Chapitre 67: Is This the NBA? I've Learned Something
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When Wang Chong heard Phil Jackson's words, his eyes lit up. He didn't expect the opportunity to come so soon.
Although he was starting, Wang Chong didn't think he would get a lot of shots right away or easily score 20 points to complete his first system task. After all, he was just a rookie who had just arrived, far from being on the same level as O'Neal, Gary Payton, or Malone.
Therefore, in the previous games, he had always been calm, doing his job well. On the offensive end, he stood in the corner, using his shooting range to create threats for his teammates and open up offensive space. On the defensive end, he closely marked his opponent, Walker, not giving him any chance to cut inside and attack the basket.
As a result, the opportunity came inexplicably.
The Lakers had the ball. Gary Payton stood at the top of the three-point line, dribbling, and Wang Chong immediately moved from the right side to provide him with a pick-and-roll screen.
Nash, who was 1.91 meters tall and weighed only 88 kilograms, had poor defensive abilities. Wang Chong easily blocked his opponent.
Payton immediately accelerated from the right side, rushing towards the basket.
Seeing this, Antoine Walker subconsciously turned around without thinking and wanted to help defend Payton.
This was exactly what the Lakers wanted.
Seeing Walker moving to help, Payton immediately passed the ball to Wang Chong.
At that moment, the only person in front of Wang Chong was Nash, who had just been screened.
Without bothering to do any fake moves, Wang Chong simply raised his hand and shot in front of Nash.
Nash jumped hard to try to contest the shot, but it was obviously in vain.
Wang Chong's vision was clear with no interference. It was a mid-range shot, 22 feet away from the basket. The basketball traced a perfect arc in the air and swished through the net.
"Swish!"
Two points counted.
This was Wang Chong's first basket in the NBA and also his first points. The wheels of history began to turn.
Although it's unclear what kind of waves Wang Chong, with his hidden talents, would create in the league, this first step was quite solid.
Wang Chong's attack seemed unremarkable, but Mavericks head coach Don Nelson noticed it.
"This young man plays very similarly to Dirk."
With his outstanding height and wingspan and accurate mid-range shots, Wang Chong's current playing style does resemble Nowitzki, except that he doesn't yet know Nowitzki's signature one-legged fadeaway.
The pick-and-roll cooperation between Payton and Wang Chong is quite threatening.
In the previous play, if Walker hadn't helped defend, Payton could have continued to accelerate and go straight to the basket to finish. But Walker chose to help, and Payton passed the ball to Wang Chong.
Against Nash, Wang Chong's shooting was no different from a practice shot.
Although Nelson saw this clearly, he was not prepared to make adjustments—or perhaps he couldn't think of any adjustments.
Nelson had been coaching for over 20 years, and his coaching philosophy emphasized offense—extremely fast offense that paid little attention to defense, known as the run-and-gun tactic.
Although it was the Suns, coached by D'Antoni and led by Nash, that really popularized the run-and-gun tactic, Nelson had been immersed in this art long before them.
The Mavericks at this stage mainly played run-and-gun basketball; otherwise, why would they let Nowitzki play center?
Even when Nelson later coached the Warriors, he still didn't abandon the run-and-gun tactic, leading the "We Believe" Warriors who upset the top-seeded Mavericks.
Moreover, the famous "Hack-a-Shaq" tactic, which tormented O'Neal and would go on to plague many other centers like Howard, DeAndre Jordan, and Drummond in the future, was also invented by Nelson.
Since there was no solution to Wang Chong's scoring, then he would solve it with offense.
As long as you score more points than your opponent, you win the game, right? Simple and clear.
When the Mavericks attacked, Nowitzki was still the main focus.
O'Neal could no longer keep up with Nowitzki's pace. The latter received the ball in mid-range and scored with his signature one-legged fadeaway.
O'Neal barely jumped to contest Nowitzki's shot; he simply raised his hand as a token attempt to interfere.
But when the Lakers came back on offense, Wang Chong was ready again.
Another pick-and-roll with Payton.
Walker once again chose to help defend the more threatening Payton driving to the basket.
In his mind, a shot near the rim is always a higher percentage than a mid-range jumper or three-pointer.
Even if that rookie is good at shooting, could he really compete with Dirk?
"Swish!"
What greeted him was another crisp sound of the net.
Who's better at mid-range shooting, Wang Chong or Nowitzki?
Wang Chong believes Nowitzki should be better.
After all, he has not yet reached his peak as Durant, while Nowitzki is already in his prime, boasting a mid-range shooting score of 98, perhaps even reaching the full mark of 99.
However, real-life players don't have the advantage of badges, so their actual shooting percentage might not be as stable as Wang Chong's, at least under normal defensive intensity.
Just like now, with two successful shots, Wang Chong's Gold Rhythm Shooter badge began stacking buffs. The more he shot, the more accurate he became!
The Mavericks were on offense. Michael Finley drove to the basket for a layup but missed. The Lakers got the rebound, and as Payton crossed half-court, he saw Wang Chong signaling for the ball from outside.
"Is he trying to go one-on-one?"
Payton didn't hesitate. Scoring 40 points against LeBron James in the preseason had allowed Wang Chong to earn the respect of most of the team, including Payton.
Besides, the defender in front of Wang Chong was Antoine Walker, who was known for his offense but was a notoriously weak defender.
If LeBron couldn't guard Wang Chong, how could Walker?
Seeing Wang Chong get the ball, Walker didn't take him seriously.
While Wang Chong scored 4 points in a row using the pick-and-roll, he was still just a rookie. How strong could he be?
Walker, a three-time All-Star, had his own arrogance.
"Come on, rookie. Let me show you what the NBA is about!"
Facing Wang Chong, Walker taunted him viciously.
But before he could finish, Wang Chong had already disappeared from his sight.
Walker was momentarily stunned before realizing he had been beaten off the dribble.
"So fast!"
Wang Chong blew by Walker and raced straight to the basket, finishing with a one-handed dunk.
In terms of dribbling speed, Wang Chong was certainly slower than the likes of Kobe, LeBron, or Wade. But against a forward like Walker, who was obviously out of shape with slow lateral movement, he was lightning quick. With a height of 2.09 meters and astonishingly long strides, he could blow by the opponent in one step as long as he timed it right.
Durant's primary scoring method during his rookie year was slashing to the basket, and his deceptive speed on drives was always a key offensive weapon, even during his time with the Warriors.
After completing the dunk, Wang Chong landed and turned to look at Walker behind him.
"Is this the NBA? I've learned something."
End of this chapter
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