No.1 in basketball scoring
Chapter 233 - 124. Scared? The little rookie is even more excited!

Chapter 233: 124. Scared? The little rookie is even more excited!

Zhang Yang didn’t know that his appearance had planted a hidden bomb in the future plans of a mastermind.

On March 30, the Bobcats came to the Rutherford Town arena to challenge the Nets on their home court.

The most brutal schedule of eight consecutive games against tough opponents was finally down to the last one.

The Nets currently had a record of 45 wins and 26 losses, with 11 games left to play, securing a 50-win season easily.

After losing to the Miami Heat, the Bobcats’ record had slipped to 36 wins and 35 losses, showing a noticeable gap with their opponents.

If they lost this game, the Bobcats would fall back to a .500 winning percentage, but this time, Zhang Yang didn’t sense the same restlessness from his teammates as they had after playing back-to-back games against the Pistons and Wizards.

During the pre-game meeting in the morning, everyone was actively participating and speaking passionately under the lead of "Big Fatty," the team captain.

Although "Big Fatty" wasn’t very smart—so much so that Zhang Yang had given up on trying to lead conversations in a guiding manner—his straightforwardness indeed had a compelling appeal.

At 6 p.m., the Bobcats’ away game against the Nets began.

Okafor won the tip-off against Jason Collins and then vigorously attacked the interior, scoring 7 points from four plays at the start, including a 2+1 basket.

The last time the two teams met was at the beginning of the month, with the Bobcats losing by 9 points. At that time, Okafor had just returned from an injury, and although he had prepared well, his offensive rhythm wasn’t quite there yet, and Bickerstaff hadn’t used him as a main scoring option. However, despite the rhythm being off and not being the focal point of attack, he still scored 18 points in that game.

As the month was ending, Okafor had completely regained his feel for the game. Excluding tonight, he had averaged 16.4 points and 10.8 rebounds in the previous 15 games with a shooting percentage of 53.2%. Tonight, he opened the game by dominating the Nets’ twin towers, Nenad Krstic and Jason Collins, inside.

Jason Collins also suffered; originally unable to defend well, he was further encumbered when Krstic came over to help on defense and committed a foul during Okafor’s successful 2+1 play.

Kidd had been with the Nets for five years now, and the team’s Achilles’ heel—the frontcourt—still hadn’t improved.

This was especially true after Kenyon Martin left, leaving the Nets’ frontcourt defense even more vulnerable.

The Nets had continuously tried to bolster their lineup. In the summer of 2002, they traded Van Horn for the so-called 36-year-old Mutombo, who still had three years and 50 million US dollars left on his contract. And in the summer of 2004, after losing Kenyon Martin, they traded for the then-37-year-old Clifford Robinson. It wasn’t that they didn’t want younger players; they were willing to spend more money than other teams, but even so, potential players wouldn’t come. Didn’t you see how Martin made a fuss about leaving right after his rookie contract ended?

However, the Bobcats didn’t manage to gain a clear advantage at the start; they weren’t performing well defensively.

Despite Okafor’s effective one-on-one plays in the low post limiting the Nets’ strongest counterattacks, their defensive strategy in structured play did not work.

In the three previous encounters with the Nets, the Nets started by running cutting and passing plays, using the driving force of Richard Jefferson and Carter to first break through inside, working from the inside out, combining interior and perimeter play. Bickerstaff had prepared a targeted defense against this, deploying Melvin Ely and Okafor as twin towers to enhance the mobility on the wings.

But the Nets’ first offensive play was instead Carter driving and dishing the ball, with Kidd at the corner taking a three-point shot.

In the following three plays, it was all Carter driving; if there was a chance to attack the basket, he would take it, otherwise, he passed the ball. If he neither could attack nor pass effectively, he would pass the ball to Kidd, who moved up from the baseline to offer support, since Kidd could see more opportunities.

After four plays, the Bobcats had scored 7 points, and the Nets had made 2 out of 4 shots to score 5 points.

After the Pistons and Miami Heat, the Nets had also started to take the Bobcats seriously! Their preparations were more thorough and targeted!

It was the Bobcats’ turn to attack again. Okafor, playing in the low post, attracted a double team and passed the ball to Felton on the left corner... Felton, who had just finished helping block Jefferson’s cut, quickly went back and slapped the ball, causing a turnover... Fortunately, the ball was knocked out of bounds, the referee blew the whistle, pointing to the sideline, Bobcats ball on their frontcourt.

Bickerstaff made an immediate decision to substitute, sending Zhang Yang in to replace Karim Rush.

This time, the substitution was a bit early, only about two minutes into the game.

Zhang Yang immediately stood up, took off his warm-up suit, high-fived the substituting Karim Rush, and walked onto the court, ready for action!

The home fans gave Zhang Yang a fierce chorus of boos, which were even louder than when Okafor scored the 2+1 earlier.

The reason, well, the Nets’ fans felt that Zhang Yang had robbed Carter of the All-Star game starter spot, even though Carter was only fourth in the guard position voting...

Zhang Yang also felt Carter’s hostile gaze.

All the top guards are petty, how long has it been? Zhang San still wanted to trade places with the opponent to be an All-Star reserve, but the coaches wouldn’t choose him, he could only be a starter.

The Nets also made a substitution, replacing Krstic with the iron man, Clifford Robinson.

The Bobcats continued their offense with only 9 seconds left on the shot clock. Felton received the ball and immediately initiated an attack. Despite the urgency, he was organized; his crossover and sudden burst perfectly aligned with Okafor coming up, a seamless collaboration.

The two didn’t use tactical gestures, and Kidd didn’t notice Okafor coming out, getting solidly screened.

But Kidd reacted quickly, immediately switching with Clifford Robinson, who had stepped out to defend the pick-and-roll.