Chapter 162 161. When you can make a shot no matter how hard you try, you can’t stop shooting!
Could it be that Bickerstaff didn't know that Zhang Yang's singles was a breakthrough?
It's just that it's better not to put the burden on an 18-year-old second-year player unless it's necessary.

He has been trying to reduce the pressure Zhang Yang needs to bear. If there is a better way, he will certainly try it. For example, after the first quarter, he tried to use Zhang Yang's high position to contain and mobilize the opponent's defense.

But unfortunately, in terms of defensive discipline, the Spurs and the Heat in the past two seasons are not as good as this season's Jazz. Even a player with Deron's personality has to obey the team's defensive cooperation, otherwise he will also be relegated to the bench.

In the current situation, it is not just Zhang Yang who has to bear the pressure. It is too exaggerated to say that he has to challenge the entire opponent team, but it can be said that the victory or failure depends on Zhang Yang alone... Well, when Bickerstaff saw Zhang Yang's excited look, he knew that this kid had guessed the result of his discussion with Jordan and was not afraid at all.

The votes are 2 to 1, so let’s do it!
The players rested for two minutes. Bickerstaff stood up to make substitutions and arrange tactics...

After the intermission, the Bobcats sent out Rondo, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, Millsap and Muhammad.

The Jazz sent out a combination of Deron, Gordon Kirilek, Matt Harpring, Boozer, and Jaylon Collins.

The second quarter began with the Jazz attacking first.

The Bobcats defended 4-on-1, and Zhang Yang was assigned to defend Kiricek, a player who was very threatening offensively but easy to defend.

Zhang Yang specifically looked up information about this player when studying the Jazz scout report, and his 43% three-point shooting percentage is very impressive.

Kirilek was once hailed as the best shooting guard in Europe. In his early years, he had explosive physical fitness. When he was running, he could shake off defensive players like Shawn Marion with a counter-run, and often completed dunks in the interior. He performed fiercely in the first two seasons after entering the NBA in 02, but unfortunately his athletic ability declined rapidly after he turned 27. Kirilek, who will be 30 this season, can neither run nor jump. He only has accurate spot-catch three-pointers and excellent teamwork and defensive awareness.

Kiricek’s current role on offense – allowing teammates to play four-on-four.

Deron and Boozer started the attack with a pick-and-roll and passed the ball to Matt Harpring.

Harpring attacked the inside like an American football player, Muhammad pushed forward and Gerald Wallace stepped back to interfere, and Harpring missed the jump shot!
Sloan looked depressed on the sidelines. He had been eyeing Muhammad for a long time, and he guessed that the Spurs would definitely not be able to keep Muhammad. After the Spurs were eliminated in the second round last season, their management contacted the Spurs, and the other party expressed their determination not to sell... It turned out that they just didn't want to sell it to them, and gave it to the Bobcats.

Okafor, Perkins, and Muhammad take turns protecting the rim, Okafor and Millsap take turns defending pick-and-rolls, Felton and Rondo each have their own characteristics when switching to defend the power forward. The former can go around the front and fight with the power forward like Fisher, and the latter is fast and has good cutting speed and can also shrink to help defend.

Sloan is helpless on the offensive end, Boozer is not talented enough and cannot rely on his physical fitness to break away from the defense like Malone. Deron is much more talented than Stockton but he is only in his sophomore year. But they still have defense!

The opposing lineup was too easy to defend, so if the offense couldn't be opened up, then the defense had to be improved slowly. The setbacks over the years had made him develop more patience than any other coach.

On the court, Rondo stepped back to protect the defensive rebound.

The Jazz quickly retreated and got into a good position. Rondo advanced to the frontcourt, paused outside the three-point line, and suddenly started, passing Kirilek and going straight to the inside!

The Jazz were prepared, and the wings and inside players moved in time to provide backup defense.

In the 06 class, which had a dismal rookie year, Rondo became famous after playing for a month. His "stealth step" had already attracted the attention of opponents, and the Jazz would naturally not miss it... Mainly because his average data of 3.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5 assists per game was so different that the media and fans could not avoid him when discussing the performance of rookies.

Matt Harpring retreated from the wing, while Boozer and Jaylon Collins moved to both sides of the three-second zone, covering Muhammad under the basket and defending Millsap and Gerald Wallace on the wings from cutting in to provide support.

But Millsap did not cut into the inside, but went to the left side of the free throw line to block.

Rondo did not pass the ball to Gerald Wallace who was running back, but instead threw the ball into the crotch of Kirilek who was chasing him into the paint!
Kiricek didn't expect the opponent to pass the ball like this and failed to grab the ball, but with his excellent team defensive awareness, he immediately turned around and chased after the ball. Seeing Zhang Yang receive the ball one step outside the free throw line with the help of a screen, he immediately jumped up to interfere with the shot.

Don’t be afraid of being passed, there are people in the inside. Don’t be afraid of the opponent retreating and shooting a three-pointer, Deron has already caught up.

Zhang Yang received the ball without hesitation, jumped up to face Kiricek's defense, and shot a mid-range shot...

Kiricek reacted quickly and defended hard, but he was no longer the player who blocked Reggie Miller's three-point shot twice in the World Championships. If Zhang Yang shot closer to the free throw line, he might be able to interfere, but the opponent was still one step away from the free throw line. These dozens of centimeters became an insurmountable barrier, and he could only watch the ball fly over his hand... and it hit!
18 to 13, the Bobcats lead by 5 points!
In the transition of offense and defense, Boozer received the ball in the low post and backed up, then turned and went to the basket, facing the defense of Millsap and Muhammad and lobbed the ball into the basket.

Sloan nodded with satisfaction. Although he couldn't count on Boozer to open the game, it was still possible to score occasionally and prevent the opponent from widening the score.

Sloan just wrote the word "stable" in his mind, turned around and Zhang Yang received the ball in the high position and faked a shot to shake off Kirilek who had moved to the high position in advance to defend, then rushed into the inside, grabbed the ball while moving, took two steps, and made a layup before Boozer who was moving up could reach out to interfere!

The score difference reached 5 points again. It was the Jazz's turn to attack. Boozer went to the low post again to ask for the ball, turned around and made a close-range jump shot...and it hit!
The fans at the scene were excited when they saw this scene!
Of course, they were not cheering for their opponents, but the two teams had been fighting hard on defense. In the first quarter, the two teams scored less than 10 goals in running games combined. Even when they were leading, they were tortured enough. Now that they saw Zhang Yang and the opponent competing against each other, how could they not be excited?

The fans chanted "Jack", "Respond with the ball".

The Bobcats attacked and Rondo continued to pass the ball to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang also continued to use Millsap's screen on the wing. Deron took the lead and ran around the pole to the middle, but Zhang Yang stopped his feet during the screen, turned around, and ran back to the left baseline... The ball arrived!
Deron quickly turned around and chased after him, and Boozer in the interior also rushed to the mid-range at the baseline, but both of them were a beat slow, and Zhang Yang received the ball, turned around and made another mid-range shot!

Kirilek tried hard to cut off Rondo's pass, but couldn't!
If Zhang Yang is a three-point shooter who is running and receiving the ball, then it would be fine. Rondo can break through to the close range and pass the ball outside the three-point line, which is a long pass. The passing angle and strength are easier to judge, and Kirilek can form a more effective interference. Rondo chooses to speed up the ball. Zhang Yang may not have reached the right position yet, and the ball has already flown past. If Rondo passes the ball slowly, Deron, who is chasing and defending, may not only steal the ball, but also stick to Zhang Yang as soon as he receives the ball.

But Zhang Yang received the ball and shot from medium and long distances, so it would be enough to just pass the fast ball from this distance. Moreover, Rondo, the rookie, had an extremely good vision. Kirilek felt that even Deron could not catch up with him. The passing angle was also very tricky and could not be stopped at all.

Moreover, Zhang Yang who received the ball was not just a shooter. Kirilek moved up in advance to defend the opponent and passed him directly. His small-man offense against the bigger man in the interior was very accurate... He was helpless.

Sloan, who was already standing on the sidelines, had no idea what to do from a tactical perspective. Deron and Kirilek had already responded on their own, and he thought the responses of the two players were very good, but Zhang Yang on the opposite side also responded very well and made the shot.

The game suddenly entered a stage of star competition, and Sloan was very troubled, but he could not blindly call a timeout at this time, otherwise the morale would be greatly affected. He could only hope that Boozer could continue to score.

But his expectations were once again dashed...

Millsap, who was beaten for two consecutive rounds, did a good job in defense this time. He predicted the direction in which Boozer turned and effectively interfered with Boozer's shot! Boozer turned around and missed the jump shot!
When the Bobcats attacked, Zhang Yang didn't use any screen this time, but ran back to ask for the ball.

After one month of cooperation, Rondo and Zhang Yang have established a tacit understanding. Seeing Zhang San's increasingly arrogant look, he knew that the ball had to be passed earlier, so he passed the ball to Zhang Yang on the move.

Zhang Yang received the ball on the left side of the free throw line, turned around and Deron was already in front of him, he jumped towards Deron, and Yan Ye was within inches of him... and made another shot!
Scored 4 goals in a row, his hands are so hot!

Deron is going to explode!

A mid-range shot only resulted in two points, which was not very harmful. However, the opponent ignored his existence, which was extremely insulting!
In the transition from offense to defense, Deron has to do it himself.

Pick-and-roll? He waved Boozer away, and then he broke through with the help of a screen and passed the ball to his teammates, but they couldn't make the shot, so he had to do it himself!
Facing Rondo's defense, Deron made a tank-like breakthrough and made a quick stop jump shot... He failed to shake off Rondo, his jump was affected by the confrontation, and his shooting power was insufficient, so the shot was short!
The ball hit the front of the basket and bounced out. Deron rushed to grab it, but he was not as fast as Rondo!

Rondo grabbed the rebound, turned around Deron and rushed to the frontcourt.

Deron chased after him with all his might, Rondo rushed into the inside from the middle, but instead of making a layup, he turned around and made a moon-gazing lob!

Deron felt something was wrong and jumped up to intercept, but he was a beat too slow and failed to block the ball. He regretted it and wanted to escape, but before his feet touched the ground, he felt a collision and he flew out and fell outside the baseline... Zhang Yang followed up with an alley-oop dunk from the middle to score two points!
Sloan called a timeout, the score was 17 to 26, 9 points behind!

Zhang Yang scored 5 goals and 10 points in a row!
Deron got up, listened to the crazy cheers of the fans, and watched the opposing players celebrate arrogantly after the timeout. He was so angry! He chased back alone and was fooled by the opponent, and was dunked on. Where were his teammates who retreated? Where did they go? They were all trash!
He completely forgot that it was his singles defeat that gave the opponent this opportunity to counterattack.

The first time he played against Rondo, he really didn't expect that this skinny bean sprout would be so tenacious, fast and sticky.

He became even more angry, and when he returned to the bench, Sloan scolded him, saying that he didn't have to play one-on-one when he had a pick-and-roll.

What Sloan wanted to express was that no matter whether you have an advantage in one-on-one play or not, you can create a mismatch for the opponent by playing pick-and-roll, making it easier for the opponent to play.

But all Deron heard was scolding him...

...

After the timeout, Sloan replaced the starting lineup. He originally wanted to let the core players rotate to rest and ensure the continuity of defense, but the opponent scored 3 points in more than 10 minutes, so he had to replace the starting lineup in advance.

The Bobcats did not make any substitutions. Rondo, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, Millsap and Muhammad continued to play. The Jazz attacked, and Deron was dunked and scolded. He was very angry, but the scolding was effective. He knew that if he continued to fail in singles, he would probably be pressed on the bench. He chose to endure it and honestly started a pick-and-roll attack with Boozer.

Deron used the screen to break through and pass the ball to Boozer, Boozer passed the ball, and Okur took a three-pointer from the 45-degree angle on the left side... and made it!
Okur came on and stopped the bleeding for the Jazz.

In the transition from offense to defense, Rondo advanced to the frontcourt.

Kirilenko is ready to link up the defense to limit the connection between Rondo and Zhang Yang.

But the Bobcats didn't cooperate this time. Rondo passed the ball to Zhang Yang who was leaning on Deron to ask for the ball in the high position on the right side!
After Rondo passed the ball, he went down the middle. Fisher followed closely and did not give the opponent a chance to sneak attack in the middle, but the Jazz's planned defense was useless!
After Rondo reached the left baseline, Zhang Yang backed up Deron from a high position, turned around and took a mid-range shot...it missed!
Although the ball didn't go in, Sloan on the sidelines felt very bad. With that sophomore player playing like that, the team defense he arranged was completely useless!

Life is unpredictable. Good things don't work and bad things always come to mind.

When the Jazz attacked, Okur ran out again to receive the ball and threw a three-pointer but missed. Turning back, Zhang Yang continued to back up and shot a mid-range shot...this time it went in!
Just rely on the feel, it’s a wave!

28 to 20, the Bobcats lead by 8 points!
In less than half a quarter, Zhang Yang made 7 of 6 shots and scored 12 points!

In the next four rounds, Zhang Yang made another mid-range shot, and Gerald Wallace broke into the inside and scored a goal.

Although Boozer fiercely drove to the basket for a 2+1, and Fisher defended Zhang Yang so that he missed two shots in a row, their other three shots were all missed. Kirilenko missed two open three-pointers and was left open. Okur also missed the close-range shot after a fight with Muhammad.

At 6 minutes and 11 seconds into the second quarter, Sloan called a timeout, and the official timeout came. The score was 23 to 32, and the difference was 9 points again!
The fans at the scene cheered wildly, and the Bobcats players surrounded Zhang Yang and took turns high-fiving to celebrate.

Sloan was numb.

The opponent team took 11 shots in total in the first half of the quarter, 10 of which were taken by Zhang Yang. He made 10 of 7 shots, 7 of 5 mid-range shots, and did not take a single free throw. He still scored 1 points in the first half of the quarter just by scoring goals!
If the starting lineup had not been replaced in advance, Okur made a three-pointer and Boozer scored 2+1 with the help of Okur, the score difference would have reached double digits!
After the official timeout, Bickerstaff replaced Zhang Yang, who had thrown the ball 10 times in half a quarter, with Felton, Rondo, Alan Anderson, Okafor and Perkins.

Sloan let the starting lineup continue to play.

He judged that Zhang Yang was tired and wanted to seize the time to catch up.

Just now Fisher switched to defend Zhang Yang, and Zhang Yang made only 3 of 1 shots, but Sloan didn't think that was Fisher's credit. He saw very clearly that Fisher defended very hard, and it seemed that Fisher was in position every time Zhang Yang shot, but in fact, Zhang Yang had already thrown the ball before Fisher jumped in front of Zhang Yang and reached out.

Sloan couldn't blame Fisher. He was already 32 years old and was no longer the man that O'Neal called "as flexible as a fish". He had changed from a 90-kilogram small fish when he left the Lakers to a 95-kilogram old fish. He still had the defensive awareness, but his pace just couldn't keep up.

Sloan hoped that without Zhang Yang, they could catch up and Zhang Yang's touch would cool down after the halftime break.

In the second half of the second quarter, the Jazz players launched a fierce attack under the command of Sloan. The offense was very good and they scored 12 points in half a quarter.

However, Felton and Okafor rested from the 9th minute of the first quarter to the official timeout of the second quarter. The two new forces scored a total of 8 points. In addition, Rondo received the pass and passed it directly to Perkins under the basket. The Bobcats also scored 10 points in half a quarter!
单节26比22，山猫队以42比35领先爵士队7分进入中场休息！
After the halftime break, Zhang Yang returned to the game, his partner as point guard was Felton. Rondo rested on the sidelines, while Gerald Wallace, Millsap and Muhammad returned to the game.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Deron wanted to narrow the gap to within 5 points, so he threw a three-pointer after setting a screen... He shot it quickly and succeeded before Millsap got in place to defend, but he shot too hastily and the angle was off!

Muhammad secured the defensive rebound.

The Bobcats attacked, Felton advanced across half court and passed the ball to Zhang Yang in the high position, then ran to the right corner to take Fisher away.

Without Rondo, there is no cooperation. Bickerstaff lets Zhang Yang just swing!
Zhang Yang received the ball and turned to face Deron, taking a triple threat stance and raising his hands.

Sloan on the sidelines shouted in his heart, "Don't jump, don't jump..." Deron, who was already frightened by Zhang Yang's shot, still jumped up.

Zhang Yang leaned over and rushed into the inside from the right front, grabbed the ball, took a step towards his left foot to avoid Kirilenko who was helping to defend, and made a jump shot towards Okur who was defending... He was knocked over, but the ball had already been thrown!
The 'small wins big' effect was triggered, Zhang Yang had a great feeling about this ball, and with the referee's whistle, the ball fell into the frame!

Sloan on the sidelines felt very disappointed.

The team wanted to take advantage of Zhang Yang being substituted and the opponent having no high-post shooter to contain them and quickly narrow the gap, but they were stifled by Felton's step-back three-pointer, Okafor's mid-range shot and a layup 2+1.

I was expecting Zhang Yang to have a cold hand after resting for too long, but he came up with a 2+1...

Zhang Yang made the free throw amid the crazy cheers of the fans.

45 to 35, the Bobcats widened the point difference to double digits for the first time!
The Jazz tried their best to catch up, but they finally scored a goal. Zhang Yang either made a mid-range shot or broke through to cause damage. The halftime break did not interrupt Zhang Yang's touch, but instead gave him time to analyze the Jazz's single defense and help defense, and let him know how to minimize the impact of the opponent's shooting interference.

Zhang Yang played for more than 7 minutes in the third quarter. He did not have as many successful shots as in the first half of the second quarter, with 7 of 4 shots, but he also made 5 of 5 free throws, scoring 13 points in a little more than half a quarter. Together with his teammate's 3 points, the score was 16 to 10, expanding the lead to 12 points, leading the Jazz 58 to 46.

The Jazz were tenacious enough, or perhaps Sloan was really patient. Although he felt disappointed, he did not give up. He led his players to a 5 to 10 run 7 minutes after the third quarter, chasing the score to 56 to 65 and narrowing the gap to single digits.

But that was the last time the Jazz got within 10 points tonight...

After the intermission, Zhang Yang, who had rested for half a quarter, started shooting like crazy at the beginning of the fourth quarter!
During the more than 3 minutes he played one-on-one in the second quarter and the more than 7 minutes he played one-on-one in the third quarter, although Deron, who was defending him, was not aware enough, he had good physical fitness and was able to keep up with the pace and provide some interference; Fisher did not have enough athletic ability but had good awareness and was able to continuously stand in front of him, which caused him some trouble.

This time when he came back on the court, Deron and Fisher couldn't even make basic interference. He passed them in one step and easily completed a pull-up jump shot from mid-range. If the opponent was a little far away, he would directly withdraw from the three-point line and shoot. He was in hot form tonight and played like he was in training!
Deron didn't rest in the first three quarters, and Fisher hasn't rested since he came on the court after playing for more than three minutes in the second quarter. In the past quarter and a half, the Jazz have been playing hard on both offense and defense, and the young and old players can't hold on any longer!

Zhang Yang's crazy singles gave his core teammates a chance to rest. When he went down to rest, his core teammates also gave him time to rest in peace. It was a virtuous cycle...

投！
Vote like crazy!

After playing for a few rounds, Sloan finally couldn't wait any longer. There was no time left, so he could only raise the defense to a high position and hope that Okur could guard the basket by himself.

This time, the situation that Sloan was worried about did not occur. The opponent did not get many points from open cuts because Zhang Yang did not pass the ball to Boozer or Kirilenko who were rushing towards him, and continued to shoot!
Gerald Wallace, Millsap, and Okafor, the three frontcourt teammates who played together in the final quarter, knew Zhang San too well when he was in high spirits. They never thought about cutting in to respond. They rushed in to grab offensive rebounds!
In 10 minutes, Zhang Yang threw the ball more than ten times and successfully shot 12 times, making 12 of 6 shots, including 5 of 2 three-pointers, plus 5 of 4 free throws, scoring 18 points!
With 10 minutes and 16 seconds left in the final quarter, Zhang Yang threw a three-pointer at Deron from outside the three-point line...but it missed. Sloan called a timeout and replaced the main players.

Bickerstaff also replaced Zhang Yang and pouted at the old man opposite: "Old man, you are narrow-minded!" Is it easy for an 18-year-old kid to have a chance to score 20 points in a single quarter?
Zhang Yang threw the ball outside the three-point line because he was pulled down by the opponent's substitute center Jayron Collins when he broke through in the last round. The opponent had already replaced the remaining main players, and if Zhang Yang was put on again, given the old man's personality, he would definitely do something bad.

But it’s not a big pity that I didn’t score 20+ in a single quarter…

When Zhang Yang was substituted, the score had reached 91 to 73. In the last 10 minutes of the final quarter, he led the team to a score of 26 to 17!
In the last minute or so, the Bobcats shot twice from outside but missed. The Jazz had no intention of fighting anymore and just wanted to go home...

At 9:22 p.m., the final whistle blew, and the Bobcats defeated the Jazz by 18 points, improving their record to 12 wins and 4 losses, overpowering the Pistons, whose record improved to 11 wins and 5 losses after winning last night, and ended their first game month with the No. ranking in the Eastern Conference!

After the final whistle, the fans cheered wildly and everyone was shouting "Jack".

The reporters rushed to the Bobcats bench immediately. At that moment, they were stronger than the professional players. All the Bobcats players were pushed aside... Oh, yes, the Bobcats owner was also pushed aside.

比克斯塔夫为什么不为张杨末节没拿到20分感到遗憾？因为——首节6投3中加上2中2的罚球拿到8分、第二节14分、第三节13分、末节18分，张杨出场34分钟，35投20中，其中三分球5中2，外加12中11的罚球，拿到53分4板2助攻1抢断！

Facing the camera, Zhang Yang stood up, controlling his body very well, living up to his nickname.

He was ready for praise, but the first reporter asked a blunt question, asking him why he took 34 shots in 35 minutes.

Zhang Yang glanced at the other person's microphone. It turned out to be an ESPN reporter. He was not polite and responded, "More than 35 times. You haven't counted the free throws. I didn't want to shoot so many, but Michael told me that it was easy to play against the Jazz. Just make the shot, so I shot... Why didn't your teammate pass the ball when he was open? Have you ever played basketball? Sir, when you can make the shot no matter how you shoot, will you pass it?"

The second reporter's questions were much more normal. He first congratulated him on his first 50+ and asked him what he thought.

Zhang Yang responded: "Michael is right, the Jazz are a very tenacious opponent. If they gave up in the third quarter, I wouldn't have scored 50+. This incident tells us a truth: nothing is difficult in the world as long as you are willing to give up..."

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(End of this chapter)