Chapter 1 As Simple as Pick-and-Roll

As one of the most common tactics on the basketball court, the principle behind the pick-and-roll isn't complicated.

But sometimes, the simpler the tactic, the more it tests one's fundamentals.

Su Feng, who successfully made the NBA All-Defensive First Team in his rookie season, might still need time to develop on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, especially in terms of stacking armor and taking a beating, he is definitely an expert.

However...

You might not believe it, but just now, in the instant when Duncan completed the pick-and-roll for Fox, even Su Feng couldn't find any gap to go around the screen.

Solid.

That was his Feng-ge's evaluation of Duncan's pick-and-roll just now.

So...

Without even thinking, Su Feng switched his defensive assignment with Ratliff.

And Brown, watching this scene from the sidelines, almost had his heart "melt" away...

If Duncan had executed a perfect pick-and-roll, then Su Feng's switch was also close to perfect.

Because he preemptively cut off Duncan's path to the basket, forcing Duncan to initiate his offense from the high post, even with the mismatch.

As the saying goes, experts watch the details, while laymen watch the spectacle.

In the eyes of ordinary fans, this was just a simple offensive and defensive play.

But in the eyes of Brown and Auerbach, in those short few seconds, the clash between Su Feng and Duncan was more than just exciting.

Clang!

On the court, Duncan, holding the ball with one hand after receiving a pass from Fox, immediately launched an offensive against Su Feng.

Duncan's first push was a test.

Facing Su Feng, who was in his defensive stance, he didn't exert his full strength.

And Su Feng, who withstood Duncan's first push, felt like he was defending an "old man doing post-ups" on a streetball court.

How to put it...

Duncan's post-up...

Was neither as earth-shattering as O'Neal's;

Nor as full of muscular provocation as Barkley's;

He was like a straight-A student on the basketball court, methodically doing the homework assigned by the teacher.

Ratliff wanted to help Su Feng by doubling several times.

But...

Duncan, always ready to pass the ball, didn't give the 76ers a chance to switch back on defense.

It was a feeling that was difficult to express in words.

Anyway...

Just when Su Feng felt like he could defend it one-on-one each time, it was always Duncan who gained the upper hand in this duel.

Because of the height and strength difference between him and Duncan, Su Feng hadn't even thought about being able to guard this max-level player in this possession.

Only...

It was really just a little bit short.

Just like those players in his previous life who thought Duncan wasn't that hard to defend, Duncan's offense, no matter who the defender was, always managed to edge out his opponent by just a tiny bit.

On the court, Duncan, having squeezed into the scoring range, suddenly turned around and hooked the ball from a distance.

It was an incongruous finishing move that you would only see on a streetball court when facing a "hook shot old man."

Bang, swish!

0 to 4!

Su Feng: "..."

This was the first score of Duncan's professional career.

A signature Duncan-style score.

Duncan "shyly" smiled at Su Feng after scoring.

Unlike those flashy showboats who like to trash talk, Duncan's smile was because he was happy to have made that shot.

Is this the NBA?

Although he debuted at his peak, Duncan was just a rookie at this moment.

You know, just a few months ago, he was sitting at home watching the 76ers' God-slaying battle.

Therefore, Su Feng was also a small idol to Duncan at this moment.

And Su Feng, who failed to defend Duncan, almost tripped when he noticed Duncan's charming smile.

Seriously, in this life, Su Feng felt that the stars he liked in his previous life were all poisonous.

Take Kobe, who was always greedy for his pizza and sandwiches, for example...

Did you think it was still possible for Su Feng to look at him like a fanboy again?

On the court, it was the 76ers' turn to attack.

And coincidentally, just as Su Feng ran out through a screen, Ratliff, who was setting the pick for him, blocked Fox but failed to block Duncan.

Nearby, Iverson, familiar with Su Feng's tit-for-tat personality, didn't even think about it and passed the ball directly to Su Feng after noticing that Su Feng had formed a small-on-big mismatch.

At the same time, Iverson winked at Su Feng.

If Iverson's eyes could be translated at this moment, the meaning would probably be:

Pay him back! Let this big guy taste your iron elbow!

Su Feng: "..."

To be honest, Su Feng always felt that his reputation...

Had been ruined.

Because when had he, Su Feng, ever been petty?

But whatever...

After grabbing the ball behind his back with one hand, Su Feng carefully observed Duncan's defense.

On Chinese national television, commentator Zhang smiled and said, "Ho, Su Feng is going to respond with a basket!"

As early as summer, Su Feng's one-hand triple threat had caused his high school classmate to have a mental breakdown.

And in this life, he, Su Feng, was the one who taught McGrady the one-hand triple threat.

Do you know why Kobe kept hounding McGrady later on?

Because he couldn't learn this one-hand ball-grabbing!

On the basketball court, "dribbling ineptitude" does not equal no ball-handling ability, and a "dribbling master" is not necessarily a true baller.

In Su Feng's previous life, he had a friend who was the type who could dribble very well, but would immediately revert to his original form when he shot, made a layup, or faced physical contact.

In addition, Su Feng, whose dribbling ability had already reached 71, just couldn't show off those cool and flashy dribbling moves in high-level competitions.

Somewhat wary of Su Feng's speed, Duncan used his wingspan on this play to create a "safe zone" between himself and Su Feng.

Within this range, Duncan could retreat or advance, similar to Su Feng's magnetic defense.

If Su Feng remembered correctly, the reason why Jordan had 27 missed shots against the Spurs in this season in his previous life was because the increasingly inflated "Old Rogue" after two consecutive championships underestimated Duncan's ability to defend the perimeter and help defend the perimeter.

Therefore, Su Feng wasn't in a hurry on this play.

His right hand, holding the ball, was like a fishing rod, and the basketball in his hand was the bait, constantly dangling in front of Duncan.

Just "umm, fishing"!

Have you heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?

After Su Feng shook it back and forth several times, he didn't know if Duncan had fallen for his fake moves, but Duncan was indeed hooked by Su Feng in this defense.

Because...

Duncan was determined not to jump, no matter what.

Then...

Su Feng just pulled up and shot.

And in the instant when Su Feng went for the pull-up jumper, Duncan, who wanted to jump up and block the shot, found that his legs were locked by the inertia that Su Feng had just cultivated.

See, this is the "illusory shot" in fantastical basketball comics.

It was clearly a rustic, uncool play, but it had to be given a high-sounding name and drawn so fantastically.

In fact, this kind of play that deceives the defender's center of gravity was often used by Jordan during the Bulls' second three-peat.

In short, this is where static talent is most exaggerated.

With this one-hand triple threat, even if Su Feng only had the threats of a drive and a pull-up at this time, as long as he controlled the rhythm well, it would be really difficult for the average person to defend his shot.

Swish!

2 to 4.

Su Feng successfully scored the first basket of the new season for the 76ers.

In Zhang's words, this shot was called Answer.Ball!

Su Feng also smiled at Duncan after scoring, and then, after planning it for a long time, he said to Duncan:

"Welcome to the NBA, Tim."

Oh, my damn seniority!

At the thought that the stars that would be popular in twenty years would all be his juniors, Su Feng once again felt the joy of being born early.

...

The Celtics were indeed different this season than last season.

Mainly with Duncan as the foundation, they were not to be mentioned in the same breath as last season on both the offensive and defensive ends.

Plus, with Auerbach, the sea-steadying needle, sitting on the sidelines, the Celtics' morale was quite high tonight.

Thus, after the first quarter of the game, the two teams tied at 20 to 20...

Seriously, Brown has a cat disease, do you know?

In fact, the 76ers did a very good job on defense tonight.

After gradually adapting to Duncan's pick-and-roll, the 76ers used crazy around-the-screen defense in the following game, making young Duncan feel a suffocating pressure.

But...

With such a good defense, in Su Feng's opinion, if you don't counterattack, what is that if not a disease?

Snow, who had received Brown's orders, dared not mess around, so every time the 76ers successfully defended, he would signal his teammates to play slower.

Honestly, this Celtics team obviously still needed time to mesh, and if the 76ers could seize the opportunity tonight, they would definitely be able to leave a good impression on Duncan.

However, compared to offense, Brown would rather see his opponents not score.

Every time the 76ers successfully defended, he would reveal a happy smile.

And whenever the 76ers scored, he would cross his arms and push up his glasses expressionlessly.

Su Feng felt that Brown was definitely a psycho.

Because he was the kind of typical...

Rather than winning big, he preferred to torment his opponents until they couldn't stand it anymore, and finally had to kneel before him and beg for mercy.

If Su Feng was the Shadow Demon King from hell, then Brown... was probably a wandering ghoul on earth.

Hey, you know, they're quite a match at first glance...

"A match for a banana popsicle!"

How can you win a basketball game with just defense?

Even the Bulls, known for their defense, defended to counterattack.

Now that the 76ers' counterattacks had been cut off, they had to rely on "Ai Feng" to keep attacking.

In Su Feng's previous life, if Brown had played a little more on the counterattack, how could Iverson's shooting percentage have been so appalling?

But whatever, it was no longer realistic for Su Feng to help the team through "subtle persuasion" this season.

In the second quarter, after he "arrogantly" glanced at Brown, Brown, who understood his meaning in an instant, chose to let him continue to lead the bench players.

In any case, this 76ers team was indeed very strong.

As the king, Su Feng had to continue digging pits for Brown, but as a player, winning was his only goal.

...

First, use his butt to bump against his opponent to feel the defender's position.

Store power, then bump again.

Use his elbow to clear the way, he twisted, he turned, twisted gently, scored under the basket, hey, that's so floaty!

Unlike in the preseason, Su Feng wasn't holding back in this game either.

He revealed his cards.

He was Philadelphia's "Charles Malone"!

Dual cultivation of elbows and hips, so domineering!

On the Celtics' bench, after Su Feng scored 6 consecutive points in the low post in the second quarter, Auerbach waved his hand to his disciple Karl.

After nodding, Karl immediately conveyed to the Celtics players on the court the defensive strategy of trying to force Su Feng out of the low post as much as possible.

And after the Celtics adjusted their defense, the difficulty of Su Feng wanting the ball in the low post suddenly rose several notches.

Plus, whenever he got the ball in the low post, the Celtics' wing players would always double-team him at the first opportunity...

So for the time being, Su Feng, who couldn't continue to play happily in the low post, went to the high post to play his exclusive "Five Finger Mountain Tactic."

The 76ers' second unit lacked the ability to attack from long range, and apart from Su Feng, their most reliable three-point shooter...

Was Stackhouse, can you believe it?

Plus, under Brown's request this season, in addition to the privileged "Ai Feng", all other 76ers players were ordered to shoot, but also to shoot within the three-point line.

Thus...

Clang, clang, clang, swish, clang!

On the court, Su Feng, who fired five consecutive shots from the outside, almost caused Brown on the bench to have a heart attack.

There was no way, it wasn't that Su Feng deliberately wanted to shoot these contested three-pointers, but that all of the 101 tactics that Brown had drawn up for him were Kobe-style tactics.

Stackhouse's living environment was becoming increasingly worrying, and like Iverson in his previous life, Su Feng only had two paths to choose from at the moment:

Either pass the buck to his teammates, or he would do it himself.

And after the NBA changed back to the three-point line this season, how could Su Feng, who had just finished brawling with the Celtics' frontline group in the paint, guarantee his shooting percentage?

As for shooting mid-range shots, Su Feng had considered it.

It was just that the Celtics' defensive zone was shrinking more and more.

If the 76ers couldn't give them some pressure on the perimeter, then when Iverson came back later, this "Answer's" rookie season debut would definitely be dragged to a meeting.

In short, as long as Su Feng dared to shoot, then when the Celtics switched back to their starting lineup to fight later, they wouldn't dare to shrink so unscrupulously.

With Duncan and Radja, this Celtics team's rim protection ability was similar to that of the Hawks last season.

Therefore, Su Feng was just standing on the fifth floor, completing the next offensive layout in advance with seemingly unreasonable offense.

It was best if it went in, if it didn't, he would defend again later.

Basketball is ultimately a five-person sport, and if he couldn't unleash his war blade, then Su Feng wouldn't be able to ascend the throne smoothly.

Look, in this world, who else is there besides him, Su Feng, who is such a thoughtful big brother for his second-in-command?

...

"What an interesting little devil."

On the Celtics' bench, Auerbach's attention in the second quarter was almost entirely drawn to Su Feng.

In Auerbach's opinion, Su Feng could always make the right choice at the right time.

In the second half of the second quarter, after both sides switched back to their starting lineups, Su Feng stopped his crazy perimeter attacks.

And what followed was that he increased his movement on both wings, in the rib areas of the Celtics' defensive zone.

Under his influence, Iverson, who had been slightly silent in the first quarter, quickly transformed into a Yasuo who mindlessly spammed "e" after returning to the court.

With all kinds of unreasonable entries and all kinds of unreasonable bursts, Iverson was killing it so happily.

Auerbach, who knew Brown inside and out, didn't think that this offensive approach came from Brown's adjustment.

Because if it was Brown who made the adjustment, then how would you explain the mysterious performance of the other 76ers players on the offensive end tonight?

In the first quarter tonight, when Snow passed the ball to Ben and let Ben go one-on-one against Duncan...

Auerbach almost suspected that Brown was insulting his intelligence.

Wake up... Auerbach may have dozed off last year, but he had still studied Ben, this player, okay?

For this kind of player with an offensive ability of negative 58, Brown even let him be the main offensive point for several possessions. Frankly, if Brown could come up with such a brilliant offensive tactic, then he, Auerbach, would eat Duncan in public.

So...

Combining the 76ers' performance last season, Auerbach believed that the 76ers' suddenly active offense came from Su Feng's personal adjustment.

"Coach..."

In the latter part of the second quarter, after the 76ers widened the gap between the two teams to 10 points, Karl panicked a little...

And at this time, Auerbach smiled and patted Karl on the back, "Don't worry, we have Tim."

In Su Feng's previous life, under Popovich, Duncan rarely got the same number of shots as Kobe and Iverson.

Because in Popovich's basketball philosophy, the number of shots a team's star player takes is best in the range of 15 to 20.

But in this life, under Auerbach, Auerbach didn't want Duncan's offensive talent to be delayed by pick-and-rolls.

In the second quarter, the Red Bishop let Duncan rest for a full 6 minutes, just to give Duncan the stamina to take over the game.

And similar to Su Feng's previous defense against Duncan, Ratliff felt that he could defend him every time, and was always just a little short every time, but every time...

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Duncan before his big injury was very fast, able to face the basket and break through, and also able to post up and score.

Because of Radja's presence, Ben didn't dare to easily double-team Duncan.

And whenever Duncan played one-on-one, Fox, Jackson, and Wesley, these three gunners, would always stand in the two corners and wings.

Unlike the stubborn Brown, Auerbach, who was very good at exploiting loopholes in the rules, was also a conservative, but for Duncan's living space, he was willing to swallow all the comments he had made about three-pointers before.

One big man and four shooters.

With a pair of big hands, Duncan could easily manipulate the basketball.

Honestly, Su Feng even suspected that Duncan was deliberately leaving an "illusion" every time he attacked, that the defense could defend him one-on-one.

You know, Duncan, who was well-versed in psychology, was very likely to do such a thing in Su Feng's opinion.

Relying on Duncan's continuous scoring before the end of the second quarter, the 76ers' lead was narrowed to 5 points by the end of the first half.

They led 44 to 39 into the second half.

The commentators on major American television stations were stunned.

Because at the end of the first half...

Duncan had already recorded a double-double!

14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 3 assists, and 1 steal.

Although Su Feng's performance was also very bright tonight, this "phenomenon" who had received much attention this season...

His limelight was indeed stolen by Duncan in this game.

And it is worth mentioning that at the end of the second quarter, when the players of the two teams were preparing to return to the locker room, Duncan smiled at Su Feng for the third time tonight...

The first time Duncan smiled at Su Feng tonight was when the two were chatting before the start of the game.

As for the second time he smiled at Su Feng, it was after he scored on Su Feng one-on-one in the first quarter.

And this third time...

"Ding!"

"The [Duncan's Three Smiles Tease the King] mission has been activated!"

...

ps: Update is here! 5100/20000. Oh ho =.=, another hellish 20,000-word copy! I'm gonna grind it out!

ps2: The desktop computer went on strike this morning, so the kids who gave tips these past few days will have to bear with it for now, because Qiao's notebook is a bit old, and it takes a lot of effort just to type and open Word... Thank you to all the handsome original subscribers who tipped!