268: At the critical mont, you can always trust Zhang San!_3 268: At the critical mont, you can always trust Zhang San!_3 Although they were prepared to fight to the end, they were also exhausted from tonight’s battle, which was why Bickerstaff rested Okafor and Gerald Wallace at the sa ti.
There was sothing that Zhang Yang found puzzling.
Just now, it was Brezec defending the basket.
Jas could have easily scored on these last two attacks just with footwork, or even without it, simply overpowering Felton and Brezec would have likely resulted in a score.
So why insist on drawing fouls?
Forcing Perkins to the bench was advantageous for Jas, but Brezec’s presence on the court and Okafor’s absence should have been favorable circumstances for Jas…
Just before the tiout ended, Zhang Yang shared his confusion with one of the rare team mbers who had already acquired a bachelor’s degree.
Okafor replied with a term: “Path dependence.”
Zhang Yang suddenly understood.
He had kept up with the news before entering the NBA.
The earliest version of Jas wasn’t like this; in his rookie year, he frequently stumbled and was criticized for his lack of a jump shot.
During the first off-season, Jas worked hard on his footwork and three-pointers.
In the sumr of ’04, there was frequent news of Jas diligently practicing fundantals, especially during the Athens Olympics, almost every day the dia highlighted how hardworking Jas was.
In November ’04, Jas’s three-point-shooting percentage rose from 29% in his rookie year to 37%, with an average of 1.7 three-pointers per ga.
ESPN heavily promoted this, saying his three-point talent was better than Jordan’s, and his attacking footwork had also visibly improved.
The turning point ca in January ’05.
Along with the renewal of the collective bargaining agreent, the league changed so rules, one of which was the legalization of a two-step layup following a jump stop…
After that, Jas changed.
By the end of the ’04-’05 season, Jas’s three-point percentage had fallen to 35%, and his average three-pointers made dropped to 1.4 per ga.
If he could score easily inside, why bother with footwork?
Why practice three-pointers?
Zhang Yang thought of a term—’infantilism.’
He knew that Jas wasn’t without talent in footwork or three-point shooting.
After Decision 1.0, Jas lost many of his privileges.
In the ’10-’11 season, his average turnovers hit a career high.
After spending a sumr working on it, he got his footwork right, and by the ’11-’12 season traveling was no longer a point of attack against him.
The league also re-banned the ‘new three-step rule,’ and by the ’12-’13 season, he had developed his three-point shot, achieving a 40% success rate.
Okafor didn’t know what the future Jas would be like, but he paid close attention to this new generation leader, drawing the conclusion of ‘path dependence’ from the changes in Jas’s style of play during the first three years of his career.
Seeing that Zhang Yang imdiately understood, Okafor was satisfied.
It was easy to talk to a smart person.
But Felton, who was standing aside, didn’t understand and asked, “What does path dependence an?”
Zhang Yang, “It’s complicated, let’s talk after the ga.”
Felton, hearing it was complicated, lost interest and replied, “Then let’s focus on the ga first.”
Okafor: “…”
…
The Knights also made a substitution, bringing in the lineup of Snow, Hughes, Jas, Varejao, and Gooden.
Mike Brown might not understand offense or be good at strategic adaptation, but he wasn’t foolish.
When the referees’ calls favored the offense, he naturally surrounded Jas with shooters.
Now he thought the referees might not blow the whistle as often, and judging that the Bobcats might take the opportunity to play tough defense, he naturally followed suit.
After the tiout, the ga continued, and the two teams suddenly shifted from a shootout to a brutal battle!
Jas tested ‘drawing fouls’ again but still didn’t get the calls.
This ti, he didn’t react with frustration like before; the loss of the whistle had been too sudden, and without his ‘lifeline,’ he couldn’t accept it montarily.
During the tiout, he had cald down, knowing there was no ti for complaints, he had to fight!
Just now was a test, and after confirming there were no whistles coming, Jas changed his style of play.
Going up against Brezec and Jumaine Jones inside was still manageable, but with Perkins defending the basket, Okafor helping, Gerald Wallace closing in, and Felton playing tough…
he really couldn’t manage it.
He passed the ball to Larry Hughes and focused on making runs and attacking the basket.
Originally this was a reluctant move, but after playing a few plays, he surprisingly found it effective!
His physical condition was too good.
Charging and cutting to cooperate, going for offensive rebounds, he was just too naturally gifted for it, and there were very few in the entire league as talented as him in this regard.
Just as he earlier clung to ‘drawing fouls’ like a lifeline, seeing that a change in play style was effective, he found a new ‘straw’ to grab on to and played with even more desperation.
Jas had never played like this before; needless to say, during his student days, and even in the first two years in the NBA when he held the ball, after Hughes arrived and took over part of the ball-handling, he would just stand outside the three-point line, waiting for the pass when Hughes was attacking…
People, only in desperate situations, do they realize it’s ti to think of ways to improve.
Hughes had been full of complaints about Jas, but seeing his aggressive cuts and the scramble for rebounds, he too started to lead the team with desperate attacks, together taking on Gerald Wallace, Okafor, and Perkins’s front court.
On the Bobcats’ side, facing the counterattack initiated by Hughes and Jas, they showed no signs of backing down, fighting desperately to maintain their lead.
The score didn’t climb quickly.
On the Knights’ side, they depended mostly on Hughes’s drives for points, and Jas’s cuts to the basket or second-chance points from offensive rebounds.
On the Bobcats’ side, they mainly relied on Gerald Wallace and Okafor using Felton’s wing distractions, and Zhang Yang’s high-position pulls to score.
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