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Chapter 213: Table 118 is ready!

Chapter 213: Table 118 is ready!

His technique hadn’t improved, but Zhang Yang felt as if he could pinpoint more clearly the ball’s position when he made a move, when he dribbled... The sensation was quite subtle, and it seemed to him that it should indeed be like this.

Dribbling to shoot, also known as pull-up shooting, ’dribbling’ is no less important than ’shooting’.

With an improved sense of rhythm in handling the ball, not only could he learn and master dribbling offensive techniques more smoothly, but it also greatly aided the moment he took actual shots. Zhang Yang had felt this when the ’Son of the Wind Ball Handling Rhythm Beginner’ took effect.

Now he thought about it, perhaps it could also help raise the ceiling of his dribbling offensive skills?

Zhang Yang tried to dribble the full court, and this time the feeling was even more pronounced. His control over the ball got better, and his speed had slightly increased!

A player with the same speed and ball control, when advancing with the ball at top speed, still showed some difference, and that difference might just lie in this!

Having received his reward, Zhang Yang felt doubly pleased and continued to shoot, continued to miss!

The new mission had already arrived, a regular task of 80,000 shooting value, rewarded with a random shooting talent +1. This time, the bonus mission required only 20,000 shooting value, which made him both happy and regretful.

He was pleased because this time ’talent grinding’ would be faster, a total of 100,000 shooting value. With most of the upcoming games being home matches, it would take just over a month to complete. However, he had been looking forward to a task that would enhance his rhythm sense to arrive sooner...

After back-to-back games and a two-day rest, the Bobcats were greeted with a five-game home stand.

During the first half of the season, they ’enjoyed’ three instances of at least five consecutive away games. In the 30 regular-season games of the second half, they only had 10 away games. The tables had turned for what was worth.

After several consecutive games against playoff-caliber teams, this five-game home stand began with the Bobcats facing three bottom-dwelling opponents.

On March 8th, the Bobcats were set to play a home game against the Knicks Team.

Upon entering, Zhang Yang was taken aback by the group of players on the opposite side.

After the All-Star weekend, the Knicks Team had made a series of trades. Under the 2005 collective bargaining agreement trading rules, the salaries of the traded players didn’t have to match exactly. Depending on the players’ salaries, the difference could vary between 5% and 20%. The Knicks Team managed to set a new NBA record for total salaries in a single season, reaching a staggering 126 million US dollars.

The salary cap for this season was 49.5 million US dollars. Any amount exceeding 62.58 million US dollars was subject to luxury tax. The total expenditure for the Knicks Team’s players and coaching staff exceeded 200 million US dollars for the season.

The salary expenditure of the Knicks Team was higher than the season’s total revenue of all other teams except the Lakers and Rockets, and it was even projected to profit over 50 million US dollars...

Such monumental salary spending amassed the Knicks Team with a stash of very well-known players.

Point Guard: Starter Stephen Marbury, backup Francis, third choice Nate Robinson.

Shooting Guard: Starter Big Q, backup Jamal Crawford, third choice Quintell Woods.

Small Forward: Starter Jalen Rose, backup Malik Rose, third choice Anfernee Hardaway.

Power Forward: Starter Antonio Davis, backup David Lee, third choice Morris Taylor.

Center: Starter Eddie Curry, backup Channing Frye, third choice Jerome Williams.

The morning after the end of the All-Star weekend, when Yao Ming invited Zhang Yang’s family for a meal, they talked about the Knicks Team’s trades. Mentioning the Knicks Team’s lineup, just the second and third string players made Yao Ming feel incredibly envious.

That was because Morris Taylor, a power forward who couldn’t get game time with the Knicks Team, was the best partner Yao Ming had ever had in his position. Yet, due to his high annual salary, he was let go by the Rockets.

However, when all these people were put together... the Knicks Team currently stood at 18 wins and 42 losses, last in the Eastern Conference, competing with the former league’s highest-paid team, the Trail Blazers, reflecting each other across both conferences, vying for the last place.

Even the Toronto Raptors, desperate to lose, couldn’t outdo these two teams.

At 7 p.m., the game started.

The Knicks Team’s offense was actually not bad. Their 12 main players, even without coordination, just taking turns to play one-on-one, could still score an average of 97 points per game, slightly above the league average. Of course, there was also the fact that their opponents didn’t take them too seriously on defense.

But their defense was atrocious... Four minutes and eleven seconds into the first quarter, Zhang Yang came off the bench for his first attack, blowing past Jamal Crawford with one step, and as he drove into the paint, he was worried that Eddie Curry might bump him. However, Curry just stood outside the paint watching him make a floater, not even trying to contest the rebound.

After that first attack, Zhang Yang’s approach to offensive plays in set positions for the night changed from playing one-on-one or running to catch and shoot to various cuts while remaining in the line of sight of his ball-handling teammates.

The best defender on the Knicks Team was their point guard, Stephen Marbury.

The few men in the paint, Eddie Curry on a good day might stretch out a hand or move up to block someone, but with the season of Rainwater in play, Charlotte rained every day, and Curry was not in the mood to exert himself tonight.

Antonio Davis was quite active, but he had to guard Okafor’s mid-range shots and also help defend against the larger threat of Gerald Wallace...

David Lee and Channing Frye were moderately enthusiastic about defense, but their defensive capabilities were lacking.

Jerome Williams, nicknamed for having the worst contract in history, represented the Sonics in the playoffs during a contract year. In 11 games, he averaged 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks, including, in the first round against the Kings, averages of 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. The Knicks Team couldn’t wait to offer him a 5-year, 33 million US dollar juicy contract. By the Knicks Team’s reporting day last September, he weighed nearly 140 kilograms, barely able to play 10 minutes per game without sweating profusely, gasping for air as if he were about to expire.