Chapter 332 331. Ticket King!

After the game, Zhang Yang and Iverson were interviewed together.

Although Iverson lost this time, he was not as unwilling as last time.

Because this time it was indeed due to objective reasons, the rebounding gap was too big, their team had 31 rebounds and the opponent had 55 rebounds.

Zhang Yang, a guard, had 6 offensive rebounds in a single game, 3 of which were consecutive tips over Kenyon Martin in a single round. Iverson thought he was playing against the Knicks.

When playing against the Knicks away a while ago, Camby was injured, and Randolph bullied Kenyon Martin in this way, playing a violent performance of 28 points and 22 rebounds.

They charged hard tonight, otherwise they wouldn't have lasted three and a half quarters.

Such a period of volatility is inevitable after a big trade.

Iverson is looking forward to this trade, even though they are without Camby and Nene, their inside line is a bit miserable and they may often encounter situations like tonight where they are significantly behind in rebounds.

But if Camby continues to serve as the core center, they will always look half-dead, so they might as well take this opportunity to give it a try.

If a qualified athletic blue-collar center can be acquired during the mid-season trade period, the deal will be perfect.

Moreover, they have bargaining chips in their hands, and they traded for Ray Allen without using their overflowing front line.

After the interview, Zhang Yang returned to the locker room for physical therapy.

Hill saw that Zhang Yang didn't look too excited, so he asked curiously, "Jack, you got a triple-double and won the game, so why don't you look very happy? Because you didn't score 40 points?"

Zhang Yang turned back and looked at Hill, and responded, "I didn't even notice it if you hadn't told me. No! I got 35 points and a triple-double. If I had shot more, I might have gotten 40 points and a triple-double!"

Hill: "..."

Zhang Yang saw Hill's speechless expression and smiled, "We won the game, got a triple-double, of course I'm happy, but I feel a little regretful."

Hill: "Regret...because Ray Allen didn't play?"

Zhang Yang: "Yes, the player with the best breakthrough, the player with the best long-range shooting, and the player with the most comprehensive singles skills. I was looking forward to playing against this trio. I was excited just thinking about it. What a pity."

Hill could really empathize with this sentiment and responded, "It's a bit of a pity. This is our last time playing against the Nuggets this season. We can only wait until next season."

Zhang Yang: "It's still unclear whether the Nuggets can keep Ray Allen next season. If they miss this chance, they may not have another chance in the future."

There was one more thing he didn't say - he remembered that Iverson would be traded for Billups by the Nuggets next season.

Tianzun is too old. No matter how good his health is, he will soon reach a stage of rapid decline. Hamilton's level will drop sharply after he turns 30. The Pistons, which have reached the Eastern Conference Finals for five consecutive years, have reached the end of their heyday in the first decade of the 5st century.

The only talented new blood that has joined the Pistons in recent years is Noah. Last season's Eastern Conference Finals exposed the hidden danger of a lack of young players, and it has only been two years since they entered the rebuilding phase.

If the Pistons start rebuilding, Billups, as the core ball handler, should be the first one to be sent away. Otherwise, the Pistons will make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference no matter what, and will not be able to attract young stars to join, so the rebuilding will be a long way off.

Iverson, who is in his contract year next season, is likely to become a trading target for the Pistons.

Given the leadership abilities that Billups and Iverson have shown so far, if the Pistons propose a trade, the Nuggets management will most likely accept it.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yang felt sorry for Milicic again.

这赛季米利西奇在灰熊队场均打23分钟，拿到8.2分6.2板1.8助攻2.2盖帽，投篮命中率51%，成为了加索尔进入NBA以来最强力的内线帮手。

In the game where the Grizzlies defeated the Bulls, Milicic did a very good job defending Yao Ming, greatly reducing the pressure on Gasol in the interior.

But unfortunately, the crucial growth years of Serbian farmers were wasted.

Look at Bynum, who was far behind Milicic when he entered the NBA, but both the Lakers and the Timberwolves treated him like a treasure.

This season, the third-year Bynum, who is only 20 years old, averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. He is regarded as the fourth center in the Western Conference after Duncan, Kaman and Camby. Even if Gasol and Stoudemire are put at the center position, Bynum is capable of competing with Camby for the fifth place.

However, although Bynum did not end his season due to the accidental injury by his teammate, and did not miss a crucial year of growth, and the long-term impact of the accidental injury could have been avoided, and his career might have been longer, but given his personality, Zhang Yang feels that the future career of this old friend who participated in the draft together is still worrying.

Seeing Zhang Yang's regretful face, Hill smiled and said, "Basketball is like life. There are always many things you want but cannot get, so it is more worth reminiscing."

If these words came from someone else, Zhang Yang would just take them as ordinary consolation, but when they came from Hill's mouth, he really heard the word "life".

...

The brutal five-game road trip finally came to an end. At noon on the 5th, Zhang Yang returned to Charlotte with the team.

After getting off the plane, Zhang Yang was called by press officer Kyle and went back to the Turkish Airlines Arena to receive the award.

上周山猫队打了4场比赛，张杨打勇士队拿到36分、打快船队拿到43分、打太阳队拿到44分、打掘金队拿到35分，场均39.5分，外加5.5板5.5助攻1抢断1盖帽，率队取得3胜1负的战绩，拿下他本赛季第4次周最佳！
Averaging 5.5 assists per game is not easy for Zhang Yang, and it was purely due to his 11 assists in the game against the Nuggets last night.

That's right, when he saw that he was two points away from 40+5+5 in a single week, his obsessive-compulsive disorder kicked in.

In the Western Conference, Kobe Bryant won the Player of the Week award. The Lakers won all four games last week, and Kobe averaged 4 points, 31 rebounds, 6 assists and 4.5 steals per game.

After receiving the award and accepting media interviews, Zhang Yang did not stay for additional practice and went home to rest.

While surfing the Internet, he saw a report about four super scorers whose mid-term scores rose against the trend.

For players who have averaged 20+ points per game so far this season, the vast majority of them have seen their points decline in January. The decline is smaller for the stronger players, but most of them have.

Only 4 players averaging 20+ points per game are bucking the trend.

On January 1, Kobe's average points per game were 1 points. By the end of the month, it had reached 26.8 points.

Iverson averaged 1 points per game on January 1 and is currently averaging 25.8 points per game.

James averaged 1 points per game on January 1, and now averages 31.7 points per game.

Zhang Yang is the one who has performed the best. Starting from 42 points against the Bucks, he has averaged 9 points in the 40.2 games so far, raising his average score to 33.4 points. These 9 games have raised his average score by 2.2 points, surpassing James and widening the gap.

This report was quite popular and had a lot of comments. Zhang Yang scrolled through it and saw quite a few pertinent analyses.

For example, analyzing the reason why their scoring increased against the trend in the middle of the season - the team needed them to score more points.

On Kobe's side, his two big teammates Kidd and Garnett seemed to be not strong enough in scoring by the middle of the season, and Kobe needed to shoot more.

James is the only top scorer of the Cavaliers. Larry Hughes' average points per game has dropped to 15 points due to injuries and reduced ball possession. Big Z is aging quickly. No matter what the reason is, he is trying his best to score, which has a positive effect on the Cavaliers.

As for Iverson, he had to shoot more because of Anthony's weak scoring performance in January.

Anthony's playing style is actually very tough. He averages 2.4 offensive rebounds per game, ranking first among all small forwards in the league, nearly one more than James, whose core scoring method is attacking the rim.

Anthony is also very good at taking catching shots and making key shots.

Anthony's "weak" point is that he doesn't seem to have much competitiveness, and he didn't play as hard as James in the middle of this season.

Zhang Yang remembered the match at the beginning of the month. He scored 60 points, beating Iverson who scored 40+10. Anthony said in the post-match interview: "I feel so lucky to see such a wonderful match."

Zhang Yang feels it is difficult to evaluate Anthony's mentality when playing. Perhaps this is the core reason why Anthony was overtaken by James and the gap widened.

No matter what James thinks in his heart, he will really fight when it is time to fight.

There is no need to say much about Iverson, who has been the NBA's shooting leader for many years. Kobe is the type of person who will rush to shoot even if you don't let him.

...

The last day of the first month of 2008 has arrived.

At around 8 o'clock in the morning, Felton came to the gym early again after half a month, changed into training clothes, came to the No. 3 training ground, pushed the door open, and shouted loudly: "Kids, Dad is back!" What greeted Felton was scolding and beatings from his younger brothers.

After a while of commotion, the boss gang started the pre-match meeting with the boss present after more than half a month.

The atmosphere of today's meeting was particularly high, and everyone was excited about Felton's return from injury.

Mike Miller is one of the most excited.

Looking back on the past five consecutive away games, he felt that it was too difficult!

In the past five consecutive away games, his average shots per game were almost doubled compared to the previous 5 games, averaging 30 shots per game, which almost exhausted him to death.

You have to know that last season he was used as the Grizzlies' first scoring point, playing nearly 40 minutes per game and could only throw the ball about 15 times per game. That was already his limit. As the main attacking point, he could only handle so many shots.

That is, when he was on the Bobcats, 80% of his shots were from open vertices, running and catching the ball and shooting, and chasing and catching the ball and shooting. Almost all of these shots were thrown without any confrontation. The opponents in these games did not defend well, so he was able to persist.

But this almost exhausted him. He could no longer shoot when playing against the Suns. After resting for two days and playing against the Nuggets, he finally recovered and was able to shoot again.

If he continues to play like this, he estimates that he won't be able to make it to the All-Star break and will have to be laid up like Hill and Okafor.

After being the Grizzlies' top scorer for a season last season, he has faced reality. He believes that he does not have the ability to be a star and is just a distraction pitcher.

He did not feel unwilling about this. Every player has different strengths and a role that suits him. Forcing himself to do things that are not suitable for him or things beyond his ability will not end well.

There's one person who's even more excited than Mike Miller.

Coach Lu: I can finally be a good 'intern teaching assistant'!

In this wave of 5 consecutive away games, he played an average of 20 minutes per game. Most of the time, he just went up to dig holes. He could create opportunities for open shots, but he couldn't make them. He threw 5 three-pointers in 10 games, almost all of which were open, but he only made 3 of them.

Apart from the good control of the advancing rhythm, the good timing of movement and the timing of cutting in, there is nothing else worth mentioning. The speed that he was proud of at the beginning is now gone.

He just wanted to wait until the end of this season to see if he could get an assistant coach or scout contract from Boss Joe.

At the team training at 10 a.m., Felton showed excellent competitive form and the coaches watching were full of praise.

England: "Although you didn't let Raymond train with the team during the five consecutive away games, he didn't slack off in Charlotte. He worked hard on recovery training every day so that he could get back to the game faster."

Vincent teased, "Chip, are you using Raymond to express your dissatisfaction with Rick for not taking you to Los Angeles? That's right, there are seven or eight months in a season, and you can only go to Los Angeles once, and you didn't make it."

Paul Silas heard the conversation between the two and said, "Chip, we didn't bring Raymond because we didn't arrange any training for this five-game road trip. If he goes with the team, he will just waste time with us. It would be better for him to stay in the gym and train. You are our best trainer, so you must accompany him."

England: "..."

Vincent:"……"

The two were speechless for a moment and looked at each other.

Englander: Can't he tell we're kidding?

Vincent: Who makes you look like someone who can't joke?

Carlisle took over the conversation: "Being in good training condition does not mean being in good game condition. Raymond has not played a game or conducted confrontational training for a long time. There is a game tonight, and we do not have the conditions to conduct confrontational training for him. In the remaining few games before the All-Star Weekend, we have to carefully consider his playing time and tactical role."

Vincent: "Rick, you are right, but as long as Raymond returns, it is a good thing. He is definitely much more effective than Tyron and Jarrett. When he holds the ball or stands on the wing, Jack and Mike will be under much less pressure."

Carlisle nodded and didn't find fault anymore.

Vincent feels that although his friend’s coaching style is constantly changing, his personality of wanting to do everything the best has not changed.

He didn't think about correcting his friend because it wasn't a bad thing, and he probably couldn't change his friend's character in this aspect.

He just gave the necessary reminders, which is what he should do as an assistant coach.

...

At 12 noon, the members of the Boss Gang, who had finished their preparations, gathered in front of the TV in the third lounge.

On the other side, in the visiting team's locker room, there was also a center sitting in front of the TV.

CNN Sports' All-Star Special is live announcing the voting results for this year's New Orleans All-Star Game starting lineup.

As the rosters were announced one after another, there was a sad person in the visiting team's locker room and the third locker room.

east:

Center, Yao Ming 171 million votes, Howard 159 million votes, O'Neal 99 votes, Rasheed Wallace 52 votes.

前锋：詹姆斯241万票、奥卡福141万票、本-华莱士137万票、希尔111万票、波什76万票、皮尔斯51万票。

后卫：张杨306万票、韦德163万票、费尔顿111万票、卡特98万票、比卢普斯62万票、阿里纳斯50万票。

west:

Center: Duncan 155 million votes, Stoudemire 149 million votes, Bynum 103 million votes, Camby 76 votes.

前锋：加内特291万票、安东尼152万票、易建联135万票、诺维斯基129万票、布泽尔55万票、马里昂51万票。

后卫：科比261万票、艾弗森172万票、麦迪119万票、纳什117万票、基德94万票、保罗58万票。

Zhang Yang, Wade, James, Okafor, Yao Ming, Iverson, Kobe, Anthony, Garnett, Duncan and 10 others were selected as the starting lineups for this season's All-Star Game.

Xiaofei: Among the four young players of the Bobcats, I am the only one who was not selected as an All-Star!

Due to the Bobcats' good record in the early stages of the season and Wade's absence from many games, by the time the second round of votes were announced, Felton was only 3 votes away from Wade.

But Felton was injured soon after and lost the chance to overtake Wade.

As for being selected as an All-Star reserve, it is completely impossible for him. He can't compete with Billups, Carter, Reed, Joe Johnson, Hamilton...any of them.

After feeling frustrated for a moment, the fat boss regained his enthusiasm and squeezed in between Zhang Yang and Okafor who were surrounded by his younger brothers to celebrate together.

After making a fuss for a while, the group went to the restaurant for lunch.

Felton walked away and said, "Jack, when the second round of votes were announced, you were overtaken by Garnett. I thought you were going to lose the title. Fortunately, you exploded in the second half of the month, averaging 9 points in 40 games and taking the title back."

Okafor echoed, "I was selected thanks to Jack. After our record was surpassed by the Bulls, Wallace's votes quickly caught up with mine. During the time when you, Jack, increased your votes and surpassed Garnett, I also increased a lot of votes with you."

When Little Duncan said this, Xiao Fei felt upset again...

On a happier note, Felton said: "I didn't expect Chris to only get 58 votes. He has been so popular this season."

Hill took over the conversation: "It's not that Chris is not popular, it's that the ones before him are too popular, and his popularity has just started this season, and it has not yet been converted into commercial value. Next season he may be able to directly surpass McGrady, Nash, and Kidd, and compete with Bryant and Iverson for the starting position, but it will be difficult, Bryant and Iverson are too popular, and the worst is Howard, who met Yao..."

Over at the visiting team's training ground, the remote control in the hand of Beast that Hill mentioned had fallen to the ground at some point.

Originally he still had a glimmer of hope, what if he could overtake in the last ten days or so?

After the votes were announced, he felt that not only was he not selected this time, but his future as an All-Star starter was bleak.

The Big Shaq, who was at the peak of his career after winning three consecutive championships, was snatched away as an All-Star starter by the rookie Yao Ming. Now, he, Suo Suo, is facing the peak Yao Ming!

(End of this chapter)