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Chapter 414 - 192. The Direction of the Heart_3

Chapter 414: 192. The Direction of the Heart_3

He was not willing to accept this! He was the world champion last year, so how could he come back to the club and feel like the world had changed?

As he was about to wrap a towel around himself and leave the court, he felt eyes filled with sympathy...

He angrily found Zhang Yang and said, "I don’t need your sympathy!"

Zhang Yang, "Really? I don’t believe it."

Gasol, "..."

He wanted to say that as a world champion, he didn’t need any sympathy, but then he thought about the record of 15 wins and 47 losses...

Zhang Yang, "Your team lost 5 of the 9 main players from last season, it’s normal for you to lose games. I’m not sympathizing with you for that, I respect your individual performance."

Gasol, "?"

Zhang Yang, "I just received news from our staff. Kobe scored 53 points against the Hornets in an away game. Your next match is against the Lakers, right... Good luck!"

Gasol, (ΩДΩ)!!!

points, 50 points, 53 points... Is this guy even human?

Gasol thought back to the fear he felt during his rookie season when he was dominated by Kobe. It was Kobe’s first 50+ performance in his career, and he did it in just three quarters, playing for 34 minutes, 21 out of 34 shots, including 3 out of 6 three-pointers, plus 11 out of 12 free throws, racking up 56 points in three quarters...

Gasol, "I was wrong! I do need sympathy! Sorry Jack, little buddy, I shouldn’t have spoken to you so loudly! Please comfort me a bit more!"

...

After the triple-header at home, the Charlotte team left for their last long road series of the season—a five-game trip.

On the 8th and 9th, in back-to-back away games against the Celtics and the 76ers, the Charlotte team won with ease, 102-84 and 106-95. Zhang Yang’s playing time in both games was short, as the point differential widened early on, Bickerstaff allowed Jarett Jack, the new guy, to spend more time on the court with various teammates to find the best lineup. Zhang Yang played for 24 and 22 minutes respectively, scoring 17 and 14 points.

On the 11th, they played against the Bucks, and the Charlotte team had a tough time. With an explosive performance of 11 out of 20 shots, Mo Williams scored a game-high 28 points, along with Reed’s 27 points, the Bucks’ backcourt duo tied the score at 97-97 in regular time, sending the game into overtime.

In overtime, Mo Williams and Reed couldn’t hold on, missing both of their two shots, and the Bucks only managed to score two points in the entire OT, courtesy of ’Kobe Stopper’ Ruben Patterson.

For the Charlotte team, Zhang Yang scored a 2+1 against Bogut right out of the gate, followed by Felton’s step-back three-pointer. Although they didn’t score any other points, it was enough to secure victory.

Zhang Yang had 25 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block on 8 out of 17 shooting, including 2 out of 5 three-pointers, and 7 out of 7 from the free-throw line; Okafor had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Felton added 20 points and 4 assists, Rondo contributed 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, Millsap scored 8 points with 3 rebounds, and Jarett Jack had 6 points... Charlotte won narrowly with a score of 103-99 against the Bucks, improving their record to 44 wins and 20 losses!

A winning percentage of 68.75%, setting a new franchise record!

After three tough away games in the East, the toughest part was yet to come.

On March 13th, the Charlotte team lost to the Jazz Team at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

Zhang Yang played exceptionally well in this game, shooting 25 times and hitting 13, with his attempts and shooting percentage both above fifty percent, plus 7 out of 8 free throws, he scored 33 points.

But tonight, Okafor only made 3 out of 10 shots and scored just 10 points with 12 rebounds, plus 4 made out of 12 attempts from Felton, who only got 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Apart from these three, no other Charlotte player reached double figures in scoring, with Jarett Jack scoring the highest at 9 points.

Bickerstaff tried all 12 active players, but none performed well.

Without Gerald Wallace against the Jazz Team, the gap became even more evident.

Zhang Yang managed to shoot well, but he couldn’t shoot more. Without Wallace to stretch the defense, he couldn’t replicate the previous game against the Jazz Team where his shot attempts and foul shots totaled over 40 times. Tonight, with a total of 29 attempts, he was already exhausted.

Most of the Jazz Team players didn’t play well either. Deron and Felton hurt each other, with Felton restricting Deron to 4 out of 12 shooting, while Felton only managed to make 2 out of 6 shots, finishing with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists.

However, Boozer scored the second-highest points in the game with 32, Okur made 7 out of 15 shots scoring 19 points with 10 rebounds, outperforming Okafor, and the battle-hardened Matt Haplin contributed 15 points. Together, they led the team to a 91-85 victory over Charlotte, ending the team’s five-game winning streak.

On March 15, the Bobcats arrived in Phoenix City to challenge the Suns.

For the first three quarters, the Bobcats held the advantage, trailing 27 to 30 in the first quarter but blasting out a score of 33 to 25 in the second quarter, overtaking by 5 points to enter the second half, and with a third-quarter score of 27 to 24, they widened the gap to 8 points.

However, after going head-to-head for three quarters, the Bobcats collapsed in the final period, with the Suns putting up a score of 36 to 19 in the last quarter, reversing the Bobcats 115 to 106.

Okafor got 22 points and 15 rebounds, Zhang Yang scored 16 points with 8 assists, Felton had 27 points with 3 assists, Millsap added 13 points, Jarett Jack contributed 12 points, and Rondo narrowly missed a triple-double with 10 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists... still not enough to overcome Nash, who led his run-and-gun squad with 17 points and 12 assists.

Playing overtime on the 11th, grinding out a defensive battle with the Jazz Team on the 13th, and today running and gunning for points, they couldn’t hold up in the final quarter, ending the 5-game road trip with 3 wins and 2 losses, bringing their record to 44 wins and 22 losses, back to a win percentage of winning two games for every loss... Zhang Yang: "Prince, hurry back..."

...

Gerald Wallace has been out for almost a month now, which really affects the Bobcats.

Zhang Yang is eagerly looking forward to Gerald Wallace’s return, but he patiently waits, careful not to show any impatience in his words or demeanor.

Knee injuries are different from the shoulder injury during the mid-season; injuries to the waist, back, knee, or foot are not to be taken lightly, as one misstep could affect one’s career.

McGrady and Penny are cautionary tales.

Moreover, during the time Gerald Wallace has been absent, their opponents have been mostly weaker teams, and they have almost secured victories against them all.

Even against stronger teams, they have performed well, beating the Pistons, Toronto Raptors, and Rockets. With a recent record of 9 wins and 4 losses in the last 13 games, their winning percentage has actually been higher than in the early and mid part of the season.

It’s just that after back-to-back losses to the Jazz Team and Suns, Zhang Yang deeply missed Gerald Wallace’s defensive coordination and his ability to drive into the paint and compress the opponent’s defense, especially after being reversed.

Setting that aside, over the past period, Zhang Yang has had many opportunities to practice, especially attacking the basket. In recent games, he has increased his scoring inside during crucial moments.

The mainstay is still his mid-range shot. His mid-range threat is considerable, and in key moments, his drives or using screens to bypass defenders have become smoother, especially when the help defenders wait further out, anticipating him, because of his threat from the mid-range.

During the 5-game road trip, Zhang Yang kept an eye on one team he couldn’t help but watch closely.

Poor Gasol, going to Los Angeles to challenge the Lakers while Kobe was desperately trying to get back into the top eight, got posterized twice by the frenzied blacksmith, with Kobe dropping another 60 points.

What surprised Zhang Yang was that Kobe didn’t stop after 4 consecutive 50+ point games, torching the Warriors with 51 points and reaching 50+ points for 5 straight games.

Then the Lakers played at home against the Rockets, and Kobe exploded for 53 points, pushing his consecutive 50+ scoring games to 6, second only to Chamberlain’s 7. Unfortunately, the Lakers didn’t win that game, as Yao Ming returned!

Yao Ming hit 11 of 18 shots, plus made 17 of 21 free throws, scoring 39 points, and together with McGrady’s 29 points, they combined for 68 points to narrowly lead the team to a 107 to 104 victory over the Lakers.

Just as the media and fans were looking forward to Kobe matching or even breaking Chamberlain’s record of 7 consecutive 50+ point games, the Lakers faced the Kings. The Lakers won 106 to 98, but Kobe, guarded by Artest, only managed 40 points on 14 out of 32 shooting, breaking his streak of consecutive 50+ point games.

During this time, not to mention the Bobcats’ 5-game winning streak, even the Mavericks’ 17-game winning streak ended by the Warriors didn’t make much of a splash.

Once again, Kobe shocked the basketball world and dominated headlines in all major media outlets.

With this streak of 6 wins to 1 loss, the Lakers surged from tenth in the West to sixth.

As a scorer, Zhang Yang felt a surge of excitement from Kobe’s scoring spree.

When Carter was interviewed about Kobe’s 6 consecutive 50+ point games, he kept shaking his head, saying this shouldn’t be...

When Zhang Yang was asked about it during an interview, he answered from his heart, "To become a better scorer than Kobe, than Jordan, is my ultimate goal!"

...

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At the end of the month, the last 3 days, asking for your votes~ There’s another Chapter tonight, I’ll update before going to sleep~ asking for your monthly vote!