Chapter 119 118. It’s on the table!
His technique didn't get better, but Zhang Yang seemed to be more aware of where the ball was when he was making moves and dribbling the ball... It felt very subtle, and he felt that it should be this way.

Shooting with the ball is also called shooting after dribbling. The importance of 'dribbling' is no less than that of 'shooting'.

The improvement of ball control rhythm not only makes it easier to learn and master ball-holding offensive techniques, but also helps him a lot in actual combat shots. Zhang Yang felt this when the "Son of Wind Ball Control Rhythm Primary" took effect.

Now that he thinks about it, maybe it can also help him improve the upper limit of his ball-handling offensive skills?

Zhang Yang tried dribbling across the court, and this time the feeling was more obvious. His control over the ball became better, and his advancement speed increased slightly!
Players with the same speed and the same good ball control will still have some difference when they are advancing with the ball at the fastest speed. That difference may lie in this!
Zhang Yang was in a very good mood after receiving the reward. He continued to shoot and missed!

A new task has arrived. The regular task requires 8 shooting points and a random shooting talent +1. This additional task only requires shooting points. He is happy and regretful.

He was happy that the talent brushing would be faster this time, with a total of 10 shooting points. Most of the next games would be at home, so it would be completed in a little over a month. However, he was expecting the task of improving his sense of rhythm to come soon...

After two days of rest after back-to-back games, the Bobcats welcomed their fifth consecutive home game.

In the first half of the season, they "enjoyed" three consecutive away games of at least 3 games. In the second half of the season, there were only 5 away games among the 30 regular season games. It was a case of sweetness after bitterness.

After playing against several playoff-level teams in a row, the Bobcats first faced three weak opponents in this five-game homestand.

On March 3, the Bobcats will face the Knicks at home.

After entering, Zhang Yang was shocked when he saw the group of people opposite him.

After the All-Star Weekend, the Knicks made a series of trades. According to the trading rules under the 2005 labor agreement, the salaries of the two parties to the transaction do not have to be exactly the same. Depending on the salaries of the players being traded, the difference can fluctuate between 5% and 20%. The Knicks successfully broke the NBA's single-season total salary record, reaching an astonishing US$1.26 million.

The salary cap this season is 4950 million US dollars. The amount exceeding 6258 million US dollars will be subject to luxury tax. The total expenses of the Knicks players and coaching staff this season exceed million US dollars.

The Knicks' salary expenses are higher than the total season revenue of all teams except the Lakers and Rockets, and they are expected to make a profit of more than $5000 million...

Such a huge salary expenditure has enabled the Knicks to stockpile a bunch of very famous players.

Point guard: Marbury starts, Francis is the substitute, and Nate Robinson is the third choice.

Shooting guard: Big Q as the starting player, Jamal Crawford as the backup, and Quintell Woods as the third choice.

Small forward: Jalen Rose as the starter, Malik Rose as the backup, and Anfernee Hardaway as the third choice.

Power forward: Antonio Davis as the starter, David Lee as the backup, Maurice Taylor as the third choice.

Center: Eddy Curry as the starter, Channing Frye as the backup, and Jerome Williams as the third choice.

On the morning of the second day after the All-Star Weekend, when Yao Ming invited Zhang Yang's family to dinner, they talked about the Knicks' trades. When he mentioned the Knicks' lineup, the second and third lineups alone made Yao Ming jealous.

Maurice Taylor, who couldn't play in the Knicks, was the best power forward Yao Ming had ever partnered with, but was sent away by the Rockets because of his high annual salary.

But when this group of people get together... The Knicks currently have 18 wins and 42 losses, ranking last in the Eastern Conference, competing with the Trail Blazers, formerly the league's highest-payroll team, for last place in the East and West.

The Raptors fought hard to lose, but they were no match for these two teams.

The game starts at 7pm.

The Knicks' offense is actually pretty good. Even if their main 12 players don't cooperate and take turns playing one-on-one, they still average 97 points per game, which is slightly higher than the league average. Of course, this is also because opponents don't take them too seriously when defending them.

But the defense was shockingly bad... In the first quarter, at 4 minutes and 11 seconds, Zhang Yang came on as a substitute and in his first attack, he passed Jamal Crawford in one step. When he broke into the inside, he was worried that Curry would bump into him, but Curry stood outside the three-second zone and watched him shoot the ball, without even making a move to grab the rebound.

After the first attack, Zhang Yang's positional offensive method changed tonight, from singles or running to receive the ball and shoot to various cuts within the sight of teammates with the ball.

The Knicks' best defensive player is their point guard Stephen Marbury.

When the weather is good, Curry will stretch out his hands and push up against the players in the interior, but it is the Rainy Season and it rains every day in Charlotte. Curry is in no mood to move tonight.

Antonio Davis was very motivated, but he had to defend Okafor's mid-range shot and help defend Gerald Wallace, who was more threatening in attacking the basket...

David Lee and Channing Frye have average defensive enthusiasm and poor defensive abilities.

Jerome Williams, who is known for having the worst contract in history, was in his contract year last season. When he played in the playoffs for the Supersonics, he averaged 11 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks in 1.8 games. In the first round against the Kings, he averaged 17 points, 9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. The Knicks couldn't wait to offer him a 5-year, $3300 million contract. By the time he reported to the Knicks in September last year, he weighed nearly 9 kilograms. He was sweating profusely and panting wildly after playing for 140 minutes in every game, as if he was about to die.

Zhang Yang played for 29 minutes tonight, took 21 shots, made 21 of 14 shots, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, plus 6 of 5 free throws, scoring 34 points!
靠着张杨的34分、奥卡福14分12板、杰拉德-华莱士15分6板5助攻1抢断4盖帽、布雷泽克11分、马特-卡罗尔8分、费尔顿11分16助攻……山猫队以116比99大胜尼克斯队！

...

In the game against the Knicks, the Bobcats played just like any other team did against the Knicks. They played casually on offense and didn't play very hard on defense. They won easily without much consumption, so Bickerstaff scheduled a preparation meeting for the next afternoon to prepare for the next back-to-back home game.

The next day at noon, when Zhang Yang came to the stadium after lunch, he saw Felton flipping through the team manual.

Zhang Yang asked, "Raymond, are you looking at the schedule?"

Felton: "Yeah, I'm looking to see when the next game is against the Knicks."

Zhang Yang: "I remember it was the second to last game, away at Madison Square Garden. I'm really looking forward to it. This season we only have that one chance to play in the holy land of basketball. Boss, do you want to play there too?"

Felton answered the question irrelevantly: "Next time I play against them, I will score 35 points!"

Zhang Yang pinched his thigh, but this time he held back his laughter! He was a professional! He absolutely could not laugh!

Last night, Felton was in great spirits after the game. He made 7 of 4 shots and scored 11 points and 16 assists. The 16 assists set a new career high for him.

Among these 16 assists, 7 were obtained by Zhang Yang for Felton.

But after the game, Felton was dumbfounded when he was interviewed. He heard the reporter tell him that Zhang Yang scored 34 points, breaking his record of 05 points for a rookie in the 31 class...

Felton had to keep his expression tight and told reporters: "This is what Jack deserves. He has a strong ability to find shooting opportunities. Moreover, it takes a lot of courage to cut into the basket against two 140-kilogram players in Curry and Williams. I am proud of Jack's performance."

After the game, Zhang Yang was in the news. Not only did he get the highest score in a single game among his peers, but this was also his 10th time of 20+ points this season, second only to Paul's 19 times of 20+ points in a single game.

The younger brother seized the opportunity to score, and Felton could not blame the younger brother for being overtaken by the highest scorer in the same class. He could only focus on the New York Nursing Home, which was the opponent most likely to score high points besides the Suns.

The Suns would at least be aware of double-teaming the players who were scoring, but the Knicks were different. They literally watched their opponents score and saw their teammates getting beaten. The Knicks players didn't think about helping to double-team, but rather - he missed someone and couldn't defend, so what does it have to do with me?
The preparations for the afternoon mainly consisted of meetings, in which Bickerstaff analyzed with the players how to take advantage of the opponent's defensive loopholes.

The Bobcats players were also very positive.

Although the national attention they received when playing against the Cavaliers has faded, the Bobcats still managed to attract a lot of fans' continued attention through that game.

After defeating the Knicks, their record came to 29 wins and 31 losses, surpassing the 29ers with 32 wins and 76 losses, and ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference!
Their next opponents are the Warriors, second from last in the Western Conference, and the Hawks, third from last in the Eastern Conference. In this morning's news, the media are saying that they are about to reach a 50% winning rate and officially enter the table to compete for a playoff spot.

This sparked a wave of discussion among fans across the United States, and local fans also expressed their expectations and encouragement online.

For most of the Bobcats players, being expected by people again was something they had given up hope for.

From being the center of attention as a student to being ignored as a player, the gap was huge. Now that they have the feeling of being noticed again, the Bobcats players are full of motivation!
On March 3, the Bobcats faced their first back-to-back opponent, the Warriors.

Although the Warriors are only ranked second from the bottom in the Western Conference with only 22 wins and 40 losses, the Bobcats did not underestimate this opponent when preparing for the game because the Warriors' lineup is really too good.

场均18分4板9助攻的巴郎-戴维斯、场均23分6板3助攻的贾森-理查德森、场均14分10板的特洛伊-墨菲……第六人都是场均13.3分4.6助攻的德里克-费舍尔。

The poor record, the team's bad atmosphere and the tradition of losing are partly to blame, but head coach Mike Montgomery also has to bear some responsibility.

Montgomery is a famous NCAA coach. He brought his college basketball tactics to the NBA. His offense was unable to bring out the best in the talented players, and ended up with a few guards taking turns. His zone defense also didn't work in the NBA. Even if NBA players had played zone defense in college, most of them were the ones being protected in the zone defense... Although the Warriors' record was poor, there were some highlight games this season - Baron Davis scored 38 points and 9 assists to lead the Warriors to a 136-134 win over the Spurs in double overtime.

Tonight, the Warriors exploded again!

The Warriors players were very angry when they saw that the media treated them as stepping stones for the Bobcats to get to the table.

Forget about other teams, but that's the Bobcats! A team with a few first- and second-year players as the core, and the strongest forwards are made up of scraps that other teams don't want.

The Warriors scored 5 points in the first 17 minutes of the game, showing an extremely fierce performance!
However, the Bobcats' performance was not bad either, and they scored 12 points steadily.

Up to this point, the Bobcats players, who have gradually built up their confidence and have become increasingly motivated, have played patiently and calmly, attacking patiently and focusing on defense, waiting for the opponent's heat to cool down.

They have a sense of their own personal ability and know that they can't solve this situation head-on. The opponent's dunk king Richardson is the fourth best three-point shooter in the league this season. Only Ray Allen, Arenas, and Raja Bell are more accurate than Richardson. Richardson made three three-pointers against the defense at the beginning. They can't compete with the opponent, right? Didn't you see that Matt Carroll, their most accurate three-point shooter, was grinning and shaking his head on the sidelines.

It was the Warriors' turn to attack again. Richardson continued to ask Baron Davis for the ball, ignoring Gerald Wallace, and jumped directly, higher than Gerald Wallace. If he was interfered, he would fade away to avoid the block and shoot...

Richardson had shot like this before, relying on the league's top-notch jumping ability to block Gerald Wallace, and he always made the shot, but this time it missed!
Felton grabbed the defensive rebound, launched a counterattack, and passed the ball...but it was hit out of bounds by Baron Davis who was flying in the air.

Bickerstaff made a substitution, replacing Kareem Rush with Zhang Yang, while Felton, Gerald Wallace, Okafor and Brezek continued to play.

The Warriors also made a substitution, with Monta Ellis replacing Mike Dunleavy.

When the two high school students came on the court, they looked at each other at the same time. When their eyes met, they both felt the other's fighting spirit.

Opportunities always come to those who are prepared. Although Monta Ellis suffered a disastrous defeat in the draft, falling from the earliest predicted lottery zone or even the top ten or top five picks to the middle of the second round, and has had very little playing time since entering the NBA, he did not give up on himself. Instead, he turned his grief and anger into motivation and trained like crazy.

In the last game before the All-Star Weekend, Ellis finally got his chance, as Michael Pietrus, the first substitute for the shooting guard and small forward positions, was injured.

After the All-Stars Weekend, Montgomery, who couldn't find a good player as a substitute for the forward and guard line, tried to use Ellis.

The Warriors' first opponent in the second half of the season was the Jazz. Facing the highest-ranked outside player in the same draft, Ellis went wild, scoring 29 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals in 3 minutes of playing time.

Montgomery immediately decided to give Ellis more opportunities to try. In the next 6 games, Ellis scored 12 points, 8 points, 11 points, 14 points, and 16 points respectively... In the 7 games after becoming the main substitute, Ellis averaged 11.6 points and 3.7 assists per game, becoming the Warriors' second outside substitute after Fisher.

Michael Pietrus, the 03 lottery pick, sprained his knee and rested for more than half a month. When he came back, he found that there was no place for him on the team!

The Bobcats continued to attack. Felton received the serve and passed it to Zhang Yang, who took a break.

Ellis pressed towards Zhang Yang and defended him closely. Facing Ellis, who weighed only 84 kilograms, Zhang Yang pressed his body forward, pushed his opponent away, and easily protected the ball.

The fans at the scene cheered. It was a match between their talented player...the talented freshman from North Carolina and the former No. 2 high school player in the United States who was on the rise recently!

Ellis, who was pushed away, pressed forward again, but this time Zhang Yang was faster than his opponent. Under Ellis' astonished gaze, Zhang Yang pulled the ball with his left hand, turned left, stuck to Ellis, bypassed the opponent, and entered the three-point line!
When Ellis turned around, Zhang Yang had already started to rush towards the inside!

Foyle moved up and came half a step inside the arc of the reasonable collision zone, trying to block Zhang Yang. At this time, Okafor turned around and pushed Troy Murphy away and cut into the inside. Foyle hesitated, who should he block?
At this moment, Zhang Yang rushed to a position slightly outside the arc of the reasonable collision zone, grabbed the ball, and threw it towards the basket.

Foyle immediately turned to defend Okafor's alley-oop... Eh? Was the opponent's jump and force preparation action to grab the rebound? Foyle looked at the basket... The ball fell into the basket!

Watching Okafor quietly turn around and retreat, and high-five Zhang Yang to celebrate, Foyle was filled with question marks.

What kind of coordination is this? Is this a shot?!
He thought that their team's high school rookie Ellis was already wild and independent enough, but compared to the high school rookie on the opposite side who made the All-Star starter in his rookie year, he was nothing!
In the transition of offense and defense, Baron Davis pushed across half court and passed the ball to Ellis. He thought he could go down and rest, so it would be a good idea to let Fisher do this job.

He also has to give the ball to the player. Ellis has almost zero running ability, his positioning choices are very poor, and he plays purely with the ball.

However, Baron Davis is full of expectations for Ellis' talent. This rookie reminds him of his most trusted teammate back then - Jamal Mashburn.

Ellis played against Zhang Yang, crossed steps and changed direction, using his speed to break through... but was followed!
Ellis rushed to the right side of the free throw line and was double-teamed by Gerald Wallace who was shrinking on the wing, and the sideline pass was cut off!
Ellis acted decisively, jumped up, and shot a sideways jump shot...it was ridiculously crooked!
The ball hit the outer left edge of the basket and bounced into the hands of Felton who was following Baron Davis at a 45-degree angle on the left.

Felton counterattacked and passed the ball to Zhang Yang who was running fast when he was close to the center line. Zhang Yang rushed all the way to the bottom line, attracted the defense of Ellis and Baron Davis who were trying their best to chase him, and passed the ball back to the center... Okafor who followed up received the ball and dunked it with both hands!
Looking at Zhang Yang who stepped back and high-fived his teammates to celebrate, Ellis couldn't believe it!
Three months ago, he had played against Zhang Yang once. Although he only played for 8 minutes, he was basically in a matchup with Zhang Yang. He had the advantage in the matchup, whether in terms of technology or physical fitness. He was born two and a half years earlier and was already 20 years old, so he had the advantage.

At that time, he was obviously faster than Zhang Yang, but Zhang Yang kept up with his pace when he was defending just now. When he was chasing and counterattacking, before Zhang Yang received the ball, his speed seemed to be no slower than his!
Is the potential so great at the age of 17? No! Ellis remembered that when he was in the 9th and 10th grade, when he was or years old, he was already at about the same speed as now!
I haven’t grown much in height since then, but my weight has increased from 165 pounds (75 kg) when I first entered high school to 186 pounds (84 kg) now.

Ellis felt very upset. He was the second best high school student in the United States in the 05 class! The best and highest-ranked perimeter player in his class! How could there be other high school students in his class with better perimeter talent than him!
Ellis went to the frontcourt to receive the ball and continued to attack...

After several rounds, Ellis couldn't accept it, but he had to admit that in just three months, he could no longer suppress Zhang Yang like he did in December.

His skills are better, but his opponent is bigger in physique and can not only attack with the ball, but also play without the ball. Not only did he fail to come up as the sixth man to continue the team's offensive firepower and continue to suppress the opponent, but he was suppressed by the opponent!
In the starting phase, the Bobcats withstood the opponent's offensive firepower and did not allow the opponent to widen the score gap to a large extent. After Zhang Yang came on the court, he resisted Montgomery's strategy of using Monta Ellis as a surprise attack to widen the score difference... By the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats' advantage in teamwork was reflected!

首节打完，山猫队以34比30反超勇士队4分，在后面7分钟时间里打出了22比13的比分！
If they were under pressure from the start and lost 7 points in 9 minutes, the Warriors might have given up based on their "tradition".

But they were leading at the start, and after the break they were unwilling to give up and continued to attack!
第二节勇士队打出28比27的比分，缩小了1分分差，但第三节山猫队靠着马特-卡罗尔、卡里姆-拉什、朱梅因-琼斯3位三分手合力投进5个三分球，打出了29比23的比分，将分差拉开到9分，90比81领先勇士队。

In the final quarter, the Warriors finally returned to their "tradition" and gave up if they couldn't win.

末节比分24比21，山猫队以114比102击败勇士队，将战绩提升至30胜31负！
埃利斯今晚打了25分钟，11投5中，加上3中3的罚球，拿到13分5板3助攻1抢断，表现很出色了。

However, he could only play singles and pass the ball, and the team had no tactical support, so his performance was not as good as Zhang Yang on the opposite side.

张杨13投6中，其中三分球5中2，加上2中2的罚球，拿到18分4板2助攻1抢断！

奥卡福今晚肆虐内线，切入吃饼或二次进攻、反击得分、低位靠打……21投12中，外加6中4的罚球，拿到28分13板1助攻2盖帽，28分，可以排在他新秀赛季得分第3高。

Felton had 14 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists tonight, which was average.

Gerald Wallace was crazy, constantly triggering cheers from the fans. Although he only scored 17 points, he still had 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 5 blocks, effectively curbing the Warriors' scoring momentum.

Gerald Wallace was originally very satisfied with his performance, but when he heard his little brother Jack mumbling while looking at the data on the big screen, he also felt obsessive-compulsive disorder coming on.

“杰拉德怎么就不多拿1个助攻和1个抢断呢，要不少拿1个助攻和1个盖帽也行，得分也多了两分，要不再多进1个三分球或者2+1……看得我感觉浑身都在发痒……”

So, the next day, when the Bobcats played back-to-back against the Hawks, the Hawks players were about to fall apart.

The Bobcats Crown Prince, did we offend you? We are only targeting high school rookies, okay!

The Hawks are in an even worse situation than the Warriors right now.

The Warriors' bad performance has become a tradition. They have been like this for 10 years, and the players are used to it. If there is a chance to win, they will try it. If there is no chance, they will just give up and lie down. There is no such thing as being hit.

In addition, head coach Montgomery has been trying to make the team better. Although his coaching style is not suitable for the NBA, his efforts have won the respect of the players, and the players are willing to cooperate with him, so that everyone has something to do.

The Hawks, on the other hand, were a mess. They had the best front line in the league, but still finished third from the bottom in the Eastern Conference and fourth from the bottom in the league.

The record was far below their expectations before the start of the season. They were defeated by strong teams. The head coach made random changes to the lineup every time, and even the players felt that they shouldn't do that. However, Mike Brown, a coach from Larry Brown's school, was stubborn and felt that his authority could not be challenged, which led to a tense relationship with the players...

Tonight, the Hawks played against the Bobcats in a back-to-back game. The Hawks players did not have much expectations. Joe Johnson was ready to get 20 points and 5 assists. Harrington continued to target Zhang Yang, who is also a high school rookie. Josh Smith had nothing to do, so he teamed up with Harrington, who is also a high school student, to double-team Zhang Yang... and then was beaten up by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who was dissatisfied with last night's data.
杰拉德-华莱士今晚出场36分钟，9投5中加上4中2的罚球，拿到12分，得分方面他顾不上了，投入到突分传球和防守中，疯狂扑抢、玩儿命收缩……拿到6板6助攻6抢断5盖帽！

Under the targeting of two high school students, Zhang Yang made 7 of 3 shots, scored 6 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, playing a Livingston-like performance.

奥卡福15分11板、费尔顿18分4助攻、布雷泽克19分、马特-卡罗尔13分……102比81，山猫队击败老鹰队，送给了老鹰队本赛季第44场失利，老鹰队战绩来到了20胜44负，‘追平’了东部倒数第二的猛龙队。

Raptors management: Damn it! There are more competitors!

The Bobcats have won four consecutive games, improving their record to 4 wins and 31 losses, with a winning rate of 31%. They are on the table!
After the game, the entire Bobcats team surrounded Gerald Wallace to celebrate and were crazy about his performance. Only he felt itchy all over and very uncomfortable...12+6+6+6+5...one less block!
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(End of this chapter)