Chapter 328 327. Atai, haven’t you eaten?

When Artest was traded to the Warriors, he was very unhappy, and Stephen Jackson was also extremely disgusted, but neither of them stood up to say anything.

After three years, Artest is no longer the high-spirited human beast who just turned 25, won the Defensive Player of the Year, had a 60-win season, and was full of energy and vigor. Stephen Jackson is no longer the championship team member from the Spurs who was sought after by all teams... The main reason is that both of their contracts are about to expire.

Stephen Jackson is in contract this season and Artest is in contract next season. They are both earning 20- million a year. This price is too low for them who can average + points per game. They were both child labor contracts they got when they were with the Pacers. But after their contracts expire, they may not get a higher salary than they do now.

The situation they are in is rather awkward. For a weak team, the two are of no use, as neither of them has the ability to lead the team to victory alone.

As for the strong teams, we are afraid that they will bring the team down.

Wu Sheng is fine. Last season, he and the Beard led the Mavericks to an upset victory and proved himself to be an excellent team member.

Artest's reputation now is as bad as that of the madman back then.

In order to get a new contract and finally be on a 50-win team capable of winning in the playoffs, they chose to suppress their aversion to each other and play well.

Of course, given their personalities, it's impossible for them to "hug each other with relief" or "let bygones be bygones" in front of people.

Not to mention, in terms of matching, the two are very compatible. After all, they were the forward scoring combination created by Bird. When they just started working together, they started with 6 wins and 1 loss... It's a pity that there was no follow-up.

In Artest's first game after joining the Warriors, he was not used to the environment. Playing power forward was not a problem for him. For a long time in the early part of this season, he and Brad Miller played as power forward, but this was the first time he played while running.

但昨晚他加入勇士队的第二场比赛，就找到了感觉，11投6中拿到18分7板2助攻，帮助勇士队以116比105干翻了来访的掘金队。

Nelson actively promoted this deal because of the compatibility between the two. If he couldn't trade for Artest, he would have to settle for the second best and try to apply for a trade for Maggette, Richard Jefferson and other second or third options.

More than ten minutes later, the pre-match preparation time ended and the starting players of both teams came onto the court.

Nelson sent out a lineup of one big and four small players, including Baron Davis, Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Artest and Biedrins.

Carlisle did not adjust the starting lineup according to the opponent's lineup. The twin towers were still arranged, and the starting lineup consisted of Tyronn Lue, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Okafor, and Brad Miller.

The opponent's starting lineup has the inside and outside combination of Biedrins and Baron Davis. No matter who starts with Jack or Lue, they will be beaten. In this case, Kawhi might as well put Jack back to the bench and let the second lineup play, which may help them perform better.

As long as one of Baron Davis or Biedrins is replaced, Jarrett Jack's offensive conditions will be much better.

At 9 o'clock in the evening, Biedrins defeated Okafor to win the jump ball, and the game between the Bobcats, who were playing back-to-back games away, and the Warriors, who were playing back-to-back games at home, began.

The Warriors attacked first. Baron Davis received the ball and pushed for a fast break. After reaching the frontcourt, he did not pause. He used the momentum of the sprint to crush Tyronn Lue and rush into the inside, then passed the ball to the wing.

Ellis received the ball with the help of Biedrins' screen, and was double-teamed by Zhang Yang and Okafor. Ellis passed the ball... Artest cut in from the baseline, Brad Miller pressed forward but was a little slow and failed to block him. Artest slipped through the baseline and made a backhand slam dunk to score two points.

In the offense-defense transition, Tyronn Lue received the serve and advanced steadily under the full-court pressure of Baron Davis. It took him 6 seconds to cross half court. When he reached the top arc, his teammates were already in position. He lobbed the ball to Okafor who was leaning against Artest on the right side of the three-second zone.

Okafor played one-on-one against Biedrins in the low post, Brad Miller moved from the left side of the three-second zone to the high post, Artest hesitated for a moment and chose to follow.

Okafor took a step with his back to the basket, turned around to face the basket, and made a high throw...and it went in!
Bedrins had just lowered his center of gravity and it was too late for him to jump up and interfere.

Okafor's back-to-the-basket move was simple, but clean and well-timed.

It's the Warriors' turn to attack, keep charging!
The Bobcats chose to fight and then guard the rim. Baron Davis suddenly passed the ball to Stephen Jackson, and Wu Sheng made a three-pointer, and the Warriors led 5-2!

When the Bobcats attacked, Okafor continued to play singles in the low post, and Brad Miller moved to the high post.

Artest did not move out completely, but stayed one step inside the free throw line. Seeing that Biedrins could not hold off Okafor, Artest double-teamed him.

Okafor did not pass the ball immediately. He calmly raised the ball and protected it. When the time was right, he swung the ball to the left side of the top arc.

With the help of Brad Miller's screen, Zhang Yang faced Stephen Jackson who rushed towards him from the free throw line in the middle and took a three-point shot... and made it!
Millsap on the sidelines applauded when he saw this ball. First of all, the third brother's shot was really accurate.

But the coordination between Okafor and Brad Miller is the key!
Although Artest and Stephen Jackson are not on good terms, they have a great understanding of each other. Artest retreats and, together with Biedrins, blocks Okafor's space and vision to pass the ball to the left. Stephen Jackson immediately leaves Mike Miller on the left open and passes the ball in front of Brad Miller. If Okafor is double-teamed and passes the ball to Brad Miller immediately, he is very likely to be intercepted by Stephen Jackson.

Okafor calmly chose to protect the ball and wait, Brad Miller tacitly mentioned the top arc, and Zhang Yang went around the top arc at a 45-degree angle from the right, creating an oblique passing route from the right side of the basket to the left side of the top arc.

Supporting is never just about players standing in a high position to pass the ball. Cooperating with teammates who have the ball and helping them create better conditions for passing the ball are also the jobs of supporting players.

At the beginning of the game, both teams scored in the first two attacks, and the offensive battle between the Warriors, who ranked first in the team scoring list, and the Bobcats, who ranked fourth in the team scoring list, began.

The Warriors played fast and kept trying to bring the Bobcats' rhythm; even if they fell into a positional battle, they focused on quick passes, cuts and back-running, and they had to throw the ball within 10 seconds from receiving the serve to shooting; if there was really no chance, Ellis would take the blame and play singles, but they also played fast.

But the Bobcats did not follow the opponent's rhythm as they did in their previous games against the Suns and Nuggets. They insisted on fighting in a positional battle when there was no good counterattack opportunity.

Only after completing a steal or defending the opponent, Zhang Yang can grab the rebound or receive the ball in the first time and have the conditions for a counterattack, but he will rush up, and the fast break is usually a three-person team, with Zhang Yang advancing with the ball, Okafor following up in the middle, and Mike Miller responding on the wing.

If the three players failed to launch a fast break, they would not shoot randomly, but wait for Brad Miller to reach the frontcourt and then slowly fight in position.

At 6 minutes and 28 seconds in the first quarter, Zhang Yang singled out Ellis, easily broke into the inside, used the European step to shake off Biedrins and came to the left side of the basket. Facing Artest's rebound defense from the middle, he turned around and made a layup!
19 to 18, the Bobcats overtook the Warriors by 1 point, and Nelson called a timeout, entering the official timeout phase!

Carlisle seemed to brighten up when he saw the team withstand the Warriors' offense.

Vincent said excitedly: "The Warriors' starting lineup is simply undefendable. Four players who can average 4 points per game, that is, Ellis with a rookie contract salary of only 20, Artest's salary of more than 77 million, and Jackson's salary of more than 700 million, can form such a starting lineup.

But our offense played beautifully, and after only two games, Brad found a way to cooperate with his teammates! ”

Carlisle agreed in his heart, but said: "Brad is accommodating others, accommodating our tactics, and being compatible with our style of play. This kind of play cannot fully demonstrate his supporting talent."

Vincent rolled his eyes at his old friend and said bluntly, "Tactical coordination is all about accommodating each other. Is there anyone on our team who can shoot as well as Mike and Jack? But their combined shots only account for one-third of the team's total. They are also actively putting themselves in double-teams or help defense to create opportunities for others."

Carlisle: "Having said that, we have the conditions to do better, and we must not be satisfied with this. Our tactics and training must keep up, and we must improve the scorers' awareness of receiving and cooperating, so that they can match Brad's pass. When the overall awareness is improved, it can also force Paul and Emeka to improve."

Vincent: "Let's wait until after the All-Stars weekend. There's no need to rush now. Let them play more like this and build up their chemistry first."

Carlisle: "I know. I won't make the same mistake again."

...

After the timeout, the Bobcats replaced the combination of Jarrett Jack, Zhang Yang, Hill, Millsap and Perkins; the Warriors replaced the combination of Baron Davis, Ellis, Matt Barnes, Artest and Al Harrington.

Warriors assistant coach Keith Smart said to Nelson: "It seems that the opponent must stick to their positional warfare team offense concept. They are worthy of being one of the best teams in the league. Even if we let Al play center, it will be difficult to affect their rhythm, and our interior defense will be even worse."

Nelson: "Carlisle is very talented in coaching and he has a firm belief. I know it is difficult to affect his rhythm, but the more so, the more we must insist on doing this."

Seeing that the assistant coach didn't seem to understand what he was saying, old Nelson rolled his eyes.

The assistant coach he brought in this time really didn't have much talent, unlike Popovich, Eddie Jordan, Avery Johnson and others who learned things quickly. Nelson was very satisfied with Smart's tactical reserves and ability to train players.

Looking a few years into the future, if Mark Jackson is the builder of the system that helped Curry take off, and Steve Kerr is the helmsman who helped Curry soar to become a revolutionary of the times, then Smart is the mentor who laid the foundation, strengthened his playing philosophy, and developed his tactical qualities in the early stages of Curry's career.

Not only Curry, but also the future little assassin Thomas, current Stephen Jackson, Baron Davis and others, have made great progress in their shooting ability and tactical qualities under the guidance of Smart.

As for coaching, Smart...it's okay to let him lead a bad team.

Old Nelson felt a little sorry, but he didn't explain it slowly. He said, "They want to become a positional offensive champion like the Kings. Although their support points are not as good as that Kings, and their pure pitchers are not as good, they have better singles scorers and a deeper lineup. They have the hope of becoming a better team than that Kings...

Let's see tonight whether our running and gunning is better or their positional warfare is better!"

Unlike George Karl who would get so angry when his tactics were not executed smoothly, old Nelson was always so confident and proud.

The mad scientist wanted to compete with him, and so did Kabal. They both played on offense, but their coaching philosophies and team playing styles were completely different. When they met, they naturally wanted to compete with each other.

But games are always different from what is expected. After the timeout, both teams started to miss shots.

The tactics worked, the fast break was also launched, the ball reached the end point, but the shots from both sides missed!
The reason – physical strength!
It was the end of the mid-season, and both teams were playing their second game of a back-to-back. The physical crisis was apparent in the first quarter.

The core lineup players are okay, they are strong and can ensure basic shooting stability back-to-back, but the role players who rotate are not so good.

The Bobcats players have good defensive skills. When the opponent can't make shots from the outside, they just rush to the basket when defending against counterattacks, blocking the reasonable collision zone and not allowing the opponent to attack the basket.

Barnes and Artest are also defense-first players and made the same choice.

In more than 3 minutes, the Bobcats shot 5 out of 1, and only Millsap suddenly dunked and scored a 2+1. The Warriors also only shot 5 out of 1. Baron Davis made a mid-range fadeaway shot against Jarrett Jack's defense, and Artest forced his way into the paint during the counterattack and made two free throws. The score was 3 to 4 during this period. At 10 minutes and 11 seconds in the first quarter, the two teams were tied at 23!
It was the Bobcats' turn to attack again. Seeing that Hill, Jack and Alan Anderson, who was rotating in, were having trouble making long shots, Zhang Yang asked for the ball directly at the top arc.

Matt Barnes immediately pressed towards Zhang Yang and engaged in hand-to-hand defense.

Zhang Yang pushed forward, withdrew half a step from the top arc, and slapped the ball to the right with his left hand. Barnes moved half a step to the left, but Zhang Yang did not move to the right. He received the ball with his right hand and pulled it high, then suddenly sped up his movement to pull the ball down and slap it on the floor.

Barnes quickly dove back to the right, but the ball that Zhang Yang shot bounced at a small angle. Zhang Yang started, broke through the middle, came to the free throw line, and made a quick stop jump shot... and it hit!
Hill and Millsap were ready to rush for the ball, but Ellis and Artest didn't dare to go to the middle and could only watch Zhang Yang take a jump shot from the most accurate free throw line.

When old Nelson saw this ball, he thought of his beloved disciple and became very excited!
It's just that the one from the Mavericks is also his favorite disciple. It's better to separate. The two of them have won the MVP in the past three seasons. The Suns are still soaring this season. The two of them may continue to win the MVP. Maybe the Mavericks will continue to win the MVP next season after changing their head coach...

When it was the Warriors' turn to attack, Baron Davis became the forward point guard.

Ellis received the ball at the top of the arc and played a one-on-one game, and the one defending him was Zhang Yang.

The atmosphere at the scene was low for a few minutes, and this scene instantly ignited the passion of the fans at the scene.

Ellis VS Zhang Yang!

Ellis is now the darling of Bay Area basketball fans.

At the age of 23, he can easily score 20 points in every game. He has a proud and unruly personality and dares to fight hard no matter who he meets. He is nicknamed Little Kobe.

So far this season, he has averaged 20.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4 assists per game, with an astonishing shooting percentage of 54%.

Zhang Yang has a strong fan base not only in the Bay Area, but throughout California. Not to mention at the Oracle Arena, he receives cheers whenever he plays at the Staples Center. Basketball fans jokingly call California an enclave of Charlotte on the west coast.

Ellis looked at Zhang Yang and was very excited. Just seeing Zhang Yang's face made him want to swing the ball.

But no, he would be beaten to death by the Boxing Saint and World Peace.

He can only play the tactics patiently and execute his tactical roles as a counterattack attacker, a mid-range catcher and shooter, and a cutter.

However, there is a basic condition for his patience - when the tactics cannot be implemented, the ball will be given to him for singles.

The Warriors' run-and-gun game was disrupted due to inaccurate outside shooting, and the only person on the team who was happy was Ellis.

After Baron Davis moved to the receiving position, Ellis started to play one-on-one, breaking through in front of his body... Zhang Yang pressed directly towards Ellis, defending him in close combat!

Ellis reacted quickly, dribbled the ball sideways to create space, started quickly, and broke into the inside!

Zhang Yang knew he couldn't prevent the breakthrough, so he quickly pressed forward and got close.

Ellis failed to shake off Zhang Yang outside the free throw line. He rushed along the right sideline of the three-second zone. He was about to shake off Zhang Yang with two more steps of acceleration, but he saw Perkins standing right below the basket, and Hill and Millsap standing at the elbows on both sides ready to close in at any time... Ellis stopped abruptly within one step of the free throw line, jumped, and shot a mid-range shot... "Snap"...

As soon as the ball left Ellis's hand, Zhang Yang, who was behind him, slapped it to the ground from top to bottom!
Ellis's emergency stop and rebound speed are very fast, but with the standard height and wingspan of 191cm + 190cm as the Warriors' top scorer, his emergency stop jump shot without shaking off Zhang Yang was just going to be blocked!
Hill and Barnes competed for the floor ball, and the ball was knocked out of bounds. The baseline referee confirmed that it was Barnes who touched the ball last, and the Bobcats had the ball in the backcourt!

The fans at the scene burst into cheers instantly, but they went away quickly as they came.

They wanted to consider Ellis's face, but they didn't care much. When the big screen showed Zhang Yang's block from the side, cheers rang out again.

Ellis was so mad that even his own director was a bad boy!
Director: I have no choice. The price of first-team football tickets tonight has risen to $10,000 and they are all being snapped up by wealthy Chinese. I can only broadcast what they want to watch... Bad Boy's block was so cool!

Not only Ellis was unhappy, but other members of the Warriors were also unhappy.

As they were eliminated in the first round last season and have further improved their strength to win 50 games this season, they are usually very popular with local fans. The ticket sales rate and attendance rate are among the top in the league. When popular superstars such as Kobe, Garnett, James, and Iverson came, there was no fan defection. Even when Yao Ming came, he was only cheered when he entered the stadium.

But every time Zhang Yang comes, the fans at the scene will turn against him.

This brings us to a widely circulated legendary story among California basketball fans - the fallen rich second-generation Jack was saved by basketball...

When the Bobcats attacked, Zhang Yang came to the frontcourt, ready to continue receiving the ball and attacking, but was surrounded by Barnes, who was even more violent than in the previous round.

Zhang Yang turned around decisively and cut in, shaking off Barnes.

Jarrett Jack passed the ball to Zhang Yang in time. Zhang Yang had already rushed forward, and Barnes could only chase after Zhang Yang and make a quick stop jump shot.

Zhang Yang did not stop and ran straight to the basket. Perkins and Millsap quickly moved away, but Harrington did not squat stupidly in the reasonable collision zone waiting to be dunked. He took the initiative to rush towards Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang used the European step, jumped one step to the right, and started the second step with no speed reduction. He quickly jumped back to the front of the basket and stood up again to dunk... Artest rushed in from the baseline, flew to block the shot, and collided with Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang tried his best to push the ball towards the basket before being tackled...

With the referee's whistle and Zhang Yang falling to the ground with a "hmm" sound, the ball fell into the basket!

Zhang Yang jumped up from the floor, looked at Artest's face which was distorted with worry, listened to the cheers of the fans, and spoke...

"Ron, the force of the collision was so small, don't the Warriors provide food?"

Ellis, who was also collecting it at the side, said: Fuck you!
(End of this chapter)