Chapter 396: Chapter 396: Can You Make the Shot?
Before the game, Draymond Green surprisingly approached the Pelicans' bench and issued a bold statement, "We'll let you struggle, but you won't stop us from our 34-game winning streak. "
The Pelicans were left bewildered. If this had happened in the Western Conference Arena, Green might have already been punched.
The Pelicans players were also puzzled, wondering if Green had developed a habit of getting suspended. After being cleared from his previous suspension, he seemed eager to pick a fight again.
It was true that after achieving 33 consecutive wins, the Suns as a whole had become somewhat complacent. If it weren't for Wade Dong's numerous honors, he might have even lost himself in this success.
The starting lineups for the game were:
Suns: Wade Dong, Thompson, Whiteside, Green, and Tucker.
Pelicans: Davis, Gordon, Holiday, Roberts, and Aminu.
If this were Popovich of the Spurs, he would have rested the main players in these games. As for Gentry, he did something different. He kept Curry and Durant on the bench, controlling their playing time.
The Suns also had players resting, but only two: McGrady and Carter.
"34 wins in a row!"
In the Western Conference Arena, fans waved signs with '34 wins' written on them, prepared by the Suns for every seat.
The entire arena was filled with signs celebrating the 34-game winning streak, putting immense pressure on the Pelicans. They carried the hopes of the other 28 teams in the league to stop the Suns' streak.
For the Pelicans' star player, Davis, he had an additional task—to secure the title of the league's top shot-blocker. Currently, both he and Wade Dong averaged 2.7 blocks per game. The final three games would determine who would claim the title.
...
The referee's whistle signaled the start of the game.
Davis and Whiteside jumped for the tip-off, and Whiteside was slightly weaker in this aspect.
The Pelicans gained possession, and Holiday dribbled to the frontcourt to organize the offense.
The Suns' defense strategy caught the Pelicans off guard. They employed a simple 2-3 zone defense, but with Thompson and Tucker positioned outside the three-point line, while Wade Dong defended the paint.
Holiday passed the ball to Roberts.
Roberts isolated against Green outside the paint and made a turnaround jumper.
"Swat!"
Before the ball even reached its peak, Wade Dong swatted it out of the court.
"Hahaha..."
This block made it clear to everyone that Gentry's tactic was to let Wade Dong accumulate blocks.
The Pelicans inbounded the ball, and Davis, receiving the pass from mid-range, made a high-percentage shot.
The Pelicans led 2-0 at the start, but the Suns remained calm.
Wade Dong dribbled to the frontcourt, using Green's screen to get past his defender, then passed the ball to Green outside the three-point line.
As Holiday was about to close in for defense, Gordon shouted, "Let him shoot!"
"Oh my, damn..."
Feeling ignored, Green adjusted his shooting posture and took a three-pointer.
"Swish!"
The ball went straight through the net.
After scoring, Green glared at Gordon with his bulging eyes, "What did you just say? I didn't hear you!"
"I said, let you shoot!"
Gordon repeated himself and added provocatively, "You can only make one of those shots anyway."
The Pelicans, facing the Suns, needed to come up with something special to win. One strategy was to leave a player open, and the lucky one chosen by the Pelicans was Green.
Feeling insulted, Green started to use more foul play in his defense.
...
With seven minutes left in the first quarter, the Suns led the Pelicans 19-15. Green was completely ignored by the Pelicans, and Wade Dong, wanting to help Green save face, kept passing the ball to him. Green didn't disappoint, scoring 7 points on 3-9 shooting in seven minutes, becoming the key to the Suns' lead.
During the timeout, Gentry made a substitution, replacing the disgruntled Green with Durant. As Durant entered the game, he teased Green, "All those open shots, and you still managed to miss 6 of them!"
"Mind your own business!" Green glared at Durant.
When Varejao handed Green a towel, Green wanted to throw it to the ground to vent his frustration. However, halfway through the action, he noticed Wade Dong looking at him with a half-smile.
"Wipe your sweat, wipe your sweat..." Green awkwardly took back the towel and wiped his face.
Durant, Curry, and Yi Nan entered the game, replacing Green, Tucker, and Thompson.
With this lineup, the Pelicans struggled to keep up. With five minutes left in the first half, the Pelicans trailed by 20 points. Wade Dong had only scored 7 points on 3-3 shooting but already had 3 blocks.
The game seemed to be getting out of hand.
Gentry then substituted Wade Dong, Durant, and Curry, leaving Green and Thompson on the court with Yi Nan, Whiteside, and McCollum.
Even with this lineup, the Pelicans continued to leave Green wide open.
Their strategy was clear: either completely ignore Green and play 4-on-5 on offense, or let Green shoot, and if he scored, they would accept it.
At halftime, the Suns led 57-41, a 16-point advantage.
The teammates had great faith in Green. Since the Pelicans were ignoring you, it was time to prove yourself. During this time, the ball was mostly passed to Green.
Whenever Green had the ball, there was not a single defender within a meter of him.
Gordon continued to taunt him, "Shoot! Shoot! Are you even brave enough to shoot?"
Green was fuming.
With the trust of his teammates and the provocation of his opponents, Green shot 5-17 in the first half, scoring 11 points.
...
In the Suns' locker room, Green was feeling down. His field goal percentage was only 29%, and all his shots were taken when he was left open by the defense. This made him not even in the mood for tea.
Gentry was making tea and muttering to himself, "The regular season is almost over, and we've exposed such a big weakness."
"Old Gentry, who do you think is the weak link?" Green asked, feeling even more frustrated.
"You," Gentry nodded, admitting, "Your field goal percentage on open shots is less than 30%. In the playoffs, this could easily be exploited by our opponents."
Green's face turned sour, "My shooting can't be this bad every game."
"Nonsense," Wade Dong, lying on his side, added salt to Green's wound, "Your shooting has always been bad."
"How is this my fault?" Green argued, "Brother Dong usually only teaches me defense and playmaking, not shooting."
"I'd like to teach you shooting, but you need the talent for it," Wade Dong shrugged, and the conversation ended there.
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