When Zhang Yang made his first unguarded three-point shot easily, Big Bird thought his trash talk was having an effect, despite Zhang Yang verbally denying it but aiming to use a yet unused strategy to prove himself with actions.
However, in the next five minutes, Zhang Yang returned to his normal playstyle, shooting decisively but prioritizing the team.
Until Zhang Yang started his counterattack, Big Bird’s view of that shot changed to Zhang Yang’s head was just in the ga for that one shot.
After Zhang Yang made that shot, Big Bird’s thoughts changed.
From what he knows about Zhang Yang, this guy is definitely not caught up in the mont, nor is it to prove anything to him; it was decided from the start to play like this on fast breaks!
Big Bird: No, you’re holding back new moves and using them specifically against ?
He’s splitting apart here!
One person can go to such extres?
Even more explosive is the fact that their new head coach Jimmy Rodgers didn’t call a tiout!
Not randomly calling tiouts shows a coach’s psychological quality, but calling a tiout at a critical mont is a coach’s ability to react.
Legendary Celtics champion coach KC Jones took responsibility for losing Zhang Yang and resigned.
Jimmy Rodgers was the coach at Boston University, did well after entering the 80s, appreciated by the Red Priest, and chosen as coach.
His business capability is decent, with good tactical literacy, excellent operational ability, and quickly made adjustnts on existing tactics, allowing the Celtics’ approach to transition smoothly without a collapse in performance.
But his ga-ti adaptability is extrely poor, and again, he’s dumbfounded!
The ball was already inbounded, and Big Bird saw Jimmy Rodgers standing with his mouth open on the sidelines, feeling helpless, and just had to play the ball. If he scored, he might counteract Zhang Yang’s two catch-up three-pointers impact.
But as Big Bird reached the high position at the front court and received the ball, Knicks players, under the direction of Oakley and Zhang Yang, rushed to double team him.
Ewing defended the basket alone, Oakley blocked the middle, Gerald Wilkins fortified defense against Big Bird, Mark Jackson directly double-tead him nearby, and Zhang Yang was also charging towards him!
Big Bird had no choice but to release the ball, passing to the pulled-up McHale.
McHale received the ball and took a mid-range shot...also missed!
This shot was too hurried; with no one around, he had plenty of ti to adjust his shooting movent, but he just caught the ball, turned and threw it, like receiving a hot potato.
The ball bounced off the rim and landed just ahead of Zhang Yang, who had halted his charge towards Big Bird.
Zhang Yang caught the ball, turned, and started the counterattack again!
The Celtics’ defense was still fast in retreat, with the center changed from Parish to Buck Williams, and the point guard was the twenty-five or twenty-six-year-old third-year player Kenny Smith, much more mobile than three years ago.
But this ti, they had no coordination in defending the fast break, previously not stopping Zhang Yang’s catch-up three. This ti, Buck Williams, Kenny Smith, and Bryant Shaw blocked the top arc.
Zhang Yang passed the ball to the wing, Gerald Wilkins received it from the left 45-degree angle, cut in, and Buck Williams fiercely moved, got in position, Gerald Wilkins passed again...
Zhang Yang after passing pushed aggressively past Kenny Smith and Bryant Shaw, plunged directly down the middle to the basket, caught the ball, flew and dunked violently, scoring two points!
Celtics head coach Jimmy Rodgers then thought to call a tiout, but the 6-point gap has widened to 11 points!
With 6:11 remaining, Zhang Yang had made 7 of 5 shots, including 2 of 2 from three-point range, explosively scoring 12 points and 2 assists, leading the Knicks 24-13 over the Celtics!
No need to say, even the Knicks’ coach Stu Jackson was dumbfounded by Zhang Yang.
Entering the official tiout, Stu Jackson didn’t even notice when his tactical board was taken by soone else until they said "thank you," did he react.
Seeing Zhang Yang surrounded by teammates with the tactical board in his hands, Stu Jackson thought: This guy is quite polite!
Stu Jackson squeezed in for a peek at Zhang Yang’s drawing of running routes on the tactical board...Isn’t this Bull Team’s tactics? But reversed... Hacking logs, this guy is addicted to throwing threes!
But he did not stop him, and instead wanted to see what effect this tactic would have.
Before the official tiout, these two rounds, as the coach, he was excited to watch.
Zhang Yang single-handedly brought out the feeling of a Lakers Team!
A one-man Showti!
...
Zhang Yang continued playing, and his teammates on the court were Mark Jackson, John Newman, Oakley, and Ed Wiggins.
Snatching the tactical board might affect one’s reputation, but what reputation does he have anyway? The dia over there constantly bashes him.
Moreover... how does Zhang Yang snatching the tactical board here have anything to do with Zhang San himself?
He’s here to help ’himself’! Developing a unique style of play just for ’himself’! A new trend creator!
As for whether this tactic will be banned prematurely, it doesn’t matter. Let’s enjoy this training first.
Actually, he usually wouldn’t do such a thing. He’s very calculated, knowing what he’s good at. On-the-spot adjustnts in gas, he can probably do better than Carlisle, considering Carlisle doesn’t quite understand the world of star players. But for tactical choices and strategic planning, he probably can’t match the level of a top coach.
However, facing this opponent here with his current personal ability, it’s hard for him to suppress that whirlwind within.
Zhang Yang looked at the opposing side: Kenny Smith, Jim Paxson, Bryant Shaw, Ed Pinick, Buck Williams... What a fast lineup!
Clearly aid at defending him.
Big Bird wasn’t continuing the ga, which made him a bit regretful. But ti waits for no one, and there are difficult-to-cure back injuries impacting him. Big Bird’s average playing ti this season is only 35 minutes, a career low.
The impact of the back injury on his strength is not as severe as a spinal injury. Big Bird adjusted his style of play, and his offensive efficiency isn’t much different from previous years, averaging 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists in 35 minutes per ga.
But the impact on stamina and lateral movent is significant. He can’t play much in the first half, or he won’t be able to deliver in the second half, and his defense has plunged to rock bottom. This season, when Big Bird is on the court, opponents score 110 points per 100 possessions, very low.
Previously, Big Bird’s fans laughed most at Magician for his weak defense against guards. Now Big Bird is worse. Magician also has his worst defensive year this season but still only allows opponents to score 107 points per 100 possessions.
After the tiout, it’s the Celtics’ turn to attack.
Kenny Smith and Ed Pinick start the attack with a pick-and-roll, passing the ball to Bryant Shaw.
Buck Williams cuts in, receiving another pass from Bryant Shaw, and flies in for a layup, scoring two points.
The second lineup painstakingly built by Red Priest back in the day is indeed strong, centered around Bryant Shaw, Buck Williams primarily attacking the inside, Kenny Smith targeting mid and long-range shots, Jim Paxson and Ed Pinick responsible for setting screens, cuts to pull defenses, running... and other dirty work. The playstyle is cohesive, everyone fulfills their roles, and this play is beautiful.
No early double-teaming allowed, which is very friendly to tactical wing players. Bryant Shaw’s regular-season average assists this season reached an impressive 7.6 tis, the highest among players of the sa type.
to 24, the Celtics narrow the gap to 9 points.
Now the Knicks Team’s turn to attack, Zhang Yang moves to the left elbow area, noticing the opposing defensive movents, as soon as he catches the ball, he’ll be instantly double-tead. A bit closer to the basket, he might be surrounded by three or four players.
Mark Jackson pushes forward, passes to John Newman at the left 45-degree angle, then runs towards the right baseline mid-range area. Oakley and Ed Wilkins co to the sides of the free-throw line.
Bryant Shaw guards John Newman from the 45-degree angle, Jim Paxson controls Zhang Yang with his back to the basket at the left elbow zone, Buck Williams and Ed Pinick follow the pair of inside players at the free-throw line sides, Kenny Smith tailing Mark Jackson.
Due to the rule prohibiting early double-teaming, defenders cannot leave their target for more than three seconds beyond arm’s length, leaving the entire Celtics’ inside line wide open!
From the sidelines, Big Bird sees this setup, imdiately rembering the new tactic designed for Jordan by Chicago Bulls coach Doug Collins under the ’anti-isolation rule,’ quickly standing up and shouting: "Watch out for Jack!"
No need for Big Bird’s reminder, Buck Williams also notices, and when Zhang Yang makes a right turn, Buck Williams imdiately releases Oakley, retracting towards the basket.
Zhang Yang’s right turn is a fake move, his body stops halfway through executing, reversing and running towards the free-throw line.
Jim Paxson quickly follows but ets two ’mountains’ at the free-throw line, Oakley and Ed Wilkins ’closing the gate,’ blocking the line!
Jim Paxson gets blocked, Ed Pinick isn’t as fast as Buck Williams, and when he finally runs around the two at the free-throw line, Zhang Yang already received the pass from John Newman at the top arc and has shot the ball... and it’s a wide-open, well-adjusted three-pointer!
When the ball fell through the basket, the place erupted!
The fans discovered for the first ti, three-point shots could be so cool!
The Knicks Team players were very excited too, cursing when Zhang Yang initially laid out the tactic, wondering if the ball could be played this way.
After successfully executing the tactic, they cursed again, realizing the ball could indeed be played like this!
They dared to follow Zhang Yang’s ’play,’ executing such a tactic thanks to Zhang Yang winning the Three-Point King this season, breaking the NBA history single-season three-point average and total hits record.
However, before tonight, even though Zhang Yang was the Three-Point King, no one thought it was such an incredible feat, including his teammates, who just thought his long-range shooting was impressive.
Because back then, the emphasis on three-pointers was extrely low, and confrontation within allowed scale was too great, making one-on-one three-pointers exceptionally difficult, even Zhang Yang perford poorly on one-on-ones, averaging 2.7 threes with two of them being through catch-and-shoot.
But after Zhang Yang’s three successive three-point shots tonight, their perception had been reshaped...
So joyful, so sorrowful, Celtics players were genuinely bewildered.
Big Bird "thumped" back onto his seat at the sidelines, feeling like it’s over. The ga wasn’t even a quarter through, and he seed already capable of seeing the ending.
Big Bird: If only I hadn’t thought about saving that 100 bucks sky fee that day, I wouldn’t have fallen off the roof...
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