Volume 5: Unrivaled

Volume 5: Unmatched, Chapter 750: A Massive Contribution. Whenever Markkanen made a shot, James would frown, shake his head without saying anything, and sweep his gaze over his teammates as though deeply dissatisfied with the defensive possession. Markkanen went 2-for-2 from three, playing brilliantly and showing great energy on defense. This was Zhang Yu's reward for him, as well as another experiment with the lineup. One of the Warriors' mobile forwards would set up on the strong side, usually Covington or Wiggins, covering both responsibilities. Once James kicked the ball out, they could immediately rotate over with their mobility. After all, rebounds would sometimes bounce James's way. If he did not occupy that spot, the Warriors would have a chance to grab the rebound. That was a massive contribution too! The Death Lineup had better spacing. Without Looney clogging things up, the Cavaliers' defense had an even harder time. Markkanen and Covington posed too great a threat when left open. The Cavaliers still insisted on trapping the ball handler, but they executed it hesitantly, with frequent mistakes in their rotations. Sometimes they failed to collapse from the corner in time to protect the rim, allowing Curry to drive in for an easy uncontested layup. Other times, the defender at the weak-side 45-degree angle collapsed too aggressively before the corner rotation had arrived, leaving Markkanen open. The Finnish Ice Blade raised his knife and brought it down, drilling a three straight through the heart. The instant James stepped up, Curry lowered his head and drove right. Curry then came to an abrupt stop and stepped back, dribbling in place before looking up at the basket again. James instinctively took a big step forward and raised his hands to contest. Curry suddenly exploded, used a behind-the-back dribble, wiped past James cleanly, broke