Chapter 312 311. When God closes a door for you, he will definitely weld your window shut

After enjoying a delicious and hearty breakfast, Zhang Yang and three teammates took the car arranged by the restaurant and returned to the hotel contentedly, leaving Paul, who was filled with regret, to pay the bill.

Zhang Yang also took away a pile of newspapers that Paul brought with him. He left New Orleans at noon and spent his time reading newspapers and browsing the news online.

When Zhang Yang saw the date in the newspaper, he realized that the new year had arrived and today was January 2008, 1.

Last night's game against the Hornets was so popular after the game that the ongoing NFL playoffs were overshadowed by their game.

The media and fans were all praising Paul's performance last night. No wonder Paul got up early today to show off to them and even spent a lot of money to treat them to a good meal.

However, he and Felton performed very well last night, and not many people criticized them. Some people even praised their good offensive performance.

Of course, their good performance also made Paul stand out even more.

虽然昨晚比赛输了，但他们还是以24胜5负的战绩，领先24胜6负的湖人队和公牛队0.5个胜场，将联盟第一保持到了2007年结束。

He scored 37 points last night, raising his average points per game to 31.7 points, just 30 points away from James, who averaged 32.2 points in 0.5 games.

In fact, as early as the middle of last month, the gap between his average points per game and James had narrowed to 0.5 points.

James' scoring dropped a lot in the first half of December. He played all-around, scoring about 12 points, 25 rebounds and 8 assists per game. At the end of November, he averaged 8+ points. By mid-December, his average dropped to 11 points per game.

In mid-December, Zhang Yang averaged 12 points per game. At that time, the media and fans were saying that he would surpass James before the end of 30.9.

他最近7场比赛场均34分，在2007年结束时把场均得分提升到了31.7分，结果詹姆斯那边又飙起来了，2007年结束场均得分差距还是0.5分。

He remembered that the last time they played against the Cavaliers, James was very focused on scoring... It was a bit painful.

If James really wants to go viral, he will most likely be able to maintain this average score.

But Zhang San may not be able to do it...

At noon, the league announced the monthly awards for December.

As Zhang Yang expected, Yao Ming won the award.

Last month, the Bulls had 15 wins and 14 loss in 1 games. Yao Ming played in 13 of them. He missed the two games after Christmas because he strained his hip after falling while diving for a block in the Christmas game. He averaged 25.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 blocks per game, with a shooting percentage of 54.3% and 1% three-point shooting... 1 of 83.3, and a free throw percentage of %, winning the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award.

保罗上个月打满15场，率领黄蜂队取得11胜4负战绩，场均24.4分4板12.8助攻3抢断0.1盖帽，投篮命中率48.3%，三分命中率35%，力压科比、纳什拿下西部月最佳球员奖。

There is no suspense about Yao Ming winning the award, as for Paul... Zhang San and Xiao Fei provided assists for Xiao Pao, and there was no suspense after Paul scored 26 points and 22 assists last night, which did not surprise Zhang Yang.

The unexpected one is the Rookie of the Month!

In the Eastern Conference, Noah averaged 8.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, beating Horford who averaged 9+9 and won the Rookie of the Month award.

In the West, Al Thornton averaged 18.2 points per game, beating Durant who averaged 17.3 points per game and won the Rookie of the Month award.
Durant actually lost the Rookie of the Month award! Zhang Yang thought that the backpack students would win all the Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards.

Al Thornton, Zhang Yang has an impression of this player... He was listed on a list alongside Ba Zi, Little Assassin and others.

This player performed well during his rookie period. In the first three years when he was mainly a starter, his average points per game were all over 10 points, and the highest average was 15+ points per game in one year.

He was traded to the Warriors in the last year of his rookie contract and became a substitute in the talented Warriors. He averaged 7 points and 3 rebounds per game with a high shooting percentage. Before the end of the season, the Warriors offered him a 4-year, $400 million contract extension, intending to make him a main substitute in the forward and guard line, but he refused and wanted to test the free market, choosing to become a restricted free agent.

There is nothing wrong with this choice. It is normal for a player who is capable of averaging 15+ points per game to refuse an annual salary of 400 million and not want to be a substitute.

But after the offseason was suspended, Al Thornton lost his patience and started looking for a job in the CBA before the training camp even started. However, he was unable to go because the Warriors were unwilling to send a letter of clarification. Europe also required a letter of clarification at that time, so he ended up playing in the league of Puerto Rico, an overseas territory of the United States. Not only was his salary low, but he also injured his knee, thus ending his NBA career.

In the summer of 12, he recovered from his injury but couldn't find a job in the NBA. He went to play in the CBA and was cut again... A few years later, he appeared in the public eye again, already in the BIG3 league. It happened that the little assassin rejected the Celtics' 4-year 7000 million contract and only got the minimum salary. The media hyped the topic of "the dumbest player in the NBA" and included him in it. I didn't expect this player to steal Durant's best rookie of the month... Well done!
Zhang San didn't win many Rookie of the Month awards, and he didn't want to see others take all the awards...

...

In the afternoon, the Bobcats flew from New Orleans to Houston. After a night's rest, they came to the Rockets' home court the next morning to prepare for the game.

Today's training preparations were very small. On the one hand, it was because it was the middle of the season and the team was on a road trip. There was another reason - the Rockets' star player was injured.

In the first game after McGrady returned from Christmas, he sprained his knee and will be out for one to two weeks. The time of his return is not certain, but he will definitely not be able to play tonight. Thibodeau confirmed in yesterday's regular press conference that McGrady will miss tonight's game.

Since the game in which McGrady was injured, the Rockets, who originally ranked seventh in the Western Conference with 16 wins and 10 losses, have only 1 win and 3 losses, and their record has dropped to 17 wins and 13 losses, falling out of the top eight in the Western Conference.

This situation was as Zhang Yang expected. McGrady was able to play more than 70 games last season. Van Gundy really cut down on McGrady's work, reducing his playing time, shots, and singles, and on the defensive end, he was arranged to defend against spot shooters... When he came to Thibodeau, McGrady got all his work back. He played an average of 26 minutes in the first 38.5 games. It would be strange if he didn't get injured.

However, one thing surprised Zhang Yang. McGrady played 26 games in a row before he got injured. This was the longest consecutive attendance period for McGrady after he was accidentally injured before the start of the 05-06 season... This Riley-style coach not only has a coaching style as cruel as a fortune teller, but he has also learned the fortune teller's method of squeezing out the potential of players?

He learned that Yi Jianlian's training volume was greater than that of their young inside players under 25 years old, such as Millsap and Perkins.

In addition to these, the Bobcats have another favorable factor - the Rockets had a game last night and today is a back-to-back game.

After the team training ended, Zhang Yang stayed to practice for a while. He did not do his regular training, but instead tried to practice chasing shots after long-distance running... He stopped after practicing for more than a dozen shots.

Mike Miller, who had stayed behind to practice because of the small amount of training in preparation for the game, stopped and asked, "Jack, do you want to develop the chase shot?"

Zhang Yang responded: "I'll give it a try. If I know this trick, I can shoot a three-pointer or a mid-range shot during the counterattack. I'll have more chances to attack the basket. But this trick is very difficult, much more difficult than a pull-up jump shot."

Mike Miller: "This is also a pull-up jump shot, but there is a difference. A pull-up shot after a long and fast move is much more difficult than a regular pull-up jump shot. The shooting force habits are completely different and need to be trained separately. What you just practiced was a counterattack with the ball, which is more difficult."

Zhang Yang: "Yes, I used my usual way of exerting force when I was practicing just now. The first shot only touched the rim. It is difficult to practice to score stably. I tried it. I had to slow down in advance to prepare for the emergency stop shot, or stabilize myself after stopping before shooting to ensure the accuracy of the shot. But that would lose the meaning of the emergency stop shot and it would not be considered a chase shot."

Mike Miller: "That's right. The purpose of chasing shots is to prevent the opponent from interfering with your shots. If you slow down, stop suddenly and adjust your shooting action, the opponent will have time to get in front of you. Raymond's follow-up shot is this kind of play. It is not suitable for holding the ball to counterattack, nor is it suitable to be the main attack point or the first receiving point of the counterattack. The biggest role is to contain.

Unless you're on a one-on-zero fast break, but it's better to dunk directly on a one-on-zero fast break. No matter how accurate you practice shooting, you can't get as accurate as a dunk."

At this point, Zhang San thought of a primary school student who dared to shoot a three-pointer on a fast break with no one on the court.

Someone maliciously speculated - maybe the elementary school student hit the rim after his dunk, and was worried that the next time he dunked with no one on the court, he would hit the rim again, so he chose to chase down the three-pointer to save his face?

Zhang San: "It's great to have you here, Mike. You're the only one on our team who can really chase down shots. Help me sort out my thoughts."

Mike Miller: "I really envy you guys with good athletic ability. I have the skills, but I can't display them. For example, in a counterattack, it's hard for me to be the first or second to rush to the front court."

Zhang San: "When God closes a door for you, he will definitely weld your window shut... No, he opened a window. Maybe because of this, you will focus more on shooting training. You will definitely make more money in your career than those players who can only run and jump during the same period."

Mike Miller: “…”

Mike Miller accidentally revealed some negative emotions and was comforted by a 19-year-old kid. He felt ashamed and moved, but why did the kid's words sound so awkward?

Mike Miller put aside his distracting thoughts and said, "Don't be polite to me. If you want to practice this move, I can help you."

Zhang Yang: "Okay, let's wait for a while. The schedule is tough right now and the team has a lot of problems. I'll practice when I have some free time."

Mike Miller nodded: "I think so..."

In the evening, the Bobcats played against the Rockets away.

The Bobcats did not play this game as easily as the media and fans predicted. After a torturous hand-to-hand fight, the Bobcats narrowly defeated the Rockets 95-89 and won their first victory of 2008!
(End of this chapter)