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Chapter 629 - 270. This season’s weekly best came very early!_5

Chapter 629: 270. This season’s weekly best came very early!_5

...

On November 6, the Charlotte Bobcats arrived at the Wachovia Center to challenge the Philadelphia 76ers on their home court.

During the off-season, the 76ers had made a significant roster overhaul, trading away or not re-signing players who did not fit well with the core duo of Andre Miller and Iguodala.

Even for a shooter like Korver, when the management received offers above their psychological price, they decided not to match.

While Korver was good, he indeed did not mesh with their outside shooting core.

Moreover, Korver at that time was merely a shooter. During his 4 years with the 76ers, his defense had always been astonishingly bad. He had a stint as a starter alongside Iverson, and during that time, both allowed their direct opponents to score 110 points per 100 possessions, a defensively shocking performance from the sieve-like duo.

He was far from being the top-tier 3D player with first-rate teamwork and defensive skills that he would become after years of training with the Jazz Team.

After a series of roster changes, the 76ers’ brand new starting lineup: Andre Miller, Willie Green, Iguodala, Reggie Evans, Dalembert, with the sixth man being Louis Williams, who had averaged 2 and 4 points in the previous two years and had started to cash in on his talent in his third year after two years of grooming.

Along with high-flying Rodney Carney, instantly effective rookies Jason Smith and Thaddeus Young, the 76ers had a fresh 9-player rotation and had started off with an excellent record of 2 wins and 1 loss.

Iguodala, averaging 21 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2.3 steals over 3 games, was less than two months away from turning 24 and had Philadelphia fans exclaiming, "We have a superstar again!"

However... as the game between the Bobcats and the 76ers began, Zhang Yang felt scoring on Iguodala a bit too easy!

Seeing Iguodala’s stats of an average of 21 points, 5 assists, and 2.3 steals, he thought Iguodala had stepped up, although his memory seemed to tell him that Iguodala’s scoring would decline. But what if he, Zhang San, gave Iguodala a metaphorical slap on the wings, steering him towards a completely different growth path?

After playing a few more rounds, Zhang Yang understood the reason behind Iguodala’s scoring surge—sacrificing defense.

Despite Iguodala’s career-high steals at the start of the season, his defense had become more like gambling on risky steals, no longer sticking to his man like before, and he frequently got out of position because of his adventurous interceptions!

Handling scoring, organizing offense, and defending all at once was something that Iguodala could not fully manage in terms of stamina or concentration!

If it were up to Zhang Yang, he would choose to sacrifice organizing offense... but he had no intention of reminding the other party. After all, they weren’t close.

The game was fiercely contested, and with the 76ers’ entirely new lineup and strategy, the Bobcats struggled to defend. Iguodala had 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, Andre Miller had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, both activating the entire team’s offense. Louis Williams scored 17 points, 2 assists, Dalembert contributed 10 points, Willie Green added 14 points and 3 assists, and two wing players both scored 9 points... the 76ers scored a total of 104 points.

But the 76ers’ perimeter defense was poor. Initially relying on Dalembert’s stout rim protection and Reggie Evans’ rebounding, the interior defense was decent. However, after Zhang Yang, Hill, and Felton bombarded from the outside, the 76ers’ interior defense collapsed.

Zhang Yang went 12-for-21 from the field, including 2-for-5 from three-point range, and with a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line, he scored 31 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block.

Hill, scoring double digits for the first time with his new team, had 17 points, 5 assists. Felton had 16 points, 6 assists, and with Okafor’s 21 points, 11 rebounds... the Bobcats triumphed over the 76ers with a safe victory of 111-104, marking a four-game winning streak from the start!

Iguodala’s stats looked better, and he had become the team’s core that he had always dreamed of, but playing was exhausting... Tonight, he was tormented by the bad boy Jack again!

The next morning, as Zhang Yang returned to Charlotte with the team, he reached home and received great news—the honor of receiving the first Player of the Week of the season had come earlier than previous seasons!

In the first week of gameplay, with the Bobcats boasting a perfect record of 4 wins, Zhang Yang averaged 34.5 points, 4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1 steal, and 1.75 blocks per game, which included a 50-point performance, earning him the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award!