Chapter 529: Stupid D'Antoni
After the game resumed, Old K was obviously a little surprised. He didn't know what Yang Mo's intention was in putting up such a lineup?
Is he going to give up on defense?
Old K muttered, this conjecture swirling around in his head for a while, but finally let it go. In his opinion, no head coach would give up on defense in a World Series finals, unless that guy was a lunatic.
Yang Mo is not a madman, but he is an absolute genius who is even crazier than a madman. He knows how to make choices better than anyone else, and he knows how to treat people better.
When the American team rushed to the frontcourt, they expected to encounter fierce defense from the Chinese team. But in fact, when Westbrook rushed into the penalty area with the ball, the Chinese team all avoided him, including Li Muhao in the interior.
Boom! Westbrook violently attacked the Chinese team's basket. Just as the fans in the stadium began to cheer for this dunk, Li Muhao quickly passed the ball to Yang Mo. Yang Mo caught the ball and threw it directly to the frontcourt. Gao Shang, who had sneaked past, caught the ball and dunked it fiercely. Boom!
A clean slam dunk.
While not as ferocious as Westbrook's, this dunk was a quicker-acting slap in the face than a 999 dose of Piyanping. Aren't you American team members good at dunking? Our Chinese team isn't bad either, and we'll give you the answer ball in less than five seconds.
Seeing this, Coach K finally understood that Yang Mo was truly a lunatic. He had no intention of defending, so his inside-killing tactics had become a burden. Was this a complete game of fast play?
K was hesitant, debating whether to call a timeout. After all, he wasn't particularly good at fast breaks. So, he walked over to the coaching staff and humbly asked D'Antoni, "What if our team's tempo also changes to a run-and-gun style like the Chinese team? Then... what should we do?"
"Don't worry. The American team is much more athletic than the Chinese team. Even if they run, the American players' strong individual offensive abilities will easily defeat the Chinese team. The Chinese team only has one strong point, and the rest of the players are too weak." D'Antoni said confidently: "Don't worry, no one in this world understands the run-and-gun strategy better than me."
D'Antoni's reassurance reassured Kristaps Klopp. D'Antoni's run-and-gun style was indeed renowned and trustworthy. He had forgotten one thing: D'Antoni had been immediately fired by Yang Mo. And after Yang Mo's expulsion, the Knicks' performance actually flourished , which spoke volumes. D'Antoni wasn't some run-and-gun prodigy at all.
Moreover, regarding D'Antoni's run-and-gun style, whether it was Steve Nash who made him successful or he made Steve Nash successful is still undecided. But one obvious fact is that this American team does not have Steve Nash.
With Gao Shang's incredibly quick goal in the frontcourt, the American team also became impetuous. They moved faster, but they were not as quick in controlling the ball. Their passing was always a beat slower than their movement. Although they were still able to score, their efficiency was compromised.
While the Chinese team was also running frantically, their possession of the ball was incredibly clear, with the ball sometimes arriving before the players. This gave the Chinese team a slight advantage in shooting percentage. Gradually, they took the lead, quickly reaching double digits due to the fast pace.
drop!
D'Antoni stood up and asked for a timeout. He felt that now was the time for him, the master of running and gunning, to step up and open up the situation.
"Next, Derrick Rose will still be the point guard, Eric Gordon will be the shooting guard, Andre Iguodala will be the small forward, Kevin Durant will be the power forward, and Lamar Odom will be the center. Next, we will need to frequently use pick-and-rolls. Lamar, you need to constantly run outside to provide screen-and-rolls for your teammates. We must open up the situation on the outside so that the impact inside will be more significant."
D'Antoni was concentrating on strategizing with the tactical board in hand. He had originally planned to make some personnel adjustments after Yang Mo left the court, but when he saw D'Antoni giving instructions, he instantly abandoned the idea. There was no need to resort to tactics against a half-baked coach like D'Antoni; he could be defeated with a straightforward approach.
After D'Antoni laid out the detailed tactics, Derrick Rose raised his doubts: "But, Coach, what if our shooting percentage is not high? I think we should continue to attack the paint and create damage."
"No... We have to trade space for time. This is the most important concept of run and gun." D'Antoni answered firmly. He still believed that shooting takes less time, and the number of attacks will be greatly improved with less time. Once the number of attacks increases, the score will gradually narrow.
D'Antoni insisted so much that Derrick Rose had no choice but to obey. After all, he was the head coach and he was just a player. And this was the US national team, not his Chicago Bulls.
Soon, the game resumed, and the American team once again picked up the pace, increasing their outside shooting. However, their strongest shooting tool, Kevin Durant, was still under Yang Mo's control. The other players... weren't professional shooters, so their shooting percentages were naturally abysmal. Furthermore, with Odom on the court, their interior defense rapidly declined, and the Chinese team, at this time, secretly began to cut into the paint.
The US team started shooting, and the Chinese team began stealthily cutting in. Even a fool knows that layups have a higher success rate than field goals, but D'Antoni didn't. And so... this even more foolish guy pushed the US team into the abyss. By the time K realized something was wrong, the US team was down by 18 points, and... there were still three minutes left in the third quarter.
drop!
Old K quickly requested a timeout. He couldn't let the mistakes continue. If they continued, the score difference would exceed 20, and the fourth quarter would be even more difficult. It's important to note that the Chinese team's scoring weapon hadn't been fully utilized so far. In other words, the Chinese team hadn't even used their trump cards, relying on those underage post-90s players to defeat the American team.
Fast breaks, all bad fast breaks.
K roared in frustration from the bench. He was beginning to think D'Antoni was a terrible teammate. If the team had just played his game the whole time, things wouldn't have been this bad. He actually thought he was the best run-and-gun player in the world, and he was completely clobbered by Super Yang. How could anyone be so self-satisfied?
D'Antoni wasn't entirely convinced by K's complaints. He even pleaded with K: "Give me three more minutes, and I'll definitely turn the game around. Really, my tactics are starting to get on track."
"Get off the bench!" K pointed at the end of the bench and yelled, "If I give you three more minutes, the American team will be completely finished, you idiot!!!"
K is a hot-tempered man, and he wouldn't give D'Antoni any face. D'Antoni, after being scolded by K, wanted to argue, but then he realized that this was a game being broadcast live around the world, and it wouldn't be good to argue with the head coach. So he gritted his teeth, lowered his head, walked to the end, and sat down.
"Defense, we have to defend. We can't let the Chinese team score so easily. Billups, Westbrook, Iguodala, Kevin Love, and Tyson Chandler, you guys go on the court. You have to play suffocating defense and completely extinguish the Chinese team's fast break..."
While Old K was strategizing on defense, Yang Mo was also changing his strategy. "We've achieved our goal for the fast break, and even exceeded it. Thanks to D'Antoni's stupidity. Next, we'll play it safe. Yi Jianlian, Zhang Zhaoxu, you go in and control the paint. Zhong Cheng, you too, and Xiao Guo. The four of you will defend, and I'll handle the offense. We need to maintain our scoring advantage and strive to carry the victory to the end..."
