Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1098 - 615 The Seal Loosened by Time_2

Chapter 1098: Chapter 615: The Seal Loosened by Time_2 Chapter 1098: Chapter 615: The Seal Loosened by Time_2 “I’m already a substitute and you still want to trade me? Are you even human?!”

Then, the game began.

The Wizards held their own against the Clippers with the power of The Big Three.

Although Wall lacks some direct problem-solving ability in positional battles, he’s not completely without shooting skills. Once he gets into the groove, he can use his exceptional speed to create damage.

Bill is simply a pure scorer.

Cousins is the biggest X-factor.

It could be said that he is the weather vane of D.C.

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Only when he’s in the zone can the Wizards unleash their full power.

Tonight, Cousins was extra excited. He had heard a lot of professional praise for Jokić recently and didn’t take it seriously. In his view, the opponent was just a fancy pillow with only fancy hand moves to show.

Cousins is a power center who needs certain qualifiers added to him. Even in an era where the role of traditional centers is fading, he can still demonstrate extraordinary abilities. As long as these conditions are met, Cousins has the potential to transform into the league’s top center during a game.

Tonight was one of those times. Cousins played very happily, his hands were hot, especially when up against Jokić; he became more spirited as the battle went on, thus giving the Clippers a tougher time than they had against Anthony Davis a couple of days ago.

Davis represents the unicorn-type interiors of modern basketball with a strong physique, amazing speed, and guard-level skills. Cousins, on the other hand, is a versatile traditional center who is strong and can play both inside and outside.

Type-wise, the current version of Cousins is the most troubling matchup for Jokić. Since Jokić is not the absolute core player in the Clippers, he cannot play entirely in his most comfortable manner. The presence of Yu Fei and Antetokounmpo, especially Antetokounmpo who is extremely conscious about whether his ball rights rank second in the team, compounds this issue.

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When Jokić can’t contain Cousins defensively, and can’t find his shooting touch offensively, his presence is almost reduced to merely boxing out for rebounds and facilitating from the high post.

Rivers is not worried at all, letting Jokić get “schooled” by Cousins, executing clock-based rotation and subbing in Yao Ming when it’s time.

Upon entering the game, Yao Ming immediately scores a three-pointer, instantly enhancing the Clippers’ offense.

Although Yao Ming is not as good of a facilitator as Jokić, his shooting is very reliable. Even though there is one less facilitating spot, the ball-handling capabilities of Yu Fei and Antetokounmpo already make the lineup exceptionally organized. Now with another three-point shooting and rim-protecting center added, the Wizards quickly become unsure of how to defend.

In the third quarter, with the combination of three-pointers and defensive counterattacks, the Clippers launched an 18-2 run, pushing the game into garbage time.

2016 is a special year in basketball history. The main timeline’s Warriors changed basketball that year and broke the 20-year best record held by the ’96 Bulls. Now, the composition of the Warriors is completely different, with Curry in Miami enduring the syndrome of a championship team’s end.

However, the destiny of 2016 needs to be inherited by another team. The Clippers have undoubtedly become that team.

The question now is, who will become this year’s Cavaliers?

Two months into the season, Yu Fei doesn’t see any team in the Eastern Conference with similar potential, let alone a team that could use the perfect combination of timing, location, and camaraderie to achieve the greatest comeback in the finals history like the Cavaliers did in the main timeline.

After defeating the Wizards, the Clippers begin another winning streak.

During this period, Jokić, targeted by various teams, hits a wall.

His performance is not as stellar as in the previous two months, but the Clippers’ record is completely unaffected. They are confident enough to develop their players.

While Jokić’s performance declines, Yao Ming consistently contributes off the bench. Taking advantage of staggered scheduling for stats padding, Yao Ming now averages 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks in 26 minutes per game, virtually no different from last season’s full-time starting stats.

While maintaining his numbers, his average playing time has decreased by 5 minutes, his efficiency has improved in every aspect. He is now the efficiency king of the league, with his name appearing in various advanced stats that emphasize efficiency.

As Yao Ming’s performance stabilizes, he surpasses Jokić in the All-Star voting, becoming again a candidate for the Western Conference substitute.

Given their popularity and Jokić’s recent trend of being targeted and hitting consecutive walls, it’s almost certain that Yao Ming will be selected for the All-Star game again.

Rivers uses this as a warning to Jokić: “Nikola, if you don’t get rid of those bad habits, you might stay stuck here forever.”

Antetokounmpo revels in schadenfreude on the side; he enjoys seeing Jokić suffer.

Jokić, tired of hearing such talk, just shakes his head, “Coach, I don’t see it that way.”

“You don’t understand anything, Nikola!” Nikola begins the NBA version of the lecture, “I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice.”

He certainly has the credentials, having experienced multiple eras as a player and coach.

But that does not convince Jokić.

The Serbians have their own set of theories; he believes the recent performance downturn is due to his deteriorating shooting touch.

To fix this, either increase his post-up responsibilities or step up shooting drills to regain the touch.

Increasing post-up attacks is tantamount to increasing his tactical status, which means adjusting the entire tactical system. In plain language, it means cutting into someone else’s cake, and Rivers wouldn’t do this for a recently underperforming, stubborn foreign player.