How could Zack still jump so high?
It's because both the fragility and resilience of human beings are beyond what we can imagine. Sometimes, a single word can bring someone to tears, and then there are times you find you've gritted your teeth and walked a very long way.
At KeyArena, it was still the Supersonics' possession. Posey, lurking in the left corner, caught a pass from Cassell and sank a three-pointer.
As everyone knows, Zack never complains about teammates by shrugging or looking distressed. So, he opted for a direct kick.
Thump!
On the court, after kicking Richardson, Zack admonished him, "If I see you defending with your eyes again, you're going straight back to the bench to warm the pine!"
Zack knew that Richardson had been trying to find his shooting touch after two inaccurate games. But if Richardson's way of finding his touch was to slack off on defense to lessen the impact of high-intensity play on his shot... then what was the point of the Warriors putting Jack on Ray Allen to stick to him like glue?
You have to remember, the Warriors' lineup tonight was one big man and four small forwards. If such a lineup couldn't limit the opponent's outside shooting... then what awaited the Warriors would likely be the Supersonics scoring both inside and out.
Back on offense, Zack and Artest executed a handoff, then Zack spun with the ball and cut to the basket. Yao Ming doubled him in time, and seeing this, Zack smoothly dished the ball to Artest at the top of the arc. Then, with a swagger, Artest hit another three.
Facing the Warriors' one big, four small lineup, with Garnett primarily guarding Zack, Yao Ming could only stay near the free-throw line to provide protection. This meant that if the Supersonics chose to collapse their defense like before, they would inevitably leave Artest open at the top of the arc.
Two possessions later, Carlisle called a timeout and further adjusted the Supersonics' defensive strategy.
Cassell brought the ball across half-court. Once bitten, twice shy, Yao Ming, despite giving Zack plenty of body contact this time, still leaned back to shoot the ball.
Swish!
Yao Ming's fadeaway shot, even Zack found hard to stop. But Carlisle noticed... that compared to the previous two games, Zack was putting more and more pressure on Yao Ming on the defensive end.
On the Warriors' offense, Artest, who was trying to punish the Supersonics' defense with another three-pointer, was stopped by Posey. The moment Yao Ming retreated to the paint, the other three Supersonics players rotated quickly, and by strategically leaving Jack open, they bought Posey enough time to recover to the top of the arc.
Seeing this, Artest passed the ball to Jack, but Jack's hesitation upon receiving the ball gave the Supersonics' defense another chance to rotate and close off the Warriors' shooting angles.
In the regular season, Jack's three-point shooting had improved somewhat compared to last season. However, in a high-intensity, high-contact game like tonight's, Jack wasn't confident in his three-point shot. And... with very little time left on the shot clock, Jack, lacking "hero ball" ability, could only pass the ball to his team's strongest player.
Zack received the pass from Jack with about five to six seconds left to complete the possession. Garnett had practically sealed off Zack's angle to attack from the weak side, intentionally leaving the strong side, where Yao Ming could help, open for Zack.
However... facing Garnett's intentional defense, Zack, going against the grain, aggressively dribbled the ball before exploding with speed, driving straight into the paint guarded by Yao Ming. The moment Zack drove to the basket, a well-prepared Yao Ming gave him ample body contact.
BOOM!
At KeyArena, when Zack and Yao Ming's two massive bodies collided, fans in the front row could even clearly hear the impact of their muscles. But Zack, who only released the ball in the air after Yao Ming had landed, threw the basketball towards the rim with an astonishing hang-time, one-handed floater.
Bang, Swish!
The ball bounced off the backboard and into the net.
On ESPN, Scottie Pippen, "a man who goes where the food is," exclaimed, "In terms of body control, the Messiah has surpassed Michael Jordan in his prime."
Next to him, A-Smith chuckled, "Michael would definitely not agree with your assessment."
Pippen shrugged, "I always just speak the truth." After a pause, Pippen added, "Michael was only 6 feet 6 inches, but the Messiah is 6 feet 11 inches. I've never seen a big man player hang in the air for a layup like that."
Facing a well-reasoned Pippen, A-Smith said, "His body control is indeed incredible, but this is also a dangerous sign... whenever the Messiah plays like this, it means his stamina consumption will be incredibly high."
Pippen shrugged, "I never try to figure out these great players with normal logic, because these great players usually show you on the court that normal logic doesn't apply to them."
A-Smith chuckled, "Including Michael Jordan?"
The next second, Pippen gritted his teeth, "Including Michael Jordan!"
On the Supersonics' offensive possession, after receiving a pass from Ray Allen, Garnett suddenly turned and pulled up for a shot. This old wolf's agile and smooth shooting motion was definitely worth learning for those players in the league who still hadn't tamed their limbs.
Swish!
On the court, Artest, furious about being surprised by Garnett, slapped himself hard. But as Zack walked past him, he gently patted his back, a rare moment of tenderness: "Don't worry about his piecemeal scoring."
Zack knew very well that if Garnett's piecemeal scoring could kill, then he wouldn't have needed to form a "Big Three" in his later career to contend for a championship. Moreover, once Garnett started scoring piecemeal on the court, it meant that the Supersonics' offense was starting to have problems against the Warriors' one big, four small lineup.
Since the beginning of the game, Ray Allen had yet to score a single point. Only Posey had hit a three-pointer for the Supersonics. Even a powerful player like Yao Ming couldn't transform into a Titan God every possession.
On the bench, Rick Carlisle had fully realized the main purpose of the Warriors' one big, four small lineup tonight. Although the Warriors' one big, four small lineup did create more opportunities inside for the Supersonics, because this Supersonics team lacked penetrators... as long as the Warriors could lock down the Supersonics' outside shooting, the Supersonics would inevitably need Yao Ming and Garnett to take on more offensive responsibilities on the court.
Warriors head coach Mike Malone didn't completely leave the outcome of the game to unpredictable outside shooting touch. Instead, at Zack's suggestion... he used a more aggressive defensive strategy, built on the Supersonics' roster framework, to further elevate the Warriors' defense in Game 4.
Additionally, compared to the previous two games, Zack, playing injured tonight, clearly had a stronger desire to attack.
On the court, as Davis brought the ball across half-court, Zack actively called for the ball on the left side. If, in the previous Western Conference Finals, due to his lingering injury, Zack only attacked when necessary for the Warriors... then in this Game 4, he was clearly concentrating his shots.
On the wing, seeing Garnett intentionally drawing Zack into his defensive area, Posey timely completed a double team on Zack. But before the double team fully formed, Zack, from the long two-point area, brazenly pulled off a high-difficulty fadeaway that even Kobe would commend.
Clang!
The ball bounced off the rim. However, because it was a long rebound, Yao Ming couldn't secure the ball immediately. Through the game footage from the previous three games, Zack knew that the Supersonics' zone defense would inevitably make them lose control of these long rebounds.
Therefore, the moment he shot the ball, while Garnett and Posey were still momentarily stunned, Zack immediately transformed into a fierce tiger, pouncing directly towards the rebound's landing spot. He personally snatched his missed shot and, after a jump step, made a reverse layup over Yao Ming.
Beep!
Basket and a foul.
AND-ONE!
This Zack, he's simply a War God!
1300 kilometers away at Oracle Arena in Oakland, don't ask for whom the golden wave rolls! Of course, it's for the savior of the Bay Area, for the Golden State War God who stands tall at KeyArena!
At the free-throw line, Zack sank the free throw with an incredibly determined look in his eyes. Seattle fans wouldn't be unfamiliar with such a look. Because eleven years ago, the man who personally shattered Seattle's championship dream was the one who, with that very same look, crushed the Supersonics led by Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, and Detlef Schrempf in Game 3 of the Finals.
In the first quarter, Yao Ming played two minutes longer than usual before Carlisle subbed him out. Zack's full-throttle attack and Garnett's increased pressure were certainly among the reasons Yao Ming was forced to play extra minutes in the first quarter... but most importantly, throughout the entire first quarter, Ray Allen, who was 1-for-5 shooting, only made one mid-range jump shot.
Unlike Richardson, who appears strong but can actually be fooled by a few fakes from Ray Allen, Jarrett Jack was like a stinky rat from the sewers in front of Ray Allen. He constantly bothered Ray Allen. No matter how Ray Allen tried to shake him off, the next moment, the "foul-smelling" Jack would appear in front of Ray Allen again.
Jack's excellent defense made Ray Allen much more anxious than in the previous two games. And this anxiety ultimately reflected in Ray Allen's increasingly inaccurate shooting performance.
In the final moments of the first quarter, Cassell, whose three-point shooting percentage was only 20% this postseason, sank a crucial three-pointer from the corner for the Supersonics, changing the score to 28-23. This somewhat lucky three-pointer allowed the suffocating KeyArena to breathe a little.
But Carlisle, who was gradually realizing that the Supersonics' offense couldn't match the Warriors', sent Yao Ming out in the second quarter to lead the Supersonics' bench while also keeping Ray Allen on the court, hoping he could take the opportunity to find his shooting touch.
In response, Malone chose to "grind" Jack. In the first quarter, Jack, who had zero points, only 2 rebounds, and 2 assists, was definitely the Warriors player Ray Allen disliked the most at that moment.
Furthermore, thanks to Zack concentrating his offense and doing a lot of hard work in the first quarter, Davis, who was leading the Warriors' second unit tonight, was clearly in better physical condition than in the previous two games. This was one of Zack's main goals in concentrating his offense in the first quarter. By pushing his physical limits, Zack had already set the stage for the original "Beard Man" with a "peak-avoidance" strategy.
On the court, during the Warriors' offensive possession, Davis, driving past Earl Watson from the wing, pulled up and hit a bank shot. The next possession, it was still Davis's individual attack. This time, Davis, who attracted Yao Ming's double-team, made a brilliant pass to Brown for an alley-oop dunk.
While Zack rested on the bench, throughout the first half of the second quarter, Davis, who had once again found his superhuman form, perfectly seized the opportunity and almost single-handedly carried the Warriors' offense. The only minor drawback was... Brown, who was constantly getting beaten by Yao Ming without waiting for a double-team, completely became Yao Ming's toy in the game.
This was Brown's darkest hour, but what surprised Brown was that Zack, who often used to verbally and physically abuse him, instead gently patted his already dejected head when he was subbed out.
"Good job. I'd give your performance tonight a 9. The 1 point off is because I don't want you to get complacent."
"..."
"G-good job?"
If Brown wasn't mistaken about the box score, under his defense, Yao Ming was 4-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, scoring 10 points and 3 rebounds in just half a quarter for the Supersonics. And him? Besides that alley-oop dunk, he only had 2 points and 3 rebounds in the first half of the second quarter.
Such a performance was considered good, and even earned a high score of 9? To be honest, for a moment, Brown even suspected that Zack's grading scale was out of 100.
But when Brown returned to the bench, it wasn't just Zack who praised him.
"Your performance tonight finally lived up to your status as the number one pick," Warriors head coach Malone commended Brown from the bench.
Brown, whose basketball IQ still needed improvement... clearly didn't realize that in this game of "who kills whom first," his relentless defense had objectively helped the Warriors exhaust a significant amount of Yao Ming's stamina. Just as Zack couldn't escape the limitations of his own physique, Yao Ming, at 7 feet 6 inches tall, also had to bear a significant amount of stamina consumption with every offensive play.
In the latter half of the second quarter, when Zack returned to the court... Yao Ming, who had been fiercely attacking for half a quarter for the Supersonics, inevitably saw his shooting touch decline. On the court, Garnett fed Yao Ming in the high post, and Yao Ming's fadeaway shot missed. Zack secured the rebound and quickly passed it to Davis to bring the ball across half-court.
Then, Zack, who had concentrated his offense in the first quarter, finally saw the scene he wanted to see most. The moment he drove with the ball to the strong side of the Supersonics' defense, Posey's help defense came noticeably quicker than before. Seeing this, Zack, with perfect chemistry with Richardson, made a no-look pass directly to Richardson, who was lurking in the right 45-degree angle.
Upon receiving the ball, Richardson, who understood perfectly, pulled the trigger and sank the three-pointer.
This was a meticulously planned pass. Since Zack's passes in the previous two games hadn't yielded positive results, Zack naturally had to find a way to create easier shooting opportunities for his teammates. The method Zack came up with was to force the Supersonics' defense to collapse more quickly with a more aggressive offense.
This is the simplest underlying logic in basketball. But to achieve it... is very difficult. Because without a powerful and daunting ability to score independently, one that can effectively disrupt the opponent's defensive schemes... your passes can easily turn into simply "dumping the ball" to your teammates.
After Cassell brought the ball across half-court, Ray Allen scored two points for the Supersonics in a half-court set. Ray Allen, who was tightly guarded by Jack and couldn't run off screens for three-point opportunities as planned, made a quick decision to cut to the basket. Zack, being screened by Yao Ming, couldn't immediately help Jack. But this was still a successful defensive play. For the Warriors, it was a victory to contain Ray Allen and not give him easy three-point looks. After all, against a historic shooter like him... no team can completely limit his scoring.
Back on offense for the Warriors. To prevent Zack from orchestrating the offense, "Full-effort Garnett" actively signaled to his teammates not to help. But when the Warriors used a one big, four small lineup, the Supersonics, who inevitably had a mismatch on Artest's side, experienced a brief defensive vacuum the moment Artest chose to cut to the basket.
Zack, having anticipated Artest's movement, delivered the ball almost simultaneously with Artest arriving. Artest didn't miss Zack's high-quality pass. Because Zack's pass was delivered with perfect placement and power, making it comfortable for Artest to receive, Artest only needed to lean forward after getting the ball to send it into the basket with an underhand layup before Yao Ming's help defense arrived.
On ESPN, Pippen praised Zack's pass: "He keenly observed the opponent's defensive positioning and timely delivered the ball to his open teammate. In my opinion, his pass is a great work of art, worthy of repeated admiration and appreciation." After a pause, Pippen added, "His passing allows him to connect better with his teammates, a capability Michael Jordan didn't possess in his prime."
On the next Warriors' offensive possession, the Supersonics players increased their vigilance against Artest's cuts. But just as the situation became a stalemate, Zack suddenly made an incredibly bold and imaginative baseline cross-court pass to Richardson in the opposite corner. The KeyArena home crowd expressed their shock at this pass with gasps of amazement.
A cross-court pass has always been a major taboo in basketball. So, how much more so a baseline cross-court pass?
In the opposite corner, when the basketball appeared in front of him, the unguarded Dunk Contest Champion was also stunned for a second. Fortunately, Richardson didn't let Zack's pass of the century go to waste.
Swish!
As they transitioned back on defense, Richardson looked at Zack and curiously asked, "How did you just pass that ball over?"
Hearing this, Zack shrugged and said, "When you need my pass, my pass will naturally find you."
...