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Chapter 694 - 292. Someone can shoot better than Zhang San!

Chapter 694: 292. Someone can shoot better than Zhang San!

The only thing that could whip Lakers fans into such a frenzy during the regular season has to be Garnett, right?

Zhang Yang had heard that Garnett made the Staples Center feel different, but witnessing it firsthand was still shocking... he wanted to take him down!

The big screen went dark, and the spotlight hit the home team’s entrance tunnel.

As the DJ announced the first name and the first player ran out onto the court, Zhang Yang’s aggressive thoughts faded and the pressure set in...

Jason Kidd!

Followed by Kwame Brown, Morris Evans, Garnett, and Kobe making their entrances in succession.

Kobe, playing in 20 games, averaged 36 minutes, scoring 27.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.5 blocks, with a field goal percentage of 47.6% and a three-point percentage of 36%.

Kidd, playing in 20 games, averaged 31 minutes, scoring 10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 2.1 steals, with a field goal percentage of 39.5% and a three-point percentage of 40.6%.

Garnett, playing in 18 games, averaged 34 minutes, scoring 16.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks, with a field goal percentage of 55%.

In Zhang Yang’s mind appeared the statistics of the Lakers’ big three he saw that morning. Scoring, rebounds, assists, all were at an all-time low for the three in recent years, but looking at the percentages, Kidd... it’s a bit miserable, huh, but his three-point percentage skyrocketed from 35% in the past two years to 40%+!

Kidd said with a laugh that whenever he moved, he found himself with open three-point opportunities, and he couldn’t even shoot them all; Fisher and Vujacic had to help throw some in when they came off the bench.

Zhang Yang had seen a data comparison — with Fisher playing beside the O’Neal-Kobe partnership, he easily churned out a season with a 40%+ three-point percentage, peaking one year with an average of 2.1 three-pointers per game, ranking seventh in the league, otherwise known as the ’top ten point guard shooters in the league’ according to some fans.

Last season, Fisher’s three-point percentage with the Jazz was 30%.

Garnett’s percentage was a career-high, previously at its best during the 05-06 season at 52.6%; Kobe also achieved the highest offensive efficiency of his career.

Under their leadership, Morris Evans hit a career-high 39% three-point percentage, averaging 1.2 three-pointers and 6.6 points per game;

The 33-year-old Fisher backed up Kidd, averaging 7.5 points, 2.3 assists, and hitting 44.1% of his three-pointers, the highest percentage in the team, averaging 1.1 made per game;

Kwame Brown said there were too many easy baskets to finish, averaging 12.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, scoring in double figures for the second time in his career, the last being his third year before being derailed by injuries in his fourth season. After completing his rookie contract and moving to the Lakers, he encountered the second coming of Jordan...

Last season, he had a 59.1% field goal percentage thanks to Kobe; this season, it was even more outrageous, with a shooting percentage reaching 62%.

This core six-man group, along with Luke Walton averaging 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, Ronnie Turiaf averaging 4.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, Vujacic leading the team with 1.6 three-pointers and 6.2 points per game, Chris Mihm averaging 3 points, 3 rebounds...

Averaging 104.7 points per game and conceding 95.3 points per game... was simply insane!

...

After the entrance ceremony, Zhang Yang and Kobe exchanged glances and tacitly called their teammates over to the scorers’ table.

Kobe only called Kidd and Garnett; seeing the crowd behind Zhang Yang... didn’t seem off at all.

Felton, Okafor, Hill, Mike Miller, Rondo, Millsap - the first four were the core scorers or tactical centerpieces for the Hornets this season, and the last two were full of talent.

The atmosphere was quite friendly during the pre-game greetings between the two teams, although they were future championship rivals, there was no real animosity before, just ordinary wins and losses. Even Kidd, who faced a straightforward playoff defeat to the Hornets, didn’t harbor any ill will; the gap between the first and eighth in the East was too large, and a loss was expected.

After greeting the cameras, the three Lakers veterans returned to the bench.

Kidd, ever outspoken, muttered, "Insisting on joining you guys was the right decision, staying with the Nets was completely hopeless. They’re too good. If it wasn’t for Wallace wanting to be the boss but failing to outshine the partnership of Jack and Felton, and not willing to be the second-in-command like Okafor... "

Garnett: "..."

Kobe: "Pride doesn’t matter, only the championship flags waving in the air represent an eternal presence."

"..." Garnett felt it was better to change the subject and asked, "You guys seem to really like that bad boy."

Kidd: "Isn’t his fast-break pushing and playmaking movements very similar to mine? He must be learning from me."

Kobe: "He’s more like me. Look at his determination when shooting, the desire to release the ball, even stronger than mine."

What were these two arguing about? Should I join in the debate too? Otherwise, it seems out of place... Garnett: "If you put it that way, his one-on-one defense is quite similar to mine, he’s really good at disrupting shots."

Kidd, Kobe: Triumph! What’s a tall guy like you, same height as O’Neal, doing joining in the excitement?

While both teams were making their last preparations before the game, billions of basketball fans from Rabbit and Hawk countries were glued to their TV screens, waiting for the match to start.

The game was in the spotlight, the topic of everyone’s conversations.

The Hornets were first in the East, the first in the league; the Lakers, with the same record as the Hornets but ranked second in the West due to being worse within their division than the Hornets, were promoted as ’tied for first’ without any problem.

The Hornets were the defending champions; from the first day Kidd, Kobe, and Garnett came together, they became the top seed for the Western Conference Finals.

The two teams also had two nicknames that didn’t get much attention but became topics of discussion whenever they faced each other — the strongest youth army vs. the number one veterans group.