Chapter 168 167. Unlimited firing rights
On the afternoon of December 12th, there was a lot of noise on a moving bus on Manhattan Island in New York.

When they came to New York for an away game last year, Zhang Yang thought that the fat guy was too excited to play in the basketball mecca for the first time, so he led his teammates in shouting slogans.

As a result, today, after coming out of New York International Airport and getting on the bus to Madison Square Garden, the two atmosphere-enhancing veterans, Muhammad and Hannington, took the lead in shouting "Kill New York", "Reject 11 losses", and "No. in the Eastern Conference", and the whole team followed suit, and even sang a few lines while shouting.

They had 3 wins and 2 loss in 1 consecutive home games, and their record is 20 wins and 10 losses. As for the Pistons, they played against the Texas Big Three at home on the 26th, 28th and 29th. Except for the win against the Spurs with Billups' three-pointer, they lost the other two games, and their record is also 20 wins and 10 losses.

The Pistons' December games are over. If the Bobcats beat the Knicks tomorrow, they will be able to temporarily return to the top of the Eastern Conference with a half-game advantage.

The scene in front of him reminded Zhang Yang of his two years in high school. Sometimes they went to away games and it was like this too. It was so embarrassing.

However, he was also roaring along... This kind of atmosphere is really hard to resist, a man's happiness is that simple.

Today, after arriving in New York, the Bobcats did not go to the hotel but went to Madison Square Garden first because there was a year-end fan meeting arranged by the league.

Instead of arranging a fan meeting for the home team, they arranged a fan meeting for the visiting team. Only such a weird thing could happen in New York.

In the middle of the season, in addition to the Christmas game, there are two popular match days, the year-end game on December 12st and the New Year's game on January 31st. Popular matches will also be scheduled on these two days.

There are five or six games scheduled on both the 31st and the 1st, but there is only one popular game on one day. On the 1st, the Bobcats play the Knicks away, and on the 1st, the Cavaliers play the Nuggets away.

Both games were clearly about promoting young stars.

Cavaliers vs. Nuggets, James vs. Anthony, the hottest showdown between the new generation of stars in recent years.

Bobcats vs. Knicks, this game was arranged by the league to promote Zhang Yang alone.

The Knicks have a high level of attention. No matter whether it is a veteran star, a middle-aged star, or a newcomer, when they come to Madison Square Garden to play, they are all very well-known. Moreover, he scored 40+ in a single game in his rookie season, which was achieved against the Knicks.

But the league originally did not plan to postpone these two games, and the Bobcats' year-end fan meeting would have been almost canceled if the NBA partner store in New York had not already taken out the tickets.

Reason: Three of the four teams in the two games had fights within the past month.

The incident with the Bobcats was okay, but the fight between the Knicks and the Nuggets was almost as serious as the Palace of Auburn Hills incident.

The winning side had no sportsmanship, the losing side couldn't afford to lose, and the Nuggets fought a disciplined and organized group fight like gangsters... The problem mainly lies with the Nuggets. They were able to make the players of the New York nursing home, who had long been numb to winning and losing, develop a mentality that they couldn't afford to lose. It is easy to imagine how much the Nuggets players' continued slaughter in garbage time would drive their opponents crazy.

Stern has announced that new rules will be implemented from January 2007, 1 - when a conflict occurs on the court, players on the sidelines are not allowed to enter the court. If they enter, they will be directly expelled from the court and suspended for one game. Those who participate in fights will be punished to the maximum extent.

Some media reported that Stern called Anthony, who was still in a New York hotel, to the NBA headquarters the day after the fight, told Anthony "The NBA is not a place for you wild dogs to make trouble," and then read out the names of all the New York gangsters Anthony knew. Afterwards, Anthony did not even make the routine appeal of the 15-game suspension, and has been in hiding for half a month and has not appeared in public until now.

However, the promotion of these two games and the Bobcats' year-end fan meeting were carried out as planned before the start of the season.

Because the OK game was too popular, the league only arranged the Lakers and Heat games for Christmas this year. Who would have thought that Kobe and O'Neal were both injured, and both teams' records were not good. The Lakers were in the lower half of the Western Conference playoffs, and the Heat's record was even worse. O'Neal played 10 games in two months and Wade missed 7 games. The winning rate was less than 26%... The popularity was pitifully low. On the th, the post-game popularity of the Lakers and Heat was not even as high as 'who would be selected as the All-Star starter between Okafor and Gerald Wallace'.

The league can only promote these two games. After the New Year's Eve, it will be difficult to create topics in the next month. The NFL regular season is coming to an end and the playoffs are about to begin. Until the Super Bowl in early February, the North American sports world is dominated by football.

Last season, the NBA was able to steal the NFL's thunder in January simply because a player who was a bad influence on kids scored high points.

The Bobcats' fan meeting was very lively. Zhang Yang felt that even if their team held a fan meeting in Charlotte, the fans would not be so enthusiastic.

However, when it came to the question-and-answer session, the college students attending the meeting were not so polite. The first question was to ask Zhang Yang about his fight with Raja Bell and whether he regretted doing that on the court.

Zhang Yang responded: "I regret it... I should have kicked him. My hands were hurt."

This answer caused an uproar at the scene, and the Bobcats' press officer almost fell on the spot.

In the president's office at NBA headquarters, David Stern slapped his desk as he watched the live broadcast from New York State on American cable TV.

He knew that this guy would not be able to answer according to the standard answer given by the press officer. These geniuses were so unruly.

He still prefers introverted Chinese players like Yao Ming, but he can't promote Yao Ming!
He doesn't even know how to praise the Rockets with that crappy lineup.

It was OK before, he could cooperate with the Rockets to buy articles and brag in China. But now the Rockets' boast has been exposed, sponsors have been lost in large numbers, the Rockets' ratings in China have also dropped sharply, and Chinese fans are calling on Yao Ming to change teams... He can only start to support Zhang Yang in advance.

Just when Stern was about to slam the table again, the sound from the TV made him exclaim "Eh"...

Zhang Yang continued: "Although I don't regret hitting Raja Bell that day, I don't think Nash did a good thing. On the contrary, I think my behavior that day was very bad and contrary to the spirit of sports, so I was suspended. I support the league's decision to suspend and fine me.

It's just that I'm a bad boy. I can tolerate my opponents' small moves and trash talk, but I will never forgive Raja Bell's behavior. Slapping him in the face is already a light punishment."

Listening to the applause and cheers coming from TV, Stern's thoughts suddenly changed.

Although he has a tendency to be violent, vindictive, petty, and somewhat sinister, he is brave, reasonable, principled, and able to distinguish right from wrong...

The players who develop the Chinese market don't necessarily have to be "good guys" like Yao Ming. It's not impossible to have controversial players.

Stern thought of the player who was once highly praised in Los Angeles. He was ready to give up after 03, but it turned out that guy was more popular in China than Yao Ming.

The disadvantage is that you don’t know what such a player can do, but how can an opportunity be without risk?
...

On the morning of December 12st, the Bobcats came to Madison Square Garden to prepare for the game.

At 9:, the Bobcats held a pre-match meeting. On behalf of the coaching staff, Bickerstaff arranged the game strategy and explained the tactical details.

It is normal to make different game arrangements for different opponents. Most of the players listened carefully and did not feel anything different from usual.

But Zhang Yang, who was very sensitive to tactics, discovered the problem.

In the past three games, he has shot more than 3 times, but many of the shots were made by him looking for opportunities in the tactics on his own. He was not the first choice for those tactics. Although he has the highest points per game on the team, in terms of role positioning, his first role is a mid-range containment and a tactical puzzle. There have been some subtle changes in today's tactics, and there are more tactics focusing on his shots!
Not only him, but also experienced and highly intelligent veterans Muhammad and Derek Anderson have noticed this subtle change.

This is a very unusual thing. If a certain game just requires a certain player to shoot more, we can just arrange more tactics for that player to attack. That is an on-the-spot adjustment. However, adjusting tactical details means adjusting the offensive system, which is much more complicated. It takes a lot of energy just to prepare for training.

They noticed the changes, but the coaching staff didn't say it directly, and they wouldn't go around complaining. They just listened. One of them is a blue-collar worker, and the other is a substitute player who has few opportunities to play. Why should they worry about it?

There was another rookie who also saw the point, but he would not tell anyone about it. He was not a talkative person to begin with, and besides, what did it matter to him who made more moves?
When it came to the tactical training session, there were adjustments to the offensive tactics today. The two training sessions were more complicated and demanding than usual, but the Bobcats players participated in them very seriously and hard.

It’s the last day of the year, and everyone wants a good ending. And if we win, we can return to first place in the Eastern Conference. Even if there is a possibility that we will be overtaken in 24 hours, we will still be back to first place temporarily.

Jordan also came to New York last night and will go to watch the game today.

After watching Randy Brown and Bickerstaff lead the team in training for a while, Jordan said to Bickerstaff: "You are still so decisive. We just made a decision in a meeting the night before yesterday, and you immediately made adjustments for the next game. You are worthy of it."

Bickerstaff: "The decision has to be made, and of course the sooner the better. It can reduce the scoring pressure on Emeka and Raymond, and it can also create more opportunities for the two-wing shooters, which will help us smoothly get through the mid-season physical crisis. Since Jack has this talent, he should take responsibility."

Jordan: "Indeed, I didn't expect him to be so talented in this area..."

The talent the two were talking about was Zhang Yang's ability to recover physical strength.

After the game against the Nets, Jordan and the coaching staff held a meeting overnight to discuss the physical crisis that had emerged within the team since the game against the Pistons.

After playing 30 games, most of the main players have more or less had problems with their physical reserves, and some even showed a collective downturn like the one they faced against the Nets.

Whether it is Felton or Gerald Wallace who leads the team, the team style is full of passion and hard work. They fight hard in every game regardless of winning or losing. It is normal for this situation to occur.

But there was one player who was special! Although Jordan was speechless about Zhang Yang putting the blame on him for his bad shots, he discovered one thing: Zhang Yang shot more than 20 times on the first day and was exhausted, but he could still shoot more than 20 times on the second day...

Zhang Yang's ability to endure toughness was demonstrated in his rookie year. He was the first high school rookie in nearly 82 years to play in all 30 games in his rookie year. The previous one was Moses Malone, a high school rookie selected in the third round of the ABA in 1974, who also played in all games in his rookie year.

However, last season Zhang Yang only played for more than 20 minutes per game, and more than % of his shots were running, receiving the ball, shooting and counterattacks. He can basically be regarded as a floor-based player without the ball. It is normal that he has few injuries. He takes a shot every two minutes. Although the proportion is a bit high, due to the limited playing time, the average number of shots per game is only fourteen or fifteen times. Everyone on the Bobcats is used to it, and the media and fans who follow the Bobcats are also used to it.

Thinking about it now, it was a special thing. When they thought about it carefully, they seldom saw Zhang Yang have physical problems. This "physical problem" does not mean that Zhang Yang can play as casually as Kobe and Iverson, but that no matter how tired he was in the previous game, he was still energetic in the next game, and was rarely affected by back-to-back games. Only in extreme schedules such as 5 or 6 consecutive away games, 5 games in 4 days, and 4 games in 3 days could Zhang Yang have physical problems.

In January of last season, the performances of other rookies declined to some extent, but Zhang Yang's performance was stable and improved, with a higher percentage of ball-holding attacks, more rebounds and more assists.

With such physical recovery ability, and Zhang Yang's style of play mainly focusing on mid-range and long-range shots, and relying on his footwork to avoid defense or steal shots when attacking the basket, his risk of injury is also very low. Jordan and the coaching staff thought about it and decided to take advantage of it.

Englander at the side was a little worried: "Aren't you worried that Jack will lose himself in the unlimited firing rights? No matter how mature he is, he is just an 18-year-old boy."

This is also what Jordan is worried about. Now that he is a boss, although he still does things with the mentality of a player sometimes, his mentality has changed when thinking, and he is much more cautious.

Bickerstaff responded, "It's impossible to have the benefits without taking the risks. Besides, Chip, you said Jack is only 18 years old. Even if he loses himself, we can correct him. The fans have said that this bad boy will still be the youngest player in the NBA next season. We have the conditions for trial and error, and this is temporary. Just treat it as training him."

...

After lunch, the "Big Boss Gang" came to the cafe in Madison Square Garden to rest. Instead of hanging out, they wanted to recharge their batteries to prepare for the game in the evening.

The two training sessions in the morning are 30 minutes each. The training volume is not large, but it is very tiring. Adjusting the tactical details is indeed a hassle.

Felton took his computer to the cafe and connected to the Internet to read the news.

After browsing a few websites, Felton teased Zhang Yang: "Jack, what you said yesterday set the fans off again."

Zhang Yang knew that saying that would definitely cause controversy, but he did it on purpose. He had already fought, lost 6 game salaries and received a US$5 fine, so he naturally had to make the best use of it and make his attitude clear to those guys who didn't want to waste silk. If you dare to mess with me, I will cause you both physical and psychological harm.

But he went over and checked a few websites, and was surprised to find that the topic was too popular!
Yesterday's NFL ranking match between the Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs was not as popular as his. All major media outlets were hyping up his remarks last night, with some praising him and some criticizing him.

Is it because the opponent is the Knicks? Is the media attention in New York so high?

He checked the domestic websites and found that they were also hyping up his remarks yesterday, which also caused huge controversy among fans.

It's a bit puzzling. Tellem would never spend money to buy press releases on such things. He has communicated with Tellem, and those words were said to his opponents. There is no need to hype this. As for fame, he likes to rely on his performance in games.

If you can't figure it out, just stop thinking about it. Although it is controversial, he feels that he has actually benefited from it.

The afternoon break passed quickly, and at 8:40 in the evening, Zhang Yang and his teammates entered the Madison Square Garden arena.

When he entered the venue, there was loud cheers.

It is not the first time that there are cheers when playing away games. There were also cheers when playing against the Warriors and Rockets. When he went to Los Angeles to play games, there would also be a small number of fans cheering for him, but the cheers of those away games combined are not as loud as those in the basketball mecca. It is indeed a pleasure to play away games here.

When the Knicks team came out, this time there were not so many boos from the fans, but instead there were cheers.

Because the Knicks have been doing well lately!
A team's strength actually improved because several main players were suspended due to a fight. This kind of strange situation can only be seen in the Knicks.

Currently, the Knicks have 4 suspended players and 3 injured players, so there are only 8 players who can play in the game, including Marbury, Crawford, Big Q, David Lee, Malik Rose, Channing Frye, Kevin Cato, and Eddy Curry.

但就是这8人，过去8场比赛打出5胜3负的表现，将战绩从5胜17负打到10胜20负，脱离了‘奥登竞争区’。

When Zhang Yang saw the strange situation of the Knicks, he analyzed it and felt that the reason was quite simple - there were fewer players who needed to hold the ball, and only Marbury, Crawford, David Lee, and Eddy Curry needed to hold the ball. They had more space to play, and there were more teammates who played without the ball, so their performance was naturally better. The Knicks were still the kind of team with many internal conflicts. Some players could not even come to the scene, and the conflicts had also decreased.

Moreover, the eight players on the Knicks are already very strong. The combined salaries of these eight players alone exceed that of one-third of the teams in the league.

The Knicks have had good results recently and the relationships within the team have eased a lot. Zhang Yang saw the opposing players actively communicating after entering the court, which was something he had not seen in the three encounters last season.

Even without the Knicks' recent record of 5 wins and 3 losses, Zhang Yang knew that he couldn't be careless in tonight's game just based on this point.

The game started very late and was also broadcast live in China. It was the main game promoted by the NBA on the first game day of 2007 in the Chinese market.

At 9 o'clock in the evening, Eddy Curry defeated Okafor to win the jump ball and the game began!
Bobcats starting lineup: Felton, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, Okafor, Perkins.

Knicks starting lineup: Marbury, Big Q, Malik Rose, Frye, Eddy Curry.

Zhang Yang quickly retreated to the wing and followed Malik Rose who was running fast.

Seeing that the 213 cm + 136 kg Eddy Curry bounced faster than Okafor, Perkins started to retreat to the basket from the three-point line. After winning the jump ball, Eddy Curry almost got to the basket first. His physical talent is simply amazing!
Marbury advanced to the frontcourt. Without Francis and Crawford as his starting teammates, he didn't stick to the ball and lobbed the ball to Perkins as soon as Eddy Curry blocked him.

Eddy Curry received the ball, turned around and made a hook shot!
In the last eight games, Eddy Curry averaged 8 points and eight rebounds with a hit rate of 23%, threatening Okafor's title of "the best center of the new generation". The nickname "babyshqrk" also appeared in the past half month.

Although Eddy Curry entered the NBA a year earlier than Yao Ming, who is now regarded as a Mesozoic superstar, Eddy Curry, Kwame Brown, Chandler and others are of the same age as Okafor. As a talented high school student, Eddy Curry is still classified as the 'new generation'.

The Little Shark played very ferociously in this game. Zhang Yang felt sorry for Perkins. The Big Shark has been in a slump this season, and Perkins still has to take on the Little Shark.

In the offense-defense transition, Zhang Yang made a counter-run and cut in, easily shaking off Big Q's pursuit and Frye's poor defense, and then he received the ball at close range and made a layup with one step.

Eddy Curry's defense was also more active than before. He moved two steps towards Zhang Yang who cut in, and did not give Zhang Yang a chance to dunk directly, but it was limited. When Zhang Yang shot, he did not even press forward to block the shot. He just stretched out his hand, then turned his head to look at the ball and prepare to grab the rebound.

Just as Bickerstaff Jr. analyzed during the Bobcats' pre-game meeting, playing against the current Knicks team, if you move actively and choose the right routes, you can get easy shooting opportunities.

The Knicks players were already used to this, and they rarely even provided help defense before the fight.

If you can't defend, attack! Marbury received the serve and advanced quickly, trying to speed up the rhythm.

The Bobcats, who sent out their strongest defensive combination in the frontcourt as the starting lineup, would not easily give the opponent a chance to force a fast break, and forced the Knicks into a positional battle.

Seeing that his teammates were unable to break through the opponent's defense, Marbury slowed down as he approached the three-point line.

After Eddy Curry entered the inside, he saw Marbury's tactical gesture and went to the low post to lean on Perkins to ask for the ball.

Following Okafor inside the three-point line in the bottom corner, Marbury moved inside. Instead of passing the ball, he changed direction and broke through Gerald Wallace to rush into the inside!
At the same time, Channing Frye quickly ran to the high position around the three-point line, Malik Rose cut in from the left and took away Zhang Yang. When Okafor reached the free throw line, Channing Frye had already received a pass from Marbury outside the top arc and took a three-point shot...and it hit!
Zhang Yang retreated to the basket to receive the ball and advance. The opponent's offense was a bit difficult to deal with, as they played a triangle offense!

For low-post beasts like O'Neal, Yao Ming, and Eddy Curry, their greatest role on the offensive end is not the 20-plus points they score, but the threat. If they don't move forward in advance, they can't even double-team them. Except when they play against each other, when playing against any other opponent, they just need to catch the ball and carry it twice to get to a good shooting position.

In the last ball, the Shark was in the low post, attracting the opponent's forwards at the baseline to move inward in advance. The 96th guard broke through, and the forward went around the top arc to receive the ball, and either assisted or shot... Isn't this the same set of O'Neal + Kobe + Fox at the beginning of the century?

The triangle offense has been thoroughly analyzed by the media, experts, and various teams since the Bulls' first dynasty. It has been used as a reference by various teams. It is difficult to learn the complete triangle offense. Even the Lakers did not play the triangle offense this season. The only team that truly uses the triangle offense as a system is the Wizards. However, many teams are using some of the fixed coordination methods of the triangle offense. It is indeed the top tactical system under today's rules and is worth learning from and referring to.

Without considering strength and only looking at the positions of the players, the Knicks' triangle combination is more difficult to defend than the OK combination, because Frye is a shooting inside player who can play as a center. As long as Okafor retreats inside, he will definitely not be able to catch up. The two wing players will have to make up for it, and the opportunity for long shots or cutting in from the wing will appear.

After advancing across half court, Zhang Yang put defense aside and just chose his target to defend. He left the decision on how to defend to the coaching staff. His main task was to shoot!
Zhang Yang went to the frontcourt and gave the ball to Felton, and continued to run.

The Knicks are really different after they achieved a record of 5 wins and 3 losses. When retreating, Malik Rose, who has more defensive experience, directed his teammates to move to the wing to block Zhang Yang from cutting into the space.

However, although the Knicks have the defensive attitude and methods, their ability is too poor and their intentions are too obvious.

Zhang Yang saw through the opponent's defensive strategy and took the initiative to go around to the 45-degree mid-range cutting position on the left side. After inducing the Knicks to move to the blocking position, he did not go to the middle, but ran back again and cut towards the bottom line along the three-point line.

Big Q actively made up for it, but was blocked by Okafor on the wing. Zhang Yang received the ball in the corner and shot a three-pointer... and it hit again!
(End of this chapter)