My days of working at the NBA

Chapter 26: The Experience Baby is Gone

As expected, Missouri's offense then rebounded.

Carroll put aside his own petty thoughts and began to play a leadership role, no longer insisting on forcing one-on-one attacks, but actively moving to higher positions to provide support and cover.

By relinquishing possession, he brought English and Lyons back into the game.

English received the ball in the left corner and drained a three-pointer. In the next possession, Lyons cut to the basket under Duzer's screen, Lawrence lobbed a pass, and Lyons caught it in mid-air and went for a layup, completing a 2+1 play.

The score difference is gradually narrowing.

But Du Ze had no time to celebrate. The system's hellish mission weighed heavily on his mind, making him dare not slack off in the slightest.

During this period, he focused almost all his energy on positioning to protect the rebounds and assisting in rim protection, both of which are extremely important.

The first priority is to position yourself to protect the rebounds, with the aim of preventing the opponent from getting offensive rebounds and creating second-chance opportunities.

After all, limiting the opponent to no more than 10 points under the basket is an extremely difficult task, and he cannot afford to be careless for even a second.

Secondly, there's the defensive rim, with a very simple purpose: to limit Marquette University's inside scoring while increasing the number of blocks.

Of course, Marquette's primary defense on offense is still Butler, and he looks for opportunities to help protect the rim.

If there were any, he would naturally rush out without hesitation to interfere.

In just those few rounds, he had already risked his life, running back and forth.

They put in much more effort than in the last match.

The effect was obvious; apart from Matthews' jump shot that scored 2 points, everyone else missed their shots, which allowed Missouri to gradually close the gap.

Butler's opportunity came very soon.

After a series of cross screens, Butler finally shook off Duze and received the ball once again.

This time, he backed down English in the low post.

Marquette's teammates were clearly confident in Butler's strength, and they created space for him to play one-on-one.

Butler lowered his center of gravity, slid two steps inward with his shoulder against English, and then suddenly flipped over and jumped to shoot.

Duze kept a close eye on the inside game, and just as Butler turned around, he burst out from the weak side, his whole body like a bird spreading its wings, swatting the ball away with a single blow.

And by sheer coincidence, the ball landed right next to Butler's shoulder.

He reached out and grabbed it again.

This time, however, he wasn't in such a hurry. Instead, he turned around, used his footwork to get past English, and then finished with a low layup.

As a result, a shadow fell from his side.

The ball, which had just been thrown, was swatted away again.

The sound was as crisp as a slap in the face.

This time, the ball flew directly out of bounds.

Butler staggered after landing, but after regaining his balance, he turned around sharply to see who would be applying the intensity to him this time.

He turned his head and found Du Ze staring straight at him.

Is it him again?

This... it really is a persistent ghost.

This time, Du Ze read it aloud: "The fourth one."

His gaze towards Butler softened considerably.

Hmm, this experience-boosting baby is pretty good; it's stubborn enough and willing to selflessly sacrifice itself.

Butler's reaction was completely different after hearing Duze count; his face turned a purplish-blue, looking extremely unpleasant.

After several rounds of setbacks, Du Ze found himself completely helpless against Du Ze's strengths in drawing fouls and physically attacking him.

What frustrated him even more was that even though he had deliberately avoided Du Ze, the bastard still couldn't shake him off and was determined to hurt his young heart.

How hateful!

Butler couldn't resist challenging him: "How about a head-on confrontation?"

Du Ze chuckled: "You little rascal like you dare to challenge me?"

These words were like a knife to the heart, and Butler's expression changed drastically, because at this stage, he really was just a little Karami.

If he can't even make the starting lineup, what else is he but Karami?

In an instant, his face flushed red: "Who do you think you are? I'm a nobody, but what about you? Aren't you just Demarai's lackey... Ha."

Du Ze flashed two rows of bright white teeth: "I'm not like you. I'm a starter on the team, so I don't have to worry about whether or not someone can help me get water while I'm sitting next to the water cooler."

It was a game-winning goal.

But Butler was incredibly stubborn, as defiant as a mule: "If you're so good, why don't you dare fight me one-on-one?"

Du Ze shrugged and smiled faintly: "There's no need for that. If I eliminate you, I should be able to make it onto the prediction list of the talent show website."

"Next time we meet, it'll only be at the NBA."

Upon hearing this, Butler was completely speechless.

There's no way to respond.

He's a sophomore now and still a substitute. He was completely dumbfounded by Du Ze's block in today's game, and he has no idea where his future lies.

NBA?

The distance between us is like that of a powerful Eastern country across the Pacific Ocean—so far away.

At this stage, he doesn't even dare to think about it.

Especially after seniors like McNeil and Matthews graduate, whether Marquette can still make it to the tournament, and when they can make it to the tournament again, is a huge question.

So, does he dare to be stubborn?

He dare not.

Even someone as stubborn as him couldn't help but deflate in the face of those words.

Turning back, English hit another three-pointer.

The 11-point difference vanished in an instant, leaving only 1 point behind.

Missouri is gaining momentum, which is not good news for Marquette; someone has to step up and stop the bleeding.

Ak pushed the ball over.

Booz Williams, standing on the sidelines, yelled, "Burke!"

Then he made a gesture.

His tactical approach was simple: Duze is mainly guarding Butler, right? Well, my big man will destroy your backcourt.

As a result, as soon as the ball was passed to Burke, before Burke was ready to receive it, a double-team arrived.

In a panic, he made a fatal mistake.

The ball drifted along the Mississippi River, and no one knows where it went.

Missouri launched a frantic fast break, and Duze was fortunate enough to participate, successfully scoring.

They took a 1-point lead.

A roar like a tsunami erupted at the scene.

Booz Williams' face darkened, and without further hesitation, he called a timeout.

In the stands, Lisa chuckled, "I didn't expect the comeback to come so quickly. Missouri's strength is indeed not to be underestimated. But isn't it a bit too late to call a timeout now?"

They didn't shout when they were gaining momentum, they didn't shout when they were being chased down, and they only shouted now that they've been overtaken?

This reaction curve seems a bit long.

John, being knowledgeable and experienced, explained to her, "Every coach has a target threshold in mind when facing an opponent gaining momentum. Some coaches focus more on rhythm, and when the opponent scores aggressively and their team can't defend, they will call a timeout immediately. But some coaches prefer to give players the opportunity to try and make mistakes, allowing them to adjust themselves on the court, and only call a timeout when things are really unbearable."

"Boozer is the third type. He had a gambler's mentality, or more accurately, he had unwavering faith in his players' ability to solve the problem. Matthews and McNeil, these two sharp weapons, are indeed capable of standing alone, and their individual abilities are top-notch. But unfortunately, they couldn't step up and stop the bleeding. In this situation, he was forced to call a timeout, mainly to disrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm and extinguish that burning momentum. Being overtaken was his threshold, and calling it now isn't too late."

Lisa nodded, seemingly understanding, "Oh, I see..."

John muttered to himself, "I didn't expect Du would be so effective at defending guards."

No.

It's not just good, it's absolutely fantastic.

Butler, who was so formidable at the end of the first half, was completely shut down by him.

Marquette's offensive rhythm was completely disrupted, and Duze's excellent rim protection was undoubtedly the main reason for this.

The game restarted, but Butler did not get up and remained on the bench.

Du Ze subconsciously glanced back.

Butler draped the towel over his shoulder with a dejected expression, leaned back in his chair, and stared blankly at the court, his eyes devoid of any sparkle.

Du Ze sighed silently to himself.

The experience of blocking shots is gone.

Without Butler, that relentless, headstrong guy who keeps charging to the basket, he'll have to step up his game in terms of shot-blocking and rebounding.

Especially the rebounds.