Champion, please stay!

Chapter 218, Section 216: At this moment, the Great Emperor will always step forward!
In just over a minute of the match, the score went from almost being pushed to the point where the opposing team had to call a timeout, to being pushed to the point where they had to call a timeout themselves...

Nash licked his sweaty palms and wiped them on his clothes. He said to Hill beside him, "Grant, don't worry about it. You defended very well. That kid is a bug in one-on-one situations... But the timing of his move was really good!"

Just now, the Suns were just one point away from forcing the Knicks to call a timeout. Even if they didn't score, as long as they kept running, they could wear down Ben Wallace.

Before Nash made his step-back layup, the Knicks' offensive possession had already been hampered by Ben Wallace's wing screen, which slowed down David Lee, who needed the screen, causing him to miss his chance.

The Suns can simply run around and play to drag the game out until the opponent calls a timeout, and further deplete the opponent's base.

But Yi Shui stepped up and asked for the ball for a one-on-one attack, allowing Ben Wallace to stand close without moving his feet.

The key was that Yi Shui made the shot! He led the team to a 6-2 comeback!

Hill nodded. "He reminds me of someone."

Nash: "Kobe?"

Hill: "Yes, they're alike in that respect; they're both the type to stand up and never back down when it's time to do something."

"I have a height advantage when guarding Kobe, but when guarding Brook..."

On the other side, Yi Shui looked at the passive buff 'Snake Heart (Fake)' that was 'triggered' displayed on the system screen.

So this is what the skill's true effect is!

After a few rounds of attacking back and forth, they were suppressed and the system determined that they had reached a 'dangerous moment'.

He became exceptionally focused and particularly eager to shoot, but at the same time, his thinking was exceptionally clear. He knew that the team's offense could still hold up, so it wasn't a good time for a one-on-one attack. It would waste the energy of his teammates, especially veteran Ben Wallace. Moreover, if he went one-on-one, he would at most be able to go toe-to-toe with the Suns, whose mid-range and long two-point shots were incredibly accurate, which wasn't worth it.

After realizing that the main force was indeed unable to keep up with the pace of the attack, he decisively launched an attack, single-handedly withstanding the enemy team's attack.

In the previous two games, the skill didn't trigger when the Timberwolves were down by double digits in the third quarter, and it only triggered during the star players' isolation plays in the latter part of the fourth quarter; it also didn't trigger when the Timberwolves were down by so much at halftime. Is it because those two teams weren't strong enough?
Indeed, he scored 11 points in the first half of the third quarter against the Timberwolves, but in the second half, he, Curry, and Swift, under Duhon's guidance, rallied and narrowed the gap to two points in just over five minutes. In the second half against the Warriors, his teammates' long-range shooting improved, and he, Curry, and David Lee combined for 49 points in the first half. Even with the Warriors maintaining their 55-point offensive firepower in the first half, they still managed to narrow the gap to 5 points from 17 points.

With those two opponents, he can more easily create a climax when he exerts his strength.

The opponent before us is clearly not.

Yi Shui put aside his distractions and, after listening to D'Antoni's arrangements for lineup rotation and tactical adjustments, began to think about the next strategy. The coach had made arrangements, but execution depended on the individual…

...

The Knicks brought in a lineup of Curry, Hughes, Yi Shui, David Lee, and Gibson.

The Suns brought in a lineup of Nash, Barbosa, James Jones, Frye, and Stoudemire.

The official pause has ended, and the match has resumed.

Stoudemire easily received the ball close to the basket, dribbled between his legs against Gibson, and made a powerful layup before Yi Shui could collapse into position.

That play must have been a nightmare for D'Antoni.

When Ben Wallace was playing, their rim protection was so good!
Although the Suns started the game with a terrifying 8-for-12 shooting percentage, it was mainly because they had a good shooting touch from the perimeter and were able to make the shots when the opportunity arose.

Of those eight baskets, only DeAndre Jordan scored one at the start of the game, and Steve Nash took advantage of Ben Wallace's reduced mobility to shoot from close range. The other six shots were all taken from outside close range.

Although the outside players were left open a lot, at least the inside players were blocked, so we can expect the opponent to miss shots.

Gibson couldn't even hold his own against key defenders; thankfully, DeAndre Jordan was substituted out on the other side!

The defense is supposed to rely on a 35-year-old veteran who claims to be 206cm tall... The thought of this makes D'Antoni even more annoyed.

On the other side, Gentry was also in a bind. He wanted DeAndre Jordan to play more, not only to maintain the strong offense of the twin towers, but also because, although Jordan's defensive foundation was particularly poor, his athleticism, defensive effort, and ability to block and disrupt fast breaks were very suitable.

But DeAndre Jordan's biggest problem right now isn't his fundamentals, but his stamina; he's only getting a maximum of 26 or 27 minutes of playing time.

Centers are difficult to develop. Not only is their growth cycle slow, but their physical development is also much slower than that of perimeter players. They can only wait for their bodies to mature.

On the court, Gibson was completely overwhelmed and forgot to retrieve the ball and inbound it immediately. Entering the league for the first time, he had never encountered such a brutal one-on-one opponent.

Yi Shui ran back to the basket, patted Gibson, picked up the ball and said, "Run forward quickly, if you get hit, hit back. Don't worry, if you can't beat them, I'll help you hit back." He then stepped out of bounds and passed the ball to Curry.

Gibson followed Yi Shui's footsteps and ran towards the front field. At this moment, he had no fear and felt extremely safe!
Yi Shui slowed down and ran to the frontcourt. Just as Gibson reached the baseline and David Lee moved to the left mid-range, he was on the right high post, leaning against James Jones, and turned to cut in!
Curry with the ball...didn't pass! He used a tempo difference to easily get past Nash and drove in from the right side of the top arc!

Yi Shui rushed to the right side of the three-second zone at close range, Curry drove into the middle, and the two attracted Stoudemire, James Jones, and Barbosa to block them at close range. Nash also followed Curry to the inside.

Curry passes the ball!

Hughes moved from the baseline to the right 45-degree angle, received the ball, and launched a three-pointer... It went in!
During the defensive transition, Curry and Yi Shui high-fived to celebrate their play that drew Yi Shui's attention.

Even a primary school student could tell from the force Yi exerted when he turned that his older brother was aiming to draw attention away from the ball.

If Barbosa hadn't collapsed the defense, Curry could have passed the ball to Yi Shui while moving forward. In terms of ball control and rhythm alone, he was better than Yi Shui and could even go toe-to-toe with Nash.

The Knicks continued their team offense, with Curry leading the half-court set, David Lee playing isolation plays, and fast breaks, including the Yi River sprint, spearheaded by Hughes.

Curry made the necessary adjustments when following up with a pass and a pull-up shot, unaffected by the change in his dual point guard partner.

This is another pleasant surprise for the management and coaching staff this season. Curry's adaptability is too strong. Walsh directly elevated Curry's importance to the team from 'near second option' to '0.5 untouchable'.

Relying on the draw by the Yi River, Curry, Hughes, and David Lee led the team in an excellent team offense, maintaining the offensive firepower of the starting lineup.

However, the same applies to the Suns!
Gentry not only led the Suns to revive their run-and-gun offense after a year and a half of absence, but also expanded the 8-man rotation that was typical during the D'Antoni era to a 10-11-man rotation. Although the team still relied on the individual abilities of Nash and Stoudemire, the offensive continuity of the role players was significantly improved, allowing the two core players to always have teammates with sufficient energy to support them.

After his first month with the Suns, Nash said that this was the best year he had played with the team since joining, reminding him of the Mavericks' former $100 million roster.

Nash and Stoudemire led the team, dominating the Knicks team led by Curry, Hughes, and David Lee.

With 10 minutes and 11 seconds remaining, the Suns extended their lead to 5 points, 35-30, thanks to two consecutive three-pointers from Nash and James Jones, and a low-post basket by David Lee against Stoudemire.

Gentry was originally preparing for the next round of rotations, bringing in Dragic, who excels at one-on-one play, and Big Q, who is good at off-ball movement and shooting. But seeing this scene, he chose to wait and wanted to widen the gap in one go.

Curry was almost driven to despair by Nash, a 36-year-old man who could score and pass the ball at will!
But immediately after, Yi Shui called for the ball at the right 45-degree angle and hit a three-pointer over James Jones' interference!

Returning to the defensive end, the Knicks, under Yi Shui's guidance, played a 5-on-4 defense, leaving Barbosa wide open as he was drawing attention away from the defense.

Yi Shui took a gamble.

Barbosa was the Suns' most accurate catch-and-shoot three-point shooter after Joe Johnson left. From the 05-06 season to the first half of the 07-08 season, he shot 44% from three-point range over two and a half years. For more than a year, his three-point shooting was even more accurate than Nash's. However, after Shaquille O'Neal arrived in the 07-08 season, he was forced to become a stationary shooter, which completely ruined his shooting rhythm. After O'Neal left, his shooting also lost its previous consistency and became a bit erratic. Sometimes, he would make a three-pointer on one possession and then miss it drastically on the next possession from the same spot.

With Nash, James Jones, and Frye all clearly in good form from long range, and since they couldn't defend against them, Yi Shui simply chose to leave Barbosa open... and they made the right gamble!

Barbosa missed an open three-pointer!
Gibson protected the defensive rebound during his confrontation with Stoudemire, holding on tightly to prevent the ball from being stolen.

Gibson was suspected of committing a foul while trying to grab the rebound. Stoudemire had already jumped up and pushed the ball away from the opponent, but the referee didn't call it. However, as a high school player, Stoudemire didn't complain. He quickly retreated to defense after failing to get the ball.

Yi Shui ran to the frontcourt, but James Jones circled around him from beyond the three-point line and cut inside. Barbosa blocked him from the sideline.

Curry promptly lobbed the ball to the right sideline, Hughes caught it and took a three-pointer... but it missed!

But! Yi Shui squeezed through the off-ball double team, rushed into the paint, circled around to Stoudemire who had judged the rebound's landing point, and grabbed the offensive rebound!
Stoudemire is strong on offensive rebounds, but his defensive rebounds are terrible, with a ratio of almost 1 to 2. He doesn't box out for rebounds like Okafor does; he simply doesn't know how to grab them.

Frye blocked Yi Shui's path just in time, and then... Yi Shui suddenly attacked between the two of them!
When 'Frontcourt Beast' is triggered, grabbing an offensive rebound at close range and then rising again is equivalent to a running jump!
Stoudemire behind him failed to provide any defensive support, and Frye couldn't hold on.

Yi Shui slammed the ball into the basket over Frye!

Then Nash stepped up, using a screen to get ahead of Gibson and hit a three-pointer before he could cover the shooting space.

On the other hand, Curry responded with a three-pointer against Nash!

Nash defended very hard, but the harder he tried, the more heartbreaking it was. If he didn't try, Curry's rhythmic isolation plays might not even create a wide-open space...

(End of this chapter)