My days of working at the NBA

Chapter 45 No Unauthorized Flights

That ball was so explosive, it made my cornea hurt terribly.

It's important to understand that a normal dunk and a dunk over someone are completely different kinds of shots.

When you're dunking normally, there's no obstruction in front of you, so you won't suffer any impact and you're in a psychologically safe zone. You can dunk however you want.

But it's different when it comes to people.

The first hurdle is the psychological barrier. You'll worry about being blocked, about not being able to get through with people in between, about stumbling and falling, about being knocked away on the spot, about being drowned out by boos...

This series of psychological burdens will subconsciously put pressure on you, causing your actions to become unconsciously distorted, and even generating a sense of avoidance.

The second hurdle is the impact itself.

The oncoming impact will put your momentum on hold.

Your hang time, your jump, your movements—all of these must be forced to stop in that instant, and you must complete the dunk in that instant.

This is much more difficult than a dunk with no space on the floor.

This is why every time there's a powerful dunk over someone on the court, it sends hormones soaring and adrenaline surging.

Because the visual impact is just too strong.

Dorut immediately swore: "Wodefa..."

He's a professional basketball commentator, and his broadcasting etiquette is definitely top-notch. The fact that he blurted out profanities shows just how shocking this goal was.

Billy King was equally speechless: "Wow! That jumping ability is terrifying."

They already knew that Du Ze was an excellent jumper with exceptional athletic ability, but this incident has once again surprised them.

Robinson lay on the floor, his mind buzzing, and refused to get up for a long time.

The coaching staff nearby thought he was injured and called a timeout.

Nothing happened.

No, it's not that he was completely unaffected; he did suffer immense emotional trauma.

The game resumed shortly afterward.

The score was now 45-30, a full 15 points behind, putting Connecticut at a significant disadvantage.

They must stop the bleeding in this attack, otherwise falling so far behind at halftime is an unacceptable result.

So in this attack, they kept breaking through and shifting positions, and after a series of dazzling maneuvers, the attack time was reduced to the last ten seconds.

The effect was indeed noticeable; some people in Missouri were completely disoriented, with the ugly Lawrence being the worst off, utterly lost and missing Price completely.

The ball then happened to be passed to Price.

Du Ze was lurking near the free-throw line when he saw this situation and had no choice but to rush over to help defend.

Price remained calm under pressure and cleverly knocked Duze away, then did the exact same move that Duze had made when he shot that three-pointer at the start of the game.

Move one step to the side.

Aim calmly.

Shot.

As a result, the ball had just left his fingertips when Du Ze, who had been dummy-beaten, pounced back on it.

Price grinned furiously, wishing he could travel back in time to a second earlier and take the ball back from his fingertips.

But that was obviously impossible; he just watched helplessly as Du Ze slapped the ball away.

What made him even more desperate was that the ball flew right over his head while he was falling. He instinctively reached out to grab it, but he couldn't reach it no matter what he did.

His appearance was just like a drowning person desperately grasping at a straw.

The twisting of his body during the fall caused him to lose his balance completely and crash directly onto the floor.

Du Ze caught the ball easily.

Lawrence, who had been confused and disoriented just moments before, immediately transformed when he saw an opportunity to retaliate, and took off running.

Du Ze passed the ball to him, and without stopping, continued to drive towards the basket.

Lawrence was quite sensible; he understood the principle of reciprocity. He advanced into the penalty area and tossed the ball into the air.

Du Ze followed up with another leisurely dunk.

47:30.

With 1 minute and 25 seconds left in the first half, the point difference had quickly widened to 17 points.

Dorut exclaimed, "What's going on? Is this going to be a half-court disaster?"

Thirteen points is a huge difference in the NCAA, but at least there's still a chance to try and save the situation. Relying on consecutive three-pointers, it's not entirely impossible to pull off a miraculous comeback.

But now it's 17 points.

Not only do you need your opponent to stand still, but you also need to hit five consecutive three-pointers to barely catch up.

is it possible?

If possible, you wouldn't have only scored 30 points near the end of the first half.

This point difference is already extremely fatal.

Billy King chimed in: "They couldn't score themselves, nor could they stop Duze from scoring. Duze's offensive and defensive plays may have already determined the course of the game."

He paused for a moment, then added a few more words, "But what surprised me the most was Du Ze's ability to jump continuously. After flying out, he could still turn back to complete the block. The speed and rate of his jumps were truly amazing."

On this point, Dort also had to admit: "I'm starting to agree with you now. Duze's rim protection and help defense are really outstanding. I even think that the 40-minute high-pressure defense is only a secondary defensive strategy for Missouri. Duze's defensive coverage is the foundation of Missouri's strength."

This means that Du Ze is the true core of the team and has irreplaceable tactical value.

This assessment, coming from a well-known basketball commentator, carries a different weight and naturally exudes a sense of authority.

Connecticut is on the verge of elimination, but Jim Cahon on the sidelines still hasn't called a timeout.

Perhaps he felt that with only a little over a minute left, there was no point in calling out.

Turning back, Connecticut's attack.

Another round of flanking maneuvers and cover, but this time there was no opportunity.

With seven seconds left, Price dared not delay any longer and immediately started his attack, using Lawrence as a shield to drive hard.

Sure enough, the ugly guy was left behind after only two steps.

Du Ze had to come over early to help with the defense.

Price pushed hard for two steps, but couldn't push any further. Everyone thought he was going to pass the ball, but he suddenly leaned on Duze and turned around, driving straight to the basket. Then he stretched his whole body out to the side and made a layup with a low hand in a flip-up motion.

The choice of this shooting point was quite clever. Price used his body to block Duze while desperately raising the shooting point upwards.

However, he still underestimated Duze's explosive power and his 217cm wingspan.

boom.

The ball was slapped away again and hit the bottom of the basket.

Billy King passionately exclaimed, "Du, it's Du again! He's at it again, delivering another perfect block to Price, my God..."

The ball bounced back, and Thabeet, taking advantage of his height, grabbed the rebound.

This position was his absolute sweet spot. He barely hesitated, jumped from the spot, grabbed the ball with both hands, and headed straight for the basket.

Given his height and wingspan, and being so close to the basket, this shot would undoubtedly be a powerful dunk.

But Duze refused to give a straight answer, leaving the questions to Thabeet.

He pulled up again, pressed his large hand on the ball, and forcefully pushed it down.

After landing, Du Ze couldn't help but passionately shout at Thabit: "This is my territory, no flying around is allowed."

Tabbit stared, but his expression was as hollow as a wilted eggplant.

Price, who was still wiping the floor, was even paler, panting heavily, and unwilling to get up for a long time.

Three consecutive blocks in just over a minute.

Who the hell can stand this?