No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 172 - 103. They are all high school students, why is the gap so big?_3
Chapter 172: 103. They are all high school students, why is the gap so big?_3
PJ Brown looked helplessly as Gerald Wallace, with arms thicker than his, unhindered charged in; he had no choice but to foul.
Last summer, the Hornets traded Magloire, who was selected an All-Star in 2004, for Desmond Mason, partly to make room for David West, but more importantly, they valued the strength of this violent frontliner who averaged 17 points per game last season.
Who would have thought that 28-year-old Desmond Mason, in his prime, would wither upon their arrival, managing only about 10 points per game with a dismal shooting percentage that plummeted to 39%.
His defensive performance was even worse to witness. Originally, although Desmond Mason’s defense lacked sophistication, his enthusiasm and strong physical condition made him very effective against those reliant on physical outside lines. James was held to only 7 of 25 shots in his first encounter with Mason, leaving Francis and Wade bewildered when facing him, but this year he was no longer aggressive in defense.
When Zhang Yang was researching the Hornets, he came across an interesting fact about Desmond Mason—last July, his dozen or so paintings sold for 8 million US dollars, more than his NBA salary for the season, and one of them was even purchased by David Stern and is currently hanging at the NBA headquarters.
Hornets’ head coach Byron Scott put JR Smith in the game to see if this high school player’s explosive scoring could break the deadlock.
Although JR Smith was only averaging 7 points per game, he once exploded for 33 points against the Grizzlies, leading his team to an upset victory over the 50-win Grizzlies team.
On the Bobcats’ side, Bickerstaff put high schoolers Zhang Yang and Perkins into the game.
On the other side, with Felton using power to break through intricacy and a disadvantage in the paint, Gerald Wallace had already overpowered PJ Brown.
Zhang Yang knew that his task for tonight was to deal with JR Smith.
After the timeout, the Hornets had the ball on offense.
Paul passed the ball directly to JR Smith.
Putting this high school player in was for the purpose of iso plays, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been put in.
The main reason was that he and David West’s pick-and-roll offense wasn’t smooth; Gerald Wallace simply ignored Desmond Mason’s cuts and focused on the two of them.
Even Brezec could easily switch to defend Desmond Mason, now with that burly and fierce center on the court, Paul had no expectations for Mason whatsoever.
JR Smith’s iso play was flashy. Other players might be emotionally affected and press up to defend, at least worried about getting beaten.
But Zhang Yang just faithfully followed the opponent’s steps. JR Smith dribbled for several seconds, and Zhang Yang showed no reaction, choosing to pull up for a direct shot... and Zhang Yang, who was already prepared, jumped in time to stretch his hand and interfere...
"Bang"
It’s a brick!
Other players seldom pay attention to the play style of a second-year high school student averaging 7 points per game, but Zhang Yang did, he studied it, he knew that JR Smith had almost no interior scoring, averaging less than one basket per game from close range; people were impressed by his dunks, but those were all on fast breaks, rarely in the paint during sets.
Zhang Yang’s defensive strategy was to only guard mid to long-range shots, not caring about the drives, and if JR Smith entered a frenzy and made shots despite the interference, he would accept it.
Clearly, the opponent had not gone into a frenzy tonight!
Perkins secured the defensive rebound!
Paul, with his leader’s demeanor, led his teammates to quickly fall back on defense. The Bobcats’ fast break didn’t take shape, settling into a half-court offense.
Felton advanced to the frontcourt and, seeing that JR Smith was guarding Zhang Yang, passed the ball to him.
He and Gerald Wallace had taken turns chiseling away for half a quarter and needed a breather.
Defending against JR Smith, Zhang Yang didn’t even call for a screen anymore, he proactively moved up, using his body to lean on his opponent side-on.
Just as JR Smith exerted power to counter and reach for the steal, Zhang Yang suddenly pivoted left, bypassing JR Smith and bursting forward. JR Smith couldn’t control his momentum and lunged past the three-point line!
Zhang Yang drove down the middle into the paint, and with Brandon Bass guarding the basket, he had no choice but to step up. Zhang Yang unleashed the Euro step, striding to the left side of the paint and quickly shooting before David West could extend his hand as he lunged from the baseline... It’s good!
In the transition between offense and defense, JR Smith continued to call for the ball to attack. He hadn’t made his shot, and the opponents had scored—how could he accept that.
Paul hesitated a bit, but still chose to trust JR Smith. After the game against the Grizzlies, he acknowledged his teammate’s strength.
But...
JR Smith once again took a tough shot over Zhang Yang’s defense!
"Clang"
"Beep"
Brandon Bass rushed to fight for the offensive rebound and fouled Perkins!
Paul, frustrated, stomped over to JR Smith and looking up at him, said, "You’re taller than him, stronger than him, drive on him! Like Felton driving on me, isn’t driving in and pulling up for a jump shot better than taking a contested shot?"
To the rookie’s outburst, JR Smith nonchalantly responded with a mutter.
The Bobcats’ inbounded the ball for the offensive play, and once Zhang Yang reached the frontcourt, seeing that Paul was guarding him, he decisively dragged Paul out to create space.
Felton went one-on-one against JR Smith, driving smoothly into the paint, but sadly, the pull-up floater missed.
On the transition back to defense, Paul still passed the ball to JR Smith; without it, this teammate really wouldn’t be of much use.
Paul was hoping JR Smith would bulldoze past Zhang Yang and score. However, the thing was, it would have been better if he hadn’t yelled before. His yelling only fueled JR Smith’s rebelliousness.
He thinks he can’t score with this rookie contesting his shots, huh! JR Smith was determined to shoot just to show everyone!
Zhang Yang’s defensive intensity wasn’t particularly high for NBA-level play. He managed not to be a liability on defense by avoiding mistakes, making advantageous choices, and thanks to his top-level shot prediction and timing of his contests!
JR Smith wasn’t having a meltdown tonight, but under Zhang Yang’s effective contest, he leaned back and missed his shot for the third time!
This time, the Bobcats were prepared. Felton pulled back to box out with Perkins and grabbed the defensive rebound, then pushed the ball up!
Gerald Wallace quickly cut down the middle, drawing the defense. Zhang Yang received the pass on the right and drove in, leveraging Gerald’s distraction, soared to the basket and slammed the ball into the hoop with one hand!
The Hornets called for another timeout!
Byron Scott watched as Zhang Yang chest-bumped with Gerald Wallace in celebration; then he looked over at JR Smith. Both were high school players—how could there be such a huge gap in their thinking?
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