Sandek called a timeout, and the players sat down and panted.
Looking at the players in front of him, Sandek looked quite helpless. The gap in strength between the two sides was in all aspects.
He held the tactical board and didn't even know what adjustments to make.
The Devils' bench was exceptionally quiet at this moment.
"Guys!" Seeing this, Xu Yong stood up from the bench and pointed to the other half of the court. "They are just like us. They don't have an extra pair of hands or legs. There are still more than 30 minutes in the game. We still have a chance. We need to do a good job of defense and rebounding. We can do it!"
His words were powerful, but this time, the Devils players did not respond to him.
Although the game lasted only more than 9 minutes, the Bruins dealt them an all-round blow.
On the offensive end, they couldn't score any goals. Harden's breakthrough couldn't cause any damage, Harden and Xu Yong's pick-and-roll didn't work, and Ayers was suppressed by Love. On the defensive end, they couldn't defend either positional warfare or fast breaks.
The gap in strength between them and the Bruins was so huge that they felt it was impossible to win.
It has nothing to do with confidence or morale, it's simply because they can't win, just like the jokers on the poker table are bigger than the face cards.
Xu Yong looked at Harden. He knew that Harden needed to stand up and agree at this time.
Harden and Xu Yong looked at each other and lowered their heads.
He tried, just as he tried hard to train with Seo Young, but he knew it was impossible.
Seeing this, Xu Yong also knew that it would be useless even if he invited Doug Rivers.
No matter how thick the chicken soup is, it cannot make a person who has fallen down stand up again.
"Coach, I can stay on the court all the time. My physical fitness is fine." He turned to Sandek and said, since words didn't work, he decided to do it.
Upon hearing this, Harden looked up at Xu Yong but didn't say anything.
Sandek saw the determination in Xu Yong's eyes and nodded.
UCLA is not without weaknesses. They have four elite players, but a relatively weak bench, which is why they are ranked behind Kansas in the survey.
If we can narrow the gap a little bit during the transition period between substitutes, there might still be a chance.
After the break, the game continues.
Before going on stage, Xu Yong gathered the five people who were going to play together.
"Don't have any psychological pressure. The worst result is just losing the game, and the loss is not because of you, but because our starters didn't play well, so relax, focus on the game, and do the best you can."
At this time, the players who played with Xu Yong, except Ship who had gone off to rest and came back on, the rest like Eric Boateng, Ty Albert and Kuksix were all substitutes. They came on the court when the team was trailing by 16 points, and the psychological pressure can be imagined.
But Xu Yong's words relieved them of their psychological burden.
Just like Xu Yong said, the worst thing is losing the game. Besides, they are not a wealthy team and have nothing to afford to lose. In that case, there is nothing to be afraid of!
On the Bruins side, Collison was the only starter on the court, and the remaining four were substitutes.
This is not because they underestimated their opponents, but their game strategy was like this: they would widen the score during the main stage, let the substitutes come up for a while, and then win the game when the main players come back.
And now with a 16-point lead, there is no need for them to make any changes.
Just like they were able to gain an advantage even without doing too much research on the Devils team, when facing an opponent that is obviously weaker than themselves, the best game strategy is not to make changes.
"Steve, it seems that we didn't choose a good game." In the stands, Marion looked at the score and turned around and said.
Nash nodded with a wry smile. Although what he said before was not without reason, the gap in strength between the two sides was indeed too big.
Although the Devils have won three games in a row, the only team among their opponents that is ranked in the top 25 of the polls is the University of Arizona.
"Why do I feel like they haven't given up yet?" Stoudemire said at this time. He saw the five players of the Devils team gathered together.
Nash also noticed that Xu Yong continued to stay on the court, and then he subconsciously looked up at the score.
A 16-point difference in the NCAA is basically equivalent to more than 25 points in an NBA game, so it is still very difficult to reverse the situation.
But the biggest comeback in the NBA was 36 points, so the Devils are not completely without chance.
After all, “anything is possible until the final whistle,” and there’s still plenty of time left for the Devils.
On the court, the game continues.
The Devils team has the ball.
Xu Yong set a pick-and-roll for Albert, then went down the court.
His ball handling has not been fully developed yet, and it is a better choice to use his pick-and-roll quality to create opportunities.
The Bruins' substitute was a beat slow to react, so this was an opportunity, but Albert didn't pass the ball, but chose to shoot directly.
"when!"
The basketball hit the rim and his shot missed.
But at this moment, a figure jumped into the air, pointed directly at the bouncing basketball, and put the ball into the basket.
It’s Xu Yong!
He was very close to the basket after he slid down.
What's more, what he told Sandek was that physical fitness was not just about showing off. Under high-intensity training, his physical fitness had also improved invisibly.
"It's my problem." Albert apologized to Xu Yong while retreating. The previous pass was a better choice, but his style of play made him prefer scoring.
"Do what you are good at." Xu Yong did not blame him, but encouraged him instead.
Albert nodded vigorously.
After the Bruins pushed forward to the frontcourt, they still played against UCLA’s open cuts, but the threat they posed was completely different from those in the starting lineup.
Collison's final layup was blocked by Cooksicks, and the rebound was also grabbed by Boateng.
The Devil's team finally defended a positional battle!
However, although the Bruins' substitutes were average in offense, they retreated quickly and did not give the Devils any chance to launch a defensive counterattack.
This is also what Bruins coach Ben Howland wants them to do. He doesn't expect this group of substitutes to continue to widen the score, and it will be a success if they can maintain the score difference.
This time it was Boateng who set a screen for Albert, who continued to shoot from mid-range after the screen, but unfortunately still missed.
Anyone who has played in a game should know that when a team is trailing by a large margin, the basket is like a lid on the lagging team.
The ball bounced off a long backboard, and then a figure rushed over and grabbed the rebound.
It's Xu Yong again!
Rebounding and defense, which is what he mentioned earlier on the bench and with his teammates.
Moreover, after Xu Yong saw that he was being closely guarded after getting the rebound, he passed the ball to Albert.
After receiving the ball, Albert chose to attack the basket, facing a difficult pull-up shot against the defense.
This ball was too difficult, and his core strength was insufficient. After the confrontation, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"beep!"
The referee blew the whistle, signaling a defensive foul by the Bruins.
Albert caused the damage.
"Bang!"
And after the referee blew the whistle, the basketball hit the backboard, bounced back... and fell into the net!
This is still a 2+1!
Without waiting for Xu Yong to pull him over, Albert jumped up from the ground and punched the air excitedly.
It’s so nice to finally get some rain after a long drought!
At this time, Xu Yong came up to him and bumped chests with him to celebrate. He directly reached out and hugged Xu Yong, then patted Xu Yong's back hard.
If it weren't for Xu Yong's trust and passing the ball, his performance after coming on the court would have been 0 of 2 shots!
At this time, some players on the Devils' bench also stood up to celebrate.
The cheers of fans were heard again at the scene.
Under the leadership of Xu Yong, the Devil's team has restored the confidence of the team and the fans with actual performance!