Chapter 356 355. A corner where no one cares

Even on the eve of the final four of the Crazy Three, the focus battle between the Bobcats and the Bulls was very popular in North America.

The Bobcats scored 131 points against the Bulls' defense, which gave the fans a small shock.

布拉德-米勒4助攻、米尔萨普5助攻、希尔4助攻、费尔顿5助攻、迈克-米勒3助攻，这场比赛担任山猫队组织核心的4名球员，拿到了18次助攻，全队31次助攻，人们仿佛看到了当年那支拥有韦伯、迪瓦茨、特科格鲁、毕比、道格-克里斯蒂的国王队！

Not many media outlets said that the Bulls played poorly or were not good enough.

On the contrary, many media, experts, and fans tried to make up for the Bulls' defeat, analyzing the various reasons for the loss and saying that if the Bobcats had done something better, they would not have won.

After all, their record of 59 wins and 13 losses after the loss is still the best in the league.

What you said makes sense. The Bulls are indeed strong. If they are prepared, they can really make up for the shortcomings.

However, it is precisely because of the strength of the Bulls that the Bobcats' performance in this game was even more dazzling - it ended the Bulls fans' dream of "a second 70 wins" and pushed the Bulls' 60-win season to next month!

The most dazzling player was Zhang Yang who scored 52 points.

He made two consecutive three-pointers under the close defense of Luol Deng, and then helped Felton create an open three-pointer opportunity. A 9-0 wave directly defeated the Bulls who had been fighting for three quarters!
This time, the 50+ also brought back a hot topic before the All-Star Weekend - the ranking of 40+ points in a single game.

算上这场，张杨本赛季40+次数来到16次，距离另一位3号球员艾弗森生涯最高的单赛季17次40+，只差1次了！

The Bobcats have 10 games left in the regular season. Zhang Yang is likely to surpass Iverson and become the third player with the most 1976+ points in a single season since the modern basketball era in 40!

Jordan and Kobe are the first and second, there is no way, Jordan has 37 times and Kobe has 30 times. Even if Zhang Yang is like Kobe, averaging 40+ points per game in a single month and 40+ points in all games, it would only be 26 times.

But being able to surpass Iverson is already very impressive.

In the modern basketball era, Jordan's scoring ability is unique. He scored 6+ once in every six games in his career. This also includes Wizards Joe, otherwise the proportion would be even higher.

Besides Jordan, Iverson was once regarded as a unique player. In the modern basketball era, apart from Jordan, Iverson was the only one who could score 15+ more than 40 times in a single season. It was not until the 02-03 season that Kobe averaged 30 points per game for the first time and scored 19+ 40 times, and Iverson fell to third place.

就算如此，00-01赛季打71场比赛拿到17次40+的艾弗森，依旧遥遥领先其他得分高手，在他之后的麦迪02-03赛季的13次。

The gap of 4 times may not seem large, but it is actually like a chasm. Pierce, who averaged 25+ points many times, was undoubtedly the top scorer in the first decade of the 21st century. The 05-06 season was the best scoring year of his career, averaging 26.8 points per game and 4 times of 40+.

Of course, when the media hypes this topic, there is a premise - calculating based on a single player.

If calculated on a single season basis, in the modern basketball era, Jordan would occupy 4 of the top five spots, with only the second spot being occupied by Kobe, and there would be no one else.

There is another topic that is as hot as Zhang Yang's hope of surpassing Iverson's highest single-season 40+ times - this is his third time this season with 3+ in a single game!

Getting 1+ points once in a season might be a surprise.

Getting 50+ twice only proves that he has the ability to score high points.

3 times 50+, it’s different.

在这场比赛之前，现役只有两名球员办到过，艾弗森和科比，艾弗森04-05赛季有4次50+、科比06-07赛季10次50+，没其他人了。

The other two active players who have averaged 30+ points per game, McGrady and James, have only scored 50+ points twice in a single season.

Zhang Yang became the third active player to score 50+ more than twice in a single season!
The statement "Bad Boys have the best scoring talent in history" has once again appeared on the Internet, and many fans support this statement.

Of course, there are different voices. Fans of Jordan and Kobe both insist that their bosses are the most talented in history, but it's just a dispute.

Even Royals fans, when dealing with the statement that "bad boys have the best talent in history", are just trying to prove that King has better talent, rather than refuting it...

In a corner where no one cares, there is a sad person.

After Zhang Yang's two games against the Pistons, his average points per game dropped to 31.98 points.

James worked hard for three weeks and made great efforts to increase his average points per game from 30.9 to 31.7 points. He is less than 0.3 points away from Zhang Yang. It seems that if he scores or points in a few more games, he will surpass Zhang Yang.

He expected the Bulls to defend Zhang Yang so well that his score would fall below his average again. If it was 0.1 or points, Zhang Yang's average score would drop by points, and the difficulty for him to overtake would be reduced.

As a result, Zhang Yang suddenly scored 50+ points, and his average points per game soared back to 32.25 points.

What hurt him the most was that no one cared about this!

...

After playing against the Bulls, Zhang Yang returned to Charlotte with the team. After a day of rest, April 4st, a new month arrived.

He was very happy all day yesterday. He saw content praising him on the Internet, watching TV, reading newspapers, and in sports-related media.

Which basketball player doesn't like to attract attention with his performance on the court? Even a player with expressionless face will laugh privately every time he is praised.

However, last night, after the media began to promote the NCAA basketball Final Four, most fans' attention returned to college basketball.

Zhang Yang was not surprised. It was March Madness after all. It was already pretty good to be able to steal the limelight during the day before the final four.

This morning, Zhang Yang went to the gym earlier than usual and arrived at the gym parking lot just after 7 o'clock, but not for training...

When he arrived at the third training ground, most of his teammates were there except for a few veterans.

Seeing Zhang Yang coming, Felton came up and whispered, "Jack, are you all ready? Shall we start?"

Zhang Yang couldn't help but move away from the fat boss's stealthy look, and said in a normal voice, "Boss, we're not thieves, why are you talking so quietly? Let's go, hurry up and don't get caught. He will be here soon."

Felton: “…”

The volume of your voice doesn't sound like a thief, but the words you say sound more like a thief than mine!
A group of people were carrying large and small bags and talking about what to do while walking quickly towards the boss' office. Only Okafor didn't say anything, but he walked in front.

The staff on the road saw him and didn't dare to stop him or ask questions, so they just pretended they didn't see anything... Just after 8 o'clock in the morning, Jordan arrived at the stadium.

A few days before every month, he would come to the gym early to show his diligence as a boss, although he would come later on the second day than on the first day, and later on the third day than on the second day...

But no matter what, he is the boss now, does he still have to punch in to go to work?
It's not like he runs an all-female bar.

But today he felt a little strange. Usually when he came so early, the staff would gather around him enthusiastically and say nice things, such as "I will take you as an example, Michael, and work hard", and he would feel happy after listening to them. They would give him a bonus of three to five hundred US dollars. But today, no one came to say anything nice. Instead, they all worked seriously. The staff cleaning the stadium became more diligent than Cardinal.

Bald Joe: No, guys, it’s enough to just say you’re going to work harder, but are you serious about it?
It was a bit uncomfortable, but the employees worked hard, and as a boss, Jordan was still relatively happy. It was just that no one flattered him, so he felt a little lost.

Forget it, let’s go burn some incense to Guan Erye first.

When he passed by the conference room and the lounge, he heard some noises inside and looked over. The coaching staff and the boss gang were having a small meeting and looked very satisfied.

The team’s situation is not just good, it’s very good!
When he arrived at the office, Jordan walked straight to the God of Wealth and lit a stick of incense reverently.

In his early years, he didn't believe in God that much. When he went to church, he would pray but would not take the initiative to go. But after becoming a boss, he believed more and more. He found that many things were not a matter of hard work or not.

Hard work is of course important, but luck is more important.

When he entered the NBA, if he had not been lucky enough to meet William Willis, and if William Willis had not insisted that he sign with Nike, and instead he compromised and signed with Converse, which was at its peak at the time, there would be no subsequent sneaker myth and no AJ.

On the tryout day three years ago, if he hadn't taken a look on a whim, he might have chosen his junior Sean May with the 13th pick in the first round.

Sean May has decent talent and combat effectiveness, worthy of a late lottery pick.

But this junior just graduated from college, and he let himself go right after getting his rookie contract. When he played in the Crazy Three Finals in April 05, he weighed 4 kilograms and was 113 centimeters tall. He was a real inside giant in college games, and he would definitely have good combat effectiveness in the NBA.

But when I reported to the Timberwolves at the end of September 05, I weighed 9 kilograms. I had money, but I spent a few months on eating, drinking, and whoring, and completely ruined my body.

In his rookie year, he played 23 games for the Timberwolves, averaging 8 points and 5 rebounds per game. In his sophomore year, he was traded to the Kings and played 35 games, averaging 11 points and 7 rebounds per game. He has been injured this season and has not played a single game so far. He has suffered three serious knee injuries in three years, and his NBA career is basically over.

His talent and fighting ability are worthy of the 13th pick, but in terms of self-discipline, Jordan feels that the minimum base salary at the end of the second round, or a non-guaranteed contract if he is not selected, may be more suitable for this junior.

Jordan was glad that he went to watch the tryout that day and took a fancy to another junior who was later forced to become a star by his alma mater!
After burning incense, Jordan felt very happy and thought that today was another lucky day.

He was about to lie down in the office chair and wait for his secretary to come, but as soon as he turned around, he was stunned.

The photo of him when he was young, which he thought was very handsome, that was originally hanging on the wall, is gone.

It became this photo.

There was also a line of words posted below: The man I have never defeated.

The walls on both sides of the photo were covered with enlarged versions of newspapers, magazines and the like, and they were everywhere except the area where Guan Erye was located.

The content can be clearly seen from several meters away. In the first six years of his career, most of the news about him being eliminated from the playoffs was about him being killed by Bird.

He also saw Barkley's evaluation of Bird's comment that "God wears No. 23 jersey to play basketball" - Bird just wanted to say that God couldn't beat him, and Michael really thought Bird was praising him.

A bunch of stuff on the desk was gone, except for a giant stuffed bird...

A few seconds later, a roar came from the boss's office.

"Who the hell did this?"

...

After Jordan yelled, he angrily found an employee and asked who had entered his office. The employee said there were a lot of people, too many to count.

He came to the meeting room angrily. As soon as the coaching staff and players arrived at the meeting room, 20 pairs of eyes were looking at him.

He asked who did it, and the team members looked at him innocently...

Seeing this, he naturally knew who did it, or who was the leader, but he couldn't say it clearly. He was so angry that he fined the entire team from top to bottom 500 US dollars each. As a result, the two younger students waved their hands and paid the fine for the entire team.

孽 孽!
Jordan regretted: I should have firmly chosen that junior back then, otherwise I wouldn’t have been pranked... No, I still have to choose this junior.

He regretted again: I shouldn't have come to work so early in the first few days of every month to show my diligence. If I came late every day, just to watch the games and work, and didn't reminisce about the past with my teammates every day, I might not be the one being pranked.

He returned to his office in a rage and for some reason he read through all the headlines of the news that were plastered all over the wall.

As I watched, I wasn’t so angry anymore, and a feeling of nostalgia emerged.

The time when he struggled in the Eastern Conference playoffs 20 years ago came back to his mind.

When recalling these things, he was not like those losers who were regretful and unwilling to give up. He did not think at all, "If I had done this or that time, I would have won." He just recalled them purely with nostalgia.

Because he won later, defeating all his opponents, 6 finals, and defeating 5 of the strongest opponents in the league at that time.

Assassin Thomas, who had defeated him three times in a row, also successfully avenged himself, and his revenge was a sweep of the Eastern Conference Finals at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Therefore, he, like his fans, regarded the experience of failure in the 80s as nutrients for growth. He and his fans would praise the opponents who defeated him instead of bashing them.

But he still had a regret in his mind. He turned around and looked at the photo of him and Bird hanging on the wall. He only lost to this opponent in the playoffs, but never won.
He once thought about who would win in his championship season against the Celtics led by Bird, who won three consecutive MVPs and championships in 86. He was not sure.

After reading all the news that covered the wall, Jordan had an idea that even he found strange: the bad boy is quite thoughtful, there are many news that I have not seen, but he actually collected them all!

Wait, what should I do with this wall of stuff? Hire someone to clean it up? And then I have to redecorate it!

Damn it! If I had known, I would have fined him more!

(End of this chapter)