Yang Shuai had just sat down when Jones behind him handed him a throat lozenge. After peeling off the candy coating and popping it into his mouth, he fixed his gaze on the court.
Coach K and his Blue Devils were not so easily defeated, but as long as the Demon Deacons could establish some momentum, a comeback was far from impossible. And if they managed it, it would be a career highlight—for both the team and himself.
After the timeout, the Blue Devils brought Jon Scheyer in for Lance Thomas. Once they advanced to the frontcourt, just two simple pick-and-rolls put Henderson on Curry, and the rest of the Blue Devils spread out. Coach K's meaning was clear: since the Demon Deacons had no intention of letting the Blue Devils run their offense properly, he would single out a matchup. Curry was decent at help defense, but his body made him a defensive liability in one-on-one situations. Henderson chose a post-up from the high post; with the Demon Deacons providing weak-side help, he turned straight to the baseline and hit a fading turnaround jumper. The basketball traced an arc through the air and dropped cleanly into the net. As long as he wasn't facing Ibaka, Henderson was still that top-ten national high school prospect from the class of 2006.
Once they settled into the half-court game, the Demon Deacons stuck to the same approach, using Ibaka and Curry's spacing to create driving lanes for Westbrook. The Blue Devils continued to sag off Ibaka—not because Coach K didn't respect him, but because between guarding Ibaka and guarding Curry, he chose to bet that Ibaka couldn't keep hitting shots.
"Swish!"
Accompanied by a sharp sound, Ibaka's midrange jumper fell again.
On the change of possession, Henderson kept hunting Curry. This time the Demon Deacons helped early; Henderson kicked it out, continued to post up, and after receiving the next pass, he spun into a sudden stop and fadeaway jumper that went in again.
The Demon Deacons' small-ball lineup rotated quickly, but doubling an outside player was much harder than doubling an inside player.
"Curry makes Gerald Henderson look like Michael Jordan," Eric Williams remarked after those two possessions. Curry had been a complete negative on this stretch.
Ian Eagle turned his gaze to the Demon Deacons' bench again, and the arena cameras focused on Yang Shuai at the same time, but Yang Shuai showed no intention of getting up to make a substitution.
"Their head coach still lacks experience," Eric Williams couldn't help but shake his head.
The Demon Deacons ran the same play after advancing the ball. After scoring on two consecutive half-court possessions, they naturally had no reason to adjust. The Blue Devils kept their defense compact, just as Yang Shuai refused to let McRoberts post down low, Coach K wouldn't let Westbrook drive and score easily—because once they found their rhythm, their destruction of the defensive system would be devastating.
But this time was different: the Blue Devils had to take Ibaka seriously. Ibaka caught the ball in the same spot and ran into Blue Devils help defense. However, the Demon Deacons' offense didn't stop there. At the same moment, Curry moved with the help defender toward Ibaka. After a simple hand-off, Ibaka turned and set a screen, while Curry stepped back behind it to the three-point line and launched a three-pointer. From movement to catch to release, it was all one fluid motion, and the ball's trajectory was true.
"Swish!"
With a sharp sound, Curry's three-pointer found the net. Although Henderson had scored twice against him, Curry's mindset was completely unaffected.
"Jay, my mom once said, don't rush to judgment on things you don't understand," Ian Eagle said with a smile, also teaching Eric Williams how to be a good broadcaster.
Not everyone could become a "big mouth" like Charles Barkley—in fact, Barkley was on another level.
Eric Williams was momentarily speechless. He suddenly recalled the scene from the two teams' first regular-season meeting, when he had said Curry was a Wake Forest recruiting miss, only for Curry to deliver a buzzer-beating deep three that topped The Associated Press headlines.
Now Curry had become Yang Shuai. If Yang Shuai pulled one off too, wouldn't he be... following up being Yao Ming's backdrop in the NBA with another one in the broadcast booth?
He turned his gaze back to Curry on the court. Although Curry's mental toughness was strong, his defensive problems remained. A three-pointer was worth one more than a two-pointer, but even Curry couldn't guarantee every shot, and Henderson had his number. Not to mention that being targeted repeatedly, the heavy defensive energy expenditure would inevitably affect his shooting touch.
Just then, Yang Shuai stood up from the bench—the first time he had risen since becoming acting head coach. Was Yang Shuai about to take Curry out? Was he just slow to react because he was nervous?
As Eric Williams was thinking that, Yang Shuai shouted something from the sideline and made a tactical signal. The Demon Deacons retreated to their defensive end and set up a 2-3 zone.
In the 1990s, the NBA banned zones for entertainment value, but in the NAA, zone defense was a required course for every team. Zones came in several types, each with a different purpose. Like in their earlier regular-season matchup, Prosser had once deployed a 3-2 zone to pressure the opposing perimeter players and speed up transition offense.
The main purpose of Yang Shuai's 2-3 zone now was to protect Curry. Once the 2-3 zone was set, Curry stood in the weak-side corner—the safest position in a zone. Of course, zones have weaknesses. The biggest weakness of a 2-3 zone is the open three-pointer from the front.
The Blue Devils showed quick adjustments, quickly swinging the ball to Nelson for an open three at the top of the key. But Nelson's three-pointer hit the back of the rim and bounced out. After Ibaka secured the defensive rebound, the Demon Deacons pushed the pace. Advancing quickly to the frontcourt, Curry cut from the wing, received Westbrook's pass, and hit a sudden stop-and-floater.
On the next possession, the Blue Devils continued to hunt outside threes. This time Paulus took the shot from the right 45-degree angle, but his three also clanged off the rim. The long rebound was tipped directly to Westbrook by Drum. Westbrook floored it, raced to the frontcourt, and slammed a dunk.
The crowd erupted. After a stretch of traded baskets, the Demon Deacons finally broke the deadlock, cutting the deficit to one point in one breath.
"The Demon Deacons' defensive adjustment is working. The Blue Devils' inability to hit threes isn't just a matter of touch; since the opening tip, except for isolation plays, they haven't gotten a good look," Eric Williams analyzed. A player's touch needs to be cultivated, especially three-point shooting. Someone like Curry, who can knock down threes while being hunted, is a top-tier shooter.
"Very professional analysis," Ian Eagle nodded with a smile. This was what Eric Williams, a former professional player, should do: use his expertise to analyze why the game's momentum had shifted. What also comforted him was Eric Williams's change in attitude—heeding advice pays off. Eric Williams still had a future in broadcasting.
Coach K did not call a timeout this time. He stood up and made a new tactical signal. The Blue Devils adjusted their zone offense, with McRoberts stepping up to the free-throw line. Breaking a zone was never just about threes; a 1-3-1 offensive set could do it too, attacking the weak spot in the zone's free-throw-line defense.
McRoberts caught the ball at the free-throw line and had a midrange look, but he didn't shoot directly. Instead, he used a shot fake to draw Ibaka's defense, then kicked it out to Henderson cutting along the baseline. Henderson went up for a layup, but the man who gave him nightmares even in his sleep appeared again. Ibaka turned back on defense, forcing Henderson into a high-difficulty reverse layup, and the ball rolled out.
Whether a 3-2 zone or a 2-3 zone, the foundation of the Demon Deacons' zone success was Ibaka's excellent interior defense. Ibaka secured the defensive rebound. This time the Blue Devils got back on defense quickly and didn't allow the Demon Deacons to keep running transition offense.
In the Demon Deacons' half-court set, because Ibaka and Curry had been hitting outside shots in a row, the Blue Devils' defenders were now clearly hesitant on defense, and that hesitation gave Westbrook an opportunity. He drove straight into McRoberts and scored, helping the Demon Deacons complete the comeback and take the lead!
"I have to correct what I said before. Their acting head coach may be young, but his in-game adjustment skills are excellent." If Eric Williams's earlier analysis had a hint of forcing himself to say it, now he was genuinely convinced.
"He found the only way to turn the game around," Ian Eagle chimed in with a smile. He felt that even Prosser might not have done what Yang Shuai did tonight. It wasn't that Prosser was inferior to Yang Shuai; it was a matter of understanding and choices. Yang Shuai's choice was bold and risky, but it was the only way to reverse the game.
As they were speaking, the arena cameras cut to the Demon Deacons' bench again, this time focusing directly on Yang Shuai—the camera work was dramatic. The crowd's cheers shook the arena. In their hearts, Yang Shuai had become a savior!
Chapter 25