Chen Xi's signature driving sequence was truly difficult to defend against, not because defenders had to figure out when he would come to a sudden stop.
The real challenge was how a defender could avoid being carried away by Chen Xi's momentum while still maintaining precise defensive judgment and controlling the optimal defensive distance.
Because after Chen Xi pulled the ball back, that Bait Buddha move was something they had to guard against, something they had to make a choice on.
If they did not defend it, he could immediately turn the fake into a real move and Jump directly into a pull-up jumper. By then, it would be too late to close in and contest him.
Once Chen Xi got an easy chance to rise up and shoot from the Mid-range, it was basically no different from handing him a free throw at the line.
So most of the time, defenders had no choice but to step up and contest him.
And under those circumstances, Chen Xi's push-dribble crossover and second burst of acceleration became utterly unstoppable.
That was exactly what Edwards was dealing with now.
Even though he had relied on his exceptional body control to stay glued to Chen Xi after his sudden stop and pullback, he still feared the threat of Chen Xi's shooting and could not help stepping up to contest, giving Chen a massive lane to drive through.
Chen Xi then accelerated again and easily blew past Edwards cleanly once more.
Immediately after, Chen Xi drove all the way into the paint, gathered and jumped directly. In midair, he used a reverse layup to evade Towns, who had finally realized he needed to help, then calmly sent the ball toward the basket.
Basketball lightly kissed the backboard and bounced into the hoop.
2 points