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Chapter 723 - 309. Ideas King per Capita?

Chapter 723: 309. Ideas King per Capita?

Zhang Yang, having played the entire first quarter, returned to the sideline, took a sip of water, spat it out onto a towel, and waited until his brain thought he had drunk the water and started to secrete saliva, lower his heart and breathing rates. Then he "gulped" down half a cup of water.

He handed the water bottle to a staff member and, hands on his hips, looked up at the big screen. His stats read: Zhang San, 8 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block; the opposing sharpshooter, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal...

Felton, who scored 7 points and 2 assists in the first quarter, stood next to Zhang Yang and placed his hands on his hips, saying, "Jack, Chris seems better than you now."

Zhang Yang tilted his head and looked down at the hefty boss... his cheeks had gotten bigger again.

Are cheeks always this flexible for players of this build?

Zhang Yang replied, "It’s not seems, he is. Compared to last season, he’s like a changed man, definitely one of the top three players now."

Last season, Paul averaged 17.3 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals, a noticeable improvement from his rookie season’s average of 16+5+8+2. Back then, the media and fans had already praised him to the skies, saying he would undoubtedly become a super Point Guard with averages of 20+10 within two or three years.

But Paul showed everyone that the future comes faster than imagined!

So far this season, Paul averaged 21.5 points, 4 rebounds, 12 assists, 2.7 steals, a shooting percentage of 48%, a three-point shooting percentage of 36%, and a free throw percentage of 85%. Aside from a slight dip in rebounds, all his other stats are career highs.

Since mid-November, when Sports Illustrated first made MVP predictions, Paul has consistently been in the top three in four consecutive predictions, while Nash and Kobe each dropped out once, but Paul hasn’t.

On Zhang Yang’s end, he was only in the top three once during the first prediction, when they had an eight-game winning streak at the start of the season, but never made it again after that.

Compared to the prime Son of the Wind, a pre-injury cannon, and the rational Scientist, the chances of a pure scorer like Zhang Yang competing for MVP are slim to none.

Zhang Yang admitted without hesitation that Paul was stronger, and while Felton was somewhat surprised, he quickly accepted it. That’s his little bro, confident but not blindly arrogant, unafraid to recognize his own shortcomings and generous in praising others.

In this regard, his hefty classmate has always been learning from his little bro.

Scratching his head, Felton said, "I don’t think I can suppress Chris like Williams does."

Zhang Yang: "I can see that."

Felton: (눈‸눈) Little bro, even though that’s the truth, can you phrase it more tactfully?

Zhang Yang: "If it’s one-on-one, I think you have a 70% chance of beating Chris, but the game isn’t one-on-one, and combined we’re not even a match for Williams, let alone Chris."

Felton dropped his complaining, saying, "I think so too... I have an idea..."

Zhang Yang: "..."

Are we the Bobcats the masters of bright ideas?

But after hearing Felton’s idea, Zhang Yang found it feasible and pulled Felton to discuss it with Carlisle.

Carlisle was also fretting over how to boost the offense.

Though not one of the top few defensive teams, the Hornets were still solid, ranking ninth in the league with first-rate defense, allowing only 96.5 points per game.

The Hornets had many good defenders, and their head coach, Byron Scott, was also skilled in defensive coaching; the defensive system of the then back-to-back NBA finalist Nets was built by him.

The Bobcats scoring 30 points in a single quarter was already quite an achievement, it was just that the Hornets had scored 36 points, outshining them with a more ferocious performance.

If it were the older Carlisle, he might have opted for caution—36 points in a single quarter is impressive, but can they keep up such intense scoring in every quarter? As long as we can endure their aggressive offense, our chance will come.

But under the influence of the Bobcats and Zhang San, Carlisle now wondered—what if the opposition maintains this level of play? What if, rather than their scoring dropping, ours declines first?

Upon hearing Felton’s idea, Carlisle thought it was a good approach—at least better than sitting idly by!

...

Returning from the break, the Bobcats put out a lineup of Rondo, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Millsap, and Muhammad.

The Hornets countered with Paul, Morris Peterson, Peja, Melvin Ely, and Chandler.

The Bobcats initiated the attack, and as Zhang Yang reached the frontcourt, he was immediately marked by Morris Peterson.

Morris Peterson, another great steal by the Hornets.

The Toronto Raptors didn’t need Morris Peterson not because he lacked skills, but because the Raptors wanted to speed up their offense. Last season, the 29-year-old Morris Peterson clearly had slowed down, making him unsuitable for the Raptors’ team-building plan. Moreover, the contract he signed at age 28, a mid-level six-year deal with four years and $24 million remaining, was a financial strain. By opting for restructuring, even with Bosh and Ford’s big contracts coming into effect, the Raptors managed to keep their salary under the luxury tax threshold through a series of trades. Morris Peterson’s salary alone was higher than the combined salaries of Delfino and Kapono.

The Hornets, who had cap space and no competitive relationship with the Toronto Raptors, thus picked up a bargain.

This season at the Hornets, Morris Peterson showcased a robust 3D performance within the team’s slow-paced offensive and defensive strategy, averaging 9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1 steal per game, with a three-point shooting percentage soaring to 40.6%, above his career average of 39%. Although his defensive stats weren’t flashy, his defensive effectiveness was potent, combining basic skills and awareness with high enthusiasm.

However, Morris Peterson’s defense, primarily focused on aggressive confrontation, was not suitable for guarding Zhang Yang.

After the first quarter’s official timeout, he was substituted in, got dominated by Zhang Yang for two minutes, and was then substituted out again, forcing James Posey to come back on the court, playing the entire 10 minutes of the first quarter, far exceeding his usual average playing time of five or six minutes in the first three quarters.

James Posey had always lacked stamina. During his physical peak at twenty-five or twenty-six years old, when he served as the defensive core of the front line playing 30 minutes per game, he was exhausted to death. After the halftime break, Scott had no choice but to substitute James Posey out and let Morris Peterson guard Zhang Yang.

But Scott wouldn’t just watch Morris Peterson get smashed by Zhang Yang one-on-one. He made a defensive arrangement: Morris Peterson was to tightly guard against long shots regardless of Zhang Yang’s breakthroughs, with the wings Paul, Eli at center, and Chandler inside, ready to double-team Zhang Yang at any time, surrounding him from all directions.

Letting Zhang Yang play one-on-one against Morris Peterson had a scoring efficiency higher than the Toronto Raptors’ wing shooters’ open shots; this defensive strategy was solid.

Scott correctly predicted half of it; as soon as Zhang Yang came on, he initiated his offensive mode, calling for the ball at the high post against Morris Peterson, but it wasn’t a solo play...

Paul was guarding a step inside the arc at the top-left three-point line, waiting for Rondo to pass to Zhang Yang, then followed Rondo to the baseline, ready to double-team Zhang Yang.

But he saw Zhang Yang leaning on Morris Peterson and directly turned to cut inside!

What was this move? Under the basket was the highly mobile high school standout draftee Chandler!

Paul turned his eyes back to Rondo outside the three-point line... Where was he?

As Paul turned his head to look at Zhang Yang, Rondo immediately started cutting in from the left!

The screams of the fans at the venue pierced Paul’s ears, Paul turned his head towards the inside line, Rondo burst into the three-second zone from the left, drawing Chandler’s defense, and dished the ball out.

Zhang Yang cut in from the right, catching the alley-oop behind Chandler and scoring!

Morris Peterson could keep up with Zhang Yang over short distances, but once Zhang Yang charged closer, he couldn’t keep up and could only watch helplessly as Zhang Yang caught the alley-oop.

Paul, who had been ’tricked’ once, was irritated; he had always been on guard against Rondo’s move, and in those 4 minutes after the first quarter’s official timeout, he hadn’t let Rondo trick him. But he was caught off-guard at the start of the second quarter!

On the offensive switch, Paul saw that he was being guarded by Rondo and went straight for it, changing direction and bursting forward!

The move and speed of this change of direction made Zhang Yang, who was following Peja on the wing, smack his lips in astonishment; when he was guarding Paul, he hadn’t paid attention to this. Now, standing on the side, he wondered... Was Paul sacrificing his knees?

Paul burst into the inside, attracting a double-team, and passed the ball before the Hornets’ players could fully crowd him... Chandler caught the alley-oop and slammed it home for two points.

An answer to Rondo’s burst-and-alley-oop pass!

Paul’s performance reminded Zhang Yang of Kobe’s assessment of Paul before his major injury—CP3 could do everything.

When it was the Raptors’ turn to attack, Rondo continued his aggressive play.

This time, Paul didn’t lose focus and concentrated on defense. Although he couldn’t stop Rondo’s burst because of Rondo’s speed, he kept close enough to prevent Chandler from having to step up for help.

But as Zhang Yang snuck to the baseline and came out to the left of the three-second area using Muhammad’s screen, the switched defender Melvin Ely couldn’t keep up with Zhang Yang’s steps!

Rondo passed the ball to Millsap, Millsap immediately relayed it without stopping to Zhang Yang, who took the shot from left of the free-throw line... It didn’t go in, but with the help of Rondo and Millsap, whenever he found the chance, he could receive the ball!

Then it was the Hornets’ turn to attack; Paul used a screen to burst forward, and as the Raptors collapsed their inside defense, Paul passed to Eli, whose mid-range shot also missed.

On the offensive turnaround, Rondo’s breaking through and Millsap’s strategic support continued. Zhang Yang, on the wing using a screen, encountered an off-ball double team. Eli chased to cover the shot, and Morris Peterson intercepted the pass.

Millsap passed to Muhammad on the left baseline, whose mid-range shot went up... Luckily, the ball bounced off the rim and dropped in.

to 38, the deficit narrowed to 4 points!

The seriousness on Coach Scott’s face deepened at courtside.

In those three rounds of the Raptors’ offense, two baskets were scored... That wasn’t the main issue; the problem was the opponent’s playing style.

Initially, he thought Zhang Yang had seen through their plan to double-team from the wings and the basket and had opted for team-centric offense, a decision he considered smart.

Ball-handling and off-ball actions both first-rate, a resolute shooting heart, a big-game player not intimidated by the grand stage and increasingly fierce in battle, smart in choosing playing style prioritizing team over short-term glory... These were Scott’s insights into Zhang Yang on the court, in his view, the key reasons the Raptors could clinch the championship against the odds last season and why Zhang Yang became the youngest Finals MVP in history.

But after watching a few rounds, he realized that wasn’t the case; it looked like team play, but actually, it was another type of star basketball!