Chapter 336 335. I am still young, don't teach me bad things
The next day, February 2, the Bobcats faced the Warriors in a back-to-back home game.

The two teams started an offensive battle again, and this time both teams did not lose momentum during the game. In the first half, the score was 57 to 58, with the Bobcats trailing by 1 point.

今晚张杨表现稳健，20投11中，其中三分球5中2，加上10中8的罚球，拿到32分6板3助攻1抢断2盖帽。

Felton played better and better after his comeback. When he found his feeling, the half-month absence actually helped him. His physical condition is currently the best on the Bobcats, even Zhang Yang is inferior to him.

Although Zhang Yang has good recovery ability, when comparing him now with when the season started, one can still see the difference in physical strength.

费尔顿今晚打了38分钟，18投10中，其中三分球6中4，加上6中6的罚球，高效拿下30分5助攻。

米尔萨普的6分8板5助攻、布拉德-米勒的8分5板4助攻，给两人提供了很大帮助。

But the opponent's double guns also performed exceptionally fiercely!
Ellis faced Zhang Yang's defense and made 20 of 8 shots, maintaining a relatively basic hit rate, including 3 of 1 three-pointers and 6 of 5 free throws, scoring 22 points and 11 assists.

巴郎-戴维斯在埃利斯的帮助下大爆发，29投15中，其中三分球10中5，加上7中7的罚球，爆砍42分6板5助攻。

Looking only at the performance of the two guns, Zhang Yang and Felton, Ellis and Baron Davis basically cancel each other out.

The main problem lies with the center.

Okafor got cut tonight…

He made only 7 of 2 shots tonight, missed all 3 shots in the first half and all 4 free throws. The mad scientist decisively used the "Hack-a-Shaq" tactic in the third quarter, giving Okafor 10 free throws in a single quarter, and Okafor only made 4 of them.

The Warriors often use this trick. They are used to the fragmented rhythm and let the Beard and Kobe Bryant go all out. However, the Bobcats' rhythm was disrupted and they only scored 16 points in the third quarter.

The Warriors scored 25 to 16 in the third quarter and led the Bobcats by 10 points at the end of three quarters!
In the final quarter, Okafor adjusted himself, played for 8 minutes, made 4 of 2 shots, plus 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 6 points. The other players on the Bobcats also adjusted their offense under the leadership of Okafor, and the whole team exploded, scoring 36 points in a single quarter.

But on the Warriors side, the bearded man also soared in the final quarter, scoring 15 points in a single quarter, breaking through 40+ in one fell swoop, and leading the team to 35 points in a single quarter.

109 to 119, the Bobcats lost to the Warriors at home!
The Bobcats' record dropped to 38 wins and 13 losses, and the team's goal of 40 wins in the first half of the season was missed.

After the game, Okafor finished his interview and ran to the training ground to practice free throws.

He made 16 of 6 free throws tonight, which was even worse than Howard and O'Neal. He had to take the main responsibility for the loss, and he was very unwilling to do so.

Felton was also unwilling, but seeing Okafor's expression, he said to Zhang Yang worriedly, "Should we try to persuade Emeka? He has been very tired this season, don't let him get injured."

Zhang Yang shook his head: "Let him vent. It's just free throw practice. He knows what he's doing."

As long as he doesn't gain weight, Zhang Yang is not worried at all about Okafor's health.

Okafor gained weight to 127 kilograms in his sophomore year and was injured and missed a year and a half, which caused his athletic ability to plummet. His originally good shooting in the three-second zone and his mid-range shooting, which had a certain degree of accuracy and a clear upward trend, were all ruined because of the sharp drop in his bounce speed. He switched to playing as a pure defensive center, but his strength plummeted. After he lost weight, he played in all three seasons.

After he turned 28, his athletic ability further declined with his age, and his performance declined again. During the shortened season, he suffered a serious knee injury and was reimbursed again, but after his comeback, he adapted to the new physical condition again and played a relatively good season in the 12-13 season, averaging 25 minutes per game and getting 9+9 data... In terms of adapting to the changes in his physical condition, he really feels like a 'little Duncan'.

But he was unlucky. In the summer of 13, he felt discomfort in his waist and was diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation. He retired due to injury.

After all, it was because he gained more than ten kilograms in weight in his sophomore season in order to deal with Howard that he injured his knee, which led to a series of chain reactions, turning a center who averaged 15+11 and had All-Star potential in his rookie season into a pure defensive blue-collar player.

Felton was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and asked, "Does this count as venting your emotions? If you want to vent your emotions, you should at least buy a few bottles of wine and find some college students, right?"

Zhang Yang: "...Boss, I'm only 19 years old, please don't teach me bad things."

Felton looked at the younger brother with a strange expression: "You are a rich second-generation who fell in love with someone's sister at the age of 15, came to her house to steal her, and beat her brother after losing a basketball head-to-head duel. Do you need me to teach you bad things?"

Zhang Yang: ???
No, this outrageous rumor has evolved to this version?
...

As the NFL finals come to an end and the NBA All-Star Weekend is about to begin, sports fans in North America are focusing on basketball.

On the morning of February 2, the Bulls came to Charlotte, attracting the attention of most basketball fans. Tomorrow, the last half-season game between the Bobcats and the Bulls is the All-Star Weekend warm-up game promoted by the league.

This year is the Olympic year, and Stern sees this year as a key year for further expanding the Chinese market. He is very happy that Yao Ming is going to the Bulls, a team that is willing to spend money on big contracts and pay luxury taxes. Moreover, when Yao Ming goes to the Eastern Conference, he can play against Zhang Yang four times in the regular season alone!
Of the four games between the Bulls and Bobcats this season, three are scheduled at key time points - the Christmas game, the end of the halfway season, and the end of the regular season. The other is also scheduled for the end-of-season sprint at the end of March. Each game is full of gimmicks.

Stern has bought press releases these past two days to promote this game in major newspapers, television stations, and websites. The attention to tomorrow's game between the Bobcats and the Bulls continues to rise, but... a team has come out to 'steal the limelight'.

Near noon, two explosive transactions caught the attention of fans.

The Suns sent Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Heat in exchange for Shaquille O'Neal.

The Raptors sent T.J. Ford and Rasu Nesterovic to the Pacers in exchange for Jermaine O'Neal.

Although O'Neal only averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds per game this season and failed to be selected as an All-Star for the first time in his career, the Big Shark is still the Big Shark and his popularity remains high.

And another O'Neal was traded at the same time, which made it a hot topic!
The key is that both transactions are extremely controversial.

The Suns play a run-and-gun style, and the Raptors also focus on a brisk and agile offense this season. These two teams traded back two stationary inside players...

In Charlotte, Yao Ming and his wife were visiting Zhang Yang's home, and they were talking about the two recent transactions while having lunch.

Yao Ming: "It's a pity that O'Neal went to the West. I have fewer opportunities to play against him."

Zhang Yang: "Is it because there are fewer opportunities to abuse him?"

Yao Ming: "Haha, yes. I waited until he was old and I came to the East. But he ended up going to the West."

Zhang Yang: “Hahahaha…”

Yao Ming: "It's a pity for the Suns. They lost Marion, who was so suitable for Nash and Little King, and got a center who can't run. Anyway, I will never go to the Suns. I am not suitable for their style of play at all."

Zhang Yang: "For the Suns, getting O'Neal was a disaster, but for O'Neal it was a blessing."

Yao Ming: “Why?”

Zhang Yang: "You forgot that Thomas is the head of the Suns' team medical team."

Yao Ming: "Ah, yes, with Thomas treating him, he might be able to recover."

With Zhang Yang's introduction, Thomas Carter gained a new client, Yao Ming.

It was crucial that Yao Ming was able to recover to the health status of the first few years of his career this season. He played 51 of the first 46 games and missed only 5 games. He lost 8 kilograms, reduced his playing time to 32 minutes per game, and usually only played 25-30 minutes when playing against weak teams. Thomas Carter's maintenance of his body and suggestions on his playing style also played a big role.

Zhang Ma took over the conversation: "O'Neal is lucky, but O'Neal Jr. and the Raptors are unlucky. O'Neal Jr. is not suitable for the Raptors. The Raptors are mainly playing a brisk offense this season and do not need O'Neal Jr. I don't know what they are thinking."

Yao Ming was also puzzled: "It's understandable that the Suns traded back O'Neal. They haven't won a championship in a few years with their run-and-gun style. Their management and boss wanted to gamble on whether they can win the championship by playing positional warfare. Although it seems silly...but at least there is a saying. The Raptors are on the rise. Ford, Bosh, Calderon, and Kapono are all from the class of 03, and Bargnani is from the class of 06. There are also young players like Delfino and Moon. If they just wait for two years, they will definitely become stronger and stronger like the Magic. It's hard to understand why they suddenly sent Ford and Moon away."

Zhang Yang: "The Raptors management is very ambitious. They want more than just the playoffs and winning in the playoffs. They may not be satisfied with the ceiling of the current lineup. Moreover, they have no patience and do not like to train new players. They like to use players like Carter who are already star-level players when they enter the NBA. Maybe they think that O'Neal is only 30 years old and plays on the floor. If he goes to them, he can recover his health and form the strongest twin towers with Bosh? I guess their head coach didn't even know about this deal, otherwise they would not play purely offensively this season..."

Zhang Yang and Yao Ming were just spectators of what happened in the mid-term trading window.

The Bulls have a complete lineup. They traded Ben Gordon for Yao Ming and jumped directly from a 50-win second-round team to the top favorite to win the championship. If it is not necessary, they will not make trades, and at most they will trade at the end of the rotation.

The Bobcats are mainly building an offensive system this season. If Brad Miller was not suitable to be their tactical core and could help develop Millsap's supporting ability, they would not have made the trade.

Of course, they would also trade for Jamison, who showed his peak strength in the early stages of the season, averaging 20+10 and capable of doing more than his share of goals; or Troy Murphy, who averaged 14+11, made more than 40% of his three-pointers, and had a certain passing ability and averaged 2+ assists per game. However, the Wizards and Pacers would either ask for a sky-high price or hang up on Jordan directly...

(End of this chapter)