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Chapter 347 - 164. Bad boy Zhang San doesn’t hold grudges overnight!_3

Chapter 347: 164. Bad boy Zhang San doesn’t hold grudges overnight!_3

Although assistant coaches leaving for head coaching positions at other teams is generally unchecked by the head coach, championship-contending teams like theirs usually try to retain them, believing in his irreplaceable importance within the Suns’ coaching staff.

Unable to figure it out, he stopped thinking about it, and Gentry focused on strategizing during the halftime break.

...

When people mention the Lakers, they think of the "Zen Master"; when they mention the Celtics, they think of the "Archbishop"; and when they mention the Jazz Team, they think of Sloan... D’Antoni naturally also wanted to earn such distinction by coaching a team long enough to achieve great success.

If Gentry truly decided to leave, he couldn’t stop him, so why not help out? If Gentry ended up with the Bobcats, and years later if Zhang Yang ever wanted to leave the small town of Charlotte, perhaps this relationship could be used to bring him back.

Though D’Antoni thought the idea voiced by Nash was unlikely, making a move just in case was still a good strategy.

After the halftime break, the third quarter began.

The Suns fielded Nash, Raja Bell, Marion, Diaw, and Kurt Thomas.

The Bobcats fielded Rondo, Felton, Alan Anderson, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor.

Bickerstaff prepared to continue the fast-paced gameplay, starting with Rondo controlling the game in the first half.

In aspects such as controlling the fast-break rhythm and timing the passes, rookie Rondo couldn’t match Zhang Yang, but to play against the Suns, they didn’t need that much sophistication. Rondo’s speed was quite effective; they had experimented in the second quarter with Rondo advancing while Zhang Yang and Gerald Wallace sprinted, and Matt Carroll also played well in support.

But the unexpected happened; the Suns surprisingly shifted to defensive play in the third quarter!

Raja Bell defended the arc, Diaw situated under the basket and moved in front of Okafor, Marion blocked the strong side cuts, and Kurt Thomas helped protect the rim, Diaw’s defense was up to par, and the others defended with a three-on-one...the Suns’ defense had sharply improved!

The most significant improvements in the Suns’ defense were the speed of falling back and their positioning under the direction of Kurt Thomas; the Suns always managed to suppress the Bobcats’ counterattacks, compelling them to play a settled game.

The Bobcats, ready for a running game, were caught off guard and performed mediocrely in the positional battle.

In this lineup of the Suns, despite the offensive efficiency not being as good as when Barbosa and Stoudemire were present, it was slightly better than the Bobcats’, and they could still counterattack!

Whenever they defended the Bobcats’ offense successfully, Nash and Marion counterattacked with both lines; although the striking power wasn’t as strong as the strongest counterattack combination of Nash + Barbosa + Marion + Stoudemire, it was still hard to defend.

Though the offensive efficiency of this Suns’ lineup wasn’t as good as their strongest lineup, they managed to drag down the offensive performance of the Bobcats even more!

Bickerstaff reacted quite quickly; after being outscored 8-4, he substituted Rondo and Alan Anderson, bringing in Matt Carroll and Muhammad to enhance perimeter shooting, giving Felton, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor better chances for one-on-one plays, and to strengthen rim protection.

But the Suns took the initiative and gained the upper hand on the scoreboard; Bickerstaff’s substitutions still left the Bobcats at a disadvantage, scoring only 6 points in over 3 minutes, while the Suns added another 8 points.

Halfway through the third quarter, the Suns overtook the Bobcats by 5 points, leading 80-75!

During the official timeout, Randy Brown exclaimed, "I didn’t expect them to switch to positional defense and counterattack, and they defend quite well. Bernie, you’re lucky you’re seasoned and made effective adjustments in time, preventing them from widening the lead...Since when could D’Antoni defend?"

Bickerstaff: "I’m just a bit older and more experienced, knowing not to panic, but it’s not that D’Antoni can defend now, look at the other side."

Upon hearing this, Randy Brown looked towards the opposite bench, where someone was busily scribbling on a tactic board, which then seemed normal.

Gentry, the chief assistant coach from the Spurs during the Larry Brown era and mixed with Doug Collins in the late ’90s, though there were rumors that Gentry heavily disliked Larry Brown’s coaching style, years of exposure had definitely enhanced his defensive coaching capabilities beyond that of D’Antoni.

Randy Brown: "Gentry’s move is hard to counter, with their lineup, even if they can’t defend well, they can immediately switch to a quick attack. However, their one-on-one defense in the paint is weak; we can let Emeka take the lead in the attack."

Bickerstaff: "We should indeed let Emeka attack, but not make him the main attacker..."

...

The timeout ended, and both teams’ players took to the court.

The Suns continued with Nash, Raja Bell, Marion, and Kurt Thomas, with Stoudemire replacing another inside player.

Felton, Zhang Yang, Carroll, Gerald Wallace, Okafor...D’Antoni, seeing the opponent’s lineup with plenty of space, felt secure.

While discussing with Gentry earlier, he speculated that the opponent would let Okafor play low and pass the ball out, guessing Randy Brown’s thoughts and preparing to defend against low post plays.

But they guessed wrong!

When the game resumed, Felton made a cross-step penetration, pushing past Nash to the inside, then passed the ball...Zhang Yang on the wing used Okafor’s screen to receive the ball on the left baseline and scored with a mid-range shot!

Gentry’s defensive plan fell through!

The Suns’ turn to attack: the Bobcats double-teamed Nash after he used a screen, guarded the basket closely, kept close to Raja Bell, let Marion and Kurt Thomas take mid-range shots, clear in their targets, betting on Marion and Kurt Thomas missing. If they scored, Bickerstaff had no remedy.