Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

Coming to the frontcourt, Jokic took a quick look at the defensive situation, then reached out for the ball in the low post on the right side. The Lakers had already scored two goals in a row, so he had to do something.

When the ball came in, Jokic played with his back to the basket...

Seeing Jokic playing with his back to the basket, but his eyes were lingering on his teammates, Zhuang Yu immediately knew what he was thinking and shouted to his teammates, "Guard your own people. Zubac, guard his right hand, be careful he turns around..."

Unfortunately, before he could finish his words, Jokic turned around, grabbed the basketball with his right hand and made a small hook shot. The basketball bounced off the backboard and finally fell into the net.

Zubac smiled at Zhuang Yu.

Zhuang Yu didn't say anything, and Zubac's reaction was still a beat slow. By the time he heard his reminder, it was too late for him to respond.

After scoring the goal, Jokic ran back while turning his head to look at Zhuang Yu. He was a little surprised. If he hadn't reacted quickly and been resolute enough, the ball might have been blocked.

But how could Zhuang Yu know how he was going to fight?

Jokic's plan for this ball was to press inside. If the Lakers helped defend, he would pass the ball to Murray for a three-pointer. If the Lakers did not help defend, he would press forward one step and make a turnaround hook shot.

However, Zhuang Yu's reminder prevented him from taking another step forward and getting closer to the basket. He could only turn over and hook the ball in advance. Fortunately, the ball went in.

The score became 2:5.

......

Several rounds passed in the blink of an eye.

The Lakers still had the upper hand in these rounds. Zhuang Yu did not score any more points, but he made an assist.

On the Nuggets side, Jokic scored two more points.

After just a few rounds, Jokic's expression became a little solemn, because he found that Zhuang Yu could always see through his intentions and remind his teammates in time.

Of course, the two were not playing in the same position, so by the time Zhuang Yu reminded his teammates, they might not have had time to respond.

But this still makes Jokic feel a little uncomfortable.

For example, when he asked for the ball in the low post, Zubac, who was defending him, found it difficult to judge whether he wanted to attack himself or attract the defense and then pass the ball to create opportunities for his teammates. Zhuang Yu was always able to accurately judge his intentions and remind Zubac.

"Pick and roll."

After Murray came to the frontcourt, he made a gesture. Jokic went to the line and made a pick-and-roll for Murray. Murray moved to the right and then passed the ball back to Jokic.

Jokic made a gesture to Barton, who moved over here and the two of them passed the ball to each other.

Jokic passed the ball to Barton, and at the same time turned sideways to screen Barton and block Zhuang Yu.

"Defend and don't let him shoot a three-pointer."

"cast......"

Two voices sounded almost at the same time. One was Zhuang Yu's voice, reminding his teammates to quickly go up and defend and not let Barton shoot a three-pointer; the other was Jokic's voice, reminding Barton to shoot a three-pointer immediately after getting rid of the opponent.

At this moment, both the Lakers players and Barton were a little surprised. They did not expect to hear the voices of Zhuang Yu and Jokic at the same time.

What Jokic wanted was to use this screen to let Barton shoot a three-pointer directly, and Zhuang Yu also predicted it accurately.

The two people's ideas coincided with each other.

For a moment, both Barton and Zubac stopped where they were. Barton did not shoot, and Zubac did not jump on the ball.

Zhuang Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry about this situation, and Jokic was the same. He shouted to Barton again: "Shoot."

Oh.

Barton reacted, but Zubac also reacted. The two acted almost at the same time. Barton jumped up and Zubac also pounced over.

boom!

The basketball hit the basket, bounced up, and then fell back in.

"call......"

Barton breathed a sigh of relief, this opportunity almost wasted.

Zubac was a little depressed and secretly blamed himself for being a beat slow to react. When Zhuang Yu called him, he should have rushed over without thinking about anything else.

On this side, Zhuang Yu and Jokic looked at each other at the same time.

Their eyes collided in the air, with invisible sparks, but at the same time, a feeling of mutual appreciation arose in their hearts.

"It's a pity that Zubac's reaction was still a little slow. If it was a little faster, this ball could have been defended."

"Barton was lucky. The ball bounced off the rim and went in."

"Tsk tsk, did you hear that just now? Zhuang Yu and Jokic really thought of the same thing."

"This is the collision of top basketball IQs. Even though the two are not directly facing each other, the collision between them happens all the time."

In the audience, fans were discussing the game with great interest.

Zhuang Yu and Jokic are not in the same position, and they have not had any direct conflict, so let’s not talk about who is stronger. Just talking about basketball IQ, there is no doubt that both of them are top-notch.

In fact, not only in the last attack, but also in the previous few rounds, the two players' top basketball IQs were affecting the game.

When Jokic was attacking with the ball, Zhuang Yu could always predict what he was going to do in advance, and when Zhuang Yu was attacking, Jokic would always remind his teammates in advance so that they could make the right response...

This is an invisible contest, not as vivid and direct as a direct confrontation, but the artistic conception is more profound.

The game continues...

......

In a blink of an eye, the first quarter was halfway through, the score was 1:17, and the Lakers were leading by two points.

In the past few minutes, both the Lakers and the Nuggets played very well, especially Zhuang Yu and Jokic, but their strengths were different.

Contrary to people's expectations, in the past few minutes, Zhuang Yu did not score crazily. Instead, he performed well in organizing the offense. In just a few minutes, he had already made 4 assists.

Jokic also changed his previous playing style and played very aggressively on the offensive end. He asked for the ball in the low post many times and then played one-on-one, and he was very determined.

After a few minutes, Zhuang Yu scored 5 points and 4 assists, while Jokic scored 8 points and 3 rebounds, but only had one assist.

At this time, the Lakers called a timeout.

After the players came off the court, Coach Scott first made a substitution, replacing Cunningham with Zubac.

Then he spread out the tactical board and made some arrangements.

The main emphasis is on defense, and the players are required to strengthen their defense against Jokic. When he asks for the ball in the low post, they must go up to assist in defense and not let him play one-on-one as he pleases.

Jokic's athletic ability is not top-notch. He does not have the outstanding explosiveness and top-notch jumping speed of black players, but he has enough height and weight, and his footwork is very flexible under the basket. He can always use changes in his footwork to gain shooting space.

Of course, the most important point is that his wrist is very flexible and his shooting touch is soft. Whether it is a normal shooting posture or a hook shot, he is very skilled.

Use your height, weight, and footwork to get shooting space, and use your excellent shooting skills to score the ball...

This is how Jokic scores.

He looks very traditional, but not entirely like those traditional centers. He does not need to wait for his teammates to pass the ball to him, nor does he rely on physical fitness to crush his opponents. What is most useful to him is not these, but excellent skills and top basketball IQ.

In a word, in Jokic's view, basketball is a simple thing, and basketball should be simpler - that's right, just put the ball into the basket.

Of course it is easy for him, but it is too difficult for others.

There are exceptions.

For example, Zhuang Yu.

The reason why the two of them have a feeling of mutual admiration is that they have the same understanding of basketball. Zhuang Yu also thinks that basketball is very simple and that the basketball should be put into the basket in the simplest and most effective way.

"Guard Jokic well later." Coach Scott reminded again.

Zhuang Yu opened his mouth. He wanted to give a reminder. He thought Jokic would definitely change his playing style after this timeout.

A smart player will never use the same style of play from the first quarter to the fourth quarter. He will adjust himself according to the opponent's different defensive strategies.

This is true for LeBron James, Zhuang Yu, and Jokic - and they all have one thing in common, which is that they have extremely high basketball IQ.

But in the end, Zhuang Yu didn't say it out loud.

It didn't happen, it was just his expectation. He didn't have enough reasons to convince others, so it wasn't worth refutating the coach.

......

Soon, the pause ends.

Both sides returned to the court. The Lakers replaced Kuzma, while the Nuggets replaced Barton and Millsap with Gary Harris and Michael Porter Jr.

Millsap today is not as good as before. He has long lost the level of an All-Star player. His playing time with the Nuggets has been further compressed this season, averaging only about 20 minutes per game.

After this substitution, the Nuggets changed to a lineup of one big and four small players. Except for Jokic, the other four were outside players.

Lakers possession of the ball.

After Holiday came to the front court, he looked at Zhuang Yu, who waved at him. Holiday then called a pick-and-roll, and then broke through to attack the basket. Facing Jokic's defense, he did not choose to layup himself, but passed the ball to Anderson, who also broke through and passed the ball to Zhuang Yu.

When Zhuang Yu got the ball, a figure flashed in front of him and Porter Jr. rushed over, raising one hand high to block in front of him, always on guard against him shooting three-pointers.

"After changing to this lineup, the Nuggets' switching defense is indeed faster." Zhuang Yu said to himself and was not in a hurry to shoot.

After changing to one big and four small players, the Nuggets' switching and helping defense on the perimeter became faster, and they were also able to better limit Zhuang Yu's three-point shots.

However, this time Zhuang Yu did not throw, but instead made an accelerated breakthrough.

Porter Jr. hurriedly retreated and moved sideways, but immediately afterwards Zhuang Yu changed direction in front of him.

Now Porter Jr. was passed and could only watch Zhuang Yu rushing to the inside. Jokic stepped forward and stood in front of Zhuang Yu, trying to judge how Zhuang Yu would finish the ball.

The next moment, Jokic responded. He stared at Zhuang Yu's hand and did not act in a hurry. He waited until Zhuang Yu asked for help before suddenly stepping forward.

This is to compress Zhuang Yu's shooting space and disrupt his shooting rhythm. When you are about to make a move with the ball and the defender suddenly rushes over, most people will definitely panic and subconsciously weigh the pros and cons and carefully protect the ball first.

Even if you take action, you will often be affected.

However, for Zhuang Yu, this is not a problem.

Jokic made an advance prediction, and Zhuang Yu also predicted his prediction. Before Jokic came forward, Zhuang Yu had already made a plan. After the ball was passed, he jumped up, held the basketball in one hand and threw it towards the basket, ignoring Jokic completely.

The arc of this lob shot was very high, so high that Jokic had to look up to see it, let alone block it.

Zhuang Yu predicted Jokic's prediction, so he chose this way of shooting. It looks exaggerated, but it is very effective. It can ensure that Jokic can't touch the basketball no matter what, so his defensive interference to Zhuang Yu will not be that great.