Chapter 124 Artists and Critics
Reese's score inspired DK.
Such an opening made everyone have higher expectations for the game.
But Seton immediately started a fast break with the ball. His body movement was so sharp that the defenders had no ability to defend. Carlo wanted to defend him at close range, but Seton's crossover was performed and Carlo almost fell.
Nie Chuan rushed in front of him, forcing Seton to slow down, and Reese also came to Seton's passing side.
This got the commentators excited.
"Look! This is what I've always wanted to see, Reese and Nie Chuan jointly defending Seton!" Robert slapped his thigh.
The audience watched with bated breath.
Because of Reese's presence, Nie Chuan's self-confidence was more solid, and his feet always followed Seton's steps, whether moving forward, backward or sideways.
Seton's dribbling was quite skillful, and he could always adjust the rhythm of his changes of direction at will, which made it impossible for Nie Chuan, who was good at stealing the ball, to successfully intercept the ball even with the cooperation of Reese.
"Is Nie Chuan the point guard who has stuck to Seton the longest?" Larvin nudged Owen with his elbow.
"They need to be careful..."
As soon as Owen finished speaking, Seton suddenly shook his shoulder and slapped the ball to his left side with his right hand. The basketball touched the ground and bounced quickly. Nie Chuan was shocked. This was Seton's classic dribbling move!
He and Larven had practiced countless times just for this moment!
Nie Chuan moved his body quickly, he knew he had to intercept the bouncing ball before Seton shifted his center of gravity to this side!
But Seton's speed in adjusting his center of gravity far exceeded Nie Chuan's imagination. He was simply not a human being!
He stretched his left arm to one side, grabbed the ball, twisted his ankle, and changed direction instantly, just like drawing a bow string, and suddenly adjusted the direction of aiming, which was overwhelming. Although Nie Chuan tried hard to stabilize his body, he still bumped into Reese beside him.
A cry of surprise came from above, Seton sped away, Reese reached out to steady Nie Chuan's shoulder, and Seton had already reached the basket.
Reese ran away with an astonishing speed. Because of Montenegro's obstruction, Seton had to go around Montenegro. When he jumped, Reese had caught up with him. The audience's hearts were gripped. Seton glanced at Reese coldly, passed the ball sideways, and the one who received the ball was Ben Robbins!
Nie Chuan and You Yin ran away. Nie Chuan arrived in front of Ben first. Ben took a big step back and quickly attacked!
Nie Chuan had already jumped up, but Ben had anticipated all this and used a fadeaway shot. With a "bang", Nie Chuan opened his eyes wide and looked at Ben Robbins. As expected, face to face, he could intuitively feel Ben's shooting speed. Nie Chuan realized what it meant to be "out of reach".
"As expected of Ben Robbins! He's so quick!" Robert praised.
The score was tied in an instant!
Seton high-fived Ben, and Nie Chuan let out a breath. He said to himself: Azu is the team that made it to the finals. Without such a level, how could they have dominated the NCAA for three years.
Adapt to Seton’s playing style as soon as possible, Nie Chuan!
Although Seton's change of direction is faster and more flexible than what Larvin imitated, as long as you adapt to his rhythm, nothing is impossible!
DK launched a quick attack, Nie Chuan passed the ball to Ewing, Ewing was about to shoot, but Ben came to him and attacked the basketball in Ewing's hand. Ewing retreated steadily to the side and back, and Azu's small forward came to his side again. Facing the double attack from both sides, Ewing calmly shook his shoulders and pretended to break through, and passed the ball to Carlo. To be honest, Ewing's ability to pass the ball calmly in such a tense environment has exceeded everyone's expectations, but this ball was intercepted by Seton before being caught by Carlo.
Exclamations rang out one after another.
Seton turned around and ran with the ball, Carlo followed closely, but was blocked by the opponent's power forward Edgar.
As soon as Seton ran past the midfield, he felt someone chasing him. The other person instantly appeared in front of him. Seton thought it was Reese, but he didn't expect it to be Nie Chuan.
Seton snorted, and Nie Chuan had already lowered his center of gravity and bent over to defend. Seton knew how fast Nie Chuan's reaction was, so he faked to the left, and Nie Chuan slid and leaned towards Seton's dribbling side. Seton glanced at Nie Chuan's ankles, knowing that Nie Chuan could change the direction of travel at any time, and could also speed up to block his cut at any time. Seton suddenly pulled back his center of gravity. At this time, Nie Chuan had already prepared for the "Seton crossover". When Seton stretched his body to pull back the ball that bounced off the ground, Nie Chuan also stretched his body, and the audience exclaimed, it was like a mirror image happening at the same time.
Just when Nie Chuan thought he had caught up with Seton's rhythm, Seton took the lead in knocking the ball down and dribbled past Nie Chuan from behind.
That godlike speed was like an illusion in Nie Chuan's mind.
Nie Chuan thought he had made further progress, but in the end he found that he had just overestimated himself.
Seton drove straight in, Ben was behind him, while small forward Bracey and power forward Edgar had already entered the basket.
Carlo intercepted Edgar, and the Stone and Black Mountain fought fiercely under the basket. Reese shouted: "Nie Chuan——"
Nie Chuan suddenly came to his senses, rushed to the basket and stood in front of Bracey.
Seton was one on one with Reese. Seton was about to pass the ball to Ben behind him, but Ewing quickly moved to Ben's receiving position. Seton had to change direction sideways, and Reese followed closely and almost intercepted his ball.
Seton looked like he was going to fall but he shifted his center of gravity back. Reese seemed to be thrown off by him but he quickly adjusted his direction and blocked Seton's dribbling direction again. The area under the basket had even less room for maneuver, and the lateral movement of the two seemed large but was actually limited.
"Although Seton got through Nie Chuan's defense, it was actually very thrilling," said Larvin.
"When masters fight, victory or defeat is decided in that instant, but Nie Chuan cannot grasp that instant right now." Ou En replied.
Nie Chuan rushed to the basket and sandwiched Seton with Reese.
Hearing Nie Chuan's running footsteps, Seton pulled up a smile on his lips and suddenly hit the ball towards Nie Chuan.
Something flashed through Nie Chuan's mind. The ball was very fierce. Nie Chuan dodged subconsciously. The ball bounced from his left foot and someone caught it.
Nie Chuan turned his head and saw Ben! He broke through Ewing's defense and successfully connected with Seton!
That ball was actually a touchdown pass!
Nie Chuan rushed towards Ben, and Ewing also chased after him with gritted teeth. Ben leaped up, and Nie Chuan was about to shoot the ball, but Ben pushed the ball out. It was not a shot but a pass!
Azu's small forward Bracey received the ball, ran two steps with the ball and shot it in.
Nie Chuan was very upset.
"Although it's only been five minutes since the start, the game is indeed exciting. But I always feel like something is missing..." Engel frowned.
"Because DK didn't let go. They cared too much about Seton and focused their defense on him, but failed to play their own characteristics." Espenson commented.
Robert also agreed: "What DK needs to defend is not Seton, but the deadlock that constrains themselves."
At this moment, Azu is already six points ahead of DK.
Nie Chuan exhaled, Seton was too fast. Nie Chuan thought he knew how to stop him, and even simulated it countless times in his mind, but when he really faced Seton, that speed made him realize that he was really not fast enough!
Seton looked in the direction of Nie Chuan, with a playful smile on his lips.
Reese came to Nie Chuan and said in a low voice, "Leave Seton to me. Keep an eye on Ben Robbins and organize our attack."
Reese's words brought Nie Chuan back to his senses. This was not a one-on-one match, but a competition. If he couldn't deal with Seton alone, he would have to use the strength of the entire team.
At this time, Azu's small forward Bracey dribbled the ball and launched another attack. Power forward Edgar was not far behind him. Nie Chuan narrowed his eyes and rushed between the two to block their cooperation. Bracey was a guy who should not be underestimated. Just as Nie Chuan was about to intercept the ball, he decisively dribbled behind his back to avoid it, and then used a fake move to confuse Nie Chuan. Nie Chuan followed his lateral movement, which put a lot of pressure on Bracey. He passed the ball to Edgar. The quality of this pass was very high, but Nie Chuan changed direction in an instant and intercepted it.
Just as he turned around, he felt someone passing by him and the ball in his hand disappeared!
It's Sethston!
Nie Chuan didn't even have time to gasp. When did this guy come to his side? Wasn't Reese looking at him?
At this moment, Reese has followed Seton closely, and Reese keeps putting pressure on Seton. Reese's fake move is very small, but he can follow the trend at any time, which puts a lot of pressure on Seton who is good at changing direction. Seton crosses his step, and his left leg has clearly stepped to the right, which looks like a turn and cut, but he can pull the action back in an instant. When he is about to break through Reese, Reese adjusts his center of gravity in an instant and blocks Seton's cutting direction.
"It's really amazing. Reese obviously didn't follow Seton like Nie Chuan did. He didn't even move drastically, but he was able to defend Seton..." Larven frowned and thought seriously.
"It's like artists and critics. Critics are passive and can only comment after seeing the artist's work. But artists are different and have their own initiative. Nie Chuan is just a critic in front of Seton, while Reese and Seton are a duel between first-class artists." Owen replied.
"Could you please not make simple truths sound so profound?" Larven said dissatisfiedly.
Nie Chuan has come to Seton's side. The last time he was tricked by Seton and bumped into Reese is still vivid in his mind. Nie Chuan is more careful now.
He glanced at Seton's knees out of the corner of his eye. Any change of direction, no matter how unpredictable the upper body movements were, any breakthrough in any direction required leg strength.
Seton's left knee pressed inward, which meant he was going to cut to the right!
Nie Chuan moved sideways to Seton's right side and stretched out his hand to intercept his ball. At that moment, Nie Chuan saw the smile on Seton's lips. The moment Nie Chuan understood his intention, it was too late. Seton passed through between Nie Chuan and Reese. Reese accelerated to catch up. Seton didn't even shift his sight, and passed the ball from behind to small forward Bracey.
Nie Chuan did not continue to dwell on Seton, but instead chased after Bracey.
They passed through countless defensive players and came to DK's basket. Bracey jumped, Montenegro and Carlo blocked in front of him. Nie Chuan was about to steal the ball when he raised his hand, but Bracey turned sideways in mid-air and avoided Nie Chuan. His arm passed between Montenegro and Carlo and sent the ball into the basket.
The audience was excited and even the commentators applauded.
"This goal is really wonderful! Azu is worthy of being a small forward!"
Nie Chuan knew that he couldn't block all the balls, but Bressey's shot increased Azu's lead.
And this ball seemed to be Bracey proving that as a small forward, his strength is not inferior to Reese!
The game was still going on. Nie Chuan stole the ball from Edgar. Seeing Seton coming forward again, but blocked by Reese, Nie Chuan made a defensive move and dribbled into the basket. He felt as if he had found his original rhythm. He passed Ben Robbins neatly, raised his hand and turned sideways to push the ball into the basket with a K.
Even a basket expert like Jushi was cleverly avoided by Nie Chuan when he tried to charge at him. Nie Chuan clenched his teeth and said to himself in his heart that he could finally score a goal!
But his hand trembled and the ball was blocked by someone! But this person was not the Rock!
Nie Chuan widened his eyes and looked into the other person's eyes.
It's Sethston!
When did Seton break free from Reese's defense?
When he landed, Nie Chuan realized that it was Bracey who replaced Seton, allowing Seton to escape.
As soon as Seton landed, he pushed the ball away. Nie Chuan chased after him. Seton seemed to have eyes on his back. He shook his body and passed the ball to Ben Robbins.
Nie Chuan clenched his fists and chased desperately. Ben Robbins had already raised his hand to shoot, but was knocked down.
It was none other than Reese!
Ben Robbins was shocked by the block and stepped back. Reese passed the ball to Nie Chuan: "Focus!"
Nie Chuan felt like he was poured with a bucket of cold water and started to organize the attack with the ball.
Bracey and Edgar followed Nie Chuan on both sides. Although they were left behind by Nie Chuan for a distance, this also meant that Nie Chuan did not have a suitable opportunity to pass the ball to his teammates.
Nie Chuan jumped up, and the height shocked everyone.
Bracey and Edgar were a step late, not to mention that Nie Chuan stayed in the air for a long time. He passed the ball from his right hand to his left hand in the air, avoiding Bracey who was closer to him. Then he was about to dunk the ball into the basket with his left hand, but someone had already rushed to the basket and blocked Nie Chuan's dunk while he was slightly descending!
Nie Chuan's heart felt like it was being hit hard by a hammer. Seton's dunk was so powerful that Nie Chuan almost fell to the ground.
Seton was about to turn around with the ball, but Reese came to his side without him noticing and took the ball away.
The audience exclaimed.
Owen narrowed his eyes. "As expected, only Reese's speed and reaction can match Seton's."
"I don't understand. Seton's movements are so large and unpredictable, but Reese seems to be unshakable and can always block Seton. What's going on?" Larven was confused.
"It's because of Reese's rhythm. He is comparable to Seton in speed and strength. His rhythm is free-flowing, eliminating all unnecessary movements, and the only ones left are the most useful ones," Owen replied.
"Yeah... When can Nie Chuan find his rhythm again..."
Reese had already rushed into Azu's defense with the ball. Edgar, Bracey and Jushi were defending. Reese passed the ball to Nie Chuan neatly.
Seeing that Seton was coming to intercept again, Nie Chuan thought of the results of the previous confrontations with him and could not help but pass the ball to Ewing.
Ewing received the ball and steadied his body. He took a deep breath. If this ball could go in, it would shorten the gap between Azu and DK!
But after a moment of hesitation, Ben Robbins ran over, his hand waved, Ewing was nervous, and the ball was thrown out and hit the basket.
Montenegro and The Rock jumped up. The Rock was very strong and dunked the ball and passed it to small forward Bracey.
Bracey ran with the ball, but Nie Chuan was still immersed in the shock of Seton blocking him.
"Nie Chuan - stop him!" Carlo's voice came.
Nie Chuan rushed to meet Carlo, but Bracey used the European step. His European step was different from that of Owen Whishaw, but it was very fast. His elbow almost hit Carlo, but it was just a little bit short. This sense of threat made Carlo retreat. Nie Chuan found an opportunity to intercept the ball, but Bracey passed the ball to Edgar.
Edgar rushed forward, and the boulder was beside him, blocking Nie Chuan. When Nie Chuan quickly bypassed the boulder, Edgar had already passed the ball to Ben Robbins.
At this time Ewing came to Ben's side. Everyone thought Ben would shoot immediately, but unexpectedly he lowered his center of gravity and made a very quick fake move to deceive Ewing. He shot directly from Ewing's side. Azu scored another goal and Azu surpassed DK by ten points.
Larven raised his hand to cover his eyes: "It's in double digits... Why do I always feel that Seton is targeting Nie Chuan? Clearly, Reese is defending him, and I can feel that Seton's ability has been restricted, but he still goes to great lengths to find gaps to suppress Nie Chuan. Why is that?"
"Because he knows very well that he must overturn Nie Chuan's ego, forget his own rhythm, and fall into his rhythm. You said that in terms of ball control ability, whether it is change of direction or the combination of man and ball, Nie Chuan may not be unable to match Seton. Seton must make Nie Chuan lose his fighting spirit before he finds the right inspiration."
Owen and Larven lowered their heads and looked at Nie Chuan.
The rise and fall of his back as he breathed indicated that he was more tired than the others.
Such fatigue was not only caused by Seton running all over the court. Nie Chuan's exercise volume was greater than that of Ewing and Carlo. It was more due to the pressure in his heart.
"If this continues, Nie Chuan will collapse." Ou En said.
"Um……"
In the next five minutes, Seton passed Nie Chuan again and again, even causing Nie Chuan to lose balance and fall.
If Reese hadn't been holding Seton back the entire time, DK's lead would have been even greater.
Nie Chuan turned sideways and saw Seton was about to score again. After being blocked by Reese, he passed the ball to Ben Robbins. Carlo's shot was blocked by Bracey, and Ben scored another goal!
The audience shouted loudly, and Nie Chuan's heart seemed to be squeezed tightly, and his blood was frozen.
He was no match for Seton. He could not catch up with Seton's rhythm. The faster he ran and reacted, the further the deviation seemed to be.
"Hey, Nie Chuan, are you okay?" Ewing came over and patted Nie Chuan on the shoulder.
"I'm fine..." Nie Chuan shook his head.
Something was wrong with him, and he knew he was wrong… because he was tired.
The feeling of chasing Sethston was different from the feeling of chasing Reese.
Because Reese would always deliberately slow down and wait for him, but Seton would never do that.
Coach Gordon outside the court also frowned.
"Nie Chuan is tired." Peter, who was watching the game from the sidelines, said to Coach Gordon.
"Yeah, I noticed. Because Seton has been mobilizing Nie Chuan to run, his workload is too large. Azu's overall speed is very fast. With Nie Chuan's workload, he can't last the entire game."
At this moment, Seton passed Nie Chuan again. Although Nie Chuan was tired, he was still focused. Seton made another breakthrough in the opposite direction. Before Reese arrived, he broke through Nie Chuan's obstruction and passed the ball to Ben Robbins again.
Reese seemed to have expected this. He came to Ben's side and intercepted the ball!
DK fans breathed a sigh of relief.
Nie Chuan followed Reese closely. He and Reese had always kept pace, but at this moment he found himself struggling.
Reese drove straight in, broke through the double defense of Edgar and Bracey, challenged the boulder under the basket, and dunked the ball hard. Only then did Seton catch up.
Nie Chuan blinked, and sweat fell into his eyeballs.
At this moment, Coach Gordon exercised his right to timeout and replaced Nie Chuan with Peter.
The whole audience was in an uproar. Even if Nie Chuan was not a match for Seton, it was obvious that Nie Chuan still played a role in organizing DK's fast break. Once he was replaced, DK's speed would be greatly reduced. Moreover, there were only three minutes left in the first quarter. Why call a timeout at this time?
"Because if Nie Chuan is not replaced, he will be killed by Seton." Owen snorted coldly.
Upon hearing the news, Seton turned around, glanced at Nie Chuan, and frowned.
Nie Chuan returned to Coach Gordon while panting. Chuck covered Nie Chuan's head with a towel, and other teammates also handed water to Nie Chuan.
A heavy feeling weighed on his heart, and Nie Chuan couldn't raise his head.
The shouts in my ears, the sound of sneakers rubbing against the ground, and the sound of dunks seem to come from another world.
"Are you afraid of Seton?" Coach Gordon's voice was calm, without any blame.
Nie Chuan's sweat was dripping down, and he was unable to answer the coach's question.
"Can you ride a bicycle, Nie Chuan?" Coach Gordon asked again.
"...Yeah." Nie Chuan nodded.
"Beating Seton is like riding a bicycle. You have enough power to pedal and enough height to step onto the saddle, but mastering balance is not something you can learn easily. It's a feeling. Once you succeed, you will succeed a second and third time, and then you will ride faster and faster. Before you find the feeling of riding a bicycle, no matter how hard you try, it will be in vain." Coach Gordon patted Nie Chuan on the shoulder.
Nie Chuan's fingers slowly clenched, he raised his head and watched Reese and Seton fighting for the ball under the basket. Reese dunked Seton's ball, but Seton used the strength of his waist and abdomen to get the ball back and passed it to Bracey.
Bracey lays up again and the situation is critical.
"Hah--" But Carlo shouted, blocked the ball, and then passed the ball to Reese.
Reese started very quickly, and Seton chased after Reese.
"Nie Chuan, don't run away. Watch what Reese does." Coach Gordon reminded.
Nie Chuan looked up and saw Reese lowering his center of gravity. After a pause, he suddenly cut to the left and then pulled back to the right. His movements were decisive and simple without being fancy. However, it was his godly pulling back speed that even Seton, who was good at mobilizing his body, couldn't stop him. Reese rushed into the basket and slammed the ball!
The scene was boiling.
"As expected of Reese! This is his fourth goal after breaking through Seton's defense!"
The commentators were also very excited.
Nie Chuan looked at Reese's figure, and his eyes became hot again.
"Nie Chuan, you have to remember, no matter what kind of opponent you meet, don't forget who you are. To beat someone, it's not about turning yourself into that person, but about becoming a faster and better version of yourself. What's your pace?" Coach Gordon asked back.
Nie Chuan was stunned.
Where's his rhythm? Where's his rhythm?
His mind was now filled with the moment when Seton passed him, and the moment when the speed suddenly changed...
He suddenly didn't know how to play.
"You can challenge Raven Harvey one-on-one, and you can score continuously under the blockade of Owen Whishaw, kid...they are as strong as Seton. Even your partnership with Reece, I said I want you to enjoy this game, did you enjoy it? You even forgot who you are."
Coach Gordon's words fell on Nie Chuan's heart.
At this time, Reese made another layup, facing the double interception of Seton and the Rock. This was a match of strength and skill. The audience opened their eyes wide and worried about what would happen if the Rock hit Reese? What if Seton smashed the ball?
But Reese calmly retrieved the ball under the basket, passed the two men sideways and then dunked it!
Nie Chuan knew that Reese had tried his best in these three minutes, consuming a lot of energy, and he was like crazy. And such sharpness and madness also ignited the enthusiasm of the audience to the extreme.
"Tsk..." Seton wiped his chin with his collar.
Reese turned around and glanced at the other person coldly.
Nie Chuan clenched his fists tighter and tighter. He knew that Reese was trying to prove to him that Seton was not some unconquerable myth.
"Ah, Nie Chuan was replaced, Reese is very angry!" Larven nodded.
"Last year, Reese scored more than 20 points in the last five minutes against our CBU. But now it's not even the last five minutes yet, and he's trying his best... I'm worried that if Nie Chuan can't get back into shape in the next quarter, Reese will also be exhausted in order to stabilize the gap between DK and Azu."
"yes……"