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Chapter 392 - 184. How did such a talent end up on a team like this?_2

Chapter 392: 184. How did such a talent end up on a team like this?_2

The most direct point is that in those years, Dale Davis, Antonio Davis, Big Z, Brad Miller and others could all make the All-Star selection.

It wasn’t until O’Neal joined the Miami Heat that the Eastern All-Star team held any hope of winning, but they won both times with great difficulty. In ’05 Iverson got the MVP with 15 points and 9 assists, and last year it was only in the final moments, relying on O’Neal’s rim protection and counterattacking defense, that they narrowly won.

This year, O’Neal’s performance waned, third-year players Okafor and Howard couldn’t carry the weight on such a stage, and don’t even get me started on Bosh.

In the end, Kobe edged out Nowitzki to win the Most Valuable Player award of this All-Star game, as the Vegas All-Star carnival officially came to a close.

The unlimited one-on-one strategy unleashed by the Western team in the main game was terrifyingly invincible, but it also made the gap between the East and West too great, and with no suspense to the match, the West’s multi-pronged play didn’t result in anyone scoring big, so it wasn’t very exciting; although the Skills Challenge and the Three-Point Contest winners Felton and Kapono were dazzling, these events don’t draw much attention, and the dunk contest was only slightly better than last year’s, failing to make a big splash.

Viewers in front of the TV didn’t expect that the most interesting game of this year’s All-Star weekend would actually be the Rookie Challenge...

...

On February 14th, a new week arrived, and at noon Zhang Yang took his little brother, Goku, who had been dropped off in his hotel room by their parents early in the morning, back to Charlotte.

Goku was thrilled to be with his brother, chatting away throughout the journey, and Zhang Yang didn’t care if his brother understood or not, he just kept complaining about their parents’ unscrupulous behavior.

They were flying on the boss’s private jet, so Zhang Yang didn’t have to worry about offending strangers, and his teammates were very kind to his brother. By the time they got off the plane, Goku had several gold chains around his neck and an extra watch on his wrist... Zhang Yang was annoyed, now he had to think about how to reciprocate when he saw his teammates’ kids.

However, once at their parents’ home, with nannies taking care of Goku’s every need, Zhang Yang only had to join his brother in the living room to play games after he was tired from training in the yard, nothing too strenuous, and he also had more one-on-one time with his brother.

The next morning, when Zhang Yang’s parents returned home and he had to leave for training in the afternoon, he found himself somewhat reluctant to go.

Yang Jing teased her elder son’s reluctant look, "Kids are fun to play with, right? Why don’t you get a girlfriend and have one?"

Zhang Yang rolled his eyes at his mother, "If I had a kid now, he’d only be a little younger than Goku. Wouldn’t it be awkward for them to play together when they grow up?"

Yang Jing replied, "That’s true... but it’s not us who would be awkward, it would be them, wouldn’t that be more amusing?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yang rubbed his chin, "That’s right! That does sound quite interesting."

Zhang Chen from the side: "..."

Agreeing with what? What does it mean ’quite interesting’? These two are really unreliable! And the worst part is, these two are his own mother and son... utterly despair!

After chatting idly with his mother for a while, Zhang Yang left his parents’ home to head toward Tuhang Stadium.

Seeing his teammates again, he observed that after a few days of fun and rest over the All-Star weekend, their energy and spirits were completely different from the tail end of the mid-season.

Proper rest is indeed very important!

He, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor were responsible for their car travels and accommodations, and after splitting the costs three ways, it wasn’t too expensive and even helped to improve team relationships.

In the afternoon’s training, as Zhang Yang had expected, his unlimited firing rights were tactically retracted. Bickerstaff re-adjusted the strategy back to the team-oriented approach from the early part of the season, where in set plays Zhang Yang returned to the role of a decoy, a receiver, and an individual scorer.

Far from being unhappy about this, he actually breathed a sigh of relief.

This All-Star weekend trip made him even more aware of his deficiencies.

Zhang Yang’s experience of participating in the All-Star game was completely different from Yao Ming’s.

Last year, during Zhang Yang’s first All-Star appearance, Yao Ming shared his experience—"You can’t get too invested in the All-Star game, you can’t take it too seriously, otherwise, when you go back to your team, you’ll feel let down and disappointed with your teammates’ abilities."

Zhang Yang’s feeling after being in two All-Star Games was — I’m still not as good as they are, I need to work harder.

The difference in feeling had to do with their respective environments, Zhang Yang’s teammates were stronger, and though no one surpassed McGrady, the rest of his teammates were much stronger than Yao Ming’s.

Moreover, the overall strength of the Eastern Conference was weaker than the West, the competition was more relaxed. At the beginning of the season, when media analyzed the performance of the strong teams from both conferences, they said that if the Rockets were in the East, they might be able to secure 55 wins and rank first in the East, but they had no chance of making the top four in the West and wouldn’t be able to get 55 wins there either.

Then there was the difference in their characters; Yao Ming cared about many things, but Zhang Yang... he just wanted to play basketball well.

Zhang Yang also craved victory, longed for glory, but he didn’t carry as much weight on his shoulders.

...

On February 15th, it was the Bobcats’ 53rd game day of the season.

They finally got to enjoy the treatment accorded to playoff teams, the first game back from the All-Star weekend was at home, against the not-so-strong Hawks team, currently the third last in the East.

At 6:40 in the evening, the players from both teams entered the arena.

Once inside, Zhang Yang’s gaze didn’t go to the opposing forwards but to the three point guards of the Hawks team — Tyronn Lue, Anthony Johnson, and Speedy Claxton.

During the All-Star weekend, the Hawks team traded away two 206 cm reserve forwards for Speedy Claxton and Lorenzen Wright.

Claxton, a guard from the 2000 class, had career averages of 9 points, 4 assists, and 1.5 steals, making him a very high-quality substitute.

Lorenzen Wright was a central part of "Jerry West’s Memphis experiment", a 1996 golden generation lottery pick, standing at 211 cm with a weight of 116 kg. At his peak, he averaged 12 points and 9 rebounds. Over the past few years, he played power forward for the Grizzlies, helping Gasol guard the basket. With Jerry West ready to end "Memphis experiment" and the Grizzlies entering a rebuilding phase, Lorenzen Wright was sent away by the Grizzlies last summer, and now the Hawks team traded for him.

Felton commented from the side, "The Hawks’ management finally came to their senses, not sticking with the 6-foot-9 starting lineup anymore, and traded back a substitute center of normal height for Pachulia."

Zhang Yang replied, "Yeah, previously they had Smith play backup point guard and backup center, it made me anxious just watching. Such a talent, and they wasted him like that."

Felton looked toward Josh Smith and nodded in agreement.

If they could have someone like Josh Smith, their frontcourt strength would immediately go up a notch; they might even wrestle with the top three in the West.

How did such a talent end up with the Hawks team?

Zhang Yang commented, "But their point guards and centers, compared to their forwards and guards, are still too weak. If point guards are the ones who set the direction for the team, these three point guards seem like little horses pulling a heavy cart."

Felton watched Zhang Yang with astonishment, "A little horse pulling a heavy cart, isn’t that a verb?"

Zhang Yang queried, "Ah? Isn’t it an adjective?"

Felton thought for a moment, "It can also be used as an adjective..."

Okafor, closing his eyes, let out a frustrated sigh. These two guys, such a serious topic, how did it turn so off-course?

...

...

Slept too much this morning, got up at 12 PM, updating one Chapter first, will continue writing, votes please!