw the opportunity to score, but he didn't grasp it as well as Iverson on the opposite side. He was not convinced and he wanted to prove himself.

But Zhang Yang also wanted the ball at the same time, so Hill passed the ball to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang received the ball and pushed forward, pressing down with his free left hand. Jarrett Jack had to give up and ran to the frontcourt honestly, fighting in position, and pulling away to support the opponent.

If he were to partner with Rondo, Alan Anderson and Afflalo in the backcourt, Jarrett Jack would definitely go his own way.

If he were to partner with Felton, Jarrett Jack would fight for it, because the boss is reasonable.

But partnering with the third brother...

The third brother is unreasonable. When asked, he just says, "I'm not the boss, go talk to the boss." Who the hell doesn't know that the boss listens to you?
Zhang Yang advanced to the frontcourt and was blocked by Iverson.

This time, Iverson didn't rush to steal the ball, but just stayed close to the opponent, trying to limit the opponent as much as possible.

Zhang Yang took a step sideways, pushed Iverson away, and rushed forward!

Iverson followed closely behind Zhang Yang, and Kenyon Martin came up to assist in defense.

Zhang Yang passed the ball, Okafor moved to the right sideline of the three-second zone, caught the ball and shot...

Camby didn't tip the ball out, but instead held off Muhammad to grab the rebound... and watched the ball fall into the basket.

14 to 18, the point difference narrowed to 4 points.

After running for half a quarter, Zhang Yang finally realized that their offensive efficiency in positional warfare against the Nuggets would not be worse than that in fast breaks!

With Nene out of action, the only player the Nuggets' starting lineup can truly defend is Kenyon Martin.

But when Zhang Yang tried to pass the ball and control the tempo at this time, it was too late, the Nuggets had already gotten into the groove!
Camby caught the ball as soon as it fell, stepped out of the baseline and served it to Anthony Carter, then followed up with a fast break.

Before 04, Camby was still a serious inside defensive stalwart. In the 03-04 season, he worked hard to assist Anthony and led the Nuggets from the last place in the league to the playoffs. His efforts paid off. In the summer of 04, he got a 4-year, 3200 million contract extension, and his salary increased a lot. His contract extension in 99 was for 5 years and 3300 million.

But he didn't feel happy for long, because he saw his classmate Dampier get a 12-year, $12 million contract from the Mavericks after he scored 2 points, 7 rebounds and 7000 blocks for the bottom-ranked Warriors... His mentality collapsed and his faith was shattered. Starting from the 04-05 season, he focused on blocking shots, rebounding and catching rebounds, and ignored everything else.

In the past three seasons, George Karl was troubled by Camby. If he used him, the defense would be sluggish; if he didn't use him, Kenyon Martin and Nene were not good at rebounding. But this year, by embracing fast breaks, George Karl's worries are gone. Camby only blocks shots, grabs rebounds, and does not leave the reasonable collision zone. If the opponent scores, he can just pick up the ball and start a fast break.

Anthony Carter quickly advanced to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Iverson, who caught the ball while running and broke through.

The Bobcats retreated after scoring the goal, but the opponent came too fast and they hadn't gotten into a good defensive position yet. A group of people rushed towards Iverson. Iverson passed the ball to the right, and Anthony received the ball and made a layup in three steps... Zhang Yangfei pounced on Anthony and slapped him on the wrist. Although he disrupted the opponent's layup, he was also called for a foul and Anthony got two free throws.

Carlisle took advantage of the dead ball and pulled Rondo, Mike Miller and Millsap to make adjustments.

Seeing them actively retreat after scoring, and the opponent still successfully launching a fast break, he originally planned to call a timeout regardless of whether the opponent scored or not, but when he saw Zhang Yang slap Anthony hard on the wrist, he didn't call a timeout.

Zhang Yang plays basketball with great sportsmanship under normal circumstances, but when a bad boy commits a foul, he never holds back.

Vincent has received instructions to go to the technical table to rotate the lineup and replace Jarrett Jack, Hill and Muhammad.

Anthony walked to the free throw line, and the first free throw... missed. He shook his hands, and the bad boy's foul was really fatal!

While Anthony and his teammates were high-fiving each other to buy time to regain their touch, Mike Miller whispered a few words to Okafor, and Rondo on the outside also told Zhang Yang about Carlisle's adjustments.

Zhang Yang felt that he had to take the blame again this time, for not being able to react earlier and correct Jarrett Jack's wrong decision in time.

He finally understood why Jack, who often started, was tough and had good stats, ended up as a homeless person.

Let’s put aside the metaphysics of ‘beating the starting point guard’.

Jarrett Jack is good at disrupting battles, plays with confidence, and is not afraid of anyone... When he plays as a substitute, he is still very good as long as he does not meet a particularly strong opponent.

But it's a bit bad to let him start. His confident style of play often pulls his teammates into his rhythm, which is a chaotic style of play, but his ability is not enough to lead the team, and it is easy for him to lead his teammates into the ditch.

When the Iron Man Xiaofei was there, Jarrett Jack was always a substitute and this problem was not exposed. Now that Felton is injured and Jarrett Jack is the starter, this problem was exposed after just a few games.

Fortunately, the Nuggets' defense is bad enough. Although they are ranked in the bottom three together with the Warriors and the Suns, they are not too far behind. As for the rhythm, it has already been controlled by the opponent... so let's charge!
Zhang Yang felt it was very exciting to run and attack against Iverson!

(End of this chapter)