The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 338 - 187 The Free Market Shakes Once Again_4

Chapter 338: Chapter 187 The Free Market Shakes Once Again_4

The Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team originally had a record of 2 wins and 3 losses in the group stage this tournament, barely scraping through group play with a three-point kill by Wang Shipeng against Slovenia.

Of course, that was originally.

Now with Su Wan, they had knocked out Italy, Senegal, and Puerto Rico, as well as Slovenia, standing before the Dream 7 Team with an undefeated record.

The lineup of the Dream 7 Team included Carmelo Anthony, Shawn Battier, Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, Hinrich, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Antoine Jamison, Joe Johnson, Brad Miller, Chris Paul, and Dwayne Wade.

Looking at a bunch of elite soldiers.

But ultimately, the original Dream 7 Team fell in the semifinals and got only a bronze medal.

This just goes to show that they were not one of the top teams in this year’s World Championship.

The main problem was the inside line.

Brand, Howard, Bosh, and Jamison’s frontcourt could not adapt to the international basketball rules.

Here there was no "three-second zone", a center like Yao Ming, even if they stayed in the inside line till death, the referees wouldn’t blow the whistle.

This made a player like LeBron feel tied up.

Moreover, the FIBA referees didn’t favor "superstars" as much as the NBA ones did.

Wade was also affected.

Ultimately...

The Dream 7 Team did not learn from the lesson of their fall in Athens, still selecting a group of breakthrough players for international play without bringing along any shooters like Ray Allen.

Facing such a Dream 7, Su Wan had only one thing to say:

"My sword has never been blunt."

The fighting spirit was not just in him alone, Zhu Fangyu, upon seeing LeBron James, immediately thought of the humiliation he endured during his time with the Cavaliers. The game had not even started, and he was already saying in front of everyone:

"Leave LeBron to me, I must take LeBron, I want to match up with him!"

And when the game started, Howard won the jump ball for the team, and LeBron, eager to show his status in the Dream Seven Team, called for the ball.

Then he came face to face with Zhu Fangyu’s angry eyes and rough confrontation.

LeBron subconsciously wanted to complain to the referee on the side of the court.

But at that time, FIBA had not yet implemented the No Handcheck policy, which they did not start enforcing until 2012. Before that, they allowed defenders to use their hands on ball handlers outside the three-point line.

This was also an important reason why the Dream 7 team of rookies fell in the semifinals.

They were used to playing in a No Handcheck environment, and suddenly returning to the state of play before 2004, it was truly discomforting.

LeBron could only pass the ball out, Wade received it, glanced at the crowded interior and, feeling a tingling on his scalp, still forcefully charged towards the basket.

"Slap!"

As expected, Yi Jianlian taught him a lesson with a block.

Su Wan got a hold of the ball, and instead of pushing forward quickly, he waited patiently for Yao to cross half-court and settle into the inside line before passing the ball to him.

In the league, there were two major "kryptonites".

Deron Williams had the edge over Chris Paul.

But honestly, Yao’s dominance over Howard was even greater than Deron Williams over Chris Paul.

A couple of years later, a common saying in the league emerged:

"Howard dominates the league’s other frontcourts, Yao dominates Howard!"

Against the likes of "Jumping men" Howard and Chandler, Yao really was accurate in hitting every shot.

"Swish!"

An easy turning hook shot, and Yao scored.

Even Howard was stunned by that shot.

What? You’re this tall, and you still play hook shots?

Is there no justice in the world?

But soon, Howard discovered that his nightmare had only just begun.

Striking successfully, the Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team continued to feed the ball to Yao in the following time.

Yao Ming, one shot after another, used all sorts of scoring methods to toy with Howard.

Just in the first quarter, he had scored 12 points!

What?

You’re asking when did Yao ever become so dominant in international games?

That’s because he’s playing against Howard!

When Yao faced Howard in the NBA, if he didn’t score at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game, it would be considered an off day for him.

Moreover, the most important thing, the original Yao in international play couldn’t become the "Shark", and there’s a very important point:

The Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team lacked a guard who could pass the ball to him.

Liu Wei and the others even struggled to dribble the ball across half-court.

Now it was different, although Su Wan was not exactly an excellent passer, he had no difficulty bringing the ball across half court, and after two years with the Pacers, his basic skills in fixed-point passing were solid.

With consistent feeding of the ball, Yao naturally could unleash his dominance under the basket.

Also because of his performance, the Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team entered the second quarter leading by 5 points, 28 to 23.

Los Angeles fans seeing Yao’s performance didn’t care whether the United States Dream Team was currently behind or not, they couldn’t help but want to pop the champagne; they were already picturing Yao wearing the Lakers’ number 11 jersey scoring incessantly on the court.

After taking the lead in the first quarter, the Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team tightened their lineup even more in the second quarter, not giving the United States Dream Team any chance to strike at the basket, and paying a lot of attention to defensive rebound protection, completely giving up the chance for defense counterattacks, often squeezing three or four people under the basket, just to secure rebounds well.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢