Chapter 344 343. The most powerful duo in the East!
James has always been puzzled. Why is Felton, one of the best players in college, an NCAA champion, and a cocky person, so obedient to his younger brother in his rookie season?

And in his rookie year, some people actually said, "I thought he was here to assist me."

Now that he has played for so many years, few of his peers respect him. Even Bosh prefers to play with Wade and has said that he wants to go to Miami to play with Wade.

Wade is not as famous as him, but he is more highly regarded among players.

Many people even think that Anthony, who has no competitive spirit at all, is better than him.

None of these people can match his ability to lead a team individually. If these people were transferred to his team, they would not even be able to make it to the playoffs.

This time he finally understood that if he could have Zhang Yang as his teammate, he would treat him as his own brother.

In the past half quarter, Zhang Yang's playing style was as if saying to James - you just go ahead and I'll cover the rear. If you can play, I'll be your cheerleader. If you can't, leave it to me.

Even in the All-Star Game, James has never played so comfortably.

In previous All-Star Games, no one cooperated with him like this.

Not to mention the club, he has to be the big daddy.

No matter how much he disliked Zhang Yang or how much hostility he held towards him, when they were teammates, he could not hate Zhang Yang at all.

Wade doesn't have as many feelings as James, after all, he has partnered with the Shaq at the end of his peak.

During those two years, the Sharks had already put aside their reputation as the "top superstar". They were known as the big boss, but in reality they played like the second in command. Wade had two great years and won the championship.

Wade's name was also called to be replaced by Billups for a rest. After calming down from the feeling of "controlling the team", he saw Zhang Yang played for 10 minutes, made 7 of 5 shots and scored 13 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. He suddenly realized that this guy had arranged a style of play that was most suitable for him!
Moreover, he was charging forward with his cheeks puffed out, allowing Zhang San who was hanging behind him to take advantage!
But after cursing in his heart, Paibang sat down and discussed with King how to continue to help Zhang San count money... no, how to lead the team to win.

He was indeed playing comfortably, and Zhang Yang was indeed trying his best to cooperate with him in playing, but Zhang Yang was just very good at scoring in the middle and long distances, and being the initiator of the offense and the spearhead of the charge were things he was good at.

Both of them, No. 3, are doing things that suit their own needs, which is already a fair competition. If Zhang San is a little more selfish, he will feel that he cannot outsmart the other party.

James and Wade are in good mood at the moment, but Zhang Yang is not in such a good mood.

He was questioning the interim coach: "Scott, Yao won't play?"

Skiles: "Yao is not feeling well, let him rest for a while, he will play at the critical moment."

Zhang Yang looked at Yao Ming when he heard this. The little giant, who had just been pulled up by Howard and was twisting his waist to dance on the sidelines, immediately acted weak.

Zhang Yang said in Mandarin: "Brother Yao, find a piece of tofu and bump yourself into it."

Seeing the little giant not afraid of boiling water, Zhang San was very sad and angry. Where did he learn this?

He must have learned this from the Bulls head coach, he's so shameless.

Humph, it’s no big deal. It’s just an All-Star. There are many of them everywhere, so we don’t need one.

Zhang Yang called together Billups, Hamilton, Bosh and Howard who were about to play together.

At least Skiles treated Yao Ming as a human being. Although he didn't let Yao Ming play more, he didn't trip him up by not letting Okafor and Howard play together.

Billups looked at Zhang Yang, waiting for instructions. Wade realized it later, as he had seen from the beginning that the old rival's opening tactical arrangement in the afternoon was to create good scoring conditions for himself. He was very cunning. However, this guy had a good relationship with Rasheed Wallace, so he had to give him face and let him play as he was told.

To his surprise, Zhang Yang patted him on the back and said, "Chauncey, you decide how we play. You and Kidd are the two players with the best control ability in the league in my mind. You will be the one to lead the team from now on."

Flounder: You're fooling me, right? You want me to be sold out like Wade and help count the money, right? But, he said I'm as good as Kidd...

The key is that Billups felt that Zhang Yang was speaking from the heart!
Billups' brain, which had been on standby, started up and analyzed the playing styles of several teammates and thought about their playing methods. Since his teammates had All-Star abilities, he quickly figured it out and began to instruct his teammates on how to play.

Hamilton and Howard were not so willing to help at first and planned to do nothing but work.

Hamilton was beaten badly in the Eastern Conference Finals last year when he faced off against Zhang Yang. He was the one who was scolded the most after the Eastern Conference Finals. Although he was not embarrassed because of Tianzun, he was indeed one of the players on the Pistons who disliked Zhang Yang the most.

Howard has a bad relationship with Okafor, and his relationship with Zhang Yang is not much better.

If Zhang Yang made arrangements, they might not listen, or at least they wouldn't work hard.

But when Billups, their teammate (senior), tells them how to play, that’s different…

...

The timeout is over and players from both teams come on the court.

The Western team sent out a combination of Paul, Nash, Anthony, Boozer and Nowitzki.

Zhang Yang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Garnett on the opposite side was not on the court either.

Skiles didn't let Yao Ming play more, and the Zen Master didn't let Garnett play more, so it was considered a fulfillment of their promise.

He actually expected this. Garnett played only 31 minutes per game for the Lakers this season, which was 8 and a half minutes less than last season.

He played in 50 games, averaging 17 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks, which are similar to his sophomore and junior years, but of course the efficiency was completely different. At that time, he averaged 39 minutes per game.

According to Lakers trainer Gary Viddy, Garnett consumed too much energy while with the Timberwolves, averaging more than 11 minutes per game for 38 consecutive years, and had an extremely high attendance rate of over 92%. He had a serious injury risk and needed to reduce his playing time to lower the risk of injury, so the Zen Master made such an adjustment in his playing time.

This is consistent with Zhang Yang's understanding of the Zen Master. This coach, among other things, has done a very good job in protecting the health of his players. After O'Neal was sent to the Suns by the Heat, some media commented that if OK had not disbanded, O'Neal would have continued to play under the Zen Master, and his 5-year, 1 million contract might not have become a garbage contract after it was completed.

Zhang Yang already knew that O'Neal would perform like an All-Star again in the 08-09 season, and he thought there was nothing wrong with this evaluation.

The game continued, the Western team attacked, and Paul received the ball in the center line.

When he reached the top arc, Paul looked at the second defensive guy Billups in front of him, and saw that it was Zhang Yang guarding in front of Nash. His first reaction was to pass the ball to Anthony to beat Hamilton... Wow!
Xiao Pao: Ah Gua, what the hell are you doing in the corner? Watching the show?

Nowitzki and Nash did not try to steal the limelight and moved away. Anthony had no motivation after James went down and also moved away. Paul had no choice but to do it himself and waved for cover.

Boozer came out to block Billups, Paul broke through, Howard did a good job defending the smaller player and blocked the shot very well.

Paul could only break into the inside and make a strong pull-up shot despite Howard's interference... The ball hit the rim, bounced a bit, and fell into the basket, barely making it in.

In the offense-defense transition, Billups started to play one-on-one in the frontcourt. Facing Paul's defense, he pretended to break through and stepped back, and took a long three-point shot... and missed!
Howard pressed forward and grabbed the offensive rebound over Nowitzki's head, but he couldn't get up again because Boozer had already doubled up on him. He passed the ball to Bosh, who received the ball and passed it again... Zhang Yang went around the free throw line and made a mid-range shot!
It was the Western team's turn to attack again. Paul continued to play pick-and-roll with Boozer and broke into the inside. Hamilton, who was defending Anthony in the corner, came in to double-team. Paul passed the ball to Anthony, who received the ball and took a three-pointer...missed!
But Billups couldn't hold off Boozer, who touched the ball before Howard and made a tip-in.

It was the Eastern team's turn to attack, and Billups played one-on-one against Paul from the outside, and this time he really broke through.

Paul, who was guarding against the opponent's step-back shot, quickly stepped back. Seeing this, Billups stopped immediately inside the three-point line and took a long two-point shot... and it hit!
The waves are flying!

Looking back, Paul threw a three-pointer directly after the screen... The ball hit the rim and Zhang Yang went inside to grab the defensive rebound and counterattack!

Zhang Yang rushed to the frontcourt, and only Nash and Paul retreated.

Paul pressed forward to steal the ball, Zhang Yang seized the opportunity to grab the ball, used the European step, stepped around Paul and entered the inside, stuck to Nash and made a layup!
41 to 35, the Eastern team's lead once again reached 6 points!
Paul was depressed - why did Iverson play so well, but he played so poorly after he came on the court?

The Zen Master on the sidelines was helpless as the offense was poor in the last two rounds.

It has nothing to do with tactics. Their tactics are very simple, but the opponent's tactics are also simple and crude.

There is nothing wrong with Paul's passing and shooting selection, which are much better than Billups' shooting selection.

The main difference lies in the lineup structure. No one from the Western Conference went to the basket, only Paul attacked the inside. It was okay in a one-on-one situation after the pick-and-roll, but it would be no use if there was a wing defending Paul. So just now when Paul saw Howard was in a defensive position to break through, he decisively chose to throw a three-pointer, but he missed it.

The reason why Billups dared to be so reckless is that he relied on three teammates, Zhang Yang, Bosh and Howard, who had strong offensive abilities.

Zhang Yang averaged 1.9 offensive rebounds per game this season, which is an excellent level even for a small forward.

Bosh averaged 2.6 offensive rebounds per game this season. This is because the Raptors have been focusing on a light and agile offense this season, and his opportunities for positional battles have decreased. The number was higher in the previous two years.

Howard is also a top offensive rebounder, averaging 3.4 offensive rebounds per game.

With these three players in the frontcourt, let alone Billups, even if James comes, he would dare to show off a series of three-point shots.

On the Western team's side, Anthony and Boozer were actually very good at offensive rebounds, but Anthony was slacking off and didn't even cut in, let alone rush to grab the ball; Boozer had slow feet, and he did have a chance to grab the ball after a pick-and-roll + wing shot, but Paul shot directly after using the screen, and the ball hit the rim before Boozer even made it to the free throw line.

But this was the best lineup that the Zen Master could arrange for Paul when Kobe was substituted out after playing for 10 minutes and the Zen Master didn't want Garnett to play more. There was a pick-and-roll executor and three teammates who could catch the ball and shoot, play one-on-one, and take the blame.

After all, Paul's playing style is there, and he needs to hold the ball for a long time.

From this perspective, Billups' tactical arrangements and shooting choices are not worse than those of his opponents, but he chose the simplest and easiest style of play that can be played well without much tacit understanding.

It was the Western team's turn to attack again. After Paul gave up tactic one - Anthony launching an offense from a high post to stretch the defense, flank screen shooting and cutting in to respond, and Paul distributing the ball to lead the offense, he also gave up tactic two - pick-and-roll and passing.

He chose the tactic he least wanted to play - wireless singles, and gave the ball to Nowitzki who took the initiative to receive the ball in the high position.

Nowitzki faced Bosh and although his movements were slow, his rhythm was very good. He passed Bosh like a guard and came to close range. Facing Howard's defense, he passed the ball to Boozer, who received the ball on the left side of the three-second zone and made a jump shot!

When a star's personal ability is sufficient, the star's singles passing the ball is the best tactic. Nowitzki is one of the strongest executors of the star's singles passing tactic in the world!

But with this style of play, Paul has little presence, and his four teammates are better at passing the ball than him...

Paul actually encountered the "King's Dilemma". Although he played a super-star performance this season, ranked third in the MVP rankings, and dominated the list for a long time in the past few weeks, he has not yet won an honor that would convince the All-Stars.

Everyone was willing to give Iverson face, and his teammates were willing to cooperate with him no matter how he played, but as for Paul, no one took him too seriously.

There is also the way Paul talks to his teammates before going on the court, which is no different from when he is in the club. His attitude when talking to his teammates is as if he is saying, "I am here to lead you to win."

On the other hand, Zhang Yang always said to Wade and Billups, "You lead the offense." With this attitude, even if Wade and Billups knew that Zhang Yang was the one who benefited the most, they were still happy to help count the money.

Paul was unhappy with the way he played. When the Zen Master saw that Paul finally chose tactic three, he felt that the game was more stable.

He arranged three tactics, but the only tactic he actually had high hopes for was the unlimited singles flow. The other two tactics were arranged to appease Paul. His previous helplessness was mostly due to the fact that Paul insisted on trying to attack with himself as the main force.

Now the third tactic is finally implemented. The Zen Master does not expect to suppress the opponent, but just wants to keep the score close and create some rest time for Kobe, Roy and Gasol.

As for the competition, even if it's just the All-Star Game, of course he wants to win. With so many All-Stars in his hands, he must have fun.

But looking back, the Zen Master realized that he was happy too early...

After wasting two rounds, Billups passed the ball to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang received the ball, turned around and shot a mid-range shot against Nash's defense...and it went in!
This also caused Nash, who was pressing forward in a panic, to commit a foul. The referee blew the whistle, and Zhang Yang's goal was valid and a penalty was added!
The most romantic duo in the East is online!

(End of this chapter)