Chapter 205

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 the first 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, ladies and gentlemen watching 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 been adjusted. John Kuester once again made Andre Iguodala the team’s offensive core. There was no doubt that Ron Artest was a good player, but he was still far behind Andre Iguodala. Offensively, he had no chance of matching a player with Iguodala’s outstanding skills! Although Artest’s defensive abilities were unquestionable, they weren’t as formidable as they once were due to his age. Everyone believed that if Andre Iguodala wanted to, he could easily score against Ron Artest. Now, with Iguodala once again as the team’s offensive core and the help of his teammates, he no longer had to worry about being double-teamed. Thus, Iguodala could fully unleash his strength as the undisputed leader of the 76ers. Iguodala performed two consecutive dribbles under his arm, then suddenly pulled to the left, breaking through on the right side of Ron Artest in an unconventional move. Artest wasn’t quick enough to react and was immediately beaten by Iguodala. Using cover from teammate Tyler Hansbrough, Iguodala charged straight into the Lakers’ basket and dunked powerfully with both hands. “Wow~~~” The arena was filled with enthusiastic applause and cheers. It seemed as though Iguodala had regained his sense of being the leader of the 76ers. Steve Blake drove across half-court. This time, instead of passing, he decided to attack on his own. He used his teammate Paul Gasol to set up a pick-and-roll, taking advantage of the momentary distraction of the defense to shoot a steady three-pointer. The score was 33:36, with a 3-point difference remaining.

The Pistons have the ball, or rather, Andre Iguodala does.
Andre Iguodala slowly moved to the 45-degree angle on the left side beyond the three-point line, where he began dribbling steadily—neither attacking nor passing, as if deliberately wasting time.
As the 24-second timeout approached, with eight seconds left, Andre Iguodala took action.
He suddenly accelerated, using his speed and strength to slip past Ron Artest’s defense from the left side, slashing straight into the Lakers’ basket like an unstoppable sword.
“Damn!”
Ron Artest felt a chill and quickly turned to chase after Andre Iguodala. But by then, there was already a meter between them—catching up was impossible.
Andre Iguodala entered the Lakers’ basket area, with the Lakers’ hoop 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 draft 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, staring intently at the hoop behind Joe Smith’s strong, massive hands. With unwavering determination, 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, Andre Iguodala used his long right arm to slam the ball into 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 a loud noise.
33:38—Andre Iguodala had given the Pistons a 5-point lead again.
“Amazing!” The fans erupted in excited, frantic cheers once more.
Andre Iguodala’s dunk over the defender this time was truly astonishing—the force and impact were beyond doubt.
Chapter 443: Win for Championship, Lose and Go to Seven (Part 2)

After landing, Andre Iguodala couldn’t steady himself and kept stumbling backward. Of course, he didn’t fall to the ground because Taylor Hansbrough, who was coming from behind, caught him.
“Impressive!”
Greg Monroe gave Andre Iguodala a thumbs up.
Andre Iguodala smiled, patted Zhou Yi on the back, and ran back to the backcourt with him.
In the rest of the game, since Andre Iguodala became the Pistons’ offensive core, he found himself trapped in double-team situations. However, this didn’t mean the Pistons would be defeated. When Andre Iguodala was double-teamed, it meant other players had opportunities to score.
Ben Gordon, Greg Monroe, and Spencer Hawes all scored thanks to Andre Iguodala’s clever passes.
Greg Monroe didn’t use his strength to block inside too early. With two players over 6 feet tall guarding the paint and only him on their side, it was easy for him to get double-teamed. He wasn’t afraid of facing double-team defense, but there was no need to compete physically from the start of the game; using his energy wisely would ensure continued pressure on the opponent.
With this in mind, Greg Monroe gave up the idea of blocking inside and instead moved to a higher position to set up a pick-and-roll with Will Bynum.
Seeing Greg Monroe quickly move up from the paint, Paul Gasol followed closely behind.
Taking advantage of Greg Monroe’s pick-and-roll, Will Bynum accelerated and charged toward the Lakers’ paint.
The Lakers’ point guard, Steve Blake, tried to intercept Bynum’s advance by getting around Greg Monroe, who was blocking in front of him. Paul Gasol also moved ahead, raising his hands to block Bynum’s possible path of attack.
But when they saw that Bynum, who had bypassed Greg Monroe, wasn’t holding the ball, they were both stunned.
“Where’s the ball?” they wondered at the same time.
With a swish, Steve Blake and Paul Gasol turned to look and saw the basketball falling from the basket, caught by their teammate Joe Smith.
Looking at the ball in Joe Smith’s hands and Greg Monroe raising his right hand just inside the three-point line, Paul Gasol thought to himself that he had underestimated this guy.

Greg Monroe quickly stepped back and excitedly high-fived Will Bynum as he ran past him. Steve Blake took the baseline pass from teammate Joe Smith and then slowly drove toward the Pistons’ half-court. Paul Gasol used his stronger frame to block Greg Monroe and get the ball inside the paint. Seeing this, Steve Blake threw up a high pass into the paint. But they all underestimated Greg Monroe’s reaction. With a swat, Greg Monroe sent Steve Blake’s pass flying to the other side, but to his frustration, the ball still stayed in the Lakers’ possession. After grabbing the ball, Joe Smith charged at Ben Wallace, spun past him, and headed straight for the basket, looking like he was about to pull off an amazing dunk. Seeing Ben Wallace get passed, Greg Monroe immediately turned around to help defend Joe Smith, but he didn’t lose sight of Paul Gasol either. “That old guy will probably pass it to that wimp Paul, yeah, that’s what he’ll do,” Greg Monroe thought to himself. Joe Smith rushed to the basket. Seeing Greg Monroe coming toward him, he smirked slightly, then flipped his hand while driving to pass the ball to Paul Gasol behind Greg Monroe. Greg Monroe wasn’t surprised at all; instead, he was pleased. Taking advantage of Greg Monroe’s turned-back position, Paul Gasol raised the ball high, ready to dunk with force. But at that critical moment, a big hand pressed down on the ball in Paul Gasol’s hands, sending it flying out of the court. “That’s awesome! Greg’s block is really inspiring,” Zhou Yi said excitedly, standing up from the sidelines. “Yeah, this guy is finally showing our fighting spirit. Heh, now it’s our turn to counterattack,” McGrady also stood up, saying happily. “Good job, Greg, that’s it,” John Kuester walked over to the sidelines and shouted at Greg Monroe on the court. “Got it, boss,” Greg Monroe replied with a smile.