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Dragon Emperor in Pokemon World.
The return of Itachi
I am Sasuke. Why should I defect from Konoha.
Please give it a go đ
***
( I posted three wrong Chapters. Now, corrected it.)
On the evening of May 20, 2004, Head Coach Larry Brown fell silent early.
Just like in the regular season, once they dug themselves into a hole in the first quarter, the players on the court would instinctively speed up their play in an attempt to close the gap.
The most obvious change was that their offense became impatient, no longer seeking reasonable shots, and their core players entered a 'shoot on sight' mentality.
Larry Brown repeatedly emphasized patience and maintaining defensive intensity during halftime.
However, after the third quarter began, as the team fell into a scoring drought, the Detroit Pistons also started playing wildly.
At this point, with 4 minutes and 3 seconds left in the third quarter, as Rasheed Wallace impatiently drove to the basket and lost the ball, everyone on the Detroit Pistons' bench fell silent.
49:76. After more than half a quarter, the Detroit Pistons had only scored 10 points.
The New York Knicks' Defense was shrunken around the paint, so this reckless offense didn't have much effect.
"Wow!"
The cheers grew louder.
The New York fans were especially happy to see their opponent falter.
As the New York Knicks attacked, Lee passed the ball after crossing half-court and ran towards the right corner, and the opposing Defense was no longer unified.
Chauncey Billups, who was guarding him, chose to stick to him, and Hamilton and Williams on the perimeter did the same, no longer insisting on zone Defense.
However, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace under the basket did not move their feet in time.
Instead, they were drawn to Lee, constantly watching the corner.
A simple pick-and-roll at the top of the arc saw Hamilton successfully squeeze through the screen, attempting to stick to Hill.
Pau Gasol, who received the pass at the free-throw line, was unguarded, as the two big men in the paint failed to move, watching Gasol sink a mid-range jump shot!
At the commentary table, Bill Walton began to offer reasons for the Detroit Pistons' impending loss:
"Facing an opponent like the New York Knicks, they should stick to the game plan they set before the game."
"The players on the court should be smarter. Ben Wallace should continue his performance from the first half. He should get the ball more often."
In the first half, Ben Wallace was left open, going 4-for-9 and scoring a team-high 12 points.
Compared to the other 'iron-shooters,' Ben Wallace had virtually become the Detroit Pistons' primary scorer.
However, by the third quarter, in their impatient state, everyone was playing haphazardly, and Ben Wallace, who was left open, received the ball much less frequently, forced to focus solely on rebounds.
On this Detroit Pistons' possession, Corliss Williamson was again left open on the right wing, and his three-pointer clanked off the rim after he received the pass, forcing everyone to run back.
Nessler felt his partner had a point, and seeing Lee calmly collect the long rebound and dribble across half-court, he added:
"This isn't the Detroit Pistons' game rhythm. They're playing too impatiently!"
Unable to exert his full effort, Chauncey Billups, retreating to half-court, was still loudly calling out to his teammates, but as Lee passed the ball after crossing half-court, he felt a moment of helplessness.
On the right elbow, Pau Gasol received the pass and immediately turned his body, feigning a hand-off.
After passing the ball, Lee first faked a move towards the top of the arc, then suddenly accelerated and cut back, shaking off Chauncey Billups who was sticking to his side, and drove straight to the basket from the right wing.
Leveraging his height advantage, Pau Gasol, facing the basket after turning, held the ball above his head.
The moment Lee shook off his defender, he immediately tossed the ball towards the basket.
Chauncey Billups could only watch as Lee received the ball near the paint, soared into the air, gripped the ball with his right hand, and easily shot down a one-handed dunk!
"Oh!"
Amidst the cheers, Head Coach Larry Brown called a timeout.
The game was no longer in doubt.
Forced into man-to-man Defense, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace moved away from the basket.
Clay Lee scored easily several times without the ball, indicating that the defensive strategy for the third quarter had completely failed.
Sitting back down, gasping for breath, Rasheed Wallace felt increasingly uncomfortable after seeing the score.
He kept his eyes on the Head Coach, trying to regain his confidence from him.
Chauncey Billups remained silent.
Tonight, he had received special treatment.
Every pick-and-roll with Ben Wallace resulted in a double-team.
Hamilton, who had taken off his mask, was somewhat frustrated.
With a little help from the referees, he was 5-for-14 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line, scoring 17 points in three quarters.
The New York Knicks' perimeter players rotated guarding him, preventing Hamilton from consistently scoring for the team, and his response shots simply couldn't keep up.
Noticing that all three of his key players were looking at him, Larry Brown found the motivational speech stuck in his throat.
Finally, he picked up the whiteboard and, as if nothing was wrong, began to draw up plays:
"Don't think about winning or losing anymore. Stay patient. We need to find opportunities for easy scores on offense!"
Fixed screen plays, Hamilton receiving the ball in the left and right block areas to complete the offense, big men posting up in the low block, and Rasheed Wallace scoring for the team through his individual ability.
Coupled with Chauncey Billups's individual ball-handling offense, the Detroit Pistons' offense in most possessions was covered by these three players.
Larry Brown assigned some individual isolation plays to Williams.
On the bench, everyone remained silent, a look of confusion in their eyes:
"Trailing by such a large margin, and this is how we're going to catch up?"
On the New York Knicks' bench, Amar'e Stoudemire and others wanted to get on the court early, but Coach D'Antoni was still very cautious and did not actively change the lineup.
In the Conference Finals, the coaching staff began to increase the playing time of the starting lineup, which made Amar'e Stoudemire somewhat dissatisfied.
Affected by a knee injury, his playing time was further reduced.
Seeing the starting lineup return to the court, cheers erupted in the Madison Square Garden.
Amar'e Stoudemire, who had been warming up, returned to the bench and quietly complained with his hand over his mouth:
"Leading by so much, we should have rotated already. I only played 6 minutes!"
Dikembe Mutombo glanced at the Rookie beside him.
His playing time also decreased tonight, but he gladly accepted the coaching staff's arrangement:
"There's still another quarter to play. There will always be a chance to perform!"
Watching the situation on the court, Amar'e Stoudemire shook his head slightly.
He disliked playing in garbage time.
It didn't suit his status.
During the second quarter's rotation, the New York Knicks allowed their opponent to launch a counterattack, with the Detroit Pistons scoring 25 points in that single quarter.
Coach D'Antoni disliked this kind of Defense, and Kurt Thomas ended up taking Amar'e Stoudemire's rotation time in the third quarter.
For New York fans, as long as Lee was on the court, occasionally showing off some fancy moves, the ticket was worth it.
The New York Media also didn't give Amar'e Stoudemire a voice, after all, he was still young, and in a few years, he was destined to get a starting position.
Also benched was Tayshaun Prince.
Playing at home, Ron Artest rarely faced foul trouble.
Ron Artest disrupted Hamilton's reception, then nearly blocked a shot at the free-throw line.
Seeing Ron Artest, who had completed the Defense, energetically sprint across half-court, Tayshaun Prince, who was sitting, stood up and clapped along with his teammates.
Due to the competitive environment of the New York Knicks, Tayshaun Prince, who originally just wanted to play quietly, had no choice but to find more ways to contribute.
Unable to get playing time, he could only express himself from the sidelines.
However, Tayshaun Prince was still not very good at this.
Compared to the professional towel-waver, Matt Barnes, he still had a long way to go.
A disciplined team is one that will play hard on Defense no matter how far behind they are.
Although Chauncey Billups was frustrated, he still stuck to Lee, interfering.
At the top of the arc, facing Lee, who was dribbling with his left hand and accelerating to drive, he quickly slid backward to the right.
Leaning into his defender, Lee suddenly brought the ball behind his back as he approached the three-point line, failing to completely shake off the Defense, and continued with successive behind-the-back dribbles.
Chauncey Billups, familiar with Lee, realized the dribbling speed had increased and quickly stepped forward to poke at the ball, attempting to disrupt the offensive rhythm.
Hamilton on the right wing was somewhat conflicted.
The coaching staff had not set up a double-team defensive strategy on the perimeter, so he hesitated and remained in place.
With two extremely quick behind-the-back dribbles, the moment Chauncey Billups reached for the ball, Lee, switching to his right hand, suddenly lunged forward and accelerated.
While Chauncey Billups was sliding backward to the left, Lee seized the opportunity to cross over and pull back, and the moment he switched to his left hand, he immediately pushed the ball forward.
Chauncey Billups, whose front support foot was attacked, hadn't had time to interfere yet.
Clay Lee, at the three-point line, reset his feet, dropped his shoulder, and accelerated, instantly squeezing past the Defense.
Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace on either side of the basket had intended to collapse and help defend, but Lee gathered the ball early as he surged past the free-throw line.
After a step, he leaned forward and completed a floater with his left hand directly in front of the basket.
"Swish!" The two-point shot went cleanly through the net.
Nessler hadn't commentated many New York Knicks games this season.
Seeing Lee consistently making floaters from the free-throw line tonight, he couldn't help but exclaim:
"God! How many points has Clay Lee scored from that spot tonight?"
"Compared to previous seasons, this seems to be a new offensive move."
Bill Walton, seeing Lee no longer leading the Defense, knew the New York Knicks were preparing to lower their intensity.
Hearing his partner's exclamation, he also boasted:
"The Detroit Pistons' interior Defense is helpless against this kind of offense!"
"Unfortunately, God is not on their side tonight! This is Lee, he's only 26 years old, and he's constantly improving his basketball skills."
"I don't like the Los Angeles media's reporting. Look at Lee's physique, look at his diverse offensive repertoire. Anyone who's played basketball knows he must have put in tremendous effort for this!"
The clean and decisive offense sent the New York Knicks' atmosphere group into a frenzy of celebration.
Matt Barnes even pointed at the stunned Chauncey Billups, then covered his face with both hands, jumping and shouting repeatedly.
Seeing such a "professional" celebration, Tayshaun Prince, who was only clapping beside him, twitched his eyes slightly, thinking:
"Even flattery has become so competitive."
Rasheed Wallace felt extremely frustrated in tonight's game.
He got into foul trouble in the first quarter, and although he found his touch in the second quarter, the point difference kept widening.
After the second half began, he made two more low-level receiving errors.
Full of pent-up frustration, Rasheed Wallace finally scored on a turnaround jump shot from the left low post on this possession, immediately letting out an excited roar.
Waving his fists repeatedly, Rasheed Wallace quickly noticed his teammates' low spirits.
As they retreated to half-court, he couldn't help but shout, calling everyone to Defense.
Clay Lee moved to the left wing, and Kurt Thomas actively stepped up to screen.
A fuming Rasheed Wallace immediately followed him out to defend.
Without waiting for his teammates to set, Lee, with the ball in his right hand, suddenly faked a move to the right-front, then quickly changed direction with a crossover.
Chauncey Billups, who was tightly guarding him, instinctively slid to the left, instantly losing his defensive position.
Kurt Thomas was set, unable to squeeze through the screen in time.
Lowering his center of gravity and propping up his right arm, Rasheed Wallace quickly came up to delay, staring intently at Lee's movements.
The moment he neared the three-point line, Lee faked bringing the ball together with his right hand.
As Rasheed Wallace stepped forward, Lee suddenly lowered his center of gravity, simply and roughly accelerating with a shoulder drop.
"Damn it!"
Rasheed Wallace cursed under his breath and quickly slid towards the basket.
Lee gained more than half a step, increasing his stride while moving, and upon reaching the left restricted area, suddenly executed a quick spin move.
Watching Lee instantly get to the basket right next to him, Rasheed Wallace instinctively jumped to block.
At the same time, Ben Wallace also rushed to the front of the rim and leaped high, attempting to block the shot.
In the air, Lee faced the double-team, suddenly curled his body, pulling the ball down with both hands while evading the Defense, then glided to the lower right side of the rim, pulled his right arm down, and smoothly tossed the ball towards the backboard!
In a flash, Lee evaded the block and completed the floater.
The fans in the Madison Square Garden first gasped, then their cheers almost broke through the Madison Square Garden.
"Wow!"
The basketball hit high off the backboard, spun, and dropped into the basket.
Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace, after landing, could only exchange glances, both silenced.
Lee, who had fallen to the floor to absorb the impact, was quickly pulled up by his teammates.
As he retreated on Defense, he patted Ben Wallace:
"Good help Defense! You almost stopped me!"
"..."
Ben Wallace opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
After several years of matchups, it seemed no different from the New York Knicks' internal training games back then.
Tonight, Lee's three-point shooting touch was off, but his various scoop shots and floater in the paint still managed to dismantle the Detroit Pistons.
Head Coach Larry Brown silently walked back to the bench at this point, sitting in his seat and waiting for the game to end.
Although there was still one quarter left, Larry Brown knew tonight was definitely hopeless.
His players' game state was simply too terrible.
At the end of the third quarter, on the Detroit Pistons' bench, Darwin Ham and Elden Campbell still had fighting spirit, continuously clapping and encouraging:
"It's okay, the series has just begun!"
55:86. With such a huge point difference, the Detroit Pistons' starting five couldn't lift their spirits even after hearing their teammates' comfort.
Returning to the bench, Lee had already changed into his training gear.
He was done for the night after three quarters.
The fans behind him kept shouting his name.
Tonight's game left everyone wanting more.
Lee always managed to come up with something new.
The assistant coaches began to take over the tactical board, reminding the rotation players not to be careless.
Tonight, the short Knight only played less than 3 minutes, nodding repeatedly when he heard the instructions.
Ewing was very satisfied with Pau Gasol's performance tonight.
Although his strong inside offense was mediocre, his tough jump shot was very accurate.
7-of-13 shooting, 6-of-8 free throws, 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.
Seeing the double-double on the stat sheet, Ewing nodded.
After the game started, he leaned over to Lee and whispered:
"How come I don't remember you liking to use floaters to finish possessions?"
Gorilla hadn't seen this extra practice in daily training.
Seeing the other party's curious gaze, Lee raised an eyebrow and said very naturally:
"Pat, isn't this fundamental? Every guard masters this offensive technique."
"..."
Entering the rotation phase, Amar'e Stoudemire, despite saying he didn't like playing garbage time, performed diligently once he entered the game.
Raja Bell and Tayshaun Prince also didn't relax.
With such a strong lead, they naturally wanted to strike hard!
Hamilton remained on the court during garbage time, seemingly trying to find his shooting touch, but unfortunately, the presence of the starters instead ignited the fighting spirit of the New York Knicks players.
Lindsey Hunter had intended to control the game's tempo, but his teammates kept clanking shots, and the New York Knicks launched continuous fast breaks.
Soon, he completely lost control of the game.
Although Darwin Ham was full of fighting spirit, he struggled to score.
Only Mehmet Okur and Elden Campbell were able to make some response baskets.
Facing the less agile inside combination, Amar'e Stoudemire attacked the basket face-up for several consecutive possessions, fully showcasing his physical talent.
At the commentary table, Bill Walton didn't expect the point difference to widen further.
At this point, he could only change the subject and say:
"Head Coach Larry Brown should change his thinking. The New York Knicks won't be limited by zone Defense. They are the team with the fewest post-ups in the league."
"In the next game, the problem they urgently need to solve is offense. Relying on fouls to limit the opponent's transition offense will only lead to free throws."
Nessler didn't realize his partner was changing the subject.
Instead, he asked very seriously:
"How should the Detroit Pistons adjust in the next few games? Currently, there seems to be a huge gap between the two teams."
"..."
This question stumped Bill Walton.
He subconsciously touched the white stubble on his chin and finally could only say dryly:
"Make more response baskets. I believe the Detroit Pistons will adjust in time."
The one-sided situation on the court made Nessler glance at Clay Lee's statistics:
33 minutes played, 13-of-20 shooting, 2-of-6 from three-point range, 7-of-7 free throws, 35 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 0 turnovers.
His nearly 80% two-point field goal percentage made Nessler praise him repeatedly:
"Response baskets? Who can compare to the New York Knicks?"
The referees rarely blew their whistles, and time flew by.
Amidst the cheers of the New York fans, the score finally settled at 77:114, with the New York Knicks winning decisively over the Detroit Pistons.
Chauncey Billups left early through the player tunnel.
He had 3-of-11 shooting, 0-of-2 from three-point range, 6 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 3 turnovers.
This stat line continued his sluggish performance from the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Rasheed Wallace, with a long face, also hurried towards the player tunnel.
He had made bold statements to the Detroit media before the game, and tonight he had made a complete fool of himself.
4-of-11 shooting, 0-of-4 from three-point range, 4-of-4 free throws, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 turnovers.
With such a performance, he could only remain silent after the game.
On the Detroit Pistons side, Ben Wallace had an excellent offensive performance: 6-of-13 shooting, 3-of-4 free throws, scoring 15 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and 4 turnovers.
Upon arriving at Madison Square Garden, Ben Wallace was not booed by the New York fans.
It was just that the fans here seemed to have amnesia, and Ben Wallace felt like he had become invisible.
After joining the Detroit Pistons, he achieved the honors he desired, but two consecutive years of falling in the Eastern Conference Semifinals also made Ben Wallace realize how absurd his New York Knicks career had been:
"I don't regret making this choice."
Ben Wallace, walking towards the player tunnel, watched the fans on both sides happily celebrating.
As he made a silent resolve, he pulled off his headband, revealing a determined expression.
Lee, who was being interviewed by ESPN, didn't pay attention to the emotions of the Detroit Pistons players.
For him, iron-blooded Defense was less effective than a sixth man's whistle.
This was a predictable big win.
"Lee, we noticed that tonight you frequently used floaters to finish on offense. Is this your hidden secret weapon?"
Hearing this question, Lee chuckled and sincerely said:
"No, that's just because my shooting touch from the three-point line wasn't good tonight, so I chose to use floaters."
"Actually, I prefer to solve offense from beyond the three-point line. We all know that a three-pointer is one point more than a two-pointer. It's an efficient offensive choice."
"Perhaps in the next game, I might choose to take a lot of three-point shots, you never know. I like to challenge myself!"
The surrounding staff all felt that Lee was showing off, but no one could refute him.
The ESPN reporter, however, was very satisfied with this answer.
Tomorrow, they could write another short essay:
"Congratulations, Lee! We hope to see an even more exciting performance from the New York Knicks in the next game."
"..."
.....
By the way, don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me :)