432: 198.
Who hasn’t been a champion before?_2 432: 198.
Who hasn’t been a champion before?_2 But is that the point?
Seeing Okafor about to jump up, Zhang Yang smiled and said, “Eka, don’t get sentintal too soon.
This is just the beginning.
Our goal——”
Zhang Yang spoke, pointing at the moon in the sky, “Is that vast sea of stars!!”
As Okafor listened to Zhang Yang’s words, a surge of lofty ambition rose in his heart…
before being shattered by Felton.
Felton: “Jack, you can’t point at the moon, it’ll fly down and cut off your little pecker.”
Zhang Yang: “Is this the style of superstitious feudalism you Hawks have?”
Okafor: “You little fatty, I’m going to kill you!!”
…
The next day, Zhang Yang returned to Charlotte with the team and put in an extra afternoon of practice on three-pointers and layups.
His mid-range ga hadn’t made any significant improvents for a while.
He discussed it with Ingles, and also phoned Tim Grove and Frank Hamblen for advice.
After several discussions, all three world-class basketball trainers felt that it wasn’t an issue of the training thod or effort, but rather that his mid-range ga was already quite excellent, and its performance couldn’t be improved further because his long shots and drives to the basket weren’t good enough, limiting the further developnt of his mid-range shooting.
He felt that the three experts’ analysis was very spot-on.
His current training hit rate for mid-range shots had stabilized above 90%, and a qualitative improvent in the short term was impossible.
High-post back to the basket, triple-threat stance, face up isolation, shooting off screens…
also wouldn’t see a quick quality improvent.
Skills needed continuous training and real-ga testing.
Therefore, he had to improve his driving and layup success rate to enhance his mid-range threat, achieving a better synergy of inside-out ga.
The three experts also pointed out a key factor—his age.
At not even 19, his body was still not fully developed.
His long shots were not bad, but his drives were limited by his physical condition, making it very difficult to take it a step further.
When Gerald Wallace was injured a while back, he had made a big improvent, drawing out the real potential of his 89 layup skill, but that also drained the foundations he had built up before.
So now, his shooting practice focused mainly on three-pointers, drive training focused on accompanying techniques, Euro step, stride layup, spin move to the basket…
etc., while keeping regular training for mid-range shots.
By April 13th, the Bobcats were hosting the Nets at ho.
After the players entered, Zhang Yang looked at the win-loss comparison on the big screen.
The Nets’ record was 39 wins and 40 losses, 7th in the East, while the Bobcats’ record was 53 wins and 26 losses, 2nd in the East.
If the regular season stopped right at this mont, the two teams would et in the first round.
Zhang Yang and his teammates were definitely aiming for the first place, but they could also possibly et in the first round.
The Miami Heat, the Nets, the Wizards, and the Magic were still fighting for the last three playoff spots.
He wanted to see the Nets and the Pistons clash in the first round.
Flounder suffered miserably each ti he faced Billups in the playoffs, with Billups having 5 gas out of 11 postseason matches where he didn’t score in double figures.
Yet, he also wanted to face Kidd in the postseason.
By the end of February, the Nets had slipped to 27 wins and 31 losses, precariously close to falling out of playoff contention.
But in March, the Nets exploded, putting up an impressive 9 wins and 6 losses.
Although it was Carter who got the Player of the Month honor, the other two stars of the Nets also perford exceptionally well.
Richard Jefferson averaged 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block in 15 gas.
As the officiating started to shift towards the playoffs in March, Kidd’s performance improved trendously.
Over 15 gas, he averaged 12.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 10.4 assists, nearly averaging a triple-double—a clear display of a playoff player’s characteristics.
Sadly, with Kidd assisting in double figures in 12 out of 15 gas, rebounds and scoring lagged behind, missing either double-figure rebounds or scoring, achieving only 3 triple-doubles for the month.
By the end of March, the Nets’ record was improved to 36 wins and 37 losses.
Unfortunately, in April the Nets couldn’t muster the sa strength; their supporting cast was simply too weak, with both offense and defense reliant on their three periter players who didn’t even have one backup of notable strength.
After their burst of form had passed, the Nets managed only 3 wins and 3 losses in April, unable to progress further.
At 7 pm, the ga between the Bobcats and the Nets started at the Bobcats’ ho court.
The Nets began with fierce offense and excellent defense, holding the Bobcats to just 20 points in the first quarter and leading 29 to 20, a 9-point lead over the Bobcats into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Nets continued their explosive scoring with 27 points, but their defense visibly deteriorated.
Okafor had 7 points in the quarter, Zhang Yang hit two three-pointers, and Gerald Wallace scored 6…
Together, they led the team to 25 points, halting the montum of the gap widening further.
By halfti, the Bobcats trailed the Nets by 11 points, 45 to 56.
Kidd had 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists at the half while Carter had 20 points, with the Nets performing explosively in the first half.
In the third quarter, Zhang Yang started his play with a back to the basket, pivot, and jump shot over Kidd, followed by a steal from Gerald Wallace on Carter’s drive; Rondo took the ball and pushed forward, passing it to Zhang Yang who surged to a short distance for a fake pass into a stride layup.
Zhang Yang scored two consecutive baskets, blowing the trumpet for a counter-attack!
During the third quarter, when needed to resist the pressure and use scoring to motivate the whole team, Zhang Yang stepped up.
However, Carter, who had dominated the Bobcats’ defense in the first half, wilted at this point.
Except for direct drives to score, Richard Jefferson had no other ball-handling abilities to rely on, and Kidd…
The Bobcats managed a 30-21 score in the third quarter, bringing the score to 75-77, trailing the Nets by only two points entering the final quarter.
Reviews
All reviews (0)