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Chapter 418 - 194. Another small but anticipated change

Chapter 418: 194. Another small but anticipated change

Recently, the Magic have been in frequent contact with the Miami Heat, and although the trade deadline has passed, they are still in touch. Some media predict that the head coach of the Magic, Brian Hill, is not far from being dismissed.

Pat Riley has even started to openly shop Stan Van Gundy, making the news when Jordan was rejected.

Removing a long-time disciple from the head coach position to reassign him as an editor, not releasing him when other teams wanted to invite the former head coach, and demanding compensation...these actions destroy norms, but when attributed to a mastermind, people aren’t surprised at all.

When Zhang Yang saw the posts discussing this on the internet, he felt having a well-established persona could save him a lot of trouble.

The Charlotte fans who saw the news accused the mastermind of being fickle, demanding that the Miami Heat remove Jordan’s jersey from the stadium, asserting they did not deserve to retire Jordan’s jersey.

Jordan’s inner monologue at that time: "Thank you very much!"

Of course, Brian Hill was aware of the situation he was in; he definitely did not want to lose his job, so he was actively trying to change things.

For example, letting Hill play as a fake starter, playing him for just two or three minutes before substituting him out and rotating him with Turkoglu to take turns facilitating.

This was a very excellent rotational adjustment; the Magic could basically maintain the presence of a forward who could organize plays from a high position throughout the game.

But apart from this, Brian Hill’s other adjustments were generally counterproductive.

For instance, his offensive strategy for tonight’s game against the Bobcats—recklessly shooting three-pointers.

The last time the two teams faced off, it was not Brian Hill’s strategy that brought about a three-point barrage, but rather the players adapting on the spot. If he hadn’t intervened and directed, the players might have been able again to start shooting threes on their own...

When Arroyo’s team began raining threes, it was admittedly reckless.

But Puerto Rico’s famous ball-handling ability to recklessly shoot threes is known worldwide, having upset the Dream Team in the Athens Olympics; he could face the defense and recklessly score threes, creating threats and passing for scores—Brian Hill having Nelson and Redick play like that... quite creative!

The Magic began with four possessions, shooting five threes, missing four, and getting blocked once. The Bobcats initially did not expect their opponents to play so bizarrely. They missed the chance to counter-attack in the first possession, but managed to launch counter-attacks in the second and fourth possessions, one of which even resulted in an and-one!

Adding to that, when Zhang Yang was threatening and then isolated Redick, converting the shot with precision, the Bobcats opened with a 7-0 run against the Magic!

Brian Hill called for a timeout and made substitutions to adjust their tactics.

At this point, whether the substitutions or tactics adjustment was correct no longer mattered.

The Magic, being a young team, heavily relied on momentum in games, especially amidst chaotic offensive and defensive systems, such as previously creating momentum by sinking six consecutive threes, which overwhelmed the Bobcats.

Tonight, the Magic, inspired before the game, were hit by a 7-0 wave, which drastically reduced their momentum. They continued to perform poorly after the timeout, with no one caring about Brian Hill’s tactical adjustments as everyone clustered around the three-point line continued shooting and missing more and more...

In the first quarter alone, the Magic shot ten three-pointers, making only two, scoring just 17 points in total for the quarter.

Meanwhile, the Bobcats made 14 of 24 shots, including two of five three-pointers, along with making four of six free throws, to score 34 points in the quarter.

By the end of the first quarter, the game was virtually over.

...

In the second and third quarters, the Bobcats continued to extend their lead, scoring 28-22 and 33-18 respectively.

The scoring variation of the Bobcats over the first three quarters was actually proportional to the Magic’s three-point shooting volume. The more threes the Magic took, the more points the Bobcats scored. More long-distance rebounds went to Zhang Yang and Rondo coming off the bench, which gave them more opportunities for fast breaks.

By the end of the third quarter, the Bobcats led the Magic by 38 points at 95-57!

Zhang Yang played 27 minutes in three quarters, making 9 of 15 shots, including two three-pointers, plus making all three free throws to tally 23 points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks, before clocking out.

Zhang Yang, Felton, Rondo, Okafor, and Perkins also rested.

Felton played 18 minutes, scoring 16 points with six assists; Rondo played 19 minutes, recording three points, six rebounds, and five assists. Okafor scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds...

Jarett Jack, Alan Anderson, Gerald Wallace, Millsap, and Muhammad entered the game during garbage time with Derek Anderson and Jumaine Jones rotating in.

Offensively, they mainly allowed Gerald Wallace to handle the ball and charge through, but his performance was... quite poor, making only two of five shots and one of two free throws, netting just five points.

Mainly because Howard was still on the court.

As Zhang Yang watched Howard consistently receive the ball low in the post and forcefully carve through Muhammad... he felt that Brian Hill had just started to cultivate a young talent and was already facing dismissal, purely due to his own mistakes.

Howard’s play against Muhammad was decent, but not because Howard’s post moves were exceptional; he just received the ball and forcefully made his way to the rim to take tough shots.

To put it nicely, it was unpretentious.

The reason he played decently was purely because Muhammad was not that kind of formidable inside presence that could withstand such play.

Muhammad’s strengths included playing both inside positions adeptly, having excellent physical condition, a reasonable mid-range shot, capable of defending and handling pick and rolls, aggressively pursuing rebounds, possessing strong leadership, and some ability to command on the spot, but defending against a type like Howard wasn’t his forte.

Meanwhile, during the 20 minutes when Howard was matched against Perkins, he only made two of six shots.

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