One Year Left to Play-Chapter 147 - 46: A Gentleman’s Revenge
When it comes to rebounding, he fears no one!
However, when Jason Williams leapt up, he couldn’t withstand the impact of Zhang Hao as he had anticipated. Instead, Zhang Hao, jumping explosively, pinned him down!
Zhang Hao charged into the paint and pushed the ball into the hoop over Jason Williams!
Zhang Hao’s aggression was fierce! Combined with the jumping momentum, he outright prevented Jason Williams from jumping!
Jason Williams was stunned by the slam! He had imagined himself soaring high and bumping Zhang Hao away, but was unexpectedly pinned down.
Everyone on site was amazed, even those few who were aware of Zhang Hao’s static strength test results didn’t anticipate Zhang Hao to be this formidable! This cutting and rebounding awareness was nothing like a speed-positioning shooter!
If Zhang Hao knew their doubts, he would surely answer without hesitation — "I was primarily a cutter in high school!"
As the saying goes, a gentleman takes vengeance for ten years... From dawn till dusk, after completing a putback dunk over Jason Williams, Team A became extremely aggressive. Originally proactive, now they became even more so, nicely suppressing the momentum Team B had before the pause.
The referee’s whistle sounded a bit delayed, as he was also amazed. Not being a professional referee, such a momentary daze is quite normal.
Earlier, Jason Williams had a motion of bumping up, and NBA officiating follows the principle of favoring the spectacle. In team training matches, they maintain this style to avoid affecting the formal game’s feel. If Zhang Hao hadn’t succeeded in the putback dunk but had been bumped away by Jason Williams, there would be no talk of a foul.
But since the putback was successful, Jason Williams’s actions should be whistled, both to ensure "fairness," and to give fans cheering and the dunking team’s teammates a chance to celebrate and boost morale.
A dunk over someone, especially a putback dunk, is the kind of scoring that can best boost morale. At this moment, Zhang Hao’s medal might have triggered!
"Medal: Dunk Master (Bronze) triggered, the spectacular dunk of specially contracted player Zhang Hao will significantly boost his team’s morale for the next three rounds."
As the whistle sounded, Kenny Anderson excitedly rushed up to chest bump Zhang Hao for a celebration. Zhang Hao caught a glimpse of the "Dunk Master" trigger notice, and having completed such a dunk, already feeling excited, he got even more thrilled seeing Kenny Anderson’s enthusiasm.
Indeed, don’t be static; adjust when necessary. Don’t stubbornly stick to your "most proficient" skill, but seize every opportunity. This is the right way to play.
After Zhang Hao made the free throw, it was Team B’s turn to attack. Almon Gilliam was indeed formidable, quite aggressive with his basket attack. He lunged into the paint, faking out Zhang Hao’s defense, then pushed past PJ Brown, going up for an easy basket.
Due to Zhang Hao’s dunk, Team A suddenly reached the peak of enthusiasm, defending diligently, though unable to stop them.
Kenny Anderson sensed the enhanced team spirit brought about by Zhang Hao and urged teammates not to lose heart, encouraging patience in their offense.
Team B quickly retreated defensively, preventing Kenny Anderson from initiating a fast break. Kenny Anderson stayed composed; with high morale, there was no need for caution, allowing thoughts to become clearer.
This is the impact of morale!
Steadily advancing to the front court, Kenny Anderson noticed a change in the opponent’s defense. Zhang Hao’s earlier dunk had unconsciously led the opposing players to move toward the cut space around Zhang Hao.
Not the kind of reckless move to block Zhang Hao’s mid-range attempts, but rather guarding against cuts.
With a plan in mind, Kenny Anderson started dribbling between his legs, facing Charles’s defense.
Charles’s defense was excellent, something Kenny Anderson greatly admired. He himself wasn’t too gifted defensively, so he respected it.
Often practicing with Charles, Kenny Anderson knew Charles’s defensive characteristics well: sharp foot movement, stable defensive fundamentals honed in Europe, adept at leading ball-holding attackers into teammates’ traps... Yet the downside is average physical fitness and poor athletic capability!
With a cross-step change of direction, Kenny Anderson accelerated explosively, securing a break space of one position, charging to the right mid-range!
As Kenny Anderson broke through, Zhang Hao at the left side of the three-second zone instinctively judged the defensive movement on the court, cutting towards the basket.
Meanwhile, Almon Gilliam moved from inside to the right side of the three-second zone, while Jason Williams, wary of Zhang Hao’s cut dunk threat, shifted to the left side edge of the three-second zone.
Zhang Hao’s cut was a feint; he didn’t exert real power. As he was about to charge to the left side edge of the three-second zone, he suddenly turned sharply, running toward the free-throw line position previously occupied by Almon Gilliam.
As Almon Gilliam closed in on Kenny Anderson’s defense, Anderson immediately passed the ball!
This coordination was among the play strategies the two had practiced during the prior 10-day running alignment training!
Zhang Hao’s sprint this time left Jason Williams and Vaughn Fleming entirely unable to catch up!
When Zhang Hao received the ball, Charles had quickly reached to defend, but as Zhang Hao raised the ball, Charles could only extend his hand to disrupt Zhang Hao’s view.
It’s futile!
Zhang Hao received the ball, using Charles like a cannon rack, and sank the jump shot from half a step outside the free-throw line!
