NBA: The God of Basketball Begins with Precise Scoring

Chapter 11: Jordan misses a golden opportunity, Li Xingchen is appointed to a critical mission!

As mentioned earlier, once Gobert returns to the court, his presence in the paint becomes a significant deterrent, rendering the Warriors' tactics ineffective.

Poole's attempt to break through was ultimately blocked by Gobert under the basket. Although the Warriors regained possession, there wasn't enough time left on the shot clock. In desperation, Wiggins had no choice but to force a shot, which ultimately missed.

Possession changed hands, but the Jazz on the other side quickly hit a transition three-pointer, bringing the score to within three points in an instant.

Off the court, Kerr clapped his hands vigorously, signaling everyone to change tactics.

The best way to deal with an opponent's retreating center is to have the three-point shooter and the center set a screen. If the opponent's center doesn't move up, the shooter will have space to shoot a three-pointer. If the opponent moves up to help defend, the paint will be wide open again, and other teammates can look for cuts.

If Curry is the ball-handler who runs the pick-and-roll for the Warriors, the opponent will inevitably have to help defend; unfortunately, Poole is playing that role now, and his three-point shooting accuracy is not as high as Curry's.

Because the Jazz had been losing points in the paint in the early stages, Gobert has now chosen to stay put, firmly retreating to the paint to test Poole's shooting.

Poole, however, failed to live up to expectations, missing two consecutive open three-point shooting opportunities created by pick-and-rolls. On the other hand, during a defensive possession, the opponent scored a mid-range jumper and drew a foul, making both free throws.

A 7-0 run gave the Jazz a 31-30 lead, with just over a minute into the second quarter.

The Jazz fans at home were cheering enthusiastically, clearly having gained momentum.

Kerr quickly called a timeout; he knew he had to make adjustments.

In the live broadcast room, fans were discussing it animatedly.

"Pool is terrible. He can't even make open three-pointers, and his defense is so bad that everyone can't defend him. He got completely destroyed by Clarkson."

"Are you kidding me? What Jordan are you talking about? What Jordan am I talking about?"

"Pull, stop fighting! Let my Starry Sky brother handle this!"

"When is Curry coming back? The bench can't keep up!"

……

On the field, Kerr did not adjust the tactics, but instead planned to make a substitution.

His tactics were fine, and he did create scoring opportunities; the only problem was that Poole failed to score.

As a short, offensively strong but defensively weak guard-shooter, he becomes essentially useless on the court when he can't make shots.

Everyone has off nights, but Poole doesn't have Curry's offensive impact or team status, so two possessions were the limit for him to make mistakes, and Kerr immediately decided to substitute someone else.

"Curry needs to rest a bit more, Damian, you're in."

"Let's stick to the same tactics, but Damian's shooting threat might not be enough... Lee, if I let you take the pull-up jumper, could you handle it?"

When Li Xingchen saw that Cole was giving him tactical instructions in such a crucial round, his eyes instantly burned with fervor.

He nodded emphatically immediately.

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

In the past, even when he was able to play, he mainly served as a shooter to create space or as a screener. Even when he had a shot opportunity, it was mostly to catch the ball and shoot when he was open.

I never imagined that one day I would become the core player initiating the main offensive tactics in the playoffs.

This is not only due to his amazing performance in the last game, but also to the shooting consistency and ability to shoot three-pointers with the ball that he has shown to his teammates and coaches in training over the past two days.

Currently, Li Xingchen's ball-handling ability still has many shortcomings that need to be improved gradually. If he were to complete more complex tactics, he might lack confidence.

But if it's just a simple pick-and-roll with three-pointers, that's what he's been practicing the most these past two days, and his touch is excellent. Now is the perfect time to show it off on the court!

Back on the court, it's the Warriors' offensive possession.

Neither side made any changes to their tactics, except that the Warriors made personnel adjustments, and the initiator of the pick-and-roll play changed from Poole to Li Xingchen.

Damian Lee, who was substituted in, is Curry's brother-in-law and is also a fringe player on the team. Currently, he only gets a chance to play in place of Poole and Bazemore when they are not in good form or need to rest, like right now.

However, he clearly doesn't have as many skills as Pulldor; he can't dribble and drive to the basket, and can only be a spot-up shooter to create space.

But it's sufficient for the tactics the Warriors are currently employing.

Li Xingchen's current stats are 5 minutes and 36 seconds of playing time, 4 points and 1 assist, 1 of 2 field goals and 2 of 2 free throws. The stats are quite impressive, and the scoring efficiency is quite good. The only missed shot was a forced shot at the very end of the offensive possession, which was a mistake.

It's no wonder that Kerr trusted him and assigned him the main offensive tactics.

Just like the previous few rounds, as long as Curry hadn't returned to the court, Gobert resolutely retreated to the paint.

Li Xingchen called for Green's screen, and Green's screen was indeed professional enough. With his size and weight, as long as the opponent did not switch or help defend immediately, he would definitely be able to set a screen for the shooter to have at least a half-open opportunity.

Royce O'Neal was already a very good perimeter defender in the league, but he was still powerless against Green's screen. When he reached out after getting around the screen, he found that Li Xingchen had already shot out a cold arrow with a "whoosh".

That's really determined!

Outside shooters are more likely to make their shots if they are more determined.

With a "swish," the three-pointer swished through the net, and the Warriors regained a two-point lead.

A classic three-point shot punishes a relegated center!

On the other hand, the Jazz's offense ended in a missed shot.

Damian Lee's defense isn't great either, but it's still much better than Poole's. He's faster in lateral movement, has better footwork, and is more aggressive on defense.

The ball returned to the Warriors, and they used the same tactics as in the previous possession.

No need to change it, that's what you call having one trick up your sleeve and being able to make a living anywhere!

But Gobert is not so easily fooled. Although he doesn't know Li Xingchen very well, he at least knows about his amazing performance in the play-in tournament, and his three-point shooting touch is something to be very wary of.

Therefore, when the same pick-and-roll tactic was executed, Gobert saw that O'Neal could not get around the screen in time, so he decisively moved up to help defend and interfere with Li Xingchen's three-point shot.

But the experience Li Xingchen has accumulated in the past two days, both on the court and in training, is not only reflected in his shooting, but also in his reaction, his understanding of tactics, and, more importantly, his confidence.

In the past, when faced with a sudden change in the other party's strategy, he might panic, hesitate, and thus miss a good opportunity.

But now his mind was incredibly calm and clear. He clearly saw Green quickly cut towards the basket almost the instant Gobert moved up, while simultaneously raising his hand to call for the ball; he also clearly knew what the best option was at this moment.

With a gentle side toss, Li Xingchen bypassed Gobert's long arm and successfully delivered the ball to Green.

The latter received the ball and faced an empty paint, then slammed home a two-handed dunk, scoring two more points for the Warriors!