The longest river

Chapter 87 Pat Riley, the Mastermind (Not Really)
Yang Shuai had his sights set on McGee's starting position after the All-Star Weekend, but subsequent injuries disrupted his plans.

Miller's unexpected injury has given him this opportunity again.

The day after Miller's injury, Brown had already replaced Miller in the starting lineup during the team scrimmage.

After training, he also announced that Yang Shuai would start as the shooting guard in the next game against the Heat.

Besides the fact that Yang Shuai and Miller have similar playing styles, which allows them to retain the team's original lineup to the greatest extent, there is an even more important point: defense.

What Yang Shuai, born in 00, doesn't know is that before Milicic, there was a newcomer who was also heavily relied upon by Brown in this way; his name was Tysean Prince.

Yang Shuai missed his first matchup against the Heat due to injury, but unexpectedly, two months later, he returned to the starting lineup and faced the Heat again.

Looking back on his experiences during the tryouts, it's clear that he has a deep connection with Riley and the Heat.

This game was played at the Heat's home court.

Before heading to Miami, Yang Shuai logged into the system.

He's going to replace Miller in the team's tactical role, so improving help defense will definitely have to wait until later.

In fact, over the past two weeks, his help defense combined with his defensive footwork has been barely adequate, as long as it's not against a team like the Bulls.

What he needs to improve now is his individual offensive ability.

While he may not be as good as Miller in terms of skill, his off-ball ability is not that much worse. What he lacks is his ability to attack with the ball.

He redeemed a Grade B burst power enhancement pack.

Explosiveness can improve his ball control and dribbling skills, and even help his off-the-ball movement.

After the exchange, his layup cap increased to 80, his dribbling cap increased to 72, and his other attributes, including sprint dunks and rebounds, also saw an increase of 3-4 points.

Although the abilities obtained through the system require training to reach their maximum potential, he can complete them before the playoffs begin if he focuses on targeted training in the coming period.

To give the players some breathing room, Brown did not schedule any training sessions after the team arrived in Miami.

Some teammates took the opportunity to have in-depth conversations with women, while others chose to go for a stroll in the city.

While Miami may not be as luxurious as Los Angeles, as an "international capital," it is equally captivating.

Yang Shuai chose to first conduct explosive power enhancement training with Di Francesco at the training center.

Trying to cram at the last minute is better than nothing.

After training, he and Johnson took a walk on the beach in Miami.

This is his second time here since his draft tryouts.

During the trial period, time was very tight, and he didn't even have time to take a good look at the city.

After finishing training, taking a stroll on the famous beach is quite pleasant, with a gentle breeze and the sea and sky meeting at the horizon.

This is a feeling that you can't experience either in Cleveland or Indianapolis.

It's a pity it's not summer now. Although there are quite a few tourists on the beach, the sand doesn't seem white enough.

"Hansen? You're Hansen?!"

Halfway through his walk, Yang Shuai was recognized by a group of students who called out to him from a distance.

Johnson initially wanted to stop them, but Yang pointed to their Reebok shoes, so he let them go.

They quickly became engrossed in chatting with Yang Shuai.

We missed you!

"Riley should have picked you 10th overall, he's so stupid!"

“You could have been the core of our team for the next twenty years.”

The students were so outspoken, and Yang Shuai was delighted to hear their genuine, unpretentious words.

He not only signed autographs and took photos with them, but also had Johnson give them tickets to tomorrow night's game.

After returning from the beach, Yang Shuai went to the hotel and managed to get a device that could play videotapes. Then he and Robertson continued to study the Heat's games.

The Heat have undergone the most roster changes this season.

After arriving in Miami, Riley became a complete 2K player, making sweeping adjustments to the roster.

Besides acquiring Mourning at the beginning of the season, they made two more major trades before the trade deadline this year.

One of the trades involved sending starting small forward Billy Owens to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Walter Williams.

The other deal involved trading away the team's starting point guard Bimbo Coles and starting power forward Kevin Willis, in exchange for Tim Hardaway from the Warriors.

The second of these two transactions is clearly the one that deserves more attention.

This Hardaway is not the same Hardaway as the other Hardaway. He is nicknamed "Little Bug" and is a point guard who is only 1.83 meters tall.

As the Warriors' "RUN TMC" backcourt core, he averaged 22 points, 10 assists and 2 steals per game in the previous four seasons.

However, this season, with Don Nelson being fired and Adelman taking over and implementing the "Princeton" style of play, Hardaway's stats have reached career lows, averaging only 14 points and 7 assists per game, with a field goal percentage of only 42.1%.

This is also the key reason why the Heat were able to trade for him. And after the trade, it quickly proved to be another "Riley-style" trade, because Hardaway's average stats rebounded rapidly after joining the Heat, reaching 17.2 points, 10 assists, and 2 steals per game.

After watching the video, Yang Shuai also felt that Haddaway was not easy to control.

This is different from the "Penny" Hardaway he encountered before. "Little Bug" is very fast, not much slower than Iverson. He definitely can't switch on him like before and can only rely on help defense.

However, when it comes to help defense, Hardaway's passing ability is very strong.

He's also very strong physically. If you let him play under the basket, he can easily overpower a big center and draw fouls. Last season, he averaged 7.2 free throw attempts per game.

The only way to limit him is through defensive coordination.

The following morning, the Heat held an open practice at their training facility.

Riley gave an interview to reporters after practice.

"If the playoffs start today, the Heat will face the Bulls. What are your thoughts on this matchup?"

Everyone knows about the feud between Riley and Jordan. Riley was eliminated by Jordan in two consecutive seasons in New York.

"This team has enough talent that they can beat any opponent."

Riley emphasized the word "opponent" when referring to any rival.

He left New York because he lacked the power to manage the roster and therefore couldn't beat Jordan.

Now that he's in Miami, he has that power, and he's confident he can do it.

What do you think of Hansen Young's current performance?

The NBA Insider's report revealed that the Heat were one of the teams that were interested in Yang Shuai.

“He played well. He faced a lot of criticism when he was drafted that pick, but he proved those criticisms wrong.”

Affirming Yang Shuai is both stating the facts and affirming one's own judgment.

"Do you regret not using the number 10 pick to select Yang?"

"No, we made the best choice with the 10th pick. Kurt (Thomas) is now our starting power forward. He is the perfect partner for Alonzo (Mourning). Walter (Williams) can provide us with excellent defense and can also contribute to the team's offensive tactics with his experience."

Do you think Hansen will cause problems for the team tonight?

"No, it won't."

Riley's answer was very affirmative.

That night, the Miami Arena, which can hold 15,000 people, was packed to capacity.

The Heat didn't enter the NBA until 1988, and they've only made the playoffs once in their history. If it weren't for Riley's arrival, they wouldn't have received as much attention as new teams like the Raptors or Grizzlies.

But this does not dampen the fans' enthusiasm for watching the games, because the team was created because of the fans' requests.

Once you enter the stadium, you can fully feel the passion of the fans.

Even for a regular season game, the fans at the stadium made a lot of targeted KT boards.

For example, there's "Cheryl①" specifically used to mock Reggie Miller, and "Dutch windmill②" used against Schmitz, and so on.

This place is not only Miami, but also Florida.

Yang Shuai also saw the students he had met on the beach in the stands.

They held up signs in support of themselves, making them quite eye-catching among the Heat fans.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups for both sides were announced one after another.

Pacers: Robertson, Young, McGee, Davis, Schmitz
Miami Heat: Hardaway, Sasha Danilovic, Walter Williams, Kurt Thomas, Mourning

Schmitz gave the Pacers the first offensive opportunity.

After Yang Shuai arrived at the frontcourt, he began to run according to the team's tactics.

But soon, he sensed the difference from his previous start.

The last time he replaced McGee, he played a spacing role on the court, so the defensive pressure he faced was limited.

However, now that he's in the starting lineup in place of Miller, the Heat's defensive focus is almost entirely on McGee, who has an inconsistent shooting ability, because the weak side is occupied by someone like McGee.

Robertson had the ball at the top of the arc, but he found that he couldn't pass it to Yang Shuai.

This is not normal defensive intensity. The last time the two teams played each other, even Miller did not receive this kind of defensive treatment.

On the Heat's bench, Pat Riley, dressed in a suit and resembling the Godfather, touched his chin with a subtle smile.

A master strategist, of course, cannot afford to miscalculate.

-Dividing line-

①: Reggie Miller's sister, who scored 105 points in a single game during high school and completed the first women's dunk in a game, was described by Sports Illustrated as a player who "could beat Jordan one-on-one." Spike Lee once mocked Miller for living in his sister's shadow his whole life.

②: The Dutch windmills rotate very slowly, used to mock Schmitz for his slow turning speed.

(End of this chapter)