Chapter 337 336. Halfway through the battle
When Zhang Yang was talking with Yao Ming about these two transactions, purely from an observer's perspective, he was able to find some points that were understandable.

When he checked the news after lunch, what he saw was different. The fans and media had a much stronger sense of participation than he, a player on another team.

The actions of Suns general manager Steve Kerr and Raptors general manager Rob Babke were criticized by expert media and fans.

In contrast, Shen Suanzi and Da Niao were praised for performing another amazing operation.

O'Neal's strength has collapsed to the bottom. He is paid 2000 million per year, and he has two and a half years left. Regardless of whether he is suitable for the Suns, he is not worth it for any other team. Only if he stays with the Heat, the team he just led to win the championship, is his contract not a junk contract. Any team that gets him is paying for the Heat to win the championship.

光是把奥尼尔送走，没换回垃圾合同，神算子的操作都属于顶级，关键是神算子还换回了29岁半当打之年、场均15.8分9.8板2助攻2抢断1.5盖帽、命中率生涯新高52.6%的顶级大前锋肖恩-马里昂。

The divine fortune teller can be deified in this transaction!

Zhang Yang saw that ESPN's evaluation of the Heat in this deal was higher than the evaluation given to the Bulls in exchange for Yao Ming using Ben Gordon plus several first-round picks and signing rights.

At least the Bulls paid multiple draft picks in that deal, and the Rockets didn't even take a big contract.

Big Bird's operation is inferior to that of the God of Calculation, but of course Big Bird's operation is also excellent.

O'Neal Jr. has played only 2008 games since entering 10, and only 20 games in the first two months. So far this season, he has played 3 fewer games than O'Neal.

He averaged 13.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. Apart from his defensive enthusiasm, which did not allow the opponent to score in front of him at will, his other aspects were hard to describe. He had no offensive enthusiasm at all, and his shooting percentage dropped to 43.6%, which was lower than that of most guards in the team. He has become a threat to internal harmony.

O'Neal Jr. was sent away in time, Granger was promoted, and two useful players were exchanged.

Nesterovic is the best defensive center that Duncan and Garnett have ever partnered with during their time with the Timberwolves. With his experience in winning championships with the Spurs, he will definitely be able to provide help to Danny Granger, Troy Murphy and others.

Ford is regarded as the Pacers' core point guard of the future. Tinsley, who is over 30 years old, has shown obvious decline, and Ford is just the right person to take over.

Bird was not brave enough in this trade - who the hell could have thought that O'Neal would be traded for Marion at this time?
Zhang Yang estimated that Bird must have regretted the deal when he saw the Heat's deal. O'Neal's trading value at that time was much higher than O'Neal's, and he was half a year younger than Marion, so he had a high probability of impressing Kerr.

If they can get Marion, the Pacers will have a complete forward and guard trio of Granger, Marion and Troy Murphy, and with a year or two of work together, they can form a championship-contending lineup again.

The Raptors received much worse reviews. After the deal, the Raptors were regarded by the media and fans as the top candidate to be knocked out of the playoffs by the Hawks.

As for the Suns...

When Zhang Yang was browsing the news, he saw the name of Raptors general manager Babkoll and it felt very familiar.

He searched it and found out that he was the general manager of the Timberwolves from 94 to 02. Babkohl played a big role in the Timberwolves signing a 6-year, $1.2 million contract with Garnett, which was higher than O'Neal's annual salary, and in the operation of giving Joe Smith non-contract assets.

...

On February 2, the last game day of the first half of the season arrived, and the Bobcats faced the Bulls in the final half of the season at home.

Yesterday, the two O'Neals were traded, which caused a huge sensation. Today, the media and fans' attention has returned to the three focus games arranged by the league.

The Cavaliers faced the Heat at home, with the James-Hughes combination VS the Weimar combination.

The Lakers faced the Spurs at home, a double 21 showdown, Kobe vs. Maddie Gay.

The most watched game in the world is, of course, the Bobcats playing against the Bulls at home, Zhang Yang vs. Yao Ming!

At 8:40 in the evening, Zhang Yang and his teammates entered the stadium together.

He looked at the big screen, which showed the battle rankings.

The Bobcats are currently 38-13 and second in the Eastern Conference.

The Bulls have 41 wins and 10 losses, ranking first in the Eastern Conference and second in the league. The Bulls and the Lakers have the same record, and each has 1 win in direct confrontations, but the Lakers have a better record than the Bulls in the division and rank first in the league.

Zhang Yang remembers that after the Christmas game and the end of the early season, the Bulls had a record of 20 wins and 6 losses. That is, in the first 25 games in the middle of the season, the Bulls had a record of 21 wins and 4 losses.

This team was not ruined by Kobe, and they also brought in Yao Ming. With the growth of young players, the joining of superstars, and the reactivation of Big Ben, the team is extremely strong.

The Bulls are currently on an 8-game winning streak and are in high spirits!
Yao Ming's statistics have been basically stable so far. He has appeared in 46 games, averaging 31 minutes per game, scoring 25.2 points, 8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 blocks. His rebounds and blocks are both career lows, but his points, assists and shooting percentage are all career highs.

The players of both teams put on a show of "friendship first, competition second" and said all the polite words in front of the camera. Then at 9 o'clock in the evening, the two teams entered the "no relatives" mode and started fighting.

The Bulls sent out Hinrich, Sefrosa, Luol Deng, Ben Wallace, and Yao Ming as the starting lineup, while the Bobcats sent out Felton, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Okafor, and Brad Miller as the starting lineup.

Yao Ming rarely beat Okafor in a jump ball, and the Bulls attacked first!

Yao Ming came to the frontcourt, pushed Brad Miller away and came to the right side of the basket. Hinrich passed the ball in time, Yao Ming received the ball, turned around and pushed Brad Miller away before Okafor could double-team him, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!
After not playing against each other for a long time, Zhang Yang clearly felt that Yao Ming was different from before.

The last time they played against each other, Yao Ming still had many shadows of his time with the Rockets. He was a good player, the best center, and he could dunk and force shots, but he always lacked a bit of dominance, like asking for the ball and playing one-on-one. He was too "gentlemanly".

As a result, he was often looked down upon by other centers, who thought he was weak and could be bullied, and even the likes of Dampier dared to try to bully him.

But this time the ball was domineering and extremely rough!
If nothing unexpected happens, it is the coach of another famous coach in the league - Ben Wallace!
Zhang Yang's guess was correct. Ben Wallace did teach Yao Ming a lot.

But the big change in Yao Ming's playing style is also related to Zhang San.

In the past, Yao Ming was always worried that Zhang Yang played too roughly and that conflicts with opponents would have a bad impact, but he saw that the more aggressive Zhang Yang became, the more people liked him...

In the offense and defense transition, Zhang Yang came to the frontcourt, received the pass from Felton, and without waiting for anyone, turned around and shot a three-pointer towards Sefrosa... and it hit!
Yan Ye's body! Return Yao Ming's dunk!

Yao Ming was unwilling to fall behind, so when the Bulls attacked, he passed the ball to the inside. Hinrich took advantage of Ben Wallace's off-ball screen and went to the baseline to receive the pass from Yao Ming and made a long two-point shot.

Led by Yao Ming, the Bulls fought a fierce battle with the Bobcats.

The Bobcats' defense is at the lower-middle level in the league, and they are good at one-on-one defense. The Bulls have Yao Ming, who is least afraid of one-on-one defense. Compared with the first matchup, the Bulls played better offense this time under Yao Ming's leadership.

However, the Bobcats' offense is not comparable to that of Christmas. Although their average points per game are slightly lower than that time, it is just a normal decline after the mid-season, and it has only declined by less than 1 point. In fact, the decline is smaller than that of the top three teams. This is a good example of their progress on the offensive end.

Zhang Yang hit a strong three-pointer at the beginning to test his touch, and then with the assistance of Felton, Okafor, Mike Miller, Brad Miller, and Millsap who came off the bench, he continued to fire, leading the Bobcats to play better offense than the Bulls.

The Bulls made 20 of 11 shots in the first quarter. The Bobcats closely monitored their three-point shooting, and they only made 4 of 1. However, they made 16 of 10 shots from within the three-point line, plus 5 of 4 free throws, scoring 27 points in the quarter.

姚明这一节6投4中加上2中2的罚球，高效拿到10分。

But Zhang Yang made 10 of 7 shots in the first quarter, including 2 of 2 three-pointers, plus 1 of 1 free throws. With no pure free throw offensive rounds, he scored 17 points in a single quarter and led the Bobcats to 31 points!
The Bulls trailed the Bobcats by 27 points at 31 to 4 in the first quarter, but they did not lose their composure. Having been first in the Eastern Conference for a month, they were very confident in their own strength.

In the second quarter, the Bulls continued their playing style from the first quarter, balancing offense and defense without blindly increasing their investment on the defensive end.

This choice was the correct one. Zhang Yang played hard in the first quarter just to disrupt the Bulls' game strategy. The Bulls were not affected, so the one who was affected was Zhang San.

In the second quarter, Zhang Yang only shot 6 times, and only made 6 of the 2 shots, scoring only 5 points.

Seeing that Zhang Yang was in a weak period, Bulls head coach Skiles decisively adjusted the defense and increased the defense on the Bobcats' wings, preventing the Bobcats from scoring only 23 points in the second quarter.

而公牛队在单节7分2板的姚明、6分3助攻的辛里奇、7分2板2助攻的罗尔-邓、4分4板的本-华莱士的带领下，单节轰出32分。

At the end of the first half, the Bulls overtook the Bobcats by 59 points with a score of 54 to 5 and entered the halftime break!
Strategy is a gamble, and if you lose, you have to admit it. During the halftime break, Carlisle did not blame Zhang Yang for his on-the-spot adjustments. This was an attempt to test the Bulls' ability to withstand pressure.

If Zhang Yang could defeat the opponent with a single fierce attack like he did against the Cavaliers, with the combination of Felton and Perkins to limit James, that would naturally be the best. Even if it affects the calmness of the opponent's head coach, that would be great.

No, then I won’t consider this kind of tactical thinking in the future. This can be considered a good experiment.

After returning from the halftime break, the Bobcats regrouped and launched another fierce attack.

Zhang Yang was substituted out after playing for 9 minutes in the second quarter. Together with the halftime break, he recovered a lot in the third quarter. He made 7 of 3 shots, including 3 of 1 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 9 points and 1 assist.

Millsap and Brad Miller took turns playing and did a good job of assisting and distributing the ball. The three of them led the team together and scored 29 points in a single quarter.

But the Bulls withstood the Bobcats' counterattack!

Looking only at conventional offense, the Bulls were not as good as the Bobcats with Zhang Yang in the third quarter. Yao Ming only played for 5 minutes in this quarter before being replaced. The Bulls only scored 21 points with conventional play, but Hinrich stood out in this crucial quarter, making two three-pointers after setting a screen and facing Millsap's defense, helping the Bulls get 27 points in a single quarter.

At the end of the third quarter, the Bulls still led the Bobcats by 86 points, 83 to 3!
In the final quarter, Yao Ming, who had got enough rest time in the third quarter, started firing on all cylinders. He was like a beast in the interior, and even more agile than in the past two years. He made 3 of 3 shots and one free throw to get 7 points. With Hinrich hitting another three-pointer, the Bulls made 4 of 4 shots in two and a half minutes and scored 10 points in a row. They beat the Bobcats 10 to 3 and expanded their lead to double digits, leading the Bobcats by 96 points 86 to 10!
The Bobcats called a timeout and launched a counterattack again, but the Bulls head coach Skiles went into turtle shell mode, purely defending and not fighting hard.

The Bulls only scored 9 points in the last 12 and a half minutes, but they prevented the Bobcats from scoring more than 18 points!
At 11:21 p.m., as Zhang Yang's three-pointer missed after he took the initiative to hit Luol Deng, the referee did not blow the whistle, but the technical director blew the whistle.

The Bulls beat the Bobcats by 22 point 21-1 in the final quarter!
姚明首节10分、第二节7分、第三节4分、末节9分，拿到30分8板4助攻2盖帽，率领公牛队以108比104客场击败山猫队，报了圣诞大战的一箭之仇！
Zhang Yang had an explosive performance with 17 points in the first quarter, but he started strong but ended up scoring only 18 points in the next three quarters. Although he scored a game-high 35 points, he still lost the game.

The Bobcats' new best half-season record in team history is 38 wins and 14 losses!
The Bulls have won 9 consecutive games and have 42 wins and 10 losses at the first half!
(End of this chapter)