Chapter 201

In the first quarter, both teams achieved a 50% shooting accuracy rate. The camera from the TV station shifted back to the commentator on site. Yu Jia glanced at her laptop and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, the first quarter is now over. Let’s first analyze the performance of both teams’ players in this quarter! Coach Zhang, what do you think of their performance in the first quarter?” Coach Zhang looked at the camera and said, “Actually, both the Pistons and the Lakers played very well in the first quarter! Especially Greg Monroe and Paul Gasol, as well as Zhou Yi and Kobe—these four players drove the rest of their teammates throughout the quarter. It was these two players, Zhou Yi and Kobe, who delivered outstanding performances at the start of the game, inspiring the others to play hard and cooperate effectively. That’s why both teams’ shooting accuracy rates exceeded 50% in the first quarter.” “Indeed…” Yu Jia nodded in agreement. “Then do you think the Lakers or the Pistons will win?” “I can’t be sure,” Coach Zhang replied without hesitation, shaking his head. “The Pistons are definitely a bit stronger than the Lakers, but the Lakers are a veteran strong team with Kobe. However, in the point guard position, the Pistons have a clear advantage—after all, Zhou Yi’s skills are far beyond those of the Lakers’ Derek Fisher and Steve Blake. I think if the Pistons really want to win, they can make full use of Zhou Yi’s individual abilities to take on opponents one-on-one. Only by doing so can they break through the Lakers’ defense and bring it down completely.” “Oh, so you mean John Kuester might use Zhou Yi as the main attacker in this game?” “Yes!” Coach Zhang nodded firmly. “If I were John Kuester, that’s exactly what I would do!” “That makes sense,” Yu Jia said, turning her gaze back to the camera with a smile. “Alright, viewers at home, please stay tuned. After the commercial, we’ll continue to bring you the second quarter of the game…” “Haha, Zhou performed incredibly well in the first quarter!” Will Bynum exclaimed excitedly, waving his fist. “9 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal! In one word—amazing!” Taylor Hansbrough gave a thumbs up.

Zhou Yi smiled sheepishly and said, “Actually, Andre is not bad either! He scored 7 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in the first quarter! And Greg and Tracy also performed exceptionally well.” Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this. Zhou Yi sat down, drank his beverage, and quietly regained his strength, feeling completely relaxed both physically and mentally. “Ding~~~” The second quarter of the game began. After driving across half-court, Will Bynum didn’t head straight for his partner Ben Gordon as usual; instead, he passed the ball to Andre Iguodala right away and quickly moved to create space, giving Iguodala an open path for a one-on-one break—this indicated that the Pistons’ tactics had changed. John Kuester once again made Andre Iguodala the team’s offensive core. Andre Iguodala vs. Ron Artest! The gap remains the gap! There’s no doubt—although Ron Artest is a decent player, there’s still a huge difference between him and Andre Iguodala. Offensively, he’s even less competitive compared to players like Iguodala with outstanding offensive skills. Though Artest’s defensive abilities are unquestionable, they’re not as formidable as they were at his peak due to his age. Everyone believes that if Andre Iguodala wants to, he can easily score against Ron Artest. Now, with Andre Iguodala once again as the team’s offensive core and the help of his teammates, he no longer has to worry about being double-teamed. Thus, Andre Iguodala can fully unleash his strength as the undisputed core of the 76ers. Andre Iguodala performed two consecutive dribbles under his arm, then suddenly pulled to the left, breaking through Ron Artest’s right side in an unconventional move. Artest was caught off guard and allowed Iguodala to penetrate. Using cover from teammate Tyler Hansbrough, Iguodala rushed into the Lakers’ basket and dunked powerfully with both hands. “Wow~~~” The crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers. It seemed as though Andre Iguodala had regained his sense of being the leader of the 76ers once again.

Steve Blake drove past half-court. This time, instead of passing, he decided to attack on his own. Using his teammate Paul Gasol to set a screen and distract the defenders, he took action promptly and successfully shot a three-pointer.
33:36—the score gap was still 3 points.
The Pistons had the ball, with Andre Iguodala in possession.
Andre Iguodala slowly moved to the 45-degree angle outside the three-point line and began dribbling there, neither attacking nor passing, seemingly deliberately wasting time.
As the 24-second shot clock approached, with 8 seconds left, Andre Iguodala took off.
He accelerated sharply, using his speed and strength to slip past Ron Artest’s defense from the left side, like an unstoppable sword charging straight into the Lakers’ basket.
“Damn!”
Ron Artest felt a chill and quickly turned to chase Andre Iguodala. But by then, there was already a meter between them—catching up was impossible.
Andre Iguodala entered the Lakers’ paint, with the Lakers’ basket and their backup center, Joe Smith, right in front of him.
Gritting his teeth and showing a determined expression, Andre Iguodala held the ball in his right hand, leaped above Joe Smith, stretched his body in mid-air, and raised his right hand high.
Seeing that Andre Iguodala wasn’t afraid of him at all, the former first-round pick Joe Smith became furious. He jumped up right after Andre Iguodala, raising his arms high in an attempt to block him.
Andre Iguodala frowned tightly, staring fixedly at the basket behind Joe Smith’s strong, massive hands. With an unstoppable resolve, he used his incredible explosive power and air control to fly toward the basket.
Andre Iguodala collided with Joe Smith in mid-air, and the impact caused him to lose his balance and fall backward.
But instead of giving up, he used his long right arm to slam the basketball hard toward the basket right as he collided with Joe Smith.
“Thud!” The basket let out a pained groan, and the ball went through the net with that loud noise.

33:38, Andre Iguodala gave the Pistons a 5-point lead once again.
“Amazing!” The fans erupted in excited and ecstatic cheers once more.
Iguodala’s dunk this time was truly astonishing—its power and impact were undeniable.
After landing, Iguodala couldn’t steady himself and stumbled backward, but he didn’t fall because Taylor Hansbrough, who was coming up behind, caught him.
“Great job!”
Taylor Hansbrough gave Iguodala a thumbs up.
Iguodala smiled, patted Zhou Yi on the back, and ran back to the backcourt with him.
In the rest of the game, since Iguodala became the Pistons’ offensive core, he found himself under double coverage.
However, this didn’t mean the Pistons would be defeated. When Iguodala was covered, it meant other players had opportunities to shoot.
Ben Gordon, Taylor Hansbrough, and Spencer Hawes all scored thanks to Iguodala’s clever passes.
Six minutes into the second quarter, the Pistons began making adjustments to their lineup. Zhou Yi replaced Will Bynum, McGrady replaced Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva replaced Iguodala, and Greg Monroe replaced Taylor Hansbrough.
In the following minutes, due to Kobe’s intense close defense on Zhou Yi, he didn’t perform well. But the other Pistons players did well, maintaining an overall shooting percentage of around 50%, thus keeping ahead of the Lakers.
In contrast, the Lakers’ overall shooting percentage was only around 38%. If not for their higher number of attempts, the gap between the two teams might have widened even further!