Chapter 307 Helping Each Other to Improve

On the court, perhaps stimulated by O'Neal's chest-thumping just now...

Turning around, Wallace took the initiative to ask for the ball in the high post, preparing to use his big elbows to train this increasingly bloated bubble dragon.

However, just like before...

The moment Wallace received the pass from his teammate, the Raptors' wing defenders quickly pounced on him.

Wallace: "..."

Tonight, perhaps only Wallace himself knew how stifled he felt playing.

At the same time, Rivers on the sidelines curiously looked at Davis and said, "John, is there any special meaning behind us double-teaming Rasheed like this tonight?"

Special meaning?

Davis smiled and said, "Nothing, just helping the rookies build confidence."

As the "Godfather of the Underworld," Davis knew very well that even if Wallace was in godly form tonight, he wouldn't be able to put up impressive stats while being endlessly double-teamed by the Raptors.

That way, fans who didn't watch the game would only look at the stats after the game and know who was stronger between O'Neal and Wallace. No one would care what Wallace went through in this game.

As for Wallace passing the ball out when double-teamed, allowing the Trail Blazers' other players to form a local numbers advantage?

Tch...

First of all, on the basketball court, players don't have the God's perspective that 2K players have.

Secondly, even if Wallace could make a brilliant pass like just now, so what?

On the court, Smith, who received Wallace's pass again, didn't even have time to shoot before Su Feng quickly slid over to his front.

On the other side, Carter, who had previously helped O'Neal double-team Wallace, also quickly rotated to Stoudemire's front.

In terms of help defense, who in the current NBA would dare to claim to be number one if the Raptors claimed to be number two?

Smith had no choice with this ball. Because Stoudemire had spent a lot of time dribbling past half-court, he only had a few seconds left to think after receiving the ball.

As a result, he hardened his heart and chose to force his way into the Raptors' paint. After making physical contact with Su Feng, he felt like he had crashed into an iron wall...

According to the rules of the late 90s, Su Feng didn't foul on this play.

And Smith obviously wouldn't use the trick of raising his hands high to bait a foul.

Therefore, Smith, who had to take a floater far from the basket to finish the play, was already shouting for his teammates to grab the offensive rebound as he shot the ball.

However...

It would have been better if Smith hadn't shouted.

Because Sabonis was originally preparing to retreat.

But after he shouted "Rebound!", Sabonis instinctively returned to the basket.

And then...

There was no "and then."

After Smith's floater bounced off the rim, Big Ben firmly boxed out Sabonis.

O'Neal grabbed another rebound while retreating.

Immediately afterward, the Raptors' counterattack came as soon as it was said. After O'Neal passed the ball to McGrady, McGrady passed half-court in a few strides.

O'Neal, who was following up on the fast break, received McGrady's bounce pass and calmly dunked the ball in with one hand.

8 to 4.

"Wow, O'Neal is doing well today. He's everywhere." Zhang, the commentator at the Great Celestial Dynasty TV station, said with a smile.

"Although the game hasn't started for long, O'Neal does seem stronger than Rasheed Wallace on the court.

But why couldn't he perform like this before with the Trail Blazers?" Sun, the other commentator, asked in confusion.

"This is what we often say about the importance of a talent scout to a player.

Look, aren't Su Feng playing under Larry Brown and Su Feng playing under Davis the best examples?" Zhang said.

"That's right.

I have to say, coach John Davis's vision is really sharp.

Maybe many new fans will marvel at the Raptors' strong lineup after seeing it.

But in reality, many old fans know how unpromising this Raptors team was at the beginning." After nodding, Sun echoed.

At the Rose Garden Arena, in the first quarter of the game, Su Feng finally understood why this Trail Blazers team, despite having such a luxurious roster, was ultimately so soft.

Because putting aside the objective factors, subjectively speaking, this Trail Blazers team was the best counter-example to the Raptors.

As everyone knew, in a basketball game, no matter how strong your players were, there was only one basketball.

Therefore, if a team didn't have its own true core, it would be difficult for them to go far relying solely on so-called "team basketball."

Take the Atlanta Hawks, who were invincible in the regular season in the future, but were swept away by LeBron in the playoffs. It looked like the Hawks played very much as a team, right?

But in fact, in Su Feng's opinion, LeBron's Cavaliers played even more as a team than the Hawks at the time.

Because compared to the Hawks players, who didn't know how to handle the ball in crucial moments, at least the Cavaliers' role players knew to give the ball to LeBron and Irving.

The thing was, true team basketball was never just about you passing to me and me shooting, or me passing to you and you shooting.

And the current Trail Blazers, although they seemed to have a very reasonable distribution of offensive possessions, with all five starters averaging double-digit points and their team averaging among the league's top in assists,

But in Su Feng's opinion, this was just "fake teamwork."

Because when the game really got going, you'd find that...

Instead of Nash and McGrady constantly creating opportunities for their teammates, Stoudemire was more like mechanically "serving dishes."

Therefore, after gradually adapting to the Trail Blazers' set-piece offensive pattern, even Carter could roughly guess how the Trail Blazers would attack next.

And you might not believe it.

The only thing that Su Feng found tricky about this Trail Blazers team tonight...

Was still his old opponent, Pippen.

Because without foot injuries restricting him, Pippen was still one of the best small forwards in the league, both offensively and defensively.

Although in his previous life, many Pippen haters often brought up Pippen for criticism...

But as Jordan's former right-hand man, how could Pippen's strength decline just because some ill-intentioned fans criticized him?

Wake up!

This was the healthy version of Scottie Pippen!

He was a top-50 NBA player who deserved a seven-year salary!

Since Michael Jordan's retirement, he was the opponent with the highest on-ball brick value that Su Feng had encountered!

Therefore, at the beginning of the second quarter, after O'Neal, who had scored 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists in the first quarter, returned to the bench to rest...

In order to cherish the chance to play against peak Pippen while he still could, Su Feng, with his burning chuunibyou (teenager with delusions of grandeur) spirit, took the initiative to walk to the Trail Blazers' bench.

"Scottie, are you going to rest now?

As the league's number one small forward back then, are you retreating like this?" Looking at Pippen affectionately, Su Feng said to him solemnly.

Upon hearing this...

Pippen couldn't express the bitterness in his heart.

Because although he was maintaining his condition well, as time went by, he was already halfway into his grave. Where did he have the stamina to keep grinding with Su Feng?

Plus, Su Feng's playstyle tonight, which reminded him of his youth again and again...

After the first quarter, Pippen felt like his feet were about to be run off by Su Feng.

No playing, no playing.

Absolutely no playing.

On the Trail Blazers' bench, facing Su Feng's "challenge," Pippen chose to refuse without even thinking.

However...

He didn't know which string of old Dunleavy's chuunibyou was plucked by Su Feng. After Su Feng took the initiative to challenge Pippen, he actually said to Pippen, "Go on, Scottie. I know you've been waiting for this day for a long time.

Although Su is the number one small forward in many people's minds right now,

In my opinion, your performance tonight isn't much worse than his."

Pippen: What the hell are you doing!

Coach, aren't you a Raptors' honorary shareholder?

Alright...

Now Pippen knew that he had to play even if he didn't want to.

Because listen, at this moment, the atmosphere of the entire Rose Garden Arena had been stirred up by Su Feng's sudden antics.

On TNT, Smith also said with a smile, "Hoho, I remember when I played for the 76ers, Su once said that Scottie was his idol.

And tonight, I never expected Su to pay tribute to his idol in this way!"

For the NBA, which was full of stories and topics, what did fans love to watch the most?

The regular season?

The playoffs?

Or the Finals?

Of course not.

In fact, for most fans, what they loved to watch the most was a spectacle.

Therefore, after seeing Pippen accept Su Feng's challenge, fans in front of the television felt their blood boiling.

Because no one would forget that summer a few years ago, Su Feng had taken the title of the Eastern Conference's number one small forward from Pippen's hands.

And now, although these two had left their former teams...

But on this night at the end of 1999, when the classic scene reappeared at the Rose Garden Arena, countless fans felt that their lost youth had returned!

Go on, Scottie!

Legends never die, classics never fade!

It was worth mentioning that Su Feng himself had not expected that his antics, driven by brick values, would cause such a huge chain reaction.

Because at this moment, many legends who were watching the game on television had a different look in their eyes when they looked at Su Feng.

After all, in competitive sports, no one wanted to be forgotten when they got old.

In the eyes of these legends, Su Feng, who was already the NBA's new number one player, had no need to challenge an aging veteran whose reputation and status were declining.

But on this night...

He not only took the initiative to challenge a senior in the manner of a junior...

And even when Pippen was about to step onto the court, he signaled the fans to give Pippen more cheers...

God, what a noble character he was!

Ahem, let's talk about Su Feng's noble character later.

At the Rose Garden Arena, watching Su Feng constantly encourage the fans to cheer for him, Pippen almost felt like Su Feng was the owner of this arena.

But never mind.

Did he, Pippen, not know how bad Su Feng was?

Just kidding. Pippen knew with his toes that Su Feng was trying to take advantage of his declining stamina to beat him up.

But...

Although his brain wasn't very bright, Pippen also knew that even if he saw through everything, he had to cooperate with Su Feng to play this scene well.

Because in any case, this scene today would become Pippen's bragging rights in the future.

In the second quarter, the Raptors were led by Su Feng and Big Ben, with Nash, old Curry, and Carter as the other three players.

As for the Trail Blazers, in order to let Pippen fight Su Feng to his heart's content, old Dunleavy chose to put Wells, Schrempf, Augmon, and Harvey with Pippen.

And Rider, who was originally responsible for being the team's sixth man, instantly felt bad when he noticed that he was arranged to be a bystander tonight.

This season, because of Smith's arrival, Rider's status on the team was becoming increasingly worrying. Plus, he often missed training, so old Dunleavy couldn't possibly give him a good look.

As a result, watching the little brother who used to get his butt kicked by him all day long now doing better than him, how could Rider tolerate this?

However, what could he do if he couldn't tolerate it?

As someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong, Rider dared to bully O'Neal, but dared he bully Pippen?

Therefore, at this moment, Rider had no choice but to hold it in.

After all, even if he blamed all of this on Su Feng, he wouldn't dare to go on the court and do anything to Su Feng.

Because back then, Rider still remembered Big Ben's iron elbow vividly.

While Rider was sulking on the bench...

On the court, amidst the cheers of the fans, the Raptors attacked first in the second quarter.

After dribbling past half-court, Nash, who had a high emotional intelligence, directed his teammates to spread out for Su Feng while comfortably feeding the ball to Su Feng's hands.

And after noticing that Su Feng was no longer using that crazy running style, Pippen, whose feet were soft and waist was sore, breathed a sigh of relief.

But...

Bang, bang, bang!

On the court, as Su Feng changed to face him head-on, Pippen's feet and waist didn't have to suffer, but his chest...

Was now uncomfortable.

Wait...

Which bastard taught this kid back-up play?

How was the whole back-up play process so rogue?

It was elbows and butts again?

(Jordan, Barkley: Sorry, that's us.)

But uncomfortable as it was, as an experienced defensive expert, Pippen still showed his cunning side in this defense.

On the wing, after taking several rounds of Su Feng's strong attacks, just as Su Feng was about to retreat and turn around, Pippen slid over in time.

Seeing this, Su Feng didn't force his way in, because he knew that if he went in, he would fall into the trap Pippen had set for him.

See, what was defense?

While fighting against the opponent, he could still set a trap for the opponent. It had to be said that even if his physical fitness wasn't as good as before, Pippen was by no means easy to deal with.

Su Feng felt that if the Lakers' opponent in the Western Conference Finals this year was still the Trail Blazers, then the Lakers might be in trouble.

Because unlike the Raptors, whose style could suppress the Trail Blazers, although the Trail Blazers had many problems, from a personnel matchup perspective, it wouldn't be easy for the Lakers to get past them.

On the court, Su Feng's first attack in the second quarter didn't go in.

Under Pippen's "pocket defense," his high post turnaround fadeaway went off the rim.

And reminiscently, just as Pippen wanted to mock Su Feng, he found that Su Feng, who hadn't scored...

Was smiling.

Pippen: "???"

Su, are you mocking me, your Pippen Grandpa?

On the court, turning around, the Trail Blazers attacked. Pippen took the initiative to ask for the ball from his teammates, preparing to back up Su Feng in the high post.

However, with Su Feng's interference, Pippen didn't score either.

And now, Su Feng was happy.

Because with this offense and defense, did you know how much brick value Su Feng had earned?

Pah!

Did you know how much fun Su Feng and Pippen were having?

As a man who had reached the highest peak of the NBA, Su Feng hadn't played such a fun game since he parted ways with Artest last time.

Although when the steady personality occupied the initiative in his heart, Su Feng couldn't wait for the Raptors' repeat to be as easy as possible,

But when the chuunibyou personality occupied his heart...

Su Feng found that he not only longed to play against real strongmen, but he even wished that his opponents could be as strong as possible.

As the saying went, the road to getting stronger in competitive sports was endless.

And no matter how strong you were, in Su Feng's opinion, getting beaten up was the fastest way to improve your strength.

On the court, the Raptors attacked. Under Pippen's "pocket defense," Su Feng felt that he had learned another trick from Pippen tonight.

That was, sometimes, the most successful defense wasn't necessarily the one that forced the opponent into a dead end.

Take Pippen's defense as an example, Su Feng noticed that this guy had set another trap for him.

That was, he deliberately gave up the defense on the baseline side, waiting for him to drill towards the baseline.

Then, when he dribbled and broke through, Su Feng believed that Pippen would definitely stop him on the baseline.

And although Su Feng knew all these defensive principles,

He had to know that different offensive players had different offensive characteristics, so the methods used by defenders in handling them were also different.

And all of these summed up were the two words: experience.

"Ding————!

Wow! Golden Legend!

Congratulations to the host for obtaining the [Pocket] badge through enlightenment!"

Su Feng: "!!!"

On the court, although Su Feng hadn't scored in the first two attacks after the start of the second quarter, he never expected that he would successfully obtain a badge called [Pocket]!

Because the game was still going on, Su Feng didn't choose to check the attributes of the [Pocket] badge immediately.

However, if Su Feng hadn't misheard,

The system seemed to have the key phrase "Golden Legend" when it reminded him just now.

And now, Pippen, who was guarding Su Feng, was completely confused.

Because Su, you had missed two shots in a row, what were you being arrogant about?

Couldn't you just put away that damn smile?

Just like that, Pippen got anxious.

And then he missed a shot too.

At this time, in front of the television, watching some new fans saying that Su Feng and Pippen's classic duel was just brick after brick, the elderly fans said disdainfully: Volcano Literature

"You know nothing! This is our youth!

Back then, Pippen and Su Feng's peak duel was just paying tribute to each other with bricks!"

…

ps: Good afternoon, everyone. Uh... I'm a little embarrassed to ask for votes, so let's start with a kiss!

ps2: This chapter is the one I owed from yesterday!