บท 75: Chapter 75: Fancy Footwork
At the start of the playoffs, the Suns' odds of winning the championship were very high.
At that time, no one believed in the Suns. Wade Dong was a newcomer to the NBA, and his explosive performance in the first ten games did not represent his true strength. Allen Iverson, who joined the team at the end of the season, had not played for a year, and no one believed that this veteran would explode in the playoffs!
However, Wade Dong's performance in the playoffs was even more unstoppable than in the regular season. Allen Iverson, in the late stages of his career, seemed to have a second spring, scoring 40+ points in two consecutive games and 37 points in the third game.
Wade Dong led the Suns to a dominant performance, proving the doubters wrong. Allen Iverson's playoff explosion also proved the team managers wrong.
Now, the Finals are about to begin, and the Suns' odds of winning the championship are almost equal to those of the Heat.
Currently, the happiest people are the Chinese basketball fans. One reason is that for the first time, they see a Chinese player as a starter in the Finals. Another reason is that many fans bought the Suns to win the championship at the start of the playoffs.
At that time, the fans just wanted to support the Suns in this way...
But they didn't expect the Suns to step into the Finals one step at a time. With the Suns' current strength, it won't be easy for the Heat to defeat them.
Thinking back to the start of the playoffs, fans were betting fifty, three hundred, five hundred, and even some married fans took out their secret savings of two thousand one hundred ninety-two yuan and five cents to buy the Suns to win the championship.
If the Suns really win the championship this year,
Fans who spent three to five hundred yuan on the Suns to win the championship will find that their year's worth of water money has come out, and they might even be able to drink one bottle after another (of course, the author is against waste).
And fans who took out their secret savings to buy the Suns to win the championship will have made a fortune and can hold their heads high in front of their wives.
...
Amidst the anticipation of all the fans, the Finals began!
The Suns players had already arrived in Miami. This year, the Suns made it to the Finals as the eighth seed in the West. If they can win the championship, the Suns will make history.
This year, in the playoffs, the Suns had no home-court advantage against any team.
Before the game, players from both teams warmed up on the court, with no interaction between the two teams. Both teams were fully focused.
"Beep!!!"
With the referee's whistle, the Finals Game 1 officially began!
Suns starting lineup: Wade Dong, Nash, Iverson, Hill, Gortat
Heat starting lineup: James, Wade, Bosh, Haslem, Chalmers
The Heat and Suns had similar lineups, both with three superstars. Of course, the Heat's Big Three were in their prime: James, Wade, and Bosh. The Suns' Big Three were the "rookie" Wade Dong, veteran Allen Iverson, and veteran Steve Nash.
Of course, both teams had relatively weak frontcourts.
The Heat had Uncle Juwan and Haslem, but both were aging. As for Bosh, he was matched up against Wade Dong, which was a very difficult challenge for him.
The outcome of this series might very well be decided by the performances of James, Wade, Iverson, and Nash.
As the game began, Gortat passed the ball to Nash, who brought it up the court and passed it to Wade Dong.
Wade Dong received the ball and faced Bosh's defense. Suddenly, he said to Bosh, "Hello, idol."
"Huh?!"
Bosh was taken aback.
Was Wade Dong trying to be friendly, or was he just flattering him? As the Finals opponents, the Heat had studied the Suns players, especially Wade Dong, who was a key research target because there was so little information about him. He joined the NBA late in the season and suddenly became a sensation.
Bosh knew that Wade Dong had been playing the power forward position throughout the playoffs. After watching Wade Dong's videos, Bosh also admitted that Wade Dong's low-post offensive moves were almost unstoppable.
Duncan, Griffin, and Gasol had all struggled against Wade Dong. Thinking about having to guard Wade Dong, Bosh was so worried he couldn't sleep. But now that Wade Dong called him an idol, Bosh felt sweet inside. It seemed that Wade Dong thought he was stronger than Duncan, Griffin, and Gasol...
It seemed that Wade Dong had good taste!
"Young man, keep working hard! One day you will surpass me..."
Bosh happily defended Wade Dong while praising him.
"Huh?!"
Wade Dong was also taken aback.
Then, with a quick crossover, he shook Bosh and easily scored a layup.
What was this guy thinking? One day he would surpass him? Why not surpass him right now?
James received the ball from Bosh and comforted him, "Don't take that play to heart. Wade Dong is really hard to guard."
On the Heat's possession, the Suns played a zone defense. James drove to the basket with a Eurostep, pushing against Gortat and Wade Dong's defense to get to the rim, but his shot was contested by Gortat.
"Beep!!!"
The referee's whistle sounded, indicating a foul on Gortat.
James drew a foul on the Suns right at the start, but he only made one of two free throws.
On the next possession, Iverson responded with a similar move, driving against Wade and Haslem's defense and scoring a high-arching layup.
1:4!
At the start of the game, the Suns' offensive momentum was not inferior to the Heat's.
On the Heat's side, James attacked, then Wade attacked, and then Bosh attacked. The three superstars took turns attacking.
However, Bosh struggled against Wade Dong's defense, unable to score in the low post. He only managed to hit two mid-range jumpers.
With 4 minutes left in the first quarter...
23:17!
The Suns led the Heat by 6 points.
The Suns' starters left only Wade Dong on the court, with the others resting on the bench.
Leading the bench players, the Heat's defense focused entirely on Wade Dong. Whenever Wade Dong had the ball, at least two players would swarm him.
"It's still more comfortable playing the shooting guard position..."
Wade Dong never feared challenges, even when facing two NBA players defending him.
As Wallace dribbled the ball up the court and passed it to Wade Dong, Wade and Bosh came to double-team him.
"Kyrie Irving's dribbling skill package!"
Wade Dong glanced at Wade and Bosh and exchanged a Kyrie Irving dribbling skill package.
Kyrie Irving's dribbling in the NBA is not the strongest, but it is flashy. With Wade Dong's maxed-out talent, he could learn these skills if he wanted to, but why bother learning when he could exchange them with talent points?
With a series of crossovers and a spin move...
The ball seemed to stick to Wade Dong's hand. Before the game, the Heat had studied Wade Dong's offensive moves. Although they were unstoppable, they had one characteristic: Wade Dong's one-on-one moves were not very flashy.
This sudden display of fancy dribbling caught Wade and Bosh off guard.
Wade Dong spun and dribbled between his legs, weaving through Wade and Bosh. Haslem jumped to block Wade Dong's shot.
At this moment, at least three Suns players were open, but Wade Dong did not choose to pass. Instead, he leaned against Haslem in the air and gently scooped the ball into the basket!
"Great shot!!!"
Seeing this shot, Iverson excitedly jumped up from the bench, waving his towel.
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