The news that James was traded to the Pacers quickly spread around the world like snowflakes.
Social media was almost blown away by the news.
James fans collectively broke down the defense.
"Riley, you little loser, you are not even worthy of carrying Phil Jackson's shoes. There is a reason why Jordan doesn't like you. You are a complete loser!"
"Riley is just a bitch. She doesn't have the ability to deal with the Big Three. She's trash and a bastard!"
"I will use my 20 years of life to curse the Miami Heat, and curse them to never win a championship again!"
…
Bulls fans and Lakers fans are celebrating wildly.
"Where did the seven championships go? Oh, I see. They were supposed to give away seven championships, but they only gave away two?"
"It's over. This time I'm really going to be exiled. Let's see who dares to talk about the king in the future. My emperor is the goat of exile!"
"Haha, the 'best player in the league' in some people's mouths has been kicked out. Riley is so disrespectful!"
…
Of course, more people are watching the show, and they are watching it crazily.
"From actively joining forces to being kicked out, the king's status has dropped a bit too fast, isn't it?"
"This Heat team created two firsts. The first was the peak Big Three team, and the first peak team didn't win a championship."
"It would be really exciting if the Heat won the championship next season."
…
The Olympic Games are also being held simultaneously.
Although Xu Yong was missing and even Zhu Fangyu was not there at the beginning, Yao Ming still led the team to win the next three games.
Just as he had promised Xu Yong before.
When Xu Yong returned, China faced Spain in the last game. Xu Yong scored 34 points, successfully completing the revenge in the warm-up match and helping China to win the first place in the group with a perfect record of 5 wins and 0 losses.
Even when Xu Yong was suspended, the Chinese team was still able to achieve such results, which indirectly demonstrated how strong the hard power of this Chinese men's basketball team is.
However, there were some problems with the Dream Team.
That was when they faced Lithuania in the group stage.
Lithuania has defeated the United States twice in history, and the 2004 victory over the Dream Team was particularly impressive.
Facing an opponent who had defeated them, this dream team with revengeful attributes should theoretically have easily defeated the opponent like they did in their previous victories over France and Argentina, but the game was extremely tense.
They were even forced into a decisive moment by the opponent, and finally relied on Durant's near buzzer-beater to win with a score of 99 to 94.
This game made people see two things.
First, this dream team is not as invincible as the outside world says. Although they won consecutive games in the group stage and beat Nigeria by 71 points, but beating the weaker team does not actually reflect their true strength;
Second, James' condition is much worse than in the group stage, which is obviously affected by the trade on the NBA side.
These two points have significantly boosted the confidence of other teams.
Especially the Chinese team as the main opponent.
The competition system of the London Olympics is that there are 12 teams in 2 groups. The top four in each group advance to the quarterfinals, and then the knockout rounds begin with A1 vs. B4.
The Chinese team is first in Group A and its opponent in the quarter-finals is France, which is fourth in Group B.
This game is a classic among classics.
In the first quarter, the French team, led by Parker, played back and forth with the Chinese team;
In the second quarter, Jeremy Lin led the team to establish an advantage in the transition period from the bench, and Xu Yong and Yao Ming came back to widen the gap to more than 15 points;
In the third quarter, Xu Yong came up and threw two three-pointers to expand the score difference to 20 points. Then, just when the Chinese team was ready to press on, the French team gave up.
Sure enough, no one could defeat France before it surrendered.
The outcome of this game was expected, but this battle is of great significance to Chinese basketball.
Because they were eliminated in the quarterfinals in the 2008 Olympics, this time, the Chinese men's basketball team finally made it to the Olympic semi-finals that fans had been longing for for the first time.
However, the semi-finals is just the starting point for the Chinese men's basketball team.
China's opponent in the semi-finals is Argentina.
Facing an opponent that reached its peak in 2004 but has been slowly declining, the Chinese team did not leave the game too suspenseful, defeating their opponent 96-79 and advancing to the finals. At the same time, they also refreshed the record of the semi-finals and secured a silver medal.
In the other semifinal, the game between the United States and Spain was very intense. In the end, thanks to Durant's 30 points and 9 rebounds, the United States defeated Spain 107-100.
It is worth mentioning that Durant's 30 points also brought his average points per game to 19.3 points, breaking the US team's average points record.
This is a very terrifying statistic, considering that this dream team includes many big names such as Kobe, Anthony, and James.
Facts have proved that in the FIBA arena, Durant is the strongest nuclear weapon of the US team.
As a result, the Chinese team and the American team, which were considered the top two teams in this Olympics before the game, successfully met in the Olympic finals.
This result has attracted a lot of attention.
If the NBA Finals attracted more attention from Chinese and American fans, then this Olympic final attracted the attention of fans all over the world.
Even the bookmakers are going to make a killing before the game.
The odds offered by the bookmakers are that the United States will give 15 points, and the Dream Team is still very much favored.
The day before the final, the Chinese team was training intensively.
Although the silver medal was in hand, the team members were not satisfied.
Once you have climbed the highest peak in the world, you will naturally not stop halfway up the mountain.
In particular, this is Yao Ming's true last dance.
The coaching staff also attached great importance to it and took the entire team to a meeting in the conference room after the training.
"They have a very fast tempo and we have to control it."
Deng Huade has obviously done sufficient research on this American team.
Among the previous games, the most significant one was the semi-final, where the Chinese team beat Argentina 96-79.
In comparison, the score of the US team in the group stage against Argentina was 126 to 97.
The difference between the two teams can be seen from the score. The American team, that is, the Dream Team 10, has a faster offensive tempo and more fierce firepower.
The Chinese team's pace will be slower because of Yao Ming, and they will focus more on defense.
So in this battle between spear and shield, whoever can control the rhythm will have a better chance.
Of course, how Lithuania played at that time was also crucial, because the scores of both sides in that game did not exceed 100.
"Do you think we can defend against them?" After leaving the meeting room, Yao Ming turned around and started chatting with Xu Yong.
Xu Yong turned to look at Yao Ming and shook his head: "It's difficult."
The only game in which the Dream Team's score did not exceed 100 points so far was the 99-point game against Lithuania.
In other words, it is almost impossible to limit them to less than 100.
Deng Huade's idea is not wrong, but the challenge is that they have to have a high enough success rate in each round, or in layman's terms, they have to get more points than the US team.
"There are always opportunities," Yao Ming said.
"Well, there are always opportunities." Xu Yong nodded, just like their last game against the Lakers in the finals.
…
Two days later, as the London Olympics were coming to an end, the men's basketball final was also held at the North Greenwich Stadium.
When Luol Deng appeared on the scene, Xu Yong remembered his experience that year.
This stadium is the starting point of his NBA career. I hope it can bring him good luck this time.
During the pre-game warm-up, Kobe Bryant took the US team members to hold a small meeting and reminded the players again.
The leading scorer of this Dream Team is Durant, but the team leader is still "our strongest player" as Coach K calls him.
The Chinese team members were very excited when they were warming up.
You may not believe it, but half of the fans in such a huge stadium are Chinese!
God knows how they got so many tickets!
The passion was already there like a flame.
Xu Yong was also very excited.
This is probably the difference between playing in the NBA and wearing the national team jersey.
When you fight for your country, there are always so many lovely people who will fight alongside you.
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.
Chinese team: Jeremy Lin, Sun Yue, Xu Yong, Yi Jianlian, Yao Ming;
Team USA: Paul, Kobe, Durant, James, Tyson Chandler.
Amid the cheers of the fans, Yao Ming pushed the ball back to half court, and the curtain of the Olympic final officially opened.
Jeremy Lin came up with the ball and Paul pressed him very tightly.
The Dream Team's fast pace is built on tremendous defensive pressure.
Two years ago, due to the lineup of the Dream Team 9, this pressure was not very obvious. But this time, with all the elite players present, especially Kobe who likes to go all out on the defensive end, the pressure was maximized.
Jeremy Lin and Yao Ming's pick-and-rolls didn't stand a chance after several attempts.
“Bang!”
Paul seized the opportunity to steal the ball from Jeremy Lin, and the US team launched a fast break.
After receiving the pass from Paul, Kobe glided easily and dunked with both hands, giving the US team the lead.
Of course, it also drew cheers from the audience.
Although half of the fans are Chinese, the remaining half of the fans from other countries undoubtedly mostly stand on the side of the Dream Team.
In particular, most British people are still living in the dream of the British Empire.
In the Chinese team's turn, Xu Yong made a new tactical gesture in the front court.
In this national team, he also serves as a part-time on-field coach.
Under his gesture, the Chinese team changed from "15 pick and roll" to "14 pick and roll".
It was still a pick-and-roll tactic, but the pick-and-roll man was changed from Yao Ming to Yi Jianlian.
Yi Jianlian's pick-and-roll does not cover as much area as Yao Ming's, but it is more flexible and can reach the three-point line.
Of course, another very important point is that his pick-and-roll can also hook people.
At the same time, Yao Ming also set up a second pick-and-roll wall at the free throw line.
Jeremy Lin successfully broke through to the three-second zone with the help of continuous pick-and-rolls, and after attracting a double-team, he passed the ball to Xu Yong.
Yes, it was passed to Xu Yong on the outside.
The US team's lineup is one big player and four small players. The speed of defensive rotation is already very fast, and the small size of the FIBA court further enhances this point.
At this time, he passed the ball back to Yao Ming, but Yao Ming might not have a good chance. Instead, he took advantage of Yao Ming's distraction to create opportunities for Xu Yong.
Xu Yong received the ball and shot calmly while watching James rushing over to make the save.
“Swish!”
The basketball went through the net.
FIBA's three-pointer and NBA's long two-pointer.
Over the years, Xu Yong has become more and more proficient in mid-range shooting. If he were to be scored according to 2K, his score would be at least 110+.
The scene was immediately filled with thunderous cheers from Chinese fans.
This game was actually somewhat similar to the NCAA game. Not only were the players competing on the court, but the fans were also competing off the court.
Kobe immediately came out with the help of a screen, received the pass from Paul and hit a mid-range jump shot to retaliate.
The Chinese team continued with the 14-pick and roll, but this time Kobe and James switched defense. Kobe pressed Jeremy Lin very aggressively, forcing Lin to pass the ball to Xu Yong.
When Xu Yong got the ball and saw that he was facing James, he took a step back and shot directly from outside the three-point line!
The three-pointer just now made him feel that he could continue to output.
“Swish!”
Facts immediately proved that you know your own feel best.
Xu Yong made two consecutive three-pointers after the opening!
Moreover, both times he faced James' defense.
The Chinese fans at the scene were really excited. Xu Yong's opening touch gave them endless confidence.
You are the dream team? I am playing against the dream team!
But looking back, Durant immediately used a pull-up shot that ignored the defense to help the US team continue scoring.
Just as Xu Yong and Yao Ming talked about, this American team has fierce offensive firepower.
6 flat.
The two sides fought back and forth, neither giving in.
However, after the switch from offense to defense, the American team made a defensive adjustment and Kobe directly switched to defend Xu Yong.
This is why Kobe is still the leader of this American team.
He doesn't care about the statistics at all, and he knows that his teammates' firepower is strong enough, so he will not hesitate to put all his efforts into defense.
Xu Yong ran continuously but didn't get a chance to catch the ball.
The fake first defense was blocked by Xu Yong's continuous shots, while the real first defense made it difficult for Xu Yong to receive the ball.
But in the end, Xu Yong still got the ball one meter outside the three-point line with 5 seconds left in the offensive time.
At this time, Yi Jianlian wanted to come up for the final pick-and-roll, but Xu Yong simply stretched out his hand to signal him not to come over.
Then, when he pulled his hand back, he suddenly pulled up for a three-pointer.gif.
This sudden attack caught Kobe off guard, and by the time he reacted it was too late to pounce.
“Swish!”
Xu Yong’s three-pointer was successful!
He made three consecutive three-pointers after the opening!
Moreover, the ball just now was almost at the buzzer, and it was a three-pointer from the standard NBA distance.
If it was just his feeling before, now everyone knows that he is in hot form at the start.
James was muttering to himself at this time. Kobe had forced him to switch defense just now, but it turned out that it was not his problem.
9 to 6!
The Chinese team was suppressing the American team at the beginning.
No, to be more precise, it should be Xu Yong who is suppressing the Dream Team alone!
You are the MVP who scored 51 points in the finals and helped the Bulls win two consecutive championships? !
Not only were the fans extremely excited, but even the Chinese team members felt their blood boiling.
When facing an enemy stronger than yourself, it is so important to have a leader charging ahead.
Then, the Chinese team actually defended against the Dream Team's positional warfare.
Durant's shot went wide, Yao Ming steadily grabbed the defensive rebound, and then passed it to Xu Yong on the outside.
The Chinese team also played their own defensive counterattack.
Xu Yong dribbled the ball to the frontcourt despite Kobe's defense, and then when he was fast breaking to the three-point line, he made an emergency stop and shot a three-pointer.
Kobe successfully predicted it and jumped up to interfere with Xu Yong.
Xu Yong was not afraid at all, and there seemed to be light in his eyes at this moment.
After making the previous shot, he knew his hands were burning.
The basketball flew past Kobe's fingertips and rushed towards the basket.
“Swish!”
When the crisp sound of the ball entering the net came through the loudspeaker again, the Chinese fans at the scene had gone completely crazy.
"Satan! Satan!"
They stood up from their seats and shouted loudly.
Satan originated from European mythological novels.
This is Europe!
The American team called a timeout.
Xu Yong's four consecutive three-pointers at the beginning of the game completely stunned Old K.
These four three-pointers set the tone for the entire first half.
When Old K adjusted the tactics and began to use the American team's excellent defensive rotation ability to double-team Xu Yongshang, other players on the Chinese team naturally got opportunities to shoot from the outside.
The FIBA court has only become smaller, not disappeared. When the game moves from one side of the half court to the other and there is a big center threatening the inside, it is impossible not to create opportunities.
Of course, the prerequisite is that you dare to invest when the opportunity arises.
The shooting ability of this men's basketball team has been proven since two years ago, and it has been steadily improving in this Olympics.
And I feel like this thing is contagious.
Throughout the first half, the Chinese team took 20 shots from beyond the three-point line and made 12 of them, for an astonishing 60% hit rate.
The three-cent item alone gave them a total of 36 points.
Thanks to their accurate performance from the outside, they were still leading the US team by 2 points, 58 to 56, at the end of the first half.
The offensive firepower of this Dream Team 10 is indeed fierce, so fierce that it is a little exaggerated.
But as long as there are not too many mistakes, the number of rounds for both sides is actually similar.
Relying on more efficient three-pointers and a unique offensive method, the Chinese team was evenly matched with the American team in the first half.
"This is the best half I have ever seen our men's basketball team play." This was the most truthful evaluation given by Yang Yi in the commentary booth.
Even when the men's basketball team won the World Cup two years ago, they had never performed so well.
But tonight the men's basketball team did perform better when facing a stronger team.
There is also a lot of heated discussion on social media at this time.
"If we send out our best players and still lose the game, does that mean that the U.S. men's basketball team is no longer dominant?"
"Don't worry, there's no way we'll lose. China's 60% three-point shooting rate in the first half was too much. It will be hard for them to maintain that rate in the second half."
"Xu is like a god of war. I'm really afraid that he will replicate his performance in Game 6 of the Finals."
"Yes, if it was a one-round series, China would not have won against us, but this was a one-match match and Xu was really scary."
"Be confident, guys! We are only 2 points behind at halftime. You have to believe that we are a powerful dream team!"
"At least we have the physical advantage. We will sweep them in the second half. LeBron hasn't scored in the first half. He will stand out!"
…
After the half-time break, the fans were still enthusiastic.
The fierce competition between the two sides in the first half made the fans full of expectations for the second half.
As soon as he came back in the second half, Durant hit a jump shot against the defense, helping the US team tie the score.
And looking back, Sun Yue also failed to make the three-pointer from the outside.
The Chinese team's three-point shooting is indeed good enough, but it has not reached such a terrifying number as 60%.
but!
Yao Ming grabbed the offensive rebound directly over Chandler's head, then forced a hook shot at Chandler.
The ball was very fast and hard.
It feels like, everyone just shoot, and I'll take care of it if you can't make it into the basket.
Then after retreating to the defensive end, Yao Ming blocked James's shot as he broke through the basket.
After completing the block, he found Xu Yong and gave him a big high five.
Xu Yong could fully feel his desire to play after he came back in the second half.
In other words, it was the desire that was suppressed in the first half because teammates shot so accurately.
In a basketball game, which side is more important, the inside or the outside, depends on the actual situation. When the outside is more accurate, it can create space for the inside, and it will be much easier for the inside players to play one-on-one in the inside. But when it is accurate to a certain degree, it becomes a means of restraining the inside and creating shooting opportunities.
The Chinese team's shooting percentage in the first half was alarmingly accurate, and Yao Ming mostly cooperated with Xu Yong to create outside shooting opportunities for others.
But now his outside teammates' touch has declined, and the American team insists on double-teaming Xu Yong, so he must and will stand up.
Durant finally received the ball from mid-range and made this jump shot.
He is in ridiculously good shape in this Olympics, as if he wants to win back all the losses in last season's playoffs in the Olympics.
Xu Yong reached the front court and gestured with his hand. After seeing Yao Ming move to the low post to get a position, Jeremy Lin passed the ball to the basket.
This job is not difficult for Jeremy Lin, because after Woodson took office, he needs to feed the ball to Anthony frequently.
Of course the American team would retreat, but Yao Ming reacted quickly, turning directly to the baseline and making a quick hook shot.
“Swish!”
The basketball fell steadily into the net.
Yao Ming scored 4 points in a row after coming on in the second half.
Kobe continued to score for the American team, and their firepower output tonight was simply unstoppable.
Now it depends on whether the Chinese team can hold on to the score.
Jeremy Lin went to the frontcourt and wanted to continue feeding Yao Ming, but this time the American team was smaller.
"Shoot!" Yao Ming said as he quickly turned around and trapped Chandler behind him.
Jeremy Lin hesitated before taking a three-point shot.
"when!"
His three-pointer hit the rim and bounced out. His outside shooting is now at the same level as Rose before he enhanced his shooting, and his main feature is instability.
However, Yao Ming was stuck in position under the basket and easily grabbed the rebound. Then he dodged James who flew over to help defend him with a single step and made a backhand layup.
He continued his scoring momentum and scored 6 points in a row.
Xu Yong was stunned watching from the outside.
Yao Ming's condition is surprisingly good.
Because he had the experience of entering the Zone (also known as the white-hot space, a realistic concept proposed by Grover in the future), he even suspected whether Yao Ming had entered it at this moment.
This is entirely possible. Yao Ming's skills and mental attributes are fine. He just lacked the opportunity to get in before.
Tonight is the last game of his national team career, which he cares about the most.
Looking back, the reason why he was able to enter was because he had an extremely strong desire to win the game.
Yao Ming's desire now is probably stronger than it was before.
But looking back, Kobe made a three-pointer directly from the outside.
64 to 65.
This goal helped the US team to overtake the score directly.
It turns out that the sample size for the U.S. team’s group match against Lithuania was clearly too small.
Take Spain for example. They lost two games in the group stage, but they were still tied with the United States in the semi-finals.
The US team's seriousness in the final was not at the same level as in the group stage.
After making a shot, Kobe retreated to the defensive end and loudly directed his teammates to their defensive positions.
The American team wanted to take advantage of the Chinese team's inaccurate outside shooting and widen the score in one go.
Xu Yong started moving after reaching the front court.
Although Yao Ming is in hot form and is being closely guarded, he has to do something now.
Yao Ming reacted quickly at this time. He gave up positioning in the paint and went straight to the high position to set up a pick-and-roll wall.
In the end, Xu Yong successfully received the pass from Jeremy Lin and broke through to the basket.
The American team's defense quickly contracted, and it felt like being touched on the **.
Xu Yong's defensive priority with Old K is obviously higher than Yao Ming.
Xu Yong chose to pass the ball.
Or maybe he was just trying to distract the defense from the beginning and create opportunities for Yao Ming.
However, after Yao Ming broke the ball, it bounced a little too far and went directly outside the three-point line.
The American team had no time to rush out, and after seeing Yao Ming raising the ball to shoot, they all turned around and prepared to block the shot.
“Swish!”
But accompanied by a crisp sound of the ball going into the net, Yao Ming's three-pointer actually went in!
This position is actually similar to the mid-range shot he made after his comeback.
After making this three-pointer, Yao Ming increased his consecutive scoring streak since the second half to 9 points!
The Chinese fans at the scene were extremely excited, some of them couldn't control their emotions and their eyes were red.
In the final match of his national team career, Yao Ming gave his best.
Xu Yong high-fived Yao Ming while retreating, and he also made sure that Yao Ming had entered the zone.
When the American team insisted on double-teaming him, Yao Ming's timing of entry could be said to be just right.
But having had that experience, he knew how exhausted he would be after coming out of that state.
So that's good news, but it's also bad news.
If they cannot establish an advantage during this period of time and just continue to be in a stalemate with the American team, then the moment Yao Ming falls out of the zone will be the moment the Chinese team collapses.
So what can he do?
Defense.
That’s right, in order to establish an advantage, in addition to scoring points yourself, you must also limit your opponent’s scoring.
He switched directly to Kobe.
Most people may not have noticed that when Yao Ming was playing like crazy, Kobe also scored 5 points in a row after returning in the second half.
Although he was not the highest scorer on the American team, his scores at crucial moments were not ambiguous at all.
When Kobe saw Xu Yong switching defense, he did not stop his offensive pace. He kept going around the screen looking for opportunities.
But Xu Yong followed closely with the puppy-dog steps inherited from Kobe, and finally after Kobe got the ball, he was not thrown away.
Because there was not much time left for the attack, Kobe signaled to move away and chose to force an attack.
He chose to break through facing the basket. In last season's finals, he knew that he did not have the advantage when backing up Xu Yong.
His breakthrough was still swift, but Xu Yong was also very focused at this time, and the two of them went directly to the three-second zone from the high position.
Finally, Kobe made a close-range shot with his pivot foot turned and leaned back, but he still couldn't completely get rid of Xu Yong, and his shot hit the rim and went out.
The person Kobe least wants to play against is McGrady, because McGrady can do everything he can do, and he can do it better because of his body size.
Now McGrady has basically retired, and then Xu Yong appeared.
This monster, who was also beaten by him, has now successfully replaced Maddie's place in his heart.
The American team's attack failed, but they retreated quickly and both sides moved to the front court to continue their positional play.
Xu Yong used the same trick again. This time, Yao Ming received the ball from the outside and James rushed out directly.
But it was at this moment that Yao Ming's best moment at the London Olympics came.
He waited for James to fly over, then received the ball and dribbled towards the basket. When Chandler rushed out from the three-second zone, he turned around and passed Chandler, then slammed the ball into the basket with both hands.
This is not a move that a 2.26-meter tall man can do, but now it is done by 2.26-meter Yao Ming, and at the end of his peak.
Chandler's eyes widened with an expression that said "I just saw a ghost".
The players on the American team couldn't believe it either.
The scene was already filled with cheers from the audience.
This time it's not just Chinese fans, there are other fans as well.
Yao Ming completely conquered them with his performance of scoring 11 points in a row!
Old K reached out and called a timeout.
Scoring 11 points in a row may not sound like a lot, but if it comes from an inside player it would be terrifying.
Because the explosiveness of scoring in the interior is weak, even someone like O'Neal will be forced to pass the ball when the defense shrinks.
But Yao Ming's performance from both inside and outside the court was simply unstoppable for the US team.
After the timeout, the US team strengthened its defense against Yao Ming, but Yao Ming immediately used a beautiful ground ball to assist Jeremy Lin to score, telling Old K that your adjustment is not working.
Thanks to playing under Adelman's system, Yao Ming's passing ability has been at a very high level in recent years.
With two minutes left in the third quarter, the score became 85 to 77, with the Chinese team leading by 8 points!
It's hard to believe, but facing the Dream Team with all its members on the field, the Chinese team actually suppressed their opponents.
"Incredible! But this is the world champion!" Even the home commentator could not explain what was happening before his eyes.
But at this moment, Yao Ming committed an intentional foul on the defensive end, then looked at Durant and walked towards the bench with heavy steps.
The moment he sat down, sweat began to ooze out of his pores. He lowered his head with sweat dripping down his face, and he didn't even have the energy to wipe it off.
Xu Yong knew that Yao Ming had come out of the Zone.
15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. These are the statistics Yao Ming delivered in the more than seven minutes since he entered the zone.
It's crazy.
And the most important thing is that as a 2.26-meter tall guy, he actually persisted for so long.
You can imagine how much he wants to win this game.
However, after Yao Ming left the court, the quality of the Chinese team's offense and defense declined significantly.
Xu Yong was still trying hard to defend, but by the end of the third quarter, the score on the field became 88 to 83, and the difference had been narrowed to 5 points.
If Xu Yong can also enter the zone in the fourth quarter, he should have a chance to help the Chinese team win the game.
But this thing is something that can only be encountered by chance, and even the conditions that trigger it are different for each person and each time.
If you pin your hopes on that, it would be like looking for a float in a flood. You might be drowned before you find it.
During the break, Xu Yong didn't care about much else and pulled Deng Huade aside to make a suggestion.
When the fourth quarter came, the Chinese team put out a familiar lineup.
Sun Yue, Wang Shipeng, Zhu Fangyu, Xu Yong, Yi Jianlian.
Fans who have watched this year's finals will immediately recognize that this was a star-studded display by the Bulls in regular time in Game 6.
This is a very extreme lineup, because when it encounters a team with a strong fourth or fifth position, it will be directly beaten.
In the previous finals, the Bulls used this lineup, which was basically an offense-on-offense approach, and they won thanks to the performance of Xu Yong and Artest.
Then comes the interesting part, this dream team is strong in every aspect except inside.
Apart from Tyson Chandler who started, there were only Love and Anthony Davis.
Davis' basic combat effectiveness as a rookie can be ignored. In other words, unless K does not intend to make substitutions in the inside in the last quarter, he will not be able to put these two inside players on the court at the same time.
The Chinese team's substitutions, or Xu Yong's suggestions, directly strangled the American team.
The lineup that Old K put out was Deron, Harden, Anthony, James, and Love.
Then, the US team did not continue to narrow the gap in this period.
The reason is very simple, James can't beat Xu Yong.
Or to be more precise, whether it is Anthony or James, when they swing to play the power forward position, they cannot beat Xu Yong.
Last season's playoff experience was only a month or two ago.
All the Banana Boat Brothers on this boat were beaten up by Xu Yong one by one in the playoffs.
Of course, James is the worst one.
Xu Yong knew that James was in poor condition after the trade storm, so he repeated his defensive style from the playoffs of the previous season, letting him shoot directly and then shouting at him to grab the rebound.
James' mentality collapsed immediately.
He had never seen such a person who took advantage of others' misfortune!
After playing for a while, K realized that something was not right and made adjustments, replacing James with Chandler to play a double tower lineup.
The effect was immediate, and Yi Jianlian found it difficult to withstand the two players' successive attacks.
When this quarter had been played for more than five minutes, the score was 96 to 94, and China's lead was only 2 points.
Just at this moment, a short whistle was heard from the sidelines.
Yao Ming is back.
His steps seemed particularly heavy, as if his body was filled with lead.
Even from a short distance away, Xu Yong could feel the hot air coming out of his mouth.
It took Xu Yong two full days to recover from the aftereffects.
So even though Yao Ming rested for more than half a quarter, it was impossible for him to recover.
But he came back because he had to.
It's not just because of the situation on the court, but also because as long as he stands on the court, the confidence of the Chinese team will be greatly boosted, and it will also put huge pressure on the American team's inside line.
"Don't worry, leave the rest to me." After walking in front of Yao Ming, Xu Yong spoke, just like what Yao Ming said after he was suspended from the group stage.
At this time, Jeremy Lin was staring at the two of them blankly, and he seemed to have a deeper understanding of the Chinese players.
The game continues.
Yao Ming stood in the three-second zone. At this moment, he was like an immovable defensive wall, but it was enough to force the US team to launch an attack from the outside.
Paul cleverly called Chandler out for a pick-and-roll, and then used his mid-range shot to punish Yao Ming.
But this time, at the moment he shot, Jeremy Lin actually rushed over and interfered.
"when!"
Paul's shot hit the rim and bounced out.
Xu Yong then retreated to the basket and jumped high to grab the defensive rebound.
Then he dribbled the ball forward for a fast break.
The American team retreated quickly, but Xu Yong seemed to be possessed. He rushed directly to the basket and forced a layup against Kobe and James, causing a defensive foul.
This time he hit very aggressively, but the price was that he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
But he quickly got up from the ground and went to the free throw line to shoot.
It was at this time that the American team realized that Yao Ming had not yet reached the front court.
He literally dragged himself to the front court.
Kobe and Paul exchanged glances at this time, and then nodded to each other.
Xu Yong made both free throws, helping the Chinese team maintain its 4-point lead.
But looking back, under Paul's organization, the US team began to take advantage of the point where Yao Ming couldn't get out of the basket.
This time Paul seized the opportunity to hit a mid-range shot, narrowing the gap to 2 points again.
However, soon after, Xu Yong attacked the inside line at all costs and caused damage again and went to the free throw line.
This time he paid a higher price as he fell directly under the basket and had close contact with the photographer.
But he still got up and went to the free throw line.
Then, he adjusted his breathing and made two free throws steadily.
Many fans at the scene had tears in their eyes.
Xu Yong was not playing basketball in this segment, he was clearly playing with his life and making fun of his own career!
But it was this life-and-death approach that made the 4-point difference a hurdle that the American team could not overcome in the final moments.
Moreover, the American team couldn't help but commit fouls, and even couldn't help but commit fierce fouls, because Xu Yong's confrontation and finishing were too outstanding. If you didn't do so, you would either score a goal, or get the even more unacceptable 2+1.
With 30 seconds left in the game, Durant swung his Grim Reaper's scythe and hit a three-pointer against Xu Yong from the outside.
104 to 103, the American team finally narrowed the gap to 1 point!
Deng Huade called a timeout.
"They won't let me shoot again no matter what." During the timeout, Xu Yong said while breathing heavily.
In the past period, his reckless style of carrying the explosives had exhausted his physical strength.
And what’s more important is, as he said, Old K knows that they only have this one trick left and will definitely defend against him with all his might.
"This round of offense is up to you. I will defend Durant when retreating. If he is the one who finishes the last attack, I will defend him." Xu Yong continued after taking a breath.
After the timeout, Jeremy Lin controlled the ball from the outside to shorten the time.
Paul tried to steal the ball several times, but Jeremy Lin held on to the ball tightly this time.
With about 15 seconds left in the game, Yi Jianlian went to the three-point line for a pick-and-roll, but Jeremy Lin rushed past him and rushed into the paint.
Then, he was attacked from both sides by Chandler and James.
His shooting angle was completely blocked.
It was at this moment that he did what Xu Yong hoped he would do in the opening game of the Olympics. He found Yao Ming under the basket and passed the ball to him with a straight pass.
Yao Ming caught the ball and shot.
His movements were very slow, much slower than before he lost weight, so slow that Chandler had already turned around and returned to defense to block his ball.
But he finally completed the shot that was within reach, despite Chandler's foul and Chandler's inability to control his body and knocking him to the ground.
The referee blew the whistle and Yao Ming scored the 2+1.
Even though he couldn't get up after falling to the ground.
Xu Yong was the first to go over to check on the situation. The rest of the Chinese team and the team doctor on the bench had also come on the field.
In the end, Yao Ming was helped up from the ground by Xu Yong and Yi Jianlian.
He gritted his teeth and limped towards the free throw line.
2+1 is an unexpected situation.
Because as long as the free throw is made, the Chinese team will have a 4-point lead with 8 seconds left in the game.
In other words, it is called an invincible position.
This was a chance to kill the game.
Yao Ming, adjusting his breathing.
At this moment, he really seemed like he would fall down at any moment.
The scene was exceptionally quiet, and even the American fans forgot to make any disruptive noises.
When everyone thought that Yao Ming was already tall enough in the decisive battle of the finals, he proved today that he was even taller than everyone imagined.
He adjusted his breathing and did not dribble as usual after receiving the ball because he no longer had the strength to do so.
After aiming at the basket, he held his breath and shot the free throw in front of more than 20,000 people.
“Swish!”
Basketball, hollow into the net.
…
"As long as he was still on the court, I knew he would be able to make that free throw." -Deng Huade recalls the London Olympic final.