Before the game, veteran coach Jerry Sloan deliberately dragged his increasingly sluggish steps to the Warriors' half court.

Compared to the Sloan of the 1990s who commanded respect effortlessly...

Though he still leads the Jazz, his expression now reveals more tranquility and harmony.

"I've watched many of your games. I really like your style of play, it's a pity you don't play for us."

It's a pity you don't play for us.

Since entering the league, this is definitely the phrase Qin Yue has heard the most.

At this moment, watching Sloan turn away after saying this, Qin Yue wondered, "Did he... come all the way just to compliment me?"

Upon hearing this, Little Deng Liwei gave Qin Yue a rare look and said, "The legendary coach Jerry Sloan has just paid you the highest compliment."

After a pause, Little Deng Liwei added, "People often say that the quality of a pick-and-roll often determines the success of an offensive play.

And receiving praise from the 'King of the Pick-and-Roll,' Jerry Sloan... undoubtedly makes you the 'King of the Pick-and-Roll' among current NBA players.

Even your senior Tim Duncan has never received such praise from Jerry Sloan."

Stubbornness and inability to adapt is indeed the stereotype left to many future fans by Jerry Sloan.

But historically, when that Golden State Gang knocked down Dallas and faced the Utah Plateau, how many people remember that it was Jerry Sloan who, with a wave of his hand, raised the banner of running and gunning basketball and utterly demolished those Warriors with offense?

Though a remnant of a past era, it doesn't mean Jerry Sloan doesn't appreciate the beauty of the new era.

This season, the interspersed running by Warriors players around Qin Yue's pick-and-rolls on the court, in Sloan's eyes, is a beauty unique to them.

Sloan looks forward to this game against the Warriors.

This has nothing to do with the importance of the game.

In the center of the court, after the jump ball, the game officially begins.

On defense, Boozer and Okur stayed near the baseline on either side, while Kirilenko was responsible for leading the defense on the outside.

Meanwhile, Paul and Harpring locked down ball-handler Davis and Artest, who was preparing to set a screen early on the left side, respectively.

This was a standard 2-3 zone defense setup.

Seeing this, Qin Yue directly positioned himself against Kirilenko at the free-throw line.

In the next moment, the Jazz's zone defense was effortlessly broken.

On the sidelines, witnessing this scene, Sloan remarked with a face of admiration, "His perception is indeed far beyond the average person."

Why did a simple pivot at the free-throw line to break the zone earn Sloan's praise for Qin Yue?

Because Sloan noticed that Qin Yue almost immediately read through the Jazz's defense and, by moving early, was ready to break the zone.

In the NBA, as all zone defenses cannot exert their full potential, in most cases, NBA teams often mix zone defenses with man-to-man defense.

That means the defenders can very well use positioning to confuse the offense.

You might think they're playing zone defense, but in reality, they're likely doing man-to-man.

And what Sloan praised earlier was precisely Qin Yue's reading of the Jazz's defense.

Because by quickly reading the Jazz defense, after securing the free-throw line position the moment he got the ball, Qin Yue created an excellent scoring opportunity for Richardson with a pass.

Subsequently, Richardson charged in and completed the play with a one-handed dunk.

At this moment, Sloan was very sure that compared to the first encounter between the two teams, Qin Yue's ability to read the game had reached a new level.

This was, in Sloan's view, a truly incredible improvement.

Because in the world of basketball, the ability to read the game is also a very challenging attribute to enhance.

In fact, even some players who have played in the NBA for a decade or two cannot react quickly after discerning an opponent's defensive intentions like Qin Yue just did.

Sloan knows full well that those ordinary players who spend several seconds or even more than ten seconds at the top of the arc observing the opponent's defense are the norm in the NBA.

And those like Qin Yue...

Are typically...

Once-in-a-lifetime talents.

Back to the Jazz's offensive possession.

The Jazz's pick-and-roll coordination is equally challenging to defend against.

Because a pick-and-roll involves not just the cooperation between the ball-handler and the off-ball player.

Although Sloan's pick-and-roll tactics often present this effect, in reality, a lot of preparation work needs to be done before a pick-and-roll can be executed properly by the offense.

Like this time.

Near the Warriors' baseline, as Kirilenko suddenly cut in using Okur's screen, at the top of the arc, when Paul and Boozer were setting up a pick-and-roll, Qin Yue had to make a decision at once.

Should he help Davis delay Paul, or should he go down to the baseline to block Kirilenko, who Artest had lost track of?

This defensive possession, Qin Yue chose to trust that Brown could help Artest buy back time to chase.

However, just as the Jazz completed the high pick-and-roll, Paul found another pass route that the Warriors overlooked.

Paul threw a pass to Harpring, who had seized the chance and cut into the paint after Qin Yue was drawn out for the delay by Kirilenko's screen.

On the court, after receiving the ball, Harpring easily banked two points.

Even though in basketball games, no tactic can be executed perfectly every time.

But if, like the Jazz's previous play, it succeeds, then it must be a masterpiece.

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