Chapter 292 291. Opening with Roar

After Zhang Yang switched to a single-point scoring style, the Bobcats were finally able to slow down the trend of widening the score gap and score steadily.

But in terms of efficiency, Zhang Yang's shooting is higher. If he passes the ball directly to his wing teammate for a direct shot, it would be fine. But if the ball is passed to Millsap or Hill in the high position, it is difficult for the two to pass the ball to the empty teammates in the first time, and the ball movement will stagnate.

The Jazz are too good at dealing with supporting forwards. Not to mention the sophomore Millsap, functional passer Mike Miller, and veteran Hill, Duncan, Garnett, Gasol and others all had a headache when they met the Jazz.

首节打完，山猫队20比33落后爵士队13分，张杨节末抡了6分1助攻，率队在4分钟时间拿到10分，这期间和爵士队打成了10比11，好险没让爵士队把分差拉开到15分以上。

Entering the intermission, Carlisle no longer pursued team offense, and decisively switched back to the three-core attacking style of attacking with the ball.

As a young coach, Carlisle naturally has the excellent quality of "correcting mistakes as soon as they are discovered" that McMillan has.

With the tactical support of the head coach who arranged the game purposefully according to the opponent's defense, when Zhang Yang and Felton teamed up to lead the team on offense, the game was not as hard as at the end of the first quarter. In those few minutes, Zhang Yang was really fighting for his life, and now he can finally have a good fight with the Jazz.

But Carlisle on the sidelines still felt heavy-hearted. He said to Vincent beside him: "We are back to the same old style from last month."

Vincent: "Yeah, I didn't expect that after all these years, the Jazz are still so restrained in the triangle offense."

That's right, the Bobcats are currently developing a complete team offense, the core concept of which is the triangle offense. At Zhang Yang's suggestion, Carlisle also added some Princeton style of play, using offensive threat points, support points, and wing shooters to pass the ball over a large area to create singles opportunities for Zhang Yang, preferably mismatched singles opportunities.

Carlisle: "Let's talk about the offensive system later. Let's play this game well first. Our current style of play can only rely on their individual abilities..."

One of the main functions of tactics is to use teamwork to reduce the offensive pressure of core players.

Generally speaking, the shorter the time the ball stays in the hands of the core players, the greater the role players can play and the more help they can provide to the core players; the longer the ball stays in the hands of the core players, the smaller the role players can play and the greater the pressure on the core players, which in turn causes the core players to spend their physical strength and energy on conventional offense and defense, affecting their performance at critical moments...

In the second quarter, the Bobcats, who were trailing by 13 points, fought very hard. Zhang Yang, Felton and Okafor played hard, with Muhammad or Millsap cutting in to grab the ball, and Mike Miller or Alan Anderson receiving and shooting from the spot. The Jazz really couldn't hold on. The Bobcats won the Jazz by 32 points, 28 to 4, in the second quarter, and narrowed the gap to 9 points at the end of the half, trailing 52 to 61.

In the third quarter, the Bobcats continued to attack. There was no other way. With a 9-point difference and the opponent being a top team in the Western Conference with a winning rate of nearly %, they had to seize every opportunity to catch up.

But the game was not so smooth. At the start of the second half, the Bobcats only narrowed the gap by 9 point with the score of 8 to 1. Then, the Bobcats' offense was interrupted!
The star tactics were used at the end of the first quarter. Even though the three core players were young and energetic, they could not withstand this against the Jazz, a strong and iron-blooded team.

The Jazz seized the opportunity in the middle of the third quarter and made a 14-6 run, widening the gap to 16 points and leading the Bobcats 83-67!
The Jazz's offensive wave hit the Bobcats hard, but under the leadership of Zhang Yang, the Bobcats did not give up and launched a counterattack again. At this time, Sloan began to "play rogue", focusing on defense and ignoring offense. The 16-point difference and 15 minutes were enough for him to consume.

Led by Zhang Yang, the Bobcats launched wave after wave of counterattacks, but although they played fiercely, their offensive performance was not as good as in the first half. The three core players were too exhausted and their progress in chasing points was slow.

With more than two minutes left in the final quarter, Zhang Yang made a three-pointer, broke into the inside and caused a foul, and beat the opponent on a 5-0 run, narrowing the gap to 4 points and creating a chance for a comeback... Deron took advantage of the screen and hit a three-pointer against Millsap's switch defense, widening the gap to 7 points again. Then Kirilenko completed a steal, and Deron counterattacked with a layup, returning a 5-0 run to Zhang Yang and killing the hope created by Zhang Yang.

At 10:24 pm, the final whistle sounded.

In the 15 minutes from the end of the third quarter to the fourth quarter, the Jazz only scored 27 points, but also limited the Bobcats to only 34 points. Relying on the 16-point advantage in the previous quarter, the Jazz defeated the Bobcats 110-102, giving the Bobcats their second loss of the season!
...

In the early morning, on the balcony of Zhang Yang's room in the hotel where the Bobcats were staying, Felton was lying on the railing, feeling the cold wind and looking at the frozen lake downstairs, looking half dead.

Zhang Yang made two cups of honey milk and handed one to Felton. Felton took it and drank it in one gulp.

Zhang Yang drank slowly. He already had insomnia and couldn't sleep, and drinking like the fat guy made it even harder for him to sleep.

The second defeat was bound to come sooner or later. Zhang Yang had already prepared himself mentally, but he still felt bad when he really lost.

Refreshing the best start in history... Although this is a new 'record' created this year, the media and fans used to only care about how long the winning streak was at the start... But of course he wants to refresh the record, and there are only five or six games left. If he can hold on in this away streak, and go back to play the Heat, Hawks, and Warriors, it will be almost certain that he will refresh the start of 22 wins and 2 losses.

Felton couldn't sleep either. While walking around the hotel, he saw Zhang Yang going to the front desk to buy milk to mix with the honey he brought. He followed Zhang Yang back to the room to get a drink, but the reason for his insomnia was not the same as Zhang Yang's - he was beaten up by Deron and was heartbroken.

Zhang Yang learned the reason why Felton's mentality exploded. There was no consolation this time. Felton needed to adapt. He would have to fight against Paul later. That guy was more powerful. Zhang Yang had no confidence in one-on-one battles.

After all, sleeping drinks only have a supplementary effect. Zhang Yang still couldn't sleep, so he turned on his computer and checked the news.

Clicked on the game report between the Bobcats and the Jazz.

德隆15投8中，其中三分球6中3，加上7中5的罚球，拿到24分3板13助攻。

费尔顿20投9中、其中三分球10中4、加上4中3的罚球，拿到25分2板5助攻。

Xiaofei served as the third scoring point, mainly responding to Zhang Yang and Okafor's singles and occasionally making sneak attacks at close range, and swinging when he was needed to stand out. His overall strength was definitely not as good as Xiaopang, but when they were matched, they only compared points and he was not at a disadvantage. Of course, looking at the overall performance, Xiaofei was beaten badly by Xiaopang tonight. Xiaofei only got 5 assists, 8 less than Xiaopang.

布泽尔22分15板4助攻、奥卡福24分12板3助攻。

Okafor's role as an offensive core is definitely not as good as Boozer's. He can't grab shots and rebounds, but when the two are matched one-on-one, Okafor can take advantage. Okafor has not suffered a serious injury that destroys his athletic ability. In his fourth year in the NBA, his offense and defense have become more balanced, while Boozer is strong in offense but weak in defense.

Zhang Yang made 25 of 13 shots, including 8 of 3 three-pointers, plus 7 of 5 free throws, scoring 34 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. Almost no one on the Jazz could match him in this respect.

但爵士队那边奥库拿到20分6板、基里连科10分7板7助攻2抢断2盖帽、科沃尔12分、罗尼-布鲁尔10分3板2助攻2抢断……张杨双拳也难敌四腿不是，而且这都八腿了。

In the star-to-star confrontation, the Bobcats actually had a clear advantage, but the Jazz played a team offense, with multiple players scoring in double digits, while only three of them scored in double digits.

After closing the battle report, Zhang Yang glanced at other news. Just like the Celtics who had defeated them before, the Jazz dominated the news on basketball portals after defeating them.

But the difference is obvious. After the Celtics beat them, they were evaluated as an upset. When the news reported on the Celtics, they mainly hyped up the conflicts between the Celtics players and the management, the soap opera of where Pierce went, and Rivers being between the players and the management like a chocolate in a cookie... and so on.
The post-game news of the Jazz is different. The media reports on the players' performance, strength... and so on, that is, the game itself.

The reason for such a big difference is naturally because of strength.

爵士队目前战绩来到了14胜6负，70%胜率，仅次于15胜5负的黄蜂队和湖人队，高居西部第三，比12胜6负的太阳队和12胜7负的马刺队战绩都好，放眼全联盟，也能排在第5，东部只有16胜2负的山猫队、14胜5负的公牛队比爵士队好。

When Zhang Yang was browsing the news, he saw a point of view that most of the comments supported - the Jazz are the team in the Western Conference most likely to reach the finals besides the Lakers.

Zhang San was confused. This view was very different from what he understood, but most people supported it. He expressed his confusion to Xiaofei Boss.

Felton: "The Jazz have a mature offensive and defensive system, and their head coach has rich playoff coaching experience. They made it to the Western Conference Finals last season. Now the Suns have lost Thomas (Kote), the Spurs have lost Parker, and the Mavericks have started in chaos. The Jazz are the second seed in the Western Conference Finals."

Zhang Yang: "What about the Hornets? The Hornets are the most amazing team in the West right now."

Zhang Yang remembered that in 08, the Hornets lost to the Spurs in the second round in a game seven. He was still a junior high school student at the time and he regretted not seeing the showdown between Kobe and Paul, two MVP contenders.

Felton: "Chris... it's not nice to say bad things about people behind their backs, but if the Hornets finish first in the West and the Warriors finish eighth, I don't think Chris can beat Davis."

Zhang Yang clicked on the homepage and looked at the Warriors, who were ahead of the Rockets, Grizzlies, Trail Blazers, etc. Don't say it, really don't say it, the Rockets might collapse later, the Grizzlies and Trail Blazers each have their own flaws, it's really possible that the Warriors will be eighth...

If the Hornets are second or third, the Nuggets and Spurs will be in the lower half of the Western Conference playoffs... Poor San Antonio Spurs!
I don’t know why, but when Zhang San saw the western environment where Xiao Pao was, his depressed feeling about losing the game disappeared for the most part.

Zhang Yang also got a ranking - the 05 player strength ranking.

He, Paul and Deron ranked in the top three. Fourth and fifth were Bynum and Ellis. Felton dropped out of the top five.

Before the season started, Felton was ranked as the top three point guards in the 05 class by the media, mainly because of his status as the defending champion...

…It was past 3 o’clock before Zhang Yang fell asleep. He wanted to hold on a little longer and watch the night scene in Salt Lake City at 4 a.m., but the situation that Xiao Pao would face in the playoffs comforted him. After he felt a little happier, he felt sleepy. He kicked the fat boss out, avenged himself for beating Raja Bell, and fell asleep in bed.

After sleeping until noon the next day, Zhang Yang left Salt Lake City with the team and flew to Los Angeles, the fourth stop of the five-game away trip.

After putting his things in the hotel room, Zhang Yang changed into formal clothes, went to the parking lot to meet Hill, got on the nanny car, and set off for another hotel.

After they got on the road, Zhang Yang asked, "Grant, what movie promotion are we going to attend?"

A few days ago, before starting the road trip, Hill found Zhang Yang and said that there was a movie promotion event and party when playing against the Lakers and invited him, and asked him if he wanted to go with them, that is, to take him out for fun. He liked the hustle and bustle and did not refuse. He told Tellem about it. When the agent learned that it was Hill who was going to take him out for fun, he actively urged him to participate.

However, he was very busy in December and was thinking about what kind of movie promotion it was. He almost forgot about it until Hill reminded him on the plane at noon.

Fortunately, he had talked about this with his mother before, and his mother prepared clothes for him.

Hill: "It's a movie adapted from a novel by a British film company. I haven't read the novel, but it seems to be an inspirational movie about three orphans growing up in difficult circumstances."

Zhang Yang: "Oh, they invited you because you are an inspirational representative among athletes?"

Hill: "Well... maybe that's partly why."

Zhang Yang: "What's the reason?"

Hill: "I was once a popular player. When I was a kid, I won the gold medal in a children's piano competition. Many TV stations wanted to find me to record programs, but my mother refused. It was not until I was in high school that she allowed me to be on TV. I remember that I met the director of today's movie when I was in 10th grade. I made a cameo appearance in his movie, playing an unnamed basketball club genius. I remember it was 20 years ago... Oh, it seems that you were not there at that time."

Zhang Yang: "Your childhood and my childhood are really different."

Hill: "You are also very special. You started playing basketball at the age of 15, entered the NBA in two years, and won the NBA championship in four years. You are much more glorious than when I was a child."

Zhang Yang: "You're right. I'm not so jealous anymore."

Hill: "Haha, I asked you to come along this time because I wanted you to get more exposure to the outside world. Don't just focus on basketball and work. Go out and have fun more."

Zhang Yang: "I went to buy a bottle of wine but no one in the store would sell it to me. How can I have fun?"

Hill: "That's right, but there is always a way. For promotional activities such as movies and TV, or charity events, they would definitely be happy to invite you. When I received a call from Sanders... the director today, he said he wanted to take you there. He was so excited. These activities can allow you to relax from the intense basketball life, and can also enhance your public visibility, which can help your commercial value and work and life after retirement.

And today's event is really suitable for you. The three heroines in the movie are the actresses who play the three orphans, and they are about the same age as you."

Zhang Yang: "...Are you introducing me to a girlfriend?"

Hill: "Wow, you found out? Haha, I'm not introducing you to a girlfriend, I'm just giving you another chance to meet girls. Tamia is worried about you because she sees that you're still single at the age of 19."

Zhang Yang: "...Please thank her for me. She hasn't released a new song in two or three years. I'm worried about her."

Hill: "Haha, you are really unforgiving with your words, but you don't seem to object to this, so I feel relieved."

Zhang Yang: "I'm not resistant. When I meet a girl I like, I'm quite proactive. But after I started playing basketball, I devoted all my time to training. The longer I play, the more I feel I'm lacking in many areas. The more I want to seize the time to train and watch videos. You're right. It's not bad to go out and play occasionally to relax... But Grant, you've already started planning for your retirement."

Hill: "Post-retirement planning? I started doing it after I graduated from high school."

Zhang Yang: "...Our youths were also different!"

...

Although he has been a public figure for several years, this is the first time that Zhang Yang has attended a film promotion conference or a party that requires socializing during filming.

Overall, he was very reserved, with Prince Duan mode turned on, and he had a business-like smile on his face the entire time.

The main reason was that the media were more interested in him and Hill than in the movie, the actors and the director, and it felt like they were stealing the show. After he expressed his concerns to Hill, Hill said that this was what the director wanted. This movie, which was not a commercial film, had little attention in the United States, and the director just wanted to take advantage of their popularity. He felt relieved when he heard this.

Hill didn't explain clearly what movie was being promoted, and when Zhang Yang arrived at the scene, he had no impression of the movie title. He had seen one of the three female leads on TV, Emma Watson, who played Hermione, one of the main characters in Harry Potter, and was indeed about the same age as him. There was nothing wrong with Hill and Tamia asking him to come along for the purpose of expanding his social circle, but they just said hello, got to know each other, and took a photo together. It was his first time attending such an event, and he was surrounded by some directors and producers, so he had no time for private socializing.

It was Zhang Yang's first time participating in such an activity. Overall, he had a great time, mainly because it felt very fresh...

After relaxing for an afternoon, Zhang Yang returned to his season-long form the next day. The focus of this 5-game away game is here!
From 9 o'clock in the morning when we arrived at the Toyota Center training hall, we were surrounded by many media outlets. It was another day of open training for preparations for the competition.

When Zhang Yang first started open preparations last season, he was not used to it, as if his "secret was exposed", but he got used to it after many times.

Moreover, this is a treatment only available to popular teams. Bosh personally told Zhang Yang that he envied his media resources.

After the team's closed-door meeting and during training breaks, Zhang Yang was always surrounded by reporters.

Today, when he faced the camera, he was obviously much more relaxed than usual and not as "dignified".

Hill was very lively and liked to joke around. Zhang Yang didn't know which of the things this old but young guy said was true. Anyway, when he was interviewed today, he felt the benefits of being exposed to different camera environments yesterday...

In the evening, after dinner, Zhang Yang followed the team to the Staples Center. The training ground used by the two participating teams is very small, consisting of two full basketball courts, and can only be used for pre-match preparations. Otherwise, the Lakers would not have set up a separate training ground, and the Clippers would not have rented an old house in an abandoned 80s handicraft factory as a training ground.

It was 8: in the evening. After the warm-up and preparation, Zhang Yang and his teammates came to the visiting team's player tunnel. He was very excited every time he came here to play... against the Lakers, and this time was no exception.

Looking at the 14 championship flags flying above the stadium, he was envious when he first saw them, and now... he is still envious, but at that time he felt that the championship flags were out of reach. Now it is different, his team already has them, but there are not that many.

After a while, the entrance ceremony began. The lights on the field went out and the spotlights were shone on the visiting team's player tunnel. The Bobcats' starting lineup entered one by one amid the DJ's introduction and the boos of the fans.

The atmosphere among the fans was... pretty good, but the booing Zhang Yang heard wasn't intense. It seemed like they just 'should' boo the visiting team's players, so they booed them.

Zhang Yang: Is this the arrogance of the Purple and Gold Army fans?

As the Lakers became strong again, their fans' arrogance also returned.

Zhang Yang was complaining in his heart, but when he heard DJ calling his name, he regained his sunny and cheerful expression and ran out of the player tunnel... Huh?

He heard quite a few fans cheering for him!
After the visiting team's players entered the stadium and the spotlights went out, Zhang Yang heard Hill's teasing: "As expected of you, you are the top high school student in California history. You are so popular in Los Angeles."

Zhang Yang: "Grant, can you wait until the lights are on before talking? It's so dark, I can only see your teeth moving, it's scary."

Hill: "..."

Although they were joking with each other, Zhang Yang was also very happy that he had a good fan base in the City of Angels. It was not in vain that he won the California Championship and California Basketball Player of the Year.

Soon, the scene became brighter, but it was not the home team's player tunnel that was lit up, but the screen above the center of the stadium that was lit up.

A grim face appeared on the big screen, suddenly opened its mouth and roared...

The fans at the scene were originally very casual and unfocused, but when this roar sounded, the fans instantly became manic and cheered wildly!
(End of this chapter)