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Chapter 496: Crazy G6 Night!

Chapter 496: Crazy G6 Night!

The Bobcats tied the series, and the Eastern Conference Finals moved to a decisive match!

It was quite an upset for the Bobcats to take a game in the first two away games and regain home-court advantage.

After G3, media and experts predicted that the Bobcats would be trailing 1-3 in the away game, returning home for G5, they might have a chance to fight back in G6, but the chances were slim. After the first three games, most media predicted an exit score of 2-4 for the Bobcats.

Unexpectedly, the Bobcats evened the series in G4!

In terms of strength, the Pistons held the advantage, which people had already confirmed.

Even in G4, it was evident that the Pistons were a bit stronger than the Bobcats, who relied on Gerald Wallace’s explosion in the first quarter, Felton in the second, Okafor in the third, Zhang Yang in the fourth, and Rajon Rondo in overtime... If any of these links were missing, the Bobcats would have already been trailing 1-3.

Now, even though the Bobcats have evened the series, most people still believe the Pistons will win, even though many don’t want the Pistons in the Finals, yet they acknowledge the team’s strength, just like in the Western Conference, where people hope the Jazz team will win, but everyone believes the Spurs will definitely make it to the Finals.

However, tying the series means the Bobcats haven’t given up, they still have the capability to fight, and there’s still a chance!

Tonight, the Bobcats’ trio of guards performed spectacularly.

Six points in the first quarter, seven in the second, six in the third, ten in the fourth, and two in overtime. Zhang Yang played 39 minutes, shot 25 times with 12 makes, including two out of three from three-point range, and perfect from the free-throw line with five out of five, scoring 31 points in total.

Zhang Yang averaged 24 points per game in the regular season. Although his selection to the second team was highly controversial, his stats combined with the record were somewhat justifiable. And for an 18-year-old player, such a performance is already quite impressive.

Come playoff time, Zhang Yang performed even better. In the first round against the Nets, he averaged 27.5 points per game, even fiercer than during the regular season!

In the second round, partially because the Bobcats’ frontcourt severely contained the Lynch-James duo, the difference in performances between the two teams was much greater than their records, Zhou Yang averaged only 29 minutes and 21.5 points per game, a decent performance.

But in the Eastern Conference Finals, he’s been terrific, posting 30+ points in four consecutive games!

The playoffs are bigger than the regular season, the Eastern Conference Finals bigger than the playoffs, the Finals... have not yet been played.

But even without playing in the Finals, to the public, the bad boy Jack had already shown traits of a big-game player.

Felton was also fiery tonight. In G3’s second half, his three-point shooting was off, and he missed several open shots, which was one of the reasons the Bobcats lost. Tonight, he was sharp, making 8 out of 17 shots. Although he only made 2 out of 7 two-pointers, he was 6 for 9 in three-points, and perfect from the free-throw line, scoring a playoff career-high 24 points.

His one-on-one pull-up three-pointers, pull-up threes off screens, and close-range floaters from the sides of the paint within the three-second zone have become his signature moves.

But the biggest surprise, and key to the Bobcats’ victory tonight, was Rajon Rondo!

Rondo scored in double figures for two consecutive games, earning 14 points tonight, six of which came from a crucial drive in overtime, drawing close to Rasheed Wallace’s face.

People thought Jarett Jack would be the Bobcats’ correct answer for a backup guard in the playoffs, but still, Jack fell short, as Billups and Lynch Hunter’s defense proved too potent for him. He couldn’t penetrate, didn’t have good shooting opportunities, and missed against such defense... His skills are versatile but not intense enough.

On the other hand, Rondo, often criticized for his limited offensive skills, played quite well this time, relying purely on speed for sneak attacks, shooting when possible, and passing to Zhang Yang otherwise.

The phenomenal performance of the Bobcats’ trio of backcourt geniuses amazed fans, who also lamented the breakup of the Wallace duo.

The fans’ attitude towards the Pistons is interesting; no one likes the team, but everyone loves the Pistons’ Fab Five!

After Billups won the FMVP in ’04 and was left out of the All-Star game in ’05, the fans felt it was unfair—how could an FMVP not make the All-Star the following year?

Apart from those who retired right after winning the championship, Billups’ situation is unique.

Hamilton and Prince are relatively less popular, but also much-loved by fans.

The most popular are undoubtedly the Wallace duo; Rasheed Wallace consistently ranked within the top five in Eastern All-Star votes, even amid the popularity of players like James and Hill.

Ben Wallace was even more popular, having been selected as an All-Star starter for two consecutive years before O’Neal came along.

While the outer trio of the Fab Five are still young and improving year by year, the Wallace duo are showing their age this year.

If the Wallace duo hadn’t split up, even with their advanced age, they could still have played the league’s strongest interior defense with their absolutely complementary styles.

But once separated, their aging became apparent. They were fine early in games when fresh, but as games dragged on, both started to lag.

Like tonight, besides Rondo pressuring Rasheed Wallace face-to-face, there was also Gerald Wallace, who grabbed an impressive 18 points and 12 rebounds, including six offensive boards in the first quarter allowing the Bobcats to keep the score close and not fall to a double-digit deficit, setting the stage for Felton, Okafor, Zhang Yang, and Rondo to successively explode.

Rasheed Wallace performed poorly in offense tonight, making just 4 out of 11 shots for 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. He was only able to create space decently, helping Webber and McDyess get good shots, with Webber scoring 14 points and McDyess 12.