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Chapter 470 - 209. Rogue Cat Born, Uneventful Second Round_3

Chapter 470: 209. Rogue Cat Born, Uneventful Second Round_3

Kyle nodded in agreement while Bobby looked distressed.

Joe asked, "Bobby, you don’t want to do this anymore and go to Jack’s restaurant as a mascot?"

Bobby: "Ah? No, of course not! I can swear to God about my loyalty to the team! What I mean is, Jack just had a tailor modify the mascot costume yesterday, which cost over 200 dollars. If we need to change it back for tomorrow, the price will probably be about the same, and this money..."

Joe really wanted to curse, "Isn’t the box of money from this morning enough?" But he held back, as that would make him seem petty. Grinding his teeth, he said, "Expense it!"

...

On May 11th, the Bobcats welcomed the Knights for the second game of the playoff series at home.

Today, the Knights changed their tactics. Mike Brown decisively gave up the team-based offense and defense, no longer hesitating like last season, and went straight into a fierce defensive battle.

The last game had proven that their highly anticipated ’James-Hughes connection’ was no match for the opponent; their best phase was when they went head-to-head in defense.

Faced with the Knights’ approach, the Bobcats were forced to meet the challenge, engaging in an intense defensive struggle with the Knights.

Unless one had the offensive firepower like the Suns, the Warriors, or the Knicks before their collapse, when facing a team fixated on defense in the playoffs, the only response was to meet them head-on.

James played intensely tonight, extremely intensely.

He was not willing to give up! And he also felt humiliated!

To lessen the impact of his continuous losses to the Bobcats, the team went as far as paying for PR to hype the topic of the Bobcats’ mascot... And it was his money they used to fuel the PR, making the Bobcats’ mascot famous!

Instead of managing to get Rufus kicked out of the NBA, they had made him the most famous mascot in the NBA!

Under the leadership of Hughes and Snow, the Knights played terrifying defense in the first quarter. Mike Brown’s defensive prowess was fully displayed, and by the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats were only able to score 13 points.

However, the Bobcats’ defense was not to be underestimated either. When it came to the playoffs, their tough frontcourt was even more potent than during the regular season.

With 11 minutes and 27 seconds left to play, the Bobcats had reluctantly initiated a hard-nosed battle but still led the Knights by 1 point, 13 to 12, holding possession of the ball!

The Bobcats’ attack, with Zhang Yang receiving the ball in the frontcourt for a solo play.

Zhang Yang was subbed out to rest after playing the first 4 minutes of the quarter and was brought back in with 3 minutes remaining.

Bickerstaff’s substitution timing was impeccable, realizing it would be a defensive struggle, he let Zhang Yang swing hard before the fiercest five or six minutes of confrontation, then sent him back onto the court afterwards.

Zhang Yang went one-on-one with James, halting abruptly at the free-throw line... then explosively continued the drive!

Zhang Yang didn’t have the explosive speed of James, but his sense of rhythm was too good, throwing James off entirely.

Zhang Yang broke into the paint for a layup, scoring and drawing a foul from Gooden! He made the extra shot too—extending the lead to 16-12, Bobcats leading by 4!

During the Knights’ possession, Zhang Yang made another big play!

As James passed the ball out, Zhang Yang, anticipating well, surged forward for the steal and launched a fast break.

As Zhang Yang rushed over the opponents’ three-point line, Hughes, James, and Gooden were already back on defense. He continued to push inside, all the way to the baseline, jumped, and passed the ball...

Felton, coming up to the left sideline, received the pass from his younger brother and shot a three-pointer... and scored!

The ’05 Duo struck the Knights with a 6-0 run in the final 33 seconds of the quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats led the Knights by 7 points, 19 to 12!

Mike Brown had no answer when he saw Zhang Yang’s last-minute surge.

He felt powerless against this type of opponent.

Several years ago, when he served as an assistant coach for defense with the Spurs, he frequently faced this situation.

His most vivid memory was from the 2001 Western Conference Finals Game 2; he and Popovich devised what could be called a perfect defensive plan, engaging the Lakers in a defensive deadlock with offense relying on Duncan.

That night Duncan was also near perfect, rampaging with 40 points on offense and pairing with the Admiral to limit O’Neal to just 19 points on 8-for-21 shooting on defense.

They also defended other positions well, leading the Lakers by 7 points at 67-60 after three quarters... Then, Kobe, who had only 13 points on 14 shots through the first three quarters, scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the final quarter, leading the Lakers to a 28-14 run to complete the comeback.

That game completely deflated the Spurs, and they lost by 39 and 29 points in Games 3 and 4, getting swept away mercilessly.

Tonight’s Zhang Yang, compared to Kobe in that Western Conference Finals, was different, there was an obvious gap, but that ability to score unreasonably in an intensely defensive game — it was all too familiar!

During the second quarter, the Knights’ desperation waned considerably, and their defensive performance dropped as a result, allowing the Bobcats to take the quarter 24 to 20. At halftime, the Bobcats led the Knights by 11 points, 43 to 32.

After the halftime break, the Knights players, led by James, rallied to fight tooth and nail against the Bobcats.

Image marketing can be effective; in the eyes of the Knight players, James truly was their rock — as long as James didn’t give up, they wouldn’t either.

Moreover, James’ image, once seen as aloof and superior, had become more grounded after being pounded by the Bobcats for two years.

This series, James was portrayed as ’unyieldingly spirited against the formidable New Bad Boys Legion,’ and he was indeed playing his life out on both ends, effectively motivating his teammates.

In the third quarter, the Knights’ defensive counterattacks came to life, outscoring with a 24-17 run. At the end of the quarter, they had narrowed the gap to 4 points, trailing the Bobcats 56 to 60.