Chapter 268 267. Overpowering Reed, first explosion of the season!
Zhang Yang's efficiency in singles in the third quarter was not as good as that in the second quarter when he played without the ball, but he still played singles as many as 7 times, 5 of which were successful shots, 5 of 2, plus 4 of 4 free throws, and scored 8 points by singles. It seems that he did not play as smartly as in the second quarter.

For example, he scored one goal each when counterattacking and cutting in without the ball in this quarter, making 1 of 2 shots, scoring easily and efficiently.

But he didn't play 'smartly', and the Bobcats' team score was higher than in the second quarter!

He wants to score personally, and with the Bucks' mindless double-teaming defensive strategy tonight, it will definitely be easier for him to play without the ball, but the pressure to create scoring opportunities will fall on Rondo, Millsap, Hill and other "old and weak" players.

This is not the way of a star player.

He kept shooting in high-post singles and breaking through to close range, compressing the opponent's defense towards the middle and elbows, creating better space for teammates who cut in and teammates on the wing, and helping teammates who assist to create better conditions for assists.

This is the way of a star player.

Carlisle saw that Zhang Yang was able to lead several teammates with supporting abilities or talents in his own way without his deliberate arrangement. He said to his old friend Vincent with emotion: "Sam, I was too anxious before. To tap into the talents of the players, we should first understand how they use their talents."

Vincent nodded in agreement, thinking: If you weren't in a hurry, I'd still be unemployed...

On the other side, on the bench, during the intermission, the Bucks players were in low spirits. The score difference of more than ten points disappeared in one quarter.

Reed shouted to his teammates, "We can't give up! We were leading by 9 points in the first quarter and 5 points in the second quarter. We only need to lead them by 1 point in the final quarter to win. We still have a 1-point advantage now!"

Reed's roar successfully aroused the fighting spirit of his teammates.

What is said at this time is not important. What is important is that someone dares to stand up and lead the team forward, just like Felton stood up and motivated his teammates when the Bobcats were in trouble.

The Bucks were willing to trade Ray Allen, who was at the peak of his career, for the expiring contract of 35-year-old Payton. In addition to the fact that their relationship with Ray Allen had broken down and Reed had shown his talent as a top scorer, there was another reason - Reed had already begun to actively lead his teammates when he was just a substitute and sixth man.

Of the three musketeers on the Bucks at the time, the Big Dog was a "power fire extinguisher". He lost his fighting spirit after scoring 20 points, which had a bad impact on his teammates. Cassell was discriminated against because of his appearance. Ray Allen's playing style, enthusiasm, and appearance were all good, but he would complain about this and that, from teammates to coaches to management. When he wasn't complaining, he would just be alone and ignore everyone...

After the intermission, the Bucks sent out the combination of Mo Buchuan, Reed, Bobby Simmons, Villanueva and Bogut; the Bobcats sent out the combination of Rondo, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Millsap and Okafor.

The Bucks attacked first. Reed received the ball from Zhang Yang in the low post and took two steps before turning around and shooting a jump shot...

Zhang Yang defended very actively, and he blocked Reed's face before he threw the ball.

But Reed relied on his 100-kg strong body and outstanding explosive power to create space for a complete shooting action. And relying on his solid shooting basics, he was able to make a steady shot from close range even with obstructed vision!
Reed is not only one of the best shooters in the league today, but he is also one of the best low-post back-to-the-basket guards who played with Payton for half a year, with size, strength, and shooting stability.

In the offense-defense transition, Zhang Yang came to the frontcourt and saw that the person following him was no longer Bobby Simmons, but Reed who had just hit him!

Bobby Simmons, a player who is a pity.

In the 04-05 season, he averaged 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game, with a shooting percentage of 46.6+43.5+84.6, and his defense was on point. Before the All-Star weekend, he helped the Clippers break into the top eight in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, after the All-Star weekend, Maggette, Kaman, Jaric and others suffered injuries and fell out of the top eight... But in the end, the Clippers still won 37 games. You must know that the Clippers were last in the Western Conference with 28 wins in the previous season.

西蒙斯靠着出色的个人表现，击败韦德拿到了04-05赛季最快进步奖，05年夏天从雄鹿队拿到一份5年4700万的肥约。

He played quite well in his first year with the Bucks. Although his score dropped to 13.4 points, he was still the second highest scorer of the Bucks, second only to Reed. He had a 42% three-point shooting rate and excellent wing containment. He was also the best wing defender of the Bucks and was regarded by the Bucks management as one of the core players of the future... Then he fractured his ankle in the summer of 06, and became a member of the Bucks' "invalidated army" in the 06-07 season.

Bobby Simmons, who returned after a year of injury, had a significant drop in athletic ability due to an ankle joint injury. He lost his ability to hold the ball, cut in, or counterattack. He was left with shooting and defense. Moreover, due to his declining athletic ability, his ability to restrict excellent scorers declined significantly. In the first three quarters tonight, he was the main defender of Zhang Yang, and Zhang Yang scored 36 points...

Reed couldn't sit still anymore and went to defend Zhang Yang himself.

Zhang Yang immediately went to the high right side of the free throw line and leaned against Reed.

The fans at the scene cheered. Reed just played against Zhang Yang in the low post, and Zhang Yang fell to the high post and relied on Reed to face him!

Although they were behind by 3 points, they narrowed the gap by 11 points in the third quarter. The fans at the scene were full of confidence in their team and their Bad Boys!

Rondo passed the ball to Zhang Yang. When Zhang Yang leaned forward to receive the ball, Reed pressed forward and reached out to grab the ball.

Zhang Yang reacted quickly. While reaching out to receive the ball, he moved to the left to avoid Reed's hand who was trying to steal the ball from the right, and protected the ball.

Reed retreated immediately after stealing the ball, and held off Zhang Yang who was trying to turn around and break through. Zhang Yang's starting position was restricted, so he turned around and leaned against Reed. He did not rush to break through, as there was still a big white bear standing under the basket.

When Reed played as the sixth man in his early years, he was a complete offensive and defensive player. In the 03-04 season, his first year as the boss, he averaged 20+ points per game while also maintaining defense. But in the 05-06 season, after having Bobby Simmons as a teammate, he was not so hard on defense and focused on offense, with a tendency to become like McGrady. But when he encountered an opponent he wanted to defend, his defense was still quite good.

Zhang Yang felt a certain amount of pressure from Reed's defense, but from that moment just now, he also understood Reed's defensive habits... just one step, dribbling and turning left!
Zhang Yang turned left and hit the ball on the floor very hard. Reed made an instant judgment and reaction, and took a step back to the left, blocking Zhang Yang's advancing route... Zhang Yang did not advance!
The ball hit the floor heavily and bounced quickly. Zhang Yang raised his outstretched hand very high. After receiving the ball, he pulled it back, pulled it to the left with a big swipe and slapped it on the floor. He also took a step sideways to the left, grabbed the ball, jumped, and shot a jump shot from the free throw line... and it went in!
Reed was completely shaken off. He stepped back with all his might, but was unable to get back and was completely unable to interfere!
Hill on the sidelines stood up suddenly!
Butterfly steps! His butterfly steps!
This bad boy has only learned this trick for a few days, and he dares to use it already?
And it is not used for breakthroughs, but for back-to-the-basket attacks!

Hill felt that he still lacked imagination. He had never thought that this trick could be used in this way!

The fans at the scene screamed and cheered continuously. Zhang Yang pulled the ball away and shook off his opponent and made a mid-range shot. It was much more entertaining than Reed's simple back-to-the-basket turnaround jump shot in the low post just now!
Moreover, while his back-to-the-basket moves were gorgeous, his shots were also clean and neat. The last guard to score like this from a high post... the big screen shot was given to Jordan.

Jordan: "..."

This movement doesn't look like him at all.

This bad boy doesn't want to learn from him! He said that he doesn't have such good physical talent as him and is not suitable to learn from him.

The key point is that he also thinks there is nothing wrong with this statement. The bad boy's physical talent is not in jumping and explosive power.

uncomfortable.

In the offense and defense transition, Reed continued to go down to the low post to single out Zhang Yang, and hit the back-to-back jump shot again!
83比80，雄鹿队领先优势再度来到3分，里德个人得分提升到33分，距离张杨的38分只差5分！
When the Bobcats attacked, Zhang Yang backed up Reed in the high post, turned around and stepped back for a mid-range shot... He used the 'Hamblen-style' step back to catch Reed off guard, and the shot was made, but unfortunately it didn't go in.

Bogut protected the defensive rebound, and the Bobcats retreated quickly, preventing Mo Bu from passing the ball and launching a counterattack. The Bucks fell into a positional offense, and Reed continued to play singles in the low post.

After receiving the ball, Reed saw that Millsap on the wing had a tendency to shrink. He took a step against Zhang Yang, turned quickly, stepped back to the elbow area, avoided Millsap who came to defend, collected the ball and jumped quickly, taking a close-range jump shot... which also missed!

Okafor protected the defensive rebound, the offense and defense switched, Zhang Yang broke through the high post and made a quick stop jump shot on the right side of the three-second zone...but it didn't go in!

The fans at the scene sighed with regret. They were only two points away from 40 points, so why couldn't they make the shot?
But it was just a sigh, and the fans immediately started shouting 'defense'.

When the Bucks attacked, Reed felt Zhang Yang's sticky defense, thought of Zhang Yang's prediction of shots and his grasp of the timing of interference attacks, and saw that Millsap had a tendency to shrink again... He continued to turn around and step back to the elbow area, but when Zhang Yang and Millsap formed a double team, he did not continue to force the shot, but passed it to Villanueva.

After Millsap retreated, Villanueva quickly moved to the right corner, received the ball and shot a three-pointer...missed!
Okafor overpowers Bogut to secure the defensive rebound!
Although Reed can average 25+ points per game, this ball is a good reflection of why people do not think his offensive ability is as good as top shooting scorers of the same level such as Pierce, Anthony, Ray Allen, etc.

Before he missed the shot in the last round, Reed scored 20 points with 11 of 33 shots. It was such an efficient performance. In this tug-of-war between stars, after missing the shot, he stopped shooting and looked for teammates... It would be fine if the free player was a top shooter like Bobby Simmons with a 40%+ three-point shooting percentage, but the free player was Villanueva, a power forward who had only a 33% three-point shooting percentage and averaged 0.8 three-pointers per game in the first two years of his career!
In the offense-defense transition, Rondo continued to pass the ball to Zhang Yang, then moved to the middle distance at the left baseline, preparing to cut in for a layup or go to the free throw line to shoot or assist.

When Zhang Yang received the ball, he naturally shot!
Continue to rely on turning around and stepping back to shoot!

He missed the shot and his teammate also missed the shot, and they were only leading by 3 points. Reed was anxious about this ball, and pounced on Zhang Yang when he was stepping back. Facing Zhang Yang's weird shooting rhythm while stepping back, Reed lost his strength and knocked Zhang Yang down.

But before being tackled, Zhang Yang had already completed the shooting motion and thrown the ball!
The referee's whistle and the sound of the ball hitting the inner edge of the basket and falling into the net sounded at the same time.

The referee indicated that the two points were valid and Zhang Yang was awarded an extra penalty!
The emotions that had been suppressed by the fans for two rounds were instantly ignited and they cheered wildly!
40 points in a single game!
Zhang Yang scored 2 points in the second game of the new season!
Millsap and Rondo quickly ran up to pull Zhang Yang up, and Zhang Yang celebrated with his teammates and walked to the free throw line. He received the ball and took a deep breath. This ball once again made him feel how good the legendary trainer Tim Grove was. The "basic skills re-polishing training" designated by Grove for him was completely tailored to his current playing style and basic skills. His speed of movement and stability of force were better.

After adjusting his breathing, Zhang Yang took the free throw... and made it!
His personal score increased to 41 points, and at the same time helped the Bobcats tie the score at 83 to 83, and the two teams returned to the same starting line!
Reed was very frustrated. He ran to the frontcourt... and spread out on the wing, attacking and defending for several rounds in a row. He was a little overwhelmed and needed to slow down.

With Bobby Simmons as his teammate, Reid's playing style gradually became more like McGrady's, with strong offense and weak defense. Another reason is physical strength. Without reducing his investment on the defensive end, he can only play thirty-five or thirty-six minutes per game and score just over 20 points. If he focuses on scoring, he can play 40 minutes per game, averaging 25+ points, and can score 40+ or ​​even 50+ in a single game.

Mo Williams faced Rondo from the top of the arc, and took a fake breakthrough three-pointer... He failed to fool Rondo, and was severely interfered with, and the ball flew out and hit the left side of the basket!
Carlisle predicted that the opponent would use two guns to attack in turns in the final quarter. This was the only way to play in the tense stage based on his analysis of the Bucks' lineup.

In the two games that Mo Williams participated in last season between the Bucks and the Bobcats, his shooting performance plummeted when facing Rondo's defense. Felton is very aggressive in defense, good at confrontation but easily deceived, but Rondo is not like that. He is very calm in defense and has the demeanor of a bad boy.

Mo Bu Chuan's ability is not outstanding, and as long as someone can continue to interfere with Mo Bu Chuan's shooting, he will be in trouble.

So Rondo was sent to start in the final quarter instead of Felton, who has better personal scoring ability.

Millsap secured the defensive rebound, and after landing, he immediately turned around and passed the ball to Rondo who was one step inside the arc. Rondo dribbled behind his back and passed Mo Williams who was pressing forward to steal the ball, and launched a fast break!
Zhang Yang followed up, but he didn't think about scoring, so Rondo was alone in the frontcourt.

But after Rondo rushed to the frontcourt, he threw the ball to the backboard and it bounced back. Zhang Yang was not polite anymore. He quickened his pace, rushed forward, jumped with all his strength, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!
85 to 83, this is the first time the Bobcats have taken the lead after three quarters since they started with a 4-2 lead!

He was clearly leading by such a huge margin before... Reed was unwilling to accept this!

He gave up defending Zhang Yang and devoted all his energy to the offense, playing very aggressively. Under his leadership, the Bucks players played very hard on offense.

Perhaps because they were overtaken in the final quarter after leading by 14 points, the Bucks players were stimulated and they attacked particularly fiercely in the next few minutes.

But the Bobcats were not as flustered as they were in the first half. Instead, they were able to handle the situation with ease against the Bucks who were on a roll again.

The team won by 13 points in the third quarter and has now reversed the score. The advantage is in their hands. Their bad boy Jack has scored 40+ points in a single game and is not afraid at all!
The score continued to be tense. When the Bucks called a timeout at 10:32 in the final quarter, the score between the two teams was 109 to 106. In the past 8 minutes, the Bobcats and the Bucks had a score of 24 to 23, which was a very fierce surge.

During this period, Zhang Yang only scored 5 points, including a three-pointer and a layup. At other times, his counterattacks were blocked, his singles were double-teamed, and his cuts were blocked... However, his teammates took advantage of his threat and scored 8 points in 19 minutes. Felton, who came on as a substitute, benefited the most. After the official timeout, he made two three-pointers and a close-range layup in 4 minutes to score 8 points.

Okafor contained Bogut in the interior, Zhang Yang contained the opponent's wing in the high post and on the wing, Mike Miller took away a defender, and with Hill's pass, Felton soared.

The opponent called a timeout, and Carlisle made personnel adjustments, replacing Felton, who had been attacking fiercely in the past few minutes, with Rondo, who partnered with Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Hill, and Okafor.

Felton did not show any dissatisfaction at this time, but encouraged Rondo to defend well... He had 22 points and 5 assists, what was he dissatisfied about? He got the points, and the talented younger brother helped him do the dirty work of defending Mo Bubu. Is there any boss who can live more comfortably than him?

On the other side, the Bucks returned to the same players after the timeout, Mo Williams, Reed, Bobby Simmons, Villanueva and Bogut.

Bucks head coach Larry Kriskowiak doesn't want to make a substitution, it's just that there is really no one available!

Apart from these five, the only one who can play is Desmond Mason.

Yes, the Bucks signed Painter back during the offseason. After only two years of mid-level exception, the Hornets were unwilling to match his contract, and no other team competed with them.

As for the status of a painter... Athlete + artist + black, Desmond Mason, who is full of political correctness buffs, is highly sought after in the art world.

During the offseason this summer, the money he donated to charity from selling paintings exceeded his salary this season.

He has long lost interest in playing basketball. At the prime age of 30, his athletic ability has not declined, but his performance is even worse than when he was on his rookie contract. Doesn't it seem like he treats the NBA as a part-time job or as entertainment?

Bucks general manager Larry Harris: It's really not our fault. We tried very hard and saw the problem with Painter a long time ago. We traded him in exchange for Magloire and a first-round pick.

Over the years we have been working hard to train core players and trade and sign role players. In 04 our salary exceeded the cap, and we paid taxes last season. Who would have thought that in 06 the lineup was complete, but the core players were always injured. This season the core players are healthy, but the role players have all run away. We don't even have the qualifications to pay taxes, and we feel so bitter!
In the words of Del Harris, former NBA coach and Larry Harris' father: Larry did nothing wrong over the years, he just had bad luck and failed.

The Bucks coach can only work hard with the starting five.

After the timeout, the Bucks attacked and Reed directed his teammates to move.

But when Reed saw Mo Williams' murderous expression, he knew he was in trouble and quickly moved inside to prepare for the rebound.

Mo Williams was very angry when he saw Rondo standing in front of him with an expressionless face!

Step-back fake moves, lateral fake moves, all kinds of fake moves... the opponent ignored them.

Fearing Rondo's ridiculously long arms and big hands, and seeing that there was still more than a minute left, Mo Williams chose to force a breakthrough... but was closely followed by Rondo and was unable to fully break through.

He broke through to the left side of the three-second zone, feeling very embarrassed, and didn't pass the ball. He stopped suddenly and took a close-range jump shot... "Snap"... Zhang Yang retreated and blocked the shot!

Okafor grabbed the defensive rebound, but was pushed out of bounds by Reed who was actively fighting for the ball.

Reed tried his best, but he could only stop the opponent from starting a fast break and failed to grab an offensive rebound from a group of big guys.

The ball went out of bounds, and Carlisle immediately replaced Rondo with Felton to improve long-range shooting. With Hill on the court, having an extra three-point shooter is more useful than having an extra organizing core.

The Bobcats served the ball from the baseline, and Felton received the ball and advanced steadily to the frontcourt despite the interference of Mo Buchuan.

Zhang Yang continued to move to the high position to ask for the ball.

Being blocked at a critical moment, the Bucks players became impatient, including Reed...

Reed relied on his strength advantage to go directly in front of Zhang Yang and move forward from a high position!
Without even making eye contact, Zhang Yang turned around and cut in. Felton lobbed the ball steadily. Zhang Yang received the ball on the right sideline of the three-second zone, and Bogut rushed out in a panic.

Okafor under the basket quickly pulled out, and as he guessed, Zhang Yang came in!
Facing Bogut's defense, Zhang Yang used the European step, jumped two steps to get behind Bogut, stepped on the arc of the reasonable collision zone, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!

11分02秒，比分111比106，山猫队领先优势扩大到5分！
After Zhang Yang scored this goal, the Bucks' momentum that had lasted for a whole quarter was completely gone.

With Reed missing two three-pointers, Reed's personal score was fixed at 43 points, and the Bucks' score in this game was also fixed at 106 points.

In the final minutes of the game, only Okafor made a tip-in and no one else scored for the Bobcats.

At 8:24 pm, the final whistle sounded.

里德32投15中，其中三分球9中3，加上12中10的罚球，狂轰43分。

但不敌22分5助攻的费尔顿、5分7板6助攻的隆多、6分4板4助攻的希尔、10分17板的奥卡福、9分的迈克-米勒……以及33投18中、其中三分球9中4、外加11中10的罚球的张杨！

出场39分钟，拿到50分3板3助攻1抢断3盖帽，张杨率领山猫队以113比106逆转雄鹿队，拿下胜利！

Watching Zhang Yang, who was holding his head high and enjoying the cheers of the fans, Carlisle discovered a cognitive error on his part... In the playoffs last season, he thought it was Bickerstaff who was too arrogant and dared to arrange a player who had just turned 19 to fire wildly and indiscriminately. Tonight he finally understood.

It's not that Bickerstaff was bold enough to arrange Zhang Yang to play like that, it's because Zhang Yang is that kind of player, so he had the courage to arrange Zhang Yang to play like that!
(End of this chapter)