Chapter 161 160. Give the ball to Zhang San!

On the 29th, the last competition day of the first competition month arrived.

At 9 o'clock in the morning, the Bobcats held a pre-game meeting. Boss Joe attended the meeting. Since he had experience playing against Sloan's team, he could provide advice during the discussion. He also announced something that made the players cheer - tonight's game would be broadcast live nationwide.

After the morning preparation training, Zhang Yang checked online and found that their Bobcats' opening game would be broadcast live. The three brothers from the 03 class broadcast three games in a row, and with tonight's game, the number of live broadcasts across the United States in the first month has reached five!
Among other teams, the Cavaliers and Lakers had the most live games broadcast nationwide in the first month, with four games each.

Last season, Zhang Yang was very envious of those popular teams, which had 20 to 30 games broadcast live across the United States each season. He didn't expect that in the new season, the powers would become themselves.

The reason why tonight's game can be broadcast extra is not only because of their own performance, but also because of the performance of their opponents.

The Jazz have had the second most impressive start to the Western Conference this season.

After Boozer returned last season, Deron averaged 20 points and 12 assists in the more than 8 games he played with Boozer. Both of them showed extraordinary pick-and-roll talent. The Jazz had a very good record during that period. Before the start of the new season, the Jazz were considered a contender for the Western Conference playoffs by major media.

Such expectations are already very high. That's the Western Conference. To make the playoffs in a normal season, you need about 45 wins, and in a wild season, you need 50 wins to make the playoffs.

The media's prediction for the Jazz's record trajectory is that they will strive to get a 5% winning rate in the early stage of the season, and then win more games by beating weak teams in the mid-term stage when the gap between strong and weak teams widens. After training in the early and mid-term, the four young talents of Deron, Boozer, Okur and Kirilenko will grow enough to compete with the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Hornets and other teams for playoff spots in the late season.

Basically, the Jazz's playoff trajectory is predicted based on the Bobcats' performance in the middle and late stages of last season.

Who would have thought that the Jazz would have exploded at the start. They have played 15 games so far, with 9 wins and 6 losses. They are ranked fourth in the Western Conference as the leader of the Northwest Division. Their record can also rank fifth in the Western Conference, behind the Texas Big Three and the Pacific Division leader Suns.

Zhang Yang browsed the forum and saw that fans were discussing the "three new generation point guards".

Paul has the best statistics, currently with 7 wins and 8 losses, averaging 18 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals per game. His shooting percentage has dropped to 43%, but his three-point shooting percentage has increased from 28% last season to 34%. Last season, his opponents often left him open for three-pointers, and after an offseason, he made up for this.

Felton has the best record, currently with 11 wins and 4 losses, averaging 16 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal per game, with a shooting percentage of 46% and a three-point shooting percentage of 40%. His shot selection and shooting habits are better than last season, and his efficiency has also been further improved.

Deron is the most balanced, with a record of 9 wins and 6 losses, averaging 15 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 steal per game, with a shooting percentage of 45%. After focusing on offense with the ball this season, his three-point shooting percentage dropped from 41% last season to 32%, but his assists doubled.

Zhang Yang gave a thumbs up to Little Fatty. Although his talent was slightly inferior to the two brothers, he was very competitive and had not fallen behind in the competition with the two yet.

He, Zhang San, is also a hot topic among fans. The topic is whether he can maintain an average of 20+ points per game.

After 15 games, he averaged 22 points per game, with 15+ points in 10 of the 20 games, but in the last 5 games, only two of them were 20+.

Fans have no doubt that he will average 20+ or ​​even 25+ per game in the future, but it is still hard to say whether he can maintain an average of 18+ per game in his 20-year-old season.

If he can do it, he will become the youngest player in NBA history to average 20+ points per game.

Of course, Zhang Yang wants to maintain this, but the team's winning is the priority.

What’s the point of having good stats but not winning games?

...

At 6:40 in the evening, at the Turkish Airlines Arena, the Jazz and the Bobcats entered the stadium one after another.

After the entrance ceremony, Felton ran to provoke his old rival Deron, but Deron refused to give in and started to curse at his old rival.

After the exchange of insults, Deron returned to the bench and listened to Kirilenko emphasize defensive precautions and Boozer and Okur emphasize offensive coordination precautions.

After listening to the "sermons" from his three All-Star teammates... yes, Deron regarded them as sermons, because he felt that he understood and knew everything the three teammates said, and he looked across.

The opposing players gathered around Felton...

Jazz captain Matt Harpring looks rough but is actually very thoughtful. He noticed Deron's emotions and came to Deron and said, "Deron, don't be envious. You will become a team leader like him."

Delong: “…”

He was indeed envious, but more of it was confusion.

He has known Felton for so many years and knows this old teammate and old rival very well. He racked his brains but couldn't understand how Felton could become the leader of the Bad Boys.

He saw in the news that the Bobcats players were divided into two factions. He understood that Gerald Wallace became the leader, but Felton was also one of the leaders, and there were even more teammates supporting Felton. Not to mention Zhang Yang, even Okafor followed Felton... He couldn't understand it!
But I’m really envious!
Because he is not liked by his teammates, after the second match against the Bobcats last season, he said "My teammates are not as good as Felton", which caused an irreparable rift between him and his teammates. Although his teammates took good care of him after he grew up this season, he could feel that his teammates did not like him.

He didn't think he was wrong, he thought he was telling the truth...

Deron calmed down and went to the court to shoot some hot shots. He really wanted to win tonight!

Felton is not as easy to play against as Paul, and he is even stronger than Paul. He has three outstanding frontcourt teammates, but the opponent also has two, and on the opposite side there is Zhang Yang, the best scoring player in the same class.

The pre-match preparation time passed quickly and the starting lineups of both teams came on the court.

Tonight, Bickerstaff replaced Perkins with Millsap as the starting player, while Felton, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace and Okafor remained unchanged.

The Jazz sent out the starting lineup of Deron, Fisher, Kirilenko, Boozer, and Okur. At 7 pm, the referee blew the whistle to start the game. Okafor defeated Okur to win the jump ball, and the Bobcats attacked first!

Felton received the ball and advanced quickly, trying to play fast, but was blocked by Fisher in the center circle.

He wanted to pass the ball, but saw that his teammates were followed as soon as they reached the three-point line. Felton protected the ball and went to the top arc, trying to make a shot...but couldn't get through!
Fisher is so strong!

Felton took a step back and took a long two-point shot...missed!
Deron retreated to grab the defensive rebound. He was so amused watching Felton's attack just now. Even Deron had to rely on pick-and-roll to play against Fisher. The fat man was overestimating himself!

In the offense-defense transition, Deron advanced to the frontcourt, but did not force his way into Felton's defense... He actually wanted to try, but would be yelled at by the head coach.

Deron and Boozer played pick-and-roll, and after shaking off Felton's defense, they failed to get a direct shooting opportunity, and Millsap pressed to the three-point line to interfere with the shot.

Deron accelerated towards the three-point line, and Zhang Yang came in from the wing to assist in defense.

Deron continued to move inside, trying to pass the ball to the wing.

After interfering with Deron's mid-range jump shot, Zhang Yang immediately withdrew, cutting off the passing space between Deron and Fisher. Felton was so reckless that he was not afraid of fighting with Boozer and struggled to get around him.

Okafor did not follow Okur out of the three-point line, but cut off Deron's space to pass to the left sideline under the basket. Gerald Wallace left Kirilenko open to the middle... Seeing Millsap catching up, Deron rushed to the basket and faced Okafor who was coming up, and Deron made a strong layup...

When the ball rose to the height of the backboard, Gerald Wallace rushed over and pressed it against the backboard!

Sloan's pupils widened on the sidelines, and that dark memory emerged in his mind - Jordan defending the pick-and-roll and fighting Malone, Rodman defending Stockton's long shot, Pippen cutting off the high post and interfering with Stockton's attack... He turned his head to look at Michael Jordan on the opposite bench.

This is definitely the defense arranged by this guy!

Sloan controlled his wildly fluctuating emotions. The starting lineup on the opposite side did have the ability to execute that kind of defense, but he was not afraid of a defensive battle! They were able to defend the Bulls team and only let them score more than 80 points, let alone the little wildcats in front of them.

On the court, Gerald Wallace grabbed the ball on the backboard and raised his hand to avoid Deron's steal, but he also lost the opportunity to pass the ball in the first time. Kirilenko led the team to retreat quickly.

Felton received the ball and advanced quickly, but the fast break opportunity was gone, but he wanted to try to make an offense-defense transition.

Unfortunately, the Jazz are very different from last season. They have a complete lineup and have built a good defensive system in the preseason and the first month. They are very disciplined and their defensive formation does not get messy during their quick retreat.

Felton came to the frontcourt and did not continue to play one-on-one against Fisher, who was stronger than him, but launched a pick-and-roll attack with Millsap.

Sloan is a professional at pick-and-roll, and he is equally professional at defending against it!
Felton had no chance for a long shot, and he couldn't get to the right position when breaking through. He passed the ball to Zhang Yang, who ran back from the high post and cut into the inside with the help of Okafor's screen. Zhang Yang received the ball, took a step forward and made a layup... but was blocked by Kirilenko!

The sounds of wind, rain and iron forging could be heard, and a shooting war began on the Turkish Airlines Arena. At 3 minutes and 28 seconds, Kirilenko grabbed the offensive rebound and threw the ball away. Boozer received the ball and made a mid-range shot. Both sides scored their first goal in the open play.

In addition, after Deron's pick-and-roll, Millsap was forced to commit a shooting foul in the high post and made both free throws. The Jazz led the Bobcats 4-2!
The Bobcats only got two points by Gerald Wallace's two free throws after he was fouled.

It was the Bobcats' turn to attack again, and Zhang Yang received the ball at the top of the arc and played against Deron.

All the conventional offensive tactics in the starting phase have been tried, and the opponent's defense is really good. The Bobcats either can't attack, or if they do attack, they don't have good opportunities to shoot and can't pass the ball. So they don't play coordination, just go for it!

Facing Deron's melee defense, Zhang Yang leaned sideways to protect the ball, then turned around and rushed forward!
Breaking through to the free throw line, Zhang Yang faced Kirilenko who came out to defend, and made a quick stop jump shot... and it went in!
4 to 4 draw!
Next, Zhang Yang attacked fiercely for several rounds. He scored another goal and made two free throws after a breakthrough into the inside, causing Okur to foul. In addition, Okafor made a tip-in, which led to a 6-2 run, helping the Bobcats lead the Jazz by 10 points, 6-4, into the official timeout.

But during this period, the Jazz's defense was not affected by his fierce attack and they defended as they should.

After the timeout, the Jazz continued with their previous defensive intensity and approach. The Bobcats tried to use Zhang Yang's offensive threat to launch a team offense, but they hit a wall. Fortunately, the Bobcats also did a good job on defense, and the two teams started to "bang bang bang" again.

张杨打到9分11秒的时候被换下，首节打完，山猫队仅以16比13领先爵士队3分，后面半节时间只打出了6比7的比分。

The score in the first quarter was almost less than 15 points. This game made the Bobcats players' scalps tingle.

Bickerstaff also felt crazy and complained to Jordan: "It's all your fault. You trained their defense system to be so mature. What should we do now?"

Can you blame me for this? Jordan's fists are tight again, but the Jazz's defensive system is so strong, and it is indeed inseparable from those two finals... I am the boss, I can't be angry with this old man.

Jordan responded: "Their defensive system is very mature, the pick-and-roll system and the defensive system are very complete, and Sloan is also experienced. I have observed their performance this season, just like in the first quarter just now, they rarely make mistakes, because everything has successful examples to refer to, but it also limits their growth and makes them lose more possibilities."

Bickerstaff: "Indeed, they have a path to success, but they don't have a scorer like Malone. No matter how they play, they can't reach the ceiling they reached in the 90s. The future may always seem to have great potential and room for improvement, but in fact, they have locked up their future by continuing the style of play in the Malone era...

Wait, why are you talking to me about this? The Jazz have no future and it has nothing to do with us. Tell me how to deal with their defense!"

Jordan's fists are hard again!
Change the head coach! Replace this damn old man after this season!
Jordan pointed at Zhang Yang who was dribbling the ball to get himself moving again and said, "Let him shoot!"

……

……

This chapter at noon will be short and concise. I will update one chapter first and then continue writing~ Please vote!
(End of this chapter)