No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 138 - 94. Finally know why I got the 3rd pick_2

Zhang Yang sweated a bit. Playing under Jordan is indeed tough work, even making small talk requires a compliment, or you risk ending up on his bad side.

...

At 7 p.m., the Bobcats’ away game against the 76ers began.

Zhang Yang failed to anger Iverson, but tonight’s match didn’t need him to, as the 76ers were playing terribly!

Iverson performed well, shooting nearly 30 times, with 21 attempts and 9 successful shots, plus 11 of 15 free throws, earning 29 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

Such a high number of shots with a 43% success rate is indeed astonishing.

But Webber was beaten up by his former backup teammate—Gerald Wallace shot 15 times, made 9, and with 6 of 10 free throws, racked up 24 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks, while also holding Webber to just 6 makes out of 17 attempts. Webber managed a scant 20 points, aided by 8 free throws.

Okafor’s defense was excellent, although he only scored 14 points off 6 makes from 14 attempts, but he grabbed 15 rebounds and got 3 blocks.

With the opposing team’s two cores making 23 unsuccessful shots, Brevin Knight took off, securing 8 points and 14 assists.

With their internal core shut down, unable to attack or defend, Iverson was the only one holding the line from the outside, as Iguodala and Korver were still green...

The Bobcats easily defeated the 76ers 103 to 89, marking their second consecutive victory at the start of the season!

Zhang Yang didn’t face much of a defense tonight; Iguodala defended Wallace, so Samuels and Korver couldn’t keep up with his pace. When Iverson guarded him, he would take a shot right in Iverson’s face, and Willie Green, though persistent and fast, lacked the defensive talent—a single flank cover and he was gone... Apart from Iverson, Zhang Yang couldn’t see any remnants of the 76ers’ 2001 NBA Finals team; their defense was gone.

Zhang Yang took the opportunity, came off the bench for 19 minutes, made 5 of 9 shots, and with 3 free throws, scored 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. He provided great support for Gerald Wallace’s counter runs and cut-ins, performed well in secondary break support and fast-break defenses to draw attention, and even got his career’s first assist and block during a fast break, against a man with the same jersey number, going up blindly for a solid block.

He also noticed something—without Yao Ming crouching under the basket, the frontcourt duo of Gerald Wallace and Okafor was fierce!

After the game, Zhang Yang and Iverson took a photo together, putting a period on his first encounter with Iverson.

On the 4th, the Bobcats traveled to the United Center in Chicago to challenge Jordan’s former team, the Chicago Bulls.

There were rumors that Jordan had purchased Robert Johnson’s 67% stake in the Bobcats, making him the actual majority owner, and was continuing to buy the remaining shares. Once the year-end owners’ meeting voted approval, he would officially become the owner of the Bobcats.

The Bobcats’ away game against the Bulls sparked media and fan attention.

As the most talked-about rookie at the start of the season, when Zhang Yang arrived at the United Center, he was specifically requested for an interview by the media.

Facing off against his boss’s old team, Zhang Yang reverted to his humble nature, "The Bulls are a very lucky team. They had Michael Jordan for 12 years, during which they were the best team. It’s an honor to play against the Bulls, but unfortunately, they no longer have Michael Jordan."

Others found no issue with that statement, but it struck a chord with some Bulls players.

What they heard was—without Jordan, the Bulls are no longer great, and playing against a Bulls team without Jordan is not an honor.

Yet they couldn’t refute the statement because on the face of it, there was nothing wrong; after Jordan’s second retirement, they had missed the playoffs for six straight years, and the best record they achieved during those years was still below what a nearly 40-year-old Jordan did during his comeback with the Wizards.

Moreover, Zhang Yang’s words were humbly put, and if they responded harshly, it would make them appear uncouth.

At 8 p.m., the game between the Bobcats and the Bulls began.

After Jordan’s retirement, the Bulls underwent a six-year rebuild and finally rose again last season under Kirk Hinrich’s leadership, returning to the playoffs.

With a starting lineup of Hinrich, Nocioni, Luol Deng, Michael Sweetney, and Tyson Chandler, and bench players like Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon, Malik Allen, Othella Harrington, Darius Songaila, and Eric Piatkowski... the Bulls were a promising team notwithstanding the future salary pressure, with no apparent weaknesses, and already a powerhouse in the East, stable on both offense and defense.

Facing this opponent, the Bobcats started at a disadvantage.

However, Jordan attended the game that evening, sitting on the bench, and the pressure he put on the players was greater than that of the opponent, coincidentally helping them withstand the pressure from the opponent’s strength.

Everyone knew that Jordan and the Bulls’ management didn’t have a good relationship.

The Bobcats players played fiercely that night, and although they were initially suppressed, they managed not to let the Bulls widen the gap, biting hard to keep the difference within 5 points.

The turning point came in the 9th minute of the first quarter when Zhang Yang took the place of Karim Rush.

Right after he entered the game, he was targeted by several young Bulls players.

For overseas players like Nocioni, or older, mature players like Othella Harrington and Malik Allen, Zhang Yang’s comments in the interview didn’t affect them.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is free(w)𝒆bnov(𝒆)l