What? The trainer is warming up.

Chapter 50 Dakota Wizards

"Hmph, the competition hasn't even started yet."

"You'll see what happens soon enough."

Several Wizards players did not respond, but they were all seething with anger.

After warming up, the players from both sides returned to the sidelines.

Several Wizards players surrounded their head coach.

The head coach spread out his tactical board and said, "Double-team Taylor directly, be aggressive. He's their only strong point. If we limit his scoring, we can stifle the Pentium's offense."

"Of course, our offense must also improve. Attack the basket more often and draw fouls; ideally, we should take Dabert out of the game..."

From the Wizards' perspective, only Taylor was a threat in the starting lineup of the Pentium team; the others did not have enough scoring explosiveness on the offensive end.

The inside players, Dabert and Aldridge, are technically unskilled. Small forward Umberto seems to have many scoring methods, but they are eclectic and lack specialization, making him very inconsistent. Guard Barrett has decent skills, but limited by his height disadvantage, his consistency drops rapidly once the defensive intensity picks up.

So all they need to do is defend against Taylor – and the solution is simple: double-team him!

......

Over here, Coach McKinnon is also making arrangements.

"The opposing team is a team that emphasizes teamwork. They don't have a superstar scorer, but everyone can score, which is somewhat similar to the Energy team."

"However, compared to the Energy Team, the Wizard Team's offensive level is lower, but their defense is more ferocious."

Coach McKinnon paused, frowned, and still reminded everyone, "Everyone must be careful and avoid injuries. Of course, we can't back down either; we have to play with our fighting spirit and aggression. This is our home court."

The starting players all nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, he made some further arrangements.

The main focus was on offense. He had anticipated that the opponent would likely choose to double-team Taylor, so some arrangements needed to be made.

Towards the end, Coach McKinnon clapped his hands and encouraged the players: "Play well, give them a good kick in the ass."

......

The competition has officially begun.

Qin Yu sat on the sidelines, his gaze sweeping over the Wizards team players one by one, matching the information in his mind with theirs, observing their performance on the field, and recording their playing habits, technical characteristics, and the state they displayed.

This is a habit Qin Yu developed in his two lifetimes, and it's also driven by his S-level basketball IQ.

During the game, he would subconsciously read the defense and calmly choose the best way to handle the ball, using the simplest and more reasonable method to score.

Even when sitting on the sidelines, he would use that time to observe his opponents, so that he could be well-prepared and respond effectively on the court.

......

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, Taylor's shot missed.

The Wizards grabbed the rebound and launched a quick counterattack.

Today their starting lineup is point guard Maurice Baker, shooting guard Darren Cooper, small forward Rommel Baker, power forward Curtis Withers, and center Hasheem Thabeet, with small forward Rommel Baker being the team's leading scorer.

So just past half-court, Maurice Baker immediately passed the ball to Rommel, who grabbed it and headed straight for the basket. He jumped up to face Umbras, who was retreating on defense. The two clashed in the air, and Umbras was knocked aside. He instinctively reached out, but was called for a foul.

Swish!

The ball went in.

This was a 2+1 play, and Rommel stepped up to the free-throw line and calmly sank the ball.

After several rounds, the score was 10-5, with the Wizards leading by 5 points.

"Requesting a replacement!"

Coach McKinnon made a substitution, saying to Qin Yu, "Qin, you're in, replacing Umbres. Remember the tactics I gave you? Just play according to the tactics, move around a lot, and create space. Whenever the opponent double-teams Taylor, you'll get opportunities. Be decisive when you shoot, I believe in you."

Qin Yu stood up: "Understood."

This substitution was not surprising. After the last game, everyone knew that Qin Yu had become one of Coach McKinnon's most trusted players.

Before today's game, some fans even speculated that Coach McKinnon might start Qin Yu. Although the point difference is not large, the Ben Teng team is obviously at a disadvantage. The problem is that Taylor is double-teamed, and the others do not have enough scoring ability. It makes sense to bring Qin Yu in.

"They're here."

"Hmph, that's exactly what I've been waiting for."

Upon seeing Qin Yu enter the game, several Wizards team players couldn't help but sneer.

Qin Yu and Ambrose high-fived, then Qin Yu came onto the field to greet Taylor and the others. After a quick tactical exchange, they began their attack.

Barrett still dribbles the ball forward, and he still passes it to Taylor in the attacking third, but the subsequent tactics are completely different...

Qin Yu stood outside the left three-point line, and his opponent was Rommel Baker.

This guy has excellent scoring ability and accurate three-point shooting. This season, he has an average three-point shooting percentage of 44.5%. Moreover, he is 203cm tall, which is typical for a forward. He has a certain advantage over Qin Yu in terms of height and physique.

"Kid, I heard you were pretty cocky last night," Rommel said coldly. He hadn't been to the bar last night, but he'd heard about it.

"Oh, so that's how you define arrogance?" Qin Yu shook his head calmly, not intending to discuss with the other party what arrogance or courage meant.

The next moment, Qin Yu suddenly started running, first taking a small step to the left, and then suddenly turning around and running.

The speed was so fast that it surprised Rommel, who hurriedly chased after it. Qin Yu had already received the ball from Taylor and raised it up.

"Hmph." Rommel snorted, just as he was about to pounce on the kid and use his height, wingspan, and excellent jump shot to block him, when he suddenly found a wall of people in front of him.

What?

Rommel froze, bumping headfirst into the wall of people, only then realizing it was Aldridge, the power forward for the Bentei team. Damn it, when did he get here?

This is the tactic devised by Coach McKinnon.

It wasn't just Taylor's drive and pass; because the opponents knew Qin Yu's shooting ability, they might leave other players out due to double-teaming, but they would never leave Qin Yu unattended.

Therefore, if Qin Yu wants to get a good shot opportunity, he needs other people to participate in the tactics and set a screen for him.

Aldridge is that guy!

"Whoosh!"

The next moment, Qin Yu flicked his wrist, and the basketball flew from his fingertips, tracing a beautiful arc and unsurprisingly piercing the net.

Goal! Three points in!

"nice shot!"

"He swished down the first three-pointer. It looks like Qin's shooting touch is still excellent today. Now it's our Benteng team's turn to fight back."

In the stands, the home fans cheered excitedly.

They had some concerns before, but seeing Qin Yu's first shot go in cleanly, they immediately felt incredibly relieved—this was the sense of security Qin Yu gave them; as long as they saw Qin Yu shoot, they knew the ball would definitely go in.

"Well done," Aldridge said with a smile.

Taylor also ran over and gave Qin Yu a high five.

In fact, no one liked Qin Yu more than him, and no one understood Qin Yu's value better than him. Only when Qin Yu was on the court could he get rid of that damned "double-team" and have better offensive space to unleash his scoring ability. His breakthroughs and shots would be much more comfortable.

Therefore, he never hesitated to pass the ball to Qin Yu, nor was he jealous of Qin Yu's high scores, because Qin Yu's good performance enabled him to perform well as well.

This is a win-win situation!

"Damn it, that guy scored right away, how did we defend him?" the Wizards' head coach cursed angrily, yelling at the players on the court, "Defend him better, don't let him shoot threes."

The players looked grim and could only listen obediently.