Chapter 394 393. Give the 80s players a little shock
In the next three days, Zhang Yang devoted himself to preparations for the battle.

It was not difficult for him to adapt to the Knicks' tactics, which was even easier than his last experience with the Celtics.

Three years ago, although he was the second-leading scorer of the Celtics team, his main job was still as a tactical executor, responsible for initiating offense and supporting the team.

After all, there are only 6 people who can fight, and each of them has multiple roles.

The advantage is that, like the King's Five Tigers, they can maintain super combat power for a long time. The disadvantage is that there is a high risk of injury and it is tiring.

He gained a lot from that experience. After returning to his original time and space, he took the initiative to recall that playoffs many times. There were many things he could refer to in adjusting his playing style, which greatly helped his growth.

The Knicks' tactics are not centered around him, but they are completely centered around his shooting. Although there is a difference in strength between the original him and the 'him' here, their playing styles are similar. The rules are different, the strength of their teammates is different, but the tactical style centered around his shooting is always similar.

Moreover, in terms of response coordination, the whole team usually responds around him, which tests the strength and response ability of his teammates. He is the most relaxed one in the established response strategy.

That is the pure puzzle-like, boss-like style of play of Jordan and No. 24 Kobe!

He was quite surprised when he first looked through the tactical manual.

He is in the same class as Ewing, one year younger than Ewing. Ewing was the best rookie of their class. When he joined the Knicks, Ewing was also in the second team and second defense, and was the second center in the league after Olajuwon.

He is a newcomer. Even if Ewing doesn't suppress him, at least he should be equal to him in tactical position, right?

But when he looked through the training information again, he saw that before he joined, he had just beaten the entire Knicks team and swept the opponent...that was different.

He is already the FMVP, a second-year FMVP who is extremely cool. Ewing has played in the playoffs twice and was eliminated in the first round twice. What can you compare with him?

One day when he entered Madison Square Garden, he saw a group of fans holding a banner with a photo of him. Under his photo was a sentence: I am here to teach you how to win the championship.

He went home and flipped through some old magazines, and this is what he said to his new teammates on his first day joining the Knicks.

Very flamboyant, but it really fits Zhang San's personality...

Nowadays, in the United States, as a Chinese, you either become a superior person or a member of the lower class. There is no middle ground.

During the preparatory training phase, he found that his relationship with Ewing was not bad.

Of course, it cannot be said to be good, as it has both cooperation and confrontation.

Young teammates like to be around him, and older teammates all play with Ewing.

No one is willing to submit to anyone else, and no one wants to be second in command.

Fortunately, he plays very professionally here, and Ewing is also very professional, so the private competition does not affect their joint efforts to lead the team to victory.

The main thing is to win games. There is no position conflict between him and Ewing, and the competition is mostly benign.

And the teammate he has the best relationship with...Charles Oakley.

It was beyond his expectations.

However, a large part of the reason why players form groups based on age is related to salary.

The current salary structure of NBA teams is very interesting. Veteran salaries are generally low, with salaries below $100 million being the norm. More than $100 million is considered a high salary, and most are long-term contracts.

For young players, after their first one or two-year contract expires, the starting price for a contract extension is one million. A talented rookie will ask for over one million to enter the NBA.

Most young players put the credit for the salary change on Zhang San, while the veterans are jealous. When Magic Bird first entered the NBA, Zhang Yang's salary alone was equal to that of an entire team.

This situation is similar to what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar encountered back then. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the first player in NBA history to have an annual salary of over one million, and Zhang Yang was the first to have an annual salary of over 500 million. Back then, Big O also had a conflict with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar because of salary. Every time Chamberlain played against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he played very hard because of the salary issue.

There was another thing that made Zhang Yang feel quite regretful.

Two years ago, the anti-isolation law was introduced, and it was because of him.

In the 87 Finals, he and Bird used the 1-4 position and unlimited singles to beat the Magic and Hooker to win the championship. In the 87-88 season, Jordan learned to play like them, averaging 54 points per game with an outrageous 35% shooting rate.

This style of play is perfectly compatible with the rule prohibiting early double-teaming.

It is forbidden to double-team in advance, which means it is forbidden to leave the defensive object at an arm's length for more than 3 seconds for the purpose of double-teaming, assisting defense, or backup defense. It does not mean that double-teaming, backup defense, or double-teaming is not allowed.

He and Bird in the 87 Finals, his one-on-one offense in the 87-88 season, and Jordan's entire season of 87-88 were all about standing in the high position on one side without the ball, while the others went to the other side. Even the center tried to go to the far end of the baseline. After completely spreading out, he would receive the ball and play quickly. If the opponent came over from the other side, few people could get to the position except the center.

Jordan's field goal percentage in the 87-88 season was as high as 67%, and his average hits per game reached 5.2 goals. Both the number and hit rate were higher than most scoring centers.

Moreover, his long two-point shooting percentage was 42%, mid-range shooting percentage was 47%, and he averaged 7 mid-range and long-range shots per game;

The number of free throws is an exaggerated 11.9 per game, and the average number of free throws made is 10.5 per game.

He averaged 30+ points per game for the first time and benefited from this style of play.

In the summer of 88, Stern directly banned this style of play and stipulated that the positioning must be 2-3 to create double-teaming opportunities for the defense.

Last season, Jordan's scoring dropped significantly and his shooting percentage also declined, but he also averaged 8 assists per game.

Although his scoring increased instead of decreased last season, it was purely because his number of shots increased dramatically and his hit rate dropped a lot.

The era of one-size-fits-all was strangled in the cradle before it even arrived.

But this style of play is no longer useful. There are other ways to play. When Zhang Yang watched his own video, he found that he didn't know how to use that trick here or had never used that trick because of the times. He planned to give the basketball players of this era a little shock...

...

27号晚上，凯尔特人队以123比117险胜76人队，3比2晋级第二轮。

The next day, the Knicks made targeted preparations for the series against the Celtics.

After a day of training, veteran Vandeweghe looked at Zhang Yang and Oakley who had agreed to go to the gym for some training, and said to Ewing: "Jack looks particularly excited today. The Celtics are in trouble. He really can't be provoked. He has been away from the Celtics for a year, and his hatred has not diminished at all."

Ewing was silent for a moment, then said, "He is the most tenacious player in my class. He has come this far because of his unparalleled competitive spirit."

Vandeweghe: "Who can be more resilient than you? If I had been injured as badly as you were in college, I would have given up my basketball career long ago."

Ewing: “That’s different…”

Ewing didn't explain much. White players like Vandeweghe would never be able to fundamentally understand the difficulties faced by players other than white or black in the professional arena in this country, especially in Boston.

Although he is in a competitive position with Zhang Yang, Ewing has great respect for Zhang Yang's ability to get to where he is today and to his current position.

But opposition is necessary. Although he and Zhang Yang are from the same class, he has also benefited from the salary increase brought by Zhang Yang. Next season, his salary will increase to 400 million, ranking second in the league.

It’s just that he represents the older generation of players, while Zhang Yang represents the young players in the team. Every team currently has these two factions, and the conflict is becoming increasingly serious because of the distribution of interests, that is, the issue of salary.

He stood on the opposite side of Zhang Yang and united the veterans. Only by leading them could the conflict be controlled within a certain range.

Occasionally, he would convey some of his ideas to his teammates, but he would not say too much, just enough to get the point across. If they understood, then they understood; if they did not, then forget it. He did not expect to resolve conflicts caused by interests with just a few words. Conflicts in this regard were more difficult to resolve than sleeping with someone's wife.

On the 28th, the Celtics came to New York.

In the evening, Zhang Yang welcomed the first visitor to his home since he came to this world - Big Bird.

Zhang Yang prepared good wine and delicious food to entertain them, but after half a day, not a drop of the wine was left in the two glasses.

Zhang Yang: "Larry, you are really old. You don't even dare to drink."

Big Bird: "I am the guest, how can I drink first? You, the host, have to drink first." Zhang Yang: "In our country, guests are the most honorable, and the elderly are the most honorable. You have to come first, so that I, a young man, dare to raise my glass."

The two of them argued with each other for a long time, but neither of them drank any wine. They ate all the food. Finally, Big Bird poured the wine back into the bottle without a drop spilled and took it away.

Zhang Yang used friendly and international gestures to see Big Bird off.

The little trick didn't work, which was a bit regrettable, but he found that the relationship between 'him' and Big Bird didn't seem to get worse because of the change of team, but their personal relationship got better.

He opens the gift Big Bird brought when he visited... SHIT!

A plastic pen that costs no more than $10! ​​The box looks like it was reused!

The pens that Zhang San uses for taking photos cost thousands of dollars!

This country bumpkin is still so stingy after not seeing him for several years.

He put the gift away, put a note on it, "Gift from a country bumpkin," and put it in the cupboard.

It's the 29th. After a 5-day rest, the Knicks will face the Celtics in the second round of the series at home today.

Zhang Yang played against his old club with whom he had a deep grudge. The attention of sports fans across the United States was focused on New York.

All major media outlets gathered here, including many from Jiaobenji and South Korea, and several domestic media outlets. Zhang Yang felt the attraction of the Big Apple.

It was just the 90s, and there was no man called a god to promote the NBA to the world, but the combination of him and the Big Apple made the NBA have a great influence in the Asian market in just one year.

Of course, Stern’s contribution was indispensable. The Jews seized this opportunity and poured all their resources for developing overseas markets into the Asian market.

After expressing his feelings for a while, Zhang Yang focused his attention on the final preparations.

At 7:40 p.m., the Celtics entered Madison Square Garden first, and the audience was filled with boos.

When the home team entered the stadium, Zhang Yang stood at the back without hesitation, just like in the video, and Ewing also stood at the front as usual.

Zhang San: It feels so good to have a gorilla as my little brother.

He hoped that the next time he came, if he was still in New York, he would have conquered the gorillas and become a truly unique star player.

After the entrance ceremony, the players of both teams did not have much communication except for exchanging greetings in front of the live camera.

Within the team, the Knicks have distinct factions, but externally, as the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference and the favorite for the championship, they are moving in the same direction!
Zhang Yang is full of resentment towards the Celtics, so his teammates naturally won't be polite to them either.

Also, although Big Bird has a high status in the alliance and his strength and honors convince most people, he is indeed not liked by his opponents.

Both the Knicks and the Celtics own arenas that have not been renamed since the early days of the NBA, but the Knicks have been suppressed by the Celtics for decades, and as Knicks players, they naturally don't like Celtics players.

What makes the Knicks players most upset is that the Celtics players only have the Lakers in their eyes, not them...

At 8 p.m., the game began as Ewing beat Buck Williams on the jump ball.

Celtics starting lineup: Kenny Smith, Brian Shaw, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Buck Williams.

Brian Shaw was originally chosen to be a substitute for Bird to enhance the depth of the lineup, but after Zhang Yang left, no guard good enough was willing to join the Celtics last summer. The Cardinal searched for talents everywhere but to no avail, so he had to let Brian Shaw take the starting position.

Knicks starting lineup: Mark Jackson, Gerald Wilkins, Zhang Yang, Charles Oakley, Ewing.

Zhang Yang ran to the front court and saw that it was Big Bird guarding in front of him, so he immediately asked for the ball for a singles game.

When the fans at the scene saw this scene, they cheered and shouted continuously.

They had a good relationship in private, but on the court, Big Bird approached Zhang Yang, spewing trash talk and trying to suppress him with force.

Zhang Yang took the initiative to dribble forward, turned flexibly during the confrontation, broke into the inside, went all the way to the baseline, avoided the backup defense of McHale, grabbed the ball when he was close to the baseline, turned and took a step to the right sideline of the three-second zone, jumped, and shot... The ball flew over the backup defense of Buck Williams, hit the backboard and bounced into the frame!
Big Bird followed Zhang Yang who was retreating and said, "Is my move all you can use?"

Zhang Yang: "Yeah, what's wrong? If you have any objections, don't use this trick."

Big Bird: Oh my god!

In the five regular season encounters, every time he said so, Zhang Yang had to prove that he had other tricks instead of what he was best at. Today, this kid didn't play by the rules!
When it was the Celtics' turn to attack, the first attack was also a singles play, and Bird asked for the ball.

The one guarding in front of the big bird...is not Zhang Yang, but Gerald Wilkins, who is a player from the 85 class together with Zhang Yang and Ewing.

After receiving the ball, Gerald Wilkins pressed forward and shot. Bird turned and rushed forward. His action was at least six points similar to Zhang Yang's just now.

Oakley retreated all the way to the baseline, blocking Bird's signature baseline turn and layup.

But who is Bird? He suddenly changed direction during his breakthrough and made a European step, but his hands were very good. He did not stop the ball in the middle, but just hit the ball to the landing point of his step. He grabbed the ball inside the right sideline of the three-second zone, took another step, and made a layup... but was interfered!

Zhang Yang moved closer to the baseline and flew over to block the shot. Big Bird reacted very quickly and increased his strength in his shot. The ball avoided Zhang Yang's block, but the ball hit the rim!
Big Bird tried to steal the ball, but Zhang Yang got up faster than Big Bird after landing, grabbed the defensive rebound, and turned around to counterattack!
Buck Williams did not rush for the opportunity, but retreated to lead the defense immediately, blocking Zhang Yang's fast break route. The two young wings Brian Shaw and Kenny Smith also retreated to their positions.

The fans at the scene felt sorry to see this scene and wanted to see Zhang Yang counterattack and dunk.

Just when people thought the ball was going to fall into a positional battle, Zhang Yang, who was advancing quickly, stopped suddenly outside the three-point line!

Big Bird, who had just slowed down because his teammates blocked the opponent's fast break route, was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, "This is impossible", and then he quickened his pace again and rushed towards Zhang Yang, but it was too late.

Zhang Yang chased after the three-pointer...and made it!
Knicks head coach Stu Jackson stood up from his chair when Zhang Yang shot. After seeing the ball go in, he still cursed "Fuck", then applauded and cheered loudly.

The fans at the scene were absolutely delighted, this ball was so exciting!
After landing, Zhang Yang turned around and said to Big Bird: "Larry, don't you want to see my own moves? See, do you want to learn? I'll teach you!"

Watching the evil Zhang San running towards the backcourt with shaking shoulders, Big Bird said: What the hell is there to learn? Even if I learn it, can I use this trick with my speed?

But, did the trash talk just now work? This guy doesn't use his tricks anymore?
Starting with a 5-0 lead, Zhang Yang made a three-pointer in the second ball. The Knicks' morale was higher than that of the Celtics at the start.

Bird's ability to withstand pressure is indeed strong. In the next few rounds, he initiated the offense and fought against the Knicks, preventing the Knicks from widening the score gap with a single wave at the start.

Not only that, Big Bird is constantly looking for opportunities, trying to counterattack and seize the initiative.

But what annoyed him was that Zhang San on the opposite side had just made such a wild shot, but he played so steadily afterwards!
This was different from what he had guessed just now. He thought Zhang Yang was so excited when he saw the Celtics that he made that shot.

The two sides were in a stalemate for a while, and the score difference hovered around 5 points. At 5 minutes and 36 seconds, the score was 19 to 13, and the Knicks led by 6 points. In the past 5 minutes, the Knicks only had a 1-point advantage and tied the Celtics 14 to 13. Bird led the Celtics to keep the score close.

It was the Celtics' turn to attack. Bird played a little tired at the beginning this time, with 6 points and 2 assists in half a quarter, only 7 point less than Zhang Yang's 2 points and 1 assists.

But they had to hold on. The opponent's fierce momentum at the beginning was gradually declining under his strenuous resistance. They had to wait until the official timeout, when the opponent's momentum had completely faded, to have a better chance of reversing the score.

McHale launched an attack with a low-post single, and after being double-teamed, he passed the ball to Bird who was running.

Bird received the ball and rushed forward, compressing the Knicks' defense and then passing the ball to the wing...

Brian Shaw executed the same running method as Zhang Yang, and he did run to the right position and catch the ball, but his long two-point shot missed!

Ewing was about to grab the rebound when he saw Zhang Yang rushing in from the baseline. He chose to squat to block McHale who was rushing in. Zhang Yang rushed in to grab the defensive rebound, braked, and turned around to launch a counterattack!

When sprinting to grab the rebound, Zhang Yang was a beat late in his counterattack, giving the Celtics a chance to set up a retreat formation, but he still rushed to the frontcourt.

Big Bird retreated to the free throw line and saw Zhang Yang rushing towards him. He hesitated for a moment and did not press forward directly to avoid being passed.

However, Zhang Yang stopped suddenly outside the three-point line again, and Big Bird rushed over again, cursing, but it was too late!
Zhang Yang chased after the three-pointer and shot it...hit!
Listening to the crazy cheers of the fans, watching Zhang Yang open his arms and enjoy the cheers as he retreated...

Big Bird: No way, this guy used a shot like this as a regular counterattack method?

(End of this chapter)