Chapter 197 196. Bobcat Mascot: Am I that scary?
After mobilizing his teammates, Felton felt dry in his mouth and returned to his seat, drinking half a bottle of mineral water.

Rondo hesitated for a moment and said, "Boss, I think your motivational speech earlier seems to be useless."

Felton: "I know. Jack and Emeka know too."

Rondo thought he was the first to discover it, but he didn't expect that everyone knew about it. He wondered, "Then why are you still talking about it?"

Felton had never thought about this question. Recalling the conversation he had with his younger brother, he said: "It's not completely useless. At the beginning of each stage, it is important to shout out a goal so that the whole team has a clear direction to work towards and get the necessary pressure and motivation.

Rajon, not everyone is as smart as you and knows what to do. If you don’t tell your teammates what time they play tomorrow afternoon, they may not come to the gym tomorrow.”

Could anyone be so stupid? Rondo glanced at his teammates... Don't say it, he had never thought about this question before, but now that he thinks about it, there are really a few teammates who are so stupid.

But Rondo still has a question: "Is our goal really to win every game?"

Felton: “That’s the ideal goal.”

Rondo: "I don't think it's possible. Five of our eight games are against playoff teams. The Pistons, Raptors, and Bulls are all difficult to play against. The Nets are fighting for a playoff spot and may burst out with amazing fighting power like the Wizards and Heat. Last month, the Nets were the second-best team in the East after us. Reed of the Bucks is also difficult to deal with... Only the Cavaliers are a little easier to play against..."

Felton: "I've said that this is an ideal goal. The actual goal will of course be lower. Jack, Emeka and I have discussed it and we will try to win six games and hit 6 wins, but we will definitely try our best in every game."

Rondo nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

After a season of partnership, Rondo's attitude towards Felton gradually changed from contempt to respect.

He initially thought Felton was just a puppet, but as the season progressed, he discovered that the guy was not using Felton. Instead, he relied on Felton to block out those trivial matters and focus on basketball and life. Felton was also sincerely protecting the guy, standing in front of his teammates to shoulder the pressure of the team.

And he has always been able to feel Felton's progress, both in terms of strength and ability to lead a team.

Just like today, Felton was obviously guiding his teammates with his own ideas and methods, unlike in the early days when he had to discuss all matters big and small with the second pick and the 13th pick shooting guard.

He is becoming more and more like a real boss!
...

The next day, April 4, the Bobcats' 3th regular season game day arrived.

Having gone to bed early last night, Zhang Yang got up early today. After doing half an hour of light training in the gym, he took a shower. At about 7:, the nutritionist brought him breakfast.

During the All-Star Weekend, he learned something new from Silver Horn King, one of the self-discipline freaks - on game days, he would eat a diet prepared by a professional nutritionist.

Now that he has learned it, he has to put it into practice. It has been a month and a half since the All-Star Weekend, and he has gradually developed a habit.

It’s just this breakfast… just put it in your mouth, chew it hard, drink some water and swallow it.

After becoming an athlete, he finally understood why most players gain weight after retirement, especially those who were very self-disciplined during their playing days, who gain weight very quickly after retirement.

It’s really unpalatable…

For those players who are particularly self-disciplined, gaining weight after retirement is not just due to the reduction in exercise. The main reason is that they were too hard on themselves when they were players. After retirement, they think everything is delicious and they eat everything crazily. Even Duncan's neck became thicker after retirement.

Of course, there are some special people, like Ray Allen and Hamilton, who pursue lifelong sports. After retiring, they remain self-disciplined, pay attention to controlling their diet, maintain exercise, and always have a good figure.

There are even people like Bibby who didn't dare to gain weight when he was a player for fear of affecting his speed, but after retiring he frantically gained muscle and became a big muscular man.

After breakfast, Zhang Yang browsed the news online to help digest his food.

The hottest event in North American sports right now is tomorrow’s Crazy Three finals.

Not only basketball, but most of the news and posts on all sports websites and forums are related to the final between the University of Florida Gators and the Ohio State Acorns.

However, today the topics of their Bobcats and Cavaliers are also very hot.

Zhang Yang felt the stubbornness of the Jew.

In the 10 days since the Crazy Three Process came to the Elite Eight, the Jews arranged many popular games to compete for the limelight.

The New Bad Boys vs. the Three Musketeers, the No. 3 showdown between the Bad Boys and the King of the New Generation, and today's Reserve Goats vs. the New Bad Boys were all intentionally arranged.

In addition to this, recently there have been arrangements for the matchup between Koca's No. 24 and No. 25, Janko's No. 23 and No. 24, and the matchup between Yao Ming and Shaq...

As for the ratings, they still couldn't compete with the NCAA, but Stern was stubborn and wanted to compete because he couldn't lose his momentum.

Zhang Yang opened the ESPN official website and saw several columns analyzing the Cavaliers' chances of winning and how to get rid of their "cat phobia" dilemma... He still liked ESPN's mindless praise of KING last year.

Now it seems as if it is natural for them to beat the Cavaliers, and that the Cavaliers can save the world as long as they beat them once.

In order to defeat the Cavaliers, they are also working hard to perfect the 'Emperor Devouring Tactics'!

...

It was 8:40 in the evening, and the Cavaliers entered the Turkish Airlines Arena first.

When James entered the stadium, he heard boos mixed with cheers, and he was very angry.

Those cheering people were clearly laughing at him and looking down on him!
James looked at the opposite side, he was very unwilling to accept why Anthony, Wade, Bosh, Hinrich and others were able to play back and forth against the Bobcats with a win or loss.

When it comes to him, he can't win a single game and gets beaten every time!
When the spotlight shone on the home team's player tunnel and Muhammad, Millsap, Perkins, Okafor, Gerald Wallace... and Felton appeared in his sight, his resentment and anger diminished and turned into a feeling of powerlessness.

What sin did he commit? He spent two years in the lottery zone, and finally led his team to the playoffs, only to encounter this opponent! As the saying goes, everything will turn around when it reaches its extreme. After James was angry to the extreme, he suddenly felt proud - this is the path he must take to become the GOAT!
Didn't the media compare his relationship with the Bobcats to that of Jordan and the Pistons?
The opposing team is the obstacle he must overcome on his GOAT path!
As human beings, some emotions are common. When James first learned that his team was buying press releases to hype this topic, he actually felt a little embarrassed.

But after a long time, he also believed it...

At 9 o'clock in the evening, the game between the Bobcats and the Cavaliers will start at home!
The Cavaliers took the lead at the start, scoring 14 to 9 in the first half of the game, leading the Bobcats by 5 points!
After not playing against each other for a while, the Bobcats players felt James' progress again!

Not just this time, but in the first three encounters, the Bobcats players could feel James' progress every time, although the magnitude was not large, but there was some improvement.

James calls himself the 'reserve goat' and regards the Bobcats as the 'bad boys' of his era. This is not just self-consolation. The opponent in front of him forces him to work hard to adjust his playing style and strive to improve.

During the regular season last season, he was actually very reluctant to share the ball with Larry Hughes. When Larry Hughes was injured, he even thought, "That's great, no one will affect my control."

But after the playoffs, he took the initiative to communicate with Larry Hughes during the offseason. After returning from the World Championships, he and Larry Hughes worked hard to train and cooperate. This season, there have been significant changes in his playing style. The proportion of off-ball cutting offense has been greatly improved, and the line selection and timing of off-ball offense have also been better.

In James' first 70 games this season, his average assists per game dropped to 6.2 and his points per game dropped to 28.3, but his shooting percentage was a career-high 49.1%.

A year has passed and his defense has improved compared to last season's playoffs. At least he is no longer relying solely on instinct like last season, where he would fly away as soon as the opponent shakes him. He can lay a good foundation for defense and reduce the defensive pressure on Snow, Larry Hughes, Big Z and others.

At the beginning of tonight's game, James' cutting in and passing the ball in the low post were much better than the last time they met, and the wing was also able to effectively block the ball like a point guard.

However, after the official timeout, the Bobcats stabilized the situation.

James and Hughes did a good job of blocking on the wings, Snow and Gooden did a good job of defending the pick-and-roll, but Bickerstaff chose not to use these tactics and directly let Gerald Wallace break through, Zhang Yang play high-post singles, and Okafor play close-range face-to-face singles.

If you have someone in your hands, you will be strong!
In the second half of the first quarter, the Bobcats scored 12 points, and at the same time they reduced the Cavaliers' score to 10 points. After the first quarter, they chased the score to 21 to 24, narrowing the gap to 3 points.

James is improving, but his progress is rather minor. His basic technical conditions are just so-so and he cannot develop them all in a short period of time. He also does not have the basic conditions to develop new offensive methods. For example, it is very difficult to redevelop the three-pointer. He has lost it for too long, and it is even more difficult to pick it up again than when he first developed it.

He is much stronger than when he first entered the NBA, but his shooting habits are still the same as before...

His efforts this season have been revolving around 'how to simply receive and pass the ball', which has great limitations, but he has a high basketball IQ and good physical condition, so he can always find room for improvement.

But the Bobcats had too good physical conditions to deal with James. The two point guards, Felton and Rondo, both dared to bravely stand in front of James, who was nearly 20 centimeters taller than them. The inside was a group of tough guys with different characteristics. Zhang Yang did a good job of defending the shooter, and Gerald Wallace did a good job of cutting off the pass to the weak side and the high post in the middle... James held on for half a quarter, then wilted again.

In the second quarter, the Bobcats launched a counterattack, scoring 30 points on the offensive end, and continued their performance in the second half of the first quarter on the defensive end, limiting the Cavaliers to just 22 points.

张杨半场打了16分钟，10投6中，其中三分球1中1，加上2中2的罚球，拿到15分!
James couldn't defend against Zhang Yang's one-on-one breakthrough, Snow couldn't defend against the back-to-the-basket shot, and Larry Hughes had to follow Gerald Wallace, otherwise the slow-footed Big Z would be turned upside down by Gerald Wallace.

Okafor also did very well in face-to-face one-on-ones. Having played against him so many times, he has a lot of experience in dealing with the Cavaliers' inside players.

To be honest, although the Cavaliers' inside players are expensive, except for Big Z, who took a pay cut to help the team bring Larry Hughes, and Varejao, who is on a rookie contract, the other inside players are not worthy of their salaries.

Okafor played for 15 minutes in the first half, made 6 of 4 shots, plus 4 of 2 free throws, and scored 10 points.
Led by the two, the Bobcats entered the second half with a 51-point lead over the Cavaliers with a score of 46 to 5.

到了下半场就是碾压局了，第三节比分25比19、末节比分32比29，分差从5分打到11分、最终14分……

詹姆斯今晚19投8中，其中三分球4中1，加上11中8的罚球，拿到25分7板5助攻，拉里-休斯20分3板6助攻，大Z15分9板，马绍尔10分……骑士队再次不敌山猫队。

The two core players, James and Hughes, worked very hard throughout the game and did not get discouraged even after the score difference reached double digits. Big Z, Marshall, Varejao and others also fought hard throughout the game.

But many players of the Cavaliers quickly resigned themselves to their fate after being overtaken in the score.

The team has lost 11 games to the Bobcats in a row during the regular season and playoffs...now it has increased to 12 games.

张杨21投11中、其中三分球4中2，加上4中3的罚球，拿到27分4板3助攻1抢断；奥卡福15投9中，拿到22分10板；杰拉德-华莱士17分7板2助攻1抢断2盖帽；隆多6分7板3助攻；贾莱特-杰克11分；穆罕穆德13分……

108 to 94, the Bobcats defeated the Cavaliers with ease!

James looked at the score and the Bobcats' record on the big screen... 50 wins and 25 losses, the first 50 wins in the Bobcats' history.

His grief and indignation resurfaced - you couldn't get 50 wins when playing against Wade, but you got it when playing against me, what does that mean?
He tried hard to adjust his mood as he would be interviewed by Chaoting TV after the match.

Although he was sad and angry, he was no longer the same person he was last year. He was more mature and could control his emotions better... Wait, Fa Ke, you stinky cat, stay away from me...

After Zhang Yang and his teammates finished celebrating, they were about to go to the post-match interview with James, but they saw James was frightened by Rufus and backed away and ran directly to the player tunnel...

Zhang Yang went up and pulled the little tuft of hair on the head of his team's mascot.

He asked Okafor, who was also invited to the post-match interview, "Is Rufus that scary? I think he's... a little ugly, but he's pretty cute if you look at him more."

Okafor: “…”

Do you pet this cat too?
On the other side, Larry Hughes was dumbfounded.

No, brother, I had finally calmed down and was ready to accompany you to the interview and take the blame, but why did you run away?

As a result, the headlines of major media outlets tonight were very interesting: "James was scared away by the Bobcats mascot and needs a psychologist to treat his cat phobia."

……

……

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(End of this chapter)