Chapter 130 129. My great-grandmother would never rank last even if she coached the Knicks
After the final whistle, Iverson hugged Zhang Yang, Felton, Gerald Wallace, Okafor, etc. in turn. The owner of the praise group came online and praised the performance of the young people.

Although he lost the game, he was still quite happy playing. It had been many years since he had challenged someone in a one-on-one duel as recklessly as he did today.

It's a bit of a pity that the rookie was exhausted after fighting one-on-one for 11 minutes, and it took him more than half an hour to recover. There was nothing he could do. He was only 17 years old, and it was already very good for him to be able to fight for more than a dozen rounds in a row.

Iguodala was not very happy, watching Zhang Yang force a foul in a double team situation, and the score reached 35 points... and he made one of two free throws, what does that mean? It means he should be one point higher than his career high score of little AI, right!
He will remember this grudge!

In fact, Zhang Yang’s words were forgotten after they were said. They were just some trash talk.

When he was fouled, he just wanted to try to see if a strong shot could go in, but he was pulled down by the opponent. It was a bit painful and he had to give up the attack.

Zhang Yang also had a lot of fun playing this game. Tonight he understood why he never heard any player say anything bad about Iverson. As long as the game is played normally, the answer will not get angry if they lose, while the three brothers will show the bad side of their personalities to some extent after losing.

When asked about his feelings about the one-on-one match with Iverson after the game, Zhang Yang responded: "Being able to put the ball into the basket under any circumstances like the answer is what I want!"

...

The Bobcats have secured a spot in the playoffs, with the media scrambling to report on the game and fans buzzing about it.

Half a year ago, who would have thought that the Bobcats would make it to the playoffs?

Four young talents, Zhang Yang, Felton, Gerald Wallace and Okafor, became the focus of heated discussion.

Zhang Yang is the most discussed one, and also the most controversial one.

His talent has been compared with Garnett, Kobe, McGrady and James.

Some people say that he benefited from those people. As soon as he entered the NBA, he was fully trained by the Bobcats. He learned from the mistakes they made and avoided many detours. This view is supported by many people.

But many people also think that this statement is too one-sided. Every high school rookie can see the lessons of the past, but the only one who can really use this experience to make himself play better is Zhang Yang.

Although Felton's playing talent is not as high as Paul and Deron, he is praised for his maturity, stability, and strong leadership, and is the leader of the Bobcats.

Gerald Wallace...the Kings were dragged out and beaten.

After he was selected to the All-Star Game, he received a lot of sympathy from fans for his tragic early career.

Little-known fact: Gerald Wallace was only 18 years old when he was selected by the Kings, and his total playing time with the Kings in the first three years of his career was not as much as the playing time of James, who was the same age as him when he entered the NBA, in his first month of competition.

The topic of "If Gerald Wallace entered the NBA, he would be trained as a priority" has become popular again.

Jordan didn't expect that he would be dragged down and beaten - why did he go to the Wizards to play for two years instead of doing his job? Why not build a team earlier and draft Gerald Wallace?
Okafor is praised for having the style of Duncan. However, his biggest black spot since entering the NBA is that he blindly gained weight, which affected the team's building process.

At the beginning of the season, the Bobcats started with 3 wins and 1 loss. No one paid attention at the time because in those 4 games, two of the opponents were weak teams and two were strong teams. The Bobcats won the game because the Rockets were without McGrady and the Bobcats made a buzzer beater, and lost the other game. Every year at the beginning of the season, there will be weak teams that unexpectedly rank at the top, but they will not be able to do so after playing a few more games. The Bobcats did indeed quickly fall to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

But now people think back, the reason why the Bobcats started strong but ended badly was because of the chain reaction caused by Okafor's excessive weight gain and injury. For a long time, the Bobcats were only supported by two rookies, Felton and Zhang Yang. It was a miracle that they won the game.
If Okafor had not blindly gained weight in the summer, the Bobcats would not be able to quickly reach their April strength, but at least they could have reached it earlier, and their record might have been better.

Of course, this statement has also been refuted by some people, who say that it was precisely because of the injuries of Okafor and Gerald Wallace that Felton and Zhang Yang had the space to play freely in the early stages of the season... This is another controversial topic.

还有一些球迷不愿意参与这些充满争论的话题，他们关注山猫队和76人队这场比赛本身，讨论张杨单挑大小AI、他拿到第3次单场30+、他已经19次单场20+能不能破20次、他想要像艾弗森那样成为得分王……

The Bobcats flew to New York at noon the next day, and when they arrived at the hotel, they rented a conference room to hold a meeting to discuss tomorrow's game.

They have secured a spot in the playoffs, but that doesn't mean the season is over. They still have goals to strive for in the regular season.

They have secured a playoff spot, but not the eighth place. They are currently ranked seventh, and secured a spot two games in advance. That means that even if they lose the next two games and the Bucks win the remaining games, they will not fall out of the playoffs. The Bucks still have a chance to surpass the eighth-placed Bulls and enter the playoffs.

The higher the ranking, the better. If we can surpass the Pacers and Wizards and get to fifth place, we can avoid the three strongest teams in the Eastern Conference.

The next opponent, the Knicks, is very weak and ranked last in the league, so the Bobcats players are a little inflated.

But a word from the fat boss at the team meeting made his teammates focus again.

"There is an old Chinese saying that a lion will use all its strength even when hunting a rabbit."

Some teammates didn’t understand and asked, “What does the lion have to do with us?”

Felton also asked this question and gave the answer: "Lions are cats, and our team name is Bobcats, which is also a cat."

This statement won cheers from teammates. Using the metaphor of a lion to describe himself made him feel very domineering.

As for what that ancient Chinese saying means, not many people can understand it, but it’s not important.

Felton once again successfully led his teammates.

...

After the meeting, Zhang Yang, Felton, Okafor and Alan Anderson went to dinner together.

In the eyes of his teammates, Okafor has joined the 'rookie group' and there is nothing wrong with him being only a sophomore.

However, when the four of them form a group, their influence within the team can only compete with Gerald Wallace. The Crown Prince's personal charm is indeed strong, and the management and coaching staff's efforts in training him are no less than Zhang Yang and Okafor.

During dessert time, although Zhang Yang and Okafor are self-disciplined, they would occasionally accompany Felton to eat some junk food.

Felton was eating a cupcake while reading a newspaper. When he saw a report reprinted from ESPN News, he said in surprise: "Jack, am I still asleep? ESPN said we are the second best team in the Eastern Conference after the All-Star Weekend? The Cavaliers are not ranked first! The Cavaliers are only third?"

Zhang Yang leaned over to take a look and exclaimed, "As expected of ESPN, this is professionalism!"

Felton: “Ah?”

Okafor couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted, "After the All-Stars weekend, the Cavaliers lost to us three times. ESPN praised us highly. It's not that James is not good, but that we are too good. If the Pistons hadn't had such a good record, they might have put us first."

Zhang Yang: "ESPN can also attract hatred for us by putting the Heat and Nets behind us. Carter and Wade both value these things. If we are eliminated in the first round and James makes it to the second round, everything before that will not be important."

Felton: "Hiss... So dirty!"

Okafor feels that Felton is lucky to be in the same class as Zhang Yang.

If Felton had entered the NBA a year earlier or Zhang Yang a year later, Felton would definitely have been suppressed by Gerald Wallace.

Back at the hotel, the rookies gathered in Felton's room to watch the highlight game between the Heat and the Nets.

Currently, the Nets have 48 wins and 32 losses, and the Heat have 49 wins and 31 losses. With only two games left for both teams, the Nets can only hope to rush to second place in the Eastern Conference by defeating the Heat head-on. If the Heat win, they will lock in second place in the Eastern Conference one game in advance.

The Bobcats are currently ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference and may be able to move up. Their goal is to rank as high as possible, but if they cannot surpass the Pacers and Wizards, then it will be important who comes in second between the Nets and the Heat.

They naturally hope the Nets can win tonight…

The game was intense and tense. The Nets showed amazing power in regular time. Even though O'Neal had scored 6 points with 22 minutes and 35 seconds left in the final quarter, the Nets still took a 6-point lead.

Wade was made to score only 19 points with 7 of 18 shots by Kidd, while Kidd went crazy and scored 12 points with 7 of 4 shots, 20 three-pointers and 20 free throws, and both Carter and Richard Jefferson scored 98+ points. When the official timeout came in the fourth quarter, the Nets led 92-. But after the official timeout, Payton once again taught his brother a lesson...

In the second half of the final quarter, Payton played against Kidd alone, scoring 6 points with 4 of 10 shots. At the same time, he greatly interfered with Kidd's attack in the positional battle, forcing Carter to solve the problem with singles, leading the Heat to an 18-10 half-quarter score.

In the end, the Heat defeated the Nets 110-108, improving their record to 50 wins and 31 losses, securing second place in the Eastern Conference.

When the four members of the rookie team saw the result, they felt a huge sense of danger looming over their heads.

We can’t stay in the seventh position in the Eastern Conference!
Okafor heard his teammates lamenting, thought for a moment, and said, "We don't need to worry about who to play against in the playoffs. It's a great achievement that we can make the playoffs this season. We are not qualified to choose our opponents now."

Zhang Yang: "That's true, but I'm still anxious! The Shaq may not be at his peak for two years. He has suffered so many injuries this year and his physical condition is worse than ever. If I miss the chance to play against him in the playoffs, I may lose it. But I also want to play against Kidd and Carter. It would also be great if I could play against the Pistons' Big Five..."

Felton: "Jack, now that you mentioned that, I also think it's a pity that we can only play against them. I saw in the news that Ben and the Pistons failed to reach an agreement on the contract extension. Ben wanted a maximum salary of 8000 million or 6000 million, but the Pistons felt that he was too old and were unwilling to give it. Ben may leave the Pistons this summer."

Zhang Yang: "That is to say..."

Okafor: “…”

How could anyone be so anxious about something like this? I shouldn't have worried about it!

And! Why did the topic go off track again?

...

The next day, after Zhang Yang woke up, he didn't care who he would face in the playoffs. It didn't matter who he played against. Since there was no choice, he would just play against whoever he met.

The Bobcats arrived at Madison Square Garden in the morning. The coaching staff still only held meetings and did not arrange training. Bickerstaff also restricted some players' independent extra training.

At this point, those main players cannot afford to get injured. It’s not because they are thinking about winning the playoffs, but only by not getting injured can they experience what it’s like to play in the playoffs.

Zhang Yang is not within the restrictions. He was originally within the restrictions, but the coaches later stopped paying attention to him. He knows to rest when he is tired. For example, over the past month or so, his training time has been significantly reduced.

Today Zhang Yang practiced three-pointers and mid-range shots for more than an hour...Finally, he accumulated 10 shooting points!

After the game against the 76ers the day before yesterday, the difference was only a few hundred points.

This time, the accumulation speed of shooting points was much slower than in the previous months, and it took nearly half a month longer than expected.

Because he had more rest time during this period and the number and amount of training sessions decreased, in the early and middle stages of the season, he practiced extra sessions almost every day, one hour, two hours.

But by mid-March, he felt more tired after games and training, and he didn't recover as well as before after a good night's sleep. He knew his body needed rest, so he rested.

Random shooting talent +1, this time added to mid-range shots.

2 shooting value rewards the basics of defensive sliding, which is very practical. He may start in the new season. Even if he continues to play as the sixth man, he wants to defend better in one-on-one defense to reduce the defensive pressure on his teammates on the wings and inside.

His current one-on-one defense is basically purely defensive shooting, regardless of breakthroughs, so that he can defend outside shots well.

He will definitely need to strengthen his defensive fundamentals during the offseason, and he knows how to practice sliding, but if he can quickly lay a solid foundation, he can move directly into the subsequent stages of training.

The mid-range shooting talent has been increased by 3 points, and the talent ceiling is definitely 90+. I don’t know whether it has exceeded 95, but just keep on "brushing" the talent.

A new task has arrived. As expected, he has already added 16 points of talent. The new task to increase physical fitness requires 10 shooting points. The additional task... is also 10 shooting points. Bird's back-to-the-basket rhythm has been improved from elementary to intermediate!

Practice! Play games! No need to think about anything else, just shoot!

...

At 6:40 in the evening, at Madison Square Garden, Zhang Yang stood outside the player tunnel and high-fived his starting teammates who ran out of the tunnel.

The atmosphere at the scene was very enthusiastic and Zhang Yang was in high spirits. Only when he actually came here to play basketball did he know how special that feeling was... That's right, the fans here are really the same as the rumors said!
When he came out with his substitute teammates just now, the fans at the scene were cheering. Their starting lineups also received cheers, including Brezek and Keith Bogans... It's still incredible to see it with your own eyes.

By the time the home team players entered the field, boos had already started before the spotlight even came on.

The Knicks players were booed one after another, especially Marbury, who was once known as the 'Son of New York', who encountered the loudest booing, but each of them was used to it and did not feel uncomfortable at all.

The lighting technician also gave Larry Brown a special opportunity to appear, and the fans at the scene shouted "Fire".

There are rumors that the Knicks are indeed preparing to fire Larry Brown. Last summer, Larry Brown got a sky-high contract of 5 million US dollars for 6000 years. He was fired after only one year of coaching. It was a waste of money.

Zhang Yang was amazed by both the New York fans and the Knicks, but when he saw Larry Brown, Zhang Yang thought that Bickerstaff, who would be in his 60s, would want to retire in two or three years. By then, this senior would probably be invited by another senior to be the head coach... It was really a headache.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, the game began.

Zhang Yang sat on the sidelines, watching five teammates including Felton, Keith Bogans, Gerald Wallace, Okafor, and Perkins go on the court to compete with the opponents.

This lineup is what Bickerstaff often uses when they need to defend in the starting phase.

But why do we say that we should go up and compete?
Because the opponent used the tactic of taking turns to play singles in the starting 5 players.

Facing the starting lineup of Marbury, Francis, Jalen Rose, David Lee and Eddy Curry, even if Keith Bogans and Perkins start, the Bobcats will not be able to defend them. They still need Felton, Gerald Wallace and Perkins to fight on offense, but these two starting players can bring more restrictions to the opponent's singles.

Zhang Yang complained to his boss who came to watch the game: "Larry Brown has coached the Knicks for a year. With so many scorers, he came up with such a tactic? It's too easy to get 5 million in salary in these five years."

Jordan nodded when he heard this, but then reacted and said, "The Knicks players are all troublemakers and they don't obey discipline. No one can coach these retired players well, and the assassins are still against Larry. This situation is understandable."

Zhang Yang: "I think even if my great-grandmother were to coach, we wouldn't be ranked last."

Jordan: "..."

He found that the younger student seemed to look down on the older student...

On the court, the Knicks played pretty well offensively.

With a salary + luxury tax of nearly 200 million US dollars, the lineup's singles ability may be stronger than that of the Mavericks!

The Knicks have already secured the last place in assists per game, with the Mavericks being the second to last. But even the Mavericks have better assists than the Knicks. The Mavericks play an unlimited one-on-one scoring tactic, which is probably what Larry Brown wants, but the Knicks players only play one-on-one and will never pass the ball if they can shoot themselves.

But even with this style of play, the shooting percentages of the three starting outside players of the Knicks were around 45%, and center Curry had a 53% shooting percentage!

When the official timeout came at 6 minutes and 13 seconds in the first quarter, the Knicks had already scored 14 points!
This scoring efficiency is similar to that of the Suns.

But the Knicks' defense can't even smell a bull's fart.

费尔顿趁着小老弟还没上，先“唰唰”狂扔半节，5投3中，其中三分球4中2，拿到8分1助攻，加上奥卡福的3分、杰拉德-华莱士的6分、帕金斯的2分，山猫队以19比14领先尼克斯队5分进入官方暂停！
Bickerstaff called Zhang Yang's name, Zhang Yang took off his training suit and rushed to the court. The happy time was about to begin!

Felton: The happiness is gone...why should I say that!
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(End of this chapter)