What? The trainer is warming up.

Chapter 39: 20+ points in the first half!

Before halftime, Qin Yu had already scored 18 points, making 7 of 9 shots, including 4 three-pointers, demonstrating amazing efficiency.

The key point is that he hardly ever holds the ball.

Every time he gets the ball, he shoots immediately or dribbles briefly, without taking up offensive time, wasting possession, or affecting his teammates' or the team's overall offense.

Furthermore, he performed exceptionally well on the defensive end, effectively guarding his assigned opponents. Whether it was Trey Pagner before or Carroll later, neither of them scored much against his defense.

"Requesting a pause."

Team Energy had to call another timeout.

At this moment, the head coach's face had completely darkened. He hadn't expected to be forced to call another timeout by that trainer, and he certainly hadn't expected the score to be reversed.

Yes, the score is now 37:36, with the Benteng team leading by 1 point!

"Carroll," the Energy's head coach called out.

"Oh." Carroll snapped out of his daze, still a little confused, unable to understand how a 3D player could unleash such terrifying scoring ability.

Carroll thinks Qin Yu is a 3D player. He plays off-ball, is an excellent defender, and scores by catching and shooting. What else could he be but a 3D player?

Carroll considered himself a 3-and-D player, believing that a 3-and-D player should focus on defense, wait for the ball in the right position to shoot, contribute ten or so points in a game, make two three-pointers, and grab a few rebounds, which would be perfect.

But today... he realized that wasn't the case at all; he had been hitting randomly all along!

What is top-tier 3D?

That trainer, oh no, that guy named Qin is the one!

If Qin Yu knew what Carroll was thinking, he wouldn't help but laugh out loud. "When did I tell you I was a 3-and-D player? That's just a role the coach made me play. Besides, haven't you heard of a scoring 3-and-D player? You don't even watch the NBA, don't you know Klay Thompson?"

Of course, at this point in time, Klay Thompson wasn't that explosive yet.

"Let me explain..."

The head coach of the Energy team spread out the tactics board and once again emphasized the defense against Qin Yu, requiring the players to give him physical contact at all times.

Even if he manages to catch the ball, he won't have time to adjust. Under continuous pressure, he'll catch the ball and shoot immediately, which will inevitably lower his shooting percentage.

As it turned out, unless they double-teamed him, it was difficult for them to stop Qin Yu from scoring, so they could only try to lower his shooting percentage.

As for double-teaming... I don't think it's necessary to double-team a "rookie".

Besides, the Bentei team also has Taylor.

......

Coach McKinnon's eyes crinkled with laughter as he looked at Qin Yu with even more affection than he would his own son, thinking to himself, "My darling, he's such a treasure."

He had high expectations for Qin Yu today, but Qin Yu's performance completely exceeded his expectations, much better than he had anticipated.

He discovered that this young Chinese man seemed to be creating surprises for him all the time!

"Qin, well done, keep it up." Coach McKinnon praised Qin Yu first, then made substitutions, "Taylor, Dabert, and Barrett, the three of you will go in next."

With this change, the lineup became Barrett, Taylor, Qin Yu, Aldridge, and Dabert, meaning Qin Yu replaced the starting small forward Anbres.

Everyone was somewhat surprised, but they could accept it.

Qin Yu is playing so well, he definitely needs to continue playing. Taylor and Dabbert also need to play. Barrett didn't play well before, but he is the team's starting point guard, and the team needs him to organize the offense so that Taylor can focus on scoring, so he also needs to play.

only......

Everyone couldn't help but look at Ambrose, silently mourning for him. If Qin Yu could maintain his performance today, Ambrose's position would be in danger.

Ambrose realized this too. He turned to look at Smith, searching for his "fellow sufferer," only to find Smith chuckling. A surge of anger welled up inside him: "Are you fucking crazy?!"

Smith's thought at that moment was that Qin Yu would no longer take his position, and that Ambrose was the one who would suffer. Of course, he was happy and a little gloating.

It's only because Ambrose didn't know that, otherwise he would have added "grass-like horse"!

......

After giving some instructions, Coach McKinnon put away his tactics board.

Several players returned to the field, and the game continued.

The Energy team has possession of the ball, and several key players have returned.

Stinson glanced at the scoreboard, took a deep breath, dribbled the ball up the court, called for a screen, and his teammate came up to screen. Stinson quickly moved laterally to get past him, then accelerated to break through. He wasn't particularly fast, but his rhythm was excellent. After taking two steps forward, he caught the ball, suddenly executed a Euro step, faked out Aldridge who was helping on defense, and made a left-handed layup.

"Whoosh!"

Goal! Score 38-37, Energy team has taken the lead again!

The next few rounds were a back-and-forth battle. The Energy team's offense remained sharp, but the Pentium team was not bad either. With Qin Yu drawing attention on the outside, the team's offensive space was greatly improved, and Taylor was able to give full play to his individual scoring ability, scoring two goals in a row.

Qin Yu didn't shoot or score for several rounds, but Coach McKinnon didn't think he played badly at all. Didn't he see that he didn't score against Carroll either?

Yes!

At this point, Qin Yu was no longer matched up against Trepagner. After Barrett came on, he was moved to the small forward position to defend Carroll.

With a loud "smack," the audience cheered.

Dabert delivered a powerful block, swatting Trepagner's layup away, which landed in Barrett's hands. Barrett caught the ball, turned his head, and saw a figure already rushing towards the frontcourt. He immediately pushed the ball with both hands, saying, "Qin, catch!"

At the same time, Qin Yu had already crossed the center line. Hearing Barrett's voice, he turned his head, secretly praising "Barrett's pass was good," and reached out to grab the basketball.

Several players from the Energy Team reacted, but only Carroll, who had been marking Qin Yu, had time to give chase. He gritted his teeth and sprinted away.

But Qin Yu suddenly stopped outside the three-point line.

"What?"

Carroll was surprised and tried to brake, but he was going too fast and couldn't stop in time. By the time he stopped, Qin Yu had already jumped up.

broken!

Carroll's heart skipped a beat, and she turned to look at the basket.

Sure enough, the basketball obediently fell into the net.

"nice shot!"

"Another three-pointer, and a pull-up three at that! Qin is amazing!"

"That was a really confident shot. Most other players would probably have just gone for a layup, only a super shooter like Qin could pull that up..."

That was a very bold three-pointer; no one expected that Qin Yu would choose to shoot a three-pointer instead of driving to the basket during a fast break opportunity.

And it went in!

The players and head coach of the Energy Team were all frustrated. They had successfully prevented Qin Yu from scoring for a while by adjusting their defensive strategy and giving him opportunities to compete. But this guy was in such good form that he could score as soon as he was given the slightest chance.

Qin Yu then threw another one, but missed. The second quarter quickly came to an end, and surprisingly, the Ben Teng team was still in the lead, with a score of 47-45!

......

Halftime break.

Back in the locker room, Qin Yu was surrounded by his teammates, who joked around with him and showered him with compliments.

Coach McKinnon also praised Qin Yu highly, while Smith and Umbrellas remained silent, yet helpless.

Qin Yu's performance in the first half was outstanding, no, it should be said that it was amazing!

He made 8 of 11 shots, including 5 three-pointers, scoring 21 points in the first half, making him the only player to score over 20 points so far in this game.

A rookie player, a 3D player without the ball, has become a "scoring machine".

It felt unreal, but it was happening right before our eyes, and Qin Yu's performance was impeccable.

Even Smith and Ambrose were speechless!

"You guys will play in the second half again..."

After the laughter subsided, Coach McKinnon began to make arrangements. He did not intend to make any substitutions, but simply adjusted the tactics slightly.

......

The atmosphere in the Energy team's locker room was somewhat somber. No one had expected the game to turn out this way; at halftime, they were the ones trailing.

The head coach smiled wryly and comforted him, "It's alright. That number 7 played exceptionally well in the first half, but that's clearly not the norm. We'll strengthen our defense against him in the second half. As long as his scoring efficiency drops, we can regain the upper hand."

Upon hearing this, the players' eyes lit up.

"Yes, this scoring form is definitely not the norm; it's just an exceptional performance, and it's even less likely to continue into the second half."

"If that number 7's scoring efficiency drops, the Bentei will only be able to rely on Taylor. What's wrong with letting him score 20+ points?"

No one thought Qin Yu's performance in the first half was a "demonstration of strength." They all thought it was just good luck, an occasional burst of hot streak, or an exceptional performance.

This state cannot last for the entire game.

It is foreseeable that Qin Yu's performance will decline in the second half, and his shooting percentage and scoring efficiency will drop. At that time... the scales of victory will tip back in their favor!