Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 719 - 252: As the Rising Sun (First Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)

Staples Center, opening jump ball, Brown who wasn't suppressed by Little Gasol's rise, successfully secured possession for the Warriors.

In the NBA, to win the jump ball against someone like Brown, who is agile and explosive, the key is to suppress his initial leap.

Otherwise, once Brown jumps up, you can only watch helplessly as he taps the basketball to a teammate over your head.

On the court, Curry brought the ball past half-court for the Warriors, with Qin Yue advancing to the high post for support.

Amidst the full court's shouts of "FUCK", Qin Yue noticed that the Lakers were starting with a "1-3-1" zone defense. He first dribbled a step towards the free throw line, then passed the ball via Wallace to the hands of Green at the corner.

The latter's three-point attempt missed, and Big Gasol grabbed the rebound.

This attack, except for not scoring, could be described as a textbook example of breaking through a zone defense, guided by Qin Yue for the Warriors.

But the charm of basketball lies exactly here.

Back on the Lakers' attack, Kobe seized a non-chance opportunity to make a high-difficulty floater near the mid-range for the Lakers.

A good shooting opportunity doesn't necessarily mean you'll score.

But a poor shooting opportunity still has the chance to go in.

This is just like a basketball court, akin to life itself.

There are missed opportunities and accidental successes.

Only at the moment when the basketball goes in can you determine whether it's a successful defense or a great offense.

Warriors' possession, the Lakers continued their defensive strategy which previously bet on Green's three-point miss with a "1-3-1" zone defense.

The only difference is that the Lakers, previously easily penetrated by the Warriors, have increased their vigilance against both corners.

The corners are precisely the weak point of the "1-3-1" zone defense.

However, on a basketball court where taking a direct route doesn't necessarily get you to the end, Qin Yue, who chose to take a winding path to reach a straight one, asked for the ball back from Wallace just when he was about to move the ball to the corner again.

Then, signaling for Green to loop to another spot, Qin Yue, noticing Curry had cut into the Lakers' paint under Brown's screen, used Green's movement to distract and Curry's cut to deliver Curry a pass as precise as a scalpel.

Curry scored easily under the basket, 2-2.

Since the Lakers increased vigilance against the corners, it meant their "1-3-1" zone defense must have a gap at the ribs.

Both Qin Yue and Curry noticed this.

So, even without communication, at the moment Qin Yue retrieved the ball from Wallace, Curry and Qin Yue operated simultaneously.

On the Warriors' bench, Nash watching Curry storm the court felt a pang of melancholy, realizing he's being overtaken by the new wave: "They truly are a natural partnership."

It's the Lakers' turn to attack.

The equally synchronized Gasol Brothers, after cross-positioning, had Big Gasol settling in the low post.

ESPN, special guest Jeff Van Gundy said: "The growth of the Gasol Brothers is the key that allows the Lakers to match the Warriors' offensive level in this series."

Van Gundy wasn't wrong.

Even though neither Little Gasol nor Big Gasol, taken individually, seem as terrifying as those super interiors.

However, when the Gasol Brothers work together, the offensive enhancement they bring to a team grows exponentially.

A shoulder fake drew Brown up.

In the low post, already anticipating Klay's cut, Big Gasol avoided confronting Qin Yue's help defense head-on and smoothly passed the ball to Klay for the finish.

2-4.

In this Lakers and Warriors battle, in almost every round, players from both teams were engaging in various forms of strategic duels.

The Warriors' turn to attack.

Under the Lakers' semi-trap strategy, Qin Yue, relying on psychological tactics, broke through the Lakers' defense.

Grabbing the ball with one hand, pretending to break through the Lakers' defensive pinch point, but actually pulling back the dribble to cut from the inside.

In the Lakers' paint, Qin Yue found Brown with a split pass, assisting him for a two-handed dunk.

This is the unique ability Qin Yue possesses, to effectively solve any kind of defense.

Mike Brown's diligently designed impenetrable barricade for the Lakers' paint seemed watertight, yet Qin Yue, who could always take a general's head from the midst of the enemy army, moved freely despite such defensive levels.

At this moment, recalling his past belief that James wasn't much different from Qin Yue, "Black Bread" Brown regrettably lowered his head.

Brown knew, from this single sequence alone, James might never reach such heights in his lifetime.

Extraordinary human-ball integration ability.

Meticulous court awareness.

Perhaps, in certain moments, James can leverage his historic physical gifts and unbroken crab dribble to crash through such defense levels.

But according to Brown, no matter the era of James, he never had the ability like Qin Yue to treat breaking through defenses as easy as eating and drinking.

Lakers on the attack, Paul missed a jumper over Curry from the perimeter.

Warriors' turn, Qin Yue also responded to Paul's miss with a perimeter shot that hit the rim.

In these two attacks, the Wake Forest twins, caught in similar predicaments, made the same choice.

That is, when the team's tactics weren't on point, both Paul and Qin Yue coincidentally chose one-on-one plays to avoid turnovers.

In the NBA, balancing between executing tactics and a star's isolation play is always a test of whether a star possesses the qualities to be a winner.

In games, neither stubbornly executing tactics nor resorting solely to reckless isolation is advisable.

Because when tactics can't play out, the former would cause a team's offense to come to a standstill.

As for the latter, even if you're in top form, your teammates might gradually lose themselves due to long-term marginalization.

Contrary to what many people imagine.

Actually, Paul has always had the traits of a winner.

It's just that Paul's innate talent determines that if a team plans to build around him to compete for a championship, that team is likely to find reaching the conference finals a luxury.

However, playing beside Kobe is different for Paul.

Because the role of second-in-command is precisely what suits Paul best.

Paul's control ensures the Lakers' baseline.

As for the ceiling?

Of course, it depends on Paul's teammates.

On the court, Lakers attack, with Kobe's screen, Klay receives Paul's assist and nails a three-pointer.

As a star's offspring, this season, Klay has used his performance on the court to win over those Lakers fans who originally thought he was riding on his father's name.

Not fearing the big stage is undoubtedly Klay's greatest strength as an outside shooter.

However, for this shot, Klay still has to thank Kobe.

In order to defeat Qin Yue, Kobe's change in this year's Western Conference Finals is visible to the naked eye.

Kobe is well aware that the current Qin Yue, even the black-skinned Jesus wearing the number 23 jersey, struggles to compete against him.

So, to defeat Qin Yue, the Demon King, Kobe is destined to learn how to rely on teammates and fully unleash their potential.

"So far, he's only lost once in the playoffs."

"Even though that defeat was during a time when the entire Warriors team was plagued by injuries."

"Still, the Supersonics under Rick Carlisle showed a clear path to all NBA teams of their era."

What is Carlisle's greatest feature in coaching?

It is certainly about constantly sharing the ball to stimulate the potential of each player on the court.

Throughout Qin Yue's past life, whether at the Pacers or the Mavericks, or when returning to the Pacers, Carlisle never changed his foundational coaching logic.

And in some aspect, Carlisle believed that having a ball-dominant core player hurts the team, which is actually correct.

Why?

Because when a player holds the ball too much on the court, it inevitably leads to his teammates becoming more functionalized and reduced to mere catch-and-shoot or rim-running players.

In Qin Yue's memory, this is precisely the reason Carlisle will have an irreconcilable conflict with Doncic in the future and leave the Mavericks.

Now, here comes the question.

Why does Qin Yue, the ball-dominant core, always lead the Warriors to become winners?

Because early on, throughout several confrontations with the Warriors, Carlisle saw through the essence of Qin Yue, the ball-dominant core.

Qin Yue is fundamentally different from those future external ball-dominant cores.

And among these differences, the most direct one lies in Qin Yue's off-ball attributes.

Unlike the future Doncic and Harden who would choose to stand and watch when not holding the ball.

In the plays where Qin Yue chose to pass the ball, this Warriors ball-dominant core was similarly the team's off-ball core.

Exactly.

Qin Yue is both a ball-dominant and off-ball core.

On the court, it's the Warriors' turn to attack.

First setting a screen for Curry at the top, then switching positions with Brown near the free-throw line.

In this possession where Qin Yue never touched the ball, he used his off-ball ability to successfully disrupt the entire Lakers' defense and create a feeding line for Brown from Curry.

ESPN, where Jeff Van Gundy has studied the Warriors over the years, couldn't help but exclaim: "Messiah might be the greatest team player in basketball history."

At Staples Center, after the first quarter, 29 versus 27.

Although facing this star-studded Lakers team, the Warriors didn't create a gap in the first quarter.

But on the Warriors' bench, as the game progressed, veteran coach Hollins gradually realized why Mike Malone could always calmly and effortlessly command from the sidelines.

Do you remember what Brown once said to Big Ben?

Why does mankind never fear nightfall?

Because everyone knows the sun will rise again the next day.

In Hollins' eyes, under Qin Yue's methodical command, the current Warriors are in the phase before the sun rises.

The stars of Los Angeles are indeed dazzling.

But once the sun rises, even the brightest stars will be overshadowed by the sun's rays.

...

PS: First update! Oh no, hardcore James Fans haven't eaten in two days. (TnT)