Ben Affleck slapped his thigh in frustration. "Damn it, what I feared most came true! Dwyane missed three mid-range shots in a row to start the game, and Ben's shooting touch isn't good today either. Now that Yao Ming is standing under the basket, Dwyane can't just charge in, can he?"
Byron Scott stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. This defensive strategy of having the center retreat had been proven effective across the league for three weeks. As long as Wade's mid-range shot wasn't on fire, Ben Wallace was an offensive black hole on the court, a pure side effect.
In front of the Celtics' bench, head coach Rick Carlisle, looking perfectly calm, patted Ben Wallace on the shoulder. "Ben, stop trying mid-range shots, just drive to the basket. Use what you practiced the last couple of days."
Ben Wallace spat out his mouthguard, wiped the sweat from his brow, and replied in a deep voice, "Don't worry, Coach."
After the timeout, the Celtics inbound the ball in the frontcourt.
Wade dribbled the ball up to the top of the arc and extended his left hand in a tactical gesture.
Ben Wallace again set a screen for Wade at the three-point line, while Garnett simultaneously set a back screen at the free-throw line, then quickly popped out to the top of the arc. Brand, who was guarding Garnett, didn't even dare to look inside, immediately turning and rushing to the top of the arc, afraid of leaving Garnett even the slightest opening. Kirilenko and Joe Johnson on the weak side also closely guarded Pierce and Raja Bell, respectively.
In the entire three-second zone, only Yao Ming remained to guard the area.
Andrei Miller once again circled over the screen, Wade lowered his center of gravity, slumped his shoulders, and took a step past Miller on the right, accelerating directly towards the paint.
Yao Ming was prepared and immediately moved a step to the side in the middle, raising his arms to block Wade's floater and layup attempts.
Just then, Big Ben, having finished his cover, made his move down.
As Big Ben rushed to the edge of the paint, before Yao Ming could raise his arm to block, he turned around, lowered his center of gravity, and used his thick back and lower body strength to shield Yao Ming behind him. With his knees slightly bent, Big Ben adopted a standard position for boxing out and rebounding under the basket, keeping his center of gravity extremely low to block Yao Ming's lower body movement path.
Yao Ming was heavier than Big Ben, but Big Ben's strength was among the best in the league. Big Ben took a half-step ahead to get into position, his lower body as stable as if rooted to the ground. Yao Ming was about to take a step forward to tackle Wade when Wallace held him Big Ben in place, preventing him from taking even half a step.
Wade rushed a step inside the free-throw line, looked at Yao Ming who was behind him, calmly jumped, flicked his wrist slightly, and the basketball went over the front and fell steadily into the net.
An easy floater went in, making it 4-10.
After scoring, Wade casually gave Ben Wallace a high five as he retreated on defense.
Lin Qi on the sidelines nodded slightly. This tactical design was not intended to allow Big Ben to score, but rather to utilize his lower body strength and positioning instincts to create a path for the ball handler in the penalty area filled with tall players.
In the next possession, the Nets' offense failed, and the Celtics pushed the ball back to run the same Boston Pick-and-Roll.
Garnett bounced the ball out to take Brand away again, and Wade drove straight to the middle. This time, Ben Wallace cut to the Big Ben faster and positioned himself deeper, effectively blocking Yao Ming's lower body on the left side of the rim. Yao Ming was afraid of being called for a pushing foul by the baseline referee, Dick Bavetta, so he didn't dare to push him and could only raise his hands, trapped on the other side of the rim.
A wide, unattended road suddenly appeared on the right side of the three-second zone.
Facing the empty basket, Wade didn't even slow down. He charged up, pushed off the ground with one foot, and slammed the basketball into the hoop with his right hand.
6 to 10!
After failing to score twice under the basket, Yao Ming became impatient. He turned around and spread his hands at baseline referee Dick Bavetta: "Hey, Dick, he was blocking me under the basket and preventing me from helping on defense. That's a screen foul!"
Referee Bavetta shook his head as he ran back. "Yao, that was normal positioning under the basket. He was already in position before you moved, and he didn't pull or spread out at all."
On the ABC commentary desk, Al Michael looked at the replay with a puzzled expression. "Wait, Hubie, we need to take a good look at those two plays. Ben Wallace cut to the basket with his back to Yao Ming, it looked like he was boxing out for an offensive rebound, but Wade had just driven to the free-throw line and the ball was still in Wade hands. Was that a rebound or a screen?"
Hubie Brown stared at the monitor for several seconds, then slammed his hand on the table and couldn't help but laugh out loud, "That's brilliant, Al. I've coached for thirty years, and this is the first time I've seen anyone combine a pick-and-roll with rebounding and positioning. It's like the offensive tackle in front of the running back in football, creating better space for the running back to drive."
"What do you mean?" Michael pressed.
"Look at Big Ben's movements," Hubie Brown explained, pointing to the big screen. "A normal pick-and-roll involves standing facing the defender. In the crowded paint, even the slightest movement of your foot will be called a moving screen foul. But after Big Ben rolled to the basket, he immediately turned around, using his back and lower body to box out Yao Ming. It's only natural for an interior player to use their back to box out for the ball and rebound in the paint. As long as he gets into position early and his hand movements are clean, the referee won't even blow the whistle."
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, sitting in the first row on the sidelines, were dumbfounded.
"You can do that?" Matt Damon turned to Lin Qi. "Is this the method you were talking about?"
Lin Qi picked up his beer mug, took a sip, and pointed to the court with a smile, "We call this move the ' Wallace screen.' As long as Ben blocks Yao Ming's lower body when he cuts to the basket, even for just a second, Dwyane can easily make a floater. If he blocks it tightly like he did just now, there's an open basket right in front of him, and whether he goes for a layup or a dunk depends entirely on Dwyane's mood."
Brad Pete, standing nearby, couldn't help but exclaim, "That move truly makes the most of Ben Wallace's physical gifts!"
On the court, the Nets inbound the ball again.
The pace of the game subtly shifted dramatically at that moment.