Flaws of the Basketball Team

On the way back to the office from the stadium, Xu Jie found it more and more interesting the more he thought about it.

He had been very good at sports since childhood, so various sports tournaments were naturally not foreign to him. Among them, basketball and football were the two he watched the most.

This afternoon, the national high school basketball league match between the Zhenhua team and the Beimen faculty team actually reminded him of the 2005 NBA Finals. That year, the finals were between the Spurs and the Pistons. Both teams were famous for their defense, and their meeting in the finals created the lowest television viewership ratings in the league's history up to that point.

Why?

Because a defensive battle between two sides was, from an aesthetic perspective, incredibly "ugly"!

In football, who doesn't like watching skillful dribbling from all angles and blood-pumping breakthroughs?

In basketball, who doesn't like watching sky-conquering dunks and breathtaking buzzer-beaters?

A defensive battle was the match spectators least wanted to see!

Fast-paced attacking was the kind of match most football fans loved!

But everything in the world has a balance of Yin and Yang. Offense has the beauty of offense, and defense has the art of defense.

After hearing the ideas of Lin Weirui and his teammates, Xu Jie became very expectant of this afternoon's match. He didn't try to "add legs to a snake" by modifying Lin Weirui's ideas. He respected their thoughts. At the same time, he also wanted to see how much Lin Weirui and his team could utilize their own defense when facing the Beimen faculty team, which was famous for its defense.

Also based on defense, why were the Spurs able to defeat the "Iron-Blooded" Pistons that year? Because that was the year the "Demon Blade" emerged!

"In smooth sailing, he's a sports car; in adversity, he's a Buddha; in desperate straits, he's the Demon Blade slaying all demons!" Only Spurs fans could understand the meaning behind this saying.

Xu Jie wanted to see who Zhenhua's "Demon Blade" would be. And what would it be like when the blade left its scabbard?

...

In the afternoon, after finishing a P.E. lesson for the Class 9 students, Xu Jie drove to the Tianxing Basketball Court.

When he entered the court, the first quarter of the two teams was about to end. The score on the board was 18:17. The Zhenhua team only led the Beimen faculty team by 1 point!

In one quarter, Zhenhua's score actually didn't exceed 20? This had never happened in previous matches. From this, one could see that the Beimen faculty team's defense had indeed brought immense pressure to the Zhenhua players.

Anyone who plays basketball knows that when defense is tight, the success rate of breakthroughs and shooting accuracy will drop sharply. An ordinary player can handle one defender skillfully. But what if it's a double-team? Or even a triple-team? Facing good defense, many times the ball handler can't even make a pass. It only leads to a dead ball or even a turnover.

Xu Jie casually found a seat. Today was Monday, so there weren't many spectators in the stadium. Most were coaches and players from other faculty teams, old acquaintances. They watched the shifting situation on the court while exchanging thoughts.

Head coach Li Chunqiu of the Hongyuan faculty team and star player Tang Mingxuan sat in the most central front-row seats. Looking out, they could clearly see every movement on the court.

"I didn't expect Beimen to actually suppress Zhenhua in the first quarter, making it the first time since the tournament started that their score didn't exceed 20 in a single quarter. Our loss wasn't in vain." Tang Mingxuan looked at the two teams engaged in half-court offense and defense with a solemn expression.

In the circle of high school faculty, who among those who play basketball well doesn't have a bit of pride and passion? Not submitting to anyone was the main tone on the school basketball court. Even when facing someone taller or stronger, most people wouldn't give up without trying. This was the hot-bloodedness of youth.

Tang Mingxuan was considered Hongyuan's star player, and his basketball skills were extremely high. In a one-on-one, except for Zhenhua's No. 3 currently running on the court, no one had ever convincingly defeated him.

Hearing Tang Mingxuan's words, Coach Li Chunqiu shook his head with a smile. "Zhenhua is doing it on purpose!"

Li Chunqiu's words made Tang Mingxuan's eyes widen. "Coach, you mean Zhenhua is intentionally suppressing the offensive rhythm?"

Gulp. Tang Mingxuan swallowed and said, "Aren't they afraid of flipping the car?"

"It's only the first quarter; it's too early to talk about flipping the car." Li Chunqiu sighed.

"They are intentionally suppressing the offensive rhythm like this because they plan to 'nurture the army through battle'!"

"It can be seen that Zhenhua has great ambitions this year."

"They are actually willing to use defense against defense in the match against Beimen, intentionally competing in half-court battles and team cooperation ability."

"Zhenhua's coaching staff is using this to temper the players' pressure resistance and defensive ability."

Hearing the coach's words, Tang Mingxuan was shocked. He looked toward the court, where the final attack of the first quarter had begun. Beimen was on offense, and Zhenhua was on defense. Beimen's star player and captain, Chu Tianchen, wearing No. 35, held the ball to organize the final attack. And the one defending him was Yue Zhanye, who had run out from the interior!

Chu Tianchen was 193cm tall, and Yue Zhanye was 192cm. Chu Tianchen was not only slightly taller than Yue Zhanye but also had a longer wingspan. In terms of physical talent, Chu Tianchen had the advantage.

Outside the three-second zone, Yue Zhanye used his body to hold off Chu Tianchen, spreading his arms to block the attack. Compared to Chu Tianchen, his advantage lay in his flexible footwork and the strength he had gained from Xu Jie's special training.

Chu Tianchen held the ball, wanting to use power forward techniques to break past Yue Zhanye, but he was unsuccessful. Seeing the attack stalled, he decisively chose to pass. Not hogging the ball and not being reckless were the ingrained rules of the Beimen faculty team. Even the core player Chu Tianchen could not violate them. If anyone was reckless, they would be directly subbed out by Beimen's "Iron-Fisted" coach—Bo Kai!

Absolute rules, absolute obedience, and an absolute team-oriented basketball style had created the current Beimen faculty team. Such a style could cultivate a team with a very high floor, ensuring the team could achieve the most stable results every year.

But at the same time, the flaws were equally obvious!

In any competitive sport, on the highest stage of competition, what makes people's blood boil is always individual heroism! Even in team sports, it is no exception.

On the court, what is truly great? In the blink of an eye, a flash of inspiration, when the heated match creates staggering creativity, those desperate counterattacks like crashing waves... Being able to do what ordinary people cannot, what ordinary people would not do, leading the team to the peak—that is a superstar.

But the Beimen faculty team was truly too team-oriented. Even captain Chu Tianchen didn't have absolute ball control on the court! This was the Beimen faculty team's biggest flaw!

At the moment Chu Tianchen organized the attack, he would never have thought that behind him, where he couldn't see, a pair of eyes had already locked onto him like a god of death!

The moment his attack failed and he chose to pass, a figure appeared on his passing lane like a ghost.

Smack!

Steal! This was the first steal for either team since the match began!

Fast break! This was the first fast break for either team since the match began!

Dunk! This was the first dunk for either team since the match began!

At this moment, the eyes of everyone in the stadium were focused on the elegant figure on the basketball court.

Zhenhua, No. 3!