"One star, four shooters?!"
Mark Jackson continued, his tone filled with doubt.
"Yes."
Jon Barry explained, "'Superman' Howard stays alone inside, while the perimeter is filled entirely with shooters. Once Howard uses his overwhelming individual ability to draw heavy defensive attention in the paint, he kicks the ball out.
Then the shooters start firing in waves, using three after three to score.
That is 'one star, four shooters,' a system almost tailor-made for 'Superman' Howard. Its efficiency is extremely high.
Back then.
The whole world was watching the '23' vs '24' matchup, but Howard was the one who blocked it. Even 'King James' LeBron could not withstand the firepower of 'one star, four shooters.'"
"That's right."
Mark Jackson explained further, "Some people might think, doesn't that still mean relying on outside shooting to score?!
Doesn't that mean the idea that the closer you are to the basket, the easier it is to score no longer holds true?!
No!
It still holds true.
Because the most important prerequisite for 'one star, four shooters' is that the player inside must be threatening enough. In other words, the closer 'Superman' Howard gets to the basket, the easier it is for him to score.
That is what forces opponents to commit more defenders to stopping him.
Only then do the perimeter players get opportunities to shoot, and only then can they better turn those shots into points. So... there is no contradiction at all.
Right now.
There are only 41 seconds left.
The Suns are down by 5. Because they have Blake Su, this 'man born for game-winners,' they still have a chance in theory.
However.
The Magic also have the two-time DPOY, 'Superman' Howard. Trying to erase a 5-point deficit in 41 seconds against his defense is truly not easy.
Of course.
Whether they can do it or not, we'll only know after the timeout, when the final 42-second battle unfolds. Now... let's all look forward to it."
On the Suns bench.
Alvin Gentry held the tactical board and shouted to the players, "Forty-one seconds, a 5-point deficit. We still have a chance. First, get a quick two.
Then.
Stop them once. Even if they burn 24 seconds, that's fine, but we must get the stop. After that, on the final possession, we hit a three to tie the game.
Of course.
If our first shot is also a three, then we'll be going for the game-winner.
I know this won't be easy, but we can try. We have Blake Su, we have Curry, and we have plenty of accurate shooters.
Guys.
We can do this!"
"Oh!"
Everyone answered in unison.
They had not fallen into despair to begin with, and Gentry's encouragement undoubtedly gave them even more confidence. Lose the game? It was still too early for that.
On the Magic bench.
The players were basically already in a winning mood. With only 41 seconds left, chasing 5 straight points was extremely difficult.
However.
Stan Van Gundy warned everyone to stay calm. With Blake Su, who had exploded for 35 points in a single quarter, they truly could not relax.
"Hiss!"
Hearing "35 points in a single quarter" again, the Magic players could not help drawing in another cold breath. They all realized that the Suns still had the "Monster Rookie."
They really could not relax!
Howard roared, "Lock Blake Su down on the perimeter. Leave the paint to me. If he dares come inside, I'll give him a block that covers the sky!"
"Oh!"
The players nodded.
Both teams arranged their offensive and defensive tactics, and the arena atmosphere was roaring with noise. Soon, the timeout ended, and the final 41-second battle arrived.
The Suns trailed by 5.
Suns ball.
Steve Nash inbounded from the sideline near midcourt.
Lewis and Bass stuck to Blake Su like mad, giving him no chance to catch and shoot. But... that allowed Curry to curl out on the other side.
"Whoosh!"
Steve Nash decisively passed it over.
"Pop!"
Curry caught the ball and wanted to swing it back to Blake Su, but with just a fake pass, Nelson lunged straight toward him. Curry suddenly had a clear lane to attack the basket.
"Whoosh!"
Go!
Curry charged in, accelerating into the paint. Facing Howard, who was guarding the rim, he went up for a running floater, trying to steal a quick basket.
Only.
He still underestimated "Superman" Howard's defensive ability.
"Step!"
With one hard plant, Howard flew up like a demon god descending from the sky. His long arm stretched out like it could blot out the sun, and he swatted the ball away head-on.
"Whoa!"
The fans' eyes widened, and waves of startled cries rang out.
"What a leap! As expected of a back-to-back DPOY. Howard's volleyball-style block. This block might kill the game!"
Jon Barry growled.
On the court.
The ball he swatted flew quickly toward the right side above the arc, heading toward the stands. But... at that moment, Blake Su, who had already been in the right-side area, lunged after it.
"Pop!"
He saved the ball at the absolute limit.
At that moment, he was at the right 45-degree angle above the arc, and... he was facing the stands. But in the next second, wanting to grab a quick shot, he spun directly around.
Without knowing whether there was a defender behind him.
"Whoosh!"
He turned and fired a slightly fading three with his back originally to the basket.
"Step!"
"Step!"
Lewis and Bass, who had been following him closely, once again threw four huge hands up into his face. Blake Su raised the arc of the shot and barely got the ball out.
This shot was incredibly difficult!
"Clang!"
The spinning ball hit the rim and bounced high. Just as everyone thought it would bounce out, the falling ball dropped straight into the net.
"Swish!"
Good!
"Unbelievable!"
"Blake Su hits this insanely difficult back-to-the-basket turnaround three. The deficit is only 2 points now, and there are still 30.3 seconds left. The Suns really have a chance to pull off the comeback."
Jon Barry was beyond excited.
Mark Jackson's eyes widened too, but he stayed relatively calm. "The Suns have hope, but this next defensive possession is crucial."
As he spoke.
On the court.
Nelson brought the ball over and held it above the arc. With a 2-point lead in hand, the Magic were in no hurry to attack. They wanted to drain as much time as possible.
With 10 seconds left.
"Step!"
"Superman" Howard came up to set a screen. Nelson used the pick and accelerated down the left wing, attacking the basket. But the instant George's help defense followed him,
"Whoosh!"
he sent a lateral bounce pass to Howard rolling after the screen.
"Pop!"
Howard was already moving when he caught the ball at the free-throw line. He took one step forward, gathered it, and flew up with the ball in his hand, like Superman returning, ready to split the mountain with a thunderous dunk!
Under the basket, Frye looked at Howard exploding upward and had no ability to jump and block him at all. If this flying dunk went in, it would kill the game outright!
"'Superman' Howard jumps too high, and his explosiveness is terrifying. Frye has no way to defend him. Is this going to be a dunk? Wow, Blake Su rushed out!
My god!
Blake Su jumped even earlier than Howard. His right hand, swung high and straight, meets the ball head-on just as Howard is about to dunk, and he blocks Howard... down?
No!
He didn't block it away?!"