No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 153 - 98. No one is holding the ball? Then I will reluctantly step up!_3

However, their team still had areas where they were performing poorly—the backup point guard.

After Brevin Knight left and Felton truly started as a starter, they lacked a substitute point guard.

The former third string point guard, Kevin Paulson, became the main backup point guard, a water cooler manager who played in 14 of the first 24 games of the season, averaging 10 minutes, with 2.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1 assist per game.

He had taken to the court for 5 minutes tonight before being substituted; the head coach would rather have Karim Rush, who could only advance the ball and not penetrate or pass, push past half court and pass to Gerald Wallace or Eli.

The team had considered this problem and acquired Dan Dickau in a trade as a lottery ticket they could scratch, but it wasn’t certain they’d win anything and he was also expected to be sidelined for a while.

Trading was an option, but it was difficult for their team to make trades since they lacked quality assets. Most of their players were scraps picked up from other teams in 2004—players who were discarded and unwanted. Would others want to trade a functional point guard for them?

Karim Rush played like that, which was one solution, but it significantly increased the pressure on Gerald Wallace to handle the ball...

Zhang Yang felt he could try to help out at point guard to relieve some pressure from Big Fatty, the boss. He had this idea during the game, but since the team was already building momentum and might win, he didn’t demand the ball blindly, but he planned to try more in the future!

He wasn’t good at organizing the offense, but he could shoot one-on-one!

...

The next day at noon, while flying back to Charlotte with the team, Zhang Yang spoke to Bickerstaff about wanting to increase his role in ball-handling during set plays to help alleviate some of Felton’s pressure.

Bickerstaff agreed without hesitation.

After Zhang Yang left with a bemused expression, Randy Brown teased Bickerstaff, "You didn’t even hesitate or tell Jack about any precautions. He must be really confused right now."

Bickerstaff, "Come on, if I had done that, he definitely would have considered whether to practice a few more months before taking over ball-handling. He’s too rational with his opportunities for shots and ball-handling. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s willing to take shots whenever the chance arises, I’d be worried he’d end up like Shawn Battier."

Ingles, "Jack’s choice of playing style isn’t wrong. He just wants the team to perform better. When Brevin and Raymond initiate better, he chooses to play off the ball. If Gerald has a strong drive, he reduces his driving plays. But when it comes to mid-range and fast-break shooting, which he’s better at, he always keeps a tight grip on opportunities." freēnovelkiss.com

Bickerstaff, "Right, I don’t think his choices are wrong; I just worry that if he keeps playing this way, it might become ingrained and waste his ball-handling talents. You’ve all seen how good he is. I’d rather the team perform a bit worse to give him the chance to make mistakes—as long as he’s improving. Besides, Chip, Jack hasn’t made much progress in shooting off screens lately, has he?"

Ingles, "Yes, he’s already mastered the main tactics of our team, and he has recently figured out his teammates’ passing, movement, and shooting habits. The only way to improve his off-ball game performance now is by enhancing his shooting ability itself. His mid-range and three-point shooting have improved quickly, but achieving a qualitative change will still take a lot of time... Even if you tell him he can afford to make mistakes, he wouldn’t do it; that’s just not him."

Bickerstaff, "Yes, I know, that’s why I didn’t say anything. During the trade, I could have traded for Delonte West, but I didn’t want to due to concerns about his character possibly affecting the younger players. But the main reason was still to leave space for Jack to help lead the bench unit alongside Raymond. After all, having an extra backup point guard wouldn’t really enhance our strength significantly. Even if Jack hadn’t come to me, I’d have still given him new tasks after Christmas."

Ingles, "Creating conditions to push Jack forward, letting him take up the role he’s talented enough to handle, that’s a good idea. When the team needs someone to step up, Jack is always the first one at the front, just like yesterday. Everyone was intimated by Kobe Bryant, except him; he dared to face Kobe head-on..."

Mentioning Zhang Yang’s ball-handling against Kobe made the coaches laugh out loud.

At the time, they hadn’t noticed anything amiss, thinking it was just Perkins being calm, not listening to Zhang Yang, and insisting on helping with the pick-and-roll.

It was only after the media clipped that offense from last night and analyzed it in detail that they realized why Kobe looked so strange afterwards. He defended even more intensely later, ignoring even help defense and double teaming a 17-year-old rookie. Was that necessary?

After seeing the news coverage, they understood why Kobe had been right to be mad...but it was indeed quite funny!

The rookie had ’toyed’ with the "Black Mamba" who had just scored 62 points in three quarters and even helped the team win the game. This video was going viral online, and Zhang Yang, who had just signed the biggest endorsement deal ever with AJ, was hot again!

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by (f)reew𝒆b(n)ov𝒆l.com