No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 142 - 95. A strange sense of identification

Some things are not deeply etched in our memories; we only remember them when we hit a snag.

In the first month of the new season, Okafor suffered his fourth fatigue injury, and Zhang Yang finally recalled the severe injury Okafor had sustained early in his career—a stress fracture in his ankle.

This wasn’t like a leg or tibia fracture where you could jump around after healing. Okafor’s athletic abilities, praised as a ’taller version of Big Ben’ in his rookie year, were severely impaired due to this injury.

The cause of this injury was his exaggerated weight of 127 kilograms. Okafor, only 208 cm tall, was too heavy for his height. When Yao Ming first entered the NBA, he was 226 cm tall—reportedly 229 cm with shoes—and weighed only 133 kilograms.

Even O’Neal did not weigh 133 kilograms in his second year of his career.

Later, it seemed Okafor managed to reduce his weight and regained health, but the impaired athletic ability was already lost, causing him to lose all his previous athletic offensive moves. Moreover, he couldn’t jump as high, and his shooting rhythm was gone. He could only rely on easy baskets inside. In his rookie year, he averaged over 15 points per game, but struggled to average double figures in scoring during his prime years of 27 to 28.

The preseason and the first 7 games of this season already showed the impact on Okafor’s offense, as his mobility was significantly reduced.

Actually, Zhang Yang could have ignored what might become of Okafor, but being teammates, without any grudge, if he hadn’t remembered, it would have been one thing, but recalling and not reminding him would weigh on his conscience.

Moreover, Okafor’s injuries also affected Gerald Wallace.

Having known each other for a few months now, Zhang Yang got along well with Gerald Wallace. He immensely appreciated Wallace’s character and attitude towards work. Some people are like Chandler Parsons, but Gerald is the type who would go all out when paid the right price.

Okafor’s injury indirectly increased the risk of injuries for Gerald Wallace.

With Okafor around, Wallace had an easier time covering the interior defense. Okafor moved into position to hold off people, and Wallace would go up for a big, fly-swatting block.

But with Okafor sidelined, Wallace had to dive into the basket to defend the interior, grappling with opponents in the post, which inherently increased his risk of injury given Wallace’s defensive tenacity.

Not only that, but if Okafor sustained a major injury, he’d never return to his rookie season’s level, let alone improve. Then, Zhang San would lose a valuable helper in the future. Even if Okafor were used as a trading chip, his value would greatly diminish. This was a future loss Zhang Yang felt keenly.

Out of conscience, friendship, and self-interest, Zhang Yang pondered deeply at noon. By afternoon, he mustered his courage and went to Okafor’s house.

He didn’t hold much hope that Okafor would heed his advice, just as he told Felton before, a 17-year-old rookie of light influence compared to such a highly valued draft pick.

And there, as soon as Zhang Yang mentioned ’lose weight,’ he saw Okafor frown.

Two seconds after frowning, Okafor said, "Jack, thank you for your concern. The team doctor has already talked to me. My injuries are due to a rapid increase in weight, and my body hasn’t yet adjusted to the new season. Once I get used to it, I shouldn’t be getting injured frequently."

Zhang Yang’s eyes sparkled—there might be a chance!

If Okafor had been adamant about not losing weight, knowing him, he wouldn’t have said as much.

That meant Okafor was actually hesitating.

Zhang Yang asked, "The doctor must have given you an injury assessment report, believing you cannot bear the weight of 280 pounds, right?"

Okafor nodded, "Yes, but the assessment report says that it’s possible I can’t bear it, but since it’s a probability, I might be able to adapt to my current weight."

As the saying goes, ’Out of the mouths of babes,’ relying on his young age of 17, Zhang Yang decided to be direct, "Is it because you want to target Howard?"

Okafor: "..."

Zhang Yang: "It seems so, we are quite similar. I really want to shit on Bogut’s head."

Okafor was stupefied: Could Jack really say such a thing? My lord! Is this the studious younger brother he thought might be even more cultured than himself in the future? freёwebnoѵel.com

But to shit on Howard’s head... he wanted that too!

A surge of kinship, right?

Seizing the moment, Zhang Yang continued, "To compete with Howard, it’s not just about who’s stronger during matches."

Even if you could defend against him, if he could outplay Bosh, Curry, Martin, Camby, Nene... and you couldn’t, then even if you were stronger in direct matches, you’d only be seen as having a playing style that specifically counters his. Celtics’ backup center Perkins, Lakers’ bust Brown just happened to counter him."

For those few matches against Howard, to give up advantages against other players and take such a high risk of injury, I think it’s not worth it."

Based on what the team doctor said, you only have ankle and knee sprains, strains; you’re already very lucky. If fatigue caused your muscles or ligaments in your legs to tear or joint bones to be injured, it would be irreversible. There are many such cases in NBA history, and many prodigies fell due to stress injuries."

Okafor frowned again upon hearing this and remained silent for a few seconds, then said, "Jack, you truly are a genius with even better high school grades than mine. You are right, but losing weight isn’t as simple as just deciding to do it... I promise you, I will seriously consider this."

...

Before joining the Bobcats, Zhang Yang had never imagined that an established star would listen to him simply because of his good academic performance... the NBA is indeed full of wonders.

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