Dreams

Seeing Jiang Shi's movement, Zhu Zhan's eyes flashed. He quickly sidestepped to his right, intending to hold his position and block Jiang Shi's attacking lane.

The instant he moved, Jiang Shi came to a sudden stop. The ball in his left hand crossed over into his right hand, and at the same time, he changed direction and drove in from the right. With just one step, he completely blew past Zhu Zhan and left him behind. By the time Zhu Zhan reacted and tried to catch up, Jiang Shi had already opened up a one-step gap and made the motion to jump and shoot.

However, the ball in Jiang Shi's hand was neither released nor did he actually jump.

After getting past Zhu Zhan, Jiang Shi picked up the ball, turned back to look at him, and smiled faintly. "How did that feel?"

Zhu Zhan took a deep breath, his brows tightly furrowed.

After a long silence, he looked at Jiang Shi and said quietly, "The feint was extremely convincing, and the movement was very exaggerated."

Jiang Shi's move had actually been quite simple. He had first used a feint, then followed it with a crossover in front of his body. It was one of the most common offensive moves.

The reason Zhu Zhan had fallen for it was that Jiang Shi's movement had been so large and realistic.

For some reason, yesterday's three-on-three game surfaced in Zhu Zhan's mind.

In that game, Xiao Ke's feints had also been broad and convincing. Zhu Zhan had bitten on several of them, but thanks to his outstanding physical gifts, he had still managed to make successful defensive stops in the end.

Compared to Xiao Ke, Jiang Shi's moves were several levels above his, completely on another level. Zhu Zhan could tell that if he had not slid over to defend when Jiang Shi made that first move, Jiang Shi would never have chosen to change direction. Instead, he would have taken one step past Zhu Zhan's right side and driven straight to the basket for a layup.

In other words, Jiang Shi had been able to make two different choices just then, and both choices depended entirely on how Zhu Zhan reacted before Jiang Shi adjusted accordingly.

And that was only one-on-one. In an actual game, if Jiang Shi got past him in one step, his drive into the paint would inevitably draw help defense from the baseline. At that point, whether he pulled up for a mid-range jumper or passed the ball inside, he could create a virtually certain scoring opportunity.

Jiang Shi smiled faintly. "Anything else?"

Zhu Zhan frowned. "If I hadn't bitten on your feint just now, Uncle Jiang, you would've driven straight through. Then, whether you chose a pull-up jumper or a pass, you would've gotten a great opportunity!"

Hearing Zhu Zhan's words, Jiang Shi immediately showed a gratified expression. Smiling, he said, "Not bad, Xiao Zhan. You have excellent instincts, and you're already starting to judge the situation on the court. That's very good. Right now, all you need is to improve step by step. Come on, let's continue!"

As he spoke, Jiang Shi dribbled the ball twice and walked back beyond the three-point line.

But Zhu Zhan still had his brows furrowed. Looking at Jiang Shi, he asked, "Uncle Jiang, then what should I have done in that situation?"

Jiang Shi laughed at that. Taking a deep breath, he said quietly, "You can only rely on your own experience to judge that, as well as improve your reaction speed. But there are usually some tricks to one-on-one defense. Come on, you attack this time. I'll defend."

As he spoke, Jiang Shi tossed the ball directly to Zhu Zhan.

Catching the ball, Zhu Zhan nodded and walked beyond the three-point line.

Seeing Jiang Shi take up a defensive stance at the three-point line, Zhu Zhan's gaze sharpened. He decided to use the same move Jiang Shi had just used and see how Jiang Shi would respond.

He was also very confident in his own explosiveness, confident that he could execute the move as well as Jiang Shi had.

And in terms of speed, he might even be faster than Jiang Shi.

Zhu Zhan dribbled slowly toward Jiang Shi. Dribbling with his right hand, he moved back and forth outside the three-point line, searching for the right chance to break through. As long as Jiang Shi gave him even a little more space, he would drive immediately.

But as he dribbled around, Jiang Shi consistently maintained a defensive distance of about one step between them, neither crowding him nor backing too far away.

Zhu Zhan frowned. He first stepped forward on his own initiative, then suddenly accelerated and cut directly to his right. But at that moment, the Jiang Shi he had expected did not move up to defend with him. Instead, Jiang Shi took a small step back.

Zhu Zhan was startled, but delight immediately surged in his heart. He quickly came to a sudden stop, abandoning his original plan to change direction, and jumped into a shooting motion.

But the instant he gripped the ball with both hands and prepared to jump, Jiang Shi suddenly stepped forward and closed right in front of him. Two large hands instantly covered the space above Zhu Zhan's head.

Zhu Zhan was shocked. He no longer had any room to shoot, and he had already picked up his dribble with both hands. If he dribbled again, it would be a double dribble.

Jiang Shi's large hands hovered over Zhu Zhan's head. Seeing Zhu Zhan's expression change dramatically, he smiled faintly, then withdrew his hands. Looking at Zhu Zhan with a smile, Jiang Shi asked, "Xiao Zhan, what did you learn this time?"

Zhu Zhan fell silent with an ugly expression, replaying Jiang Shi's every movement in his mind.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

Looking at Jiang Shi, Zhu Zhan took a deep breath. "I understand now, Uncle Jiang."

Jiang Shi smiled. "What do you understand?"

Zhu Zhan said, "When I chose to drive to the right, I thought you would immediately crowd up and defend me, just as I had done before. But not only did you not close in on me right away, you actually pulled back slightly by one step. That step wasn't big, so when I chose to stop suddenly, you only needed one step forward to take up the defensive position."

Jiang Shi nodded. "Then tell me, why did I choose to take a step back instead of crowding up immediately like you did?"

Zhu Zhan pondered for a moment before saying, "The reason you took that small step back, Uncle Jiang, was to guard against my change of direction. Although that step back was very small, it created a tiny bit of space for your defense. At that moment, no matter which direction I broke through, you could close in with one step and regain your defensive position."

After hearing Zhu Zhan's explanation, Jiang Shi burst into laughter. He once again gave Zhu Zhan's shoulder a firm pat, his face full of satisfaction.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Shi could not help but sigh. "Xiao Zhan, I was right about you. Your understanding of tactics and technique, your instincts—they're truly exceptional."

Though he received Jiang Shi's approval and praise, Zhu Zhan was not overly excited. He knew he still had many shortcomings and needed to work step by step to improve them. Only then could he continue drawing closer to his dream.