"And your defense," Gary Payton scoffed, walking less than half a step away from Wade. "Don't think that just because you chase down a few shots on the weak side and make the top ten plays, you're a top defender. Your defense against the ball handler is seriously flawed."
Gary Payton adopted a defensive stance, lowering his weight and placing his left hand at his side. "You're tall enough, broad-framed, and your physical strength is top-notch for a guard. But when you're guarding at the top of the key, you always jump around recklessly, always trying to gamble on a steal or block. Someone does a simple pump fake, and you lose your balance."
Gary Payton reached out and patted Wade's broad chest hard. "Open your eyes and look behind you! In the paint, there are two Defensive Player of the Year- level help defense monsters, Ben and Kevin, and on the wings, Chris Paul and Raja Bell are watching the passing lanes. You're playing in Boston, you don't need to gamble on stealing the ball on the perimeter! What you need to do is lower your center of gravity, use your chest and left forearm to stick to the opposing point guard, give him physical contact, force him to move to the sideline, force him to stop the ball!"
Gary Payton pointed to the opposite basket, raising his voice. "As long as you make it difficult for the ball handler at the top of the key, forcing him to be a fraction of a second slower in passing, or to pass a high, floating ball, Kevin, Chris Paul, and Raja behind you can immediately pounce on the ball to steal it and launch a fast break! We have the fastest-moving lineup in the league. As long as we rely on perimeter pressure to get our defense, fast breaks, and fast breaks going, we can easily score a dozen or so points per game on fast breaks."
These words enlightened Wade, who realized that perimeter defensive pressure was the key to initiating the team's fast break.
Wade took a deep breath, bent over, and patted his thighs with both hands. "Again! Serve!"
On the sidelines, head coach Rick Carlisle didn't rush to blow the whistle. Instead, he turned around and looked at Lin Qi standing next to him with a strange expression.
"Lin, what kind of spell did you cast on Gary?" Rick Carlisle asked in a low voice, his tone full of disbelief. "Ever since that old guy came back from Venice, although he occasionally gives Dwyane a few pointers during training, he always stops short and mostly just watches from the sidelines. What's wrong with him today? It's like he wants to cram all the skills he's learned in the league over the past ten years into Dwyane's brain."
It's true that veterans are willing to mentor newcomers, but for someone like Gary Payton to share his most valuable experience, such as how to position himself to hold onto the ball and how to allocate energy and ball possession across the four quarters, is like raising his own son.
Lin Qi glanced at Gary Payton, who was tugging at Wade's jersey and making defensive gestures, smiled, and didn't answer directly.
" Gary's a smart man," Lin Qi said slowly. "He's just figured some things out."
Rick Carlisle was completely confused and shook his head. "Although I don't know what secret agreement you reached, this is a huge boon for Boston. Dwyane's physical talent is already terrifyingly high. If he can really learn 70-80% of Gary's ability to control the game's tempo and defend the perimeter, every guard in the league will have nightmares every night."
"So in the upcoming regular season, give them more time to play together or interact off the court," Lin Qi said, closing the lid of his thermos. "Blow the whistle, Rick, and see how fast this kid learns."
Rick Carlisle nodded, put the whistle in his mouth, and blew the whistle to signal the continuation of the confrontation.
"Watch your positioning on the court," Gary Payton tossed the ball to Raja Bell on the baseline. "Keep attacking, starters. Let's see if you've learned your lesson."
Wade received the ball at the top of the key. Facing Gary Payton's close chest, he didn't force a shoulder press like before. He turned sideways to protect the ball with his back, glanced at the court's positioning, and passed the ball to Garnett was moving up to the elbow area of the free-throw line.
The moment he passed the ball, Wade pretended to move to the right, then suddenly changed direction with a burst of speed, cutting straight to the basket while sticking close to Garnett's back. Gary Payton, who was defending him, was blocked by Garnett's large frame, Garnett understood perfectly. He flicked his wrist, sending a bounce pass through the gap in the defense, right into the hands of Wade was cutting into the paint.
Wade received the ball and stepped forward, then flicked it with his wrist against Chandler who was coming to help defend, passing the ball to Ben Wallace who was following up on the right baseline. Big Ben Wallace caught the ball, stood still, and slammed the ball into the basket with both hands.
The game transitions from offense to defense; the substitutes serve from the baseline.
Tyronn Lue dribbled the ball up the court. This time, Wade crossed the mid-court line early, no longer trying to steal the ball from Lue, but instead shifting his weight to Lue's chest height, his left forearm subtly pressing against Lue's waist, his footwork solid as if rooted to the ground, driving Lue step by step towards the left sideline corner.
Tyronn Lue tried two crossovers but couldn't shake off Wade's tight chest defense. With eight seconds left on the shot clock, he could only barely stop the ball and jump to try and lob it to Rasheed Wallace at the high post.
Because of Wade's close pressure, the pass was released too high, and the ball was half a beat slower.
Garnett, who had been hovering near the free-throw line, took a step forward, his long arms intercepting the ball mid-air, and then smoothly pushed it forward.
Chris Paul Pierce on the wing had already started his run, received the ball, stepped into the three-point line, took three big strides into the air, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand.
"Well done, Dwyane!" Garnett slapped Wade on the shoulder as he ran back to half the court. "Just keep defending like that, drive them to the sideline, and leave the rest to me!"
The bench inbounded the ball again. Gary Payton took the ball from Tyronn Lue, signaling to create space for a one-on-one against Wade.
Gary Payton dribbled to the left side of the free-throw line extension and suddenly made a convincing shooting fake. Wade simply extended his right hand to block Gary Payton's forehead, his chest still blocking Gary Payton's driving path.
Gary Payton failed to get Wade to move up, and was forced to dribble laterally towards the middle, only to fall headfirst into Ben Wallace's help defense trap, where the basketball in his hands was slapped away by Big Ben.
Wade bent down to retrieve the ball from the floor, then immediately looked up to launch a counterattack.
As Wade rushed to the top of the key, the bench defense had already taken their positions. Wade slowed down slightly and called for Garnett and Big Ben to move up simultaneously to run Boston Pick-and-Roll.
After using Big Ben's screen to cut into the free-throw line, Wade cleverly used Chandler's retreating defense to protect the rim. He leaned back with his left shoulder, using his hips and back to block Tyronn Lue's pursuit, and took a step laterally inside the free-throw line.
This lateral dribble threw Chandler off balance, causing him to instinctively take a large step forward to block Wade's floater.
Just as Chandler shifted his weight forward, Wade, with his eyes on the basket, flicked his right wrist behind his head.
The basketball flew over Prince, who was rushing out to intercept, and landed precisely in Garnett's hands, who had bounced off a screen and landed at the top of the arc on the three-point line.
When Garnett received the ball, there was no one within three meters of him. He calmly adjusted his breathing, bent his knees, and jumped to shoot.
"Whoosh!"
The crisp sound of the ball swishing through the net echoed in the training hall. Rick Carlisle blew the whistle for a break on the sidelines, and the young players on the bench cheered in unison.