Chapter 207 206. We are already considering the next round of opponents
Kidd was surprised but also very happy by Zhang Yang's reaction.

Ji Bugong wondered if there was a possibility that the bad boy Jack was actually his fan?
Liking the answer doesn't mean you can't like him!
Otherwise, why would he be rated so highly?
He is still the most important player on the court at the age of 40. Kidd felt a little embarrassed when he heard this... but also a little proud.

His performance in the past six years seems to be pretty good. The legendary bad boy Jack stepped onto the court for the first time at the age of 6 to compete with an Allen Iverson fan for a South American hottie... That seemed to be in 15, when his team reached the finals for two consecutive years.

Isn’t this all right?
Kidd also began to praise Zhang Yang in front of the camera as the most talented player in NBA history, exaggerating that Yang would definitely surpass him in the future.

Zhang Yang also entered the humble mode, saying that he still has a long way to go if he wants to become a player like Kidd...

The reporter felt it was amazing as he watched the two of them start to flatter each other commercially.

In all his years in the industry, this was the first time he saw the best players on both sides of the game get along so harmoniously after the series.

But it's normal. The overall strength gap between the Bobcats and the Nets is too big. If the Bobcats' rookie center Millsap is brought to the Nets, he can be used as the frontcourt core like Richard Jefferson in the 01-02 season. Kidd also tried his best and played for his life, but he couldn't win despite his best efforts. There was nothing he could do.

When the reporter mentioned the topic of "the best performance of the team", Zhang Yang replied: "I don't think I am the most important one in this series. Maybe I am just the least important one. I am just a puzzle piece in the tactics. I just grasp the opportunities created by my teammates. Without Raymond and Rajon to control the game, without Gerrard's defense and impact, without Emeka's steady scoring, without Paul, Nazir and Kendrick's active defense... I can't play such a big role as I can only shoot."

Kidd looked at Zhang Yang in surprise. He had little contact with Zhang Yang, and it turned out that this bad boy was like this when he was not being bullied...

Kidd also started to be modest: "I only get a lot of rebounds because of my teammates' positioning. My teammates need me to grab rebounds to promote counterattacks. I only get a lot of assists because I pass the ball to teammates in the right position. Without scorers like Vince, Richard, and Eddie, I can't play such a big role because I can only grab rebounds and pass the ball. I think scorers like Jack are indispensable to the team..."

Zhang Yang: "No, no, no, a true offensive organizer like you is a team's most valuable asset. Your contribution to the game cannot be measured by statistics..."

Reporter: Okay, okay, you are blowing each other’s horns again, right?
...

The Bobcats advanced to the second round this time, and it wasn't as exciting as last year.

After regaining the home advantage in G3, the media and fans believed that the Bobcats had already won the series. At the end of the series, only Zhang Yang averaged 47 points with a 39.6% shooting percentage and a 27.8% three-point shooting percentage, becoming the youngest player to average 25+ points in a single round of the playoffs, and Kidd averaged a triple-double. There was nothing worth talking about the series itself.

The media and fans' attention was focused on three series - the Mavericks and Warriors, the Rockets and Jazz, and the Cavaliers and Raptors.

The other four series have also ended.

The series between the Bulls and the Heat, and the Pistons and the Wizards ended yesterday.

辛里奇在队友们帮助下，把韦德防得场均21投9中拿到23分，防得韦德场均打12铁和6次失误，疯狂报复4年前戏耍他的帕特-莱利。

During the 03 draft tryout stage, Pat Riley repeatedly expressed in interviews that he wanted to choose Hinrich. Hinrich believed him and even told his family that they were moving to Miami to enjoy the South Coast scenery. In the end, Pat Riley chose Wade.

Hinrich had been holding a grudge about this for four years, and finally got his revenge, leading his team to a 4-4 sweep of the defending champion Heat.

The Pistons also swept the Wizards 4-0.

Arenas felt discomfort in his knee during training before the playoffs, went for a check-up, and was found to have problems with his knee joint, so he was out.

Without Arenas, the Wizards were beaten by the Pistons, averaging only 88 points per game, while the Pistons averaged 106.5 points per game. The Pistons swept the Wizards 4-0 to advance to the second round, with an average net win of 18.5 points per game.

Jamison can play both the three and four positions. He has a physical advantage against Prince, and a speed advantage against Maxiell, Rasheed Wallace, McDyess, Webber, Melvin Eli and others. He played very well, averaging 30 points per game.

But Caron Butler, who only knew how to run, catch the ball and shoot, was completely useless when he met Hamilton, averaging only 9 points on 3 of 8 shots.

Billups averaged 24 points and 7 assists per game, Hamilton averaged 26 points and 4 assists per game...

Zhang Yang checked the official website for information on the two players. The 30-year-old Billups and the 29-year-old Hamilton had just reached their peak in terms of their individual offensive and defensive performances this season, but it was a pity that the Five Tigers had already disbanded, and the most crucial Big Ben was missing.

Zhang Yang learned from the news that the disbanding of the Pistons was pure bad luck. If the Pistons' owner was as stingy as Alexander and Sterling, he deserved not to be able to keep Big Ben.

But before Paul Allen took over the Trail Blazers, the Dolan family bought the Knicks, and Cuban bought the Mavericks, the owner of the Pistons was the richest and most willing to spend money in the entire league, bar none. His expenditure-to-income ratio ranked first in the league for more than a decade, and he made losses every year, purely out of passion.

The Pistons were forced to disband the Big Five simply because Detroit's economy was in bad shape and the owner was about to go bankrupt and had no money.

On the Lakers and Suns side, Kobe was defeated by Nash 1 to 4.

This result was not unexpected. Although many people had high hopes for Kobe, few believed that the Lakers could turn the tide. Stoudemire had played at a first-class level this season. His face-to-face one-on-one skills improved by leaps and bounds, his mid-range jump shot became first-rate, and his ability to attack was strong. Together with Nash leading the team, Kobe alone could not deal with him.

湖人队唯一赢的那场，科比25投15中，其中三分球3中2，加上13中13的罚球拿到45分，湖人队也仅赢了6分。

When Kobe scored more than 30 points, the Lakers had no hope at all. When he scored more than 20 points, the Lakers were beaten by more than 20 points...

安东尼和艾弗森，1比4输给了三驾马车，这组系列赛最没有悬念，除了有一场艾弗森20投11中拿到30分、安东尼22投12中拿到31分率领掘金队爆冷了一场，其他4场掘金队一点希望都看不到。

Duncan averaged 20.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.8 blocks per game, as if he had returned to his peak at the beginning of the century.

Facing Duncan, the Golden Twins had no other options except to score points.

They can't even create opportunities through various on-the-spot responses like Kidd did, or score consecutively like Kobe to give his teammates a brief glimpse of hope.

In the three series that have not yet ended, the Warriors won Game 4 again and are leading 3-1.

Zhang Yang saw the San Antonio media joke that the series between the Mavericks and the Warriors was really similar to the series between the Bobcats and the Nets, except that the Mavericks played the role of the Nets and the Warriors were more like the Bobcats.

Zhang Yang wanted to complain, but he didn't know whether the San Antonio media was criticizing the Bobcats, Kidd who rejected the Spurs' request for a sign-and-trade with Parker, or the Mavericks...

As for Yao Ming, he only scored 4 points in Game 20, and McGrady only scored 18 points. They lost again, losing miserably to the Jazz by 14 points.

Zhang Yang didn’t know whether the Silver Horn King was more miserable this year or the Little Giant was more miserable...but the Little Giant was more miserable.

At least the Silver Horn King has teammates like Harris, Terry, Stackhouse, Josh Howard, Dampier, Devin George, Croshere, etc.

As for Bosh and James, the Raptors fell behind 1-3 at the start. In Game 5, Bosh had a big explosion, making 23 of 13 shots, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, and 8 of 8 free throws, scoring 35 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. The three-pointer was a near-game-winning shot with 6 seconds left, leading the team to a narrow 98-96 win over the Cavaliers, dragging the series into a sixth game with difficulty.

The media commented that this game officially earned Bosh the title of "the best power forward in the Eastern Conference". Jermaine O'Neal, the best power forward in the Eastern Conference at that time, was not as strong as Bosh in the playoffs.

However, the media's evaluation of the Raptors is the same as what Zhang Yang analyzed to Felton and Rondo when he played against the Raptors before. The Raptors have a complete lineup, with all types of players needed for Sam Mitchell's offensive and defensive system, but the players are not strong enough. In the regular season, they only won 50 games in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, when they encounter hardcore players, like the hard play of the James-Hustle duo, the Raptors are completely unable to defend.

On the offensive end, only Calderon's long-range shots and Bosh's mid-range and short-range singles could open up the situation.

After paying attention to the situation of other series, Zhang Yang went to the gym at 10 a.m. the next day to practice shooting.

At noon, he saw the news that Marcus Camby of the Nuggets defeated Gerald Wallace, Bowen, Artest, Garnett and Duncan to win the Defensive Player of the Year award. He received 53 first-place votes, more than the other five combined, and accounted for 5% of the total points, crushing the game.

Gerald Wallace received 19 first-place votes, accounting for 17.63% of the total points, ranking second.

Zhang Yang and his teammates complained about Camby's big brush in the internal discussion of the "Boss Gang".

But he thinks it would be too much if Gerald Wallace won the DPOY.

Among the other candidates, Bowen's defense is good enough but not the best.

Garnett's record is so bad that he dropped to the second defensive team last season, and this season he is expected to be hovering around the best defensive team.

Duncan's defensive performance has been among the top ten, even top five or top three in almost every season since he entered the NBA 10 seasons, but his defensive performance is not the best.

Artest was the only one among the top six players in voting who did not receive the first vote. That is, the media thought of him when they voted, but were unwilling to let him be elected the best defensive player.

Zhang Yang looked through the list of candidates and thought that Camby's election this season was more like "picking the tallest one from the short ones."

In the evening, the Mavericks came back from a 1-3 deficit.

小牛队球星爆发能力比篮网队要强得多，约什-霍华德16投10中拿到23分5助攻、哈里斯11投6中拿到15分7助攻，两人暴走率领全队把进攻打开，比如把迪奥普喂到5投5中加4中1的罚球拿到11分……小牛队以118比112险胜勇士队，将大比分追至2比3。

On the 3rd, the Cavaliers defeated the Raptors 4-2 to advance to the second round against the Bobcats.

詹姆斯场均25.8分7板5助攻1.3抢断，命中率46.1%，表现不俗；拉里-休斯场均19分3.8板7.5助攻2.5抢断，命中率45.3%，表现也很出色，两人打猛龙队打的都很舒服。

Yao Ming lost 3 games in a row...

On May 5, the Bobcats began preparing for the second round.

Today, Bickerstaff just held a meeting with the players to discuss how to play in the second round, and then asked the players who had rested for two days to do individual training.

Not many people really had a good rest in the past two days. Zhang Yang started training on the second day after advancing, and yesterday most of the main players also arrived at the gym for training.

After Zhang Yang practiced shooting for more than an hour, the "Gate of Experience" popped up.

“三分能力评估由79提升至80，中投能力评估由85提升至86（天赋上限94），上篮能力评估由89提升至90（已达现阶段上限）。

Note 1: The upper limit of attacking talent is affected by physical development, and the upper limit will increase or decrease with age; Note 2: The upper limit of attacking talent increased by completing tasks is a comprehensive increase, and both the current upper limit and the upper limit of the physical peak period are increased. "

Zhang Yang was a little tearful. After one season, his three-point shooting increased from 74 to 80. It was not easy!
When we were developing CIC, it was stuck for a long time.

When his mid-range shooting just reached 80, Zhang Yang compared it with other role players in the league. He found that if a player had a mid-range shooting similar to his then, he would be able to become a member of the rotation lineup. If he had the matching skills, he could even become a main rotation player.

The three-point shooting is probably similar, and long-range shooters have a higher degree of versatility in their play.

His mid-range shooting, which had been stuck at 85 for half a season, and his layup, which had been stuck at 89 for almost a season, also improved. Just as he had analyzed himself and discussed with two top trainers before, when his outside, mid-range and inside shooting abilities improved to a certain critical point, he would need to combine the three to see progress in the game.

Layups have reached their limit now... He can only wait for himself to 'grow up'.

Zhang Yang went to drink a cup of energy drink, shushed to celebrate, and continued to practice. He was still 1000 shooting points short. After practicing all day, he finally accumulated enough shooting points at around 4 pm. 10 shooting points, upgraded "I age slower" to the intermediate level.

He just hoped that the next time this experience-gaining task would appear a little later, maybe three to five years later.

A new task is coming: 12 shooting value, random physical talent; 10 shooting value, start the next experience.

The shooting points required to 'brush up talent' are increasing... Fortunately, he will only turn 19 next month, so he can accumulate them slowly!
...

After a day of individual training, on May 5, the Bobcats officially began preparing for the second round series against the Cavaliers.

In the morning, the Bobcats practiced for 90 minutes, not including the rest time after each 30-minute practice.

During lunch, Felton complained to Zhang Yang: "Today's training progress is too slow. We practiced defensive positioning and movement all morning."

Zhang Yang: "It's right to practice more carefully. If the wing players like us who help you defend James can practice to make defensive moves instinctively, it will reduce your pressure on the defensive end. Jarrett is slow and Rajon is too thin. They can't defend James as well as you do."

Felton: "That's true, but it's just a game against the Cavaliers. Is it necessary to go to this extent?"

Zhang Yang: "We can't help it. The rest time is too long. There are two more rest days after today. The coaching staff must find a way to ensure our condition and ensure that the preparation training plays a role.

If we finish all the preparation training today, the effect of repeated training in the next two days will definitely not be good. If we do preparation training on the last rest day, we will lose our playing rhythm after resting too long, so we will have to practice so carefully... Bernie has been the general manager and head coach for more than 30 years. He is experienced. We just need to follow his instructions in preparation. "

Felton: "Oh...I see! Alan and the others are also complaining. I'll talk to them later."

Zhang Yang responded and said, "Let's eat, because we still have training in the afternoon."

The series between the Bobcats and the Cavaliers is scheduled to start on May 5, the second game day of the second round.

On the 7th, the first match day, the two teams that swept through the next round, the Pistons and the Bulls, started the second round matchup.

The teams that advanced earliest all got the longest rest time of 7 days in theory. Because the two Texas teams dragged on for too long, if the Mavericks beat the Warriors again tonight, the first game of the second round will even be played before the last game of the first round.

As for Yao Ming, the Yao-McGrady duo had another strong performance last night. Yao Ming scored 29 points and McGrady got a playoff career-high 16 assists and 25 points, leading the team to a narrow 86-82 win over the Jazz.

This process is just like Yao and McGrady playing against the Mavericks two years ago...

During the time to digest after lunch, Zhang Yang was watching TV in the lounge. When he switched to TNT Sports, it happened to be a sports news program. The news being pushed was that the MVP voting had ended and the winning information would be announced tomorrow.

Zhang Yang felt that the Silver Horn King could have raised his right hand when accepting the award... The Mavericks might not be able to hold on tonight, and the awards will be presented tomorrow. He made a malicious guess - the Jews were targeting the Germans.

In the afternoon, the Bobcats continued their preparations for training, focusing on the offensive coordination of the Cavaliers' outside defense circle of Snow, Hughes and James.

The Bobcats have played the Cavaliers 12 times in two seasons and have a lot of experience.

首轮卡尔德隆还给山猫队提供了很好的针对骑士队外线防守的备战素材，他首轮6场比赛场均16.5分3板7.5助攻，投篮命中率51%、三分命中率42.9%，很有参考价值。

In the evening, Zhang Yang returned to his parents' house and took Xiao Wukong to watch Game 6 of the series between the Mavericks and the Warriors.

During the entrance ceremony, Zhang Yang pointed at the last player of the away Mavericks and the specially printed photo in his hand and said, "Wukong, do you think it looks like the Silver Horn King is playing in the NBA?"

Yang Jing moved to Zhang Chen's side and whispered, "Husband, our little son won't be ruined by our eldest son, right?"

Zhang Chen: “…I don’t think so.”

After Zhang Chen finished speaking, he looked at Little Monkey King, who was moving his little head quickly and his eyes were repeatedly switching between the TV and the photos. His heart was also beating fast.

The younger son might have really believed the lies told by his older son!

Zhang Chen said that why his eldest son came back every day these days, but he didn’t take his younger brother to watch Naruto, but took his younger brother to watch Journey to the West, and he watched the Pingdingshan episode several times!
Zhang Chen hesitated for a moment, then whispered to Yang Jing, "How about having another child?"

Yang Jing slapped Zhang Shen for a moment and said angrily, "The children are still here, what nonsense are you talking about..."

Zhang Chen:? What shameful things did I say?

...

There were no surprises in Game 6 between the Mavericks and the Warriors.

The Warriors really beat the Mavericks throughout the entire game tonight, and eventually slaughtered the Mavericks 111 to 86, advancing to the second round 4 to 2 and completing the black eight miracle.

Nowitzki only scored 14 points with 2 of 8 shots in this game and was nailed to the pillar of shame.

When Zhang Yang was watching the live broadcast, the commentator called Nowitzki "Soft" before the third quarter was over, without even calling him by his name.

After the game, the result of this series was unprecedentedly hot, and it can be said to be the most discussed first-round series in history. The Mavericks broke the record for the highest record of teams eliminated in the first round, which was previously held by the Supersonics with 64 wins.

In fact, since the Warriors took a 3-1 lead over the Mavericks, the attention paid to this series has not been as high as that received by all other series in the first round combined in the United States.

When watching the process of the black eight, Zhang Yang enjoyed watching the show, but he had no desire to watch the news after the Warriors completed the black eight miracle.

It is foreseeable that all the criticism will fall on Nowitzki alone. No one cares that Terry and Dampier were also players who were eliminated in the first round, and not many people care about the head coach Avery Johnson who was also eliminated in the first round... After all, Nowitzki is the MVP.

The next day, Zhang Yang devoted himself to preparation training and personal training.

At noon, the league announced that Nowitzki won the regular season MVP this season, pushing the already extremely popular topic of "Black Eight Miracle" to its peak.

During the break in training, Zhang Yang heard his teammates discussing this topic. Everyone was laughing at Nowitzki... He didn't get involved, not because he had a preference for the Silver Horn King, but because he knew that the Silver Horn King would stand up in the future and have a terrifying playoff run...

If given the chance, he would like to stand against Nowitzki, who is like a god incarnate.

晚上，姚麦抢七大战告负，姚明7场比赛场均25.3分10.3板、麦迪场均25分5板7.3助攻，大比分3比4输给爵士队，首轮出局。

Zhang Yang checked the domestic websites and found that the Warriors' black eight was quite popular in China, but still not as popular as his side and Yao Ming's side.

Yao Ming was eliminated in the first round, and domestic fans lamented and criticized the Rockets for being stingy and unwilling to spend money on signings. Yao Ming averaged 25 points per game on offense and only held Okur to a 35% shooting percentage on defense. They couldn't have done better.

Yao Ming was eliminated in the first round again, which made Zhang Yang feel a little upset, but after seeing such public opinion, he felt much better.

He saw fans in a well-known forum calling on others to go to the Rockets' domestic sponsors and curse them, asking the sponsors to urge Alexander to spend money on recruiting players... These fans are something!

When Zhang Yang was about to turn off the computer and go back to his room to take a shower and sleep, he pressed F5 and the forum page refreshed with a newly reposted news post.

Zhang Yang clicked it and took a look... and was surprised!

After Yao Ming lost the seventh game, he said in an interview in the locker room: "I hope the boss will fulfill his promise and bring in strong reinforcements this summer. If he breaks his promise, I will apply for a trade at the end of the offseason!"

Yao Ming actually issued a trade threat!

Zhang Yang was surprised for a moment, then thought about it carefully and felt that there seemed to be nothing wrong.

The current domestic public opinion about Yao Ming playing for the Rockets is half urging the Rockets to recruit new players, and the other half is asking Yao Ming to change teams.

Zhang San's team easily advanced to the second round. Yao Ming averaged 25 points per game and was about to be C-ed. They lost in the seventh game. In addition to Yao and McGrady, only Alston averaged double digits in points, averaging 10.7 points per game, and his shooting percentage was only 33.8%. He averaged 10.6 shots per game and could only make 3.6 shots...

There is room for complaints and comparisons. If Yao Ming can still tolerate Alexander, Zhang Yang will do splits on the spot and give Yao Ming a thumbs up with his feet, praising him as "real man".

...

All eight series in the first round have ended. On May 8, the Pistons and the Bulls kicked off the second round.

The heat of the Warriors' miracle of winning the game by eight points is gradually cooling down. Although this miracle of winning the game by eight points will still be talked about by fans many years later and it had a profound impact on Nowitzki, the game is over and there are only so many topics that can be hyped at the moment... The media and fans will shift their attention to the second round of matchups.

The Pistons and the Bulls, this series is really not interesting. Ben Wallace vs. his old team? Most fans are not interested in this.

Fans are more concerned about the other three series, and the media are also hyping the topics of the other three series.

How far can the Warriors go? Will they be like the Nuggets, who bloomed like fireworks and quickly left the playoffs, or will they be like the Knicks, who went straight to the finals?
The Jazz were the most surprising team in the Western Conference this season, winning 51 games in the second year after selecting Deron. However, most of the topics about the series between the Jazz and the Warriors are related to the Warriors.

After all, the Warriors even beat the Mavericks, and no one can predict how the Warriors will perform in the future.

The biggest favorite to win the championship was eliminated in the first round, and the biggest winners were the other two favorites to win the championship in the Western Conference - the Suns and the Spurs.

The media commented that this year's finals will be staged in the second round, and the winner between the Suns and the Spurs will be the champion.

The three series, Pistons vs. Bulls, Jazz vs. Warriors, and Suns vs. Spurs, are all very suspenseful, but the most talked-about series is another series that most people think has little suspense - Bobcats vs. Cavaliers.

On May 5th, the Bobcats' first game day of the second round arrived.

The media gathered in Charlotte, and the Bobcats opened up game-day practice interviews.

When Zhang Yang was interviewed, a reporter asked him to predict the overall score of the second round.

He glanced at the reporter's microphone. The Free Press? He remembered, the Detroit media...

Zhang Yang smiled and said, "We are already considering our next opponent."

(End of this chapter)