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Chapter 268: At the critical moment, you can always trust Zhang San!_3

Chapter 268: At the critical moment, you can always trust Zhang San!_3

Although they were prepared to fight to the end, they were also exhausted from tonight’s battle, which was why Bickerstaff rested Okafor and Gerald Wallace at the same time.

There was something that Zhang Yang found puzzling. Just now, it was Brezec defending the basket. James could have easily scored on these last two attacks just with footwork, or even without it, simply overpowering Felton and Brezec would have likely resulted in a score. So why insist on drawing fouls?

Forcing Perkins to the bench was advantageous for James, but Brezec’s presence on the court and Okafor’s absence should have been favorable circumstances for James...

Just before the timeout ended, Zhang Yang shared his confusion with one of the rare team members who had already acquired a bachelor’s degree.

Okafor replied with a term: "Path dependence."

Zhang Yang suddenly understood.

He had kept up with the news before entering the NBA.

The earliest version of James wasn’t like this; in his rookie year, he frequently stumbled and was criticized for his lack of a jump shot. During the first off-season, James worked hard on his footwork and three-pointers. In the summer of ’04, there was frequent news of James diligently practicing fundamentals, especially during the Athens Olympics, almost every day the media highlighted how hardworking James was.

In November ’04, James’s three-point-shooting percentage rose from 29% in his rookie year to 37%, with an average of 1.7 three-pointers per game. ESPN heavily promoted this, saying his three-point talent was better than Jordan’s, and his attacking footwork had also visibly improved.

The turning point came in January ’05. Along with the renewal of the collective bargaining agreement, the league changed some rules, one of which was the legalization of a two-step layup following a jump stop... After that, James changed. By the end of the ’04-’05 season, James’s three-point percentage had fallen to 35%, and his average three-pointers made dropped to 1.4 per game.

If he could score easily inside, why bother with footwork? Why practice three-pointers?

Zhang Yang thought of a term—’infantilism.’

He knew that James wasn’t without talent in footwork or three-point shooting. After Decision 1.0, James lost many of his privileges. In the ’10-’11 season, his average turnovers hit a career high. After spending a summer working on it, he got his footwork right, and by the ’11-’12 season traveling was no longer a point of attack against him. The league also re-banned the ’new three-step rule,’ and by the ’12-’13 season, he had developed his three-point shot, achieving a 40% success rate.

Okafor didn’t know what the future James would be like, but he paid close attention to this new generation leader, drawing the conclusion of ’path dependence’ from the changes in James’s style of play during the first three years of his career.

Seeing that Zhang Yang immediately understood, Okafor was satisfied. It was easy to talk to a smart person.

But Felton, who was standing aside, didn’t understand and asked, "What does path dependence mean?"

Zhang Yang, "It’s complicated, let’s talk after the game."

Felton, hearing it was complicated, lost interest and replied, "Then let’s focus on the game first."

Okafor: "..."

...

The Knights also made a substitution, bringing in the lineup of Snow, Hughes, James, Varejao, and Gooden.

Mike Brown might not understand offense or be good at strategic adaptation, but he wasn’t foolish. When the referees’ calls favored the offense, he naturally surrounded James with shooters.

Now he thought the referees might not blow the whistle as often, and judging that the Bobcats might take the opportunity to play tough defense, he naturally followed suit.

After the timeout, the game continued, and the two teams suddenly shifted from a shootout to a brutal battle!

James tested ’drawing fouls’ again but still didn’t get the calls.

This time, he didn’t react with frustration like before; the loss of the whistle had been too sudden, and without his ’lifeline,’ he couldn’t accept it momentarily.

During the timeout, he had calmed down, knowing there was no time for complaints, he had to fight!

Just now was a test, and after confirming there were no whistles coming, James changed his style of play. Going up against Brezec and Jumaine Jones inside was still manageable, but with Perkins defending the basket, Okafor helping, Gerald Wallace closing in, and Felton playing tough... he really couldn’t manage it. He passed the ball to Larry Hughes and focused on making runs and attacking the basket.

Originally this was a reluctant move, but after playing a few plays, he surprisingly found it effective!

His physical condition was too good. Charging and cutting to cooperate, going for offensive rebounds, he was just too naturally gifted for it, and there were very few in the entire league as talented as him in this regard.

Just as he earlier clung to ’drawing fouls’ like a lifeline, seeing that a change in play style was effective, he found a new ’straw’ to grab on to and played with even more desperation.

James had never played like this before; needless to say, during his student days, and even in the first two years in the NBA when he held the ball, after Hughes arrived and took over part of the ball-handling, he would just stand outside the three-point line, waiting for the pass when Hughes was attacking...

People, only in desperate situations, do they realize it’s time to think of ways to improve.

Hughes had been full of complaints about James, but seeing his aggressive cuts and the scramble for rebounds, he too started to lead the team with desperate attacks, together taking on Gerald Wallace, Okafor, and Perkins’s front court.

On the Bobcats’ side, facing the counterattack initiated by Hughes and James, they showed no signs of backing down, fighting desperately to maintain their lead.

The score didn’t climb quickly. On the Knights’ side, they depended mostly on Hughes’s drives for points, and James’s cuts to the basket or second-chance points from offensive rebounds.

On the Bobcats’ side, they mainly relied on Gerald Wallace and Okafor using Felton’s wing distractions, and Zhang Yang’s high-position pulls to score.