Chapter 1052 – Start Running
“Elgin, you had contacted so many media. Are you so confident of us winning?” Feng Yu had come to LA Wind and Rain Arena to watch the match, and this match is against Paul Allen’s team. It will be too embarra.s.sing if they lose.
“Boss, I asked Coach Karl. He said he had found the Blazers’ weakness, and we will win. Also, The Blazers’ main Point Guard and Center Forward are injured. They will be sending their reserve players, and we have the advantage. Pippen is also not in his best form compared to the time he was in the Bulls.”
Feng Yu nodded. It doesn’t matter if his team can make it into the playoffs, but they must win against the Blazers.
When Feng Yu appeared at Wind and Rain Arena, the crowd cheered. Many fans lifted placards thanking him for changing the team and bringing a new arena to the city.
Feng Yu is a shareholder of Wind and Rain Arena. Although he is the smallest out of the three shareholders, he is still the Boss.
It is quite embarra.s.sing for the Lakers when they play in Wind and Rain Arena. Their results are better but had to play in LA Wind and Rain’s home ground. Why didn’t Buss build a sports arena for the Lakers?
The big screen is showing a close up of Paul Allen’s arrogant face. The match had not started, and he is behaving like he had already won.
Many basketball fans were surprised that the arena did not give Feng Yu any close-up shots, despite him being one of the shareholders.
Of course, other TV stations’ reporters had given Feng Yu long airtime. But Feng Yu had covered his face with a baseball cap and big sungla.s.ses. Basketball fans are curious if Feng Yu has an ugly scar on his face or else, why did he hide his face?
Some fans speculate Feng Yu knows his team will lose and is not willing to show his face. This time, Paul Allen had brought 2,000 Blazers fans to support his team. His fans also contributed the ticket sales.
Beep, beep… Feng Yu took out his mobile phone and saw Paul Allen had sent him an SMS.
“Feng, if you beg me now, I will tell my team to win by less than 10 points.”
d.a.m.n! This b.a.s.t.a.r.d is too arrogant!
Feng Yu showed the SMS to Coach Karl and said. “You said we will definitely win. If we lose, I will be humiliated.”
Karl replied proudly. “The team had familiarized a few sets of strategies, and those rookies had accustomed to the pace of the matches. This year, because of the lockout, the matches are closely scheduled. Many of the old players are injured, and their fitness levels cannot keep up. Our young players might not be as skillful, but they can run. Those senior players will not catch up with them!”
The referee started the match with his whistle, but Wind and Rain lost the jump ball. The Blazers had started their offense.
Paul Allen turns and looks at Feng Yu proudly. This is the gap between both teams. He had instructed his team to thrash the Wind and Rain team from the start. He wants to humiliate Feng Yu!
The Blazers scored the first points, and when the players were still celebrating their good start, they saw Wind and Rain players started running.
Wind and Rain team is going for a quick counter-attack. After three long pa.s.ses, the ball is pa.s.sed to Carter. No players from the opposing team are near him, and he jumped and executed a 360 dunk! The crowds roared!
Feng Yu clapped. This is the type of game he and the fans enjoy.
The Blazers had started their offense from the mid courts. They prefer to attack slow and steady and scored their first three b.a.l.l.s.
But Wind and Rain team also managed to score their first three b.a.l.l.s. Their offenses lasted less than 10 seconds, and the shortest is only 6 seconds. Every time the Blazers scored, Wind and Rain players will retaliate with dunks successfully.
Carter and Pierce wanted to be the top player in the team. Carter is one of the top five overall picks, and Pierce is the 8th overall pick. Both of them are young and talented. Carter is good at dunks, and Pierce is good at jump shots. Both are good in their own ways.
Both players were pushing themselves hard, and they are always the players running in front during their counter attacks.
Blazers missed their fourth ball, and Rodman got the rebound. This time, the Blazers’ players returned to their court very fast, and Carter and Pierce did not get to score. But Carter managed to pa.s.s the ball to Lewis, who is standing outside the three-point line.
Just like during training, Lewis jumps and shoots. Three points!
Beep~~~
The Blazers called for a time-out.
Paul Allen is furious. He thought the team to call for a time-out first will be Wind and Rain Team.
It’s only two minutes since the match started, and the Blazers are losing by 3 points. How is this possible?! Wind and Rain team cannot even qualify for Play-offs. Why are they leading?
Feng Yu stood up and gave all the players high-fives. “Good job! We will win today!”
Karl gathered the players around. “Rafer Alston, you started out from street basketball, and your ballhandling skill is outstanding. I need you to show off your dribbles to attract the opponents to go one-on-one with you. But remember, you are a point guard, and your first priority is to pa.s.s the ball. Carter, Pierce, you two need to exploit their weaknesses and score as many points as possible. Lewis, you have to help Alston to block off their players. Rodman, I will leave the rebounds to you. Run! All of you must run to wear them out!”
Karl had deployed these tactics, and the tactics did not involve the Center Forward. Rodman is the Center Forward, but his job is only to grab the rebounds.
After the time-out, the Blazers scored another ball and managed to defend well to prevent Wind and Rain from making a fast counter-attack.
But Wind and Rain’s Point Guard is too irritating. He demonstrates many spectacular dribbles. Even when he has the chance to break through the defense, he will just dribble around. He even gestured to the Blazers’ Point Guard to provoke him.
The Blazers’ Point Guard rushed forward, but Wind and Rain’s Point Guard threw the ball towards the hoop, and Carter jumped up and performed an alley-oop.
Carter hangs on the hoop for a while before returning to his half for defense. While running, he gestured the action of riding a motorcycle arrogantly!
After three exchanges, the Blazers’ Point Guard start to ignore his team tactics and start to have one-on-ones with Alston. He is bigger and stronger than Alston and is advantageous.
Thus, the rest of Blazers’ players, including Pippen, could not get any pa.s.ses. They can only run back and forth in court.
Coach Karl is smiling. The Blazers had fallen into his trap, and this is the Wind and Rain Team’s pace. At this pace, those old players from Blazers will be out of stamina soon!