No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 180 - 106. Charlotte, a Mountain (Extra update for every 20k recommendation tickets)

Not just Zhang Yang, Felton, and Gerald Wallace were all staring at James.

In every era, there’s a player that everyone else wants to beat.

This season, James had become such a player, and the rising stars who had become the cores of their teams were all targeting him.

If we extend the range by two years, players who entered the NBA from 2001 to 2005 are considered of the same era as James.

But among these players, the only one who could dominate over James was Yao Ming.

The two have faced off five times to date, and the only win for James came when Damon Jones had a freak shooting performance, hitting 5 out of 6 three-pointers, leading the Knights to a narrow 104-102 victory. Moreover, that game McGrady was out with an injury, leaving Yao Ming to lead a ragtag group. In the other four matchups, Yao Ming triumphed.

Wade’s team could steamroll James’s team, but without O’Neal, the two of them would be about even, and Wade’s ability to lead the team was slightly inferior.

Anthony managed to outplay James during his rookie year, but by his second year, they were trading blows, and this season, as James continued to rise, Anthony not only failed to improve but seemed to regress.

The players of the Bobcats, most of whom also entered the NBA during the same period as James, including Zhang Yang, relished the pleasure of defeating a peer like James.

However, compared to Anthony, Wade, and Yao Ming, who would be criticized if they lost to James, the Bobcats players felt no pressure.

Being on a newly-formed team does have its advantages—losing is normal, winning is praised.

After both teams entered the court, the new head coach Mike Brown from the opposite side came over to greet Bickerstaff. He was once Bickerstaff’s assistant, to be precise, Bickerstaff was the one who brought him up, giving him his first assistant job, which before that was as a video coordinator and scout.

James also took the initiative to greet Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, Felton, and the others.

If there wasn’t a conflict of interest, James was beyond reproach when it came to interpersonal dealings.

Even though the guy in front of him was an opponent that he wanted to beat, an imagined adversary for the next ten years or even longer, Zhang Yang found the casual conversation quite comfortable.

Unfortunately, that was a skill he couldn’t learn.

Zhang Yang noticed a man in a suit sitting on the bench across from them—Larry Hughes.

A player whose career serves as a cautionary tale to others about how choosing the wrong team can have dire consequences.

Last season, Larry Hughes made an averaged 22 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.9 steals per game and was named to the All-Defensive First Team. During the offseason, several teams vied for him, but ultimately the Knights won the bidding war, securing him for 5 years at $70 million US dollars. This price was just $5 million shy of the maximum contract under the salary cap’s Bird rights for that season.

But Larry Hughes’s style clashed with that of James. Hughes, in his prime at 26-27 years, saw his performance plummet after changing teams.

If James was good defensively at that time, he could have tried a high-pressure stealing strategy for counterattacks. Coach Mike Brown attempted this tactic, but it was ineffective; James’s defense relied purely on instincts. free𝑤ebnovel.com

James decided to work on his defense after the 2007 Finals when he faced off against Ginobili and Parker, whose explosive performances forced Coach Mike Brown to have him guard Bowen in the corner out of desperation, which deeply stung him... But that’s the thing about geniuses, after just one year of hard training, by the 2008-09 season, he had become a defensive powerhouse.

Currently, James and Larry Hughes simply could not coexist. Before Hughes’s injury, he had become a nominal starter but an actual sixth man, and was criticized for his wasteful contract. Last summer, the 26-year-old Hughes signed a 5-year contract with the Knights, aiming for another big contract at 31. Otherwise, he could have taken a longer 6-year offer from another team, which, although at a lower average, amounted to more than what the Knights offered. Now, with the situation as it is, forget about a big contract at 31; it’s questionable if any team would even want him by then.

The most unfortunate part was that the Knights’ record had actually improved after Hughes’s injury, with James’s average jumping from 28 points to over 30...

At 7 o’clock in the evening, the game between the Bobcats and Knights began.

Brezec beat Big Z and won the jump ball for the Bobcats to start on the offense.

The starting lineup for the Knights: Eric Snow, Ronald Murray, James, Drew Gooden, Big Z.

The starting lineup for the Bobcats: Felton, Karim Rush, Gerald Wallace, Eli, Brezec.

Brezec actively called for the ball in the low post, and Felton delivered it reliably.

From the sideline, Zhang Yang’s attention focused on the inside. Brezec was going for a post-up play on their very first offensive possession!

Brezec at 218 cm and 116 kg, and Big Z at 221 cm and 118 kg, were the tallest players on their respective teams, both towering figures in the league.

Brezec backed down Big Z, took a step, spun to the baseline, grabbed the ball, made two strides to the left side of the basket and, with his back to the basket, floated up the shot... and it went in!

After scoring, Brezec turned around and thumped his chest in celebration facing Big Z.

Zhang Yang: Whoa, not bad!

Those moves were really quick... compared to Big Z.

Zhang Yang was seeing Brezec compete for the first time; was this the way Eastern European centers greeted each other on the court?

Last summer in the European Championship, the Lithuania team, with Big Z, faced the Slovenia team in the quarterfinals and won. There seemed to have been some conflict during the match... that’s just so Eastern European basketball.

However, on the NBA court, Big Z didn’t call for the ball to respond to Brezec’s challenge; on the Knights’ offensive turn, he dutifully executed the play.

Compared to the ’loose’ Bobcats, the Knights had strict discipline and had clear roles for primary and secondary options.

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om