Chapter 155 154. The team tied to 'being reversed'
Ginobili was very upset.

If Zhang Yang was provoking or teasing him, he would just respond or turn around and walk away.

But this 18-year-old boy's eyes are as clear and bright as a college student...

Ginobili responded: "I will take more shots as a substitute. Tony and Tim are in the starting lineup, so I will have fewer shots when I play with them."

Zhang Luyu: "Really? I don't believe it."

Ginobili: "If you don't believe me, forget it. I'm going back."

Zhang Yang looked at Ginobili's back and felt a little regretful that this incident did not stimulate Yaodao.

Yao Dao turned around and ran away, simply because he felt it was embarrassing to be a substitute at the age of 29 in his prime.

Zhang Yang had heard about the reason why Ginobili played as a substitute, but it was certainly not the ridiculous reason that he would have more shooting opportunities as a substitute.

Ginobili played as a substitute in his sophomore season at the age of 26, averaging 10 shots per game. He played as a starter at the ages of 27 and 28, averaging 10 shots per game. With that kind of physical strength, the demon sword needs to score, defend and pass the ball, so he can only take so many shots. He can't take more. He has to shoot more in each game as a starter, and Popovich won't stop him.

It's not that Ginobili is so selfless and willing to sacrifice himself to be a substitute. Last season, Ginobili's refusal to be a substitute caused quite a stir. In the middle of the season, Popovich forced Ginobili to the bench. Ginobili didn't communicate with Popovich for two weeks as it was his contract year, so Popovich was so scared that he quickly put him back to the starting lineup.

Legend has it that there are two reasons why Ginobili is willing to accept being a substitute this season.

One was in the second round of the playoffs last season, when the Spurs' second lineup was beaten by the Mavericks' second lineup. In seven games, the Spurs, who had an average net win of nine points in the starting lineup, lost to the Mavericks by four points in the final series with an average score of 7 to 9. As soon as the rotation lineup came on the court, they dug a hole. After failing to defend the title, Ginobili began to seriously consider playing as a substitute.

Another is salary.

Ginobili averaged 15 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game last season. Just looking at the stats, he is at the middle-class level. In the 03-04 season, Matt Harpring of the Jazz averaged 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists per game, which was a 4-year middle-class contract extension. However, Ginobili has the bonus of clutch ball attributes and All-Star status. The Grizzlies offered the 29-year-old the highest price in the free market during the offseason, which was US$3 million for three years. Popovich used US$2400 million for three years to keep him.

Ginobili didn't say why he was willing to play as a substitute, and Zhang Yang couldn't guess it, but from Ginobili's contract renewal, Zhang Yang felt Popovich's preference for the "Yao Dao". Duncan and Parker both had to take a pay cut for their contract renewals, but only Ginobili enjoyed a pay raise.

The game started at 8 o'clock in the evening.

The Bobcats' starting lineup remained the same, while the Spurs sent out Parker, Brent Barry, Bowen, Duncan and Francisco Elson as their starting lineup.

首节20比23、第二节20比21，山猫队半场落后4分，勉强算是和马刺队打得有来有回。

But in the third quarter, the Bobcats were limited to 15 points.

马刺队第三节打出19比15的比分，三节打完时以63比55领先山猫队8分！
Leading by 8 points entering the final quarter, the Spurs basically had victory in their grasp.

张杨三节打了20分钟，15投7中，其中中距离9中4、反击1中1、三分1中0、上篮4中2，加上2中2的罚球，拿到16分3板1助攻。

He deeply felt the horror of Texas' three consecutive away games. Before the start of the season, the media predicted that they would most likely lose three games in a row, and it was not a blind prediction.

In the game against the Rockets, before Rondo disrupted the opponent's defense, Zhang Yang felt how terrifying it was to have a top rim protector paired with a suitable and excellent defensive system; in the game against the Mavericks, he felt the super defensive continuity of the lineup that was built with huge investment by the wealthy man Ong.

The Spurs combine the defensive advantages of the other two Texas teams!
Bowen + Duncan, their defensive dominance is even stronger than Battier + Yao Ming, and the Spurs' defensive continuity is not inferior to that of the Mavericks.

Half of Zhang Yang's 16 points were scored from mid-range.

Without his mid-range singles scoring and the distraction brought by mid-range goals, the Bobcats would definitely have been behind by more than 8 points in the third quarter.

Looking at Rondo who was sitting on the bench and doubting his life, Zhang Yang felt that the rookie coach Rondo was quite unlucky. He started his rookie season with three consecutive away games to Texas. He broke out in the first game, but was targeted in the next two games.

If it were other opponents, they might not arrange a defense specifically for a rookie, and even if they did, they might not be able to defend successfully.

But the Mavericks are different from the Spurs. They have the awareness and noticed Rondo's talent, and they have the ability to target him.

Zhang Yang had no idea what to do about this and could only ask Coach Zhu Long to be strong.

After the intermission, Bickerstaff sent out the combination of Zhang Yang, Felton, Matt Carroll, Millsap and Okafor.

The opposing Spurs sent out a combination of Udrih, Ginobili, Bowen, Horry and Duncan.

The opponent was strong and they were far behind, but the Bobcats did not give up.

They also played well tonight - defense and Zhang Yang.

The fourth quarter began with the Spurs attacking first.

Ginobili faked a breakthrough against Matt Carroll and then took a step-back three-pointer...but it was far off!
Bickerstaff dared to start Matt Carroll in the final quarter because Ginobili only scored 9 points with 2 of 6 shots in the first three quarters.

When the demon sword becomes powerful, no one can stop it, and when it becomes powerful, it can really trap you.

Tonight, Yaodao was probably in bad luck because he didn't help the 18-year-old boy answer his questions.

Millsap positioned himself and Okafor secured the defensive rebound.

Millsap has a poor awareness of defensive rebounding and lost a lot of defensive rebounds against the Mavericks, which troubled him.

The fat boss gave him a suggestion - since you can't grab the rebound and it's easy for the opponent to snatch the offensive rebound, it's better not to grab it, and just stop whoever rushes in.

Millsap tried it tonight, and it turned out that this stupid method worked quite well! His play greatly improved the Bobcats' defensive rebounding efficiency when he was on the court, and he was able to start in the final quarter. If he couldn't protect the rebound, no matter how well he grabbed offensive rebounds, in this defensive game, Bickerstaff would not let him play in the final quarter.

The Spurs retreated quickly and the Bobcats fell into a positional battle.

Felton and Millsap started the attack with a pick-and-roll, with Millsap going to the middle and Felton going to the right, attacking the inside from both directions.

With the help of Okafor's screen, Zhang Yang went around to the high post and received the ball from Felton. Facing Horry who was rushing towards him, Zhang Yang judged that he could not block the ball, so he jumped up and took a mid-range shot... and it hit!
Popovich on the sidelines groaned. Facing most opponents, he could basically rest easy with an 8-point lead after three quarters.

But he couldn't feel at ease when facing two types of opponents.

Category 1 – Tracy McGrady.

Another type - teams with mid-range shooting maniacs.

For example, the second-year player in front of him.

Zhang Yang kept shooting from mid-range, and Popovich had no way to restrict him in a targeted manner.

Using Horry as power forward to defend the pick-and-roll and then expanding out to defend Zhang Yang is the limit of what Popovich can do.

If we continue to strengthen the defense at the high post, Matt Carroll on the wing and Millsap and Okafor in the interior will be able to take off.

Popovich could only pray that Zhang Yang would miss the shot.

But unfortunately, his prayers were in vain, Zhang Yang had already found his shooting feeling! Explosion in the final quarter!
接下来的10分多钟时间，他中距6投3中，其中1次进球还被轮换上场的法布里西奥-奥博托犯规打成了2+1，加上一次反击扣篮、开局的那次中投，张杨11分多钟时间8投5中拿到11分！
Zhang Yang shot a lot of goals from high positions. The Spurs didn't want to do that, but their defense was still forced to move high.

Millsap, Okafor, and Gerald Wallace, who came on as a rotation player, continued to score in the paint.

At 11 minutes and 29 seconds in the final quarter, Zhang Yang was blocked when receiving the ball in the high post, so he passed it to Okafor who was blocking the opponent in the high post on the left side. Okafor had a better vision and scored a low point. Gerald Wallace cut in and dunked to get two points, 81 to 78. The Bobcats went from trailing by 8 points to overtaking by 3 points!
In 11 and a half minutes, the Bobcats beat the Spurs by 26 points, 15 to 11!
The Spurs' old problem was exposed again, and they found it difficult to respond when their opponents exploded.

There was originally the variable of Yao Dao, but Ginobili made 3 of 0 shots in the final quarter and only got two points from free throws.

The Spurs called a timeout to arrange the key ball tactics. Although Ginobili only shot 12 of 2 tonight, and only scored 8 points including free throws, Popovich still gave the key ball to Ginobili. After the timeout, Ginobili did not disappoint Popovich. Facing the defense of Gerald Wallace, Ginobili consumed the 24-second offensive time until there were only 5 seconds left, and hit a single step-back three-pointer!

81 to 81, when all the fans at the scene had lost hope, the magic sword was unsheathed and helped the Spurs tie the score!
The demon sword triggered cheers from the fans and the Bobcats called a timeout!
After fighting for the entire quarter and trying their best on both offense and defense, their 18-year-old boy even exploded and scored 11 points in a single quarter. They finally overtook the score and expanded their lead to 3 points, thinking they had secured the victory.

As a result, after a slump for 30 minutes tonight, the Yaodao who made 12 of 2 shots suddenly made a key shot to tie the score... The Bobcats players were all crazy.

However, the other side has key ball players, and so do they!
Teammates turned their attention to Zhang Yang, who scored 32 points in 27 minutes tonight.

Bickerstaff didn't consider anything else, just made substitutions and arranged tactics.

Zhang Yang exhaled and walked onto the court.

Fortunately, Tim Grove helped him with his physical training this summer, otherwise it would have been difficult tonight. Although he only played for 32 minutes, he had already shot 23 times, and only 27 of these 3 points were free throws. It was hard to score.

On the other hand, Popovich was also certain that the opponent would let Zhang Yang take the key shot. This was a genius who made a buzzer-beater in his career debut. He tried hard to guess what tactics the opponent would use and what kind of lineup they would send out... When he saw the players on the opponent's court, he wanted to curse.

Felton, Matt Carroll, Jumaine Jones, Gerald Wallace, and Zhang Yang.

With this lineup, Popovich can guess the opponent's playing style with his toes.

Tactics? The underdog expert doesn't play those tricks, doesn't use any techniques, just uses hard tactics!
The timeout is over, the game continues, and the Bobcats serve in the frontcourt.

Popovich even guessed how the opponent would serve, move, and position himself.

When Gerald Wallace went to receive the ball from the referee, the positions on the court were the same as Popovich had thought, with Matt Roll at the 45-degree angle on the left, Jumaine Jones at the right corner, and Zhang Yang at the right elbow of the three-second zone.

Felton received the serve, and after Gerald Wallace ran to the top arc, Felton lobbed the ball to Zhang Yang and then ran to the left corner.

Gerard Wallace also cut in from the middle.

Duncan tried hard to keep up with Gerald Wallace, while Udrih, Ginobili and Brent Barry also stayed in front of the three opposing pitchers and had no time to take care of Zhang Yang.

On Zhang Yang's side, facing Bowen's defense, he protected the ball and focused on adjusting the rhythm. Seeing that Gerald Wallace cut in and failed to shake off Duncan, he started to back up!
Take two steps forward, turn over and jump!
No fake moves, no tricks, just shoot!

Bowen rushed forward immediately, but his start was much slower than that of his opponent. Seeing the determined expression on his opponent's face when he jumped and lifted the ball, he braked to avoid a foul. He even stopped jumping and reaching out to interfere, and turned to look at the basket.

Amid the crazy boos from the fans at the scene, Zhang Yang's shot went straight into the basket!
With 3.7 seconds left and the score 83 to 81, Zhang Yang made a near buzzer beater, the Bobcats led by two points, and Popovich called a timeout again!

Popovich's mentality is exploding now. How many times has this happened to him? In all the years he has been the head coach, has there been a team that has been defeated more times than the Spurs?
0.4 seconds, 35 seconds, it all fell on them.

But he had to admit that Zhang Yang's post-up decision was smart.

Not to mention Zhang Yang, who is still immature in post-up play, even if Payton, a master of post-up play, comes, he will not be able to fool Bowen with fake moves. This straightforward style of play, using physical fitness to temporarily get rid of Bowen's close defense, is a better choice.

Instead of choosing the more skilled back-to-the-basket, turnaround and step-back shot, he chose the one-step, turnaround jump shot that relied more on his physical fitness. Popovich could see that Zhang Yang did not make this choice by chance, but was determined to take advantage of Bowen.

That damn No. 8 played like that, bullying Bowen because of his slow burst and poor jumping ability.

After going crazy, Popovich calmed down, adjusted the lineup, and arranged the playing style.

After the timeout, the Spurs served the ball in the frontcourt.

The Bobcats sent out a combination of Rondo, Alan Anderson, Gerald Wallace, Millsap and Okafor.

Bickerstaff's style is so wild that he uses two rookies to defend key balls.

Rondo's scoring and offense were frustrated tonight, but he did a better job on defense than Felton and Zhang Yang when he was on the court.

Millsap suddenly became very active in positioning and did a good job. He came on the court to prevent the opponent from tipping in.

Popovich's key ball tactical arrangements are very conventional.

Duncan went inside, Horry stood in the corner, Finley shot from the weak side, and Ginobili received the serve from outside the arc.

Barry took the ball from the referee, and after the referee blew the whistle to continue the game, his first choice was to find Duncan.

With a two-point deficit, the best option was to attack the basket directly, but Duncan was outflanked by Okafor and couldn't catch the ball.

Barry looked at the top arc... Ginobili was surrounded by Rondo! He was surrounded by Rondo's long arms and had no chance to catch the ball. Horry in the bottom corner was covered by Millsap and had no chance to catch the ball.

Barry was forced to pass the ball to Finley, and then rushed to the inside...

Finley received the ball, turned around and shot a fadeaway jump shot against Gerald Wallace's defense. Gerald Wallace interfered very well and Finley's mid-range shot missed!

Barry guessed that the veteran player would most likely miss the shot, so he rushed inside after serving the ball, but was blocked by Millsap who was actively trying to get back, and failed to complete the tip-in!
The ball bounced toward the front of the basket, and Duncan rushed forward to grab the ball... Rondo grabbed the ball first, jogged away, and the final whistle sounded.

The Bobcats players, who were anxious on the sidelines, immediately rushed into the court to celebrate the victory with their teammates.

Zhang Yang was really worried that Ginobili would kill them, and his heart was also hanging when Barry rushed in... The two rookies defended really well!

What is talent? This is it! Knowing how to use your strengths and staying calm at critical moments.

However, this ball was so easily defended thanks to Popovich's ability to respond on the spot.

If Zhang Yang knew that Popovich complained that their Bobcats' tactical arrangement for the key ball just now was "completely skillless and purely based on ability", he would be so speechless.

Popovich's tactical arrangement of the key ball when the team was two points behind made Zhang Yang feel like he was being stabbed in the butt with a knife.

Pick-and-roll? No. Interlaced running? No. There is no screen for connecting the ball. The ball is just passed to the right player in order, and that player shoots.

If this attack lasted 5 or 8 seconds, it would be fine as there would be time to pass the ball. But with more than 3 seconds, Finley would have to throw the ball directly to the defense as soon as he received it.

The difference between Popovich at this time and a few years later is really huge!
邓肯20投10中加上7中4的罚球拿到24分20板、帕克拿到15分6助攻、吉诺比利11分4板4助攻、巴里17分，不敌对面张杨29分4板2助攻1抢断、费尔顿9分8助攻、杰拉德-华莱士17分11板2助攻3抢断3盖帽、奥卡福10分14板2盖帽。

The Bobcats scored 28 to 18 in the final quarter and reversed the Spurs 83 to 81!
...

The Bobcats reversed the Spurs and Zhang Yang made the buzzer beater. When the game report came out, the fans didn't find it strange at all.

Ever since McGrady scored 35 points in 13 seconds, which went down in basketball history, the Spurs have been associated with "being reversed" and can no longer be separated from it.

But the Bobcats' 2-1 record in Texas surprised many fans.

When they started their trip to Texas, not many people were optimistic about them. Even the local media in the Carolina area thought that they would pass if they could win one game, and it would be normal if they lost all the games.

It’s not that people think they are not strong. They are already an emerging strong team in people’s minds and are expected to win 50 games. But since the 04-05 season, the trip to Texas has been a nightmare for every team.

The results came out, the Bobcats slaughtered the Rockets by 31 points, lost to the Mavericks by 4 points, and almost defeated the Spurs...

Given such low expectations, this performance is as surprising as it can be!
What surprised the fans even more was that - he scored 33 points against the Rockets, 23 points against the Mavericks, and scored 29 points in the final quarter against the Spurs. Zhang Yang averaged 28.3 points per game in his Texas trip!
The performances of other young outside players in the Texas trip were worse than the last, with scores getting lower and lower. But Zhang Yang is doing well, he has exploded in every game!
When the California media reported Zhang Yang's average points per game, the headline was - mid-range shot.

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(End of this chapter)