CHAPTER 476: CHAPTER 388: NO WAY TO DEFEND

"F*ck, so weak." Mitchell complained about Gobert’s inside offensive abilities.

Gobert’s technical movements looked too rough.

The Jazz’s offense came again, Rubio brought the ball to the frontcourt and bounced it to Ingles on the other side.

Ingles is a top-tier 3D player, he couldn’t do too many dribbling attacks, so he bounced the ball to Favors.

Favors attacked Gordon from the low post, compared to Gordon, Favors is more like a genuine power forward.

Favors dribbled forcefully at Gordon.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Consecutive collisions inside, Favors spun smoothly around him.

Gordon got beat, and Favors chose a layup.

But Jokic’s defensive coverage area was bigger than Favors imagined.

Jokic rushed over and blocked the ball before it hit the backboard.

"Slap!"

The force of that block was quite strong.

The rebound dropped and was caught by Ingles beyond the three-point line.

Ingles quickly took a three-point shot.

At this moment, a figure flew in at full speed.

"Slap!"

Zeng Xingyang arrived swiftly, cleanly blocking the ball again.

However, the ball was just brushed by fingertips, it wasn’t blocked out of bounds, the basketball changed trajectory and was caught by Butler.

Butler dribbled past half court, and passed the ball to Jokic at the free-throw line.

Jokic posed for a shot, and Gobert rushed to defend.

"I won’t let you shoot," Gobert shouted.

Jokic was Gobert’s nemesis, Gobert was too familiar with Jokic’s offensive moves and routines.

Jokic switched from shooting to driving.

Jokic’s dribbling is top-tier among centers, which allows him to easily complete many inside handling actions.

Jokic couldn’t stretch the inside out for a one-on-one, but such a drive was crisp, Gobert got beaten.

However, the Jazz weren’t unprepared for this, Favors and Ingles double-teamed Jokic.

Jokic wasn’t confident about holding the ball, he chose to pass the ball out again.

At this time, Zeng Xingyang was slightly open beyond the three-point line.

Zeng Xingyang didn’t hesitate to take the ball and shoot a three-pointer, after Rubio momentarily lost position, it was too late to defend.

"Swish!"

The three-pointer went in steadily.

"Another assist from Jokic, this time feeding Zeng Xingyang for a three-pointer."

"Jokic is very aware of his teammates’ positions, it can be said that through a finals workout, Jokic has grown again."

"Zeng Xingyang maintains a very stable state beyond the three-point line, which he needs to do in this lineup."

The Nuggets play more and more comfortably, yes, it’s that comfortable feeling.

On consecutive possessions, their offense was handled very smoothly.

"Pick and roll!"

"Play the mismatch."

Schneider shouted quickly from the sidelines after Rubio dribbled past half court.

Rubio also gestured with three fingers, this was the number 3 play, letting Mitchell isolate against Jokic.

The Jazz had already discovered Mitchell’s outstanding offensive capabilities during training and preseason games, so they wanted to try using this method to break open the game.

The ball quickly went into Mitchell’s hands, Gobert screened and blocked Butler, Jokic switched to defend Mitchell.

Jokic has been considered one of the weak links in the Nuggets’ defense, particularly when defending the perimeter, Jokic struggles to keep up with players like Curry and Harden.

After Mitchell matched up with Jokic, he didn’t hesitate, but exploded to the right side, accelerating and charging.

In the original NBA, Mitchell exploded in his rookie season, averaging 20+3.7+3.7, performing very well.

Mitchell’s speed was very fast, Jokic indeed had a bit of trouble keeping up.

But the Nuggets were prepared for such an offense, their defense was very layered, and Siakam quickly provided help.

Although Mitchell played well, he was still a rookie, his offense was a bit impatient, he didn’t pass to Gobert when he saw Siakam’s help but chose a floater.

Gobert’s previous offense made Mitchell have some doubt.

But Siakam’s wingspan was very long, giving heavy interference to Mitchell.

"Clank!"

The basketball hit the rim and bounced high, and the rebound was steadily grabbed by the returning Jokic.

"Wonderful defense, Siakam’s timely help rendered Mitchell’s offense ineffective," Zhang Weiping shouted.

Schneider couldn’t have anticipated that, after Jokic got beat, the Nuggets’ help defense would come so fast.

Siakam’s defense mainly relied on his talent; he had strong athletic ability, then his height and wingspan were greater than power forwards, which allowed him to guard multiple positions.

This was also why Mike Malone preferred to use him to replace the starter.

This Nuggets lineup’s defense would give every team a headache.

The Nuggets’ counterattack came very quickly, which was also one of their advantages, all five players could hold the ball and counter.

Jokic held the ball, advancing with effort, before crossing half court he forcefully passed the ball to the right to Zeng Xingyang.

Zeng Xingyang sped up, continuing to put pressure on the Jazz inside.

The only players back for the Jazz were Ingles and Rubio, both of whom rushed towards Zeng Xingyang.

Zeng Xingyang didn’t look back, resolutely throwing the ball into the middle skyward.

To whom?

Gordon rose into the air, receiving Zeng Xingyang’s pass, grabbing it with one hand, slamming it fiercely against Ingles.

"Ka-boom!!"

"Bang!"

Gordon completed the poster dunk, knocking Ingles down at the same time.

"Ah!!!"

Gordon hung onto the rim with one hand and roared fiercely.

The Denver Pepsi Center quickly reached a climax, fans screamed from the sidelines.

This is the Nuggets’ exclusive offense they’ve long awaited.

Fluent, full of impact!!

A feast for the eyes.

After landing, Gordon high-fived Zeng Xingyang to celebrate as they returned on defense.

Zeng Xingyang smiled, he really liked the Nuggets’ current style of play, everyone played very comfortably.

The Jazz offense, this time was three passes and two reversals into Rubio’s hands, Rubio simply offset Zeng Xingyang’s rhythm to shoot a three-pointer.

After being abandoned by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rubio gradually realized his shortcomings and worked on improving his three-point shooting.

In Zeng Xingyang’s impression, he did manage to develop it somewhat in the later stages.

However, his three-pointer was slightly disrupted by Zeng Xingyang.

"Clank!"

The basketball slammed off the rim and bounced out.

Jokic again controlled the rebound, then quickly sent the ball to Zeng Xingyang.

Zeng Xingyang caught the ball and accelerated, Mitchell worked hard to catch up to Zeng Xingyang.

This time the Jazz’s defense returned fairly quickly, Zeng Xingyang stopped abruptly outside the three-point line.

Zeng Xingyang’s core strength was extremely strong, allowing him to complete many high-difficulty technical moves.

Zeng Xingyang saw Jokic cutting through the middle, but pretended to look toward Gordon on the right, while the ball in his hand went directly to Jokic.

Jokic had only Rubio defending him from the front in the middle, and Jokic casually took three steps to lay the ball in.

"With this, how do you defend?" Schneider spread his hands helplessly at his assistant coach.

The Nuggets have too many offensive options available.

Zeng Xingyang and Jokic are both versatile offensive players, their attack range from the three-point line to the interior is vast.

Who can withstand that?

The Jazz just couldn’t defend it.