Chapter 190 189. Now that we’re here, we must fight for it!
During the All-Star Weekend, the media raised a topic that sparked heated discussions among fans - what "iron records" can bad boy Jack create before he turns 19?
Fans listed many possibilities, and the most popular one was the triple-double.

James got a triple-double in the first month after he turned 20. Before him, the youngest triple-double record was held by Magic Johnson, who was 20 years and 3 months old.

Fans have discussed and analyzed that at Zhang Yang's current age, his energy and physical strength are not enough to support his all-round performance, such as averaging 5+ assists per game. Unless he reduces his shots and devotes his energy to passing the ball, it is completely impossible. Averaging 3 assists per game is difficult enough.

Not to mention averaging 5 assists per game, even averaging 25 points per game seems impossible now. Except for the 10 games in which he averaged 30 points per game, Zhang Yang averaged only 23.3 points in other games. After playing against the Timberwolves, Zhang Yang's average score has dropped to 25.1 points.

However, considering Zhang Yang's age and the talent he has shown, fans are not in a hurry about this. It is basically enough for him to break the youngest record of averaging 18+ per game at the age of 20. Averaging 25+ per game is a matter of time, and averaging 30+ per game in the future is not impossible.

In terms of triple-doubles, when Zhang Yang is being double-teamed, it is very likely that he can occasionally get double-digit assists. He has shown a great talent for passing, but he just doesn't have that much physical strength and energy.

Moreover, his rebounding has always been very good. In his rookie year, he averaged 28 rebounds in 4.5 minutes per game. This season, because of the point guard Rondo who is very good at grabbing rebounds, his rebounding efficiency has decreased. His playing time has increased to 32 minutes per game, the second highest on the team, but his rebounds are even less than his rookie year. However, there are times when he has eight or nine rebounds in a single game, so it is still worth looking forward to getting a triple-double.

If Zhang Yang does not perform well this season, he can still break James' record by getting a triple-double next season, but fans hope that he can break the record this season, preferably before April.

Because he will turn 6 in June, as long as the draft rules do not change, the records he set before April will all be within 19 years and 4 months, which are "iron records" that cannot be surpassed.

Zhang Yang got his 10th assist halfway through the third quarter and had 15 points and 7 rebounds. Although the game was not live, when he was substituted, reporters on the scene had already spread the news, and the number of text live broadcast views and radio listeners increased significantly.

Many fans were looking at their computers and listening to the radio, angrily scolding Bickerstaff for not replacing the bad boy Jack.

These fans are not all fans of Zhang Yang or the Bobcats. Most of them are fans who don't like James. Among James' fans, that small group of "top ten haters" use various "youngest" records to argue with fans of other stars all day long, which has indeed brought James a lot of negative comments.

James has another 'record' to be surpassed, and those fans who don't like James are more excited than Zhang Yang's fans.

When Zhang Yang grabbed the 10th rebound, all major basketball forums were flooded with comments, including the Cavaliers fan forum...

Zhang Yang really did it!
23+11+11，18岁零8个半月，张杨成为NBA历史上拿到三双年龄最小的球员！

KING's record is -1 again...Bad Boy's iron record is +1 again!

Watching the media hype about the 'bad boy Jack, the youngest triple-double player' and the fans celebrating for Zhang Yang creating another unbreakable record, the KING team cried.

If I had known, I would not have done this. Now, every time Zhang Yang breaks a record of "youngest", James will be trampled on by hostile fans, and it is the kind that cannot be refuted or resisted...

But it's too late to regret now. Even ESPN, which has a friendly relationship with James, will not miss the huge traffic of the gimmick of "the youngest". In the last quarter of the game between the Bobcats and the Raptors, every time Zhang Yang got a rebound, the headline of ESPN's official website would refresh a news with just one sentence, "Bad boy Jack got the 8th rebound", "Bad boy Jack got the 9th rebound"...

What made the KING team angry and helpless was what Zhang Yang said in the post-match press conference - "Ah? You call this a record? I thought only the youngest player to average a triple-double could be called a record."

...

As for Zhang Yang, he was very happy about getting a triple-double, but he really didn't care about being the 'youngest person to get a triple-double'. It was good to have it, but it didn't matter if he didn't.

In his opinion, this is really the least valuable "record", it is better to have a 40+ or ​​30+ game.

To make a shot, he depends on his own ability and to get assists. Unless his role is a pure organizing core like Rondo, and his goal in playing is to pass the ball to teammates who have shooting opportunities and rely on assists to make a living, otherwise he cannot reflect his role as a scorer.

In comparison, beating the Raptors itself made him happier.

The Nets' performance is poor. As long as the Raptors maintain their current record, they can secure the top spot in the Atlantic Division and will definitely be in the top four. The Bobcats are very likely to meet the Raptors in the second round.

They have only played against the Raptors three times in the regular season this season, and they won the first two times, gaining the advantage.

The day after playing against the Raptors, he went south with the Bobcats to the Motor City of Detroit.

After resting for a while at the hotel, he came to Felton's room to participate in the 'Boss Gang' team building.

What surprised Zhang Yang was that Millsap was also here! And with him came the veteran Muhammad.

God has eyes, and the little fat boss finally got it!

During the 'team building', Zhang Yang secretly asked Felton how he brought in the 'neutral' Muhammad. Felton held his forehead and said, "Rajon and Nazir have a good relationship. They are alumni. Last night I asked Rajon for help, but he didn't want to. Didn't we go to the bar later? I made a bet with him on drinking, and if I won, he would help me. In the end, I won."

It's true that mountain people have their own clever ideas... Zhang Yang worriedly said, "Boss, your hangover from drinking won't affect tomorrow's game, right?"

Felton: "I'll be fine if I go to bed early tonight."

Zhang Yang nodded. Indeed, although Felton loved drinking, it did not affect his performance on the court. Felton always exercised restraint the day before the game.

As for Rondo, this guy is more self-disciplined than Felton.

The fat boss still has to rely on his younger brother Zhang San and Okafor to slowly become self-disciplined. Rondo had already demonstrated his self-discipline during last year's summer league. He is a genius.

Zhang Yang suddenly thought of a question: "Boss, if you lose the drinking contest, what are you going to do to help Rajan?"

Felton looked confused: "Oh, yeah, what should I do to help him if I lose? He didn't seem to say."

Zhang Yang: -_-||
In other words, when faced with a challenge, Coach Long wants to start a fight without thinking twice?
However, when it comes to snake-type players, he doesn't find it strange.

Zhang Yang has seen an interview with Rondo at the end of his career. Rondo was asked who his favorite basketball star was. He did not mention Garnett or Pierce, but instead mentioned the strongest five players in NBA history, Isaiah Thomas, Jordan, James, Duncan, Olajuwon...

After Rondo listed the strongest five players in history in his mind, he changed the subject and said: "But my favorite is Kobe Bryant. He is the greatest player to me and has the greatest impact on my career. Every time I play against him, I try my best to provoke him and make him angry, because he is also the player I want to beat the most."

In fact, just looking at the paranoia in Rondo, you can see some shadows of snake-type players.

Although Garnett, Rondo's partner in the original time and space, was also a paranoid, Rondo was not greatly influenced by Garnett. Garnett was noisy, while Rondo was aloof and cold.

After a night of rest, the Bobcats came to the Palace of Auburn Hills to challenge the Pistons on February 2. The Pistons also won all three games after the All-Star Weekend, and currently have a record of 23 wins and 3 losses, leading the Bobcats by two wins.

If the Bobcats want to challenge for the first place in the Eastern Conference, it is very important for them to face the Pistons head-on. If the Bobcats lose tonight, the difference in wins between them and the Pistons will reach 3 games. By then, both teams will have played 56 games, with 26 games left. It will be very difficult to catch up with 3 wins.

The greater impact goes beyond that. They lost the previous two games against the Pistons. If they lose this game again, they will have already lost the regular season match. If the Bobcats' final record is the same as the Pistons, they can only rank second. They need to win four more games than the Pistons in the remaining 26 games, which is extremely difficult.

So far, they are still ranked second in the Eastern Conference, which was something the Bobcats players did not expect before the start of the season.

But we have already made it here, so we must fight for the first place! We have to fight hard in the next two games against the Pistons and try to draw, so that we will not lose out in the ranking competition due to the results of the games.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, Okafor defeated Rasheed Wallace in the jump ball and the Bobcats' away game against the Pistons began.

Pistons starting lineup: Billups, Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, McDyess, Rasheed Wallace.

Bobcats starting lineup: Felton, Zhang Yang, Alan Anderson, Millsap, Okafor.

Felton advanced to the frontcourt and used Millsap's screen to make a close-range jump shot...missed!
But Okafor slammed the ball into the basket over Rasheed Wallace!
When the Pistons attacked, Rasheed Wallace received the ball at close range and made a straight-arm jump shot, but was blocked by Okafor, who also grabbed the defensive rebound.

With 2 points and 2 rebounds at the start, Okafor played very aggressively and put pressure on Rasheed Wallace at the start!
Rasheed Wallace quickly retreated after missing the shot. Under his rough appearance, he felt very aggrieved inside - it's not me who said you are not as good as me, it's the reporter who said that!
The reason Okafor was so irritable tonight was because he was beaten by Bosh in the game against the Raptors.

Although he and Bosh each scored 6 points in the offensive rounds and played back and forth, posing a threat in the low post and helping Zhang Yang create the prerequisite for scoring 4 consecutive goals to secure the victory, the fact that he conceded 33 points to Bosh throughout the game did expose his shortcomings on the defensive end. Without Gerald Wallace, his close-range defensive performance plummeted.

When Gerald Wallace was there, he only needed to hold off the attacking players at close range most of the time, and he could take care of the basket well. When Gerald Wallace was not there, facing Garnett and Bosh, it was difficult for him to take care of both inside and outside the three-second zone.

Rasheed Wallace has the upper hand against Bosh three times this season.

So, a column article appeared on TNT Sports this morning. The content is not important. The article finally concluded that among the power forwards in the Eastern Conference, Bosh is first, Rasheed Wallace is second, and Okafor is third.

When Zhang Yang and Felton saw this column, they complained - when comparing results and team performance, Okafor was the center. Now after being blown up by Bosh in one game, Okafor is the power forward?
而奥卡福在意的点——一个场均12分7板1.5助攻1抢断1.7盖帽的球员，排在他前面！
This is one of the rare things that can make Okafor have emotional fluctuations. For example, at the end of his rookie season, some media predicted that Howard would surpass Okafor in his sophomore year. Okafor gained more than ten kilograms that summer in order to better deal with Howard and almost crippled himself...

In most cases, playing emotionally is not a good thing. Only players with nervous characteristics such as Ellis, JR Smith, and Crawford can perform better when playing emotionally than normally. Most players often perform worse than usual when playing emotionally.

But Okafor was in great spirits tonight and played well!
Rasheed Wallace's defense is soft but tough. He seems weak and insignificant, but he is tough. Bosh, who plays with a technical style, has a hard time against him. In three encounters, his total shooting percentage is only 3%.

However, when facing the irritable Okafor, Rasheed Wallace's toughness was not enough.

Okafor, Rasheed Wallace and Bosh, the three of them are like finger-guessing players, each one can counter the other.

If Ben Wallace was still there, Rasheed Wallace would not be afraid of Okafor's rushing and singles, but Ben has already gone to the Bulls to get a big contract, and Rasheed Wallace only has McDyess and Webber around him...

Okafor played the entire first quarter and performed so well that Bickerstaff was reluctant to replace him. He scored 8 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks in a single quarter. Not only did he score and rebound, he also single-handedly supported the defense under the basket, forcing the Pistons to only shoot from the outside.

Billups is aggressive and Hamilton is steady. The two are the Pistons' top two scorers, but they don't rely on scoring to defeat their opponents. Instead, they help their teammates create three-pointers and attacking opportunities after shooting from the outside.

First, two players shot open and created scoring opportunities at the basket, and then helped the wing shooter create opportunities. Tonight, the Pistons' offense was broken in the second stage!

Okafor scored 8 points in a single quarter and grabbed 4 offensive rebounds. Not only did he have a good personal offensive performance, he also helped his teammates create better offensive conditions.

After he scored a few more points and grabbed two more rebounds, the Pistons' twin towers often stood next to him to prevent him from scoring and grabbing rebounds, giving Zhang Yang the opportunity to cut in and score.

Hamilton's stamina is enough to make a dog vomit, and he can make Zhang Yang become autistic when defending him from shooting. But when he chases Zhang Yang into the three-second zone, his thin body can't hold up.

奥卡福首节8分、张杨首节6分、费尔顿5分2助攻、替补上场的隆多2分2助攻、阿兰-安德森3分、米尔萨普和轮换上场的穆罕穆德各拿到2分，山猫队首节狂飙28分，且把活塞队防得只拿到17分！
In the second quarter, seeing that Okafor was still excited, Bickerstaff chose to let Okafor continue playing.

The bold will die of overeating, while the timid will die of starvation. This time, Bickerstaff's bold decision was right.

In the second quarter, the Bobcats, led by Okafor, made great progress and scored 27 to 18 in a single quarter. At the end of the half, the Bobcats led the Pistons by 55 points, 35 to 20!
During the halftime break, the adjustments made by Pistons head coach Saunders were effective. In the third quarter, the Pistons made targeted adjustments on both offense and defense. Okafor played the entire first half, scoring 17 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocks. He consumed a lot of physical energy. Even after resting for half a quarter, his performance inevitably declined significantly. The Pistons scored 30 points in the third quarter alone.

However, Okafor is not the only one who can score for the Bobcats. Felton and Zhang Yang stopped playing tactical games after Okafor's performance declined, and Zhang Yang could not run faster than Hamilton.

The two took turns, Felton played for 8 minutes and scored 6 points, and Zhang Yang played for 9 minutes and scored 7 points. Under the leadership of the two, the Bobcats scored 23 points in the third quarter. At the end of the three quarters, the Bobcats still maintained a double-digit lead, leading the Pistons by 78 points, 65 to 13.

In the final quarter, the Pistons' offensive was still fierce, but they did not defend as well as in the third quarter against Felton, Zhang Yang, Okafor's singles who had recovered some of his strength, and Rondo's strong fast break. The Pistons scored 31 points in the final quarter, and the Bobcats scored 25 points...

奥卡福全场打了39分钟，17投9中，外加6中4的罚球，拿到22分23板2助攻1抢断5盖帽。

张杨出场33分钟，20投9中，其中三分球5中2，加上5中4的罚球，拿到24分3板3助攻1抢断1盖帽。

费尔顿15投7中拿到18分6助攻，隆多5分7板6助攻，阿兰-安德森和米尔萨普各拿到8分……

奥卡福生涯第4次拿到双20，率领山猫队以103比96力克活塞队，拿下7连胜，将战绩提升到38胜18负！
This is also the first time they have defeated the Pistons this season!
After the final whistle, Philip Saunders felt emotional as he looked at the Bobcats players celebrating around Okafor.

He had already sensed the Bobcats' great potential last season, but he didn't expect them to be a threat so soon.

The main reason is that Big Ben left, creating a lose-lose situation for both the team and the player... But Big Ben got the big contract he wanted, he already has a championship and so many personal honors, even if his performance plummets after leaving the familiar system, it will not affect his career evaluation.

The only real loser in the failed contract negotiations is the Pistons.

Sanders can't blame the management or the bosses who want to control salaries.

The owner of the Pistons used to be a wealthy man who spent lavishly. In the 80s, he spent 7000 million US dollars to build the Palace of Auburn Hills. At that time, the market value of the Pistons was not that high. However, in recent years, Detroit's economy has been in a downturn. The company of the industrialist boss has been losing money year after year, and he has been forced to reduce spending on hobbies. If the boss's real estate and automobile industries continue to perform poorly in the next few years, he may even have to sell the team.

With the big contract already given to Billups, the Pistons' financial situation is no longer able to give Ben Wallace a high-paying long-term contract...

Last season, Sanders felt that if the Bobcats wanted to surpass them, it would take at least another three years, after the two Wallaces had completely aged. But the loss of Ben brought their pressure forward!
(End of this chapter)