"Jas, didn’t understand."
Well, Hansen thought he should treat Jas and Guy as being on the sa level of understanding.
It wasn’t until Hansen had retreated to his own half and Jas sat down that he realized what had happened, and he was so angry he punched the bench, startling the Heat players and Coach Spoelstra.
Haslem, seeing this, played the role of team caretaker once again, stepping forward to soothe Jas’ emotions.
Coming back from the tiout, both teams started to rotate players, and Hansen also went to rest.
At that point, the lineups on the court were, for the Heat Team: Norris Cole, Miller, Jas, McRoberts, and Haslem
For the Grizzlies: Conley, Tony Allen, Guy, Speights, and Faried
Allen took the lead in defending Jas.
Joerger knew Jas would stagger his play, so he had also made preparations in advance.
Jas received the ball at a high post, leaning on Allen, and quickly started to back him down.
The first bit of strength he gave was substantial, and the difference in their physiques forced Allen to sink his center of gravity, then Jas turned to the baseline for a jump shot.
Although the movent was hardly graceful, it did create a shooting opportunity.
And indeed, he made the shot.
At that mont, Hansen rembered watching tape from Ga 6, the ga against the Celtics where Jas had scored many points in this way.
In other words, when Jas had an advantage in a physical matchup, his turn-around jump shot had beco quite reliable.
This wasn’t really a surprise because from the beginning of the season’s regular gas against the Heat, Jas had shown a change in his play style, adding a lot of post-up strategies.
If he hadn’t made any progress after playing an entire season, that would have been the real surprise.
However, as a result, Allen’s effect in defending against Jas wouldn’t be too good.
Because unlike defending Durant or Kobe, the difference in weight would prevent Allen from utilizing his advantage.
The reality was indeed as such. After shutting down the Grizzlies’ offense, Jas switched sides and continued with his back to the basket.
This ti, Allen leaned towards the baseline side, and Jas turned towards the free-throw line for another jump shot, hitting it again.
Seeing this, Joerger called Battier up to co into play.
Speights missed a mid-range shot after a pick-and-roll, and Faried grabbed the offensive rebound, drawing a foul on McRoberts to earn free throws.
Battier also took the floor at this ti, replacing Allen.
Faried made one of two free throws.
Turning back around, Jas, seeing that he was being defended by Battier, started moving without the ball.
However, Battier stuck to him closely and didn’t get shaken off.
Jas continued to call for the ball with a high post-up upon seeing this.
Under Joerger’s instruction, Conley made a move to double, but Jas faked a pass and, along with Cole’s movent to the weak side, forced him to retreat.
Once the strong side was clear, Jas turned around and, after dribbling back a bit, suddenly accelerated past Battier and surged into the lane.
With Haslem blocking Faried out, Jas faced Speights’ help defense and delivered his signature tomahawk dunk over the defender.
Although he played sparsely during the starting period, staggered play was his forte.
Moreover, during this stretch, Jas exhibited all his versatile traits; he had indeed improved a lot compared to last season.
In fact, the "history" Hansen knew of also considered this year to be the season when Jas was at the peak of his individual power.
What, why wasn’t he effective during the starting period?
With the Grizzlies’ starting lineup, three periter stoppers and two towers inside, even Kobe and Durant would be daunted; it’s no wonder that Jas struggled.
But a ga lasts for 48 minutes, especially since the dual towers consu a lot of energy, and maintaining that lineup on the court has its ti limit.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was fixed at 16 to 22, with the Heat Team successfully narrowing the gap.
When the second quarter started, the Heat brought Wade in to lead the team, and Joerger used Hansen to replace Guy.
The gap on the scoreboard was consistently maintained at 6 to 8 points.
After about 4 minutes of play in the quarter, both sides gradually brought their starters back.
The score was then 22 to 28, with the Grizzlies still in the lead.
Jas wanted the ball beyond the three-point line, gave Guy a glance, and then pulled up for a three-pointer.
Guy hadn’t expected Jas to dare take such a shot, and his defense didn’t keep up.
"Swish!"
Accompanied by a crisp sound, the three-pointer dropped straight in.
Jas pounded his chest and roared after the shot.
A surge of excitent ran through the venue.
A player’s performance and confidence are closely linked; the successive scores by Jas during staggered play had brought his confidence back.
In fact, in the ga against the Celtics in Ga 6, he also started off average, but as the Celtics switched to Petruus, he also started to play more fluidly.
The gap was once again narrowed by the Heat Team to a single point.
The Heat Team’s defensive intensity also started to increase.
Randolph’s low post position was constantly contended by Haslem, preventing him from comfortably receiving the ball.
Conley, seeing this, also turned to the other side, signaling for Hansen to co out and get the ball.
Wade’s defense on Hansen remained tight, but with a screen from Little Gasol, Hansen managed to receive the ball, though Wade was still in his face.
If we must discuss who in the League’s periter players deserves First Team All-Defense, with Kobe’s advancing age, that person should be Wade.
Wade has the speed and physicality, as well as defensive experience and skill; when he seriously defends, it’s very hard to break through him.
Hansen had a size advantage over Wade, but his back-to-basket ga and footwork weren’t quite there; playing against Wade would still be tough.
His choice, of course, was to look for his good buddy.
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