Chapter 310 309. The King of Ideas Per Capita?
Zhang Yang, who played the entire first quarter, returned to the sidelines, drank a sip of water, and spit it onto the towel. After his brain thought he had drunk the water and began to secrete saliva and slow down his heart rate and breathing rate, he drank half a cup of water.

Passing the cup to the action staff, he looked at the big screen with his hands on his hips. He, Zhang San, had 8 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 block. The opposite player, Xiao Pao, had 7 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal...

Felton, who scored 7 points and 2 assists in the first quarter, stood next to Zhang Yang, put his hands on his waist, and said, "Jack, Chris seems to be better than you."

Zhang Yang tilted his head, lowered it, and looked at the little fat boss...his cheeks grew bigger again.

Do all players of this body type have such flexible cheeks?

Zhang Yang responded: "It's not like, it's just that, compared to last season, he seems to have become a different person. He is already one of the top three players."

保罗上赛季场均17.3分5板9助攻2抢断，对比新秀赛季的场均16+5+8+2，有相当明显的进步，那时候就已经被媒体和球迷夸上天，说他在两三年后必定成为场均20+10的超级控卫。

But Paul used practical actions to tell people that the future will come faster than you think!

So far this season, Paul has averaged 21.5 points, 4 rebounds, 12 assists and 2.7 steals per game, with a shooting percentage of 48%, a three-point shooting percentage of 36% and a free throw shooting percentage of 85%. Except for the decline in rebounds, all other statistics are career highs.

This season, since Sports Illustrated made its first MVP prediction in mid-November, Paul has remained in the top three for four consecutive predictions. Nash and Kobe both fell out once, but Paul did not.

Zhang Yang only made it into the top three once in the first prediction, which was when he started with 1 consecutive wins, and he never made it into the top three again.

Compared with Reasonable Ke, Peak Wind Son, and Pre-Injury Paofang, a pure scorer like Zhang Yang has very little chance of winning the MVP.

Zhang Yang admitted without hesitation that Paul was stronger. Felton was a little surprised, but then he was not surprised. This was his little brother. He was confident but not blindly arrogant. He dared to admit his shortcomings and was not stingy with praise for others.

In this regard, his classmate Xiaofei has been learning from his younger brother.

Scratching his head, Felton said, "I can't seem to suppress Chris like Williams did."

Zhang Yang: “I see.”

Felton: () Hey, little brother, although this is true, could you be more tactful?
Zhang Yang: "If it's a one-on-one match, I think you have a 70% chance of beating Chris, but the match is not a one-on-one match. The two of us combined in organizing the offense are no match for Williams, let alone Chris."

Felton stopped complaining and said, "I think so too... I have an idea..."

Zhang Yang: “…”

Are we the Bobcats' most creative people?

But after listening to Felton's idea, Zhang Yang thought it was feasible and took Felton to discuss it with Carlisle.

Carlisle is also worried about how to improve the offense.

Although the Hornets' defense is not one of the top teams, it is not bad either. It ranks ninth in the league and is a top-notch defensive team, giving up only 96.5 points per game.

The Hornets have many good defensive players, and head coach Byron Scott is also an expert in defensive coaching. The defensive system that enabled the Nets to win two consecutive runner-up titles was created by him.

The Bobcats played very well by scoring 30 points in a single quarter, but the Hornets scored 36 points, which was even more impressive.

If it were Carlisle in the past, he would choose to play it safe at this time - the opponent's 36 points in a single quarter is impressive, but can they score so fiercely in every quarter? As long as they can survive the opponent's fierce offensive stage, the opportunity will come.

But in the Bobcats, influenced by Beal and Zhang San, Kabal was thinking: What if the opponent's performance continues? What if we decline before the opponent's scoring performance declines?
Hearing Felton's idea, Carlisle thought it was a good idea! At least it was better than just sitting there and waiting for death!

...

After the intermission, the Bobcats sent out Rondo, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Millsap and Muhammad.

The Hornets sent out Paul, Morris Peterson, Peja, Melvin Eli, and Chandler. The Bobcats attacked first, and when Zhang Yang got to the frontcourt, he was followed by Morris Peterson.

Maurice Peterson, another great steal for the Hornets.

The Raptors don't want Morris Peterson, not because he is not strong enough, but because the Raptors want to speed up their offense. Last season, the 29-year-old Morris Peterson's speed declined significantly, and he is not suitable for the Raptors' team building plan. Moreover, he has 28 years and 6 million left on the 4-year mid-level contract he signed when he was 2400 years old. Saving money is also an important reason for the Raptors to change their playing style. Morris Peterson's salary alone is higher than that of Delfino and Kapono combined. Relying on a series of transactions, the Raptors' salary is still controlled within the luxury tax threshold after the big contracts of Bosh and Ford took effect.

The Hornets, who had salary space and no competition with the Raptors, got a bargain.

Maurice Peterson has put in an excellent 3D performance in the Hornets' slow-paced offense and defense this season, averaging 9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1 steal per game, with a 40.6-point shooting percentage of 39%, higher than his career average of %. Although his defensive statistics are not impressive, his defensive role is very strong, he has both basic skills and awareness, and he is extremely motivated.

However, Morris Peterson's defense, which mainly relies on pressure and confrontation, is not suitable for defending Zhang Yang.

He was substituted in after the official timeout in the first quarter, and was beaten by Zhang Yang for two minutes before being substituted out again. James Posey had to come back on the court and played for a full 10 minutes in the first quarter, far exceeding his usual playing time of five or six minutes in the first three quarters.

James Posey has never been physically strong. In the two years when he was 30 or years old and at the peak of his strength, he was exhausted after playing minutes per game as the core of the forward defense. After the intermission, Scott had to replace James Posey and let Maurice Peterson defend Zhang Yang.

However, Scott would not sit idly by and watch Morris Peterson being beaten one-on-one by Zhang Yang. He made defensive arrangements - Morris Peterson would focus on mid-range and long-range shots regardless of Zhang Yang's breakthroughs. Paul on the wing, Eli in the middle, and Chandler in the inside were ready to double-team at any time to encircle Zhang Yang from all sides.

Let Zhang Yang play one-on-one against Morris Peterson. His scoring efficiency will be higher than the open shots of the Bobcats' wing shooters. This defensive strategy will not lose money.

Scott's prediction was half right. Zhang Yang started the offensive mode as soon as he came on the court, leaning on Morris Peterson in the high position to ask for the ball, but not in a one-on-one situation...

Paul stayed one step inside the three-point line on the left side of the top arc, waiting for Rondo to pass the ball to Zhang Yang, and then followed Rondo to the baseline, ready to double-team Zhang Yang.

But he saw Zhang Yang leaning against Morris Peterson and turned around to cut inside!
What kind of operation is this? There is Chandler, a high school second pick with super mobility, under the basket!

Paul turned his gaze back to Rondo outside the three-point line...where is he?
When Paul turned his head to look at Zhang Yang, Rondo immediately started to break through from the left!
The screams of the fans at the scene reached Paul's ears. Paul turned his head to look inside. Rondo broke into the three-second zone from the left, attracted Chandler to make up for the defense, and sent a lob.

Zhang Yang cut in from the right side and made an alley-oop layup behind Chandler!
Maurice Peterson could keep up with Zhang Yang in short distances, but when Zhang Yang rushed to close distance, he could no longer keep up and could only watch Zhang Yang catch the ball in the air.

Paul was very angry because he was "stolen". He had been on guard against this trick of Rondo. In the 4 minutes after the official timeout in the first quarter, he did not give Rondo a chance to steal the ball. As a result, he was caught off guard at the beginning of the second quarter!
In the offense-defense transition, Paul saw that it was Rondo who was defending him, so he just attacked and changed direction!
The change of direction and speed made Zhang Yang, who was following Peja on the wing, stunned. He didn't pay attention to this when he was defending Paul, and now he was standing aside watching... Does he not want his knees?
Paul broke into the inside, attracted a double-team, and threw a lob before the Bobcats players could close in...Chandler scored two points with an alley-oop dunk.

Respond to Rondo's sudden pass and lob!
Paul's performance reminded Zhang Yang of Kobe's evaluation of Paul before his serious injury - CP3 can do everything.

When the Bobcats attacked, Rondo continued to break through and score.

Paul did not get distracted this time and focused on defense. Rondo was fast and he could not stop Rondo from breaking through, but he kept up with Chandler's pace and did not put Chandler in a situation where he had to press forward to defend.

But after Zhang Yang slipped out from the baseline and came to the left side of the three-second zone with the help of Muhammad's screen, Melvin Eli, who switched defense, failed to keep up with Zhang Yang!
Rondo passed the ball to Millsap, who passed it to Zhang Yang without stopping. Zhang Yang received the ball on the left side of the free throw line and made a mid-range shot... It missed. But with the help of Rondo and Millsap, he was able to receive the ball whenever he had the chance!

The Hornets then attacked, and Paul broke through with the help of a screen. The Bobcats tightened their defense under the basket, and Paul passed the ball to Eli, who received the ball and made a mid-range shot but missed.

The offense and defense changed, Rondo broke through and Millsap's attack continued. Zhang Yang used the screen on the wing and was double-teamed. Eli chased the shield and shot, and Morris Peterson cut off the pass.

Millsap passed the ball to the left baseline, Muhammad received the ball and shot... He was lucky, the ball hit the rim and bounced into the frame.

34 to 38, the difference narrowed to 4 point!
Scott on the sidelines looked serious.

The Bobcats scored two goals in these three offensive rounds... This is not a big deal, the problem is the opponent's playing style.

At first he thought that Zhang Yang saw through their plan of double-teaming the wing and the basket and took the initiative to play team offense, which he thought was a smart choice.

First-rate both with and without the ball, determined as iron to shoot, big heart that allows him to remain calm in big games and become more courageous as the game goes on, smart in choosing playing styles and not rushing into anything but putting the team first... These are Scott's perception of Zhang Yang on the court. In his opinion, these advantages of Zhang Yang are the key to the Bobcats' comeback and championship last season and Zhang Yang becoming the youngest FMVP in history.

But after watching two or three rounds, he found that this was not the case. The opponent seemed to be playing team offense, but in fact they were playing another kind of star basketball!
(End of this chapter)