No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 166: Nash: This rookie’s ball-handling is like mine!_3

He was very angry, but his fondness for Zhang Yang actually increased.

The way this rookie shouted during the fast break, the boldness of his passes, it reminded him of himself!

So, it goes to show that first impressions are very important. Nash was originally just curious about what a 17-year-old high schooler could do in a one-on-one, and then because Zhang Yang’s dribbling resembled his, he felt a liking for him and couldn’t help himself...

However, Nash wasn’t in the mood for teaching at the moment; he was set on crushing the opposition first!

On the other side, Felton, celebrating as he fell back to the backcourt, asked Zhang Yang, "Didn’t the coach tell us to slow down the pace? Playing like this, we can’t control the pace, let alone defend."

Zhang Yang, "Can we really defend them by slowing down the pace? Can we beat them? It’s better to counterattack; at least it’s more enjoyable that way."

Felton: Makes sense!

Gerald Wallace, upon hearing this, didn’t simply accept Zhang Yang’s statement. He had noticed that when there was no time to explain, Zhang Yang would brush off the simple-minded Felton first.

Given Zhang Yang’s usual cautious and calm demeanor on the court, Gerald Wallace thought that Zhang Yang must have determined that playing fast was more effective.

With no time to question, he just followed along.

Honestly, Gerald Wallace felt a bit jealous of the camaraderie between Zhang Yang, Felton, and Anderson. He had never experienced that kind of relationship, and he couldn’t blend into their little group. Although he was about the same age as Felton, he had entered the NBA four years earlier.

Zhang Yang might not necessarily inspire his teammates to play fast, but players like Gerald Wallace and Felton, competing for the top spot, could.

Under their leadership, the Bobcats shifted their focus to offense and picked up the pace.

On the Suns team, after being crushed by a dunk, Nash got serious and led a more brutal attack than in the first half.

But the Bobcats players felt like the game wasn’t as difficult as in the first half! At least they weren’t completely powerless!

They couldn’t defend, but they could still score, at least keeping the score close!

The first quarter ended 29-31, the second 28-26, the third 23-33, and the final quarter 28-27...

Nash made 7 out of 13 shots, including 2 three-point attempts without success, along with 10 out of 11 free throws, scoring 24 points, grabbing 2 rebounds, and delivering 15 assists, leading the Suns team to a 117-108 victory over the Bobcats!

Although the Bobcats lost the game, after the final whistle, the home fans gave the players enthusiastic applause and cheers.

This game was much more entertaining than last season’s matchups against the Suns!

Last season in two meetings, the Bobcats were defeated 83-114 and 85-110, not just losing, but losing hideously.

The Suns team’s defense, along with the Toronto Raptors and SuperSonics, was widely regarded as one of the three worst defensive teams this season, a group that even the Hawks and Warriors couldn’t compare with.

This is also why the Suns games are entertaining; as long as the opponent is willing to fight, the score doesn’t get too out of hand.

Alternatively, those teams that tried to stop the Suns but had mediocre defense and struggled offensively due to slowing the pace were bloodily massacred by the Suns.

And the Bobcats did have a chance to win; they tied the score in the first half.

They even won by 1 point in the final quarter with their fighting spirit.

But it is the third quarter, which tests the ability to manage stamina and maintain offensive continuity, where they only scored 23 points, while the Suns had their best performance of the night, winning the quarter by 10 points.

Zhang Yang set a new personal record for minutes played since entering the NBA tonight, precisely 30 minutes, making 9 of 16 shots, including 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 5 of 6 free throws, scoring 24 points, grabbing 6 rebounds, and dishing out 5 assists along with 2 steals.

With a fast pace, he grabbed more rebounds and had more opportunities for fast breaks, and tonight there were many passes that directly led to assists, setting a new personal record for single-game assists.

He wasn’t particularly concerned about his number of assists; he would take them if he could.

The highest scorer of the game was Gerald Wallace, scoring 29 points, with many of the assists from Zhang Yang and Felton being converted by Wallace during fast breaks.

Tonight, he experienced the strength of peak Nash and spontaneously recalled his first trial in the 10-timeline, when Nash from that time was nowhere near as good as Nash tonight.

Scoring, assisting was like picking fruit!

He, along with Felton, Anderson, and Bogans, took turns defending Nash, but they only managed to hold the opposition’s three-point shooting to 2 for 0.

He knew Nash’s breakthrough tactics and understood how Nash would penetrate. Before the game, even right up to entering the game, he thought about how to guard him. But whether it was defending pick-and-rolls or man-to-man, nothing worked. The same technique executed by different people yields entirely different outcomes.

The game was lost, and Zhang Yang could only console himself—my scoring matched Nash’s, I had more rebounds and steals, only fewer assists; I lost, but not completely.

When leveling up in a struggling team, one must learn some ways to adjust one’s mindset, or else one might end up like those talents who sadly join teams like the future Kings or Timberwolves, losing motivation and ambition.

During his third trial in the 10-timeline, Zhang Yang discovered a new gain—improved awareness for playing simple basketball!

It doesn’t work against strong teams; their team can’t easily create simple basketball opportunities, and in most games, he still needs patiently to observe the opponent’s defense, timing his movements to reach assist spots without being too slow, for then the opportunity will be gone, but not too fast either, or the pursuing defenders will cut off the passing route...

But playing against a defensively deficient team like the Suns, who are among the bottom three, is still quite engaging.

He looked forward to their next meeting with the Suns! Tonight, they genuinely had a chance to win. Next time, they must seize the opportunity!

What Zhang Yang didn’t know was that Nash, on the other side, was also looking forward to their next encounter.

As the game progressed tonight, Nash got so involved that he forgot about that matter; mostly, the Suns’ style of play meant they were never very stable. Last season saw several upsets, and this season, with their powerhouse being sidelined, their capacity for positional warfare has diminished, increasing the chance of upsets. After defeating the Bobcats, their record improved to 19 wins and 9 losses, with 4 of those losses coming against teams ranked in the bottom ten.

Nash resolved that in their next encounter, he would definitely provide Zhang Yang with a ’live teaching’ session—next time for sure!

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Today, 12,000 words, asking for monthly and recommendation tickets! A friend just reminded Xiao Feng that recommendation tickets have reached twenty thousand, so an extra update is arranged~ Tomorrow or the day after, if the guaranteed ten thousand words are completed early, the extra update for recommendation tickets will be added! Asking for your votes!

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