The two teams imdiately continued their fierce battle as the ga opened.
Seeing the Bobcats players playing harder and more actively, but without lacking calmness, Billups felt no regrets. He appreciated such opponents even more! He truly enjoyed competing against the Bobcats.
It boils down to the mindset of the four core players of the Pistons—they are champions!
Having won a championship before, they didn’t lose their dreams or fighting spirit just because they had won a title, but when evaluating opponents, they beca more magnanimous and more willing to acknowledge their strengths.
The three cores of the Bobcats could withstand the pressure of losing the first ga, calmly lead the team in analysis and prepare, also because they are champions.
Teams competing for the championship without the experience of winning are very obsessed with veteran players who have championship experience, for this reason.
In facing the Pistons’ strong and highly targeted rotational defense, the Bobcats increased ball movent tonight, making quicker decisions in passing. Although they had more turnovers than the last ga, they also caught the Pistons off guard.
Mike Miller, Alan Anderson, and Hill, these three players on the wings carrying out mid to long-range shots, had clearly better opportunities than in the last ga.
On the defensive end, the Bobcats did a better job in blocking two-point shots, but because of focusing on blocking shots inside the arc, they exposed more open three-point and cut-in opportunities to the Pistons. The three-point coverage was relatively poor, and the pressure on rim protection increased. But this is defense; unless you have a Howard underneath, or a Garnett in mid-range, you can’t cover both mid-range shots and three-pointers.
Compared to the Bobcats, who had very clear adjustnts, the Pistons’ opening strategy did not differ much from the last ga. They were the winning team, and against the Bobcats, predictive adjustnts were not advisable. Philip Saunders chose to continue the previous ga’s strategy and make on-the-spot adjustnts.
In the first quarter, the Bobcats were behind by two points to the Pistons with a score of 25-27. In the second quarter, the Bobcats tied the score 26-24, ending the half with the two teams tied at 51!
The situation seed similar to the last ga; the Bobcats still hadn’t gained the upper hand. But without needing detailed analysis, just by comparing the Bobcats’ first-half data from both gas, you could see the difference.
In the last ga, Zhang Yang, Felton, and Okafor combined for a massive 73 points, while all other players combined had less than half their total, only scoring 32 points. The Pistons used team defense to force the Bobcats into last season’s playoff strategy, concentrating their scoring on their three core players.
Tonight, the scoring percentage of these three in the first half significantly decreased. Zhang Yang’s first-half playing ti also reduced from 22 minutes in the last ga to 19 minutes!
The 3-minute rest mid-second quarter greatly helped Zhang Yang!
In the third quarter, after both teams fiercely battled to a score of 11-12, following an official tiout, Zhang Yang exploded. He first broke into the interior to score a 2 1, then stole the ball for a fast-break trailing three-pointer, singlehandedly scoring a 6-0 run against the Pistons, helping the Bobcats take a 68-63 lead over the Pistons by 5 points!
After both teams tussled around the 5-point mark for a small stretch, by the end of the third quarter, with the Pistons trailing by 4 points, Billups exerted himself again, hitting two consecutive three-point shots, fully displaying his clutch abilities.
But this ti the Bobcats kept up, with Zhang Yang consecutively attacking and passing, and Mike Miller and Felton each hitting a three-pointer!
The last 1-minute saw a 6-6 end, with the Bobcats leading the Pistons 84-80 by 4 points after three quarters, entering the final period!
The third quarter saw both teams engage in a 33-29 back-and-forth scoring rally, with Zhang Yang, Billups, Felton, Hamilton, Mike Miller, and Dudley showing brilliant performances. The comntator marveled at their shooting performance in crucial monts. The first half had only about 25 points per quarter, and the third quarter, typically the lowest scoring quarter, counterintuitively surged to around 30 points!
Especially Dudley, the rookie, mature and poised, with nerves of steel—when you give him the ball, he’s not afraid to shoot!
Carlisle regretted not choosing Dudley a little, as he was one of their favored candidates during last year’s draft preparation phase.
But at the ti, choosing Afflalo, Zhang Yang’s high school classmate, was the ’correct team politics.’
Also, Carlisle is soone with a long-term vision; he saw Afflalo’s talent, capable of becoming a deluxe version of Alan Anderson. Whereas Dudley, despite being excellent as an imdiate asset, isn’t a scarce type of player, not to say he’s a di a dozen. Mike Miller is precisely a super deluxe version of Dudley.
The slight regret stemd from Dudley being picked by the Pistons. For the Bobcats, Dudley was dispensable, but for the Pistons, who had not made any effective signings for several years, Dudley genuinely beca a second-unit treasure.
Into the final quarter, the two teams continued the fast-paced back-and-forth scoring. The Pistons first launched an 11-6 run to overturn the score; however, after the Pistons’ upsurge ended with emptiness, the Bobcats countered with a 9-5 run, regaining a 3-point lead at 99-96.
As the ga approached the end, the Bobcats tenaciously held onto their slim lead, being ahead of the Pistons at 106-104.
When it ca to the Pistons’ offense, Hamilton ran around with Felton in pursuit. Felton almost got left in the dust by Hamilton, just like last year and nearly this year too...
At the critical mont, Felton couldn’t keep up, chased for 10 seconds, and got left behind by a Hamilton’s counter-run. Billups seed to have eyes only for the basket but was keenly aware of everything, tily passing the ball. Hamilton caught, turned, and took a mid-range shot... Zhang Yang sprinted from the baseline to contest the shot closely!
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