Chapter 293 292. Someone is better at pitching than Zhang San!

Only Garnett can make Lakers fans so crazy during the regular season, right?

Zhang Yang had heard that Garnett made the Staples Center different, but he was still shocked when he saw it with his own eyes... He wanted to beat him!
The big screen went out and the spotlight shone on the home team's player tunnel.

Hearing the first name called out by DJ and seeing the first player running out of the field, Zhang Yang's thoughts of swallowing the wolf faded away, and the pressure came...

Jason Kidd!

Then Kwame Brown, Maurice Evans, Garnett and Kobe entered the court one after another.

Kobe played in 20 games, averaging 36 minutes per game, scoring 27.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.5 blocks, with a shooting percentage of 47.6% and a three-point shooting percentage of 36%.

Kidd played in 20 games, averaging 31 minutes per game, scoring 10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 2.1 steals, with a shooting percentage of 39.5% and a three-point shooting percentage of 40.6%.

加内特，出战18场，场均34分钟，拿到16.6分8.5板3.4助攻1.4抢断1.4盖帽，投篮命中率55%。

The data of the Lakers' Big Three that he saw in the morning emerged in Zhang Yang's mind. The points, rebounds, and assists of the three were all the lowest in recent years, but looking at the shooting percentage, Kidd... was a bit miserable, but his three-point shooting percentage soared from 35% in the past two years to 40%+!

Kidd said that any movement would result in an open three-point opportunity, but he could not shoot all of them, and had to rely on Fisher and Vujacic, who came on as substitutes, to help him shoot.

Zhang Yang has seen a data comparison - when Fisher was with the OK combination, he could easily have a season with a 40%+ three-point shooting percentage. In his best year, he averaged 2.1 three-pointers per game, ranking seventh in the league that season. He is what some basketball fans call "the top point guard in the league."

Last season, Fisher was on the Jazz and shot 30% from three-point range.

Garnett's shooting percentage hit a career high. The previous highest was 05% in the 06-52.6 season. Kobe also achieved the highest offensive efficiency in his career.

Led by these three players, Maurice Evans shot a career-high 39% from three-point range, averaging 1.2 three-pointers per game and averaging 6.6 points per game;
The 33-year-old Fish played as a substitute for Kidd, averaging 7.5 points and 2.3 assists per game, with a 44.1% three-point shooting percentage and an average of 1.1 goals per game, the highest three-point shooting percentage on the team;
Kwame Brown said he couldn't finish all the biscuits. He averaged 12.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. It was the second time in his career that he averaged double-digit points per game. The last time was when he was in his third year. Unfortunately, he was injured in his fourth year, which stopped his upward momentum. After his rookie contract, he went to the Lakers and met the second generation of Jordan...

Last season, he was fed by Kobe and had a hit rate of 59.1%. At that time, Kobe's ability to pass the ball to the center was praised. This season is even more exaggerated, with a hit rate of 62%.

这核心6人组，加上场均4.2分2.6板2.8助攻的卢克-沃顿、场均4.8分3.2板的罗尼-图里亚夫、场均投进1.6个三分球全队最高拿到6.2分的武贾西奇、场均3分3板的克里斯-米姆……

Averaging 104.7 points per game and conceding 95.3 points per game...it's simply insane!
...

After the entrance ceremony, Zhang Yang and Kobe looked at each other and tacitly called their teammates to the technical table.

Kobe only called Kidd and Garnett, and when he saw the group of people behind Zhang Yang...it didn't seem like there was anything wrong.

Felton, Okafor, Hill, Mike Miller, Rondo, and Millsap. The first four are the core scorers or tactical cores of the Bobcats this season, and the last two are full of talent.

The atmosphere was quite friendly when the two teams were greeting each other before the game. Although they will be championship rivals in the future, there was no real grudge between them before. It was just an ordinary match. Even Kidd, who was defeated head-on in the playoffs, could not be said to have any grudges with the Bobcats. The gap between first and eighth in the Eastern Conference is too big, so they deserved to lose.

After greeting the camera, the three veteran Lakers superstars returned to the bench.

Kidd was a stickler for words, mumbling, "I insisted on being your teammate. My decision was right. There is no hope for me to stay with the Nets. They are too good. If Wallace hadn't wanted to be the boss but couldn't compete with Jack and Felton, and wasn't willing to be the second in command like Okafor..."

Garnett: “…”

Kobe Bryant: "Face is not important. Only the championship flag flying in the sky is eternal."

"..." Garnett thought it would be better to change the subject and asked, "You all seem to like that bad boy very much."

Kidd: "His way of advancing the fast break is very similar to mine, isn't it? His way of assisting and moving is also very similar to mine. He must be learning from me."

Kobe: "He is more like me. His determination and desire to shoot are stronger than mine."

What are these two guys fighting about? Should I fight too? Otherwise, I will look unsociable... Garnett: "If you want to say that, his one-on-one defense is similar to mine. He does a good job of interfering with shots."

Kidd, Kobe: Damn it! You are as tall as O'Neal, why are you here to join in the fun?
While the two teams were making their final preparations before the game, hundreds of millions of fans from both the Rabbit and the Eagle countries were watching in front of their TVs, waiting for the game to begin.

This game attracted widespread attention and became a hot topic.

The Bobcats are first in the Eastern Conference and first in the league; the Lakers and Hornets have the same record. Although the Lakers are ranked second in the Western Conference according to the rules because their record in the division is not as good as the Hornets, there is nothing wrong with using the gimmick of "tied for first place" in publicity.

The Bobcats were the defending champions; on the first day Kidd, Kobe and Garnett got together, they became the top seed in the Western Conference Finals.

The two teams also have two nicknames that are usually not noticed by anyone but become a hot topic when the two teams face off - the strongest youth team VS the top veteran team.

Although some media hyped up the Lakers' ranking among the top ten in three leagues, only ESPN ranked Kidd in the top ten. Most media would not give Kidd that much "face".

In people's opinion, Kidd can no longer be in the top ten of the league in terms of ability alone. At most, he can only play a role close to the top ten superstars under specific conditions. Moreover, the ages of the three are there. Kobe, the youngest, will be 8 years old in another 30 months.

At this time, the three of them sticking together does not hinder anyone, and no one needs to use them to whitewash themselves. The mainstream public opinion is that Kidd and Garnett have worked hard to lead their teams to win championships for more than ten years, and it is the end of their careers, so they put aside their status and stick together with Kobe, who has been equally miserable in the past three years, for warmth.

The Bobcats... the evaluation given by the media is recognized even by the fans of the Eagles - the "most legitimate" champion.

There was no grouping or stepping on the opponent. When the opportunity came, they seized it firmly, defeated the Pistons and Spurs head-on, and won the championship in a dignified manner...

At 9 o'clock in the evening, the game between the Bobcats and the Lakers, broadcast live by Rabbit and Eagle, will start!
Kwame Brown beat Okafor to win the jump ball, and the Lakers attacked first!
Lakers starting lineup: Kidd, Kobe, Maurice Evans, Garnett, Kwame Brown.

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

Kidd started the game with a quick attack and passed the ball to Kobe in the frontcourt.

Standing in front of Kobe is... Grant Hill.

In most games, Carlisle would let Zhang Yang defend the opponent's strongest outside player.

Zhang Yang has the talent to defend from 1 to 3. In his third year, he had become stronger. After discussion among Carlisle, Jordan and Bickerstaff, they decided to let Zhang Yang defend the opponent's offensive spearhead more often, combining competition and training to train him in the direction of becoming the strongest offensive and defensive individual on the outside.

But training also depends on the timing. When facing a team like Wade who has strong personal abilities but weak team strength, it doesn't matter if Zhang Yang goes head-on and gets beaten. But when playing against the Lakers, we still have to let a more suitable person defend.

Hill defended very hard...but was blocked by Kobe.

Kobe Bryant made a fadeaway shot against Hill's defense!

Although he failed to defend the ball, Hill's defense made the commentators praise and marvel continuously... Of course, praising Hill for his good defense is actually a roundabout way of praising Kobe for how great his shot was.

On the Bobcats bench, Carlisle also sighed: "I didn't expect Grant, 35 years old, not only overcame injuries, but also played in the new season without missing a single game. His health is better than when he was with the Magic last season, and he has become our best perimeter defender."

Vincent: "Yeah, Grant's defense was really great. He had a great eye for prediction. He could always predict when Kobe was really going to move and block his position. Kobe's fake moves before shooting couldn't fool him. When Kobe really jumped up to shoot, Grant jumped even faster than Kobe. This ball was only for Kobe. If he was given a little space to jump and shoot, he could make the shot... uh..."

As he spoke, Vincent looked at Zhang Yang who received the ball in the frontcourt, and Carlisle also looked at Zhang Yang.

Their team also has a player like that, but unfortunately Zhang Yang is 10 years younger than Kobe, and the gap in personal ability is still quite obvious. Both coaches feel very sorry that they can't see a true king vs. king...

When Zhang Yang received the ball, he did not play one-on-one against Kobe's close defense. He protected the ball, waited for Okafor to come out and block Kobe, and then he broke through with the help of the screen!
Garnett did a good job switching defense, tightly covering Zhang Yang's mid-range and long-range shooting space, but Zhang Yang didn't even consider the mid-range and long-range shooting, and rushed straight into the inside, grabbed the ball at close range, and took the European step! The first step was to the left to the middle, and the second step was a large lateral move, returning to the right sideline of the three-second zone.

Garnett and Kwame Brown, two high school students, have a very good defensive understanding in the interior. Garnett closely chased and blocked the middle; Kwame Brown completely trusted Garnett's pursuit and defense, predicted the direction of Zhang Yang's change of direction after being covered in the middle, moved to the right side of the reasonable collision area, and blocked Zhang Yang's attack route after stepping back!
Zhang Yang landed in the second step and jumped towards Kwame Brown. Kwame Brown also jumped up quickly and made a vertical jump shot!

But Zhang Yang didn't shoot. He jumped up and got rid of Garnett's pass interference on the left side, and threw the ball to the left side of the three-second zone in the air...

While Zhang Yang was breaking into the inside, Felton quickly went around from the left baseline to the top of the arc. Kobe, who was defending Okafor, was distracted by Felton's movement. Okafor received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the left side of the three-second zone!
Garnett turned around and took one step to get in front of Okafor, giving Okafor no open shot opportunities at all.

The speed of his mid-range defense is simply amazing, combining the explosive movement speed of Gerald Wallace and the interference of Kirilenko's wingspan, and it is also the ultimate enhanced version of his height.

Okafor was not flustered at all and passed the ball directly to the basket just before being blocked.

Perkins received the ball on the left side of the collision zone, took a step forward and jumped, slamming the ball into the frame with both hands!
The Zen Master glanced at the opposite side from the sidelines. He felt that Kwame Brown's defense was very good this time. Just the vertical jump was qualitatively different from the past two years.

As teammates with Kobe and Garnett, the Zen Master felt that Kwame Brown was really miserable and could not find a worse "living environment" than this.

But unlike Jordan who only knows how to scold, Kobe and Garnett are strict but they really know how to teach.

In Kwame Brown's first season with Kobe, his shooting percentage soared from 46% in the previous season to 52%, and further soared last season to 59%.

A few months after Garnett joined the Lakers, Kwame Brown's rim protection ability also greatly improved under his training, from a "low-post single-defense stalwart" to a rim protection expert who can cooperate with him tacitly.

It is worth mentioning that after being destroyed by Jordan, Arenas and Kobe for 6 years, Kwame Brown is only 7 years old when he enters the 25th year of his career...

The opponent's first attack at the beginning of the game surprised the Zen Master a little. He thought the opponent would at least try the triangle offense, and he had arranged the defense.

I can only say that he is worthy of being a genius who won the best coach award in his first year as a coach without any rigid application of tactics.

However, the opponent gave up the team offensive tactics that they had been focusing on for some time. In the Zen Master's opinion, they had already won half the battle on the defensive end. Non-main tactics might be effective, but they would certainly not be as skilled as the main tactics. Most of them depended on tacit understanding. Without tacit understanding, it would be hard to say whether they could maintain continuity.

This is Garnett's defensive deterrence!

It was the Lakers' turn to attack. Kobe made a strong shot in the first attack. This time he did not continue swinging the ball, but moved to the right elbow area and started running after Kidd launched the attack.

Kidd controls the ball, Garnett assists, Kobe finishes, Maurice Evans takes the long shot, and Kwame Brown takes the ball to attack the basket. This is the Lakers' regular style of play this season.

But after Garnett moved to the right side of the three-second zone and received the ball, he failed to pass it!

Perkins was in a good position under the basket, and Kwame Brown had no conditions to attack the basket. When Garnett looked for Kobe, Hill immediately moved around.

Garnett took a steadiness step and didn't take any risks in passing the ball, and then he was blocked by Okafor.

Garnett subconsciously turned his back to the basket to prevent the ball from being cut, and lost his vision for a short time. Kobe ran back and had a chance to catch the ball, but Garnett missed it again. When Garnett looked sideways, Zhang Yang had already switched defense with Hill, and Kobe continued to be closely followed.

Seeing that the shot time was running out, Garnett came up with a back-to-back jumper... Okafor blocked the shot! This shot missed!
Perkins blocked Kwame Brown's rush, Zhang Yang went inside to grab the defensive rebound and launched a counterattack!

Kidd did not retreat, but took the initiative to intercept Zhang Yang.

As Kidd expected, Zhang Yang passed the ball to Felton as soon as possible to speed up, but Kobe had already moved into position and completed the blocking and defense.

Garnett ran back to the backcourt with all his might, helping Kidd continue Zhang Yang's fast break. Kwame Brown retreated to the basket, Kobe and Kidd switched back... The Lakers successfully got into position!

Zhang Yang and Felton didn't expect to be able to launch a fast break. Their basic goal was to create a mismatch, but they failed!
The Zen Master was very satisfied when he saw the cooperation between Kidd, Kobe and Garnett in defending fast breaks.

This forward and guard defensive formation is too strong! Among the lineups he coached, only the combination of Jordan, Pippen and Rodman can be compared with it.

However, Kawhi Leonard's defensive strategy tonight surprised the Zen Master again.

The Lakers' weakness, which was not fatal but was always a headache for him, was targeted by the bald guy on the opposite side - lack of impact under the basket.

Kawhi Leonard's defensive strategy was not comprehensive, and it could even be said that it had many loopholes, but it was highly targeted... The Zen Master saw through Kawhi Leonard's defensive strategy, but just like he was not prepared enough on the defensive end just now, he had no intention of intervening.

On the court, the fast break failed, Felton slowed down, protected the ball, and passed it to Zhang Yang.

Different from Kobe who held the ball and attacked for one round before giving it up, Zhang Yang's style of play at the beginning of tonight's game was to hold the ball and attack!
Okafor continued to come up to help Zhang Yang block Kobe, and Zhang Yang rushed forward with the help of the screen, but this time Zhang Yang's speed was not as fast as in the last round...

After being untied, Okafor continued to move to the left. His weight has been stably controlled at 113 kilograms and his movements are light and quick.

In the last round, Kobe underestimated Okafor's speed. This time he tried his best to stick to him, but Okafor did not go down to the left elbow area directly. Instead, he moved to the 45-degree two-point area on the left. Felton ran up with Kidd and ran to the top arc with Okafor's screen.

After Okafor interfered with Kidd's defense, he immediately turned around and cut into the basket.

Kidd and Kobe both decisively chose to surround Okafor who was cutting in.

On the other side, Zhang Yang slowed down and broke through after a screen, but failed to shake off Garnett who was switching defense. When Zhang Yang reached the free throw line, Okafor helped Felton interfere with Kidd's defense and then cut in.

Garnett cooperated with his two teammates to move sideways a small step to block Zhang Yang's pass to the top arc. At this distance, if Zhang Yang made a sudden stop jump shot, he was confident that he could interfere or even block the shot.

Just as Garnett moved sideways to block the passing line, Zhang Yang suddenly accelerated, took a step forward, stopped abruptly, jumped one step within the free throw line, and shot quickly... and hit it!

Garnett groaned and clapped his hands. His defense just now had a gap, and Zhang Yang seized the opportunity.

If Zhang Yang was slower in his jump shot after a sudden stop, he could press forward again to interfere. If Zhang Yang took one more step, he would enter Kwame Brown's defensive area, and he could complete the encirclement with Kwame Brown.

Under normal circumstances, Garnett would definitely curse and try to change the opponent's mentality, but the opponent is a bad boy Jack... Just play basketball well, cursing is not civilized.

In the transition from offense to defense, Kidd and Garnett continued to work together to lead the team in team offense.

After Garnett went to the wing to screen for Kobe, he moved one step outside the free throw line, received the pass from Kidd, and made a long two-point shot!

Kidd can definitely discover the opponent's defensive strategy and make adjustments independently. This is the reason why the Zen Master is as stable as a rock.

Kidd found that the opponent's defense focus was under the basket, and the outside line was basically single defense and switching defense, but he did not choose to "face the challenge" and forcefully attack the basket.

The main reason is that they don't have the conditions to "face challenges head-on". Their players with the strongest impact under the basket are Kobe, Kwame Brown, Garnett... There is no fourth person, only three high school students have strong impact under the basket.

Naturally, Kidd is unwilling to use Kobe as an off-ball attack point. It is such a waste. If he really wants Kobe to attack the basket, it is better to give him the ball and let him break through alone, allowing Kobe to break through and create opportunities for the whole team. Isn't it better than his teammates creating conditions for Kobe to cut into the basket without the ball?

Kobe mainly plays without the ball and takes the blame during regular time. His most important role is not to score easily by shooting, but to use his physical advantage and shooting ability to move over a large area to tear apart the opponent's perimeter defense.

Garnett doesn't like to attack the basket, and Kidd is unwilling to let Garnett stay in the interior on the offensive end. Too much confrontation will affect Garnett's mid-range and long-range shooting feel, and if Garnett goes to that position, his supporting ability and outside containment power will be wasted.

Therefore, Kidd’s choice is to expand the offensive focus outward!

After a few rounds of testing at the beginning, the two teams began to compete under restricted conditions!
Basketball games are sometimes like finger-guessing games, with the tiger eating the chicken, the chicken eating the bug, the bug eating the stick, and the stick hitting the tiger... Kobe and Garnett's playing styles are quite restraining to the Jazz; the Bobcats are not good at defending the pick-and-roll offense of the new double evil; but the Bobcats' deep and strong inside group can also limit the Lakers' offensive system...

However, restraint at the lineup and tactical levels always has limitations.

In the following time, the Bobcats were able to rely on offensive changes and defensive restraint to fight back and forth with the Lakers in regular time, but when it came to competing for stars, those restraints were of no use.

After the official timeout in the first quarter, Kobe scored two goals and made one assist, leading the Lakers to a 1-7 win over the Bobcats. The Lakers extended their 3-point lead to 1 points.

首节末山猫队靠着张杨命中1次中投+1次高位抢断起反击连砍4分，把比分追平，两队打成26比26进入节间休息。

In the second quarter, Zhang Yang was ready to continue his efforts to gain an advantage, but right at the beginning, Kobe and Kidd led the team to a 10-4 run, and the Bobcats' disadvantage was reduced to 6 points.

With more than two minutes left in the second quarter, Mike Miller received the ball at the top of the arc, turned around and hit a three-pointer against Kidd's defense. Then Zhang Yang hit a three-pointer from the wing. The Bobcats beat the Lakers 6-0 and tied the score at 49-49.

就在这时，科比突然暴走，1分49秒钟时间里3投3中，一个反击上篮、一记三分、1个突破2+1……连砍8分！打得山猫队不要不要的！

During this period, the Bobcats only scored two points, both of which were free throws... At the end of the first half, the Lakers regained a 57-point lead with 51 to 6 and entered the second half.

After working hard to tie the score, Kobe widened the gap again. Zhang Yang once again felt the strength of Kobe's scoring ability...which was beyond all the top scorers he had ever met!
In other words, Zhang San has a strong psychological endurance, otherwise his mentality might have been broken by the old blacksmith!
After returning from the halftime break, the Bobcats regrouped and wanted to gain an advantage in the third quarter... However, Kobe's usual Kobe time had already begun at the end of the second quarter!

At the beginning of the third quarter, Kobe scored two goals in a row to get 5 points, forcing the Bobcats to use double-teaming.

This guy can score 81 points! 62 points in three quarters!
Kobe did not force his way through the situation. When his teammate was Garnett, he was very decisive in passing the ball when he was double-teamed, much more decisive than when Luke Walton was responsible for supporting the team.

In the entire first half of the third quarter, Kobe made 4 of 3 shots, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, plus 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 9 points and leading the Lakers to 18 points in half a quarter!
With the score at 18 to 14 at halftime, Kobe used a head-on approach to suppress the Bobcats' counterattack!

At the official timeout in the third quarter, the score was 75 to 65, and the Lakers successfully widened the gap to double digits!

They were ready for a counterattack during the halftime break, but were forced back by the opponent. In the second half of the third quarter, the Bobcats were in low morale and scored 4 points less than in the first half, only 10 points. The Lakers were not as strong in the second half as in the first half, but they were a little stronger than the Bobcats, scoring 12 points. After three quarters, the Lakers led the Bobcats by 87 points, 75 to 12!
The situation was extremely unfavorable, the star's fierce attack was suppressed by the opponent, and the morale was greatly affected, but the Bobcats coaching staff and players did not give up. After the intermission, they launched a counterattack again under the leadership of Zhang Yang.

Normally, if the Lakers lead by more than ten points, they would have some disease - an aristocratic disease.

But tonight, the Lakers did not suffer from the aristocratic disease. They remained focused in the final quarter, played very hard on offense and defense, and withstood the Bobcats' counterattack again!

Although the Bobcats are not as strong as their record suggests, they are still number one in the league.

The resilience shown by the Bobcats tonight reminded Kidd, Kobe and Garnett of the Bobcats' performance in the Eastern Conference Finals and Finals last year.

And then there is Zhang Yang's ability to play key balls...

With Kobe around, the Lakers are not afraid of competing for key shots, but it would be better if they could avoid fighting for key shots.

The Bobcats played their strongest offensive firepower of the night in the final quarter, scoring 29 points, but the Lakers also scored 24 points steadily...

The game ended at 11:21 pm.

基德6分7板12助攻、加内特23分10板4助攻、科比43分8板4助攻……湖人队以111比104力克山猫队，将战绩提升到16胜5负，同时送给了山猫队本赛季第3场失利！
...

Tonight is another sleepless night.

But on this sleepless night, Zhang Yang didn't even have the little fat boss to keep him company, so he could only enjoy the honey milk drink alone.

Because Felton played well tonight, making 13 of 6 shots, including 5 of 2 three-pointers, plus 2 of 2 free throws, he got 16 points and 5 assists. His performance was solid, and no one on the Lakers point guard line could beat him one-on-one.

Zhang Yang's side...

He looked at the battle report on the computer screen.

他打了42分钟，29投13中，其中三分球7中3，加上6中6的罚球，拿到35分5板7助攻3抢断1盖帽。

The 44.8% hit rate is acceptable, and the three-point shooting is excellent, with a 42.8% hit rate, and the free throw rate is %.

但对面得分最多的那个……31投15中，其中三分球9中3，加上12中10的罚球，拿了43分。

This is the first time that Zhang Yang has encountered a player who can shoot better than him since the start of the new season! And he is even more accurate than him, with a hit rate of 48%.

He tried to imagine how tough the competition was for Xiao Pao in the Western Conference playoffs... but it didn't work. He had already developed resistance to this 'mental medicine', as he had just used it the day before yesterday.

After drinking the honey milk, he still couldn't fall asleep. He stopped wasting time and took out his small notebook to review the game in the first half of the night, analyzing, thinking and summarizing.

Today, Zhang Yang saw the night view of Los Angeles at 4 a.m....

He fell asleep just before dawn and was woken up by Alan Anderson at noon. Then Zhang Yang followed the team to the last stop of the five-game away game, leaving the United States and heading north to Toronto.

After a long away trip, even Zhang Yang, who has a strong recovery ability, felt tired at the last stop.

It may also be related to staying up late these days, but staying up late because of not being able to sleep after losing a game is a common situation when playing consecutive away games.

One of the reasons is the extreme change in environment from the City of Angeles, where the winter climate is relatively pleasant, to the snowy Toronto.

Zhang Yang did not make up for his sleep in the afternoon. Instead, he curled up on the sofa in his room and watched videos to avoid being unable to sleep at night.

After dinner, as he expected, the "meeting maniac" Kawhi Leonard called the coaching staff and core players to his room for a meeting.

The content of the meeting was naturally about the two consecutive defeats that had just occurred.

Carlisle analyzed the reasons for the two losses in detail.

At the beginning, Zhang Yang thought Carlisle's analysis was very good.

For example, the defense against the Jazz's pick-and-roll offense, the players guarding Kirilenko, and leaving Kirilenko open were not decisive enough to double-team Deron or Boozer.

Because of the lack of connection between inside and outside defense, the Bobcats voluntarily gave up the defense that takes both inside and outside into consideration, so they had to do better in one-sided and zone double-teaming. However, when they played against the Jazz, they did a poor job in choosing who to leave open and grasping the timing of double-teaming.

When playing against the Lakers, they did a good job on defense. With a deep inside group, they did a very good job of protecting the rim. The three centers of the Lakers, Kwame Brown, Turiaf, and Mihm, only scored 9 points in total.

As for the failure to defend the outside, that can't be blamed on them. The opponent had a shooting maniac who could shoot 31 times and still had a 48% hit rate. Who can stand that?

Zhang Yang also felt that there was nothing wrong with the analysis of the offensive problems.

The Jazz were badly suppressed when playing against them. Carlisle admitted that he did not expect the Jazz to suppress them so much.

It is well known that Sloan's defensive system restrains the triangle offense - in the 97 and 98 Finals, the Bulls' triangle offense rarely opened.

But that was 10 years ago. In the past 10 years, all the players on the Jazz have been replaced.

The Jazz's 'new duo' was only formed in 05 and started to show their prowess last season. It just so happened that the Lakers were in decline in the past few years. The Jazz of this era had no experience in dealing with the triangle offense, so Carlisle naturally had no way to be on guard.

Zhang Yang felt that this was not Carlisle's fault. Before playing against the Jazz, he did not realize that the opponent could restrain the triangle offense and their offensive system which was mainly based on the triangle offense concept and supplemented by Princeton's mismatch creation.

In his memory, the Jazz will be crushed by the Lakers in the next three playoffs.

After playing against the Jazz, he realized that it was not the triangle offense that could deal with the Jazz's defense, but Sloan's bad luck in having another 'Jordan' as his opponent. In three playoff games, the score went from 4-2 to 4-1 and then to a sweep. In the last match between Kobe and the 'new duo', Kobe was able to easily hit 50%+.

Now Zhang Yang knows that if both teams are in good shape when playing against the Jazz, then the Bobcats' tactics may not work very well no matter how they play. In the end, they will be like Jordan in the past, Kobe in the future, and Yao and McGrady last season. The game will become a one-on-one competition between stars. It depends on whether they can kill the Jazz with their shots like Jordan did, or be exhausted like Yao and McGrady...

When playing against the Lakers, Carlisle was well prepared. He believed that Garnett would restrain their team offense, so he prepared a backup tactic in advance, which was for Zhang Yang to hold the ball and initiate the offense to tie down Garnett. Although this tactic was not perfect, it was not bad either.

There were some areas where we did not do well in our on-the-spot response, but it was the first match of the new season and the opponent was indeed strong, so it was understandable that we did not do well.

When Zhang San reviewed the game in the early morning, he also found that he had made poor offensive choices in several rounds.

But when Carlisle proposed a solution to the problem, Zhang Yang was filled with questions...

In just two games, Carlisle actually had the idea of ​​changing the core tactics of the offensive system!

Seeing Zhang Yang's strange expression, Carlisle asked, "Jack, do you have any different opinions?"

Zhang Yang: "No, I think your idea is correct, Rick. When building our offensive system, we need to try to avoid being restrained by a certain team, but..."

Carlisle: "But?"

Zhang Yang: "There shouldn't be many teams like the Jazz and Lakers that are capable of cutting off our ball movement. Changes to the core tactics of the offensive system must be carefully considered.

Our offensive tactical system has not been perfected yet and is still being optimized and adjusted. We are not sure whether we will be so severely restrained when facing the Jazz and the Lakers after we perfect the system.

Of course, Rick, I know you are thinking about winning the championship. The Jazz and the Lakers are both contenders for the Western Conference Finals, but the threat they pose to our future championship... I don't think the Jazz can make it out of the West. Of these two teams that restrain our offense, the only team we should pay attention to is the Lakers.

In yesterday's game against the Lakers, I felt that we played well. They restrained us, and we were also able to target their weaknesses and limit their offense.

Rick, you did a good job adjusting on both ends of the offense and defense. The reason for the loss was me. We lost by 7 points and I scored 8 points less than Kobe. "

As the head coach, Carlisle was somewhat unhappy when his ideas were refuted, even though the person who raised the different opinion was Zhang Yang.

Moreover, Carlisle had many questions about Zhang Yang's opinions - the Jazz have a complete system, successful experience, a strong lineup, and a head coach with outstanding coaching ability. How could he dare to assert that they will never make it out of the West?
But Zhang Yang took all the responsibility for the loss on himself in the end... Which head coach wouldn't like a star player who takes the blame?

After some emotional fluctuations, Carlisle calmed down.

After losing two games in a row, he was a little anxious. He had previously thought that he should look at the defeat calmly, but when the losing streak really came, he was still confused. After all, he had been unlucky in recent years, and he took over the defending champion.

When he arrived in Toronto in the afternoon, he proposed to change the core tactics of the offensive system during a small meeting of the coaching staff in advance. The steady and conservative Paul Silas expressed his opposition at the time, but he believed that the offensive system was not yet perfect and adjustments would be much smoother. It would be more difficult to change the core tactics after the offensive system was further improved.

Now that he has calmed down, Carlisle thinks that what Zhang Yang said is very true - there can't be many teams that have the conditions to restrain their offensive system.

(End of this chapter)