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Chapter 377 - 176. The NBA no longer has the answer

Chapter 377: 176. The NBA no longer has the answer

In the past two years, there was a saying: if a team has two guards who can play one-on-one, when playing against the Lakers, one of them is bound to explode.

The Bobcats proved this saying to be true, although it required sacrificing the other guard.

The one who exploded tonight was Felton, and of course, the one sacrificed was Zhang San...

In the first half, the Bobcats performed steadily, scoring 24 points in the first quarter and 23 in the second, with Felton getting 13 and 9 points respectively, playing quite ecstatically.

On the Lakers’ side, Kobe only took 7 shots in the half, hitting 3 of them and adding 2 free throws for a total of 8 points. After getting cold-cocked by the opponent’s mindless double-team in the "third-quarter 62", he started to actively use this to his advantage, first drawing the double-team with the ball, then passing to the Grim Reaper Parker, left-handed magician Odom, and the bankrupt Pippen Luke Walton.

Such tactics led to Kobe being surpassed by Arenas on the scoring leaderboard, but during this time the Lakers’ win rate improved, allowing them to gain a slight upper hand in the competition with the Warriors, Clippers, and Hornets.

Tonight, the Lakers had a good first quarter using Kobe’s drawing power to lead 27 to 24, three points ahead of the Bobcats, but the situation took a drastic turn in the second quarter, where they only scored 15 points, ending the half down by 5 points with the Bobcats leading 47 to 42.

The most eye-catching players in the first half weren’t Felton, with his 22 points, or Kobe, who drew at least two defenders whenever he got the ball. Rather, it was the rowdy bunch inside the paint.

Kwame Brown, Bynum, and Perkins, these three high schoolers all weighed 120+ kg, with Okafor looking thin in comparison. The most exaggerated was Bynum, at 215 cm and 129 kg, even Brown was a size smaller than him.

In the first half, the Bobcats only sent in Muhammad to rotate with Perkins and didn’t bring in any other big men. The Lakers also had Ronnie Turiaf sub in for Bynum for a while. Neither team wanted to give up their defense under the basket; missing one tower could lead to the opponent breaking through their defenses.

Odom and Radmanovic, the two inside players, could only hover around the arc to shoot. If they went inside, they would be knocked around by a bunch of people. Not to mention them, even Gerald Wallace and Kobe didn’t dare to bust inside... Rondo was the only one sneaky enough to slip inside for rebounds.

Both teams scored mostly on long shots and fast breaks, which is why the Lakers’ scoring fluctuated so much in the first two quarters.

The Bobcats had the steady-shooting Felton and the quick-on-the-break Rondo. The Lakers could only rely on Kobe to draw in the double-team and then pass the ball out for their teammates to shoot from mid to long range.

Coming back from the halftime break, Kobe couldn’t sit still anymore. He gave up the tenacious defense on Zhang Yang, going wild with his attacks, shooting 11 times and making 6, including 1 of 1 from the three, along with 3 of 2 free throws, scoring a mad rush of 15 points, leading the Lakers to a total of 28 points in the quarter!

On the Bobcats’ side, Felton could no longer keep up in the third quarter. With the need to double-team Kobe and also score, and after enduring the toughest part of the season’s schedule, the physical reserves were in a terrible state. It was alright for Felton to defend one-on-one, but to also lead attacks and have to double-team was pretty tough.

That’s when Zhang Yang stood up.

He was now defended by the likes of Odom, Radmanovic, and Vujacic, shooting 12 times in the quarter, making 6, including 2 of 5 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws, racking up 16 points!

Along with the 8 points from his teammates, by the end of the third quarter, the Bobcats clung to a lead at 71 to 70!

Kobe heard about how fiercely Zhang Yang was shooting lately, even more so than himself, as his average field goal attempts for the season were 21.2.

But after watching the live broadcast of the Bobcats versus the Warriors two days before, he thought this sophomore played reasonably and calmly.

Tonight, in the first half, Zhang Yang was tightly guarded by him and didn’t even get a chance for a fast break. Zhang Yang’s 5 shots were all desperate hand-offs when his teammates couldn’t make a shot, taking them amidst Kobe’s defense... reasonable, calm, and also brave enough to take responsibility.

Where could you find such a good Chinese teammate? He, the great Kobe, wanted one too!

Until he saw Zhang Yang’s wild shooting in the third quarter... he got a bit annoyed! Someone actually dared to shoot more recklessly than him! It was as irritating as that third overall pick from the Pistons!

How on earth did his damn teammates defend? Letting a sophomore make 6 shots in a single quarter!

In the final quarter, Kobe started to focus both on offense

and defense, throwing himself into the attack and chasing down Zhang Yang with fierce defense.

Alan Anderson and Gerald Wallace took turns defending, with Felton and Rondo rotating to double-team. On the wings, Zhang Yang and Matt Carroll took turns blocking, while under the basket, the four towers squeezed together... Facing such defense and confrontation, Kobe’s offensive efforts were enormous, and he also had to be mindful of defense...

The fiercely attacking Kobe from the third quarter wilted in the last, trying to do well both offensively and defensively, but ended up falling short on both fronts.

In the final quarter, Kobe shot 9 times, making 3, including 0 of 2 three-point attempts, and 3 of 4 free throws for a total of 9 points, with the Lakers only scoring 17 points in the team.

On the Bobcats’ side, with Zhang Yang giving the core players a breathing space in the third quarter, Felton, who only scored two points in that quarter, went on a rampage with 10 points in the last. Adding Rondo’s 2 points, Matt Carroll’s 3, Zhang Yang’s two fast-break scores, and 2 each from Okafor and Gerald Wallace, the team racked up 23 points!

Shooting 12 of 27, including 1 of 3 from three and 7 of 9 free throws, Kobe scored 32 points.

Zhang Yang made 1 of 5 in the first half, and 8 of 16 in the second, with a total of 9 of 21 for the game, including 2 of 6 three-pointers, and 2 free throws out of 2, scoring 22 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.

Felton scored 22 points in the first half, and 12 in the second, blazing to a game-high 34 points.

Together, they led the Bobcats to a 94 to 87 victory over the Lakers, securing their 30th win of the season!