Chapter 64

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

The Heat team, in the latter half of the second quarter, sent out the inner-line behemoth, Shaquille O'Neal. Through intricate tactical coordination, they repeatedly passed the ball to this giant who had dominated the league's inner line for a long time, creating one-on-one opportunities for him against Chen Mu.

O'Neal did not disappoint. Facing "the defensive ATM" Chen Mu, he repeatedly scored with his back-to-the-basket moves, almost humiliatingly dismantling Chen Mu.

However, the disadvantage on defense did not directly crush Chen Mu. A sudden flash of inspiration led to a bold plan in Chen Mu's mind, which proved to be highly effective.

The Heat's offense involved a variety of tactical runs, but at its core, it relied on O'Neal's withdrawal to the baseline, making his defender, Weber, relax. Then, Haslem would receive the ball in the mid-range, drawing Weber's help defense, and the ball would be passed back to O'Neal to create inner-line damage.

This set of plays was somewhat similar to a combination of the triangle offense and the Princeton offense. In terms of its purpose, it aimed to create space like the triangle offense, giving the low-post ace the opportunity for one-on-one play.

However, in its early execution, it had the shadow of the Princeton offense.

This tactic was not without success. Pat Riley, with his deep strategic thinking, seized upon Chen Mu's weakness in defending back-to-the-basket players, reducing Wade's role in the offense and focusing on attacking with O'Neal, which proved highly effective.

Chen Mu's proposed "Mu-style strategy" took the opposite approach. Although the execution was largely similar, the actual scoring opportunities were not concentrated under the basket.

Chen Mu and Weber, two players who were weak in defense for various reasons, both had decent mid-range shooting.

The Heat's starting inner line, as mentioned earlier, had strong intimidation but lacked mobility. If the opposing team had only one inner line player with good mid-range shooting, such as the Mavericks who might meet the Heat in the finals, the Heat could still use Haslem and the bench player Walker's mobility to counter.

But when both of the 76ers' inner line players had mid-range shooting, O'Neal's defensive flaws were magnified infinitely.

"Swish!"

On the court, Chen Mu was in high spirits, scoring another mid-range shot.

"Feeling good today, huh!"

While retreating, Chen Mu smiled slightly, somewhat smugly.

In previous games, his mid-range shooting had been inconsistent, which had made him somewhat worried.

But today's shooting felt quite good, proving that the previous struggles were just temporary fluctuations, nothing serious.

Pat Riley, on the sidelines, finally called a timeout.

"Chen, great tactical choice."

On the bench, Cheeks gave Chen Mu a thumbs up, then frowned slightly and said, "But it's a bit risky. If your and Chris's mid-range shooting falters, or if they substitute O'Neal with the more mobile Mourning, this tactic won't work."

"I know."

Chen Mu nodded. "I just didn't want to be eaten up one by one, I wanted to fight back."

"Yo~ that's the spirit, man!"

Allen Iverson appreciated Chen Mu's never-say-die attitude and nodded with a smile. "But the coach is right. This move can only be a surprise tactic. Riley isn't a pushover; they'll soon take out O'Neal."

"Yeah, that's true..."

Chen Mu nodded, then looked up at Mourning, who was about to enter the game, and said meaningfully, "But as long as they take out O'Neal, our goal is achieved, right...?"

"..."

Everyone was deep in thought, and when they looked at Chen Mu again, their eyes showed even more surprise and admiration.

Did this Chinese kid already think about the subsequent developments when he started using the tactical copy?

"Chen, rest a bit. You've been up against Shaq, your stamina must be almost gone!"

Cheeks noticed Chen Mu's fatigue and made a significant lineup change, taking out Weber and bringing in Hunter, with a group of small, fast, and agile players on the perimeter.

"Let's play small ball for a while. Mourning isn't the super inner line player of 2010 anymore; now he's strong on defense but weak on offense. Hunter, you don't need to do much, just protect the paint as usual, and on offense, tangle with Mourning. The rest, leave to the perimeter players!"

"1, 2, 3... teamwork!"

After the timeout, the game resumed. Riley indeed took out O'Neal, and both teams played with one big and four small lineups, engaging in fast-paced offense and defense.

Chen Mu was taken out, and Wade, through several breakthroughs, regained his rhythm and continued to dominate on offense.

But without the behemoth O'Neal, Iverson's speed also came into play, and his mid-range shooting drove the offense, keeping the 76ers competitive.

The game progressed quickly, and at halftime, the 76ers, playing at home, were leading the strong Heat 59-55, with a slight advantage.

After halftime, both teams sent out their starters, engaging in a high-scoring battle. Wade's lightning-fast breakthroughs, Iverson's magical mid-range shots, O'Neal's powerful inside play, and Weber's playmaking... the exciting game thrilled the fans, who were captivated.

In the latter half of the third quarter, when Chen Mu came back on the court, Pat Riley immediately took out O'Neal, leaving Walker and Mourning as the inner line combination.

Walker, with his extreme mobility and almost a small forward's playstyle, was famous for "liking to shoot threes because there are no four-point shots." His post-score dance, where he twirled his hips and played the piano, was both amusing and bizarre. However, in terms of offensive and defensive capabilities, this former Boston star was no joke.

With the highly mobile Walker and the defensive monster Mourning, who roamed the inner line for help defense, the Heat's inner line was impregnable. Chen Mu and Weber's combination did not get the same opportunities as in the first half and could only rely on Iverson's scoring to support, with other players scoring sporadically.

As a result, the 76ers' slight lead was gradually eroded. The Heat's bench, with Gary Payton and the three-point sharpshooter Kapono, put the 76ers under increasing pressure, and the team was on the verge of being dragged into a deadlock.

However, Chen Mu's return changed Wade's offensive rhythm. The star player, theoretically, should not be stopped by a rookie like Chen Mu, and in fact, he couldn't be.

But human psychology is very subtle. After one failure, Wade became somewhat cautious when facing Chen Mu, hesitating in his offense, and his efficiency naturally could not remain sky-high.

In this wave of attacks, the standout performer was a player who was not particularly prominent in the Heat.

"Swish!"

A fast-break pull-up three-pointer, a move that White Chocolate Williams hadn't used in a long time, was calmly executed. He didn't show the youthful exuberance of his early days but instead calmly retreated, showing no visible emotion.

Jason Williams, the man known for his thousand and one passes, after washing away the glitz in Memphis, returned to simplicity, becoming the stabilizing force in the Heat's second lineup.

His unflashy bounce passes, calm and steady shot selection, and nearly flawless offensive execution made Williams, despite his unimpressive stats, the most reliable player when the Heat's dual cores weren't performing spectacularly.

On offense, Iverson darted and weaved, finding a gap in the paint and scoring a layup. On defense, Williams scanned the court, steadily controlled the ball, paused at the three-point line, and suddenly delivered a thunderous bounce pass to the weak side.

Walker, who had just cut to the perimeter, immediately shot a three-pointer over the head of the defending Chen Mu, and the ball swished through the net.

80-72, the Heat extended their lead to 8 points.

The Wachovia Center was silent, and the fans were frustrated. The 76ers, who had made them proud in the first half, hadn't changed, but this white chocolate player always found the momentary gaps, delivering fatal passes or scoring himself, gradually pulling away the score.

After a series of attacks and defenses, with Iverson's buzzer-beating mid-range shot missing, the third quarter ended, and the 76ers were trailing by 10 points at home.

"Williams... Williams..."

Cheeks paced back and forth on the bench, sighing and shaking his head, muttering, "Why do people named Jason have such bizarre big-picture thinking?!"

After a moment of frustration, Cheeks calmed down, turned to the somewhat dazed players, and said, "In the fourth quarter, we need to catch up in the first five minutes!"

Cheeks's words were clear and straightforward, but the players were uncertain: the game situation was clearly controlled by the Heat, and catching up would be no easy task.

"Chen, how's your stamina?"

In this game, Chen Mu's consumption was enormous. First, he faced the behemoth O'Neal, then the agile inner line player Walker. Although his playing time was less than 20 minutes, his stamina was not optimistic.

"I can still hold on."

Chen Mu lifted his head and drank a large cup of sports drink, panting.

"Good." Cheeks's eyes were sharp as he looked at the court. "Next, we need to strengthen our perimeter shooting. If we can't quickly close the gap in the fourth quarter, it will be very difficult to win when their starters return."

"In this situation, what's most important? Rebounds!"

Cheeks walked up to Chen Mu and said, word by word, "Your performance in this game hasn't been great. Although your offense has improved, the Heat's inner line is too deep, and you don't get many scoring opportunities, so it's not your fault for scoring less."

"But so far, you've only grabbed 7 rebounds. Yes, 7 rebounds in 20 minutes is quite good, but do you know what Philadelphia fans are calling you now?"

"Uh..." Chen Mu tilted his head slightly and asked tentatively, "A super handsome guy from across the ocean...??"

"Rebound monster!"

Cheeks patted Chen Mu's head, a punishment for his baseless nonsense, and said seriously, "You are the 76ers' rebound monster, the guardian of Philadelphia's rebounds!"

"We need to strengthen our perimeter shooting. Riley will definitely know our strategy and will send out a group of small, fast, and agile players to stop us from catching up with three-pointers. So, you know what you should do, right?"

"Clear enough."

Chen Mu nodded, took a deep breath, and removed the towel from his head, his eyes shooting two intense beams, staring straight at the Heat's basket, "My old job, grab all the damn rebounds...!"

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