Champion, please stay!

Chapter 126, 124. An amazing dunk!

Thankfully, this is David Lee. If it were Stoudemire from 06 onwards, a mid-range shot with this kind of rhythm would most likely go in, and the Knicks' fast breaks would be unstoppable.

Little Mustache: If I had a forward combination of Emperor and Little Tyrant, I wouldn't play like this.

James received a pass from Zydrunas Ilgauskas and advanced the ball, taking James by surprise in the very first possession.

He acted as if he didn't care about the Knicks or Yi Shui in front of his teammates, but privately, with the help of his team, he carefully analyzed and studied the Knicks' playing style and speculated on how the Knicks would play... But the situation he encountered was completely outside the scope of his speculation!
Upon reaching the frontcourt, facing Duhon's tight defense, James once again chose to drive... and was once again double-teamed by the opposing team's three interior players.

This time, James was prepared and didn't panic like before, taking the initiative to protect the ball.

When David Lee extended his lead, Big Z ran directly to the left side of the three-second zone to avoid being covered by Yi Shui, who immediately moved towards the basket after the encirclement was completed.

James passed the ball to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who ignored Swift's turnaround and lunge and took a mid-range shot... His preparation for the pass was excellent, and his shot was confident, but unfortunately it didn't go in!

Yi Shui blocked Ben Wallace's charge, David Lee pushed James, crossed back into the paint to grab the rebound, and passed it to Yi Shui after setting the screen. Yi Shui then dribbled past Ben Wallace, who was trying to block him, and launched a counterattack!
Yi Shui rushed to the mid-court line but was blocked. He passed the ball and then squeezed past Mo Williams, who was blocking his way, to drive into the paint. Curry's pass arrived in time.

James quickly moved into position, blocking Yi Shui, who was receiving the ball, on the arc of the restricted area, thus cutting off Yi Shui's lower body!

Another benefit of Ben Wallace's addition has become apparent – ​​he has corrected his teammates' defensive lapses. Players like LeBron James and Varejao saw a significant improvement in their defense after the All-Star Weekend last season, which was after Wallace joined the team.

Just as the TV commentators were praising James's brilliant defensive play, a scene that left them speechless unfolded—

Yi Shui jumped over James's tight defense, landing on James's head as James was half-stanced and unable to jump in time, and then stretched out his long arm to slam the ball into the basket!

'Inside Dominator: Receives the ball at close range and finishes with a jump shot equivalent to a running jump, significantly reducing physical interference in one-on-one situations.'

The crowd fell silent for a moment after the dunk, followed by a deafening roar of screams and cheers!

The TV commentators started swearing. At that distance, James held his lower body and dunked over him.
Even Duncan and O'Neal today couldn't do that!

This season, Howard did have a similar play that made it into the top ten plays of the week, which left a deep impression on people - after grabbing the offensive rebound, he jumped up and dunked over James while James was blocking him.

But that's Dwight Howard! 120 kilograms! Howard, the strongest player in the paint in terms of running and jumping ability and explosiveness!
The TV station's directors were very professional; they quickly found the footage and compared it with the replay of Yi Shui's dunk.

The commentators and fans watching on TV were shocked to discover that Yi Shui's dunk over James was a little further than Howard's second-chance dunk over James, and both players barely managed to put the ball into the basket... Yi Shui's arms are even a little longer than Howard's!
Upon closer comparison, a subtle point emerges—Howard doesn't seem to be as tall as Yi Shui!

...

On the court, James, who was forced into a horse stance by Yi Shui, stared blankly as Yi Shui ran out to high-five and bump chests with his teammates.

Seeing Ben Wallace running in to retrieve the ball, James finally snapped out of his daze. Hearing the fans chanting "Big Emperor" wildly, his face turned dark red, and anger surged into his brain along with his blood.

James received the inbound pass, quickly retreated to the frontcourt, and without even figuring out what the opponent's defensive strategy was, he directly drove past Duhon into the paint.

After Duhon was beaten, he immediately rushed towards Delonte West... but it wasn't really necessary. Because James completely ignored the collapsing Yi Shui, and after rushing to the elbow area, he grabbed the ball and took a step... but he couldn't move after just one step!

He was sandwiched between David Lee and Yi Shui near the baseline on the right sideline of the three-second zone!

James was taken aback and tried to pass the ball, but Curry and Duhon had Mo Williams and Delonte West tightly marked.

Swift followed instructions, double-teaming James and immediately moving towards Zydrunas Ilgauskas after James stopped the ball.

It can't be sent out!

James got impatient, grabbed the ball, turned around and took two steps toward the baseline while facing David Lee, and then launched a floater from the other side of the basket... It missed.

Ben Wallace rushed in from directly in front of the basket for a putback dunk, but the referee had already blown the whistle. James made a traveling violation by circling his hands!
James immediately rushed to the referee, spread his hands, and shouted, "That was a continuous motion..." The referee waved his hand and walked away, pretending not to hear.

Yi Shui was a little dissatisfied with this scene. If it were another player, complaining about such a clear and unambiguous call would just result in a technical foul from the referee.

But at least the referee's whistle didn't favor the other side. If this had happened at Quicken Loans Arena, it might have been a continuous motion... Let's not dwell on that.

Yi Shui felt a little excited thinking about the defense he had just executed.

Double-teaming James in the elbow area? He and Cheeks aren't that idle.

His collapse, David Lee's extended defense, and Swift's wing movement were not aimed at double-teaming James at all, but rather at blocking James's space to take three big steps!

Once James gets going, it's almost impossible for them to defend him without a dominant center. So, they shouldn't give James any space to get going!
To this end, he and Cheeks watched countless videos of the Cavaliers and Celtics from last season, repeatedly studying James' starting routes.

However, successfully blocking James' space was not what excited Yi Shui. What excited him was Curry's aggressive off-ball chasing defense, Duhon's ability to switch on defense, and Swift's defensive execution under clear instructions.

Even when David Lee was stretching out to block and physically battling with James, he was more aggressive than at the beginning of the season.

Their defense is still terrible; they can only accomplish simple and straightforward defensive tasks.

But their execution is significantly better than when Cheeks first arrived, and their enthusiasm is completely different!

With the right attitude and strong execution, there's a chance to become better in the future!

If they really become like the Suns, accustomed to playing without defense and already achieving success, then even if they add good defensive players later, it will be in vain.

Yi Shui finally clarified what he needed to do on the defensive end at this stage—not to improve the defense by much, but to work with Cheeks every night to find ways to assign achievable defensive tasks to his teammates without affecting D'Antoni's offensive lineup, to continue to improve defensive motivation, and to maintain it!

(End of this chapter)