Champion, please stay!

Chapter 192, Section 190: Freehand Separation
It took Wade several months to master Kobe-style pull-up jump shot; this wasn't the first time he'd seen something similar with Yi Shui.

I think Beasley's inside scoring technique is effective; I can use it after practicing for a month or two. I think McGrady's driving ability is effective; I can use it after practicing for a month or two...

Moreover, not only is he a strong learner, but his physical condition and basic skills are also excellent. Once he gets the hang of a technique, he can achieve good results by relying on his physical condition and basic skills.

Once you master the technique, you can deliver a highly proficient performance!

Two figures overlapped in Wade's mind.

Duncan + McGrady!

Suddenly, Wade raised a question—in the early part of his career, Shaq dominated for three years, and it wasn't until Shaq's peak passed that Duncan achieved three championships in five years.

Who will suppress the Great Emperor?
What a coincidence! Shaquille O'Neal entered the NBA 5 years earlier than Tim Duncan, and they were both in the 03 draft class...

Big jaw: Who else but me?

As for King? He can't even beat the rookie emperor, so don't count on him.

However, James' performance in last year's playoffs led Wade to lower his assessment of his good friend's ability.

But he felt that his current roster would have a tough time beating Embiid in the playoffs.

Then let's call on the Dragon King, who has said he wants to join forces with us many times!
The Big Shaq needs a 20-year-old who can be a third-team All-NBA player and a 21-year-old who can be a second-team All-NBA and first-team All-Defensive player to beat the Stone Buddha. It makes perfect sense for the Big Shaq to need a second-team All-NBA interior helper!

Wade thought about many things in an instant. After running to the frontcourt, he shook his head and put away his distracting thoughts.

Let's fight the Emperor first before thinking about the future!

He had played alongside a superstar center before, and he knew that with Bosh's arrival, he wouldn't be able to play freely anymore.

Let's take advantage of this year while we still have the chance and have some fun.

Receiving a pass from Conley, Wade easily blew past Duhon. Seeing Yi Shui and David Lee switching guards on the rim, he didn't drive too far in. Instead, he pulled up and took a jump shot from half a step inside the free-throw line... and it went in!
In the past two years, Wade has absolutely earned the title of 'Jordan who is 5 centimeters shorter'.

This play had that Jordan vibe from before he turned 30 – an unstoppable drive, with the inside and wings double-teaming him early, and a mid-range jumper that went in.

Last season, Wade averaged 3 of 7.2 shots from that distance, achieving a 41.6% field goal percentage, comparable to players like Nowitzki, Kobe, and Nash!

In the transition between offense and defense, the Knicks fell into a half-court offense, and Curry continued to pass the ball to Yi Shui.

Yi Shui received the ball and leaned forward. Beasley, like a startled bird, took a big step back. Yi Shui immediately raised the ball, jumped, and pulled up for a three-pointer... and it went in!
'Tsk, we'd need a blue-collar small forward like Posey or Prince who has excellent mobility, height, and wingspan!'

The thought flashed through Wade's mind, but he didn't think about who would be suitable and ran to the frontcourt to continue the attack!
Suddenly, the game turned into a star-studded showdown, and the fans in the arena were absolutely thrilled. New York fans, true to form, cheered for both sides—they wanted to get their kicks off first! In the preseason, the outcome was secondary; they wanted to see Embiid vs. Flash!
In one-on-one situations, Wade's matchup against Duhon and Yi Shui's matchup against Beasley were just for fun, with their passing and ball-handling skills being evenly matched.

However, the Knicks clearly had the upper hand in terms of the performance of their receiving players! The Knicks did a very good job in terms of their switching aggressiveness, intercepting passes from key catchers and shooters, and blocking drives from key players who could get on the rim!

The most crucial point is that the Heat's starting lineup is not adapting well. Last season, when they played against the Knicks, Wade could drive in and the others would have good opportunities to receive the pass. In their last game, they scored more than 120 points.

However, this simple running and receiving made it difficult to get good opportunities. Sometimes it looked like there was an open shot, but it wasn't a good shooting spot. It was the opponent deliberately leaving the field open!

Dwyane Wade, who was drawing double teams to pass the ball, also felt that passing had become much more difficult.

The main reason is that this was the Knicks' first game of the new season, and neither the Heat's coaches nor the players expected that the opposing team would start playing defense, and play it quite well!
On the Knicks' side, their half-court offense was no different from last season. With a better defensive formation, their counter-attack formation was even better. Halfway through the first quarter, the Knicks went from trailing 2-6 to leading 21-17!
When it was the Heat's turn to attack, Wade drove into the paint, used a Euro step to avoid Ben Wallace's help defense, and scored with a reverse layup.

The Knicks did not call a timeout, and Yi Shui received the inbound pass and slowly advanced to the frontcourt.

Beasley, who was pressing the defense throughout the game, tried to grab the ball for a long time but failed. He retreated to the three-point line and tried to defend hard for one possession... but was blown away by the opponent with a speed boost.

Yi Shui drove straight to the inside, slowed down after entering the free throw line, and Milicic decisively rushed out to defend Yi Shui's close-range stop-and-shoot jump shot.

Yi Shui slapped the ball hard in the elbow area, stepped forward to the left, brushed past Milicic who was blocking him, came to the front of the basket, grabbed the ball, jumped, and slammed the ball into the basket over Haslem who had received the ball under the basket!
The referee blew his whistle, Haslem committed a foul, Yi Shui's goal stood and they were given an additional penalty!
Hearing the wild cheers from the fans, Wade put his hands on his hips in the right elbow area.

Milicic's decision to block Yi Shui's jump shot was correct. At that distance, Wade felt it would be difficult for him to block Yi Shui's shot. Wade's elbow double-team was to block the baseline turnaround space. Milicic at least blocked one of Yi Shui's offensive options.

Haslem's contraction was also executed well, but the effect was far less than Milicich's, due to the large size difference and the disadvantage in tonnage!
Wade had great respect for Haslem, but the captain's ability certainly didn't qualify him to be a starter on a playoff team...

Also, that shot was just too freehand!
Wade recalled a live broadcast he watched in college, where the Magic played the Spurs, and McGrady used a similar move—a sudden stop and start at close range—to shake off Duncan and dunk over David Robinson.

But that's McGrady! McGrady is 203 cm tall! This guy who claims to be 206 cm tall is as tall as Duncan!
With Yi Shui making the free throw, the Knicks' lead reached 5 points, 24-19.

The Heat called a timeout, and Wade returned to the bench with disappointment. He hadn't had enough of a showdown with Yi Shui tonight, and more importantly, he hadn't been able to beat him!

His scoring was similar to Yi Shui's, with 11 points and Yi Shui's 12. The deficit was mainly due to the problems of the opposite hitter, but he couldn't blame his teammates for it.

He's just a role player; he knows what abilities he has and what he can do.

He wanted to continue competing with Yi Shui, but as he expected, Spoelstra replaced him to train new players, letting Conley and Beasley take the lead in attack.

After all, this is just the preseason.

The opposing team did the same, with Yi Shui and David Lee being substituted, and Curry, Wilson Chandler, and Gibson coming on, along with Larry Hughes and Swift.

After the timeout, Wade couldn't help but admire the opposing coach's offensive prowess. Curry and Swift's pick-and-roll offense in half-court sets had improved significantly, but...

How come the defense has deteriorated so much? They can't even maintain a basic formation?

Big jaw: No, is this just targeting me?
(End of this chapter)