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Chapter 244 - 128. Challenge the answer one-on-one!

Chapter 244: 128. Challenge the answer one-on-one!

On April 14, the Bobcats welcomed the 76ers at their home court.

At 6:40 p.m., after both teams entered the court, Zhang Yang went to take a photo with Iverson; Felton, Alan Anderson, Gerald Wallace, and even Okafor... all ran to take a photo with Iverson.

Zhang Yang just wanted to have a keepsake photo with Iverson in his last peak year.

He remembered that by the next season, Iverson would choose to leave the 76ers, parting amicably. The 76ers’ management only wanted Andre Miller at that time. Iverson was averaging 31 points and 7 assists, having been selected for the All-NBA Team the prior season, while Andre Miller averaged 13 points and 9 assists, and Iverson was only nine months older than Miller... It was almost like giving Iverson away to the team he wanted to go to without asking for anything in return.

The current owner of the 76ers was quite humane; in 2009, when Iverson had no team wanting him, his statement "I would rather die than play as a substitute," discouraged all teams that wanted to use him to sell tickets. But at that time, having already chosen Jrue Holiday to build around, the 76ers once again chose to welcome Iverson, giving him a one-year contract so he could retire with his original team, shifting Holiday and Iguodala to the shooting guard and small forward positions respectively to make room for Iverson... until 2011, when a Hollywood entertainment investment group bought the 76ers, and the team was never the same again.

Zhang Yang’s teammates were so enthusiastic about Iverson, including Okafor... Zhang Yang recalled that the previous matchups were similar, except Okafor, his expressionless teammate, wasn’t there, which didn’t make as big of an impression on him.

Iverson’s influence among black players was even greater than Zhang Yang had imagined.

Most superstars had rivals or teammates speaking ill of them, but in Iverson’s case, Zhang Yang didn’t seem to see any players speaking badly about him.

He recalled the list Kobe put out at his retirement of the toughest opponents he faced, with Iverson ranked first.

At 7 p.m., the game started.

Midway through the first quarter, the score was 12-9; the Bobcats led by 3 points going into an official timeout.

The teams clearly differed in strength, with the Bobcats executing what they wanted from the start—defense.

The score was low, partly because Karim Rush, starting tonight, missed two three-pointers from passes he received.

Role players only get so many chances. After Karim Rush missed his second shot, he was replaced by Keith Bogans the next dead ball.

Zhang Yang didn’t replace Karim Rush because Bickerstaff’s goal from the start was to ramp up the defensive intensity.

After the official timeout, Zhang Yang entered the game, along with Felton, Gerald Wallace, Jumaine Jones, and Okafor.

Before the timeout, it was the 76ers’ possession and their pass went out of bounds, giving the Bobcats the offensive turn.

Felton, very tired from guarding Iverson, immediately passed to Zhang Yang on the right of the top arc after receiving the inbound at midcourt.

Iguodala, standing inside the three-point line, immediately pressed up on Zhang Yang... who turned and got past him!

Dalembert was drawn to the corner by Jumaine Jones and couldn’t recover in time, the pursuing Iguodala expected Chris Webber... an expectation that was quickly extinguished.

Iguodala, expressionless, watched as Zhang Yang drove into the paint and slammed home two points while Webber stood beyond the three-point line, merely stretching out his hand without moving his feet.

Iguodala expressionlessly took the ball from Webber and pushed forward.

Last season, his rookie year, when he heard the team traded role players Kenny Thomas and Collis Williams for Chris Webber, he was so excited he jumped up.

But after the first game together, he was shocked—is this the same superstar power forward who once outshone Garnett and Duncan to make the first team? He even performed worse than Kenny Thomas, whom their fans previously complained about!

Back then, Iguodala still held a little hope, thinking Webber had just arrived and it was already the latter half of the season, maybe he was just not accustomed.

But not long into the new season, Iguodala gave up his illusions and accepted reality.

So far this season, Webber averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, which looked impressive, but his shooting percentage was 43%, and his shooting percentage in the paint was 56%, poor stats for a power forward! Even Iverson had a higher shooting percentage in the paint than Webber, and Iverson took even more shots there.

Offensively, there was nothing to do; although Webber was not up to par, he was still better than any other power forwards in the team, at least being able to take a lot of shots.

But defensively... by the midseason, Webber was ranked the worst starting power forward among all 30 teams, even Lewis, always criticized for his defense, was better than Webber—at least he tried.

They even listed a statistic; before the All-Star break, Webber missed five games and the 76ers won three of them. With Webber, the 76ers had a win rate of just 40%.

In stark contrast with Nash and O’Neal.

Back then, the 76ers wanted to trade Webber for a first-round pick but found no takers; their owner could only help facilitate the Knicks team by promoting a ’buyout that does not count against the cap’ clause. For the next two years, the 76ers’ payroll would be over 80 million US dollars, with Webber taking up a quarter of it. His salary was 3 million more than Iverson’s. If they could just get rid of Webber’s contract, through trade or a ’harmless buyout,’ their budget would become more flexible.

The once-glamorous core of the Kings had transformed into what it was today; Iguodala felt a deep sigh.

The OK duo and Duncan wrote the first half of the NBA’s history in the 21st century, and Webber was one of those who were crushed by history’s wheels.

As the season was about to end, seeing Webber’s defense, Iguodala didn’t even bother to be angry anymore.