Chapter 198 197. God of Basketball: I've been targeted! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)

Defeating James to get the first 50 wins in team history, the post-game atmosphere was very high.

The morning after playing against the Cavaliers, Zhang Yang read the morning paper and checked the news online. Even though today was the day of the Mad Three Finals, their game last night was on the front page of the newspaper and there were also some news headlines on the homepage of the website.

From the perspective of traffic, winning 50 games against the Cavaliers is indeed more "profit-maximizing" than winning 50 games against the Wizards or the Heat.

But Zhang Yang doesn't want such benefits.

We need to win 7 of the next 5 games to get 55 wins. If we win one of those two games, the rest will be much easier.

After resting until noon, Zhang Yang drove to the airport to meet up with the team.

The NBA suspended its games for one day today to make way for the NCAA basketball tournament finals, but the players must continue to work and must prepare for and travel to away games.

The Bobcats will go to Milwaukee, the city where their opponent tomorrow is the Bucks, to play both away and home games against the Bucks.

This was originally a popular game arranged by the league. Before the start of the season, the Bobcats were evaluated as a team with the potential to win 50 games. In the Eastern Conference, the 50-win team means the top four.

The Bucks were already a playoff contender last season and strengthened their team through a series of trades and signings last summer. Before the start of the season, they were seen as a 45-win team and a strong contender for fifth or sixth in the Eastern Conference.

At that time, the league and the media believed that the two teams might meet in the first round. The match between the two emerging powerhouses would definitely attract a lot of attention.

Similar matchup predictions include the Bucks and the defending champion Heat, the Bucks and the Bulls who have snatched up Ben Wallace... These matchups were also scheduled to be popular events in the final sprint of the regular season, but now the live broadcasts of these games have been canceled.

After seeing what the Bucks did last summer, Zhang Yang felt that there was nothing wrong with it and that they were heading towards success.

Last season, the sophomore player Mo Buchuan showed great talent. In order to promote him, the Bucks sent Ford away and exchanged him for defensive forward Reuben Patterson and Bosh's backup, the eyebrowless warrior Villanueva.

This deal was indeed a good one. Mo Williams averaged 17 points and 6 assists after starting. Reuben Patterson had the best performance of his career, averaging 14.7 points per game and also played good defense. Villanueva developed the three-point shot in his sophomore year and has good space control ability.

In order to promote Bogut, sending Magloire to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Blake is also a good deal.

Blake is the guard that Reed is most comfortable working with since he entered the NBA. This season, when he and Blake played at the same time, his shooting percentage was as high as 48%. Last season, when he and Ford played at the same time, his shooting percentage was only 41%, and when he played with Mo Williams, his shooting percentage was only 43%.

Mo Williams is a better fit for Reid than Ford, and it's just a comparison between the two of them.

Magloire was sent away, and Bogut received better training, averaging 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. He was no longer criticized as a fake No. pick like he was in his rookie year.

Signed the Warriors' high-quality backup point guard Charlie Bell, selected the Turkish genius forward Ilyasova in the second round, and signed the shooting and defense power forward Brian Skinner with 1 million US dollars for one year in the competition with the Bobcats and the Nets...

The Bucks have excellent management capabilities, clear trading direction, excellent operational capabilities, good draft vision, and clear purpose in signing free agents.

Head coach Terry Stokes has a strong ability to train new players and his coaching ability is also acceptable.

But luck was as bad as ever. Just when the team had built a suitable lineup around Reed, Reed missed 20 games in the first half of the season and 10 games in the second half.

Not only Reed, but also Bogut, Mo Buchuan, Ilyasova, Charlie Bell... and other major players have missed more than 15 games. The eyebrowless warrior who was trained as the main power forward has missed more than 40 games. The team is really full of injuries.

So people saw that the Bucks dared to beat the Mavericks when they were strong, but they could lose to the Celtics when they were weak...

By the end of February, the Bucks management had to accept their fate and began to play badly after the All-Star Weekend. Blake, who was strong-willed and unwilling to play badly and refused to renew his contract, was sent to the Nuggets by the Bucks management in exchange for Boykins' expiring contract. The two-year minimum salary signed by Blake in 2 was about to expire, and they couldn't keep him anyway, so they went with the flow to do him a favor.

...

In the evening, Zhang Yang went to Felton's room and watched the final game between the Florida Gators and the Ohio Acorns with his teammates.

North Carolina, ranked first in the Eastern Conference, fell in the Elite Eight and lost to Georgetown University, ranked second in the Eastern Conference. There was nothing wrong with the loss. Although North Carolina was ranked higher, its main players were all freshmen and sophomores, while Georgetown University had super center Roy Hibbert, a big-name NCAA player.

However, Georgetown University also fell in the final four. Their opponent Ohio State University had a stronger super center Greg Oden.

After watching the finals, Zhang Yang realized how strong Oden was when he was a student.

Facing the Gators' twin towers Horford and Noah, Oden made 15 of 10 shots, plus 8 of 5 free throws, and scored 25 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. He really beat them one by one.

和他正面对位的诺阿，被防得21分钟3投1中加上6中6的罚球才拿到8分3板，霍福德也只有15投6中。

After watching this game, Zhang Yang felt that even if he had a "third eye", if he became the general manager of the Trail Blazers, he would also want to take a gamble to see if he could cure Oden's uneven legs.

Horford, 21, and Noah, 22, are both juniors and are both top-19 picks or even third-place favorites this year, while Oden just turned three months ago and is a freshman.

It's a pity that Oden defeated the opposing twin towers, but except for him and Conley, the other three positions and substitutes of the Acorn team were far inferior to the opponent.

The Ohio State Acorns were able to make it to the finals purely because the NBA stopped accepting high school students to participate in the draft last year. They got Oden, otherwise there would be no way they could have made it this far.

The Gators, led by Corey Brewer, defeated the Acorns 84-75 and won the MOP of the semi-finals.

Seeing Corey Brewer holding up the trophy with a stern face... Zhang Yang's mind flashed with the company commander's warm smile that showed indifference to the world...

On April 4, the NBA resumed the game and the Bobcats came to the Bradley Center to challenge the Bucks away.

Although the Bucks have a poor record and low ranking, even top teams will have a headache when facing them.

Reed is a fighter and whenever he gets on the field, he gives it his all.

In the middle of the fourth quarter, the Bobcats finally took a 10-point lead thanks to Felton's beating of Mo Buchuan. Reed suddenly broke out after the official timeout, scoring 4 goals in a row and making an 8-0 run alone, narrowing the gap to two points.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Zhang Yang turned around and made a jump shot from a high position to beat Reuben Patterson for a 2+1, stabilizing the situation.

最终，靠着张杨的21分5板4助攻4抢断、费尔顿的30分9助攻、奥卡福13分9板3盖帽、杰拉德-华莱士14分7板2助攻2抢断1盖帽，山猫队以99比93险胜雄鹿队，拿下客场。

里德拿到27分3板7助攻、末节单节11分3助攻，也未能完成逆转。

A day later, on April 4, the Bobcats returned to their home court to face the Bucks again.

The last time we faced each other, I won the game without any trouble, but this time... I was beaten like crazy!
Patterson, the Kobe terminator who caused a lot of trouble for Zhang Yang in the last game, was injured; Bogut, who caused a lot of trouble for Gerald Wallace and Okafor in attacking the basket, was also injured; Reed, who almost led the team to a comeback in the final quarter of the last game, was also injured.

Three of the five starters were missing, and the only highlight tonight was Felton beating up Mo Williams.

Felton scored 36 points and Zhang Yang scored 34 points, a total of 70 points, leading the team to easily slaughter the Bucks 107-81, winning three consecutive games and improving their record to 52 wins and 25 losses!
On April 4, a new week arrived, and the Bobcats left Charlotte again, this time on owner Joe's private plane, because their away opponent was the Chicago Bulls.

As soon as they arrived in Chicago at noon, the Bobcats received good news - Felton won the award!
打骑士队，7分6板4助攻2抢断，两战雄鹿队，分别拿到30分9助攻和36分6助攻，场均24.3分4板6.3助攻1.3抢断，3战全胜，费尔顿拿下东部周最佳球员奖！

When Felton heard the news from assistant coach Bickerstaff, his expression became very stubborn...if he wasn't stubborn, he would have cried.

Gerald Wallace, Zhang Yang, and Okafor have all won Player of the Month and Player of the Week awards, but he has nothing yet.

He finally won the award!
He took the other three core members out to a restaurant for a meal.

Zhang Yang won an award, Felton treated him; Gerald Wallace won an award, Felton treated him as well; Okafor won an award, Felton treated him again... Today, Felton wanted to have lunch with the other three core players, but the three brothers rushed to pay the bill.

The team had no training scheduled in the afternoon, so the four of us went to the riverside to drink tea, enjoy the breeze and chat.

Okafor is aloof, Felton is aggressive, Gerald Wallace is passionate, and Zhang Yang is ambitious. During the season, the four of them have been working hard, especially in front of their teammates. They all seem to be a little hard on themselves. Although they have led the team to performances that far exceeded the expectations of the media and fans, it is also very tiring, so after someone wins an award, they will find an excuse to have a private gathering.

During the chat, we talked about the Player of the Week in the Western Conference.

Felton complained: "Looking at Duncan's award-winning data is like looking at his career averages."

西部周最佳就是邓肯，3胜1负，场均20.5分11板3助攻1抢断2.5盖帽。

Okafor: "He is a role model for players. If you can stay stable, you can always be strong. Just like Jack said, becoming a player like Duncan is what I want in my heart."

Zhang Yang interrupted, "You don't usually talk, but you get so excited when Duncan is mentioned. Did you get your master's degree?"

Okafor's excited expression froze, he looked aside and said, "It's almost there, I'll treat you guys to a meal when I get it." Felton and Gerald Wallace laughed non-stop. They couldn't say such words, and Okafor would only look at them with contempt if they did. But it was different for Jack, a bad boy whose high school grades were better than Okafor's...

The four of them spent the afternoon leisurely, and the next day, April 4, the Bobcats came to the United Center to challenge the Bulls away.

The Bulls currently have 45 wins and 32 losses, ranking second in the Central Division and tied for third in the Eastern Conference with the Raptors, who are first in the Atlantic Division.

The Bulls are under a lot of pressure in the rankings right now. In addition to competing with the Raptors for third place, they also have to guard against the Cavaliers, who have a record of 44 wins and 34 losses, so the Bulls have been playing like their lives depend on it in every game recently.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, the Bobcats and the Bulls started a bloody battle.

After 2 hours and 20 minutes, the game was over.

山猫队5人得分上双，但没人得太高分，杰拉德-华莱士14分10板、奥卡福9分11板、费尔顿13分3助攻、阿兰-安德森10分、米尔萨普10分6板……

张杨13投仅3中，其中三分球4中0，加上6中5的罚球，拿到11分3板3助攻。

本戈登20分4助攻、辛里奇18分8助攻且把张杨防得13投仅3中、罗尔邓14分6板、本-华莱士5分18板……89比84，公牛队5分险胜山猫队，终结山猫队3连胜！

Zhang Yang didn't perform at the critical moment tonight, which was the reason why the Bobcats lost the game... Mr. He Li, the commentator of the Imperial TV station, made up for him: "This shows how important Yang Yang is to the Bobcats. When playing against strong teams, whether he plays well or not determines whether the Bobcats can win..."

As for Zhang Yang, he played very badly tonight. He was so angry that the basket seemed to have a lid on it. When he was interviewed, he took the initiative to take responsibility and told the reporter: "The reason for the loss is me."

But when I returned to the locker room, I had to pass the buck. I had seen so many people passing the buck in my previous life, so I felt so suffocated all of a sudden.

Zhang Yang found Jordan and saw that Jordan had a very bad expression on his face, which made him feel much happier.

He said to Jordan: "Boss, if we meet the Bulls in the playoffs, you can just watch the game at home."

Jordan had managed to hold back from cursing tonight, but this time he couldn't help it anymore. After a lot of cursing, he angrily asked, "It's my team's game, why can't I go to the scene to watch the game?"

When teammates saw the bad boy Jack and the boss, the ball god, quarreling, they all came to watch the show... These two quarreled from time to time, they were used to it, and after losing the game, they had to find some fun.

Zhang Yang: "We have played four games here in the past two years. You have always accompanied us, but we lost three times. Have you ever thought that this might be your problem?"

Jordan was so angry that he laughed: "You played badly, couldn't defend Hinrich and Gordon, and couldn't make the shot. You blame me?"

Zhang Yang: "You are Michael Jordan. When you were in the United Center, the Bulls were invincible. Who else can I blame but you?"

Jordan felt a lump in his throat, he had no way of refutating this!

Seeing Zhang Yang's originally furrowed brows relax, Jordan finally understood - this guy was in a bad mood because he lost the game and was using him as a vent for his emotions!
How could he, the God of Basketball, have ever suffered such humiliation?

Jordan was furious and yelled at Bickerstaff, "Bernie, have you chosen the head coach? I want to change the head coach!"

Bickerstaff: Huh?
...

Jordan was upset that his emotions were being vented, but what could he do? Of course he chose to forgive him!

You can't be against anything, but you can't be against money.

The main reason was that he had gotten used to it. Recalling the summer of the year before last, he worked hard to lose weight for a month before going on the court to coach Zhang Yang. It was then that he discovered the true character of this bad boy hidden beneath the good boy's face.

As a boss, he was very upset that Zhang Yang was not as easy to control as Yao Ming.

But as a former player, and the greatest player at that, he admired Zhang Yang's inherent arrogance.

But it doesn't matter what kind of player he likes. He also likes Kobe Bryant, but he can't come. It's good enough that he has him. 28 teams in the league envy him for having bad boy Jack.

Moreover, Yao Ming is not so easy to control now. After the Rockets' business lies were exposed, Yao Ming tends to force the abdication.

Jordan said that no top player would be so honest. Even Duncan had thought about changing teams. If it weren't for the Celtics' head coach's brain failure, the Spurs would have become a short-lived championship team.

The next morning, the Bobcats coaching staff and players took Jordan's private plane to Toronto, and Jordan bought his own tickets to fly to other cities.

The season is coming to an end, and Jordan wants his players to have a more comfortable trip, so his private jet is definitely much better than a chartered plane.

He himself went to meet with those potential coaches and chat with them more.

On April 4, the Bobcats came to the Air Canada Center to challenge the Raptors away.

Tonight, it was the Bobcats' turn to go wild.

After losing to the Bulls, their record is 52 wins and 26 losses. With 4 games left, their 55-win record is in jeopardy!
Gerald Wallace, Millsap and Okafor gathered in the frontcourt and gave Bosh a hard time tonight. In the first quarter, Bosh only made 6 of 1 shots and got only 2 points and 2 rebounds!
27 to 16, the Bobcats took an 11-point lead after the first quarter!
In the second quarter, the Raptors regained their momentum and tied the Bobcats at 26.

But in the third quarter, Bosh was besieged again. He only took three shots in the quarter, hit one goal, got 3 points, and ran to organize the offense. He got 1 assists in the quarter, but what the Raptors needed was not his passes, but points... The Raptors only got 2 points in this quarter.

The Bobcats continued their offensive firepower from the first half, scoring 27 points in a single quarter.

张杨前三节打了29分钟，13投9中，其中三分球1中1，加上4中3的罚球，拿到22分8板1助攻1盖帽。

奥卡福前三节打满，13投8中，没有罚球，拿到16分7板1助攻3抢断1盖帽。

加上杰拉德-华莱士的9分2板3助攻2抢断2盖帽、费尔顿8分6助攻、隆多反击拿到10分……三节打完，山猫队以80比61领先猛龙队19分！
During the intermission, Gerald Wallace returned to the bench and was punched in the chest by the head coach.

Bickerstaff: "Oh, Gerald, I knew that as long as you come back, you can lock Bosh!"

Bickerstaff was easily excited and couldn't control his fist, causing Gerald Wallace to suffer a painful blow in the chest.

But the crown prince is the crown prince, he resisted the urge to show his teeth, but instead flexed his biceps, showed off his muscles, and said: "Paul's top defense and Emeka's rim protection are the key. I'm just helping them fill in the gaps. It's not just me who defends him, but the three of us."

Bickerstaff nodded. "As long as the three of you are together, we don't have to worry about facing the Raptors in the playoffs. If we win tonight, the Raptors will be two games behind the Bulls and they will definitely not be able to catch up. As long as we get first place in the East, we don't have to worry about our opponents in the second round... Jack, why do you look so weird? Are you worried that we won't get first place in the East?"

Zhang Yang, who was wiping his sweat, shook his head: "No, I'm not worried about that. We have to get first place, but..."

Bickerstaff: “Just?”

Zhang Yang: "If the Raptors finish fourth, they may not even make it past the first round. They don't have anyone who can stand up to James and Hughes."

Bickerstaff: "..."

He felt that he had just analyzed for a long time but it was all in vain.

Felton: "Then aren't we helping James by playing so hard?"

Okafor: "Yes, the Cavaliers have a record of 1 win and 3 losses against the Bulls this season, and they only won once when the DPOY was injured. The Cavaliers have a record of 1 wins and 3 loss against the Raptors, and the Raptors only won once when Bosh scored 1 points. We may help the Cavaliers advance to the second round."

Felton: "Isn't this...better?"

The Bobcats players laughed grimly when they heard this, even Okafor smiled.

With Gerald Wallace back, they have a big advantage against the Raptors, but it's not that big. It's impossible for Zhang Yang and Okafor to have such a good touch every game against the Raptors. The Raptors' lineup structure is indeed very good, and they also have a mature offense and defense system, but Bosh and Ford are too young, only in their fourth year, and their strength is not enough. If they meet in the playoffs, they will probably win 4-4 or 1-4, and there is a possibility of a comeback, but if the Raptors are eliminated in the first round...

We must win tonight! We can’t lose in the final quarter!

Bickerstaff stopped the players' reverie that he had sparked, and replaced them with a combination of Rondo, Alan Anderson, Gerald Wallace, Muhammad and Perkins, giving the Raptors no chance to turn the tables.

The Bobcats coaching staff and players are all excited about the playoff situation. Jordan in front of the TV is going crazy at the moment... He certainly doesn't want the team to lose, but the players played a crushing game without him. What does that mean?
Especially the guy wearing No. 3, when he was there, this bad boy shot 13 of 3, when he was not there, this bad boy shot 13 of 9! Targeting him, right?

……

……

I didn’t want to stay up late, but I’d feel like the weekend was wasted if I didn’t stay up late on the weekend…Please give me your monthly vote in the new month!
(End of this chapter)