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Chapter 331 - 159. How difficult is it to take first place?_2

Chapter 331: 159. How difficult is it to take first place?_2

Hill wanted to transform into a playmaking forward, which overlapped with Turkoglu’s movement routes. When Turkoglu played off-ball, he was forced to position himself on the sideline to make room for Hill.

These issues were mainly a matter of Coach Brian Hill’s capability. The coach failed to keep up with the times. After the NBA entered the NHC era, he didn’t utilize the offensive end rules that opponents could not handle well and defensively, he didn’t know how to deal with the opponent’s exploitation of the NHC rules.

The Magic team easily beat weaker Eastern teams by relying on their stars’ individual skills. Since most of their opponents had a winning percentage below fifty percent since the start of the season, they managed well, but they struggled against slightly stronger opponents, especially those with strong interior defense... Zhang Yang looked towards his own frontcourt players.

He had only thought about using this frontcourt group effectively against number 23; he forgot about the beast...

At 7 p.m., once the game started, the beast found himself in a difficult situation with men on either side. He wanted to struggle, but Perkins, who was very big and strong, severely hindered him.

Defensively, the forward Grant Hill didn’t dare to defend, and although he worked hard following shooters, he didn’t dare to confront Gerald Wallace; Felton, using screens to rush in, and Turkoglu or Tony Battie, who couldn’t keep up with pick and rolls; also had to watch out for a certain 18-year-old younger brother who had dunked over the big men... Howard could only squat under the basket, watching helplessly as Okafor, after breaking away, took mid-range shots and ate up Turkoglu or Tony Battie in one-on-one close-range turn-around shots.

Bickerstaff’s tactical arrangements exploited the weaknesses of the Magic on both ends of the court, and the Bobcats dominated the game from the start.

Okafor had his best game of the new season. Although he only scored 28 points, not setting a new season high, he made 11 of 15 field goals, along with 6 of 10 free throws, completely shutting down Turkoglu and Tony Battie.

Zhang Yang played 26 minutes, made 5 of 11 shots, including 2 of 6 three-pointers, and made all 4 of his free throws, totaling 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one block, sneakily slipping behind and slapping the ball from the beast who had grabbed an offensive rebound.

Together with Gerald Wallace’s 16 points, Felton’s 10 points and 10 assists, Matt Carroll’s 12 points, Herrmann’s 10 points... the Bobcats easily defeated the Magic 102 to 91, improving their record to 9 wins and 2 losses.

Beast had a tough night being bullied by a group of big, strong men; even the 18-year-old younger brother shot him from behind. He made only 2 of 10 attempts, added with 4 of 8 free throws, scoring just 8 points.

However, Howard truly dominated the rebounds, grabbing 14 in such circumstances, with 11 of them being defensive.

Although not as remarkable as he would be two years later, he had already begun to show his talent for defending the entire near-basket and under-the-basket area single-handedly.

Other players for Magic, Turkoglu scored 16 points, grabbed 4 boards, and had 4 assists; Nelson had 14 points and 6 assists; Hill had 12 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists; Arroyo had 14 points; Kenyon Dooling had 9 points; Ariza had 8 points... Zhang Yang saw the data on the big screen and realized that this team was indeed full of talent. They weren’t just talented; most had turned their potential into strength, but the coach was holding them back.

...

After playing the Magic, the next evening, the Bobcats arrived at Philips Arena in Atlanta, narrowly defeating the Hawks 99 to 92 back-to-back.

Felton scored 21 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and made 3 assists; Okafor tallied 21 points and 17 boards, both greatly outplaying their opponents’ guards and big men.

Zhang Yang struggled in the mid-range, scoring quickly at the start with no one covering him, making two shots. Then he received the ball at mid-range and adopted what looked like a textbook triple-threat stance; the opponents double-teamed him immediately. His court time reached a new high this season with 37 minutes, yet he scored only 17 points, along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Tonight, 11 players for the Bobcats scored, and Rondo had the highest score among them!

He went 3 for 4 from the field and made 2 of 4 free throws, recording 8 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals, putting on an excellent performance.

Having won back-to-back, the Bobcats improved their record to 10 wins and 2 losses, achieving double-digit wins in a month for the first time in franchise history!

However, this victory cast a shadow over the Bobcats’ upcoming games.

The game was so close, partly because it was back-to-back and partly because Gerald Wallace was injured!

Zhang Yang, Felton, and Okafor all played over 35 minutes purely because the prince had to return to the locker room due to his injury.

Josh Smith, after the start of the second quarter, stole the ball from Gerald Wallace trying to counterattack alone.

Wallace chased him the entire court and just as Smith was about to dunk the ball, Wallace slapped it out of bounds with a formidable block.

The block was incredibly aggressive, but Wallace charged too hard and fell out of bounds, injuring his arm.

Luckily, after a post-game medical check, it was found that Wallace only suffered muscle contusions from landing on his buttocks, and his arm was merely twisted upon landing without any joint damage.

To be safe, the day after playing the Hawks, as the Bobcats headed to their next away game, Bickerstaff did not bring Gerald Wallace, allowing him to return to Charlotte to recover.

On the flight to Detroit, Zhang Yang stared at the clouds outside the window, worried. The trip up north already posed a high difficulty, and now it had gotten even harder.

On a brighter note, Gerald Wallace’s physical condition was truly excellent; such an intense play, and he had only twisted his arm.