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Chapter 326 - 157. The Precursor of Ailurophobia_3

Chapter 326: 157. The Precursor of Ailurophobia_3

Knight’s starting lineup: Snow, Larry Hughes, James, Gooden, Big Z.

Bobcats’ starting lineup: Felton, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, Okafor, Perkins.

The Bobcats made a mistake on their first offense!

Felton got past Snow who was guarding him and charged into the paint, encountered a double team, and when he was about to pass to the cutting Zhang Yang or Gerald Wallace, he was intercepted by Larry Hughes!

Hughes led the counterattack, and James closely followed with a fast cut to catch the ball and dunked it for two points!

In the opening round, the Knights took the initiative.

The Bobcats were well-prepared for the game, but the losing side always manages to come up with more variations.

Mike Brown’s defensive system, centered around Snow, Hughes, and Big Z, had become more refined, Gooden was the same as ever, but James had improved a lot defensively over the summer!

James did a great job tonight on his off-ball movement against Zhang Yang, staying focused and seldom getting faked out while cutting and navigating screens.

The Knights’ defense was exceptionally good at the start!

On the offensive end, when James had the ball, he still drew a lot of attention, and in the first quarter, in several drives where he didn’t pass, he went 1 for 3, plus one turnover from being stripped by Felton.

However, when Hughes had the ball, James coordinated very well, timing his cuts to the wing and playing simple basketball to perfection.

James’s choices of routes in the fast breaks were also better. He actually only scored once in the opening break, but his better route choices helped create better opportunities for Hughes and the following Gooden. This change was most notable—he wasn’t obsessed with being the ’beneficiary’ in breaks like last season, but rather a ’contributor,’ something he hadn’t done in his first three years of his career.

James improved greatly on both offense and defense, and the Knights’ style of play was very different compared to last season. At the end of the first quarter, the Knights led the Bobcats by 11 points, 28 to 17!

With the final 12 seconds remaining, Felton received the inbound pass and quickly advanced to the frontcourt, passing to Zhang Yang at the high post.

Zhang Yang caught the ball, leaned into James, turned around... gathered, stepped back, and shot...

James took a half step back as Zhang Yang turned around, and as Zhang Yang gathered and stepped back, James immediately closed in... and fouled!

As Zhang Yang was stepping back, James, with his hands raised, collided with him, and Zhang Yang, having released the ball before the collision... suffered from reacting too quickly and taking off too fast!

Accompanied by the referee’s whistle, Zhang Yang’s turnaround back-to-basket step-back jump shot went in, and he also secured an additional free throw!

After Zhang Yang made the free throw, the Knights did not take a shot in the last 2.3 seconds.

At the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats, with Zhang Yang’s last-second 2+1, closed the gap to 20-28, without falling too far behind.

During the intermission, Zhang Yang reflected on the first quarter.

He rested 4 minutes before and after the official timeout, played for 8 minutes, scored 2 out of his 4 shots, and with 1 made free throw out of 1, he got 5 points—not bad, not great.

James’s changes surprised him. His score from attacks with the ball was only 1 out of 3, but for other offensive plays he went 2 for 4, plus 2 out of 3 free throws for a total of 8 points—a field goal percentage of 42.8% for the quarter which was his best in their encounters yet.

He remembered James starting to play in such an offensive way during the lockout season, and his defense also began to strengthen after he was forced to guard Bowen in 2007... But the James he was facing now had already started to adjust his game style, and he might become more and more difficult to deal with in the future!

However, seeing Bickerstaff’s calm demeanor, it seemed like he might have a solution...

After the intermission ended and after going over the tactical adjustments, Zhang Yang, smacking his lips, stepped back onto the court.

Joining him on the court were Felton, Rondo, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor, with Zhang Yang taking the small forward position.

He was registered with the league as 195 cm tall, but in fact, he looked slightly taller than Hughes who claimed to be 196 cm. Occasionally playing as a small forward wasn’t a problem, since it was Felton guarding James anyway.

The Knights fielded Damon Jones, Hughes, James, Varejao, and Gooden.

The second quarter began, with James advancing to the frontcourt and passing to Hughes.

This season, when James and Hughes were on the court together, the number of times James initiated the offense in set plays was much less than last season, especially tonight, with just a handful of occasions in the first quarter.

The humiliation of last season’s playoffs forced him to change.

Hughes went one-on-one against Rondo, driving in!

Using his bigger frame and stronger power, Hughes successfully penetrated the paint... but couldn’t pass the ball!

Rondo wasn’t shaken off; he stayed on the left side of Hughes’ body, cutting off Hughes’ passing route to Damon Jones at the high post.

Gerald Wallace and Zhang Yang cut off the middle, Felton closely followed James’ steps... Hughes was forced to take a shot against Okafor’s help defense... and missed!

Rondo, beating the charging James to it, grabbed the defensive rebound... and immediately threw it out beyond the three-point line.

Zhang Yang pushed the counterattack, faked a pass against Damon Jones who chased back into the opposing paint drawing Jones toward the other cutting Gerald Wallace, and finished with a lay-up after taking three steps!

James had already discovered the joy of ’simple basketball,’ knowing how to use Larry Hughes’ slashing and playmaking abilities, and was willing to play that way now.

Hughes has averaged 15.5 points, 3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists up to this point in the season, a career-high in average assists, and having the ball rights resolved last season’s frustration and dissatisfaction, at least for the time being.

But while the two of them had the awareness and willingness to play in such a manner, Knight’s coaching staff struggled with offensive coordination.