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Chapter 754 - 321. The crucial moment is my time!

Chapter 754: 321. The crucial moment is my time!

Rondo racks up triple-doubles two games in a row!

The opportunity has come, and Rondo really knows how to seize it!

Playing against the Nuggets, their defense is weak, Rondo has many opportunities to pass, and he’s racking up assists with ease; in the second half, George Karl didn’t dare to put Camby in, afraid of impacting the offense. When fighting for rebounds, Rondo was bullying Kenyon Martin and Kleiza so badly, they were almost jumping out of their shoes from frustration.

Tonight, guarding Rondo for the Knights, it was either James, Damon Jones or Daniel Gibson.

James has bad defensive habits, when he’s on the perimeter, his attention is on Zhang Yang, and when he’s on the baseline, his attention shifts to Okafor, always thinking about "helping" to cover the two. Rondo takes advantage of this, cutting in relentlessly or running back to the high post for quick passes, playing exceptionally well.

When Damon Jones or Daniel Gibson guard Rondo, he plays with the confidence of a star, going straight for it, dominating so much they can hardly stand it.

In terms of rebounds, Rondo has already made James jump out of his shoes.

James has really been improving his offensive habits. A month ago, when they faced off, after passing the ball during a drive, it seemed like he didn’t know what to do and just ran around aimlessly, returning to the outside several times and ending up missing the shot.

Now, James actively analyzes where the rebound will land after making a pass and moves dynamically in preparation to rush for it... but after charging for 39 minutes tonight, he’s gained only one offensive rebound. Every time his teammates miss, he moves to the spot where the ball is coming down, only to have a little "black bean" get to it before him every time.

Rondo is always one step ahead of KING!

Zhang Yang remembers last season, when Rondo, still a rookie, wasn’t satisfied with his situation and didn’t want to settle for the lack of opportunity. He told Rondo "If there’s no opportunity, you have to train even harder. When the opportunity comes, you will be able to seize it." The intention was to console Rondo, to give him a bit of encouragement.

And Rondo really took it to heart, training diligently while waiting for his chance. In last season’s Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons, he seized the opportunity to get a triple-double and was hailed as "Little Kidd."

This season, by the mid-point, Carlisle gave him a chance. Rondo’s performance has surged lately, especially after Felton was sidelined due to injury. He exploded in the previous game, achieving another triple-double, and tonight he’s even fiercer, just two boards away from 3 x 15!

Looking at Rondo’s stats with that one successful three-pointer... Zhang Yang feels that we might see a different Rondo. Rondo’s shooting talent is indeed weak; he’s been in the NBA for a year and a half now, and the coaching staff has been working on his catch-and-shoot game, which is still hit or miss. But this is the difference between zero and one.

With Rondo’s level of effort, as long as it can be developed, whether it takes three to five years, or eight to ten years, there will be a time when he shoots precisely!

Rivaling the true Kidd seems a bit of a stretch, as he’s a historical level point guard, but surpassing the original "Rondo doesn’t shoot" to become a true standout contemporary point guard is definitely doable!

...

Coming back from the official timeout, Carlisle sent in a lineup of Rondo, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Okafor, and Perkins, while the Knights put in Daniel Gibson, Larry Hughes, James, Varejao, and Big Z.

The Knights on offense, James receives the ball mid-court and moves to the top of the arc, seeing that Zhang Yang is the one defending him, he breathes out hard through his nose with a closed mouth.

It’s finally here!

In the midst of the home crowd’s booing, James makes a move and charges forward with a crushing drive!

Zhang Yang strives to stick closely and follow James’ steps without falling behind.

James drives close, with Perkins under the basket, Okafor in the middle of the paint, and Rondo on the wing all moving into position. He doesn’t pass but firmly grips the ball and charges under the basket, taking two steps before leaping on the third stride, avoiding Rondo who’s trying to swipe the ball. He then rises amidst Perkins’ challenge and makes a strong floater...

The ball hits the rim, bounces off the backboard, and then rebounds into the hoop!

It’s 114-even!

Zhang Yang was pushed aside when James grabbed the ball and surged towards the basket. He immediately backed off to intercept Hughes’ pass, diving in but missing the opportunity.

James took responsibility for that shot!

Even though it went in by luck, his decision was right. He didn’t pass to Hughes who was winding up to the middle, avoiding a turnover. He didn’t pass to the scoreless Varejao, nor did he blame anyone when the chances of scoring were nearly impossible. Instead, he made a quick judgment and charged at Perkins, and even if he was unsure, he forced the ball out.

We could certainly call that a -- miraculous shot!

Zhang Yang sees a glimpse of the LeBron James he used to watch in high school during live Knights games, a sense of spirit... not quite, but with an incongruous youthful feeling.

In his rookie and early sophomore years, James’ style of play really felt like he had endless possibilities. But later in his sophomore year, James gradually found the "right" way to play, the "King’s Play Style," which grew increasingly "mature and steady." By the time Zhang Yang entered the NBA, he could no longer see that sense of youthfulness from back in the day.

With that shot, Zhang Yang feels like that LeBron James of the past has returned!

Zhang Yang is extremely excited as he runs to the frontcourt... only to be met by James stepping up on defense.

He doesn’t try to force his position to get the ball, nor does he pull out for a one-on-one three-point attempt. Instead, he turns and runs towards the right baseline, controlling his speed, turns again mid-baseline, and cuts towards the basket from the baseline.

At that moment, Mike Miller, at the right 45-degree angle, used Okafor’s screen to run toward the right corner. Rondo broke from the right side of the top arc, catching and passing the ball to the right corner in stride. Man and ball arrived simultaneously—no sooner had Mike Brown gotten into position when the ball arrived... and James’s defensive help arrived too!

While chasing Zhang Yang cutting along the baseline, James kept an eye on the movement of the players on the wings and timely moved into place to help defend.

Mike Miller turned and stuck out his butt to extend the ball out of bounds, preventing a steal. When the timing was right, he passed the ball to the right side of the free-throw line, where Okafor received it and then passed again...

When James let go of Zhang Yang to cut to the basket and went to help defend Mike Miller, Zhang Yang suddenly stopped, circled around Big Z under the basket, and ran up to the top arc. He received Okafor’s pass, turned to adjust, and faced Hughes who was rushing from the elbow area. He released a three-pointer... and it was good!

to 114, the Bobcats led by 3 points!

It was the Cavaliers’ turn to attack. James received the ball on the right side of the top arc, facing Zhang Yang’s defense. He held the ball with both hands, planted his left foot, leaned forward, and took several probing steps with his right foot. After five or six probes, he suddenly slapped the ball, took a small step backward to the left, caught the ball at a position half a step outside the top arc, and quickly jumped up for the three-pointer...

Just as James raised the ball, a hand reached out in front of him!

He quickly leaned backward and launched the ball... and missed!

Perkins held his position, and Rondo grabbed the defensive rebound!

James quickly fell back on defense, extremely frustrated.

Given another chance, he would still take the risk, hoping that if he made the shot, he could continue to tie the score.

But he definitely wouldn’t resort to a panicked backpedal just because Zhang Yang kept up with his footsteps.

With his height and jumping ability, if there was space to launch the ball and jump unimpeded, Zhang Yang couldn’t block it no matter what.

However, he was still surprised that Zhang Yang could immediately judge that he was going to step back for a shot and decisively keep up with him.

He knew his fakes were very obvious, that when he showed a triple-threat stance, nobody would be fooled by his fakes. He was actually looking for the feel, using blatantly fake moves to segue into a sudden step back, which always caught opponents off guard. Opponents often wouldn’t anticipate him shooting threes, but Zhang Yang had guarded it!

If Zhang Yang knew what James was astonished about, he wouldn’t be able to resist commenting: Apart from dribbling and stepping back for threes, what else does your triple-threat encompass? Ten years from now, your triple-threat will still look like this, and even if you’ve changed your style of play now, how much more can you improve in a few months compared to over ten years?

During the changeover in offense and defense, James fell back to the backcourt, swearing that this time, even if he saw someone else getting a shooting opportunity, he wouldn’t leave his man... What on earth are you doing!

Just as James was ready to cling to Zhang Yang’s off-ball movement, Zhang Yang took the ball from Rondo past the mid-court line and went for a one-on-one at the top arc!

James had no choice but to press close and guard him, giving space for Zhang Yang to make fake moves—which he really would fall for, having been fooled many times before, with plenty of experience.

But he was fooled once again...

Just as James pressed close, about to confront Zhang Yang, Zhang Yang leaned in, turned around past James, and burst inside the three-point line!

James was beaten so quickly that Varejao, on the left side of the three-second area, didn’t have time to move and help defend. Zhang Yang drove in close, facing the slow-footed Big Z, and quickly tossed up a shot... and it was good!

In regulation time, James was fierce, and without "King Cat Devourer" Felton leading the frontcourt defense, neither Zhang Yang with 32 points by the third quarter nor Rondo with a triple-double could gain any advantage against James. They could only take advantage at certain stages, but James would always lead his team to catch up quickly.

Earlier in the game, every time James led a fierce attack, Zhang Yang worried the score would be overtaken to an unrecoverable extent. Fortunately, tonight Rondo had a breakout performance, helping the team keep the score close.

Finally, it was crunch time—his time!

In the following possessions, the Bobcats, led by Zhang Yang, dominated. James tried hard to lead a comeback, but he couldn’t carry the team...

James couldn’t stop Zhang Yang’s one-on-one play. The Cavaliers could only resort to double-teaming, but with Rondo and Mike Miller on the side ready to assist, they simply couldn’t defend.

The Cavaliers’ defense was good, top-ten level, but there was a clear gap compared to the Spurs, Rockets, Pistons, Lakers, and the Bulls.

James made good decisions on offense and dared to take on responsibility, but his long-range shooting was limited. Driving inside against a bunch of people and going for the basket was merely a gamble on luck.

As the game drew to a close, James missed a contested three-pointer against Zhang Yang, and Rondo collected his 16th rebound of the match, bringing the game to an end...

Zhang Yang shot 14 out of 27, including 4 out of 9 three-pointers, and with 9 out of 10 free throws, scored 41 points along with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Rondo made 7 out of 11 shots, including 1 three-pointer, and with 4 out of 6 free throws, scored 19 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and delivered 17 assists.

Under their leadership, the Bobcats defeated the Cavaliers 126 to 119, securing their fourth consecutive victory!

James clenched his teeth as he watched the big screen. This time, he didn’t run away. A 7-point gap... he had to remember this feeling!