Helplessly, Cassell could only resort to a tactical foul to interrupt the Warriors’ offense.
At this mont, an amusing scene unfolded on the sidelines.
On the Supersonic bench, Payton kept pointing out defensive issues to Cassell.
Yet, facing the "little brother" who relied on him to secure wins, Cassell responded to Payton with a disdainful look:
——If you’re so capable, do it yourself!
For a mont, Payton was speechless under Cassell’s gaze.
Witnessing this, Qin Yue decided that if he ever felt his performance declining, he would definitely end his professional career decisively.
Qin Yue absolutely wouldn’t want to be like Payton, facing scorn due to a decline in skills in his later years.
In this world, only turtles are destined to live the longest.
In the third quarter, Carlisle still arranged for Yao Ming to play only half a quarter.
Supersonic hoped to preserve Yao Ming’s energy for the more crucial fourth quarter.
Under Carlisle’s coaching, this was another significant difference compared to Yao Ming’s ti with the Rockets.
Rather than exhausting Yao Ming’s energy in the first three quarters like Van Gundy, Carlisle preferred to conserve strength so Yao Ming could exert his power in the fourth.
This adjustnt made Yao Ming’s on-court presence noticeably better and more charismatic than during his Rockets period.
However, unlike the first half...
In the third quarter, with Yao Ming off the court for a rest and Hayes stepping in as a substitute, the Warriors imdiately increased their frequency of attacking the basket.
This high-frequency assault was initiated by Ron Artest.
Posey had great defensive awareness, but facing Ah Tai’s bulldozer-style charge, he could only resort to fouling in those rounds where Ah Tai should have been beaten.
Qin Yue was substituted by Mike Malone with roughly three minutes left in the third quarter.
The excellent play by Ah Tai and Davis was enough to sustain the Warriors’ offense in the third, and now Malone needed to plan how to deploy players for the decisive fourth quarter.
Oracle Arena.
After three quarters, the score was tied at 77-77.
Ray Allen’s difficult catch-and-shoot jumper at the end of the third quarter brought both teams back to the sa starting line.
Early in the fourth quarter, Mike opted to "further test Davis’s endurance," not giving Yao Ming-led Supersonic’s second lineup a chance to take the lead.
Unexpectedly, during the decisive monts, Mike put Brown on instead of Murphy to partner with Qin Yue.
Although in the first half, Brown was once embarrassed by Supersonic’s "ripping strategy," only Brown’s mobility could ensure complete double-team coverage of Yao Ming once he settled into the low post.
Mike believed that regardless of how Carlisle conserved Yao Ming’s energy...
Entering the fourth quarter, as energy waned, it was a pri opportunity for the Warriors to force Yao Ming into more errors with double-team tactics.
On the court, Supersonic’s offensive possession.
Yao Ming was surrounded by Brown and Qin Yue, unable to find a passing route. The ball in his hand was quickly snatched by Qin Yue.
Richardson caught Qin Yue’s long pass and scored with a fast-break layup.
Carlisle imdiately called a tiout and, after the break, again showed the world how Yao Ming under his coaching differed from his Rockets days.
High post, using Garnett’s screen, receiving a pass from Ray Allen, no longer seeking a low-post position, Yao Ming hit a two-point jumper.
In Qin Yue’s previous life, during his entire Rockets career, Yao Ming’s long two-point shots accounted for less than 6% of all his attempts.
In Carlisle’s view, this was undoubtedly a waste of Yao Ming’s shooting ability.
Moreover, unlike those coaches obsessed with forcing tall centers into low-post battles...
Carlisle had always valued scoring through shooting.
In Carlisle’s eyes, it’s a simple math problem.
As long as your player can complete an offense with nearly a 45% two-point shooting rate, why care whether they score through shooting or low-post domination?
Carlisle knew well that as energy declined, the likelihood of double teams against Yao Ming in the low post would inevitably increase, leading to more errors.
Therefore, instead of letting him continue to be double-tead in the low post, it was better to have him at the high post, working with Garnett to resolve the situation through shooting.
On the next Supersonic offensive round...
Positioned in a 1-2-2 setup, they imdiately demonstrated to Qin Yue the difference between horn tactics and horn tactics.
The excellent high pick quality of Yao Ming and Garnett ensured that Supersonic’s horn strategy launched perfectly.
And, because both Garnett and Yao Ming had range, during the horn’s subsequent developnts...
It’s genuinely hard to predict Supersonic’s offensive initiation in advance.
This was a trump card Carlisle unveiled only at the Western Conference Finals.
In today’s league and era, no team could leverage the horn tactic’s power better than Supersonic.
On the court, as Ray Allen moved towards the high horn, Garnett suddenly broke the wall.
Yao Ming used Ray Allen’s movent to lure defenders, setting a screen in advance, instantly helping Garnett block two pursuing Warriors players.
Soon after, Cassell tily passed the ball, and Garnett hit a fearless pull-up jumper.
In this horn developnt by Supersonic, the Carlisle-led team perford like a master painter, sketching a masterpiece titled "Team Basketball" at Oracle Arena.
This was Carlisle’s stubborn response to Qin Yue and the Warriors, still unable to appreciate the beauty of ball-dominant cores.
Now it was ti for the reigning champion Warriors to respond to Supersonic.
On the court, Warriors’ offensive possession.
Qin Yue at the right side of the court facing up for an "All-Out Effort" solo play.
By now, Qin Yue had long forgotten the ankle pain, and after a rapid acceleration, he suddenly pulled the ball back and, pretending to shoot, successfully deceived Garnett with a Bowing to Buddha move.
In the Supersonic’s restricted area, Yao Ming hurriedly extended his arms and backed into the basket.
But in the next mont, as Qin Yue made contact with Yao Ming, he utilized his reach advantage to forcefully slam the ball into the basket!
Beep——!
Ball in and whistle sounded.
AND-ONE!
On TNT TV Station, this ti, Barkley didn’t give Smith a chance to interrupt but grabbed the microphone and shouted, "The ssiah is unstoppable tonight! What a magnificent dunk! Injuries can only trap mortals! While the deity has descended at this very mont!"
...
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