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Chapter 412 - 192. Where the heart leads

Chapter 412: 192. Where the heart leads

Yao Ming took the Hornets very seriously as an opponent.

However, for Zhang Yang, Yao Ming’s presence made the Rockets a special opponent to him. If Yao Ming couldn’t play, the Rockets were nothing, now they were not even on his list of presumed enemies, much less in the future.

Nonetheless, defeating the Rockets to break the losing streak was very important for the current Hornets, as March was a critical phase for fighting for rankings, and winning one more game could increase their hopes of chasing the top spot in the East.

Because this month, it wasn’t just them working hard; other teams fighting for rankings were also making efforts, whether for the number one draft pick or for playoff spots.

Relatively speaking, the teams scrambling for playoff spots are currently the most tense and eager to win more games.

While catching up on the news after the game, Zhang Yang saw that the Lakers, with a recent record of 1 win and 3 losses only beating the Toronto Raptors in one game, had a breakout performance tonight.

On the 24th, the Lakers played against the Nets, and were defeated by Kidd with 7 points, 8 rebounds, 13 assists, 29 points from Carter, and 22 points from Richard Jefferson.

On the 26th, facing the Timberwolves, they were beaten by Garnett who exploded for 26 points, 17 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 5 blocks.

After defeating the Toronto Raptors on the 28th, in the second game of a back-to-back on the 1st, they faced Iverson’s 14 points and 13 assists, Anthony’s 29 points, and Steve Blake coming off the bench to hit 7 three-pointers scoring 25 points... Kobe scored 45 points, yet the Lakers still lost 98 to 105 against the Nuggets.

Losing directly to the Nuggets during this stretch of 1 win and 3 losses, the Lakers fell to the tenth spot in the West, overtaken by the Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, and Hornets.

Over these years, that’s how the West has been; teams competing for playoff positions could drop from the sixth to the tenth spot by losing just a couple of games.

Tonight, when the Lakers played the Trail Blazers, Kobe went berserk!

He shot 23 out of 40 from the field, including an incredible 10 of 15 from three-point range, and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line, racking up 67 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, leading the Lakers to a 116-99 victory over the Trail Blazers.

He also held Roy to just 14 points on 6 for 21 shooting.

By March, Kobe ’only’ shooting 30 times to score 45 points was not enough to help the Lakers win; he needed to shoot 40 times.

Tonight at Madison Square Garden, there was another crazy showdown that even Kobe’s 67 points couldn’t completely overshadow — Marbury versus Nash.

The Knicks Team and the Suns battled through three overtimes, and Nash, playing 50 minutes tonight, scored 25 points with a career-high 22 assists, leading to Stoudemire scoring 29 points, Marion 26 points, and Barbosa 18 points... But the other side had two players with over 30 points and two with over 20 points!

Marbury scored 32 points and 14 assists, 16 of which he earned during the three overtimes, along with Eddie Curry’s 31 points, Crawford’s 23 points and 7 assists, Q’s 25 points, and David Lee’s 15 points and 15 rebounds...

140-136, the Knicks narrowly defeated the Suns in triple overtime, improving their record to 29 wins and 31 losses, pushing past the Nets Team to enter the top eight in the East!

But after the game, Marbury had a fierce argument with head coach Isaiah Thomas, even grabbing Thomas by the collar ready to fight, and it was only after teammates pulled him away that a reprise of a player attacking a coach was avoided.

Zhang Yang curiously refreshed the news and browsed the forums. As a 3G internet user, he couldn’t help himself from watching the drama unfold.

It wasn’t long before he stumbled upon a video posted by a fan on a forum, showing Marbury crying inconsolably in the hospital... Zhang Yang remembered that incident, something that directly ruined Marbury’s basketball career.

He had overestimated Isaiah Thomas. That guy must have had some screws loose! Making it to the top eight was important, but surely it didn’t warrant this level of disregard for his players.

...

As a player, Zhang Yang hoped that Marbury could pull himself together. Over the past two and a half months, Marbury had indeed impressed him, and it was no wonder he could once trade shots with peak Kidd from the exceptional ’96 golden generation of versatile guards.

But once the drama was over, it was over. After a moment of commiseration, Zhang Yang focused his attention on the news about his own team.

Just yesterday, Jack was being criticized, but today he was being praised for his gutsy performance.

In the first three quarters, when Zhang Yang, Rondo, and Alan Anderson couldn’t score, Jarett Jack stood up strongly to help share the burden with Felton and Okafor.

Although the public sentiment quickly turned, the impact of the decline in the team’s three-point shooting capabilities should not be overlooked.

The next morning, Zhang Yang arrived at the arena at 9 AM and, after paying his respects to Guan Gong, he worked on three-point shooting with the help of Ingles.

With an 85 mid-range shot, an 89 ball-handling and layup card in place, and not much room for immediate improvement, he shifted his training focus to three points before the playoffs. His current three-point rating was 78, and it would be best if he could push it to 80, but even if he couldn’t, more practice was never a bad thing.

The Hornets had a two-day break on the 4th and 5th; there was no scheduled training, and he spent time from 9 AM until 4 PM at the arena.

In the afternoon, Rondo, Okafor, Alan Anderson, and Herrmann also came to practice shooting.

In the evening, Zhang Yang watched the live broadcast of the Lakers game against the Timberwolves on TV.

It came!

It really came!

Last week, the Lakers were decimated by Garnett’s 26+17+8+2+5, but tonight Kobe shot 18 out of 35, including 6 out of 9 three-pointers, and made all 8 of his free throws, scoring 50 points with 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Trailing 49-55 at halftime, he led the Lakers to a 109-102 comeback win over the Timberwolves, securing a second consecutive victory.

After watching the broadcast, Zhang Yang checked the Lakers’ upcoming opponents... the Hornets, the Grizzlies, Warriors.

He paid his silent respects to the ones at home, the cannon, and others who resembled his brother with the large beard.