Champion, please stay!

Chapter 217, Section 215: The Strongest Team Attack!
In the evening, Madison Square Garden was packed to capacity, and the area outside the arena was also crowded with people, requiring traffic control.

Last month's run-and-gun extravaganza between the Knicks and the Nuggets left countless New York fans feeling bittersweet; they won, but not on their home court!

This time, we can finally watch the run-and-gun showdown on our home turf! And it's a clash between the top teams from the East and West!
The league's official game preview title is: "The Ultimate Showdown of Offensive Basketball."

At 7:40 p.m., the players from both teams entered the field.

The pre-match greetings and the atmosphere between the two teams were just as harmonious as a pre-match interview.

The Suns' run-and-gun offense is based on the legacy of Mike D'Antoni, and Alvin Gentry was also D'Antoni's offensive assistant coach, so they had a close relationship.

When Nash greeted Yi Shui, he recalled the scene of entering the arena and exclaimed, "Although I had heard about it before, I still feel that the change in New York fans is too exaggerated. You are truly amazing."

Yi Shui: "Thank you, I also find it incredible..."

Yi Shui only exchanged a few words with veteran stars like Nash, Stoudemire, Hill, and Jason Richardson. Although their relationship wasn't bad due to D'Antoni, it wasn't particularly close either.

During the initial greetings, he spent more time talking with DeAndre Jordan and Earl Clark.

Earl Clark, a former NCAA superstar and star player for the Louisville Cardinals in the Big East Conference, was known as "Little Odom" and "College Magician." During his sophomore year, he defeated Yi Shui, but was later avenged by Yi Shui... Now in the "workplace," the past grudges have become fond memories. Back then, basketball was simple; all he wanted to do was win.

Although DeAndre Jordan and Yi Shui don't have much of a personal relationship, the former has a very good impression of the latter. During the joint tryout, he initially had no idea what to do. When he went on the court, his teammates actually gave him the ball and asked him to post up against a tank monster like Costa Koufos. He was completely bewildered.

It was Yi Shui who introduced him to the game and showed the other guards how to cooperate with him, which enabled him to showcase his top-tier inside receiving talent during the joint tryouts.

but!

DeAndre Jordan: The guard who used to be two meters tall is now taller than me! His arms seem about the same size as mine... no, his hands are a bit bigger than mine, and his wingspan is probably even better!

DeAndre Jordan was very talkative during the small talk, chatting with Yi Shui about this and that, while Earl Clark remained very silent.

Yi Shui noticed that Earl Clark was in a bad mood, but didn't say anything.

There's a saying: "It's easy to talk when you're not the one suffering."

But Yi Shui thought Earl Clark's choice in 08 was incredibly stupid.

He had just begun to make a comeback in college basketball, and Earl Clark, then a sophomore, was already a top-five pick in the 08 NBA draft projections.

At the end of Junior High, Earl Clark was projected to be drafted higher than Love and Brook Lopez, but he chose to play another year in college and then plummeted to the edge of the lottery.

If Yi Shui's junior season only predicted the middle to late first round, he would choose to play another year and try again. But after he first entered the lottery zone of the prediction list, he decided to enter the draft.

University competitions have a unique style, which limits individual performance. With the same playing style, it's hard for a player with 90 points of ability and a player with 100 points of ability to show a significant difference in performance under the same conditions. After he won the championship and all three major awards, he had no intention of staying in college to continue playing. At that point, there was no room for improvement in either his individual performance or his team's results.

On the Cardinals' side, the roster wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly good either. Reaching the quarterfinals in the Third Madness was already their limit. Earl Clark's all-around but not specialized playing style made it difficult for him to improve his individual performance. In that situation, even in the 1980s, playing for another year would only have caused his draft position to drop.

However, few Black people from slums have King's perspective.

Earl Clark's time with the Suns was a pity for Yi Shui.

When they played against each other in college, he felt that this guy was really talented. He could play positions one through five, and he actually did play all of them. But when he got to the NBA, he didn't even have the opportunity to show his talent. He was even worse off than Thabeet in the original timeline with the Grizzlies. The Suns were aiming for the championship, and every position was already filled.

Moreover, Gentry is very good at coaching established teams, but he is far inferior to D'Antoni in developing the potential of young players. In Yi Shui's memory, in the 12-13 season, Earl Clark was traded to the Lakers and played as Howard's backup under D'Antoni. His most brilliant games at the end of the season were 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists per game... But he was already 25 years old at that time, and his talent had long been wasted.

With the Suns, Earl Clark is the third option at small forward... However, even if Gentry knows that Earl Clark has talent at the center position, he probably won't give him a chance. With DeAndre Jordan in the starting lineup and Frye and Lopez on the bench, there's no extra time.

After exchanging pleasantries, Yi Shui returned to the bench to listen to D'Antoni's on-court instructions.

The guy with the mustache has been especially motivated these past two days!
Things are much better now. Yesterday at noon, after the Suns arrived in New York, D'Antoni's attitude during the afternoon practice was completely different from that in the morning. The players could clearly feel that their head coach had become more excited.

Yi Shui and his teammates understood.

D'Antoni was leading the Suns to a championship run when a general manager with little ability and too many ideas came along, messing up the team and ultimately making him the scapegoat and fired... This feud is comparable to the past stories of the fortune teller and them.

Tonight, the whole team will unite and take down the sun!
Although they defeated the Suns once last season, the Suns at that time couldn't even run properly, and they weren't the 'Suns' that people remember now. The Suns that have now returned to the top of the Western Conference are the real ones!
Yi Shui glanced at the key data of the two teams displayed on the big screen.

纳什场均15.2分10.9助攻；斯塔德迈尔场均21分7板；希尔场均12分5板3助攻；理查德森场均15.1分2.6助攻……数据很平均，场均得分超过8分的球员有7个。

其中最亮眼的是——场均26.3次助攻，联盟第一，新世纪以来，高居第三！只有太阳队自己在05-06赛季的场均26.6次助攻、07-08赛季的场均26.7次助攻比这更高。

Yi Shui previously thought their average of 25.1 assists per game in 20 games was quite high, but when he saw the Suns' scouting report the day before yesterday, he felt quite disappointed.

However, this also makes him even more excited for the upcoming match. Watching the live stream or the recordings is nothing compared to personally facing such an opponent and experiencing what the 'strongest team offense' truly means!
...

The match was about to begin, and Yi Shui excitedly stepped onto the field, where he received two tasks.

"You led your team to unleash a new era of fast-paced offense, and the Suns, led by the Son of the Wind, are also igniting a new wave of run-and-gun offense... Mission: Top Player Triggered."

Objective: Defeat the Suns.

Reward: Passing Talent +1. (Your current passing ability is 86, and your passing talent is 88.)

"Little Tyrant is still resentful of being suppressed by you in both of last season's encounters. Having regained his core position in the paint, he is eager to defeat you... Mission: Emperor and King triggered."

Objective: Your total points and total dunks must be higher than Stoudemire's when playing against the Suns this season.

Reward: Total difference in points + dunks * 1 hour of all-around double training efficiency card, usable for any training session.

Looking at Task 8, Yi Shui realized that after his passing score improved to 86 in August, no matter how much he practiced afterward, his system rating didn't improve anymore, and he was almost at his limit.

Of course, for a player like him who doesn't aim to organize an attack, top-tier passing, or even just above-tier passing, is more than enough. In terms of passing accuracy and ball control, attacking players can do better than him; Turkoglu and Hill might not even be as good.

But if there's room for improvement, that would be even better!
Task Two... Yi Shui recalled the two games he played against the Suns last season. In those two games, although his scoring was not high, his overall efficiency was extremely high. He scored 26 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocks in one game and 25 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in the other. He was indeed much better than Stoudemire, who was forced to give up the interior space and could only play one-on-one in the half-court.

Yi Shui arrived at the center circle and made eye contact with DeAndre Jordan...

Yi: Margot! Ben Wallace, can you do the jump ball?

After resting for two games, Ben Wallace returned to the starting lineup. Swift was placed on the inactive list tonight for rest, while Duhon, Curry, Yi Shui, and David Lee continued to start.

On the other side, Nash, Jason Richardson, Hill, Stoudemire, and DeAndre Jordan.

At 8 p.m., the referee blew his whistle and tossed the ball into the air.

DeAndre Jordan leaped high and flicked the ball backward with a single shot. The fans in the arena let out a "whoosh."

Commentators from major TV stations are all talking about one thing – Yi Shui's team record for consecutive wins in jump balls has been frozen at 20 games.

However, this situation was expected after Yi Shui defeated Biedrins and surpassed Swift in the jump ball two days ago.

So far this season, in 20 games, DeAndre Jordan has played 27 minutes, averaging 8.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. While his total blocks are not among the top three in the league, his blocking efficiency ranks second in the league, only behind Oden. This is all thanks to his league-leading athleticism!
When Howard played against the Suns, he couldn't even beat DeAndre Jordan in the jump ball.

After a sigh of regret from the fans in the stadium, they immediately began chanting "Defense!"

The benefits of the jump ball at Yishui were evident tonight. After losing, Ben Wallace and David Lee immediately retreated, and the Knicks quickly set up their defensive formation.

Yi Shui stayed in the center circle for a while to slow down Nash's fast advance, then retreated and kept up with Hill's pace.

Seeing Yi Shuiwei keep up with the point guard's horizontal pull and Neymar taller than all the other players on the court, Nash and Hill were still amazed when they saw it again after several months.

Luckily, I entered the NBA early!
They placed Yi Shui on the same level as Magic Johnson in the 80s. Players like that, when they reach their peak, unless they have the ability of Larry Bird, no one else can compete with them.

However, the current Embiid is still relatively inexperienced, and the Knicks' rebuilding process is still in the salary cap stage. Let's go for it!
Nash and Jordan executed a pick-and-roll, with Nash driving and dishing to Stoudemire.

Richardson moved up from the strong sideline, Hill cut in from the baseline, and Ben Wallace, David Lee, and Yi Shui all blocked the two wings of the three-second zone.

Stoudemire passed the ball to the middle, and DeAndre Jordan received it, leaped high, and slammed it home for two points!
10 seconds! From winning the jump ball to dunking, it only took 10 seconds!

Even the fans who were used to seeing their own team's high-speed, run-and-gun style of play couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

They were already familiar with DeAndre Jordan's brutal ability to attack the basket. Even though he only became a starter in his second year, his drives to the basket were just as sharp!
Yi Shui jumped in from the left sideline of the three-second zone and almost got dunked!

Seeing Yi Shui grab the ball and quickly step back from the baseline to pass it to Du Hong, the fans in the stadium reacted instantly and cheered wildly.

Du Hongqiang launches a fast break!

Nash was particularly aggressive on defense, trying to stop Duhon, but to little avail, as Duhon quickly advanced into the frontcourt...

After serving the ball, Yi Shui glanced at the movements of his opponents and teammates, caught up with DeAndre Jordan who was retreating on defense, and drove straight to the basket through the middle.

The chemistry was on full display at this moment. Duhon passed the ball to Curry, who was making a quick run down the left flank. Curry shook off Richardson and received the ball, only to be blocked by Hill, who had spread out on the left. The ball was then passed to Curry...

Yi Shui received the ball, faced DeAndre Jordan who had already turned around, stepped up, and jumped!

DeAndre Jordan pressed down and tried to hold Yi Shui's lower body... but he couldn't hold on!
When the "Inside Dominator" skill is triggered, the player receives the ball one-on-one at close range and jumps vertically to the level of a running jump, significantly reducing physical interference.

Yi Shui rose up strongly during the confrontation and slammed the ball into the basket over DeAndre Jordan!
The fans in the stadium erupted in a thunderous cheer!
You have Stoudemire? You have Jordan? We have Embiid!

The opponent's inside pass and powerful dunk was amazing, but their Emperor was even more brutal!

Jordan, half-stanced in a horse stance, stared blankly at his third brother, Hill: Why isn't this move working anymore?

Hill pouted, widened his eyes, and shook his head.

DeAndre Jordan's mobility and physicality were good, and he had previously been quite effective against Dwight Howard, but he was still dunked on by Yi Jianlian!
On that one play, Hill missed O'Neal a little... but only for a moment, and then he banished that lousy fat guy from his mind and signaled to DeAndre Jordan to inbound the ball.

Nash received the ball and saw that the opposing team, led by Ben Wallace and Yi Shui, was maintaining a defensive formation. He didn't rush and directed his teammates to push forward.

Although he guessed that his opponent wouldn't slow down the pace, being countered by the opponent's strong counterattack still felt very special to Nash.

The Suns didn't advance quickly this time, but their formation was already set. Nash went to the frontcourt and immediately started the offense with a pick-and-roll with DeAndre Jordan!
Nash then went deep into close range, passing the ball back from the area where the baseline meets the three-second zone sideline...

With Ben Wallace back, the Knicks' defensive formation improved significantly. They did a good job of containing Nash, Stoudemire, and Jordan this time, but inevitably had to leave their opponents open.

Yi Shui tried his best to intercept Nash's passing lanes, but Nash still used a bounce pass to send the ball to the right side of the free throw line.

Hill takes a mid-range jumper from the free-throw line... and it goes in!
Yi Shui thought of a statistic from the Suns' scouting report—Hill's mid-range shooting percentage was 47.3%, only lower than Nash's 54% and Kobe's 48.3%, and higher than Nowitzki's 47.1%!

But Hill is already the least offensively threatening of the Suns' starters... for 10 seconds.

The Suns completed this shot in the same amount of time it took other teams to advance the ball and initiate an attack.

Keep charging! Yi Shui leads the charge!

From the outset, the two teams engaged in a fast-paced, high-octane battle.

The fans in the arena had a great time watching the game, with both teams having a high offensive success rate, but the Knicks players were under immense pressure.

The opposing team did not continue to accelerate as expected!
Nash is too experienced. Although they mainly use a 10-man rotation this season, which has better stamina reserves than the previous 8-man rotation, the opponent has a 12-man rotation! Compared with last season, the roster is much younger, and they ran the Nuggets to death in the Denver high altitude.

Nash's ability to control the tempo was on full display. When advancing the ball, he slowed down the pace to conserve energy and set up the formation in advance. Once in the frontcourt, he would launch an attack at maximum speed, making 1-2 runs, 1-3 passes, and quickly releasing the ball. From the moment Nash reached the top of the arc to the moment he finished the attack, it usually took no more than 5 seconds.

It's hard to say which is better in terms of tactics and strategy: Yi Shui's fast-paced offense and retreat, or Nash's rhythm-changing style of play. The former is better at creating mismatches and attracting double teams, while the latter has a more systematic movement and coordination. The former's formation is not as good, and the latter's opportunity to switch between offense and defense is not as well grasped. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

However, the difference in roster strength was quite obvious, with the Knicks clearly being outmatched!

Both teams completed their offense very quickly, with 2-3 possessions per minute. At 4 minutes and 35 seconds, Nash suddenly grabbed the ball at close range and made a floater.

10投7中，其中三分球2中1，加上2中2的罚球，太阳队得分提升到17分！
The Knicks made 5 of 9 shots, including 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 2 of 3 free throws for 13 points, which was pretty good, but they were still 4 points behind the Suns.

When it was the Knicks' turn to attack, Yi Shui saw that Ben Wallace, who had been playing for nearly 5 minutes, was almost at his limit, so he gestured towards Du Hong when inbounding the ball.

Du Hong nodded, whistled after receiving the ball, and pushed forward at a low speed, passing it to Yi Shui, who was positioned at a 45-degree angle on the right.

Facing Hill's help defense, Yi Shui bent down and headbutted him to create space, then raised his hand... and dashed forward!
Hill, who had pressed forward again, was blocked to the side. Yi Shui took two steps, made a sudden stop with a long two-pointer, and Hill, who was retreating quickly, couldn't stop in time. Yi Shui jumped up and made a long two-pointer... and it hit!
In the transition, Stoudemire responded with a jump shot from the left side of the paint.

When it was the Knicks' turn to attack, Yi Shui continued his one-on-one play, twisting his waist and taking a step forward, blocking Hill's advance, and passing Stoudemire who had rushed out to block him at the free-throw line to enter the basket. He gathered the ball, took a step to the left, dodged the closing Jordan, and laid the ball in front of the rim, making it!

When it was the Suns' turn to attack, Richardson, who was left wide open, missed a three-pointer from the corner. Ben Wallace held off Jordan's aggressive attempt to steal the ball, Curry grabbed the rebound and passed it to Duhon, and the Knicks launched a four-man fast break!
Curry drew the defense on the left sideline and Yi Shui on the right mid-range, and David Lee, cutting down, received the ball in the left elbow area, stepped into the three-second zone, and scored a layup over Hill who had retreated to the basket!

The Suns called a timeout!

At 19-19, just as the score was about to fall behind, Yi Shui stepped up and used his individual skills to stem the team's offensive decline, leading the team to tie the score!

(End of this chapter)