Garnett didn't waste any words, turned around and walked to the center circle, waving to Pierce, Wade, Big Ben and Raja Bell.
Pierce bent down to tighten his shoelaces, glanced at Rasheed and Artest on the opposite side, and said coldly, "I was careless just now. Give me the ball later, and don't let them catch their breath for the next ten minutes."
On the other side, the white team's substitutes surrounded the sideline.
Gerald Wallace, head down, still felt guilty for dragging the team down. " Rasheed, why don't we let Tayshaun go first? If I can't make my shots from the outside, Chris Paul will definitely be camped inside double-teaming you guys..."
"What do you mean, 'change'?! You're staying on the field today!"
Rasheed Wallace slapped Gerald on the back, pulled Tyronn Lue and Okur over, and quickly gave instructions in a low voice.
"Listen to me, everyone! You all saw how those five guys defended us. Chris Paul and Raja figured out Gerald couldn't make threes, so they stayed in the paint and double-teamed Tyronn Lue and Artest. We can't keep playing like that!"
"From the very first possession, we completely reversed the positions of the inside and outside players! Mehmet and I, the two big men, would stand a step beyond the three-point line as soon as we crossed half-court, drawing Kevin and Big Ben, the two rim protectors, out of the paint!"
" Gerald, you're not allowed to stand in the corner calling for the ball today, you hear me? If Chris Paul dares to stay open in the paint again, you run up here and set an off-ball screen for Mehmet or me from behind! Chris Paul can't keep up inside, and if you screen Big Ben and Kevin for even half a second, Mehmet and I will have open three-pointers!"
"Once Mehmet and I completely force Kevin and Big Ben out of the paint, the Celtics will only have Dwyane, Raja, and Chris Paul on the perimeter. Then, Gerald, you can go play center, either setting a screen for Tyronn Lue or lurking in the corner under the basket ready to grab offensive rebounds! Got it?"
Gerald paused for a moment, then realized what was happening.
Instead of letting him sit in the corner and shoot the three-pointer that he's least good at, we let him set screens, box out for rebounds with guards under the basket, and cut to the basket for easy baskets—all of which are his specialties!
"Understood, Rasheed!" Gerald nodded vigorously.
Rick Carlisle, standing three meters away on the sidelines, heard Rasheed's words, raised an eyebrow, glanced at Lin Qi beside him, didn't intervene, put his whistle in his pocket, and tossed the ball towards the center circle. "White team goes first, ten minutes start!"
The scoreboard on the wall started ticking, and the ten-minute match without referees officially began.
In the first possession, Tyronn Lue dribbled the ball across half-court.
Facing Wade's close pressure, Tyronn Lue used his back to protect the ball. The Celtics' starters still used the same collapsed defense: Big Ben and Garnett guarded the ball to the free-throw line, while Pierce, who was guarding Gerald, once again retreated to the right side of the paint, leaving Gerald open for a full three steps on the wing, ready to help defend and drive at any time.
However, this time, Gerald didn't run to the bottom corner at all.
He saw Pierce huddled in the penalty area, then suddenly turned and strode towards Ben Wallace at the top of the arc. With his feet firmly planted, he used his strong back to provide a blind-side off-the-ball screen for Okur at the top of the arc!
Big Ben was caught off guard by the outside shooter suddenly running up to cover for him, and his back was jolted by the impact.
Meanwhile, Pierce, who had left Gerald open, was still crouched three steps below the free-throw line and had no time to rush out and switch defense!
Okur took a step to the other side of Gerald's screen and received a pass from Tyronn Lue. With no one in front of him for two meters, Okur calmly adjusted his breathing, jumped and shot.
"Whoosh!"
A three-pointer swished through the net! 3-0.
"Good shot!" Rasheed roared on the court, deliberately running past Pierce as he retreated on defense. "Keep hiding inside and watching, Chris Paul!"
Pierce's face darkened, but he immediately retaliated on offense. He received the ball on the right side of the post, faced Artest's tight defense, used his shoulder to create half a body's distance, and made a turnaround jump shot. 3-2.
Turning back, the white team's substitutes launched another attack.
This time, Pierce learned his lesson and dared not stay in the paint again, so he had to step forward two steps to guard Gerald's screen.
But as soon as he followed, the positioning on the field completely reversed, as Rasheed had arranged.
Okur stood at the right 45-degree angle outside the three-point line, Rasheed stood at the left 45-degree angle outside the three-point line. To guard against these two big men who had just gotten into a shooting rhythm in Memphis and were about to launch another three-pointer, Ben Wallace and Garnett were forced to both follow them to the vicinity of the three-point line.
The Green Team's previously tightly controlled three-second zone was suddenly wide open!
At that moment, Gerald Wallace moved up to the top of the key, like a center, and set a solid screen for Tyronn Lue!
Wade was blocked by Gerald, forcing Pierce to switch defense to delay Tyronn Lue's drive.
After setting the screen, Gerald didn't bounce outwards. Instead, he turned and took long strides, driving straight to the basket through the completely open central tunnel!
Tyronn Lue flicked his wrist and launched a high-arcing pass directly towards the top of the basket.
At this point, both Big Ben and Garnett were tied up outside the three-point line by Okur and Rasheed, leaving only Raja Bell rotating from the corner to help defend under the basket.
Facing Bell's block, Gerald took a running start, jumped with both feet a step inside the free-throw line, caught the basketball in mid-air with both hands, and slammed it into the basket!
5 to 2!
After landing, Gerald didn't utter a sound, turned around and ran back to the backcourt, but the frustration he had felt earlier dissipated considerably with this alley-oop dunk.
Standing on the sidelines, Rick Carlisle watched the play and turned to Lin Qi beside him, saying, " Rasheed's tactical change was spot on. Other teams can't utilize a forward like Gerald who can't shoot well because their centers and power forwards dominate the paint. But our White Team has two big men Rasheed and Mehmet, who can stretch the floor and shoot threes. By using Gerald as an inside player and feeding him to the basket, we perfectly filled the gap in the White Team's offense, which lacked players who could drive to the basket and grab offensive rebounds."
Lin Qi smiled and said, "This strategy will come in handy tomorrow when we play Detroit. When Larry Bird Brown sends Campbell and Robinson out to defend Mehmet, this tactic will be perfect."
The competition on the field intensified after five minutes.
Because there are no referees blowing whistles, every physical contact is a real contest.
The starting lineup was, after all, a championship-caliber team that had been playing together for many years. After a brief period of adjustment, Garnett and Pierce immediately intensified their individual scoring and defensive rotations. Garnett overpowered Rasheed in the low post to score, Wade used his speed to drive past Tyronn Lue and score off the backboard, and Ben Wallace even blocked Artest's forced layup under the basket.
During a dead ball situation, the White team substituted Tyronn Lue with the longer-winged Tayshaun Prince, and Artest took control of the ball, engaging in a back-and-forth battle with the starting lineup.