"First Step Master"

Chapter 40: "First Step Master"

Sun Hao had long set his sights on fulfilling the Five-Year Pact in the NBA; NCAA was never part of his consideration.

However, he didn't make his stance explicit. After all, even the Spurs had only given him a tryout opportunity for now.

This kind of tryout—an NBA team invites many players every year before the draft.

If he really wanted to make it to the NBA, he would need to do far more than that.

He gave a vague answer, exchanged contact information with both of them, and then threw himself back into the game.

But in the following match against the Murcia Team, he encountered a Waterloo just like the real Napoleon.

He went 1-for-6 from Beyond the Three-Point Line, scoring only 11 points from free throws and fast breaks.

Just as James occasionally travels, no matter how great a shooter, no one can hit the basket every night.

More importantly, after a week of explosive performances, the opponents had clearly started studying and targeting him.

During the game, he could barely receive the ball comfortably, and even when he did, he was quickly double-teamed.

Because his backcourt partner Trinidad had no three-point ability, this double-team persisted almost the entire night.

For most of the game, Sun Hao was tightly wrapped by two big men.

This was the first time he had faced such a "Super" level of defensive treatment in La Liga.

It also said one thing: he was now being treated like a superstar.

Shouting "I'm not a star, don't double-team me" was definitely not realistic. What he needed was to figure out how to break this defense.

There were two ways to break a double-team: one was to drive—finish the play before the double-team formed, simple and brutal;

the other was to pass—create a 4-on-3 opportunity for his teammates.

There were many ways to drive: Irving with his fancy dribbling, Alphabet Brother with physicality, Doncic with rhythm changes, Anthony with triple threats, and so on.

Sun Hao had foreseen this situation last season and had already started training in the system.

What he practiced was the first step in his drive.

In the NBA, many players rely on their first step to drive, with the most typical examples being Rose, Wade, and Tracy McGrady.

The reason Sun Hao chose this driving style was that it could combine with his three-point ability.

If you double-team, I'll drive past you before the double-team forms;

if you don't double-team, I might just shoot from outside.

This forces the defender to make a choice.

His training in the system had been consistent; what he needed to do next was apply it more in games to trigger the relevant Badge.

As for passing, although it wasn't his strength, his basketball IQ meant ordinary passing was completely within his ability.

The Problem Lies In the team's configuration.

His backcourt partner Trinidad had absolutely no outside shooting ability, which allowed opponents to double-team him without restraint.

So to solve this problem through passing, the best way would be to swap in a guard who could shoot and wouldn't be targeted on defense.

Unfortunately, Real Madrid didn't have one.

But there was more than one way to solve a problem.

Even in the NBA, a player like Tony Allen, who had zero outside shooting, could start for a strong team; naturally, La Liga could too.

Another way to solve this was to adjust Trinidad to the Off-ball Side.

Before the next day's training session began, Sun Hao took the initiative to find Laso and discuss his idea.

Laso had also been troubled by this issue. Seeing Sun Hao come to him, he wasn't too surprised and instead prepared to listen.

After more than a year working together, he knew well that Sun Hao was a player with high basketball IQ.

Trinidad had no outside shooting ability, but that didn't mean he had no offensive capability. On the contrary, the reason he could play for Real Madrid wasn't just defense—fast breaks and baseline cuts were his specialties.

So when Sun Hao proposed the idea of adjusting him to the Off-ball Side, Laso was Completely Different in his agreement.

The so-called Off-ball Side meant exactly what it sounded like. The court had two sides—left and right. The side with the ball was the on-ball side; the Off-ball Side was the other.

By adjusting Trinidad to the Off-ball Side, since he and Sun Hao weren't on the same side, the defender couldn't just abandon him and cross the entire court to double-team.

Because that would mean leaving Trinidad open for a cut, and Sun Hao could simply wait for the defender to cross the court and pass the ball steadily over.

In fact, no one would be stupid enough to cross the entire court to double-team. If Real Madrid made this adjustment, the opponent would most likely switch who was double-teaming.

It was still a double-team, but the situation was Completely Different from before.

Because the rest of Real Madrid's players all had some shooting ability, including Gabajosa with his mid-range game.

Sun Hao's suggestion gave Laso a new idea, and Laso quickly made targeted tactical adjustments.

In the training session that followed, a new team tactic was born.

Sun Hao and Gabajosa's pick-and-roll offense.

Sun Hao's three-point ability was outstanding, and Gabajosa's cutting and finishing at the rim were strong. Their technical characteristics meant the opponent would be caught in a dilemma.

Once they chose to double-team Sun Hao, Gabajosa would get his opportunity.

And if they chose not to double-team or switch, Sun Hao could exploit the defensive timing gap and shoot a three-pointer directly.

Even if the opponent didn't double-team but opted to switch, Sun Hao could still attack the mismatch with a smaller player going against a bigger one.

In short, building on the suggestion Sun Hao had given, Laso crafted a tactic that best suited the team at this stage.

After two days of training, they began using the pick-and-roll between the two players in the match against the Andorra Riverside Team, and they used it right from the opening tip.

Laso stood courtside from the very start, his expression slightly tense.

The reason this tactic could be conceived and implemented so quickly wasn't because of his exceptional coaching ability, but because Prigioni and Gabajosa had frequently run pick-and-rolls before this.

After all, in European basketball, the pick-and-roll was an inescapable staple.

Now that the pick-and-roll man had changed from Prigioni to Sun Hao, Laso worried about Sun Hao's passing ability.

But once the game actually started, he found his concerns were unnecessary.

When Prigioni and Gabajosa ran the pick-and-roll, Prigioni often drove inside, which led to more use of the drive-and-kick technique.

Sun Hao and Gabajosa's pick-and-roll, however, was the exact opposite—he mostly moved outward.

Correspondingly, Gabajosa basically cut toward the basket.

The opponent simply didn't dare let Gabajosa cut like that.

Given Gabajosa's ability in La Liga, as long as Sun Hao delivered the ball, scoring was a high-probability event.

So in the end, the thing Laso worried about never happened.

Without being double-teamed, Sun Hao's perimeter scoring ability was unleashed again. He scored 19 points once more, helping Real Madrid secure the win.

After the game, the worry and tension on Laso's face completely dissipated, and he immediately walked up to Sun Hao to high-five him.

The fact was, his judgment had been correct—Sun Hao was indeed a player with high basketball IQ!

In the following games, Sun Hao and Gabajosa continued to refine their pick-and-roll, while the opponent's defense kept changing.

At first, they didn't double-team or switch, but Sun Hao was too good at exploiting the timing gap when opponents tried to navigate around the screen.

Seeing that this defensive approach wasn't working, the opponents switched to direct switching.

And with that switch, Sun Hao finally had more opportunities to use his first-step break in games.

Against a bigger defender, he could drive or drive and then step back for a shot, but either way, a sufficiently threatening first step made everything twice as effective with half the effort.

Although his performance fluctuated at first due to experimentation—Sun Hao failed to score over 15 points for several consecutive games, and even had a single-digit scoring game—the constant attempts brought continuous improvement to his technique.

By the time the league reached just past the halfway point of the 22nd round, Sun Hao finally successfully unlocked the badge he wanted.

First Step Master (Bronze): Slightly increases first-step speed when driving, as well as the ability to see through the opponent's defense!

Not just the boost to first-step speed—the key was the latter part: the ability to see through defense!

This was impressive!

It was almost like activating the Emperor Eye from Kuroko's Basketball!

Two days after Sun Hao obtained "First Step Master," Real Madrid hosted Barcelona at home, marking the second meeting between the two sides this season.

In their first matchup, Real Madrid had lost a close game on the road, and Prigioni had been sidelined with an injury ever since, with no one knowing if he'd make it back for the playoffs.

Facing their archrival, also a potential championship contender, this game was crucial for Real Madrid.

If Prigioni really couldn't play in the playoffs, this might well be a preview of their postseason clash.

"Sun, be decisive when you're in a mismatch."

After the pre-game tactical setup, Laso pulled Sun Hao aside for a private word.

Although Sun Hao had been in poor form over the past few games, Laso still chose to trust him.

This trust moved Sun Hao a little.

A player always unleashes his full potential when he meets the right coach.

Jordan met Dean Smith, Kobe met Phil Jackson, Curry met Steve Kerr.

From that perspective, Sun Hao meeting Laso was also a stroke of luck.

During pre-game warm-ups, Sun Hao and Gasol were still chatting by the scorer's table.

Whether it was due to a change in his team status or not, Gasol no longer talked literature with Sun Hao but instead discussed the game.

"Last season you swept us; this season it's my turn."

"Your playing style has been figured out now; it's not realistic to expect to score like before."

"How about coming to Barcelona next season? I can pass you the most comfortable balls. Stay at Real Madrid and you won't win a championship."

Listening to Gasol's words, Sun Hao couldn't help but sigh.

Life, after all, had turned him into the kind of person he once hated most.

Every person on Real Madrid and Barcelona was ultimately destined to become enemies.

After warm-ups ended, the arena moved into the opening ceremony.

Cheers shook the venue as fans gave their all for Real Madrid.

Even though Real Madrid's recent performance had dipped compared to the start of the season, facing Barcelona left no word but "fight."

But on the sidelines, Laso's face was clouded with worry.

The last time the two teams met, Prigioni was still on Real Madrid and they lost. This time, without Prigioni and with Sun Hao's form mediocre lately, the match looked grim.

Playing at home, if they lost, the external pressure on the team would be unimaginable.

After the lineup introductions, both teams' starters took the court one by one.

Barcelona was led by Gasol and Navarro, while Real Madrid had Sun Hao and Gabajosa holding the fort.

Gabajosa leaped high and tipped the ball back to his half, officially kicking off the game.

Sun Hao dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, made a tactical gesture at the arc, and signaled Gabajosa to pull up for a high pick-and-roll.

"Switch! Switch!"

Barcelona's head coach Enrique shouted from the sideline.

In past games, Sun Hao's offense after switching onto a big man hadn't been effective. It seemed Barcelona had done their homework.

Gasol switched onto Sun Hao, Gabajosa cut to the basket and drew his defender away, leaving Sun Hao with a one-on-one mismatch at the arc.

Two people with a good relationship off the court had finally reached the point of going for each other's throats.

Sun Hao didn't dribble immediately. Instead, he first observed Gasol's defensive stance.

Gasol's center of gravity was back, his arms raised high.

The backward weight was to guard against Sun Hao's drive, the raised hands to contest his shot.

Young as he was, Gasol already displayed top-tier basketball talent.

But from that stance, Sun Hao could faintly sense that Gasol was prioritizing defending his shot.

The effect of the First Step Master badge—reading the defense!

Though the feeling was subtle, combined with his Basketball IQ, Sun Hao confirmed that Gasol was mainly guarding against his jumper.

Compared to driving, the three-pointer was his specialty.

Sun Hao raised the ball as if to shoot.

Gasol lunged forward quickly, his long arms providing visual interference.

It had to be said, the saying "basketball is a giant's game" had its reasons. Gasol's height and wingspan blotted out the sky, and Sun Hao could no longer see the rim.

But Sun Hao had only pump-faked. Suddenly, he gathered the ball and accelerated to the right.

Gasol anticipated it and pulled back as well.

But right then, he realized he couldn't keep up at all!

Big men were already at an absolute speed disadvantage against smaller guards, and now Sun Hao was even faster than before!

Amid the fans' gasps, Sun Hao faked the shot, drove past Gasol cleanly.

The result caught Barcelona completely off guard. With everyone else spread wide, the lane was wide open after Sun Hao beat Gasol.

Sun Hao didn't waste the opportunity. Before the weak-side help could arrive, he finished a quick layup, sending the ball cleanly through the net.

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