Chapter 30
In the first 6 minutes of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers took a 4-point lead at 14-10 thanks to the outstanding performances of their star Brandon Roy and second star LaMarcus Aldridge. At that moment, the lineups were as follows: Pistons – Zhou Yi, McGrady, Greg Monroe, Prince, and Durham Porter; while on the Portland Trail Blazers side, Brandon Roy was replaced by Wesley Matthews, with Rudy Fernandez, Dante Cunningham, Amun Johnson, and LaMarcus Aldridge on the court.
After the timeout, play resumed. The Pistons had the ball, and after receiving the inbound pass at the baseline, Zhou Yi began organizing the team’s offense, while “Big Mouth” Barkley and the other two players focused intently on him.
After half a minute, Zhou Yi tried a drive, only to find that Amun Johnson, his defender, wasn’t fooled. So he slowed down and adjusted his rhythm. With just a glance, Monroe moved to the top of the key to set up a pick-and-roll for Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi remained calm and slipped past Monroe using the pick-and-roll. Rudy Fernandez quickly stepped in to cover, but despite his successful defense, he showed a hint of surprise, as Zhou Yi no longer had the ball in his hands.
Prince’s three-pointer made Rudy Fernandez sigh helplessly. He was quite satisfied with his defense earlier—both his defensive intensity and reaction time showed exceptional skill. As for Prince’s three-pointer, it was simply due to a lack of coordination among the teammates and delayed coverage, which wasn’t a major issue. With more games played, these aspects would surely improve significantly.
“Zhou has a good handle on the game. Just look at his passing—how effortless it is,” “Big Mouth” Barkley said to the two people beside him.
Reggie Miller nodded, while Kenny Smith remained silent.
On the Trail Blazers’ side, LaMarcus Aldridge received a pass from Amun Johnson inside, pushed Monroe aside, then backpedaled for a jump shot, which also went in.
In the subsequent attacks, neither team had a high shooting percentage, especially the Pistons, who seemed to be struggling to score. Only Zhou Yi and McGrady managed 2 points each, with no one else making a significant contribution. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers took advantage of the Pistons’ slump to widen the score gap. Although the Trail Blazers’ offensive efficiency wasn’t high either, it was much better than that of the Pistons. With 1.5 minutes left in the first quarter, the score stood at 26:17, with the Trail Blazers leading by 9 points.
Pistons head coach John Kuester called a timeout at this point. The team failed in consecutive attacks and also had issues defensively. He wasn’t satisfied with Monroe’s performance in the previous few minutes—he hadn’t shown the necessary intensity and had even received two fouls in such a short time.
“The situation of the game is clear without me having to say much. Everyone should understand. Although we’re all tired these days, as professional players, no matter what our condition is, we must give our all in every game—that’s what a professional player should do,” Kuester said seriously. There was no smile on his face now, and no sense of warmth among the players. The poor performance in the recent games was due not only to a lack of teamwork but also to the players’ attitudes—their lack of focus led to laziness on the court, which was the team’s biggest problem at the moment.
This was John Kuester—someone who always knew exactly what to say at the right time. Taking advantage of the timeout, Kuester replaced Monroe with Hansbrough.
Perhaps Kuester’s criticism had an effect, as the players’ attitude changed significantly after the game resumed. The pace of play, especially in terms of offense and defense, accelerated a lot. This sudden change caught the Trail Blazers off guard, as they failed in three consecutive attacks. The Pistons seized the opportunity to score a 6-0 run, narrowing the score gap to 3 points.