No.1 in basketball scoring
Chapter 626: This season’s weekly best came very early!_2

Chapter 626: This season’s weekly best came very early!_2

Just now, after Zhang Yang was beaten by Wade, he turned and stopped at the right side of the free-throw line instead of pressing further. He moved two steps to the left to the free-throw line, cutting off Wade’s passing route to DaQuan Cook, who was running toward the top of the arch.

But when Wade grabbed the ball and took his first step towards the baseline, Zhang Yang immediately started dashing under the basket. It was obvious that he had anticipated Wade’s Euro step’s final position and timed his block perfectly, delivering a solid rejection!

This time, even the fans in the stands could feel Zhang Yang’s defensive improvement during his matchup with Wade!

Skills and such definitely couldn’t have gotten better in just a little over one quarter, but it was visible that Zhang Yang was reading Wade’s offense better, making better defensive choices after defending him one-on-one multiple times and experimenting.

The Grim Reaper Parker and Penny ran back to inbound the ball, and Penny passed to Wade, who had been signaling with his hands. He was just a roster filler, long gone were his days of stardom, decisively phasing out, advancing a bit, catching and shooting a mid-range jumper, not bothering to follow a three-point shooter on defense, and this year he could pocket several hundred thousand dollars in retirement money...

Wade continued to attack aggressively, and Zhang Yang still couldn’t stop Wade’s forceful drives. The Bobcats had to collapse their wings early or expand their defense under the basket ahead of time, otherwise blocking Wade was impossible.

However, as Zhang Yang gradually found his way to defend Wade one-on-one, utilizing his teammates on defense better and capitalizing on the opposing wing shooters’ weaknesses, his containment on Wade also tightened!

Unless his teammate was wide open, diving under the basket for an easy score, Wade wouldn’t dare pass. If his pass led to a missed shot, it could result in a counterattack.

What made Wade uncomfortable was not only that the offensive pressure was increasing but also that his defense was getting worse.

He couldn’t stick close enough!

Compared to their encounter at the end of last regular season, Zhang Yang’s dribbling moves had become more varied, the mainstay being his unpretentious rhythm with a hint of flair. But occasionally he would pull off a wide ball pullback, or a continuous dribble under the legs into a jump shot...

As the game progressed, the fans on the scene suddenly realized that Zhang Yang, who had been pressed down by Wade with 6 points and 2 assists on 5 shots in the first quarter, was going toe-to-toe with Wade in the second quarter!

Watching Wade play with increasing frustration and anger, his face showing more and more reluctance and indignation, and then looking at Zhang Yang’s green face filled only with fighting spirit... the fans saw something called sunshine, something called the future in Zhang Yang’s expression and demeanor, especially when compared with Wade.

Wade, who was not even 26 years old for another two months, for some reason gave off a sense of twilight years.

In the second quarter, Wade played for 10 minutes, shooting 4 out of 9, plus scoring 2 out of 4 free throws, tallying up 10 points and 3 assists.

By halftime, after 20 minutes on the court, he shot 7 out of 15, added 5 out of 8 free throws, securing 19 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. Wade’s performance was quite impressive.

But on the last attack of the second quarter, Zhang Yang drove into the paint and scored off the backboard before O’Neal could turn around to block, bringing his quarter score up to 11 points!

Although Zhang Yang played for 21 minutes in the half, which was more than Wade, and scored less, his overall shooting was 7 out of 16, only a 43.7% field goal percentage, which was lower than Wade’s 46.7%. Yet, his points for the quarter had already surpassed Wade’s!

Not only did Zhang Yang’s points for the quarter surpass Wade’s, but the Bobcats also widened the scoring gap with the Heat in the second quarter.

Wade scored 1 more point in the second quarter than in the first, but the Heat’s total points for the team dropped by a whole 5 points to 22, while the Bobcats maintained their scoring performance from the first quarter with 28 points.

At the end of the half, the Bobcats led the Heat by 8 points, 57 to 49!

Entering halftime, Wade looked at the data comparison on the big screen.

Score-wise, down 8 points by halftime... After being slaughtered by the Chicago Bulls in the opener, then defeated by the Timberwolves in the second game, Wade was unwilling and angry, but this was to be expected.

His focus was on Zhang Yang’s shooting performance in the second quarter, 5 out of 11, including one three-pointer, with no free throws, managing to score 11 points on 11 attempts!

Every time he faced Zhang Yang, Wade was always amazed by his wild and aggressive style...

On the other side, Carlisle’s attention was also on the number of shots Zhang Yang took.

He held back his criticism until all the players had entered the tunnel, and then he complained to Randy Brown, who was hanging back at the end: "Jack really can shoot! Wade’s 9 attempts were already a lot, but he took even more! Whenever I think he doesn’t have a chance to shoot, he always manages to get the ball off."

Randy Brown: "Is that a complaint? Doesn’t sound like it... But I still need to explain it to the bad boy. Oh, what did John tell me to say in this situation again? Got it!"

Randy Brown replied, "I think if Wade had the opportunity, he would be willing to shoot like Jack."

Carlisle: "Huh?"

How did we get on to Wade?

Randy Brown: "Jack manages his energy better than Wade, and he also has better conditions for managing his energy.

When Jack is tired from offense, he can pass to Rajon, to Raymond, to Grant, take a breather, and then continue shooting.

Wade can’t do that. As long as he’s on the court, the ball has to go through him, otherwise the Heat’s offense will be even worse, and the deficit would be more than just 8 points.

The defensive effort is also different for both players. Jack defends smarter, has stronger teammates to rely on, and uses less energy than Wade. Wade can only hope to defend Jack by himself, so Jack’s offensive continuity is better, and he is in a better position to shoot more often."