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Chapter 452 - 205. Genius Kidd dances alone, the Bad Boys Legion advances strongly!

Chapter 452: 205. Genius Kidd dances alone, the Bad Boys Legion advances strongly!

The three refreshed themselves, chit-chatted, and before long, teammates began trickling into the arena, as the Bobcats started preparing for the second game of their series against the Nets tomorrow.

In the strategy meeting, little Bickerstaff carefully analyzed Kidd’s performance, emphasizing not his triple-doubles but rather the methods Kidd kept trying to break through from the beginning of the game.

Felton joined the praise group, "Kidd is really impressive, to think of ways to open up the game even under such adverse circumstances."

Agreeing with this, Okafor nodded, but said with a hint of regret, "It’s a shame that every time he picked up the pace, his teammates couldn’t keep up, wasting the opportunities he created."

Felton, "Yeah, Jefferson plays a steady style, but only plays simple basketball; Carter can play complex basketball, but his style doesn’t seem to be on the same wavelength as Kidd. Kittles suits Kidd better. Although Kittles isn’t as strong as Carter, having only half the scores and assists Carter does, he understands what Kidd needs more, willing to do the more tiring stuff, while Carter needs Kidd to accommodate him..."

Rondo felt odd hearing the top dog and the strongest on the team speak like this.

His senior, Muhammad, spoke for him with a laugh, "Never thought you guys would have such high praise for your opponents, and in private, too."

Felton was taken aback; right, why did they start praising the opponents’ strengths so naturally?

Okafor was also startled; although he wasn’t as blindly arrogant as most black players, praising opponents in private...

After exchanging glances, Felton responded, "Recognizing and respecting your opponents is a way of acknowledging and respecting ourselves. Having a more objective understanding of our opponents will also help us win the game."

Muhammad, "For you guys to have such cognition at your age is not easy. I’ve played for so many years and been teammates with so many players, yet only two have said something similar."

Curious, Felton asked, "Who?"

Muhammad replied, "Answer and The Fundamentals."

Felton wasn’t surprised to hear these nicknames and said, "Right, The Answer has praised me too..."

Normally, Bickerstaff should have stopped the idle chat, as it could lead to distractions.

But he let the three linger on this topic for a while. Regardless of whether the other teammates could understand these words, and whether they could take them to heart if they did understand, as long as these words spread through this group of big-mouthed players, it would be beneficial for Felton and Okafor...

...

After a whole afternoon of preparation, Zhang Yang stayed in front of the TV to watch the live broadcast that evening.

Yao and McGrady were fierce, leading their team to an 84-75 victory over the Jazz Team in the first game.

Zhang Yang had anticipated this result; Yao Ming, when he had the stamina, was fierce against anyone in the West. The 2005 Mavericks, who had 58 wins, were also brutally strong at the beginning, leading 2-0 on the road.

In the second round of 2009 against the Lakers, Yao was brutally strong in the first game as well. Zhang Yang remembered that series vividly; in G1, Yao dominated the twin towers of Gasol and Bynum, scoring 28 points whereas the Gasol-Bynum pair couldn’t even score as many points combined as Yao did.

In 2004, Yao’s first playoff appearance, against the F4 Lakers in G1, he also performed extremely well, holding O’Neal to a 47.1% success rate for 20 points, with the Rockets narrowly defeated 71-72.

Against those opponents, Yao could dominate the game from the start; not to mention the Jazz Team, but then...

As the series progressed, things got tough for Yao.

In the game that defeated the Jazz, Yao scored 28 points, and McGrady scored 23. Together they had 51 points, with the whole team scoring just 84 points; not one teammate scored in double digits. Moreover, it could be foreseen that the entire series would continue in this vein.

Because in the 2005 series against the Mavericks, it was the same; most notably in the Game 7 decider, with Yao scoring 33 points, McGrady 27 points, and the team scoring 76 points, the other eight players combined scored only 16 points.

It was foreseeable that Yao and McGrady would get more and more tired as the series went on, their performances would become more mediocre, and the teammates would struggle even more as the twin cores’ performances declined. Eventually, when Yao rose up in a do-or-die moment, his teammates couldn’t even provide the most basic assistance...

The media weren’t surprised by the outcome of this game either; the Rockets’ record was just a bit better than the Jazz Team’s, and with Yao and McGrady’s formidable performance, winning was normal.

The next game day for the Rockets and Jazz Team was a suspenseful match, drawing all eyes to that series — the Mavericks were slaughtered in their first game by the Warriors, 85-97, losing their home-court advantage right off the bat!

The most astonishing part of the game wasn’t the Warriors’ unexpected win.

A high-scoring team like the Warriors had the capability to unexpectedly win against any opponent in a game, but such upsets typically involved them scoring around 120 points, with the opponent unable to handle their explosive shooting.

This game was different; the Mavericks’ offense was choked! The entire Mavericks’ team had a shooting percentage of only 35%, and except for Terry and Harris, who were fast and managed to score over 40% on fast breaks, no one else shot over 40%.

The leading MVP candidate Nowitzki had a particularly brutal game, only making 4 out of 16 shots...

After watching the live broadcast, Zhang Yang felt terribly sorry for the Silver Horned King.

The Silver Horned King was hand-trained by Nelson, and no one knew his strengths and weaknesses better than Nelson; maybe not even the Silver Horned King’s self-knowledge was as profound as his mentor’s.

Tomorrow morning when making offerings to Lord Guan, he might as well hold a memorial for the Silver Horned King in advance. After this year, the Silver Horned King’s nickname would change from the German Tank to the German Softie...

After resting for a day, on April 23, the Bobcats hosted the second game of their series against the Nets at home.