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Chapter 481 - 212. Eastern Finals Begin! (Seeking votes with a 10,000-word plea)_4

Chapter 481: 212. Eastern Finals Begin! (Seeking votes with a 10,000-word plea)_4

Zhang Yang made the free throw as well, answering back to Hamilton’s three-pointer just now!

The Bobcats reopened a 4-point lead, 65 to 61, over the Pistons as they headed into halftime!

Although they hadn’t managed to stop the Pistons in the first half, the Bobcats played a good offensive game, generally maintaining the upper hand.

However, during the halftime break, Time Warner Sports commentators Hubie Brown and Bill Walton identified a potential issue with the Bobcats.

Hubie Brown said, "The Bobcats’ scoring is too concentrated. Jack had 11 points in the first quarter and 7 in the second, Wallace and Okafor both got 11 points in the half, Felton got 12, and Rondo had 6. Aside from these five, the other five players who got on the court could only muster 7 points combined.

For the Pistons, besides Hamilton’s 15 points at halftime and Billups’s 11, the rest of the team’s scoring was very distributed."

Bill Walton said, "Exactly. The Pistons’ team offense has improved ever since Webber came on, playing surprisingly well under Saunders in the playoffs."

Hubie Brown continued, "When Saunders coached Garnett, Garnett averaged over 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists for six consecutive years. After Saunders left, Garnett never averaged 5 assists again, and his turnover rate increased. This proves that a good player needs an equally outstanding coach to maximize their capabilities.

I think Saunders is a better fit for Webber than Adelman, but it’s a pity that Webber suffered a serious injury at the age of 30. If he had remained healthy, even now at 34, he would still have the ability to replace Ben Wallace and become the new core of the Pistons’ frontcourt under Saunders..."

In the third quarter, the development of the game confirmed the analysis of the former superstar and elite coach.

The Bobcats’ scoring further declined in the third quarter!

Zhang Yang played for 8 minutes and scored 6 points, Felton had 6, Okafor 7, Gerald Wallace 3, Millsap 2, and no one else scored, resulting in the Bobcats managing only 24 points in the quarter!

On the Pistons’ side, Billups played for 8 minutes, scoring 4 points and dishing out 2 assists, Hamilton had 6 points, Webber 3 points with 2 assists, Prince 4 points, Rasheed Wallace 5 points, McDyess 2 points, and Delfino 3 points, collectively scoring 27 points in the quarter and continuing their offensive firepower from the second period.

By the end of the third quarter, the Pistons had closed the gap to 88-89, narrowing it to just a 1-point difference!

The final quarter was a dark time for the Bobcats.

Apart from Zhang Yang, the rest of the Bobcats went 1 for 9 in shooting, adding 4 for 4 from the free-throw line, scoring only 6 points!

Zhang Yang took more than ten shots, made 7 attempts, hit 4 out of 7, including 2 out of 5 from three-point range, was fouled 4 times on his attempts, went 7 for 8 at the free-throw line, and scored 17 points in the quarter, but the team only scored 23 points!

In the final quarter for the Pistons, the counterattack led by Billups, Hamilton, and Max Hill finally came through!

The trio scored 15 points during the counterattack in the quarter, plus the team scored 15 points during set plays...

Max Hill scored 8 points in the quarter, Hamilton 7, Billups 4 points and 5 assists, along with McDyess’s 4 points, Rasheed Wallace’s 6 points, and Prince’s 1 point, the Pistons outscored the Bobcats 30 to 23 in the final period.

At 11:23 PM, the final buzzer sounded.

Hamilton contributed 28 points, Webber 12 points and 6 assists, Billups 19 points and 10 assists, Rasheed Wallace 16 points and 10 rebounds, Prince 13 points, McDyess 11 points, Max Hill 11 points... The Pistons defeated the Bobcats away with a final score of 118 to 112, seizing the home-court advantage!

For the Bobcats, Zhang Yang scored 11 points in the first quarter, 7 in the second, 6 in the third, and 17 in the final quarter, hitting 13 of 26 shots, including 3 of 7 from three-point range, and scored 41 points along with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals after making 12 of 14 free throws, achieving over 40 points in a playoff game for the first time in his career... but entered the infamous "empty stats" group!

...

After completing the post-game interview and shouldering the blame, Zhang Yang returned to the locker room, sensing his teammates’ low morale.

Having advanced by sweeping the first two rounds, their confidence had been continuously growing, playing with more and more assurance, stepping onto the court today with the conviction of certain victory... only to start the series 0-1.

The Pistons, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive season, delivered a playoff shock as a top-tier team.

Seeing their little brother return, Felton felt reassured and clapped his hands.

As all eyes turned to him, Felton said, "We’ve only lost the first game. Don’t act as if we’ve already lost the Eastern Conference Finals. We’ve lost home-court advantage, but we’ll just take it back! Two years ago, the Mavericks were down 0-2 to the Rockets and ended up reversing it; last year, the Suns were down 1-3 to the Lakers but reversed it; this year, the Jazz were down 0-2 to the Rockets and also managed to reverse it. We lost the first two games against the Pistons in the regular season, but we won the last two encounters! Pick yourselves up! We lost tonight, we’ll win the next one!"

Felton’s spirited speech successfully rallied his teammates.

Zhang Yang also felt much better because of Felton’s words.

On the surface, he appeared as composed as ever, but inside, his mindset had also exploded. Joining the "empty stats" club was enough to make anyone lose it.

His mood improved even more for another reason—Little Fatty had finally stood out!

Even though Felton couldn’t recall many examples and only cited a few of the most iconic comebacks, the fact that Little Fatty could now independently lead his teammates was indeed commendable!

If Zhang San had said this, the effect wouldn’t have been as good. His young age was a factor, and unlike KING who had a leadership persona built for him from the moment he entered the NBA as the 2005 National Champion Point Guard, it was unlikely for him to lead upon entering the NBA.