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Chapter 416 - 193. Securing the top spot in the competition area in advance_2

Chapter 416: 193. Securing the top spot in the competition area in advance_2

Actually, he wanted to see a game of Davidson College, where Curry led the team to a record of 17 wins and 1 loss in his freshman season, securing the Southern Conference’s top spot. They achieved a record of 12 wins and 3 losses in the invitational tournament and were selected by the committee into the top 64... But unfortunately, the Southern Conference is a minor league, and being at the top does not rank high nationwide, similar to Eastern Kentucky University at the bottom, so they were placed in the Midwest region. Yesterday, they got trounced by the championship seed, the University of Maryland, in the first round.

This season, there was no chance to watch Curry play anymore.

While checking the data between North Carolina and Davidson College, Zhang Yang felt that Curry’s choice to play for a minor league team was not without its benefits. He had a lot of opportunities to shoot; Lawson, Ellington, and Wright, the top ten high school players nationwide, took only 8-9 shots per game, whereas Curry could take 15 in his freshman season.

Curry’s style of play needed weaker opposition and a less demanding defensive environment earlier on to practice his shooting freely. In any of the top six elite leagues’ schools, it would be tough to get the same freedom as at Davidson College.

Although it’s not impossible that a coach from a top league university could spot a talent like Curry, given that most top league university coaches generally place a high value on team rules and their own authority, the probability is very small.

Unless the coach is a former professional player with a basketball understanding drastically different from other college-oriented coaches, it might be possible. However, 99% of the top league head coaches are from the college ranks. In recent years, there has only been one professional player who retired and became a head coach in a top league: White Devil’s father, Henry Bibby.

After two days of rest, the Bobcats faced the Hawks team for the last time this season on March 18th.

It had been 30 days, from February 15th to today. Gerald Wallace, after being sidelined for 30 days due to injury, finally received clearance from the team doctor to play again.

Ironically, Gerald Wallace was injured in a game against the Hawks team.

The Hawks team showed signs of uprising, but they were just signs with a terrible team structure, no shooters, and a point guard too weak to support the frontcourt’s forwards... They could only, like the Grizzlies, focus on fostering a competitive spirit in their players.

The Bobcats had an absolute advantage in strength. Furthermore, with Joe Johnson injured and unable to play tonight, Bickerstaff focused tonight’s game plan on Gerald Wallace’s return.

Zhang Yang, Okafor, and Felton all took fewer shots and played less tonight, making room for Gerald Wallace to get back into the flow of the game quicker.

Being out for a month due to a knee injury, let alone maintaining his fitness, he couldn’t even practice shooting. The Crown Prince controlled his diet very strictly and very disciplined, yet his weight still increased by a full 5 pounds, even after starting rehabilitation exercises on the 13th, and he still had a 5-pound weight gain up to now.

Rondo played the longest minutes for guards tonight, frantically feeding Gerald Wallace, but the latter couldn’t convert those passes into scores.

Gerald Wallace played for 33 minutes, making 9 out of 23 field goals, and with 3 of 5 free throws, he scored 21 points. All his two three-point attempts failed, all four of his close-range shots failed, and he scored solely through drives, cuts for layups, and fast breaks.

His 9 for 16 performance under the basket may seem decent, but the field goal percentage, actually, is just 56.25%. Zhang Yang’s field goal percentage under the basket was 57% for the season, and Gerald Wallace’s was 64.3% before his injury, which is above the first-tier level for a small forward.

Scoring only 56% against Pachulia and Branden Wright’s defense under the basket was indeed too poor, and several of those were easy assists. Tonight, Zhang Yang was 3 for 4 in attacking the basket.

Rondo played for 31 minutes, scoring 2 out of 6 field goals, plus 3 of 4 free throws, to come up with 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 14 assists, achieving double-digit assists for the seventh time in his career.

Zhang Yang played for 23 minutes, scoring 18 points and grabbing 2 rebounds off 7 out of 12 field goals. Felton played for 20 minutes, scoring 13 points with 3 assists, while Jarett Jack played for 18 minutes and scored 8 points with 2 assists... Combined with Okafor’s 29 points and 17 rebounds, the Bobcats easily beat the Hawks team 101 to 94.

After the game, Zhang Yang said to Okafor, "You really carried us tonight."

Okafor shook his head and said, "There’s no problem against the Hawks team, but can we really get Gerald back in shape this quickly?"

Zhang Yang said, "No, this isn’t the way Gerald is used to playing. He’s better suited to playing like a blue-collar worker to show a star performance. It’s just that our head coach has his own ideas, and he wants to try it. Since it’s against the Hawks team and Johnson can’t play, let him try."

Okafor nodded, "Alright, but next game against the Magic, if Bernie wants to keep playing this way, I’ll refuse."

Zhang Yang said, "You’re right."

Bickerstaff nearby said, "..."

If you have something to say, just say it. Please don’t be passive-aggressive!

You obviously started talking when you saw me coming, and yet you pretend not to see me, please don’t go out of your way to spare my feelings this way!

...

On the 19th, a rest day, Zhang Yang, as a representative of the Bobcats, accepted an interview with The New York Times.

The opportunity for this interview arose after the Bobcats defeated the Hawks team, improving their record to 45 wins and 22 losses, virtually securing the top spot in the Southeast Division. Even if they lost the final 15 games in a row, it would be difficult to be surpassed by other teams in the same division.

Indeed, the Southeast Division was that bad this season. The second-placed Miami Heat, currently after 67 games, has 33 wins and 34 losses. The third-place Wizards have 33 wins and 35 losses after 68 games. With 15 and 14 games left respectively, even if they win 10 more games, they can’t surpass the Bobcats.

The most absurd part is that these two teams are currently sixth and seventh in the Eastern Conference.

This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om