Chapter 132 131. Fifth in the East! (Monthly Ticket Plus)

After stabilizing the situation, the Bobcats decided to launch a counterattack in the second quarter, hoping to take advantage of the momentum.

But plans cannot keep up with changes, and competition is always unpredictable.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Peja made a three-pointer to widen the gap to 6 points. In the next 3 minutes, the Bobcats only scored 3 points. Gerald Wallace cut into the basket and scored 1+2, and the Pacers only scored two points.

Just when the Bobcats were ready to continue their defensive tug-of-war, Peja ran to the right sideline to receive the ball, turned around and hit a three-pointer against Zhang Yang who was switching defense.

The score was 29 to 21, and the Pacers' lead expanded to 8 points!
The offense was dragged down by the Pacers' team defense. Peja scored a goal from time to time. I was afraid that they would be exhausted by the Pacers. Zhang Yang was ready to start shooting. Only by shooting would he have a chance.

But at this time Bickerstaff called a timeout and replaced Zhang Yang with Keith Bogans.

Zhang Yang was very surprised. How many shots had he already missed? No! He had just started to think about what kind of posture to use to miss the shot... but he still went back to the bench and sat down obediently.

Okafor and Brezek were also substituted, and Melvin Eli and Perkins were substituted.

Without someone who could pass the ball in the paint and someone who could receive the ball in the high post, the Bobcats' offense became Felton and Gerald Wallace taking turns shooting.

In the next 3 minutes, the Bobcats scored 4 points.

On the Pacers side, Peja made a mid-range shot. Peja, who was already a threat, received the ball after a screen and attracted a double-team. He then gave an assist to O'Neal who was running down the court after blocking the opponent. Together with Stephen Jackson's long two-pointer from the wing, Peja scored 1 points.

半节比分14比7，步行者队领先优势达到10分，35比25领先！

After the official timeout, Bickerstaff replaced Okafor, but still did not replace Zhang Yang. He used Kareem Rush and Alan Anderson in the backcourt, and Gerald Wallace, Okafor and Perkins in the frontcourt.

At the end of the first half, the score was 45 to 33, and the Pacers' lead expanded to 12 points!
At halftime, Bickerstaff emphasized the flaws that the Pacers' defense was prone to, and exchanged views with Zhang Yang on the Pacers' defense. However, when the starting lineup for the third quarter was read out, Zhang Yang's name was not called.

In the second quarter, Zhang Yang was still able to sit quietly on the sidelines and wait patiently, but this time he really couldn't sit still. After returning to the court, he stood on the sidelines with his jersey in his mouth and his hands on his waist. The live camera also focused on him.

When the third quarter started, Bickerstaff walked to the sidelines and said to Zhang Yang, who could no longer conceal his impatience, "Jack, in the playoffs, you have to be patient and wait for the opportunity."

opportunity?

Zhang Yang looked at the court. His teammates continued to work hard on defense with the Pacers in an exciting battle. It was not easier for the Pacers to score than them... How did the ball get into Peja's hands again?
Although Zhang Yang started to get anxious in the second quarter, he still paid basic attention to the situation on the court.

In fact, the Pacers team couldn't launch a team offense.

Although O'Neal is strong, his deterrent power is not strong, and he cannot make a difference when the situation is tense. He is even not willing to take on such a role. He prefers to play tactics.

Stephen Jackson has only one scoring method. He dares to throw the ball but his ability to create opportunities on his own is not strong.

In the second quarter, the Pacers relied on Peja's 10 points in a single quarter to extend their lead to 12 points.

When Bickerstaff asked Zhang Yang how to deal with the situation during halftime, his answer was to sacrifice some of his defensive focus to cut off Peja's access to the ball and go head-to-head with other Pacers players.

This response method was supported by Jordan who was present.

Bickerstaff also said that this was a good idea and consistent with his understanding of Zhang Yang.

But after only two rounds in the second half, Peja was left alone!
Just when Zhang Yang was full of questions, Peja missed his three-pointer...

Zhang Yang: Huh?

The Bobcats failed to launch a fast break and fell into a positional battle. Felton broke through with the help of a screen and made a jump shot... but was slapped out of bounds by O'Neal Jr., and the ball also hit Perkins' arm, and the Pacers had the ball.

Zhang Yang clapped his hands, it was such a pity about this ball.

It was the Pacers' turn to attack. This time Zhang Yang focused on defense. Gerald Wallace started to confront Peja when he approached the three-point line. When Anthony Johnson broke into the inside, Gerald Wallace directly retracted it. When O'Neal, who was moving away to receive the ball, just received it, Gerald Wallace stuck to him!
O'Neal passed the ball to the sideline, Peja received the ball and shot another three-pointer...still missed!
Okafor secured the defensive rebound and passed it to Felton, who counterattacked!
Felton passed the ball to Gerald Wallace during the counterattack, and Gerald Wallace passed it to Okafor who followed up... Okafor was blocked, but he was not in a hurry. He patiently lifted the ball to avoid being intercepted by Peja and Stephen Jackson who were double-teaming him.

Bickerstaff called a timeout and patted Zhang Yang on the shoulder: "Jack, go up and shoot the ball into the basket!"

...

Zhang Yang came onto the field and took a deep breath.

He just changed his train of thought, and after watching two rounds, he understood Bickerstaff's intention - to use defense to delay the game first, and then use physical combat to consume Peja.

He was not allowed to engage in physical combat for nearly the entire quarter in order to reduce his energy consumption.

In fact, it is not difficult to see the intention. It is mainly because the thinking habits are not in line.

It's not that he doesn't know the importance of defense. He understands that in any era, even in the small ball era, there is a qualitative difference between a team with defense and a team without defense. He often provides defensive advice to Felton. He personally also attaches great importance to defense. Even the idea of ​​strangling KING James was proposed by him... But he rarely played an important defensive role in the previous games. Basically, all the team needed him to do was shoot.

The team's defense was not bad at the beginning of the first and second quarters, so he naturally started to think about how to solve the problem on the offensive end.

And at halftime, Bickerstaff agreed with his idea... It felt like he had been knocked out.

When the teammates called a timeout in the second quarter, they understood what Bickerstaff meant after listening to the tactics, because most of them had experienced the HC era. Even Okafor and Felton, who entered the NBA after 04, grew up watching basketball games in the HC era. In their understanding of basketball, playing defense when in doubt is basic.

After complaining in his heart, Zhang Yang focused his attention on the game. The timeout was over and the opposing players had already entered the court.

Seeing Peja walking onto the court with an anxious look on his face, Zhang Yang suddenly understood why Bickerstaff chose this strategy. The choice of contingency strategy should not only consider the strengths and weaknesses of each other, the players' conditions, and the referee's whistle, but also who the target is.

If the Pacers player who could occasionally score a difficult goal in a tough battle was Reggie Miller, Bickerstaff would definitely not choose this strategy, but if it was Peja...

The game continued with the Bobcats serving from the frontcourt.

Pacers lineup: Jamal Tinsley, Stephen Jackson, Peja Saba, Austin Croshere, O'Neal Jr.

Bobcats lineup: Felton, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, Jumaine Jones, Okafor.

Felton received the serve from Zhang Yang and came to the top arc. After Zhang Yang ran to the baseline, he and Okafor started the attack with a pick-and-roll.

Bickerstaff looked at the opposing lineup and although the strategy was going well, being 12 points behind was a real problem.

Moreover, the young coach on the opposing team named Carlisle seemed to see through his intention and sent out the best offensive lineup.

Seeing Zhang Yang go around the free throw line, use the screen to run back and receive the ball, and rush towards O'Neal Jr.... Bickerstaff's heart ached.

Jack has been on the bench for almost a quarter, and there is a halftime break in the middle. I don't know how his shooting feels. Even though Jack is more mature than many players who enter the NBA after graduating from college, he is still a rookie after all. Putting pressure on Jack...

In!

Zhang Yang cut in and shot against O'Neal and made it! He also caused O'Neal to commit a hand foul!
Zhang Yang walked to the free throw line and shot the ball in amid the cheers of the fans.

36 to 45, the difference narrowed to 9 point!
Pressure? There is no such thing!
Although he failed to understand Bickerstaff's tactical intentions from the beginning, his role in the tactics was still shooting! Then there was no pressure at all.

After starting the attack, Zhang Yang focused on reading the opponent's defense and found that the opponent's positioning was obviously aimed at his high-post shots, so he deliberately went to the high post, but his real purpose was to attack the basket!

Felton and Okafor did not disappoint him. After Felton broke in and saw him cutting in around the post, he decisively chose to pass the ball to Okafor. Okafor passed the ball to him from a high and low post, catching O'Neal off guard!
In the offense and defense transition, O'Neal Jr. moved to the center position and replaced him with the white strong man Croshere as power forward. The Pacers' passing and cutting coordination became faster, and Gerald Wallace failed to give Peja enough confrontation and retreated.

After receiving the ball in the low post, O'Neal passed it to Peja who went around to the 45-degree angle on the right. Peja was in a wide open space, but he hesitated for a second when he received the ball, and Zhang Yang, who came to defend, had already blocked the position!

Peja has a bad temper, but he is not that brave when playing basketball.

Frightened, he quickly raised the ball, jumped, and shot... The shot was so hasty from jumping to shooting, short and crooked!

"bass"

The ball brushed the edge of the basket and fell off. Okafor grabbed the ball and passed it to Felton, who took two steps and kicked the ball out...

Zhang Yang quickly received the ball and dunked to score two points!

Carlisle felt his hair starting to fall out again, Peja... he couldn't bear to watch! The opponent was just a small guard less than two meters tall, a 17-year-old rookie, what was there to be afraid of!
Even the best three-point shooter in the league at the age of 28? Even the 39-year-old Reggie Miller is not as good as him!

He was confused. At the beginning of the season, the SuperSonics had clearly expressed their interest in Artest. The bargaining chip they offered was Ray Allen. There were rumors that Ray Allen was unhappy with the SuperSonics firing Nate McMillan. The SuperSonics should be seriously negotiating a trade... Was Bird possessed by a ghost? How could he think Peja was the best pitcher? He actually rejected the SuperSonics' one-on-one trade and chose to trade with the Kings?

卡莱尔在第二节后半段就已经看出了隐患，因为佩贾前半节5投3中，其中三分球3中2，拿到8分，后半节就只有3中1拿到2分。

He had a glimmer of hope, but as expected, Peja pulled out halfway.

At the end of the first half of the season, the Pacers were heading straight for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. If they had maintained that momentum, they might have surpassed the Cavaliers at the beginning of the month. However, after the All-Star Weekend, their winning percentage suddenly dropped to around 50%, and their momentum suddenly declined. The reason lies with Peja.

In the crucial month of March, Peja's performance dropped dramatically, from an average of 3 points per game in the middle of the season to 23 points.

Other top pitchers would patiently adjust themselves after missing a shot and slowly find their touch, but Peja was different. He would become anxious after missing two or three shots in a row and eventually he simply didn't dare to shoot.

Carlisle: Why not Ray Allen?
Compared to Carlisle, who is about to explode, Bickerstaff now wants to dance to a disco.

Jack did not let him down!

38 to 45, the difference narrowed to 7 points, the offense and defense changed!
...

Cutting into the basket, long shots around the post, passing to the wing shooter... Zhang Yang's style of play in positional warfare is simple and clear, with only those few moves. If he scores, he scores. If he doesn't, forget it.

Trying to catch up in positional warfare is too slow.

The key is defensive counterattack!
Peja lived up to expectations and missed all four shots in the third quarter!
When the fans in front of the TV saw this picture, the Western Conference Finals that year came to mind. In the seventh game, Peja made 6 of 0 three-pointers. In the 7 games of the Western Conference Finals, he made a total of two three-pointers. In the 7 games, he took 22 three-pointers in total, with a three-point shooting rate of 9%...

However, Peja's missed shots were not the main source of Zhang Yangqi's counterattack opportunities. Peja didn't dare to shoot when he received the ball later, and his teammates no longer passed the ball to him. The Bobcats could defend 5 against 4, which was the main source of counterattack opportunities!

In the third quarter, the Pacers' score plummeted to 15 points, while the Bobcats scored 26 points!
After three quarters, the Bobcats narrowed the score to 59 to 60, reducing the difference to 1 point!
In the final quarter, after Peja missed two shots, Carlisle chose to replace him.

The Pacers were finally able to play 5-on-5 normally, and their offensive performance improved, but not much.

Their tactical system does not have a threat to top catchers and shooters, and their offensive system simply cannot function... Yes, their tactical system is still the same one that won 03 games in the 04-61 season, ranked first in the regular season and reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

Carlisle had no chance to adjust the system. After starting the 04-05 season with 6 wins and 1 loss, he went to Auburn Hills. When he came back, he had 4 fewer starters. The core of the forward offense was directly suspended for a year. After the start of this season, there were constant internal conflicts. The trade was not completed until mid-December. He could only pick up the system of the 12-03 season. Fortunately, the old players were still familiar with the tactics. Peja was indeed one of the best catchers and shooters in the league without considering tough battles. He had a strong ability to adapt to tactics and quickly completed the running-in and achieved results...

In the final quarter, the Pacers attacked desperately but only scored 19 points. The Bobcats continued their offense in the third quarter and scored 25 points in the final quarter!
张杨下半场打了21分钟，9投6中，其中三分球1中1，加上3中3的罚球，拿到16分2板4助攻1抢断，帮助山猫队打出了51比34的半场比分！
84 to 79, the Bobcats completed a comeback from a 12-point deficit, improving their record to 45 wins and 37 losses, tying the Pacers.

In the regular season, the Bobcats had a record of 3 wins and 1 loss against the Pacers, and advanced to the playoffs with the fifth ranking in the Eastern Conference!
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(End of this chapter)