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Chapter 681 - 287. Became a role model for the new generation?

Chapter 681: 287. Became a role model for the new generation?

Yao Ming won the Player of the Week, leading the Chicago Bulls to second in the Eastern Conference, which put pressure on Zhang Yang, but with a four-game lead, it was unlikely that the Bulls would catch up with his team, the Bobcats, anytime soon, so the short-term impact was minimal.

The pressure from the Western Conference Player of the Week was more direct—Brandon Roy!

Last week, the Trail Blazers won three out of four games, with Roy averaging 23 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, shooting 50 percent, which earned him the Western Conference Player of the Week award.

On the 1st, during the meeting to prepare for the five consecutive away games, Zhang Yang noticed that the coaching staff paid significant attention to the Trail Blazers, who had only an 8-7 record, and specifically researched the team’s season performance.

The Trail Blazers did not start well. Their head coach, Nate McMillan, modeled the team after the Supersonics’ "Musketeer Formation." He positioned Roy like Brent Barry as the main point guard, along with Channing Frye, Travis Outlaw, Aldridge, Raef LaVrentz, James Jones, Blake... and others as core rotation shooters, resulting in a "Five Musketeers" formation. They started with three consecutive losses, only to achieve their first win against their former team, the Supersonics.

Paul Allen’s extravagant lineup, formed during the off-season spending spree, was mismanaged by McMillan.

However, as a young coach, McMillan had many strengths—he was not obstinate and could admit his mistakes instead of blaming his players, and he made changes.

McMillan appointed Steve Blake as the main point guard, freeing Roy from prolonged ball-handling duties.

He returned Aldridge to the power forward position and brought Pulzbila back as the starting center, liberating Aldridge from having to guard opposing centers under the basket.

He assigned the defensively weak but good shooting Channing Frye to play as the backup center and the injury-plagued, highest-paid center, LaVrentz, to play as the third center, thus placing the "Musketeer Formation" in the rotation lineup.

In addition, he boldly started Martell Webster, a ’high school dud’ from the 2005 draft, as starting small forward, allowing the stronger 2003 high school player, Travis Outlaw, to come off the bench as the sixth man.

The starting lineup included Roy, Aldridge, and Blake, with Webster sufficiently capable, and Outlaw was a bit too quick for the other four starters, while Webster, less athletic, better matched their pace; with Outlaw off the bench, they gained a stable scorer and counterattack specialist, making the roster more balanced.

In the remaining games of November, the Trail Blazers delivered a performance of seven wins and four losses.

After winning the first two games in December, the Trail Blazers’ record rose to 10-7, joining the third tier of strong Western teams like the Nuggets Team, Warriors, Grizzlies, and Rockets, competing for the seventh and eighth spots.

Zhang San: Silas was right, the day before yesterday playing against the Supersonics was just a warm-up for the five-game road trip...

...

At 7:40 PM, at the Rose Garden Arena, the Bobcats and the Trail Blazers entered the court one after another.

When Zhang Yang entered, he heard some boos, but not very loud, and of course, not much cheering either, just sporadic... The atmosphere was not very lively, even though the over twenty thousand seats were almost full.

He was used to this; it had been like this for the past two years when he played here, with the Portland Jail Blazers, whose reputation was thoroughly ruined.

He looked at the opposing players, feeling as though he saw two words—wealthy.

The Trail Blazers had five starters, three of whom were on rookie contracts from the 2005 draft: Webster, the 2006 Aldridge, and Roy, with a total salary of 81.39 million.

Filling the venue was also a display of the Trail Blazers’ wealth—the average ticket price for the team this season was 22nd in the league.

When Zhang Yang arrived at the Rose Garden Arena this morning, he saw a promotional ad for tickets— the cheapest being 9 US dollars for a seat in the furthest row, and it even included a rose.

Normally, a team in a big city with a large basketball market like Portland wouldn’t sell tickets this way.

After arriving in Portland yesterday, Zhang Yang looked up news about the Trail Blazers and came across an interview with the team’s owner during media day at the training camp two months ago.

A journalist from Forbes Sports asked a question implying— if the Trail Blazers tripled their ticket prices, their sales rate would hardly decrease by two-thirds or even one-third, and their ticket revenue could at least double.

Paul Allen’s response after hearing this was— "I don’t care if it’s profitable, making money is great, but the primary task of my finance department staff is to ensure that there is no empty seat when I go to watch a game."

At that time, netizens were not surprised when they read this interview.

Since Paul Allen bought the Trail Blazers, they have never made a profit; their annual deficit is the highest in the league. For instance, in the 02-03 season, the Trail Blazers’ total revenue from tickets, sponsorships, and broadcast fees amounted to 185 million, surpassing the Lakers’ 175 million, second only to the Knicks’ 280 million, ranking second in the league. Yet, that season, the Trail Blazers still had the league’s largest deficit, losing over 30 million.

This was because their payroll exceeded 105 million that season, with the luxury tax threshold at 46.49 million, resulting in over 58 million in luxury taxes alone, nearly consuming all their revenue from player salaries.

As Zhang Yang marveled at the Microsoft tycoon’s extravagant spendthrift nature, suddenly, he heard fans behind the technical stand loudly shouting, "Jack, look over here."

Did fans of his, Zhang San, buy such front-row seats in Rose City?

Zhang Yang turned his head to look... Several fans were holding up a big banner—"Jack, Brandon will be as strong as you."

Zhang Yang: ???

Hill patted Zhang Yang on the shoulder, teasing, "Jack, even the basketball fans in the Northwest think you’re the strongest of the new generation."

Zhang Yang, "They say this, but aren’t they afraid Roy will be unhappy?"

Hill: "Sideways?"

Zhang Yang: "I entered the NBA just one year before Roy did."

Hill: "If I had entered the NBA in ’80 and someone told me that I could become as great as Magic, I would be over the moon."

Zhang Yang: "..."

Hill’s personality really differs from the other Black teammates, even from Okafor. They all seem to be emphasizing something when they speak to Zhang Yang, but Hill does not at all.

Zhang Yang glanced again at that slogan, unable to shake off the feeling of embarrassment and cliché, yet still feeling a tiny bit proud...

...

At 8 p.m., the Hornets’ away game against the Trail Blazers began!

Okafor won the jump ball against Pulzbila, giving the Hornets the first possession!

Hornets’ starting lineup: Felton, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Millsap, Okafor.

Trail Blazers’ starting lineup: Blake, Roy, Webster, Aldridge, Pulzbila.

Felton advanced to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Zhang Yang at the high side on the right.

Roy was guarding Zhang Yang from behind. As Zhang Yang received the ball and turned around to make a feint, Roy was not fooled. Zhang Yang turned to face Roy, feigned a raise of his hands, but Roy didn’t flinch. Zhang Yang lifted the ball, jumped, and shot the long two-pointer!

Roy quickly reacted, leaping up to interfere... to no avail.

Zhang Yang’s pull-up long two-pointer was good!

On the Hornets’ bench, the veteran coach Paul Silas saw Roy’s defense and lamented, "This young Jack’s defense is really smart. His athletic ability is average, and going physical can easily throw him off due to his timing, but he has height. He chooses to rely on his anticipation for interference-based defense. Too bad, his wingspan is too short, lacking both an athletic and static physical advantage, making it hard for him to be a good defender. It’s a pity for his defensive awareness."

Carlisle nodded and responded, "Against a newer generation’s perimeter player, Roy’s physical shortcomings will matter less. His defensive style is somewhat similar to Jack’s. His timing in jumping and reaching out his hands is very good, and it easily intimidates opponents, but it just so happened to be Jack this time."

The game had just started, and the two coaches from the Hornets were discussing the Trail Blazers’ marquee players.

In their view, the duo of Roy and Aldridge had established themselves, supported by a group of excellent role players. Despite an injury list that included a visibly talented Oden, in two years the Trail Blazers will have nearly 30 million US dollars in bad contracts expiring... too similar to the Trail Blazers from a decade ago. Once the bad contracts expire and the trio are still under rookie contracts, if they manage to secure all-stars in their prime from the ’01, ’02, and ’03 drafts in 2009 or 2010, they could skyrocket."

For some teams, holding several young talents makes them hesitant to offer max contracts to free agents, as that could lead to excessive luxury tax pressure when renewing these young talents’ contracts—a headache many teams face when building their squad. However, with the Trail Blazers, this is not a problem at all, for Paul Allen is the NBA’s leading spender in US dollars.

The Lakers, according to the Hornets’ coaching staff, would be their ultimate opponent on the championship path in the next two or three years, followed by the Suns and the Spurs. But Carlisle’s vision wasn’t just immediate; it also concerned the future. The Trail Blazers, Hornets, Jazz, and Grizzlies seemed most likely to dominate the West after the Lakers and Spurs era.

It was the Trail Blazers’ turn to attack.

After Blake progressed to the frontcourt, he passed to Roy, giving the first offensive possession to their leader.

Within just one year, Roy had ousted Randolph, restored order, and led the team to become a playoff-contending team, establishing himself as the undisputed leader and marquee player for the Trail Blazers.

The media’s assessment of him – possessing Raymond’s leadership ability, Jack’s offensive talent, and Emeka’s mental fortitude.

As for Roy being a whole four years older than Zhang Yang... well, that’s another story.

Roy waited for Blake to move to the wing, then started his isolation play, with Zhang Yang guarding him upfront.

Zhang Yang defended with focus, while Roy was fully engaged in his one-on-one.

Roy leaned forward and changed direction with his dribble, the movement not too wide but very fast, and his fakes looking very realistic.

Zhang Yang did not hastily shift positions, but whenever he was sure Roy was truly making a move, he moved swiftly and decisively.

Zhang Yang defended well, but Roy still exploited the slight timing difference, swiftly pushing the ball forward and charging up, blocking Zhang Yang’s lateral movement and gaining position advantage.

Unexpectedly to Roy, Zhang Yang did not back off after losing position but stuck close to him.

In the blink of an eye, Roy decided to keep pushing.

Zhang Yang used his speed advantage well, staying close to Roy even up to the elbow area without being shaken off.

Suddenly, Roy grabbed the ball, forcefully jostled Zhang Yang aside, took two strides into the paint, jumped, and released a bank shot before Okafor could fully block it... and it hit!

In that moment, even Zhang Yang couldn’t help but internally applaud Roy’s play.

The rhythm of the crossover drive and the pace transition to the basket... Roy had only one physical advantage over Zhang Yang, and that was static strength, which he maximized in both the drive and the final shot!

Zhang San: "Where’s the teacher? Come learn this and then teach me!"