After a two-day rest, on the 26th, the Bobcats welcod the challenge of the Toronto Raptors at ho.
Bosh was very unhappy today. After greeting the three youngsters and veterans on the opposing team, he sat back in the bench, distracted and sullen. As for the coach giving the final pre-ga instructions... no one on the team even listens anymore.
He was thinking about just one thing—the opposing team has a 13-ga winning streak, and many of their upcoming gas are scheduled for extra broadcasts, but there’s no place for him, the King of the North!
Jay Triano was still detailing the pre-ga strategy, but his tone lacked any passion and was purely sustained by professional ethics.
This team was so far off track, he regretted not heeding the advice of his seniors!
When the Toronto Raptors publicly offered him an invitation last sumr, the famous NCAA coach Mike Montgory, who once served as head coach for the Warriors, called to warn him to be cautious in making a decision, stating that accepting could ruin his career.
Though he politely listened at the ti, deep down, he dismissed it as the defeatist mindset of a failure and believed he was different.
He ultimately decided to leave college and accepted the head coach position with the Toronto Raptors, wholeheartedly diving into his new job, adjusting the system based on the actual situation, and crafting a tactical package around Bosh. Though the process was challenging, he managed to build an offensive and defensive system capable of contending for the Eastern Conference playoffs by the start of the regular season, with a record of 6 wins and 6 losses, including a victory over the Mavericks, the team with the best record at the ti, feeling a sense of accomplishnt.
But just as he felt everything was headed in a positive direction and believed he wouldn’t beco a failure like Montgory, the managent started acting erratically... Just after Christmas, with a 13-14 record and rank seventh in the East, the managent suddenly approached him, saying they didn’t intend to continue building the team around Bosh and planned to tank for a high draft pick to rebuild.
He listened, bewildered, having worked hard to get the team back on track, only for managent to tell him not to waste his efforts?
He cast disbelief, only to receive the answer that the owner wasn’t satisfied with Bosh’s ability and felt building around him led nowhere.
Bosh was not yet 25, averaging 24 points early in the season, and was being compared to Nowitzki and Stoudemire by dia and fans, dubbed as one of the three strongest scoring power forwards in the NBA. Moreover, Bosh’s defense far surpassed these two, considered the league’s third strongest power forward with comprehensive offensive and defensive skills, ahead of Okafor, second only to Duncan and Garnett... and the owner wasn’t satisfied? It felt absurd!
Subsequently, managent showed him what it ans to say—I’m not discussing with you; this is an announcent.
Managent traded their best shooter, the three-point contest champion Jason Kapono, to the 76ers for a second-round pick, and exchanged crucial core playmaker veteran Anthony Parker, averaging 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, for the expiring $4 million contract of an aging Lorenzen Wright who hadn’t played since the ’96 season... Starting from Ford’s departure, within a year, the Raptors squandered all of little Colangelo’s ’legacy’.
Following these operations, the Raptors’ record plumted, crashing into the bottom three in the East.
During the All-Star weekend, managent traded the only rim protector O’Neal for Marion, who was even less motivated with the Raptors... Triano had beco numb to this, but the tragedy was he no longer had any way out, finally understanding Montgory’s warning of ’might ruin your career’.
After he left, the University of Toronto had hired a new young coach and started building around him, and other colleges were unlikely to want him. Despite his remarkable skills, those teams contemplating a coach change or having a vacancy worried he might leave again when receiving an NBA team offer. A college coaching job is a long-term commitnt; holding the position for 10 or even 20 years is common to maintain a university team’s cyclical operation.
Now he could only stubbornly remain in this position, hoping for a chance to switch teams later or praying for a miracle with this team...
On the other side, Zhang Yang actively approached Marion for so casual chatter. With Nash as a mutual acquaintance, the two, though not very familiar, could exchange a few words since Zhang Yang specializes in building rapport, and taking the initiative to chat with seasoned players has been sothing he often did since sophomore year to keep his face familiar.
At 7 PM, the ga began.
Zhang Yang played 34 minutes tonight, shooting 7 of 12, including 1 of 1 from three-point range, along with 3 of 3 free throws, scoring 18 points, 8 rebounds, 16 assists, and 2 steals, leading the Bobcats to an emphatic victory over the Toronto Raptors, 112-86, securing the 14-ga winning streak!
He started with 3 out of 3 shots, including a three-pointer, combined with 2 of 2 free throws tallying 9 points. At that mont, he felt tonight might not be his night. Being experienced, he swiftly adjusted his play style, and indeed, his assists soared under the opposing team’s mindless tactics, elevating his career-high assists from 12 to 16 in a single match.
Unfortunately, he fought until halfway through the final quarter, and as the point gap exceeded 20, he still had only 8 rebounds. Carlisle indulged him quite a lot but couldn’t bear to continue, substituting him post-official tiout.
Failing to achieve a triple-double was destiny... Next ti we face the Raptors, I’ll make sure to work harder and seize 10 rebounds!
...
On the 28th, the Bobcats welcod the 57th regular-season ga opponent, the Kings.
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