The Splash Brothers' playing style delivered a massive psychological blow to the Pine Hawk team.
In '08, fans were still immersed in games dominated by inside play and the prominence of forwards.
The play styles of Li Feng and Curry truly subverted the perceptions of the vast majority.
This was all brought about by Li Feng.
In reality, Curry hadn't fully developed his three-point ability during his college years or in the early stages of his NBA career.
It was similar to when Jordan entered the NBA; the league was dominated by the Four Big Centers, and no one would have expected a guard to emerge.
Even Jordan himself didn't have grand ambitions.
Before entering the NBA, when reporters interviewed him, Jordan said his dream was just to make the All-Star team.
Therefore, Li Feng's transmigration had essentially brought the small-ball era forward by at least five years and accelerated the development of Curry's potential.
The timeout ended, and the game resumed. The Pine Hawk team changed their defensive strategy.
They began to extend their defensive line, applying tight man-to-man defense from half-court, denying Li Feng and Curry any shooting space.
This was already the most common adjustment in basketball tactics at the time.
For instance, this was the strategy used against three-point specialists like Reggie Miller and Ray Allen.
Unfortunately, they were facing Li Feng, who had transmigrated. He knew too well how to leverage the gravity of three-point shooting to execute offensive tactics.
Li Feng and Curry began an endless series of off-ball movement.
Good heavens, these two ran like they were in a marathon, constantly moving, employing screens, and varying their pace.
The Pine Hawk team's perimeter defenders were close to throwing up, because as long as the Splash Brothers had even a sliver of shooting space, they could take the shot.
As the first quarter reached 5 minutes and 24 seconds, the score stood at 15:4, with the Wildcat team leading by 11 points.
The Wildcat team gained another offensive opportunity. Li Feng cut to the inside via an off-ball screen.
Curry received the ball and, without hesitation, immediately passed it to Li Feng.
Aldridge, the Pine Hawk team's center, let out a sinister grin. He had finally found an opportunity for revenge.
Curry leaped into the air, catching the ball with both hands, showing no signs of evasion.
Aldridge exploded upwards at the same time, charging aggressively towards Li Feng.
The players from both sides thought Li Feng was going to be knocked to the ground.
However, Li Feng's takeoff speed was much faster than Aldridge's. At the peak of their jumps, Li Feng's hands were more than half a foot higher than the opponent's.
*Bang!*
A solid poster dunk!
At the same time, Li Feng grabbed the rim and slammed his entire body into Aldridge.
The enormous center was sent staggering backward by Li Feng.
Li Feng hung on the rim for two seconds before lightly landing on the ground.
Curry was ecstatic. He envied those who could dunk with ease the most.
Although Curry could dunk, his talent points were all invested in three-pointers.
Therefore, his dunks were not as effortless.
In the next possession, Li Feng drove and dished, passing the ball to Curry outside the three-point line.
The Pine Hawk guard stuck close to Curry, but Curry used a simple crossover, a "rock the baby," to easily blow past the defender.
This was the shooting threat of the Splash Brothers; it was truly immense.
Curry drove past his defender and shot like lightning, *swish!*
Another three-pointer!
Curry's catch-and-shoot threes completely subverted the image of a pure three-point shooter.
...
In the CCTV-5 sports channel broadcast booth in China, Zhang指导 and Yang Jian were commentating.
Since Yu Jia had traveled to the United States for on-site commentary, Yang Jian was temporarily paired with Zhang指导.
"Zhang指导, what do you think of Li Feng and Curry's Splash Brothers' performance?"
"Haha, it's simply incredible, beyond my comprehension. Basketball was never played like this before!"
Although Zhang指导 was older, his thinking was not at all outdated, and he was very aware of the progress in modern basketball.
For example, Kobe's playing style was very advanced at the time.
Although Kobe learned many moves from Jordan, in modern basketball, the proportion of three-point shots has increased, and this is where Kobe differed from Jordan.
Moreover, many of Kobe's three-pointers were contested shots under double-teams.
His situation was different from Curry's three-pointers.
Curry sought out shooting space and then shot rapidly with high accuracy.
Kobe shot contested shots, which seemed unreasonable but could break open the opponent's defense.
Zhang指导 highly admired Kobe's playing style. When others criticized Kobe's shot selection as unreasonable, Zhang指导 strongly supported Kobe.
Thus, fans gave him the nickname "Teacher Zhang Reasonable."
Zhang指导 was an optimist and didn't get angry, happily accepting the moniker.
"Before the game, I was worried about the Wildcat team. I never expected the Pine Hawk team to be completely dominated; it's unbelievable."
"Yes, in fact, the combination of Li Feng and Curry had already shown dominance in previous games. It's a pity that the media didn't favor them; they must be eating their words now."
"They only saw their three-point shooting. In reality, Li Feng's drives and defense, and Curry's off-ball movement and cuts are all top-tier!"
"If the Wildcat team, a No. 16 seed, can defeat the No. 1 seed Pine Hawk team, it would truly be an upset."
"There's a high chance. The first half isn't even over yet, and the Wildcat team is already leading by 17 points. For the NCAA, that's a huge margin!"
"I think by the end of the first half, the lead will definitely exceed 20 points."
Before the two could finish speaking, Li Feng hit a three-pointer, extending the lead to 20 points.
...
At the end of the first half, the score was 43:23, with the Wildcat team leading by 20 points.
Among them, Curry shot 6 of 8 from the field, scoring 16 points, while Li Feng shot 7 of 10, scoring 18 points!
The Splash Brothers combined for 34 points in the first half, their dominance was unrivaled!
Countless Chinese fans sat in front of their televisions, watching this game.
Every touch of the ball by Li Feng was met with cheers from the fans.
Even more exaggerated were the female fans; they were screaming wildly for Li Feng!
...
At the game site, scouts from various NBA clubs were in attendance again.
Through these games, Li Feng and Curry had proven their abilities, and their draft projections had significantly improved.
Before the Olympics, Curry was projected to be around tenth overall, and Li Feng wasn't even ranked in the first round.
However, after the Olympics and the NCAA season, Curry had risen to seventh overall.
Li Feng's rise was even more meteoric, projected as a lottery pick.
This was truly inspiring.
A college player who might have become an undrafted free agent was now projected as a lottery pick; it was a real-life version of the ugly duckling turning into a swan.
Due to the significant lead, the Wildcat players were getting a bit carried away.
In the locker room, the players were excitedly discussing their next opponent.
Li Feng and Curry remained calm but didn't want to dampen their teammates' spirits.
After all, the Pine Hawk team was a strong opponent, and the first half was just over; anything was possible.
As expected, after the second half began, the Pine Hawk team made significant adjustments on both offense and defense.
Just as Li Feng had understood about the Pine Hawk team, this team had a long history and a rich tactical repertoire.