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Chapter 734 - 313. The Inescapable ’Curse’_4

Chapter 734: 313. The Inescapable ’Curse’_4

Felton propped his chin up upon hearing this, thought about it for a moment, and said, "You’re right, let me think about how to comfort you guys...wait, both of you seem to be in a better mood than I am! Why would you need comforting? Jack, you got 42 points and still lost the game, aren’t you angry? This is the first time this season you’ve scored 40+ and lost!"

Last night was Zhang Yang’s 7th time scoring 40+ this season. He had won the previous six times; it was the first time his high score went in vain.

Zhang Yang: "The last game last year, you did the same thing—scored 40+ and lost the game."

Felton: "..."

Fatty: I’m just asking for it!

Zhang San: Come on, let’s hurt each other!

Changing the subject, Felton said, "We’ve held the league’s top spot for so long, only to lose it."

The night the Bobcats lost to the Mavericks, the Lakers had also lost a game, and the day before that the Chicago Bulls had lost too. Both teams, like the Hornets, stood at 25 wins and 7 losses, so even after the Bobcats lost to the Mavericks, they remained in first place with a record of 25 wins and 6 losses, ahead of the three teams.

However, those three teams won their games yesterday and the day before, moving to 26 wins and 7 losses. After the Bobcats lost to the Mavericks last night and their record dropped to 25 wins and 7 losses, they suddenly fell to the league’s fourth and the East’s second.

This time, the Bobcats’ tour to the Southwest Division ended in 1 win and 3 losses, reinforcing the ’NBA’s toughest division’ moniker of the Southwest Division even more.

This season, the Southwest Division had a decent chance of all five teams making the playoffs. Under the leadership of Parker, Gasol, and Gerald Wallace, the Grizzlies had secured an 18 win 15 loss record. Approaching halfway through the regular season, they had not fallen out of the Western Conference playoffs race. Instead, it was the Rockets and Trail Blazers showing signs of lagging behind.

This time, before Zhang Yang could speak, Okafor took the lead: "Actually, after losing to the Celtics in November, I knew it would be hard to maintain first place. Our performance of 10 wins and 4 losses last month is more indicative of our strength."

"Winning 10 out of 14 games actually exceeded my expectations at the start of the season. I originally thought our goal this season was to aim for 50 victories. But Jack’s scoring ability has improved so quickly it’s beyond my imagination. It led us to one of the league’s best offenses, and we still have a chance to push for 60 wins."

Upon hearing this, Felton took out his phone, and amid Zhang Yang and Okafor’s puzzled looks, opened the calculator, pressed some buttons, and said, "Well, we’re at 25 wins now, with 50 games left to play—35 more wins needed. We have to play with a 70% win rate for the remaining games! That’s even higher than last season’s rate!"

Zhang Yang and Okafor looked at each other: "..."

Zhang Yang suddenly understood why Okafor was reluctant to talk to most of his teammates—did this really need a calculator?

After returning to Charlotte, Zhang Yang didn’t go for extra training, but instead rested for an entire afternoon, read some books, studied, wrote papers... and lay in bed by 9 pm, sleeping early. He woke up just after 6 am the next morning.

After two nights and a day of rest, he felt refreshed from the fatigue of the Southwest Division trip. At a little past 8 am, he arrived at Tuhang Stadium full of energy, joined the ’Big Brother Group’ members for a mini-meeting to review the issues of the four-game road trip, and discussed areas for improvement.

People’s minds are a mysterious thing. During the road trip, Zhang Yang agonized over each loss, but once it ended, he felt that phase was concluded and it was time to look forward. After a day’s rest, he was able to communicate and exchange ideas with his teammates in a calm and objective manner.

After the mini-meeting, Felton updated Zhang Yang on his injury status. The day they returned to Charlotte, he went straight to the hospital with the team doctor for an MRI, relieved to find no structural damage. However, upon closer examination, his sprain was more severe than the doctor initially estimated, and he needed to be sidelined for 2 to 4 weeks.

For his age, two weeks would be normal, but four weeks was suggested as a precaution.

For the Bobcats, who had just lost their first-place standing in the league, this was very bad news.

After scoring 40+ against the Hornets, Felton’s average points per game rose to 17.6, and despite the poor performance in the following three games, he still averaged 17.1 points at the end of the Southwest Division trip, ranking second in the Bobcats, higher than Okafor’s average of 15.4 points.

The absence of the team’s second-highest scorer for at least a half-month was a significant blow to the Bobcats.

Zhang Yang had no choice but to accept this reality. Injuries were an inevitable part of the game.

Zhang San patted Big Fatty’s shoulder and said, "Big Brother, have you not been paying your respects to Lord Guan lately?"

Felton: "Ah?! Yes, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve made offerings to the God of Wealth. No wonder I’ve been losing money in cards lately! Plus, I got robbed playing away games!"

Zhang Yang: "..."

After resting for a while following the mini-meeting, it was 9 o’clock, and the Bobcats convened a pre-game preparation meeting.

Carlisle announced Felton’s injury status and named Jarett Jack as the temporary replacement for the starting position.

Zhang San: Truly worthy of being the great Jarett!

Zhang Yang remembered that Felton, in the early part of his career when he had the lowest attendance for a season, still played in 75 games, usually around 80. It wasn’t until his late twenties and early thirties, when his athletic ability started to decline while playing D’Antoni’s run-and-gun offense with the Knicks, that his health issues began to crop up. However, after he later joined the Mavericks and slowed down the pace with Nowitzki, he became an iron man again, playing in 80 consecutive games.

But after playing for almost a year as Jarett’s starter, Big Fatty also couldn’t escape the cursed fate!

...

At 6 pm, the Bobcats were at home, facing off against the Nets.

Up to this point, the Nets had played 33 games with a record of 13 wins and 20 losses, a poor record but not a terrible team. Carter, Richard Jefferson, and Odom as a trio could stand up to any team.