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Chapter 355 - 166. Jordan: Is this what I mean by shooting well? _4

Chapter 355: 166. Jordan: Is this what I mean by shooting well? _4

In the West, the Mavericks, who had once dropped to third in the conference, went on a winning streak after mid-December and returned to the top of the league with a record of 21 wins and 6 losses. The second-place Spurs were at 20 wins and 7 losses, followed by the Suns with 19 wins and 8 losses, and the Jazz Team at 16 wins and 11 losses. The Rockets had 17 wins and 10 losses, but because they were in the same division as the Mavericks and Spurs, they could only rank fifth. The sixth to eighth slots were held by the Lakers, Warriors, and Clippers, all with 15 wins and 12 losses.

Having played only 27 games, Zhang Yang had already noticed the disparity in strength between the Eastern and Western Conferences. The West might need 45 wins to compete for a playoff berth, while the teams beyond the top five in the East might not even reach a winning percentage of fifty percent, and that included the Nets.

The Rockets, only ranking third in the Southwest Division, looked like they could vie for the top spot if they were in the East.

However, this was quite advantageous for his Bobcats, who were still in their developmental stage. If they had been in the West, they wouldn’t have been concerned about their rankings, as their record of 18 wins and 9 losses would definitely not have been attainable.

...

On December 26th, the NBA’s 06-07 regular season entered its midterm phase.

The All-Star weekend voting also officially kicked off.

Because last night’s Christmas battle was hardly worth discussing, fans shifted their focus to the All-Star voting.

One of the hot topics: who between Okafor and Gerald Wallace would make the All-Star starting lineup?

This topic left three of the Bobcats’ four core players quite frustrated.

Felton was frustrated because the All-Star start certainly had nothing to do with him, even with Iverson moving to the West, there was still competition from Wade and Carter for the other slot.

Okafor and Gerald Wallace were frustrated because they were both placed in the forward position. James was sure to occupy one spot, which meant one of them was destined to miss out on the starting lineup.

Zhang Yang didn’t care about this. When he discussed the All-Star starters with his mother yesterday, he had guessed that his two teammates who were eligible for the All-Star voting would be placed in the forward position to ensure the league would avoid three starters from the same team.

O’Neal had only played 10 games this season, averaging 14 points and 6 rebounds, and two months into the season, his weight was still a whopping 160+ kilograms, which might not be enough to compete with Okafor, who had the Chinese market’s voting boost.

Moreover, Okafor’s popularity in the United States had surged this season. Playing in every game so far, he averaged 19.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks over 27 games. Although he didn’t maintain an average of 20+10, he was still the best-performing center in the East, topping Howard, who was still developing, by a wide margin.

Nonetheless, Zhang Yang felt the impact this situation had on the team—they might be heading for internal competition!

Okafor and Gerald Wallace were not the types to give way to each other when it came to honors.

Let the competition unroll; progress comes from competition!

Come evening, the Bobcats faced their first game of the midseason at home against the Magic.

Okafor played fiercely tonight, making 7 of 12 shots, plus 8 of 12 free throws, scoring 22 points and 13 rebounds, sending Howard off with six fouls.

Howard’s defense involved a lot of petty fouls, which were not only dirty but also made him quite unpopular with the referees. In just his third year, he already dominated the foul charts.

Okafor got 8 of his 12 free throw attempts from fouls by Howard, who was ejected at the start of the fourth quarter after reaching six fouls.

Gerald Wallace didn’t score as much as Okafor, hitting 6 of 12 shots and 3 of 4 free throws for 15 points, but he also grabbed 7 rebounds and contributed 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks, showcasing a well-rounded performance.

Felton did very well with 20 points and 6 assists, which was an improvement from the last time they played against the Magic.

Zhang Yang... was quite wild tonight!

In 31 minutes, he was 9 for 23 shooting, including 0 for 3 from three-point land, and perfect from the free-throw line with 7 for 7, notching up 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Thankfully, his misses did not affect the team’s victory, which was secured by the outstanding performances of Okafor, Gerald Wallace, Felton, Matt Carroll, and Rondo. The Bobcats handily defeated the Magic 101 to 89 to claim their first win of the midseason.

On the 27th, the Bobcats had a back-to-back home game against the Wizards.

The Bobcats were ready to engage in a high-scoring duel with their opponents.

The Wizards’ The Big Three were shooting fiercely, especially Arenas, who was incredibly aggressive. Not long ago, he had a scoring duel with Kobe, and even Kobe couldn’t outshoot him!

That night, Arenas scored 60 points in overtime, breaking the season’s single-game highest score record of 58 points set by Kobe against the Bobcats, while Kobe only scored 45 points.

The game was played in Los Angeles, and as a result, Houston’s Yao Ming got caught in the crossfire.

The next day, the Lakers went to Houston to play, and Kobe scored 53 points in double overtime, exhausting both Yao Ming and McGrady with sheer physical endurance and venting his frustration fiercely.

However, this evening, Arenas pulled up short: making only 6 of 22 shots, including 0 of 6 three-pointers, plus 4 of 4 free throws, he scored only 16 points.

Arenas faltered, and both Jamison and Butler were the type to add icing on the cake, incapable of carrying the main load, with both scoring less than 20 points.

The Wizards, who averaged 105 points per game, scored only 90 points tonight.

The Bobcats, who were fully prepared to run up the score, won by 22 points with a 112-90 victory, claiming their 20th win of the season!

Gerald Wallace scored the highest points of the game with 23, Felton also scored 21 points against Arenas, and Rondo coming off the bench unusually scored in double figures with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Zhang Yang made 8 out of 22 shots, including 2 of 7 three-pointers, plus 1 of 2 free throws, scoring 19 points with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Seeing Zhang Yang taking shots as soon as he got the ball in these last two games, Bickerstaff was worried. Was the 18-year-old affected by the lengthy injury timeout, affecting his mentality upon his return?

When Jack’s shooting was off before, he would actively reduce his shooting, move energetically to distract the opposing defense, and create opportunities for his teammates. What’s going on now?

After the game, Bickerstaff pulled Zhang Yang aside to discuss these issues.

Zhang Yang said it was the boss’s advice; his shooting felt off, so he asked the boss what to do, and the boss told him to shoot diligently.

Jordan: Is that what I meant by shooting diligently?

Zhang Yang: To study hard means to study more, so wouldn’t shooting diligently mean shooting more?

On the 29th, the Bobcats played at home against the New Jersey Nets.

The Bobcats lost the game 86 to 93, ending their three-game winning streak.

In their third game in four days, the Bobcats generally underperformed, with only three players scoring in double figures: Gerald Wallace had 12 points and 9 rebounds, and Okafor had 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Felton only scored 9 points, and the highest scorer off the bench, Millsap, had only 7 points.

But after three games of iron shooting, this evening Zhang Yang found his shooting touch, going 11 for 23 from the field, including 2 for 5 from beyond the arc, and 6 for 6 at the free-throw line, netting 30 points.

The God of Basketball is truly the God of Basketball, rich in experience. If you can’t shoot, you have to shoot even more!

Although, the main reason he could put on such a performance was that his shooting had been so poor in the previous games that the Nets did not defend or help-defend his mid-range one-on-one shooting and catch-and-shoot tonight, giving him much more opportunity than usual.

But seizing those opportunities shows his feel for the game was gradually returning!

After three consecutive home games, the Bobcats left Charlotte for the final game of the year—the Big Apple City!

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Recent updates have been chaotic, for which I sincerely apologize... I don’t know why, but I’ve had recurring fevers and colds. Just when I think I’m better, it hits again, seeming to reach around 38 degrees Celsius every noon, then dropping again in the afternoon. I’ve been to the hospital twice, and they say it’s just a cold, goddamn it.