บท 53: Chapter 53: Good Systems Are Always Someone Else's
There were two days between Game 4 and Game 5.
This also gave the Suns a day to train at their home arena.
In the morning, Wade Dong drove alone to the arena, while Li Jiajia stayed home to study for her postgraduate entrance exam.
"Hey, you're here early!"
Wade Dong parked his car and saw Iverson getting out of his SUV. He casually joked with him.
Iverson was known for not liking to train, so it was surprising to see him arrive at the arena first today.
"I cherish this opportunity very much," Iverson said seriously. "Whether we win the championship this season or not, I will retire next season."
"That sudden?" Wade Dong frowned, feeling a bit sad to hear Iverson's words.
"Not really sudden," Iverson shrugged. "I was planning to retire anyway, but fate has been kind to me. At the end of my career, I met you, and it brought me closer to the championship once again."
Iverson's words touched Wade Dong and strengthened his resolve to play power forward.
Iverson's last season, letting him win the championship as a starter, would be the perfect ending.
...
In NBA playoff history, there have been fewer than ten instances of a team leading 3-1 being overturned.
Moreover, the current Suns are all healthy and in high spirits, making the Spurs' chances of winning this series very slim.
The Suns were aware of this, but they did not relax at all, determined to eliminate the Spurs in the next game.
After the players warmed up with a few laps around the court, Coach Gentry said, "Our tactics remain unchanged for the next game. Let's split into two teams for some adaptive training."
"Coach!" Wade Dong raised his hand and said, "I want to play power forward!"
"What?!"
Including Coach Gentry, all the players were surprised. The Suns' current lineup was already complete, and there was no need for changes.
Wade Dong explained, "We've played four games against the Spurs. We won the first game with the elevator door tactic, catching them off guard. We won the second game because Duncan was ejected in the third quarter. We won the fourth game because of Iverson's explosion. But in the third game, where we truly went head-to-head with the Spurs, we lost!"
"That's true..." Frye muttered, "That loss was on me, otherwise we could have won."
Wade Dong waved his hand, indicating it wasn't Frye's fault, and continued, "I'm not blaming any teammates, but we must admit that our interior defense is weak, and this will be a big problem in the playoffs."
Can Wade Dong play power forward? Yes, he can!
In fact, Coach Gentry had considered this idea before, wondering if Wade Dong could play power forward. Wade Dong's rebounding instincts are sharp, he has strength and jumping ability, and although he is a shooting guard, he has been the leading rebounder for the Suns in several games.
Not only that, Wade Dong has proven he can play power forward, such as in the game against the Rockets, where he dominated Scola on both offense and defense.
However, Wade Dong is a shooting guard, and it would be a waste to have him play power forward... Moreover, if Wade Dong plays power forward, the Suns' height disadvantage would be even more obvious.
"Coach, I know you're hesitating," Wade Dong said with a smile. "How about we have a scrimmage? I'll prove to everyone that I can be a top-tier power forward."
"Alright!" Coach Gentry agreed.
The scrimmage began!
Wade Dong was assigned to the reserve team, while Gortat and Morris were on the starting team.
From the start, Wade Dong demanded the ball in the low post. Varick passed the ball to Wade Dong, who backed down Gortat and then spun around for a layup.
"Dream Shake!!!"
All the players instantly recognized Wade Dong's footwork. This wasn't Scola's post move, but one of the NBA's signature moves, Olajuwon's Dream Shake!
Many stars practice the Dream Shake with Olajuwon during the offseason, like Kobe and Yao Ming, but Wade Dong's move was smooth and natural, as if it were his own.
Of course, with Wade Dong's offensive ability, going one-on-one with Gortat was as easy as eating and drinking. This alone wasn't enough to prove he was a good power forward.
A good power forward not only needs sufficient offensive ability but also strong defensive skills.
It was the starting team's turn to attack. Nash and Gortat set a pick-and-roll, then passed the ball to Morris, who drove to the basket.
"Brother, the paint is my territory." Wade Dong's voice reached Morris's ears.
"Slap!!!"
Wade Dong swatted Morris's layup attempt away!
"Great block!!!"
This clean block even made the starting team's Hill shout in excitement.
After that, Wade Dong continued to grab rebounds from Gortat and Morris, blocking several of their shots. On offense, his Dream Shake gave Gortat and Morris a hard time.
"That's enough!" Coach Gentry signaled for the players to stop after twenty minutes.
Dudley patted Gortat and Morris on the back, teasing, "You guys didn't have this much trouble against Duncan."
"Yeah..." Gortat said with a bitter face, "I have to admit, East Brother is harder to defend than Duncan."
Morris also said, "It's really hard to imagine how to defend against a power forward who can dribble, pass, and shoot threes at any time. Thankfully, East Brother is on our team! If he were an opponent, I might cry."
Hill curiously asked, "East, why have you been hiding this skill?"
"Hehe~ Because I didn't think it was necessary," Wade Dong smiled. He couldn't tell Hill that he had just learned it.
"Tsk..."
All the Suns players flipped Wade Dong the middle finger, looking at him with disdain. "You're too much of a show-off!"
"Get lost!!!" Wade Dong cursed. He didn't want his teammates to think he was showing off, so he didn't mention he had just learned it.
But even after being so modest, his teammates still thought he was showing off.
Nash joked, "If there were a cloning technique, and five Wade Dongs were on the court, the NBA could end."
"Hahaha..." Even Coach Gentry was amused by Nash's joke.
Iverson also said, "A few years ago, there was an interview show where the host asked me about my dream lineup. Now, if I were to choose again, I would pick Wade Dong for the power forward, point guard, and shooting guard positions."
Iverson's words were partly to praise his teammate, but not entirely flattery.
The speaker had no ill intentions, but the listener took it to heart. Wade Dong asked in his mind, "System, can you clone?"
[No.]
The system's reply was straightforward.
"Tsk..." Wade Dong looked down on the system. "You're useless. Good systems are always someone else's."
[...]
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