One Year Left to Play-Chapter 268 - 96: Early Celebration

This small play is very simple—attract a double-team, cut and pass; from Zhang Hao initiating the attack with a pass to completing the offense, it took just over two seconds.

But precisely because of the simplicity, the defense can only patch up in just as simple a way.

Larry Brown stood up on the sideline. The defense was originally going well, but the opponent suddenly launched an unexpected attack—that high school kid!

Zhang Hao's post-up area is mid-range on the baseline. Generally, outside players don't post up here because it's too easy to lose the passing route when faced with a double-team.

Similarly, inside players rarely post up in this area because it is outside the shooting range for most inside players. Even Olajuwon seldom shoots from this position; practicing shots here is less favorable than practicing corner threes, which any coach would prefer.

This makes Zhang Hao unique; in this area, given his height, he can see the entire court by just turning his head, with a broad passing view. As long as his teammates have enough experience, opportunities are easily available.

Yet, the opponent has Vaughn Fleming, who has been with their Pacers team for 11 years!

Originally, the two teams were grinding it out closely. Larry Brown was happy to see this scenario; drag it out till the end, and the team with better defense—their Pacers—would surely win.

However, in the next few possessions, the Pacers continued grinding it out; only relying on Reggie Miller's free throws for two points. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets scored again in three possessions, with one being Zhang Hao's long pass to the other side for Chales' corner three, and the other being Vaughn Fleming's drive and floater.

Including Zhang Hao's first assist leading to an alley-oop and a previous turnaround fadeaway, the Brooklyn Nets launched a 9-2 run!

41 to 36, the Brooklyn Nets lead the Pacers by 5 points, disrupting the Pacers' rhythm!

"This damn brat…"

Pacers players gathered around Larry Brown, only to hear Larry Brown cursing.

In terms of coaching ability, Pacers players have no doubts about Larry Brown. He crafted excellent defense for them, but in terms of personality, Larry Brown is hard to admire.

He looks like a professor, but his mouth is filthy. Faced with adversity, he starts cursing.

But over two years, Pacers players have grown accustomed to it.

On the other side, the Brooklyn Nets' bench was filled with excitement!

The situation had once been quite unfavorable for them. They watched as their great shooting had nearly been exhausted by the opponent; Zhang Hao's post-up cracked open the situation.

The opponent, who had played Reggie Miller for 19 straight minutes, put on a warm-up suit, indicating that the Pacers would focus on defense for some time! For the Brooklyn Nets, as long as they continue the offensive performance this quarter, they might secure a clear lead by halftime, allowing them the chance to withstand the opponent's fullpower counterattack in the third quarter! 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Given Almon Gilliam's state tonight, they have the chance to outshine the Pacers while Reggie Miller rests, provided their shooting touch doesn't vanish and the point gap isn't too large; otherwise, it'd be tough.

Now, due to Zhang Hao's performance in the possessions before the timeout, these issues have dissipated!

Randy Whitman, who was initially on the brink of exploding, is now spiritedly orchestrating the last 4-plus minutes of the first half's offense; they just need to extend the play from the first quarter.

Defense... let's rely on luck; since Reggie Miller isn't there, just block the shooters and the paint.

...

Almon Gilliam charged onto the court with great confidence!

Chales, Zhang Hao, Edwards, Jason Williams followed the leader onto the court.

In the last 4-plus minutes of the first half, Zhang Hao strolled at mid-range on the left side of the paint, ready to shoot or pass whenever a chance arose, cheering for Almon Gilliam as he dug into the crowd.

Schmitz's defensive weakness was maximally exposed; Pacers dreaded such fierce forwards as Almon Gilliam.

Pacers' ability to execute stable offensive success earlier came from their main lineup's structured offensive collaboration, Mark Jackson and Schmitz's orchestration in half-court offense, which were crucial. Another key point was unsettling the opponents with defense during rotation phases.

This season's first 6 games only saw their defense mentally crumble once, which was against the Magic when Anfernee Hardaway scored 36 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and provided 9 assists. In the other 5 games, their defense held firm; in one lost game, only their scoring dried up in the final moments, but the defense remained solid.

This time, they were rattled by the Brooklyn Nets, such a weak team, making the Pacers anxious to rely on offense to chase the points gap.

However, Pacers' character is stability, not bursts of scoring; hasty offense reduces their success rate.

With one decisive push, at halftime, the Brooklyn Nets had expanded their lead to 54-45, an advantage of 9 points!

This quarter, the Brooklyn Nets played with flair; originally, they were being ground down by the Pacers, becoming accustomed to the Pacers' rhythm; the Pacers could soon enjoy high-efficiency slow-paced offense once Mark Jackson and Schmitz returned, but the Pacers ended up getting caught in a 27-18 surge by the Brooklyn Nets.

On the way back to the locker room, Almon Gilliam excitedly moved next to Zhang Hao, his best helper tonight: "Brother, how do you think brother played tonight, see how awesome I am?"