Capítulo 1369: Chapter 543: The Second Half Drama (Part 2)
The 180 club isn’t just about having a combined shooting percentage of 180; it’s about eting the strict criteria of 50 40 90.
Another day has passed, and February 19th marks the first ga day for the Bobcats in the second half of the season.
After a day of rest following the wild All-Star weekend, this morning, the teammates seed in decent shape, mainly because no one was late. As for their competitive state… it always bounces back after rest. Anyway, Zhang Yang felt he was perfectly fine.
In the evening, the Bobcats hosted a challenge from the Chicago Bulls.
The match between the two was nothing short of… a chicken fight.
The Bobcats were in poor form, and the Bulls weren’t much better!
After the All-Star weekend, Yao Ming didn’t leave Texas; instead, he joined his teammates in Houston. Probably because the All-Star weekend was held in Texas, the league scheduled the Bulls’ first ga of the second half against the Rockets, allowing them to tap into the Chinese market during the Chinese New Year festivities.
The Rockets, with a 25-27 record, had just surpassed the Kings before the All-Star break, reaching the eleventh spot in the West. Strong? Not quite, but neither are they easy to beat. Thibodeau built a tough defensive fortress around Lopez, Yi Jianlian, Scola, Battier, Hayes, Landry, and others.
No other Bulls players made the All-Star this year. Iverson was selected as a starter, which didn’t really affect Wade. Wade made it regardless, but Hinrich was squeezed out of the All-Star reserve list.
Up front, Luol Deng couldn’t compete with the likes of Bosh, Pierce, Okafor, and Granger.
In the early season, Luol Deng averaged over 20 points per ga, but mid-season, he didn’t keep rising like Granger into the elite scorers’ ranks. By the All-Star weekend, his average dropped to 19.1 points, failing to catch the coaches’ attention.
In terms of offensive talent, there’s a significant gap between Luol Deng and Granger, who are similar in age and physique and only a year apart in entering the NBA.
Perhaps due to the long break, the Bulls underperford last night, except for Yao Ming who continued his good form from the latter half of the All-Star weekend. Against his old team, he scored a season-high 37 points, narrowly defeating the Rockets 92-86.
The Bulls finished their ‘Regular China Derby’ last night and today headed to Charlotte for the ‘Deluxe China Derby,’ continuing their low performance, even with Yao Ming underperforming.
But the Bobcats were equally lackluster, with Zhang Yang and Okafor being the only ones maintaining normal form, holding the team’s offense together.
In the end, Zhang Yang scored 42 points with 16 out of 34 shots, including 2 out of 5 three-pointers and 8 out of 10 free throws, with 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Okafor scored 21 points on 8 out of 20 shooting and 5 out of 7 free throws, with 13 rebounds, leading the team to an 83-78 hard-fought victory over the Bulls, starting the second half on a winning note with a 36-17 record!
After the ga, Zhang Yang looked at his near ‘3 consecutive gas with 20 missed shots,’ and despite being drenched in sweat from exhaustion, he broke out in a fresh sweat.
He and Okafor combined for 63 points, yet the team scored only 83… As the team’s inside and outside stars, carrying the team in their teammates’ poor form was necessary.
The Bulls suffered from having back-to-back gas, and the next day, the Bobcats faced the sa challenge. In back-to-back gas against the Mavericks, they lost 114-119.
Zhang Yang initially thought his teammates would continue their slump in the back-to-back gas, but surprisingly, most of the starters bounced back.
He was trapped by the Mavericks’ constant double-teaming, hitting only 6 of 14 shots, with 2 out of 7 three-pointers, adding 6 out of 6 free throws for 20 points, along with 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
Okafor made 6 out of 10 shots, steadily scoring 15 points with 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.
Felton contributed 16 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists; O’Neal 11 points, 8 rebounds; Millsap 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists; Collison 9 points, 3 assists; Marion 10 points, 7 rebounds; Hill 7 points; Matthews 10 points; Afflalo 6 points…
Perkins and Ibaka didn’t play tonight due to injuries from the previous night. The remaining 11 main rotation players all took the court, with only Cunningham failing to score with 0 out of 3 shooting; everyone else scored over 5 points, effectively capitalizing on Zhang Yang’s pull.
Despite Hill, Millsap, and Marion’s rotational defense, Nowitzki managed to shoot 12 out of 23, missing all two three-point attempts, but made all 3 free throws, scoring 27 points without any threes or many free throws!
Artest scored 22 points with 6 rebounds; Terry 20 points with 5 assists; Billups 15 points with 7 assists; Butler 18 points… Both the main inside scorer and outside stars all got their shots going!
After the ga, reflecting on the loss, Zhang Yang thought their state wasn’t as good as the points suggested. The offensive outburst was largely because he hit 40 points in three consecutive gas against the Bucks, Lakers, and Bulls, all playoff-caliber teams. Of course, the teammates capitalizing on opportunities ant their state indeed improved compared to last night, but defensively, they still felt the impact.
It’s really Boss Qiao’s fault; any other birthday would have sufficed, yet it fell on February 17th. If it was during the All-Star weekend break, it wouldn’t have mattered, but it was just after everyone returned from the break. The party prevented sufficient preparation, leading to such a strong offensive state yet resulting in a loss tonight.
Had the Bulls not been in poor form, they would have lost two in a row upon their return.
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