Locked Down Devin Booker

The arena DJ wasn't blind. He knew that Wang Yi deserved ninety percent of the credit for that basket.

Wang Yi had blocked Booker, who had been red-hot for the Suns, and grabbed the ball.

That was what had set up Pope's dunk.

So when the arena DJ announced Wang Yi's name, his voice rang out especially loud and long.

And he knew exactly how to fire up the crowd.

The arena erupted once more.

Amid the cheers, the fans started talking among themselves.

"I knew it. They should've put Wang in sooner."

"Two blocks in a row—and he blocked the Suns' top scorer. That was awesome."

"Wang doesn't look like a short-term contract player at all. I think he's a star."

Suns head coach Monty Williams was cautious, too.

After the Lakers had gone on a 7–0 run, he quickly called a timeout.

During the timeout, he watched Booker closely.

Booker was drinking from a bottle of water, but his eyes held a fierce fighting spirit.

That Eastern guy had blocked him twice in a row. He wasn't going to accept that!

Who was this nobody, daring to show him up like that?

Coach Williams knew Booker was young and could get carried away.

If he kept holding him back, it was bound to cause problems.

So he had to let Booker get those points back himself.

But he needed to do it the right way, not by forcing things.

He patted Booker on the back and said:

"Devin, you've got to get those points back. Teach that Eastern kid a lesson!"

Booker screwed the cap tight, his voice firm. "I know!"

Coach Williams nodded.

"But no more threes. That kid's a strong shot-blocker, and he seems to know how to defend the three-point shot. You need to change your approach. Drive on him and turn him into Swiss cheese. Got it?"

For a young player like Devin, being told to change his strategy was almost like being asked to give in.

Two years ago, he never would've agreed.

But after last year's playoffs, he'd grown a lot.

As long as he came out on top, it didn't matter how difficult the process was.

He nodded. "Got it!"

Paul, standing nearby, felt a little relieved.

If the Suns wanted to achieve more, their star, Booker, had to keep growing.

So far, he really was improving quickly.

Back on the court, play resumed.

Paul dribbled across half court and passed the ball to Booker again.

The others cleared out to give him room to go one-on-one.

Facing Wang Yi, Booker slowly dribbled from hand to hand.

After four crossovers, he suddenly changed pace.

He raised both hands as if he were about to gather the ball.

Wang Yi immediately stepped forward, ready to block him.

But Booker was only using a Buddha Move.

The next moment, he dropped his center of gravity and tried to get past Wang on the left.

But as he drove, Wang Yi slid across at incredible speed.

Booker slammed into Wang's chest.

Booker reacted quickly.

Unable to get past him on the left, he put the ball behind his back with his left hand, shifted to the right, and tried to drive that way instead.

But after taking just one step—

Thud!

He slammed into Wang Yi's chest again.

Unable to break through, Booker had no choice but to retreat a few steps.

After creating some space, he tried to accelerate past him again.

But Wang Yi was so quick laterally that he kept cutting off Booker's path at just the right moment.

After several failed attempts, Booker could only retreat to the three-point line again.

This time Wang Yi had been faked out, but that still didn't mean he'd let Booker shoot uncontested.

He rushed over as hard as he could, trying to disrupt the shot without touching any part of Booker's body.

Maybe Booker was getting impatient. Maybe he was wary of Wang Yi's shot-blocking.

Whatever the reason, this time the ball hit the back of the rim.

Drummond grabbed the rebound.

The commentators were thrilled.

"Did you see that? Did you see Wang's defense?"

"Of course! Airtight, not a gap anywhere!"

"His lateral speed is incredible. Devin Booker can't get past him at all."

"That's the fastest lateral movement I've ever seen! And I'm not exaggerating when I say he's one of the best in the league!"

Wang Yi's defense was excellent.

Unfortunately, the Lakers missed on their possession.

The Suns attacked again, and Booker still couldn't get past Wang Yi.

In the end, he forced up another three and missed.

On the Lakers' fast break, Wang Yi knocked down a three.

The lead was down to five.

The Suns came back on offense.

Paul could see that Booker was getting impatient.

He knew they couldn't keep going like this. Booker needed to calm down.

Besides, the team hadn't scored in a while. Paul had to step up and get some points himself.

That was the experience of a veteran like Paul.

When the team's offense was flowing, he organized the attack and set up his teammates.

When it stalled, he took charge and broke through the defense.

This time, instead of passing to Booker, he gave him a hand signal.

He pressed his right hand down in the air, telling him to stay calm.

Booker respected Paul.

He was still unhappy that Wang Yi had shut him down twice in a row, but he knew he needed to calm down.

So he didn't call for the ball again.

Instead, he set a screen for Paul.

The Lakers had already taken Drummond off the floor and brought Harrell back in.

That made the team much more mobile.

So the Lakers' defensive strategy was to switch on every screen.

After switching, Wang Yi picked up Paul.

From watching Wang Yi defend Booker, Paul had already gotten a basic read on his defensive tendencies: he liked to jump.

Against a defender like that, Paul had a hundred ways to make him look foolish.

Facing Wang Yi, Paul suddenly turned to his right.

Wang Yi moved right with him, trying to cut him off.

But Paul only turned halfway before quickly lowering his body and driving past Wang on the left.

Wang Yi hurried to slide left.

By then, Paul had already gotten half a step inside.

As Wang Yi slid over, Paul gathered the ball in both hands and pretended to rise.

He wanted to get Wang Yi off his feet before shooting.

But this time, Wang Yi, the man who supposedly liked to jump, stayed on the ground.

Paul was sure he could get Wang Yi to bite, so he confidently took the shot. For him, a mid-range jumper felt as easy as a layup.

Wang Yi didn't jump until Paul released the ball.

Paul was startled.

Once he was in the air, he hurriedly leaned back.

But Wang Yi still got a fingertip on the ball.

The ball flew two meters before dropping limply through the air.

Paul furrowed his brow.

This guy kept jumping on defense. Why hadn't he jumped that time?

What Paul didn't know was that Wang Yi didn't actually like to jump.

He hadn't played much over the past two years.

But apart from training and sleeping, he'd spent nearly all his time watching game footage.

He studied the movements and habits of NBA players.

He knew the techniques, habits, and even the personalities of every starter and rotation player on all thirty NBA teams.

To put it bluntly, he probably knew those players better than their own teammates did.

So he didn't really like to jump.

He only jumped often when defending players like Devin Booker.

He knew Paul was short, and after driving, if he hadn't created much separation, Paul usually liked to fake first and then rise for a jumper.

So Wang Yi didn't jump when Paul made his first move.

He only jumped to block the shot when Paul went up the second time.

It sounded simple, but it was the result of years of hard work and dedication.