Chapter 266 265. Tragedy in the opening match!
Zhang Yang was the last to appear on the field. No one was surprised, including the TV commentator, fans at the scene, and players from both teams.

It wouldn't be strange if Okafor or Felton was the last to appear.

But when the fans heard the DJ call out Zhang Yang's name at the end and saw Zhang Yang come out last, everyone felt it was natural.

It was only a matter of time, but the future came earlier than they had expected.

Zhang Yang himself was quite surprised. He actually didn't care about this, but since it came, he might as well take it!

Felton felt much more relaxed.

He is just not smart, but not stupid. He knows his position in the team and is valued by the management and coaching staff, which is largely due to his younger brother.

He does not refuse to be the boss, and is happy and active in assuming the responsibilities that a boss should have and leading the team outside of the game.

But he always wanted to hand over the leadership on the court to his younger brother, as he knew that his leadership ability on the court was just so-so.

This idea can be seen from his playing style. He takes the initiative to take on the dirty work of chasing off-ball shooters and assisting in flank defense. Of course, it was not like this at the beginning. The change began to appear in the last two months of his rookie season. From then on, he no longer played like a boss.

Ignoring Gerald Wallace and Okafor's requests for the ball and directing Zhang Yang to play the first attack was actually Felton's initial action language, and he has been implementing it all the time, making everyone accustomed to it.

It's just that there were no conditions for "handing over power" before. Gerald Wallace has been competing for the team leader. Felton wants to completely defeat Gerald Wallace and make him surrender before doing this.

Now, Gerald Wallace knows he cannot win the competition and only wants to be the leader, not the tail, so he left. The younger brother has already won the FMVP and the time has come.

Felton made the choice he wanted to make and the transition came naturally.

The fat boss didn't say anything, but he told his little brother with his actions - I'll help you with the hard work of leading the team outside of the game, so you can just fly freely on the court!

Zhang Yang didn't ask, enjoying the romance that only belongs to men...

...

The entrance time today was earlier than usual. After the entrance ceremony, there was a lot of complicated greetings. As the defending champions, they raised the championship flag and awarded championship rings. Many celebrities came to watch the ceremony.

Well, these famous players who came here, I can’t say how much connection they have with the Bobcats, it can only be said that they have no connection at all.

As a team that is only in its fourth year, three future Bobcats legends started tonight.

Jordan called all his teammates and friends who were free to show off his first championship as a boss.

As an opponent, James also sent his congratulations to the 'new Bobcats Big Four' in front of the camera, and the one who mentioned the star was of course Rondo.

With that triple-double in the Eastern Conference Finals, Rondo solidified his reputation as "Little Kidd". In his rookie year, he got triple-doubles in both the regular season and the playoffs, becoming a top talent in people's eyes.

That's right... After the stage of people sending congratulations was over, Rondo rarely complained behind his back: "James has the attitude of a senior, as if he is already a superstar who has achieved great success."

His teammates agreed with what Rondo said and felt a little unhappy.

Felton said generously: "He came to congratulate, let him be."

Zhang Yang: "He is quite interesting. If he had an envious and unwilling expression at this moment, I would definitely admire him."

Teammates: Is this really a compliment?

Rondo continued to complain: "His fans are also very interesting. When they mentioned us alone, they said that we are not that strong. But when they mentioned that the Cavaliers have never beaten us, his fans said that we are the champions and it is not shameful to lose to us."

When these words came out, the teammates laughed out loud.

The laughter was normal when the championship flag was about to be raised and the championship was about to be awarded, and no one in the audience associated it with James.

Soon, the championship flag-raising ceremony began.

The process is similar to raising the flag and handing out rings like other defending champions.

Jordan is experienced in this area. He supervised the preparation of the entire ceremony and there were no mistakes.

There were a few interesting points when the rings were distributed, which were mentioned by the commentator.

One is that when the coaches were handing out rings, Bickerstaff was the first to receive one, and when the rings were given to last season's coaching staff consultant and new head coach Carlisle, it was Bickerstaff who first took the ring from Jordan and put it on Carlisle himself.

This scene can be regarded as a response to the rumors that Bickerstaff and Carlisle are not getting along, which have been circulating these days.

Many people do not believe this rumor because authoritative media have clearly stated that Carlisle did not agree to fire Bickerstaff Jr., but it was Bickerstaff who acted on his own and fired his own son in order to strengthen the authority of the head coach.

Given the alternative personality that Bickerstaff has displayed in front of the public during his nearly 40 years in the industry, this is indeed something he is capable of doing.

But some people firmly believe that Carlisle and Bickerstaff are not getting along, or expect this to happen.

Another interesting point is that the player who gave the ring to Jordan was Felton.

As for the winners, they are still the biggest winners of last season. The Bobcats are praised for everything they do now. Some people exaggerate that Young only cares about basketball and doesn't care about other things; some people exaggerate that Young and Felton are in the same class...

There was also Hill standing on the bench, looking at his young teammates receiving rings with envy.

This scene is very interesting to watch, but also very sad.

Although the Bobcats lost a key player and their strength was greatly reduced, Felton, the oldest of the 'new Bobcats', just turned 25 this summer. He has explosive talent and a promising future. He will definitely win another championship.

But Hill's health record makes it difficult for people to be optimistic about how long he can last. Even if Zhang Yang stands up to support him, people think that this is just Zhang Yang's preference for Hill.

...

After the flag-raising ceremony and the ring awarding, Zhang Yang handed the ring to his mother. This was his first championship ring, and he regarded it as an early birthday present for his mother... Of course, he would still have to buy her a birthday present when the time comes, otherwise she would be scolded for the rest of her life.

Although they entered the venue 10 minutes in advance, there were only a few minutes left for the two teams after the rings were distributed.

After Carlisle quickly emphasized a few key points and warned the players not to be careless, the referee urged the starting players of both teams to take the court.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, amid the enthusiastic cheers of the fans on the scene, Okafor easily defeated Big Z to win the jump ball, and the Bobcats attacked first!

Bobcats starting lineup: Felton, Zhang Yang, Hill, Okafor, Perkins.

Cavaliers starting lineup: Larry Hughes, Pavlovic, James, Gooden, Big Z.

Felton received the ball and advanced to the frontcourt, passing it to Zhang Yang on the right side of the free throw line.

As soon as Zhang Yang received the ball, James suddenly pressed forward and stole the ball.

Impact, timing, use of the body... After not seeing him for a few months, Zhang Yang was surprised by James' improvement on the defensive end.

Fortunately, Zhang Yang protects the ball like Nash. The sentence "The first thing to do after receiving the ball is to protect the ball to avoid mistakes" has been engraved into the foundation of Zhang Yang's playing style. Therefore, he was not suddenly attacked and intercepted by James.

Zhang Yang kept his composure, turned his back, and patiently made fake moves, looking for opportunities... Why are there so many opportunities?
Zhang Yang made his fake move more real, turned right and came to the free throw line, jumped, and shot a mid-range shot...

James was dazzled by Zhang Yang's excellent rhythm and realistic fake moves and took a half step to the left. Although he quickly turned around and rushed towards Zhang Yang at the free throw line, he was still a beat too late.

Zhang Yang made a back-to-back mid-range shot! James clapped his hands in frustration, looking very unwilling... He really was unwilling, he was just a little bit short of completing the press, and his defense was just a little bit short, and he didn't predict the opponent's real shot time.

He also felt that Zhang Yang's offense had changed. It looked similar to last season, and the moves were still the same, but he just felt it was different.

As for Zhang Yang, he initially thought that James' defense had changed a lot, but after the singles game, he felt that there was no change.

The offense and defense switched, and the Cavaliers attacked.

Larry Hughes advanced to the frontcourt and passed to James.

Mike Brown made adjustments to the starting lineup this year, based on the significant improvement in James' defensive performance in the preseason - James defended very well against Ford who broke through and rushed forward, and Luol Deng and Iguodala who rushed forward like tanks.

So before the start of the regular season, Mike Brown decided to abandon Snow and let Larry Hughes or James directly serve as point guard. He sent three teammates who could shoot, Pavlovic, Gooden and Big Z, to partner with the two to optimize the space for them to attack the basket.

When playing against other teams, this improvement in space may have a good effect.

But against the Bobcats...James was blocked in the elbow area again.

Hill's flank double-team was not as swift and violent as Gerald Wallace's, but Hill was more experienced and did a very good job of cutting off Pavlovic's passing lanes as he was moving along the right sideline waiting to receive the ball.

Not only that, James also keenly smelled the danger, the danger of being stolen or blocked at any time.

James slapped the ball and grabbed it, took two steps back to the left, and shot from one step inside the free throw line...

When James took his first step back, Hill immediately started and pressed forward to block the shot, but he didn't expect James to take two steps back... Is this possible?
Fortunately, James' mid-range shot was really bad, and the ball hit the rim with a bang.

Felton yelled at the referee, "He's traveling," but the referee ignored him. However, it was Perkins who got the rebound. Under Gooden's pressure, Perkins protected the ball. Felton did not continue to argue. He yelled just to express his dissatisfaction.

Gooden's pressure forced Perkins, who had poor passing ability, to choose to guard the ball. The other players on the Cavaliers got the opportunity to retreat and the Bobcats continued to fall into a positional battle.

Felton received the ball and advanced to the frontcourt, then passed it to Zhang Yang.

James stuck closer this time, limiting Zhang Yang's space for lateral movement. His defensive pressure was excellent, and his basic defensive movements were much better and more aggressive than at the beginning of last season.

But for Zhang Yang... this is not a defense that can defend him!
Zhang Yang made a fake move and turned around, followed James half a circle, left James behind, and broke into the inside line from the right!

Pavlovic moved back to the flank to intercept.

Big Z moved to the right side of the three-second zone in advance, and used his huge 221-centimeter body to block Zhang Yang's pass to the basket.

James turned around and tried his best to defend.

The three-man encirclement is about to be formed... Zhang Yang passes the ball back to the high position, and Hill has already moved into position!

Gooden, who was defending Okafor's mid-range shot on the left side of the three-second zone, quickly went to the free throw line. Hill passed the ball, Okafor cut in to receive the ball, and made a flying jump shot.

Hill has the best ball distribution awareness as a organizing forward after Pippen, and this shot showed it!

Rondo on the sidelines felt a strong sense of crisis and became more determined to train hard.

In terms of cooperation with Zhang Yang, Hill seems to be more suitable than him, because Hill has mid-range shots, and receiving the ball in the high position can attract backup defense and create more opportunities, while he does not have that condition if he does not shoot.

However, compared to his junior high school, high school and college years, he is no longer so desperate about improving his shooting ability. After more than a year, he has indeed practiced free throws, and the rate may stabilize at over 70% in the new season. He has also practiced three-pointers to the level of 30%, so it is possible that he can also develop spot-up mid-range shots!
Brother San once said: You are still young, and youth is your greatest asset, so don’t deny your own possibilities.

Zhang Yang himself didn't know that his casual words were told to the media and fans by his teammates one by one. Some people compiled his words into a book. Maybe one day in the future, there will be a book in the basketball world - Zhang San's Quotations, Bad Boys' Quotations...

It was the Cavaliers' turn to attack again. James was no longer the main attacker. He cut in from the wing, attracted the inside defense on the other side, looked for opportunities to pass the ball, and helped Hughes create better conditions for breaking through and attacking the basket.

In fact, most of the Cavaliers players did not have much hope for tonight's game. Even if they sent out one more player who could shoot and the opponent was missing Gerald Wallace, they still did not feel there was any hope, because in the past dozen or so matches against the Bobcats, the Bobcats did not rely much on Gerald Wallace to win against them.

But there is still a little hope - without Gerald Wallace, there may be no one on the opponent who can defend against Hughes' breakthrough.

But soon, this hope was extinguished...

Hughes was a little careless when facing Zhang Yang's defense and broke through. He was blocked by Zhang Yang one step inside the three-point line and was forced to stop!
In terms of speed, the two are about the same, but in terms of strength and weight, Zhang Yang is stronger than Hughes!
Hughes didn't expect Zhang Yang's ability to predict movement was so strong. Faced with this unexpected situation, he panicked. Seeing James running out, he was anxious to pass the ball... Zhang Yang rushed forward and stole the ball!
Death Coil!

After the steal, Zhang Yang immediately counterattacked. James was really fast. Zhang Yang started the counterattack with one step inside the arc. James started from the distance of the free throw line on the left and caught up with him.

Zhang Yang went all the way to the basket, turned a corner and ran out from the right, passing the ball...Hill followed up and made a layup!
This ball was a bit too plain, looking like the fast break combination of Parker and Duncan in his second peak period five years ago.

But it was a good goal, and the Bobcats took a 6-0 lead at the start!

Amid the cheers of the fans, the Cavaliers continued their attack.

When Hughes heard the cheers, he felt like he was slapped in the face. He continued to play singles against Zhang Yang, trying to get back the advantage.

But... like James, he was blocked in the right elbow area of ​​the three-second zone!
Perkins squatted under the basket to block the attack, Okafor took a step outside the top of the arc in the reasonable collision zone to cut off the mid-range shooting lines of Gooden and Big Z on the left, and Hill pressed up from the right... Hughes finally tasted the feeling of James playing against the Bobcats.

Hughes was much more decisive. He just pulled it out and threw it... but he didn't hit it!

Perkins stepped forward with his back to the basket to block the rushing James and Gooden. Okafor guarded the defensive rebound, turned around and passed the ball to Hill. Hill quickly passed the ball, Zhang Yang ran out of the free throw line to receive the ball and continued the fast break!

James, who was actively rushing for the ball, failed to retreat in the first time and lost the opportunity to show his defensive ability by blocking the shot. Although he still rushed out, he stopped at the center line.

Zhang Yang rushed to the other side and secretly glanced back. Seeing no one catching up with him, he took three steps and jumped up with a tomahawk slam dunk to score two points!

He didn't jump very high, but with his excellent height and wingspan, his tomahawk dunk was quite entertaining to watch and set off cheers from the fans. At the same time... it also crushed the last hope in the hearts of most of the Cavaliers players.

The Cavaliers have not made many changes to their roster in the past two years. They just signed Larry Hughes without any compensation, and Larry Hughes also experienced the entire process of being beaten by the Bobcats last season.

They have lost to the Bobcats for 16 games in a row. They lost to the Bobcats in the playoffs last season. They will play against the Bobcats again in the opening game of the new season. They don’t know how they can win. Their fighting spirit is not strong. The last hope, Larry Hughes, can’t open this point either…

Once upon a time, they thought their KING was the most talented player in the NBA.

But look at the bad boys on the opposite side. They showed excellent scoring talent in their rookie year, ranked among the top scorers in the sophomore regular season and made it directly to the playoffs. In their junior year, they practiced defense... The morale of the Cavaliers' role players, who are the 'Royal Guards', has fallen to the bottom!

The Bobcats counterattacked in two consecutive rounds. Zhang Yang's tomahawk dunk raised their already strong fighting spirit to the extreme!
Thus, the crazy tulle game began...

From the first quarter, the Bobcats beat the Cavaliers on both offense and defense, scoring 35 to 19 in a single quarter and taking a 16-point lead.

The second quarter was better, with the Bobcats scoring 28 points and the Cavaliers scoring 25 points. The Cavaliers barely kept the difference within 20 points.

But in the third quarter, the crazy scene appeared again... The Bobcats scored 36 points in a single quarter, breaking their single-quarter score in the first quarter. At the same time, they defended the Cavaliers to only 20 points.

After three quarters, the Bobcats led the Cavaliers by 99 points, 64 to 35!
In the final quarter, the Bobcats sent out a combination of Jarrett Jack, Afflalo, Alan Anderson, Millsap, and Muhammad. Even so, the Cavaliers only scored 19 points in the final quarter, while the Bobcats, led by Jack with 10 points in a single quarter and Millsap with 6 points in a single quarter, scored 24 points in a single quarter...

At 10:24 pm, the final whistle sounded.

James threw 27 shots tonight and made 27 of 11 shots, including 6 of 2 three-pointers, plus 9 of 6 free throws... Halfway through the final quarter, he successfully increased his score to 30 points and his hit rate to 40.7%.

But he failed to narrow the gap even when he came on in the final quarter, and his teammates basically gave up after the first quarter!

123 to 83, the Bobcats slaughtered the Cavaliers by 40 points and won the opening game!
(End of this chapter)