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Chapter 566 - 244. An Unprecedented Competition Experience_4

Chapter 566: 244. An Unprecedented Competition Experience_4

As the leader of the team, Durant was wondering whether he should instruct his teammates with something like, "Don’t be afraid of Zhang Yang," but he didn’t know how to say it, nor did he understand how to command on the spot. Seeing his strongest follower proactively gathering the teammates and inspiring them, emphasizing the details of cooperation, Durant felt at ease—there was nothing better than having his followers handle everything!

...

After the halftime break, Zhang Yang cleared his mind and stepped back onto the court to keep swinging!

The situation was similar to the first quarter; when Zhang Yang led the offense, the Lakers had the upper hand, but once the ball stopped going through him, their offensive efficiency plummeted. Not only that, his dominance waned significantly, as the Thunder Team performed better in both defense and offense than in the first quarter!

The technical aspects of Zhang Yang’s play, his preferred shooting spots, weren’t much different from what the Thunder Team had analyzed. But his shooting habits in the first quarter differed significantly from the team’s pre-game analysis; his usual steady style from the regular season vanished, leaving the Thunder Team caught off guard.

During the halftime, not only did Harden gather his teammates to emphasize the importance of support play, but Scott Brooks also adjusted their defensive coordination. When double-teaming Zhang Yang, they interfered better with the Lakers’ passing routes, putting a clear focus on defense—guard the driving lanes aggressively and leave the Lakers’ wing players open for threes.

Scott Brooks accurately identified the Lakers’ weak spot—although they had several players who could shoot threes, the most reliable were the two point guards, Jamison, Metta, and Meeks, whose shooting percentages were decent but not outstanding, hovering around thirty-five or thirty-six percent—not top tier.

In the first quarter, the Thunder Team spent a long time trailing, but in the second quarter, they were only slightly behind when Zhang Yang was on the attack. As soon as Zhang Yang took a breather, they quickly took the lead. Later in the quarter, it was Zhang Yang who was trying to lead his team in catching up!

In the second quarter, Zhang Yang scored 9 points, grabbed 1 rebound, gave 1 assist, and made 1 block, leading the Lakers to score 28 points, while the Thunder Team scored 31 points.

At halftime, the Thunder Team was leading the Lakers by 4 points with a score of 65 to 61!

Going into the third quarter, the Thunder Team continued to widen their lead. During the star matchup stage, Durant and Zhang Yang were evenly matched, but in regular offense, Harden leading his team performed slightly better than Nash leading his team, with the Thunder Team outscoring the Lakers by 27 to 24 in the third quarter, thus leading by 7 points.

At the start of the final quarter, Zhang Yang was rested on the bench for a while after playing the full first three quarters, as he was exhausted from both offense and defense.

But within just four minutes, the Thunder Team scored 12 to 5...

By the time Zhang Yang was back on the court, the score had reached 89 to 103, trailing by 14 points!

This time, Zhang Yang didn’t care about team play; he started to hammer away from mid to long-range!

In single coverage in this area, neither Ibaka nor Perkins could affect him much; the Thunder Team’s three perimeter players who took turns defending him were unable to restrict his shots.

Durant was not as fast as him; Sefolosha lacked the strength to compete with him; Harden had both mobility and strength but was not as disruptive in shooting as Durant and not as fundamental in defense as Sefolosha, and his defensive basketball IQ was only average... none could prevent Zhang Yang from getting his shots off.

Zhang Yang at one point in the middle of the fourth quarter shot 3-for-5, plus 3-for-3 free throws, scoring 9 points in a row and leading his team to a 13 to 8 run, reducing the deficit to 9 points. But after the aggressive push, he was out of steam, managing only 1 out of 3 shots in the last three minutes...

At 11:22 PM, the final buzzer sounded.

Zhang Yang scored 14 points in the first quarter, 9 in the second, 10 in the third, and 11 in the fourth quarter, shooting 15-for-31, including 2-for-5 from three-point range, and making all 12 of his free throws for a total of 44 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Despite his performance, the Lakers still lost to the Thunder Team!

Durant went 11-for-22, including 2-for-4 from three-point range, and made 13 of his 16 free throws, scoring 37 points—the second-highest in the game.

Harden shot 9-for-20, making 3 of 6 three-pointers, and was perfect from the free-throw line with 8-for-8, scoring 29 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and dishing out 9 assists.

Adding to this, Ibaka’s 14 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 blocks...

to 107, the Thunder Team defeats the Lakers, defending their home court in the first game!

...

The next morning, he slept heavily and woke up late.

He checked the news, and the headlines were about him—"A sorrowful milestone."

Last night, he notched 44 points, breaking his previous personal playoff scoring record of 41 points in ’last year’s’ Western Conference Finals, but the team lost.

The news used terms like "Lakers’ New King," and Zhang Yang felt that this journalist had a beef with him... Not surprisingly, it was the royal media again.

He suffered a milestone misery, as if ridiculing him wasn’t enough, they also wanted to instigate internal strife?

Lou Smith would get a kick out of this news later!

Reflecting on last night’s game, he felt quite uncomfortable.

His offense was actually not bad; his teammates’ distractions, support, and coordination were all pretty good.

But the course of the game...

With 80 on the clock, with Bird as the safety net, he would go in for the harvest.

With 10 on the clock, during the Suns era, he was a supporting role; for the Spurs’ two playoff runs, with the big three as the safety net, he would go in for the harvest.

Playing against the Pistons or the Spurs, it was always his teammates holding up the situation, and he would go in for the harvest.

But last night, he became the one providing the safety net!

When he wasn’t leading the charge, only Gasol, Jordan Hill, Blake, Meeks, and he himself were able to somewhat match the opposition.

If it was just Nash and Blake on the court without Gasol, the ball had to go through him, Zhang San; otherwise, the game was as ugly as it could be.

Not only did he need to provide a safety net, but he also had to take the clutch shots... Old Smith had it tough!

The main reason was that their opponents, the Thunder Team, were too strong — second in the league, first in the West.

Last night’s game made Zhang Yang understand why other star players’ fans always say that Kobe and Wade were lucky; those two really were fortunate, joining the NBA with Big Shark as a teammate, making the early days much more enjoyable.

Most talented rookies have to carry the team’s burden upon entering the NBA, and most talents can’t bear that burden right away, ultimately being crushed by the pressure and becoming mediocre.

"If I knew I could choose, I would’ve picked the lowest-tier task. I hope this experience doesn’t end with nothing gained..."

Muttering to himself, Zhang Yang went to the bathroom to freshen up, brainstorming ideas.

Although they lost last night’s game, it wasn’t completely without gains; he paid close attention to his teammates’ offensive and defensive play and actually cooperated once, gaining a better understanding.

After freshening up and returning to his room, Zhang Yang saw it was almost 11 o’clock. He called the front desk for his teammates’ room numbers and went to Metta’s room, knocking on the door, which was promptly answered.

After finishing the game at 11:30 last night, handling interviews, therapy, and other matters, and returning to the hotel at two in the morning, Zhang Yang thought that World Peace might still be sleeping, but he was already up.

Zhang Yang responded, and soon, the door opened; World Peace invited him in... The TV was playing last night’s game recording!

World Peace poured Zhang Yang a cup of black tea and asked, "Jack, what do you need from me?"

Zhang Yang got straight to the point, "Metta, guarding Durant, I think it should be you!"

...

...

I was a bit busy today, didn’t have time to write until I got back in the evening. Here’s one Chapter for now, I will continue writing, aiming to add another concise and potent one before 12—seeking monthly votes at month’s end!