No.1 in basketball scoring
Chapter 616: Public opinion environment being too favorable is not necessarily a good thing_3

Chapter 616: Public opinion environment being too favorable is not necessarily a good thing_3

Felton: "No need, last year after our winning streak we also got carried away. I’ve tried it, it doesn’t work, naturally you learn from the setback. It’s just that we four as the core need to work hard and play well to hold the fort."

Rondo quickly nodded upon hearing this, and Okafor gave a slight nod to indicate he understood.

Another day passed, and November 2 arrived. It was the second game day of the new season for the Hornets, and they were to face the challenge of the Bucks at home.

This game’s attention... well, it didn’t really capture the interest of fans from other teams. Even in the Carolina region, only Charlotte’s local television and surrounding towns had a live broadcast.

It looks like the Bucks are heading for another disaster this season.

The season had just started, and Reed, Mo Williams, and Bogut, their three core players, were all healthy and injury-free for the opening, which was quite rare.

But the quality role players the Bucks had accumulated over the years had all left this summer.

The way they lost these quality role players was also bizarre.

Last season’s shortest player in the league, Boykins, who averaged 14 points and 4 assists, only wanted the minimum salary to renew his contract, but the Bucks hesitated. Boykins, in a fit of pique, ran off to the Celtics to assist in their tanking efforts, and suddenly Mo Williams was left without a backup.

Ruben Patterson really pissed off Jordan in the offseason.

People remember clearly the incidents of big dogs, sticks, and little assassins rejecting big contracts and ending up with minimum salaries or even leaving the league, but such situations aren’t rare in the NBA.

Self-proclaimed ’Kobe stopper’ Ruben Patterson took advantage of Reed’s continuous injuries to deliver the best performance of his career, averaging a career-high 14.7 points and a career-high shooting percentage of 54.8%, along with outstanding defense. Among regular starters, he definitely qualified as an all-around player.

Before the start of this summer’s free agency, the Bucks offered a 3-year, $9 million renewal contract to the nearly 32-year-old Ruben Patterson. He refused, expressing his desire to test the free-agent market.

In September, when Jordan saw that Patterson was still on the market, he promptly made an offer. If 3 years for $9 million wasn’t good enough, then make it an even number, 3 years for $10 million... only to be rejected. The ’Kobe stopper’ insisted he deserved more than Cardinal, to which Jordan cursed and withdrew the offer.

The ’Kobe stopper’, who shouted about wanting a long contract worth five or six hundred thousand a year, ended up without any suitors. Just before the season started, he managed to secure a one-year non-guaranteed minimum salary with the Clippers.

When Zhang Yang saw what happened to Ruben Patterson, he felt that most black players really had... It’s understandable to want to land a big contract at the end of a career with an outstanding performance from the previous season, but at least be polite about it!

From those leaked news, Zhang Yang saw that this guy never properly discussed what he wanted, reacting arrogantly to any unsatisfactory offers with ’I need to be paid more than so-and-so on your team.’ This wasn’t just arrogance anymore.

But the departure of those two wasn’t the most bizarre way the Bucks lost quality role players.

The Bucks, who focused on cultivating the talented Turkish forward Ilyasova in the latter part of last season, continuously reduced the playing time of the browless hero Villanueva to the extent that they benched Villanueva at the end of the regular season... Then during the offseason, Ilyasova was lured away by the Barcelona team for two years at 4 million euros.

Of all the role players on the Bucks last season, the only successful retention was that of backup combo guard Charlie Bell—who signed a 5-year, $18 million renewal.

Charlie Bell had just turned 28, in the prime of his career, and went the full 82 games last season, averaging 13.5 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists with a 43% shooting percentage and 35% from three-point range. An annual salary of $3.6 million was reasonable, and a contract duration of 5 years didn’t pose any significant issues.

But just after renewing the contract at the end of June, and as July began, Charlie Bell managed to break his leg. He was expected to be able to return to play this season, as news from the training camp indicated he was in rehabilitation... but some media revealed that Bell’s injury could potentially affect his mobility, as he had not only broken the tibia in his lower leg but also damaged his knee joint.

Last season, Reed, Mo Williams, and Bogut were continuously plagued with injuries right from training camp, with an average of nearly 30 games missed per person. The role players played energetically, and it seemed that giving them one superstar could make them soar to new heights. This season, the three cores were healthy, but all the role players were gone!

Aside from Reed, the other two were not frontline players; they could only be said to have their own strengths. Mo Williams had a strong ability to take shots in isolation, compensating for Reed’s lack of skill in playing against adversity, and Bogut had a strong rim protection ability, around which a defense could be designed. But to ask these three to lead a team to victory through individual talent was simply asking too much of them.

Most members of the Bobcats didn’t take such an opponent seriously... The game started at 6 p.m., and Reed came out with a strong performance against the Bobcats right in the first quarter.

In the first quarter, Reed made 5 of 7 shots, including 2 for 2 from three-point range, and went 3 for 3 at the free-throw line, amassing 15 points and leading his team to a blistering 31 points!

The Bobcats players’ arrogance was palpable from the moment the Bucks entered the arena, filling Reed and his teammates with unmitigated rage, and they played with a fierce intensity on both the offensive and defensive ends in the first quarter.

The Bobcats were caught off guard, unable to defend effectively and struggling with their offense... Zhang Yang took his share of blame, making 4 of 9 shots, including 1 of 2 three-pointers, and went 2 for 2 at the free-throw line, scoring 11 points in the quarter.

Okafor made 2 of 4 shots in the opening quarter for 4 points along with 8 rebounds, 4 of which were on the offensive end.

Bogut was fierce in low-post defense, which discouraged Okafor from attempting low-post plays, focusing instead on attacking the glass. Okafor made smart offensive choices.

It took everything they had to keep the deficit to single digits, trailing the Bucks by 9 points at 22 to 31 entering the second quarter.

This quarter served as a wake-up call for the soaring Bobcats, leading to Carlisle’s halftime adjustments—the focus on defense.

In the second quarter, the Bobcats defended with great effort, but the Bucks, led by Reed, had already found their shooting rhythm, continuing their excellent scoring performance with 30 points in the quarter.

At this point, the true character of the Bobcats as a strong team was evident. Despite struggling on defense, they relentlessly engaged in physical play, exhausting the opposition, and deploying double teams.

Their offensive play improved as well, with Zhang Yang shooting only six times but making 4, including hitting two of three open threes, and going 3 for 3 from the free-throw line, scoring 13 points in the quarter!

The Bucks defended with tenacity and aggression tonight, but their team defense coordination was actually quite poor. The Bobcats did not capitalize on this in the first quarter when they played restlessly, but in this quarter, Rondo, Hill, and Millsap moved the ball well, allowing Zhang Yang to take open shots.

The second quarter ended with the Bobcats trailing 25 to 30, and at halftime, they were behind 47 to 61, trailing the Bucks by 14 points.

While the gap seemed to be widening, the performance of the Bobcats actually improved significantly in the second quarter.

By the end of the first half, Zhang Yang’s score had climbed to 24 points, just one point behind Reed’s 25 points.

After the halftime break, the Bobcats’ defensive war of attrition in the second quarter began to take its toll, with the Bucks’ shooting going cold. Wings like Zhang Yang, Felton, Rondo, and interior players like Millsap and Okafor provided even more support to Hill who was primarily guarding Reed.

Reed only made 2 of 6 shots in the third quarter, managing to contribute a mere 4 points and 3 assists, while the Bucks’ scoring plummeted to just 18 points for the quarter!

Meanwhile, for the Bobcats, Zhang Yang relentlessly scored from high positions, making 4 of 7 shots and going 4 for 4 from the free-throw line, scoring 12 points in the quarter and leading the Bobcats to 31 points!

By the end of the third quarter, the Bobcats managed to close the gap to 78 to 79, trailing by just 1 point!

...

...

After a final push, I managed to update with 5500 words before midnight, avoiding a break in the updates. I’m resting for today, my friends. Good night~