Pull-Up Jumpshot Kills You

Schroder offensive foul, James's team continues their attack.

James intentionally passes to Wang Yi.

When players have conflicts, the best way to resolve them is on the training court.

Wang Yi continues to weave through players, running and setting picks.

Schroder, having been defended twice in a row by Wang Yi, felt even more heated.

He chased Wang Yi relentlessly, shouting as he did:

"You want to score on me? Impossible!"

Wang Yi ran through three screens consecutively, creating a two-step separation from Schroder.

He ran out to the 45-degree angle beyond the three-point line.

James's pass arrived at the perfect moment.

Wang Yi caught the ball and quickly turned.

Swish!

Three-pointer made!

Schroder muttered, "Fuck!"

Turning back, Schroder attacked again.

The others spread out, giving Schroder and Wang Yi a chance to go one-on-one.

Schroder added many technical moves this time.

Continuous crossovers, followed by shoulder fakes.

At one point, he quickly pulled to the right, raising his left hand, seemingly about to gather the ball.

He looked like he was going for a pull-up jump shot.

Wang Yi immediately stepped forward, preparing to defend.

But Schroder didn't gather the ball.

Instead, he performed a behind-the-back dribble and then lowered his head, quickly darting past Wang Yi.

He was small and fast.

Combined with the behind-the-back dribble, even top defenders would have been faked out by that move.

However, Wang Yi's excellent sideways movement speed once again gave him an advantage.

As Schroder swept past him, he quickly shifted his body, taking two consecutive sideways steps.

He stayed tightly with Schroder.

Schroder couldn't get past Wang Yi completely, so he leaned forward and lunged.

With that lunge, his upper body created a one-step separation from Wang Yi.

Off-balance, he attempted a one-handed layup.

But Wang Yi's sideways movement speed, increased by 20%, was no joke.

He shifted his body again, moving sideways rapidly.

He jumped.

His right arm swung in a wide arc.

Smack

A volleyball spike motion.

He fiercely batted the ball out of bounds.

At that moment, everyone fell silent.

Only the sound of the basketball bouncing on the floor echoed through the stadium.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump...

All his teammates looked at Wang Yi in disbelief.

What shocked them wasn't Wang Yi's volleyball-style block.

It was Wang Yi's insane sideways movement speed.

His lateral movement was fast enough to keep up with Schroder's frontal drive.

Even when Schroder leaned forward for the layup, he was still able to keep up with his sideways movement.

It was simply outrageous.

"Wang, how did you do that?"

"Wang, are you a monster?"

"Oh my god, I've been playing with a monster this whole time."

The head coach was also quite surprised.

He had been a head coach for so many years, from the Pacers in the East back then to the Lakers in the West now.

He had seen all sorts of monsters.

But he had never seen anyone like Wang Yi.

His sliding speed was just too fast.

James, on the other hand, looked thoughtful.

Wang Yi had been practicing his sliding all morning, probably thousands of times.

Could this be his specialty?

If so, he was truly exceptionally talented.

After all, he had played in the league for 19 years and had never seen anyone with a faster sideways movement speed than Wang Yi.

Wang Yi looked down from above at Schroder, who had fallen to the ground.

He shook his head slightly, seemingly disappointed.

As if to say, "That's it?"

On the surface, he appeared to have the humility and kindness characteristic of Easterners.

He was always friendly to his teammates.

But he wasn't without his temper.

He wouldn't indulge anyone who kept provoking him.

Schroder actually saw a look of disdain in Wang Yi's eyes.

This made him even more furious.

FUCK!

A mere 10-day short contract player dared to look down on me.

Just you wait!

Next, Schroder took the ball again and challenged Wang Yi to a one-on-one.

Wang Yi, relying on his formidable sideways movement speed, built an impenetrable defensive line in front of Schroder.

No matter how fast Schroder was, he couldn't break through.

He gritted his teeth in anger.

Head coach Vogel's eyes couldn't help but gleam as he watched Wang Yi's defense.

Wang Yi's defense was indeed different.

His sideways movement speed was much faster than it had been during the game last night.

Even Schroder, a small guard known for his speed, couldn't break through Wang Yi's defense.

When it was James's team's turn to attack, Schroder slammed the floor hard with both hands.

Showing his determination.

Since he couldn't break through on offense, he would lock down this Eastern kid on defense.

However, the ideal is beautiful, but reality is often cruelly disappointing.

He wanted to chase Wang Yi, but Wang Yi could always find opportunities to shoot through constant movement and off-ball screens.

Schroder was not known for his defense in the first place.

He chased Wang Yi, panting, but couldn't even touch Wang Yi's clothes.

Yet Wang Yi kept hitting threes.

He kept muttering words starting with "F."

Of course, he wasn't cursing Wang Yi—he didn't dare to be so blatant.

He was just expressing his emotions.

He couldn't score on offense, and he couldn't defend on defense.

The outcome seemed predetermined.

But he was unwilling.

He was unwilling to lose to this Eastern kid like this.

He wanted to make one last gamble.

So, when James's team was on offense, he said in Wang Yi's ear:

"If you've got the guts, don't use screens, just face me head-on, one-on-one!"

Wang Yi heard this and shook his head helplessly.

He hadn't intended to humiliate Little Black like this.

But since you're asking for it yourself, you can't blame me.

With that thought, Wang Yi stopped running for position and setting screens.

Instead, he stood beyond the three-point line, signaling for the ball.

Schroder pressed hard against Wang Yi's back.

He had watched Wang Yi's games these past two days and knew Wang Yi had almost no ability to drive to the basket.

So as long as he could lock down Wang Yi's position and make him uncomfortable.

He didn't believe Wang Yi could still make so many three-pointers.

When James saw Wang Yi call for the ball, there was no reason not to give it to him.

Wang Yi turned sideways, received the ball, and slowly turned back to face Schroder.

A mysterious smile curved his lips.

The next moment, he pulled up for a shot.

Swish!

Nothing but net!

Upon hearing the sound from behind him, Schroder's heart sank.

Several teammates nearby cheered for Wang Yi.

"Beautiful!"

"Nice shot!"

"Wang, you're something else."

All these voices pressed down on Schroder like a mountain.

Schroder's movements became visibly heavy.

In the next possession.

Wang Yi got the ball again, facing Schroder.

Schroder clung to a sliver of hope.

He waved his hands frantically, trying to prevent Wang Yi from shooting.

Wang Yi didn't even look at him this time.

He pulled up for a shot!

Swish!

Three-pointer made!

Schroder was 1.87 meters tall, while he was 1.92 meters.

A difference of 5 centimeters.

So as long as he made sure Schroder couldn't steal the ball.

All he had to do was pull up, pull up, and pull up again.

In practice games, his three-point shooting percentage was much higher than in actual games.

So he could simply pull up and shoot him to death.