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Chapter 508 - 219. Finals kick off!

Chapter 508: 219. Finals kick off!

"Someone has to win, why can’t it be me?"

Upon hearing these words, countless fans in front of their TVs in China cheered.

After the ’Houston Collapsing Incident,’ aside from the still bizarre reports from non-mainstream media, most of the domestic media had become more realistic. This allowed fans to understand the real situation of the NBA. Their expectations for the Chinese players competing in America were lowered, primarily relieving Yao Ming from undue pressure, and also letting domestic fans truly appreciate how outstanding Yao Ming’s performances were and how challenging it was to achieve such records. Both Zhang Yang and the soon-to-be NBA player, Yi Jianlian, benefited from this mindset shift as well.

But ’opening their eyes to the world’ had its drawbacks too. Domestic basketball fans felt disheartened realizing that even the best players from China were so far from winning a championship in the NBA.

The belief that ’the Rockets are championship contenders,’ which confused and sounded ridiculous to American fans, found many believers domestically because the Chinese always strive to be number one.

That’s when Zhang Yang stepped forward; he truly positioned himself in front of the championship trophy!

Hearing Zhang Yang say these words in front of national fans, whether they liked him or not, everyone felt their blood boiling.

Compared to Yao Ming, Zhang Yang was more controversial. Many didn’t like him; they thought he was too casual, giving interviews when happy and refusing them when not, saying whatever he wanted. Sometimes he seemed arrogant and was rumored to be prone to violence... But those who liked him appreciated his free-spirited nature even more. Unlike Yao Ming, who carried the ’idol burden,’ Zhang Yang was fiercer, striking back hard when fouled...

At the venue, Jordan and Bickerstaff were waiting for a pre-game interview. Hearing the Chinese-speaking press officer, Kyle, translate Zhang Yang’s response, they were very satisfied. If young people lacked this spirited mindset, how could they succeed?

Carlisle, listening on the side, thought to himself: Whether they win this year or not, Jack’s words would become a classic in basketball history... No! They must win!

The head coach and star player only thought about victory, so how could he, the upcoming head coach’s consulting assistant, think about losing!

On the other half of the court, Duncan held a basketball under the basket. Whenever a teammate shot and scored, he would catch the ball and pass it back.

Watching the interviews taking place on the opposite side, he felt envious...

Ginobili charged into the lane practicing a Euro step, making the shot. Duncan caught the ball and handed it back to Ginobili.

Ginobili said, "Didn’t think Jack would make it to the finals."

Duncan: "Truly unexpected."

Ginobili: "And he’s tough to deal with, tougher than playing the Pistons."

Parker joined in, saying, "Didn’t all the media say the Bobcats’ upset victory over the Pistons was to our advantage?"

Duncan remained expressionless, and Ginobili shut his mouth.

Seeing that the conversation had dwindled, Barry chimed in, "It really was a surprise that the Bobcats won against the Pistons. When I saw the Eastern Conference matchup, I thought the Pistons might sweep them. Surprisingly, that legendary coach tired the Pistons out in such a manner, but it also shows that the Bobcats had no other strategy but to bank on luck and wear them down.

But that doesn’t mean it’s easier to play against the Bobcats than the Pistons. If it were the Pistons, Tim and you taking turns in one-on-ones could beat them, with Okafor able to stabilize at 15+10 per game, and Rondo a rookie pulling triple-doubles. You and Tim could crush their inside game so badly they’d lose their dreams of basketball;

While the Bobcats, they have the league’s deepest frontline, and with outside players like James and Hughes, confronting them when both are shooting less than 40%."

While Barry made Parker feel less awkward, the conversation still fizzled out and did not continue.

Parker felt a bit down. He knew everything Barry had said; he just wanted to find a way to talk more with the two, thinking he could pretend not to understand and ask questions... He liked to give advice, assuming others did the same.

Little did he know, the more he did this, the less patience Duncan and Ginobili had to talk to him, as both preferred teammates who could grasp an idea from half a sentence rather than a fool...

...

Pre-game preparations ended, and the starting players from both teams came onto the court.

Okafor and Duncan approached the center circle, eyeing each other... and then no other action.

Zhang Yang was supposed to come to this side of the center circle but deliberately ran around to the opposite side, only to find the two standing like statues, motionless.

Zhang Yang then realized why the Celestial Master during the Eastern Conference finals became increasingly irritable the more he played.

While the Pistons held the advantage, Okafor played steadily, seemingly without any emotional fluctuation.

Even as the Pistons fell apart, Okafor remained steady, never rash.

It was no wonder someone so passionate about playing energized basketball like the Celestial Master would become irritable.

Finley followed Zhang Yang to the other side of the midline and stood.

Gazing at the early successor to Jordan in front of him, Zhang Yang asked, "Michael, is this your first time in the finals?"

What kind of greeting was that? Finley paused for a moment, then replied, "Yes."

Zhang Yang: "What a coincidence, I am too."

Finley: "..."

For some reason, he felt his fists clench... No! This guy was like a Laimbeer Pro version, he had to hold back.

Seeing that the other party had stopped talking, Zhang Yang found the Spurs utterly dull—everyone was so boring, even the charming Ginobili who couldn’t pass more wind than could fit in three sentences.

But the game was about to start, so let it be boring! They were playing the Finals against the Big Three!

At the other side of the center circle along the sideline, Gerald Wallace and Bowen stood, while Felton and Muhammad, Parker and Argentine inside player Fabricio Oberto stood on the free-throw lines of their respective backcourts.

At 9 o’clock, the referee blew the whistle to start the game and tossed the ball into the air. Okafor leapt vigorously, touching the ball before Duncan and tipping it backwards.

The game began, and the Bobcats took the offensive!

Zhang Yang charged to the frontcourt like an arrow; Finley couldn’t react in time for the confrontation, getting shaken off by Zhang Yang!

But after losing the jump ball, Duncan quickly retreated, moved right to the top of the arc to block Zhang Yang momentarily. As Zhang Yang rounded Duncan entering the three-point line, Oberto was already standing between him and the basket, with Finley catching up from behind.

Zhang Yang halted his rapid steps, bringing Finley to the baseline. Since the fast break hadn’t worked out—it was just a warm-up run—and he hadn’t expected much anyway, since even if the chance had arisen, Felton might not have passed the ball; El Gordo handled the ball very cautiously... Speeding Duncan up with an additional couple of steps was nonetheless advantageous.

When Felton had advanced beyond the three-point line, Zhang Yang immediately cut to the basket, slipping along the baseline.

Felton initiated an attack, with Parker clinging close to defend the three; Felton pulled the ball, rolling past Parker on the right!

Zhang Yang slipped along the baseline to the left side of the three-second area, lifting upward. Okafor blocked Finley who was chasing behind, giving Zhang Yang a chance to escape his pursuer and pass high. Duncan didn’t switch to block but moved to the right side of the three-second area to cut off Felton, who burst in close and passed back high.

Zhang Yang caught the ball and turned around... only to find Parker sticking close!

Parker had stopped pursuing once Felton reached the free-throw line distance, waiting at the free-throw line distance to block whoever caught the ball high.

Parker was fast and tight in his marking. If Zhang Yang had turned around to shoot immediately upon catching, the jump would surely have been affected.

But Zhang Yang didn’t shoot right away; he turned back around, bumping Parker off with one step, then turned again, retreating in mid-shot...

Parker, pushed back, quickly closed in again with his fast step burst. Combined with Zhang Yang’s "Frank Hamblen-style" mid-shot retreat, the low jump height—shooting while coming down instead of stepping back to jump—the moment Zhang Yang shot, Parker was nearly in his face.

Nevertheless, Zhang Yang ignored the face-to-face Parker, releasing a steady mid-range shot... and scored!

At the commentator’s seat, Zhang Weiping exclaimed: "He really dared to shoot!" "Hey, it actually went in!" "That was incredibly risky..."

Actually, to Zhang Yang, Parker’s renewed pressure made no difference.

With such a discrepancy in height and reach, all he needed was to fully jump, muster his shot, and Parker’s defense was merely a gun mount for aiming!

However, the shot did indeed look spectacular and thrilling; seeing Zhang Yang score, his teammates celebrated by high-fiving him exuberantly as they fell back in defense.

Popovich furrowed his brow on the sidelines. He had thought Zhang Yang quite suppressed them last season, but back then, considering Zhang Yang was only 17, he wasn’t worried—by the time this rookie matured, the Spurs might have already been rebuilding.

But Zhang Yang, only 19, had made it to the Finals!

Truth be told, most players precise in mid-range shots posed little threat to the Spurs. Generally speaking, shooters precise in mid-range were either off-ball shooters or spot-up shooters, like Duncan who had become accurate in recent years but mostly just received passes to shoot; he seldomly played one-on-one.

Just catching and shooting cleanly, Popovich wasn’t afraid at all; their rotational defense could immediately stick close to limit an opponent’s jump shot release. For instance, the mid-range king of a previous generation, Alan Houston, led the Knicks to almost sweeping them in the Finals; the contemporary mid-range king, Hamilton, managed only a 38% shooting rating in the 2005 Finals, where the Spurs’ victory by Game 7 depended on three factors: Duncan’s stable average of 20+ points, Ginobili’s explosive contribution, and Hamilton’s mid-range shots being completely locked down.

But it was different with those who could play one-on-one and shoot accurately; sticking close was useless!

Because their best player in that area was Parker, Popovich’s disdain began to surface again—if only they could have traded for Kidd back then...

Transitioning from defense to offense, Parker advanced to the frontcourt, spotting Gerald on the wing and Okafor and Muhammad on either side of the three-second area. He lobbed the ball down to Duncan in the low post.

Guarding Duncan from behind was his former teammate Muhammad. Duncan backed him in with a step, turned, and entered the lane. As Okafor closed in for the double-team right on time, Duncan seized the moment, raised the ball high for a high throw shot... and scored!

...

...

Wrote until 3:30 last night, and didn’t wake up until this afternoon. I’ve been groggy all day. Here’s a shorter Chapter for now.