Jordan walked around the corner full of anticipation, saw the door to his office, and then froze.
Handso photos, indeed there were; a pile of flowers and fruits, a whole circle of gifts... But!
Next to the handsoly frad giant photo was a circle of flowers, outside the flowers were three piles of fruits, and finally, a neatly arranged circle of gifts... Are these kids here to apologize or to mourn?
...
After a day’s rest, on the second rest day, the Bobcats resud training.
During the preparation eting and training, Zhang Yang clearly noticed the changes in his teammates, described in one word—purer.
It’s sowhat like the beginning of the season, when the team had no performance goals, everyone trained actively and focused, but without much pressure; of course, there were differences, back then there was confusion, not knowing how abandoning the quite successful offensive-only basketball from last season for a balanced attack-defense approach would turn out, now they have basically locked in the first place, the second place Cavaliers in the East and the first place Spurs in the West are both 55-18, with nine gas left they can at most get 64 wins, the Bobcats have ten gas left and already have 60-12, other teams can at most fight for second, they know they are heading in the right direction, with clearer goals.
This is obviously a very good sign, focus, purity, for better adjustnts before the playoffs.
But sothing feels off... Boss Qiao is looking at them weirdly today, who knows what’s up with him, didn’t like the pile of gifts yesterday? Or did soone hit a taboo with their gift to Boss Qiao?
After a day of preparation, on April 3rd, the Bobcats faced the Lakers at ho on the 73rd day of the regular season.
At 7:40 PM, players from both teams took to the court, exchanging friendly and cordial greetings.
The relationship looked very harmonious because yesterday afternoon, during interviews, all three giants of the Lakers stated that this season’s MVP in their minds is Zhang Yang, with no second choice.
Not just the Bobcats players, the three giants heard Bobcats fans on both sides of the player tunnel yell MVP at them as they entered.
Respecting and recognizing their competitors, how can one not respect such opponents?
After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Yang glanced at the other side’s data on the big screen.
The Lakers are currently 53-20, second in the West... very different from his impression, he rembered the Lakers were supposed to have around 65 wins, struggling to get 60 here.
And this is related to Garnett’s age and the excessive wear and tear during his youth with the Timberwolves.
Garnett has only played 50 gas this season, averaging only 29 minutes per ga, with averages of 14.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks, the worst since his rookie season, clearly incomparable to Gasol’s average of 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks with the Grizzlies.
Behind Garnett are Kwa Brown and rookie Gasol, showing significant gaps with Bynum in his fourth career year.
On a positive note, with help from Kidd and Kobe, Garnett has shot 54.1%, a career-high.
Moreover, Garnett’s health is much better than Zhang Yang rembers!
He recalled the original tiline where Garnett played long with injuries in the regular season, the last fall being the catalyst, tearing his ACL, ending the season, marking a career watershed, post-recovery his athletic ability plumted, although still among the league’s best defensively, his individual defense crumbled, and on offense was reduced to only catch-and-shoot in set plays, losing his once top 5 power forward counter-attack ability.
Here, Garnett is used cautiously by the Zen Master like a treasure, although his stats have plumted, his efficiency hasn’t dropped but increased, often out due to injuries early season, missing 20 gas by mid-January, also the reason for his decreased popularity this season, he was the Western vote king last year, but since late January, his injuries have significantly reduced, missing only 3 gas.
A decrease in playti while conserving any injury tendency sees the Zen Master dressing him in suits on the bench for rest tactical adjustnts under help from Lakers’ legendary trainer Gary Vitti, helping Garnett smoothly pass this injury crisis that knocked him out of top star ranks!
Kidd’s and Kobe’s playtis were also kept very low, Kidd averaging only 28 minutes, with 9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 8.1 assists; Kobe averaging 35 minutes, with 26.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, keeping them in excellent health.
Kidd is playing into April without missing a ga for the first ti since the 01-02 season, likely achieving his 4th career full attendance, Kobe likely for the second consecutive year.
Obviously, the Zen Master, a multiple championship coach nearly filling two hands with rings, knows what such a team needs, and what is less important.
At 8 PM, the ga between the Bobcats and the Lakers began.
Both teams treated each other as the final competitor for the championship, going all out from the start.
But the situation was different from both teams’ expectations, they thought it would be as intense as early February, but the reality... First quarter 25 to 20, second quarter 25 to 20, third quarter 26 to 20, after three quarters, the Bobcats lead the Lakers by 16 points at 76 to 60!
Kobe was ice cold tonight, hitting nothing, with 18 missed shots in the first three quarters, especially in the third quarter, missing 10 in one quarter, shooting 6 of 24 in the first three quarters, including 1 of 7 three-pointers, plus hitting 4 of 4 free throws, scoring only 17 points.
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