Strong Offense And Defense Chapter 29

Translator: Re

Editor: Mims

    Ewing angrily raised a middle finger at the opponents before returning to Nie Chuan's side. He patted his shoulders and said, "It's not a big deal, I can get it back with a three-pointer!"

    Nie Chuan nodded, but Ewing's comfort only made him feel even more guilty. 

    UKB's momentum was booming. Their point guard rushed over and the ball was pa.s.sed back to their small forward. The small forward retreated to the three-point line and was about to make another jump shot.

    Seeing this, Nie Chuan really wanted to crush the other side but Reece arrived in front of him in an instant. UKB's small forward tried to throw off Reece but was deceived by Reece's fake move instead. Reece agilely brought the ball to the opponent's basket. He bypa.s.sed the enemy point guard and forward in just a single breath, causing them to break out in a cold sweat. However, their center suddenly arrived in front of Reece while their forward arrived behind him. Facing a pincer attack from the front and back, Reece decisively pa.s.sed the ball to Nie Chuan who had followed him.

    Seeing that the other side's point guard wanted to steal his ball again, Nie Chuan didn't have time to dodge and directly pa.s.sed the ball back to Ewing who was standing at the three-point line. 

    Ewing will definitely be able to score.

    At that moment, the opposing shooting guard suddenly came from behind Ewing and intercepted Nie Chuan's pa.s.s. 

    How…… how could this be……

    Nie Chuan was still in a daze when Carlo ran past him. His explosiveness and sprint was astonis.h.i.+ng but he was still one step too late. By the time he jumped, the opponent's shooting guard had already shot, scoring another goal.

    "d.a.m.n——" Ewing's mouth twitched, "My accuracy is much better than his……"

    But he didn't get the right opportunity. 

   Ewing came to Nie Chuan's side and whispered, "Allen, don't be nervous! They look tall but they're actually just paper tigers!" 

    When Nie Chuan got the ball, he looks at his opponents and once again doubted whether he had the ability to bring the ball into the others' area. 

    Once again, he faced the opposing point guard. The other's height is about 185cm but his movements are very agile. He watches Nie Chuan with a look of ridicule, obviously looking down on him. 

    Don't back away, Nie Chuan! Pa.s.s him!

    Nie Chuan swung his shoulder in a large arc before immediately withdrawing and doing a quick crossover dribble at his feet. But just as he took a step forward, the opposing side stretched out his arm and, with a "peng—," blocked the ball. 

    When he was about to take the ball to make a quick counterattack, Reece intercepted the ball from the opponent and immediately faced the double block of their small forward and center. However, what Nie Chuan didn't expect was that Reece would pa.s.s the two of them with an extremely quick fake before laying up the ball.

    Their opponent's power forward jumped. Seeing that he was going to strike from the back, Reece sent the ball to Nie Chuan who was following behind him. 

    Nie Chuan got the ball and was once again stared at by the opposing point guard. Unable to get rid of him, he was eager to pa.s.s the ball only to get intercepted by his opponent. 

    It was in this way that Ewing was tailed by the opposing shooting guard, unable to play to his fullest. Montenegro and Carlo also lacked opportunities under the basket. Reece maneuvered throughout the court, constantly recovering lost points but by the end of the first half, DK was actually 11 points behind UKB. Things simply couldn't get any worse. 

    Nie Chuan sat down on the chair with his head lowered, he wasn't even in the mood to drink mineral water. 

    "Allen, this is your first time playing with us. Having no tacit understanding is understandable! So take it easy!" Carlo rubbed Nie Chuan's head.

    "Yeah, don't mind it. Wasn't I also being watched to death by their shooting guard?" Ewing also comforted and said, "But Nie Chuan, you were really handsome when you pa.s.sed Montenegro, although those three-step layups afterwards were a little stupid-looking……"

    "That last half was superfluous……" Carlo was about to say something else but shut up after receiving Ewing's warning glare. 

    "Allen, you were much more flexible when you were playing one-on-one against me. Is UKB's height making you feel pressured?" Montenegro also spoke up.

    Nie Chuan didn't know how to respond to them at all. He was grateful for all the excuses they made for him. He also knows that they really wanted him to enter his best state, but this kind of high-speed tempo and way of playing made him feel as though every basketball game he had played in the past was child's play. 

    Nie Chuan once again began regretting this match from the bottom of his heart. 

    He knew that he still couldn't bring the ball behind the enemy's rear, he knew that he would be blocked by the opposing point guard, and he knew that his pa.s.s would happen at the wrong time. But even though he knew all this, he couldn't change anything. 

    He just wanted to say that he wasn't good enough.

    But he really didn't want to see their disappointed looks. Nie Chuan's hands subconsciously reached for his sports bag. He wanted his chocolate, really desperately wanted it. As long as he feels nervous, he will want to eat chocolate, even more so right now. 

    Suddenly, Nie Chuan's collar was raised. When he looked up, he was faced with Reece's cold eyes.

    "Do you realize that you are completely out of state? The opponent's center isn't even as good as Montenegro. You can get the ball pa.s.s Montenegro but not pa.s.s him?"

    "Hey! Let go, Reece! What are you doing?" Ewing revealed a look of surprise.

    In his heart, Reece is a very calm existence. No matter how bad the performance of his teammates are, Reece can unwaveringly turn the tide.

    "Alright, Reece. I know you deliberately gave Allen a lot of opportunities during the first half! But don't forget that this is the first time Allen is playing basketball with us. The way we play is different from what he has experienced before so he needs time to adapt!"

    Carlo's expression was very serious. His hand is clasped on Reece's wrist. The strength he used was not small and his eyes were oppressive. 

    But Reece has no intention of letting go at all, his gaze forcefully penetrating Nie Chuan's eyes and straight into his mind.

    "Listen to me, Nie Chuan. Get your sense of rhythm back! Don't think about your opponent's height because your battlefield is not in the air but on the ground. No matter how tall they are, how skillfully they handle the ball, and how accurate they shoot, they must dribble. At that time, it will be your chance."

    It was like a thunderous, torrential rain poured down over Nie Chuan's head, calming down his originally uneasy heart.

    "You are a point guard, your eyes should not only be on the opponent in front of you, but on the entire court. Don't forget what it means to move without the ball. Always stand where your teammates might need you. You should actively fight for opportunities instead of pa.s.sively waiting for them! Do you understand?"

    "En……"

    For Nie Chuan, it was better to get severely scolded by Reece than to be comforted by Ewing and the others. The blood that had stilled throughout his body also began to flow again. 

    Reece's grip loosened.

    Everyone let out the breath they were holding. Even the people from UKB turned away to whisper as if they had been watching.

    After all, in last year's league, they were the ones who were beaten by DK. How could they be leading in the double digits like today?

    "Now you can eat your chocolate."

    It was as if Reece's words granted the others amnesty. 

    "Allen, don't be scared by Reece. He's always like that, ha ha ha……" Carlo took some chocolate out of the bag for Nie Chuan. 

    "Eat something sweet and you'll feel better soon!" Ewing took the initiative to tear off the wrapping on Nie Chuan's chocolate.

    "Drink some water, you sweated a lot." Montenegro handed over the water.

    Meanwhile, Reece sat on the other side of the bench like a statue.

    Nie Chuan quickly bit and swallowed the chocolate but in fact, his mood had already calmed down before he started eating it.

    The break is soon over and they were getting back on the court.

    Ewing clapped his hand as he said, "In any case, we'll get the points back one by one in the second half!"

   Carlo was also full of confidence. "Nonsense, how can we let UKB completely defeat us?"

    When Reece walked pa.s.sed Nie Chuan, however, he stopped and said coldly, "Nie Chuan, don't forget that you control the rhythm of the game. A good point guard is the uncrowned king on the basketball court."

    Nie Chuan's heart was shaken as Reece walked away. 

    Adjust your breathing, Nie Chuan.

    Those guys on the other side are no big deal.

    You can pa.s.s them, you can bring everyone forward, you can cut through your opponents! 

   When the sound of a whistle rang, signaling the start of the game, Reece decisively pa.s.sed the other side's small forward and approached the basket. They were obviously very wary of Reece. Their power forward and center quickly moved to block Reece. 

    Instead of struggling to break through, Reece threw the ball backwards, pa.s.sing the ball to Nie Chuan. 

    The opposing point guard came up to Nie Chuan again with a smile on his face. After half a game, he had enough confidence in dealing with Nie Chuan. 

    As Nie Chuan dribbled the ball, he looked into the other's eyes. In fact, if he thought about it carefully, this guy isn't much taller than himself ah!

    Nie Chuan's foot suddenly moved to the right. Thinking he was trying to break through, the other side followed him closely but didn't expect that this was only a tentative step. Nie Chuan's center of gravity turned from the right side back to the left and he bypa.s.sed the other. 

    While he dribbled, he looked around. 

    Behind him to the left is Ewing who was being guarded by a defender, making him unable to find a favorable position. 

    Behind him on the right is an approaching Carlo while Montenegro had already reached their opponent's basket. 

    UKB's center had also already arrived in front of Nie Chuan and was about to block the angle of Nie Chuan's pa.s.s.

    Nie Chuan stretched his right hand towards the rear where Carlo had already bypa.s.sed his defender and is making preparations to receive the ball. The center that was defending Nie Chuan was about to shoot down Nie Chuan's pa.s.s when Nie Chuan suddenly took the ball back and bypa.s.sed him instead. Everything happened too quickly for him to see clearly. By the time Nie Chuan left him behind, the ball had been pa.s.sed to Montenegro. 

    Montenegro made another dunk, the resounding noise sounded very sweet in Nie Chuan's ears.

    But for UKB, that sound was a kind of deterrence.

    The point difference fell from double digits down to the single digits. 

    Nie Chuan quickly returned to defense as Carlo complained, "Allen! Wasn't that ball just now meant for me?"

    "Hehe!" Nie Chuan laughed.

    "Allen, I'm actually very handsome!"

[T/N: it came out weird but what he's saying is that he can also look really cool if he can dunk]

    Nie Chuan was really not used to Carlo saying something so funny using such a serious tone.

    Running pa.s.s Carlo was Ewing whose forehead was already dripping with sweat.

    When their opponents began their counterattack, Nie Chuan stood at the forefront and once again faced off against their opponent's point guard. 

    The other's expression was obviously much more serious than before. 

    He wanted to quickly get rid of Nie Chuan but he never expected that Nie Chuan, who had been playing basketball awkwardly just now as if it was his first time, would be guarding him so tightly.

    When he moved toward Nie Chuan's left, Nie Chuan reacted very quickly. When he moved toward Nie Chuan's right, Nie Chuan was also able to follow closely.

    This little guy's knees were too flexible! 

    When he finally decided to pa.s.s to the shooting guard to his side, he was only able to hear a "pa–" sound as the ball was stolen by Nie Chuan. 

    Nie Chuan quickly ran forward but the speed of his sprint was still far worse than that of UKB's power forward. Seeing that he was about to be overtaken, Nie Chuan imagined the positioning of the players on the entire court in his head then abruptly stopped and sent the ball to the opposite side from behind before immediately following after the ball. 

    It was Ewing who received the pa.s.s. He was defended by the opposing shooting guard but, with Nie Chuan's arrival which blocked the other, Ewing was able to come to the three-point line poised to jump. 

    When the enemy team's center caught up, Ewing retracted the ball before really taking off. The ball was shot very quickly, as if it had been hastily sent out without any preparation. 

    The players under the basket all looked up, ready to grab a rebound, but the arc of the ball was so beautiful that Nie Chuan just knew that it will enter! 

    The score gap once again narrowed and, most importantly, UKB didn't get a chance to score at all! 

    Their point guard lifted the collar of his s.h.i.+rt to wipe at his chin. Staring at Nie Chuan's back as he returned to defense, he gritted his teeth. 

    The first time is a coincidence but the second time is strength.

    "Was this guy playing with us during the first half?"

   Irritated, he quickly cut into DK's defense with the ball. He bypa.s.sed Nie Chuan within seconds, his speed not giving Nie Chuan any chance to react. 

    He took the ball and broke through Ewing immediately afterwards. With Nie Chuan and Ewing following closely behind him, he quickly pa.s.sed to the power forward beside him. The ball had just been sent out when Reece cut it off. 

    He was stunned. His own speed was already fast enough but Reece was actually faster than him. 

    Reece turned and ran with the ball. He was like a meteor cutting through the atmosphere and all the defenders who were following closely behind him became the trailing gas. 

    It was another slam dunk, one that left everyone in the dust. 

    Nie Chuan looked on with wide eyes. 

    This scene reminded him of his first time playing one-on-one against Reece.

    "Ah…… I also want to dunk……" Carlo complained beside Nie Chuan.

    Nie Chuan smiled and patted Carlo on the back.

    The speed of the opposing point guard had been terrifying. If he rushed in with enough force, Nie Chuan knew that he wouldn't be able to stop him at all. Without Reece's quick decisions, they would definitely have conceded. 

    In the battle between the two sides, DK's advantages gradually emerged and Reece also became increasingly merciless in breaking their opponent's defense into pieces. 

    However, their point guard still defeated Nie Chuan in speed. He often took the ball through DK's defenses and created many scoring opportunities for his teammates. 

    Nie Chuan gradually felt dispirited about his own speed.

    When returning to defend under the basket Reece said to him in Chinese, "As I said before, use your best skill to attack your opponent's worst. Don't take your own weaknesses to compete with your opponent's strengths."

    Nie Chuan blinked, then looked at the other team's point guard and seemed to have understood something. 

    In another round of fierce attack, the other team's point guard came face to face. 

    This time, the one defending against him wasn't Nie Chuan but Reece. 

    Reece's speed is extremely fast and he followed the opponent like a shadow which put great pressure on the other. 

   Nie Chuan closely watches the hand the opponent is dribbling with. In that moment, the other was still dribbling when he suddenly didn't feel the ball anymore. 

    When the sound of distant dribbling came from behind him, it was then that he realized that Nie Chuan had stolen the ball! 

    "Good job, Allen! Give it to me! Give it to me!"

    Carlo had long rushed towards the enemy basket. Seeing that the other defenders were also about to rush forward, Reece shouted, "Long a.s.sist pa.s.s!"

    Without thinking, Nie Chuan forcefully sent the ball in Carlo's direction.   

    The ball was too fast and it's height was also higher than the average pa.s.s. In his heart, Nie Chuan regretted that he had been too anxious. 

    But what Nie Chuan didn't expect was that Carlo would take a run before soaring into the air. The force of his jump stunned Nie Chuan. His hand catches the ball in midair before slamming it into the basket. 

    Everyone was dumbfounded. 

    Nie Chuan pointed at Carlo who was still hanging arrogantly on the basket as he asked with wide eyes, "That…… that was…… an alley-oop?"

    "Yeah, this guy is really……" Ewing sighed. 

    "Oh! So handsome!" Nie Chuan's wors.h.i.+p for Carlo rose up several points. 

    "This guy has wanted to do that for a while now," Montenegro defended. 

    Carlo ran back with open arms and gave Nie Chuan a big hug. "Allen, you finally pa.s.sed the ball to me!"

    Nie Chuan happily hugged him back. "Carlo, you were so amazing! How did you receive the ball?"

    "I caught it when I jumped! When I thought about how you were finally pa.s.sing to me, I felt especially motivated!"

    "You two idiots, back to defense!" 

    Reece's voice cut like a knife. Carlo's joyous expression was immediately replaced with seriousness and Nie Chuan also quickly recovered himself.

    In the subsequent games, Nie Chuan "stole" the ball from a player on the other side twice and took the ball into the defensive zone of their opponents and a.s.sisted three times. His cooperation with the others also became more and more tacit.

    For the first time in the game, UKB called for a time out.

    Nie Chuan sat down on the bench and gulped down mineral water.

    Carlo happily put his arm on Nie Chuan's shoulder as he said, "Allen, you're really amazing!

    "R-really?" Nie Chuan asked as he panted.

    "For the next round, we will continue to cut into their rear from the frontline. Allen, jia you! However, their point guard is pretty fast, it's really quite a headache." Ewing scratched his head then looked up. "Ah– when the match is over, I really want to go back to that tea house again to eat! All kinds of steamed buns, the more I think about them, the hungrier I'll be……"

[T/N: jia you (加油 – literally add oil) is an expression used to encourage someone]

    "Ewing, the game isn't over yet so stay focused," Montenegro reminded him. 

    "I know."

    "Eh, how come you're so obedient when it's Montenegro who's telling you but when I'm the one giving you reasonable advice, you look like you're going to kill me? Carlo turned his head towards Ewing.

    Ewing forcefully pressed half of his chewed gum onto Carlo's face. "Because the way you talk is really annoying!" 

    "Hey! That's disgusting!"

    Nie Chuan lowered his head. He didn't feel it when he had been fully absorbed in running but now he could feel that his breathing had become heavy. 

    Honestly speaking, the amount of exercise in previous basketball games simply couldn't be compared to this one. He must run at full speed to be able to keep up with the opposing point guard, not to mention that the range of his movements is much larger than before. Even when he had played against tall opponents like Montenegro, Nie Chuan didn't feel such an obvious disparity in his physical fitness.

    "Nie Chuan, eat the chocolate."

    As soon as Nie Chuan looked down, he saw the chocolate that Reece handed over, the wrapper had already been peeled off by Reece. Nie Chuan felt uneasy in his heart – Reece had seen that he is very tired right now. 

    After finis.h.i.+ng the chocolate in two or three bites, Nie Chuan followed his teammates to play again. 

    When the match resumed, the opposing point guard came up to Nie Chuan with the ball and Nie Chuan told himself to focus. After the opponent pa.s.sed the ball, no matter where Nie Chuan ran, he would be following closely. 

    Nie Chuan understood. UKB was using a one-on-one defensive tactic against him. 

    The enemy point guard was already sweating profusely but his movements were still very agile. 

    When Ewing pa.s.sed the ball to Nie Chuan, Nie Chuan knew that he shouldn't be deadlocked with the other for too long and decisively pa.s.sed the ball to Carlo who was on the other side. 

    Carlo was about to catch the ball when it was intercepted by the other team's small forward who had jumped. Nie Chuan didn't even have time to feel stunned while the point guard defending him smiled. 

    "Actually pa.s.sing across the court, you're so cute." 

    Nie Chuan then realized that he had forgotten to observe the situation on the court. The cross court pa.s.s just now was highly likely to be intercepted by an opponent regardless of their height or speed. 

    He only heard a "peng——" sound as their opponent's small forward scored. 

    The score entered a critical state.

    Nie Chuan caught the ball again and the opposing point guard smiled. It was as if he was saying 'It's another cross court pa.s.s ah.'

    At this time, UKB adopted a man-to-man defensive approach. Their small forward blocked Reece's side, cutting off his best receiving position. Ewing's position was also not ideal…… Carlo and Montenegro were close to the basket and too far away……

    What should I do?

    What should I do? 

    When Nie Chuan tentatively moves his left leg, the enemy point guard reacted quickly.

    "Nie Chuan! Shoot!" Reece's voice was very penetrating. 

    Nie Chuan suddenly understood and quickly took off with all his might.

    The opposing point guard was dumbfounded, it's impossible to hit it from this distance!

    By the time he followed in jumping, Nie Chuan had already shot.

    From this distance, he would need to use a lot of strength.

    His posture that was not at all ideal for shooting let the point guard that was defending him suddenly realize, "Rebound——"

    Montenegro and Carlo both jumped. Carlo created a favorable s.p.a.ce for Montenegro in midair as Montenegro seized the ball in one swoop before taking off again and scoring!

    Nie Chuan landed staggeringly.

Re: 6k characters… that's twice the usual chapter length. I think I died a little on the inside  _(´ཀ`」 ∠)_

Anyways, hope you enjoyed and happy New Years! 

MadMadamMims: Go go go! *(^_^)*