Chapter 841: 362. The Prelude to a New Era_2
There are only three options for the Power Forward partnering with Howard: Lewis, Brian Cook, and Turkoglu, who primarily plays Small Forward and occasionally fills in at Power Forward.
The scoring of these three is mainly based on outside shooting, averaging a combined six three-pointers per ga and serving as the backbone of the Magic Team’s offense. However, the three collectively average only five field goals from short distances or closer, predominantly staying outside mid-range on offense. Their combined average for offensive rebounds per ga is 2.5, matching that of the backcourt duo of Zhang Yang and Felton.
The Magic Team is third from the bottom in the league with an average of 9.4 offensive rebounds per ga, only lower than the tanking Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns, who do not prioritize offensive rebounds.
When Howard can’t grab offensive rebounds, the confidence of the Magic Team’s outside shooters in their shots naturally wavers.
In fact, the Bobcats’ defensive strategy has many issues, but Van Gundy’s poor in-ga adaptation ans that during the match, he couldn’t think of a solution to utilize…
Psychologically, the baseline for the Magic Team players has further declined. As the ga progresses, their psychological goal shifted from quickly catching up in points to not letting the opponent blow the ga wide open.
For all the reasons above, the Magic Team, despite not having much issue with their offensive choices in the second quarter and defending quite well, could not effectively narrow the score gap.
The Bobcats played with great patience. Seeing that the Magic Team’s defense relaxed more effectively, they did not blindly beco arrogant thinking to open up the lead with a rush, instead choosing to play steadily and firmly.
They clearly knew that their explosive nature in the first quarter mainly relied on hitting four consecutive three-pointers from the start. The whole first quarter they executed tactical responses centered around the three-point threats from Felton, Zhang Yang, and Mike Miller. Once the opponent ‘broke the pot and threw it away’ defending as they pleased, they found it hard to continue attacking around the three-point threat as they did in the first quarter unless Zhang Yang dared to hit a few more threes like they did against the Chicago Bulls.
But being ahead by more than 15 points, there is absolutely no need to gamble. It’s the opponent who should be taking the risk.
Bobcats players patiently waited for opportunities. Midway through the third quarter, Turkoglu received the ball at the top arc for a three-pointer but missed, Zhang Yang grabbed the defensive rebound and launched a fast break!
Hill, Millsap, and Okafor rushed to the basket, with Felton following on the wing. This lineup moved very quickly, pressing the opponent’s defense towards the basket and the wings.
When Zhang Yang pushed to the top arc with a controlled pace, only Nelson stepped up to block him.
Zhang Yang jumped to shoot facing Nelson’s close defense, using Nelson’s full-stretch reach as an aiming guide, stopped abruptly, and shot a three-pointer…it’s in!
Zhang Yang scored his third successful chasing three-pointer of the ga!
This shot by Zhang Yang once again shattered the psychological baseline for the Magic Team players, extending the lead from 17 points to 20 points, with a score of 90 to 70!
The psychological baseline for the Magic Team players had no further room to plumt, it broke!
In the latter half of the third quarter, Van Gundy unwillingly tried to put up a last struggle, but no matter how he roared, his players maintained an attitude of “give the ball back, I want to go ho.”
By the end of the third quarter, the lead ballooned to 25 points, and Van Gundy had no choice but to substitute his main players, effectively conceding the ga. Continuing to struggle would naturally an the opponent wouldn’t substitute their main players either, and the lead might beco disproportionately large, potentially resulting in conflict or even brawls.
The final quarter turned into garbage ti, with Zhang Yang sitting reluctantly on the bench, knowing he wouldn’t have another opportunity to play tonight.
Watching Arroyo from Puerto Rico get on and frantically score without concern, not to ntion his abilities, his recklessness far exceeded that of the esteed Jack, daring to shoot at everything, Zhang Yang comnted with a tinge of regret, “In the first three quarters, given how the ga was, Van Gundy didn’t play Arroyo; I was looking forward to defending him.”
Hill responded, “Yes, Arroyo is the only player on the Magic Team capable of consecutive scoring bursts against defense. I still rember him dominating against Wade, Jas, and the entire U.S. team at the Olympics, with nobody able to stop him. Even though his average score this season is not high, he had scored 15 points in a single quarter, the highest for the Magic Team this season.”
Okafor concluded, “Not liking to use newcors or unstable players is a coaching habit of the Van Gundy brothers. It is a shortcoming of their coaching ability, lacking flexibility. However, it is also their strength.”
Arroyo played the entire final quarter, making 3 out of 5 three-pointers, 0 out of 2 mid-range shots, 1 successful layup out of 1, and perfect free throws with 2 out of 2, scoring 13 points and leading the Magic Team to their highest quarter score of 30 points during garbage ti. The lead was reduced from 25 points to 19 points, which had no impact on the outco but at least looked better.
Zhang Yang clocked off after three quarters tonight, playing 33 minutes, scoring 18 points in the first quarter, 11 in the second, and 13 in the third, with 16 field goals made out of 25, including 4 out of 6 three-pointers and perfect free throws from 6 out of 6, totaling 42 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, leading the Bobcats to a 129-110 victory over the Magic Team!
…
Although the attention on the Bobcats versus the Magic Team was not as much as the Bobcats versus the Bulls, it was still one of the most watched matchups in the East.
The match report shook the onlookers.
The final score was acceptable, 129 points, which isn’t high by post-2004 NBA standards; the Phoenix Suns often had several gas scoring like this each year.
The Warriors and Nuggets also exploded with such scores, and before Thomas’s bizarre operations, the Knicks also once showed such performances.
Before the Bobcats faced off against the Magic Team, they averaged 109.8 points, ranking fourth in the league. Against the Suns and Nuggets, they even scored 140 points in overti, which was truly outrageous.
A 19-point gap, with a peak of a 25-point lead, was not astonishing. Even in matchups between strong teams, occasionally lopsided gas occur. Even the dominant Bulls and Lakers have lost by 20 points this season.
The main point of interest was the Bobcats and Zhang Yang’s performance in the first quarter!
The Bobcats scored 84 points in the last three quarters, averaging 28 points per quarter, which was their average performance this season.
But they scored 45 points in the first quarter, thoroughly dominating the Magic Team!
Especially Zhang Yang’s individual performance beca a hot topic among the dia and fans, with his three-pointers being a focus of discussion.
Making 4 out of 6 three-pointers over the entire ga wasn’t particularly outstanding — it could simply be said that he shot well tonight. The six three-point attempts matched his seasonal average attempts, with chasing threes accounting for 4 out of 3!
Zhang Yang opened with two consecutive chasing threes, causing fans watching the live broadcast or seeing the match clips in news reports to exclaim “wow.”
Chasing shots aren’t rare moves; only two players on the Bobcats have this shooting ability. But throughout the league, there are dozens of such players. Narrowing it down to off-the-dribble chasing shots, about a dozen players can be counted.
However, those players typically use them in specific situations, such as when there’s little ti left in the ga or for buzzer-beater shots. Players like McGrady, Kobe, Carter, and Ray Allen frequently make such shots, or if they get hot, Terry and Kobe would occasionally do the sa.
Zhang Yang, though, had two-thirds of his three-point attempts as chasing threes, adopting them as a regular three-point shooting thod!
The dia and fans make this judgnt because Zhang Yang’s gaplay is tactically supported by the team!
The Bobcats’ defensive rebounding strategy in this ga and the positioning of players trailing in fast breaks were all aid at creating chasing shot opportunities for Zhang Yang.
Clearly, this wasn’t like the inevitable shooting situations faced by McGrady, Kobe, and Carter.
Moreover, after making two consecutive chasing threes at the opening, Zhang Yang didn’t continue shooting indiscriminately. Instead, after the opponent’s defense concentrated at the top arc, he proactively penetrated the defense to create shooting opportunities for his teammates.
Obviously, this wasn’t a case of Terry or Kobe getting hot and shooting without restraint but rather one elent of a strategy.
Unlike Curry, who, due to prolonged developnt ti, played nurous great gas and, after being endorsed by Kobe following postseason achievents, gained recognition for his uniqueness.
Zhang Yang’s debut of his new playing style imdiately garnered wide attention and discussion!
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