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Chapter 700 - 293. KING’s classmate really changed!

Chapter 700: 293. KING’s classmate really changed!

Zhang Yang continued, "His most iconic game was when Kobe scored 81 points against him."

Brachiosaurus: 凸(艹皿艹)凸

Bosh wanted to retort, but after racking his brain to remember any of his own classic games, he sadly realized that being scored 81 points on by Kobe indeed was his career’s most ’iconic’ game, without even a close second...

At 3:30 in the afternoon, the game between the Bobcats and the Toronto Raptors kicked off!

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

The Raptors’ starting lineup: Ford, Anthony Parker, Jason Kapono, Bargnani, Bosh.

Bosh won the tip-off against Okafor, and the Raptors started the attack!

Ford pushed up to the frontcourt and initiated the offense with a breakthrough.

Zhang Yang was left behind cleanly; Ford really was fast!

Mike Miller’s defensive help came quickly, and Ford’s pass to the right was blocked, but instead of pulling up for a jump shot in the face of defense, lacking Iverson’s leaping ability, he passed the ball before Mike Miller and Zhang Yang could fully converge...

After setting a screen for Bargnani on the outside, Bosh cut in from the left, received the ball, and then passed... Kapono moved to a mid-distance spot along the right baseline, caught the ball, and hit the mid-range shot!

Zhang Yang went back to retrieve the ball, "Tsk"ing and shaking his head, the other team’s ability to stretch the floor was too strong!

With Bargnani and Bosh, two players capable of shooting from range, going outside to set off-ball screens, the paint was empty for a moment!

It was a good thing Okafor had slimmed down, and paired with Millsap, the two could expand their coverage on switches and help to prevent Bosh from cutting straight to the basket for an easy dunk.

Carlisle put this frontcourt duo into play based on the team’s defensive principle of man-to-man coverage.

Most teams defensively choose to let these two set screens away from the ball, expecting perimeter players to cover for the big men, which works out fine if the switch and rotation are fast, like with teams like the Rockets and Spurs who aren’t afraid of the Rockets’ play style, but for most teams, the perimeter rotation is not that quick, ultimately leading to Raptors’ wing shooters getting a lot of open shooting opportunities.

So far this season, Kapono has a three-point shooting percentage of 48%, Anthony Parker’s is 43%, Calderon’s is 42%, and Juan Dixon’s is 44%... The Raptors as a team have a staggering 40.6% three-point shooting percentage, edging out the Suns’ 39.3%, and are leading the league.

In the offseason, the Raptors’ general manager seized the trade opportunities expertly, disposing of decent veterans with bad contracts and decisively snatched top open shooter Jason Kapono from the Miami Heat, and pried Carlos Delfino away from the Pistons... assembling an army of shooters.

Head coach Sam Mitchell did an excellent job too, further refining last season’s attack and cut strategy, and making good use of the shooter-heavy lineup.

The Raptors played with great effort and excellence...

Zhang Yang thought the Raptors were an interesting team, everything seemed so promising during its rising phase.

For now, everything looked flourishing, with an average of 104.2 points per game from the start of the season and a 12-win, 8-loss record, competing with the Magic for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference.

But although the Raptors were good at offense, their defense... when the Bobcats had the ball, Zhang Yang bypassed Anthony Parker and drove to the basket, forcing his way to the hoop against Bargnani’s defense and scoring!

Bosh’s defense was not known to be tough, and his forward partners, Kapono and Bargnani, were practically leaving the basket undefended!

The Raptors’ average of 104.2 points per game was a significant jump to the eighth in the league from the previous season’s average, but their defense also slipped to the ninth-worst, conceding an average of 103.5 points per game, earning them the nickname ’the shame of the iron-blooded Eastern Conference’ among fans.

Of course, the Raptors were a lot stronger overall compared to last season, especially in terms of ’potential’, and the start of 12 wins and 8 losses was the best proof of that, having beaten teams with 50+ wins like the Pistons, Magic, Mavericks, and Jazz Team.

However, tonight, the Raptors encountered the opponent that had their number.

Bosh and Bargnani’s off-ball screening was crucial for the Raptors to create cutting and shooting opportunities, but faced with the pairing of Millsap and a slimmed-down Okafor, and with Hill playing the power forward and rotating on, their ability to create opportunities for their teammates was greatly limited.

On the other hand, the Raptors had no answer to Felton and Zhang Yang’s individual dribble penetrations.

When Bosh manned the paint, Zhang Yang slashed inside using the Euro step, against Bargnani, he just went straight up.

Felton also played aggressively at the rim, even using a close ’pull-up step-back jump shot’, a move he hardly dared to use when playing against Western Conference teams, but tonight he was on fire!

It wasn’t just that their play style was a counter; the Bobcats players played especially hard tonight, not specifically targeting the Raptors, nor was it arranged by the coaching staff, but after feeling significant pressure and playing hard in the last few games, they simply carried that momentum into tonight’s game.

The Bobcats quickly took control, and though they didn’t manage to decisively crush the Raptors, they didn’t give them much of a chance throughout the match.

By 5:58 in the evening, the final whistle blew.

Zhang Yang played for 34 minutes, making 10 out of 18 shots, including 1 of 2 three-pointers, plus 6 out of 8 free throws, for a total of 27 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block; Felton made 9 out of 18 shots, including 2 of 4 three-pointers, plus 3 of 4 free throws, scoring a total of 23 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists.

Add in Okafor’s 18 points and 8 rebounds, Millsap’s 11 points and 6 rebounds, Rondo’s 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists... the Bobcats won comfortably over the Raptors with a score of 111 to 98, ending their two-game losing streak!