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Chapter 448 - 203. Even a genius has no way out _2

Chapter 448: 203. Even a genius has no way out _2

Zhang Yang quickly analyzed the situation, shook his head, and said, "Attack!"

Felton looked at Okafor, "Attack?"

Okafor thought for a moment and nodded.

Felton looked toward the five people walking back to the bench and said, "Emeka, we’re going to pick-and-roll... Paul, come here!"

As soon as Millsap heard the call from the leader, he scurried over immediately.

Gerald Wallace: o(╥﹏╥)o

My little brother has already flown away...

Zhang Yang, witnessing this scene, felt that winning teammates’ recognition and respect doesn’t always depend on strength alone.

He remembered that during the four years Millsap played as a replacement on the Jazz Team, he never got along with Deron. After joining the Hawks team in 2013, he openly said that Jeff Teague was the best Point Guard he had ever paired with, even though it resulted in the slim, 88 kg Teague getting hammered and outplayed by Deron next time they played the Nets.

Having faced off against Deron four times, Zhang Yang could guess why Millsap disliked Deron—the complaining, the blame-shifting, frequently comparing their team with others and stepping on his own teammates in the process...

Even though Felton wasn’t as strong as Deron, he could take responsibility without complaint.

...

Back on the bench, Felton communicated with Bickerstaff, who suggested making slight adjustments to the offensive play.

Since the timeout was called by the player, Bickerstaff naturally had to adjust according to the players’ spontaneity on the court.

After the timeout, neither team made substitutions. The Bobcats had possession, frontcourt inbound.

Zhang Yang passed the ball to Felton, then ran to the left baseline.

Felton initiated a pick-and-roll with Okafor, shaking off Kidd and driving inside, while Okafor followed Felton down the right into the lane.

On the other side, Zhang Yang moved up from the left baseline, and Millsap cut towards the basket from the left 45-degree angle, blocking Carter who was chasing Zhang Yang. After the screen, Millsap continued down, successfully tying up Carter and Mikki Moore on the left side of the three-second area.

Felton drove in close, scoring on a floater before Richard Jefferson, who was collapsing from the right baseline, could get in position to defend!

On the change of possession, Kidd continued to run the pick-and-roll with Carter. Gerald Wallace stepped up to defend the three-point attempt, Kidd passed to a cutting Carter, Millsap moved back early to defend, and Zhang Yang also came down to the baseline to cut off Mikki Moore looking to follow up and receive the pass.

Carter passed the ball to the low post to Richard Jefferson, who caught the ball at a 45-degree angle and scored on a long two-pointer!

Once Kidd was able to engage Gerald Wallace, the Nets’ offense ran very smoothly.

On the Bobcats’ possession, Felton and Okafor continued with the pick-and-roll offense.

Facing the dual threat of Millsap and Felton driving, the Nets chose to protect the paint this time.

Okafor caught Felton’s pass at the right elbow, then passed it along. Zhang Yang moved to the free-throw line, received the ball, and scored on a mid-range jumper!

to 10, the Bobcats kept the score close!

Kidd received the ball and advanced, unable to get going on the fast break. Although still leading by 4 points, he was deeply troubled.

How should they play?

His intention when opening the game with those three-point shots was not only to catch the opponent off guard and aggressively snatch the initiative but also to pressure the Bobcats to strengthen their defense.

With a stronger defense, their offense would inevitably slip, which would then ease the defensive pressure on his Nets team.

As for the impact of the Bobcats tightening their defense on the Nets’ offense... Kidd was confident he could lead the team to score under any defensive conditions.

However, the opponent not only made good use of the opportunity to call a timeout with Okafor without affecting team morale, but their adjustments also differed from what he had hoped for. Damn O’Neal!

Last season in the second round of Game 1, Kidd employed the same strategy; he shot 9 for 17 in that game, including 4 for 6 from the three-point line, scoring a wild 22 points and forcing the Miami Heat to buckle down on defense. He successfully found offensive opportunities in the tough battle and snatched the home-court advantage right from the start.

But by Game 2, the Heat didn’t fall for it anymore. Following that, the Heat scored over 100 points in four consecutive games, winning four straight for a gentleman’s sweep.

Clearly, the Bobcats had taken a page from the Heat’s playbook and weren’t fooled at all!

As Kidd advanced to the frontcourt, he glared fiercely at Felton at the top of the arc, "Little thief, don’t let me catch a chance. If someday my teammates could do better, I will beat you so hard you’ll feel it!"

He noticed that it was that sophomore who had gone to the legendary coach to discuss adjustments.

As the game went on, just as Kidd had anticipated, their offensive firepower gradually decreased.

He didn’t have the ability like Nash to seize an opportunity and score 40+ points. Richard Jefferson, the first tactical option, fought hard to score, and in a game would level out around 20 points.

A few possessions later, Gerald Wallace drove in, connected on a 2+1 against Mikki Moore, and with his free throw good, the Bobcats closed the gap to 16-17, just 1 point behind! Kidd called a timeout!

They were recklessly pushing their offense, but they just couldn’t outdo the Bobcats; their interior defense was too weak.

After losing Kenyon Martin, before the All-Star break during the ’04-’05 season, they were conceding an average of 98 points per game, while the league average was just 94 points. With their interior defense bleeding out, they only managed a record of 21 wins and 31 losses.

It wasn’t until after the All-Star break that they got Clifford Robinson from a trade and their interior defense improved. They managed a record of 21 wins and 9 losses after the break, successfully clinching a playoff spot with a comeback.

Last season, Clifford Robinson also played well, but this year, at 40 years old, he just couldn’t hold up any longer. The veteran, who missed less than 20 games in the past 17 years, had missed 30 games this season due to injury, and his performance sharply declined...

Now, Kidd could only count on Carter.

It’s not that he looked down on Carter; Carter was the best scoring guard he had partnered with in his decade-plus NBA career.

But since sustaining a major injury, Carter had fallen behind the other scoring guards who were previously his equals. Kobe, McGrady, and Iverson still held a spot in the first, second, and third All-NBA Teams, respectively, whereas Carter had long been out of the running for those honors. In terms of breakthrough ability, not to mention comparing him to those three, even Ray Allen, whom Carter once looked down upon, had now surpassed him in strength.

Not to speak of those four top scoring guards in the league, Kidd felt that even solely in terms of offensive assault, Carter might not measure up to that bad boy on the other side...

Kidd glanced toward the opposing bench, and as he suspected, that bad boy who pushed the pace seemed eager to try.

After duking it out with team offense, maintaining offensive power depended on individual star capabilities.

In one-on-one scenarios, the Bobcats’ first choice would surely be to rely on Zhang Yang, while the Nets would turn to Carter without a doubt. Faced with the former high-flyer, Zhang Yang felt no fear, only excitement!