One Year Left to Play-Chapter 76 - 24: Miracle Shots vs. Unstoppable Mid-range Shot (Part 2)
But this time, as Garnett was running to the front court, he shouted, "Don’t rush, that little kid just got lucky. I don’t believe he’ll be this lucky every time. Don’t panic, attack slowly, control the tempo..."
When Kobe played, what made opponents most despair was this kind of miracle shot. During high school, he frequently relied on these types of plays to lead his mediocre teammates to win the Pennsylvania high school basketball league championship. He also broke several records held by Chamberlain in his senior year. His dad Joe Bryant would often get on TV for no reason just to boast about how amazing his son was. It wasn’t just empty bragging, as Kobe’s outstanding performance laid a solid foundation for Joe’s remarks. This is why, even at 16, Kobe had almost the same level of attention as Garnett.
He often shattered the confidence of his opponents when the game was tight. Tonight, during their phase of chasing points madly, his key isolations had a similar effect.
This was a powerful ability that he often showcased in high school games, leading a frail Laurel Merion High School to victory. But this time, Kobe didn’t feel any trace of discouragement from the other side!
In Team B’s offense, Team B calmly used Bibi and Garnett’s pick-and-roll to pass and cut. Garnett passed it out to Corey Benjamin, who then passed to Zhang Hao, who had shaken off Hamilton with Bibi and Garnett’s defensive attraction. Zhang Hao jumped and shot from the left side of the free-throw line, scoring!
Even Corey Benjamin stayed composed and calmly got the ball to Zhang Hao’s hands in this play!
With Zhang Hao’s mid-range shooting ability, when faced with the current high school opponents’ chasing defense, as long as he received the ball, there was a high chance he would score because the defense genuinely couldn’t keep up.
It’s not that he could just make shots no matter the interference, but rather that the opponent found it really hard to effectively interfere with him. He had plenty of room for adjustment and, after adjusting, it was difficult for the opponent’s defense experience and habits to effectively disturb him!
Initially, he couldn’t do this, but with his shooting accuracy improved to the top NBA level, these tasks became simpler.
For some time now, practicing every day, Zhang Hao focused mainly on shooting due to his specific playing style, and his current form was top-notch!
Being suppressed by an almost non-dribbling pure shooter, this was the first time Kobe encountered such a situation in his life, and this situation only fueled his competitive spirit even more.
For a moment, the scene turned into Team B collectively creating mid-range shot opportunities for Zhang Hao, while Team A tried their best to clear space for Kobe to isolate, pass, and shoot.
What is the aim of the game? Of course, it’s to win.
How do you win? That’s simple, score more than the opponent.
How do you score? Shoot!
Zhang Hao greatly underestimated the power of his NBA top-tier-bordering... even bordering on top-tier, it’s still solid NBA top-tier mid-range shooting prowess in a high school game!
He always thought it was the team improving his play, but, in fact, it was his teammates playing better by relying on his exceptional shooting ability. He was the one utilizing his shooting to drive the whole team’s offense!
Teammates saw his return to the court as a lifeline, and that is proof!
However, they gave the opponent too many opportunities back there; Team A had gotten into rhythm. But there’s no help for it, as Team B really didn’t have the ability to break them down at once.
Now the situation had reached a stalemate, just waiting to see which side’s morale would collapse first.
Now Kobe entered a mode similar to a venomous snake baring its fangs, imparting intense pressure on the opponent, because he didn’t just look strong, he truly was strong!
Under Kobe’s leadership, Team A’s morale was sky-high. Chasing the game to this point, their morale was undoubtedly soaring. They felt that if they just gritted their teeth and waited for Zhang Hao to start missing consecutively, they’d have a shot.
Theoretically speaking, with Team B’s lack of strong offensive capability, it was easier for their morale to falter because Zhang Hao is just a shooter! He couldn’t give Team B the strong offensive ability they desperately needed, while Raheem was only skilled in strong inside attacks, Bibi was quite worn out, and although Garnett was powerful, he wasn’t adept at strong attacks. As long as Zhang Hao wasn’t on point, the situation would shift favorably towards Team A.
Moreover, Zhang Hao was mainly a shooter, which seemed too plain. Being a precise shooter is impressive, but Zhang Hao was only in a makeshift team, relying on such a plain style, it was hard for the passion to be sustained for long. Just look at NBA teams with a Mid-range King, even the Bulls played in a quite boring manner during stressful phases, but NBA teams and a spontaneously assembled high school team are definitely not the same. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
See, Kobe continued making high-difficulty shots, and even if they didn’t go in, they seemed full of passion, while on Zhang Hao’s side, after a series of shots, when he got blocked, Garnett seized the opportunity to pass to a cutting player. It was good if it went in, but this time it didn’t, Raheem’s layup was too forceful, and Team B visibly showed disappointment!
After returning, Kobe assisted Marbury for a successful layup, and Team A was about to suppress Team B again!
Zhang Hao made it to the front court, and this time he didn’t immediately run for position but instead, while passing by Garnett, gave him a pat and pointed at the basket.
Observing Zhang Hao running around foolishly again, Garnett didn’t immediately get it, but after watching Zhang Hao’s running route, with Garnett’s knack for analyzing shooting intention from movement routes, he immediately understood—this guy was really bold!
Garnett himself was already a highly passionate player, always ready to make a pass.
Finally, Zhang Hao found an opportunity to cut in, slipped past Hamilton like circling a pylon, and charged towards the basket!
