First in scoring

Chapter 436 435. Do you know how I have survived these days?
The next day, at noon on the 20th, Zhang Yang received good news - thanks to his average of 32.6 points per game last week and leading the team to three wins, he won his first Player of the Week award this season.

He just completed a 4-year, $8600 million contract extension yesterday. Next season, he will become a big shot with a salary of $2000 million. Today, he received good news.

In the first six weeks, the Eastern Conference Player of the Week winners were - James, Howard, Wade, James, Howard, and Bosh. He, Zhang San, finally broke the monopoly of those guys from the 6 and 03 classes.

Western Conference Player of the Week winner…Duncan.

When Zhang Yang saw the news that this was Duncan's third Player of the Week award in six seasons, he felt it was outrageous.

Selected to the double team every year, the number of times the Idiot has won the Player of the Week and Player of the Month in 6 seasons combined is less than that of Zhang San or King in one season last season.

Zhang Yang looked at the Western Conference Player of the Week winners for the first seven weeks: Gerald Wallace, Kobe, Billups, Nowitzki, Bynum, Roy, Duncan... There were no duplicates every week, and at most the Mavericks had two winners.

Another day passed, and on the 21st, after two rest days, the Bobcats faced the challenge of the Cavaliers at home.

The last time they played against each other, the entire Cavaliers team was full of fighting spirit. This time, the Cavaliers fought hard and only three players were left.

The Cavaliers lost all three games against the Bobcats in the past three seasons. The old players were already desperate when they saw the Bobcats. Before the last home game against the Bobcats, James conducted a pre-game mobilization to motivate the entire team...but then the team's six-game winning streak at the start was ended. Now the old players are even more desperate when they see the Bobcats.

Among the new players, except for Mo Williams who has a strong personality and is not affected by the low-pressure atmosphere of his teammates, the thoughts of the other players when they saw the Bobcats have been assimilated by the old players - there is no way we can beat the three young players of the Bobcats.

The other two who are still fighting are the unwilling James and the eccentric and fearless Delonte West.

James turned into a shooting demon tonight, making 26 of 11 shots, including 5 of 2 three-pointers, plus 16 of 11 free throws, scoring a game-high 35 points.

His one-on-one performance tonight was still dismal, but he did a good job in off-ball offense and drawing fouls.

但除了他，骑士队只有12分5助攻的莫-威廉姆斯、11分3板3助攻的德隆蒂-韦斯特得分上双。

张杨17投7中，其中三分球3中1，加上10中10的罚球，拿到25分6板7助攻3抢断，率领山猫队以101比92击败骑士队。

The Cavaliers' offense didn't play well tonight, but their defense was okay, especially the double-teaming and help defense on Zhang Yang, which limited Zhang Yang's shot attempts and hit rate to a very low level. When they really couldn't defend him, they used rough fouls to stop Zhang Yang from scoring in running games. It's a pity that Zhang Yang's free throws were too accurate tonight, and every one of them hit the target, so the Cavaliers' rough fouls on him turned into free throws.

Zhang Yang also took advantage of the opponent's attention to his defense, creating many opportunities for Millsap and Brad Miller to assist, and for wing shooters to catch and shoot. The best performing player among the receiving and scoring players was Mike Miller, who scored the second highest 21 points in the team.

After this game, the Bobcats have won 22 consecutive games against the Cavaliers in the regular season and playoffs!
This is the most maddening thing for James' fans. No matter how good James' statistics, how high his efficiency, or how outstanding his record is, he can never win an argument with Zhang Yang's fans, and has never won a club game.

As for the Olympics, James beat Zhang Yang once, but his teammates were so strong that they only tied in the Olympics and each won one game...

...

The next day, on the evening of the 21st, at the Turkish Airlines Arena, Celtics players and Bobcats players entered one after another.

After more than a month, Zhang Yang was very surprised by the changes in Mayo, the rookie - he seemed to have become more stable?
In the match at the beginning of the season, Mayo kept dissing him before the game, and the speed at which he spoke during the interview showed that it would be a waste of his talent if he didn't become a rapper.

This time, Zhang Yang did not see Mayo make any remarks before the game.

The changes were not limited to this. After entering the venue, Mayo's eyes were still full of hostility when he looked at Zhang Yang, but he did not stare at him provocatively like last time, and the look seemed a little... firm?
Zhang San: Is this still the 'Super Jordan' I know?

If Mayo knew what Zhang Yang was thinking, he would definitely yell at him - Do you know how I have been spending this period of time?
Half a year ago, when the Celtics selected Mayo with the 7th pick, Boston fans expressed their dissatisfaction, and they hoped that the rookie they selected would be Joe Alexander.

The template of Joe Alexander is an athletically enhanced version of Bird, with top-notch running and jumping abilities, thin, soft shooting touch, and a passion to show off his abilities.

In his last year of college, he averaged 58 points per game with a 16.9% shooting percentage. He had a variety of scoring methods and could play at the three and four positions.

Most importantly, he is white...

After a disastrous failure in the draft and being disliked by the home team's fans for a whole summer, Mayo fought hard after the start of his rookie season, averaging 20+ points per game in the first week and 19+ points per game in the first month. Together with the two core forwards, he led the team to a record of 9 wins and 6 losses, ranking sixth in the Eastern Conference, which was eye-catching and won cheers from the home fans, praise from local media and fans.

However, in December, as the number of strong opponents increased and most importantly, the opponents paid more attention to their newly rising team, they suffered a five-game losing streak. The previous flowers and applause were gone, and the media and fans began to criticize them again.

Even Mayo, who averaged 5 points and 14 assists in these 5 games and has entered the "wall period", still heard boos and scolding in home games.

This change came too sudden, and Mayo could not understand it at all. However, Al Jefferson, who had been in Boston for 4 years, was already used to it. He told Mayo the reason, which was just one sentence - our skin color.

After losing five games in a row, the Celtics stabilized their position, winning three of the next six games and losing three, bringing their record to 5 wins and 6 losses. Their ranking did not continue to decline, and they remained in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

In just three short weeks, Mayo, an already sensitive team, felt like it had gone through a year of torture.

He wanted to give up and abandon himself every day, but for some reason, he chose to persevere.

After understanding what kind of group Boston fans are, he no longer has the idea of ​​"I have to prove myself to them and make them recognize me" like he did in the summer. He no longer regards the Celtics as his home team.

He persisted, trained harder than before, played harder than before, not for this team. He did not have the ambition like Pierce who persisted for more than ten years to try to 'revive the giants'. He did all this for himself... to slap those people in the face!
Those people refer to the six people with higher rankings than him in the 08 draft... and Zhang Yang on the opposite side, the most important one is Zhang Yang.

It was this guy who caused him to end up in the bankrupt city of Boston!

Fortunately, Mayo didn't know that Zhang Yang was curious about his change and didn't yell at him. Otherwise, with Zhang Yang's personality, he would definitely move a small stool and ask him to tell him about his bad luck in detail for fun, and he might be so angry that he suffocated.

The chicken soup that Rivers gave to Mayo also helped him to a certain extent, but Mayo only had a good impression of the head coach. This team... is going bankrupt!

At 7 o'clock in the evening, the game between the Bobcats and the Celtics started.

Okafor won the jump ball, but Al Jefferson blocked Pietrus who was cutting in to receive the ball and attacking the basket at the beginning of the game. When the Celtics attacked, he turned around and made a jump hook against Millsap in the low post.

Al Jefferson is 24 years old, but he is already in the fifth year of his career. After four years of training, he has averaged 5 points, 4 rebounds, 21 assists and 11.1 blocks per game so far this season, making him one of the top power forwards.

Al Jefferson was in great form tonight. After a block and a hook shot, he scored two more goals in a row. Mayo took advantage of Zhang Yang's retreat to make a three-pointer, and Gooden made two free throws after cutting in for a layup and causing a foul...

6投4中，其中三分球1中1，加上2中2的罚球，凯尔特人队开局以11比6打停山猫队！
But after the timeout, Carlisle did not replace Perkins to defend Al Jefferson as Rivers expected, but replaced Millsap with Ibaka.

Rivers can understand the purpose of this rotation - Ibaka is the opponent's most athletic inside player, and can even be replaced by a defensive guard for a short time. When this rookie power forward comes on the court, the opponent's rotation and defense ability will be strengthened, and the backup defense against Mayo and Gooden will be better.

But Rivers was wondering, does Carlisle not care about Al Jefferson's one-on-one scoring?
Millsap is out, Hill and Brad Miller are both out, the opposing team's offensive ability will definitely be affected. No more offense?
Soon, Rivers found out why...

The Bobcats were on offense. Zhang Yang received a pass from Felton on the right side of the arc. Seeing Tony Allen was an arm's length away, he turned around and took a three-point shot...

Although Tony Allen did not expect Zhang Yang to throw it directly, he reacted very quickly and pounced on it immediately... He was still a little slow, this guy was very fast!

Doc Rivers (Doc Rivers) turned his head and looked at the bald guy opposite: Baldy Kawhi, you have no moral principles. Who would go head-to-head with a star player right at the start of the game?

After raising his threat with a surprise three-pointer, Zhang Yang entered an off-ball offensive mode, running around with Tony Allen, looking for shooting opportunities with the help of screens, or moving to the receiving point according to the movements of the main attacking teammates.

Felton and Okafor launched a pick-and-roll offense, and Ibaka, who received the ball, used their mobility to deal with the Celtics' interior defense. The starting lineup's reliance on coordination ability was reduced, and the starting lineup's playing style was more varied. What Carlisle expected when he adjusted the starting lineup was played out again tonight.

The playing style of the three young players after the timeout was actually the same as when they first became teammates at the end of the 05-06 regular season.

An old style of play, a style of play used when one is weak, does not necessarily mean it is an outdated style of play; it only matters whether it is suitable or not.

The Celtics have a strong inside confrontation and fierce inside defense. This style of play is just right for dealing with Al Harrington and Drew Gooden.

Al Jefferson felt great on offense tonight and had an excellent touch, making 9 of 6 shots in the quarter and 3 of 3 free throws, scoring 15 points, the second highest in his career, second only to his 18 points in the quarter against the Nuggets. He led the Celtics to 32 points in the quarter.

However, at the end of the first quarter, the score difference was 1 point smaller than when the Bobcats called a timeout at the beginning of the game. From the time Zhang Yang hit the three-pointer to the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats scored 22 points!
28 to 32, the Bobcats kept the score close and entered the second quarter trailing the Celtics by 4 points.

In the second quarter, the Bobcats' insistence on implementing a high-intensity confrontation and consumption strategy against the opponent's outside line took effect. The Celtics' outside players' shooting touch declined, and the Bobcats' rotation players began to shrink inside, double-teaming and helping to defend Al Jefferson and Josh Smith.

The Celtics' scoring pressure came onto Mayo.

Although Mayo played very hard against Zhang Yang and performed well overall, the Celtics' score inevitably plummeted compared to the first quarter, and they only scored 24 points in the second quarter.

Mayo has the talent to be an All-Star player, and for various reasons he has the ambition that he didn't have before, but he is ultimately just a rookie.

The real reason for the decline in scoring lies with the team's star player Al Jefferson.

He does not have the ability to destroy everything in the low post like peak Yao Ming and Sharapova, nor does he have diverse scoring methods like Nowitzki and Bosh. Most of the time, he is a support player, scoring 20 points per game and pushing the opponent's defense into the inside. This is what he can do.

It is very rare for him to have a big outburst like the one in the first quarter, or for the opponent to have no one in the interior to cause trouble for him on the defensive end when playing against the Nuggets.

However, the Bobcats' scoring also dropped in the second quarter. Okafor had a long rest time in the second quarter, only playing for 4 minutes in the middle, and sat on the bench most of the time.

Without Okafor, who can steadily average 15+ points per game and occasionally score 20 points when needed, Millsap, Brad Miller, Ibaka, and Perkins all found it difficult to score against the inside combination of Josh Smith, Al Jefferson, and Gooden.

Fortunately, Zhang Yang, Felton, and Alan Anderson, who came off the bench, all shot well in this quarter. Carlisle used Hill as power forward in the last four minutes of the second quarter, adding some changes to the inside... The Bobcats scored 4 points in a single quarter!
At the end of the first half, the Bobcats narrowed the gap by 1 point and went into the halftime break trailing the Celtics by 53 points at 56 to 3.

Throughout the first half, the difference in on-the-spot command ability between Carlisle and Rivers was revealed.

Facing the explosion of the opposing star player, Carlisle responded appropriately. When Okafor played the entire first quarter and needed more rest in the second quarter, he actively made personnel adjustments, tried more possibilities, and replaced Hill at the appropriate time to change the inside offensive method... The Bobcats gradually seized the initiative.

After the halftime break, the third quarter began.

The Celtics sent out a combination of Mayo, Tony Allen, Daequan Cook, Josh Smith and Glen Davis.

The Bobcats fielded a combination of Felton, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Hill and Okafor.

The Celtics attacked first. Mayo wanted to open the game with a ball like Zhang Yang did, so he took a three-pointer facing Zhang Yang... Zhang Yang interfered with his shot and he tilted his body, but the shot went out of bounds...

His teammates feel that their talented rookie is very courageous. The Black Mamba usually doesn't shoot like this when facing the Bad Boys' defense. Doesn't he know how the Bad Boys can restrain technical shooters?

Nearly one-third of the season has been played, and Mayo's player type has been classified as a technical shooter. When he was a student, his physical fitness was better than most of his opponents, and he was known for his physical fitness. But in the NBA, his speed is just excellent, his jumping ability is just good, his strength is only average, and his jumping speed is just enough... This is already very good, without any obvious shortcomings, but he obviously cannot be called a physically fit man.

Seeing Zhang Yang's investment like this, I can only say that he is very courageous.

When the Bobcats attacked, Zhang Yang went to the high post to ask for the ball.

The opponent had three clean sheets at the start of the second half, which was a good time to blow the charge horn and turn the initiative into a real advantage!
But Tony Allen did not give Zhang Yang the opportunity to receive the ball and back-up in the high post, and defended him from the front.

Zhang Yang turned around and cut inside. Josh Smith blocked the route that Felton passed to Zhang Yang on the left. Zhang Yang saw the opponent's movement and position, but he continued to cut inside. When he reached the elbow area and was about to enter the three-second zone, he suddenly braked and ran back to a high position.

Hill moved to the right side of the free throw line tacitly, blocking Tony Allen who turned around and chased him.

Zhang Yang ran straight to the top arc and received the pass from Felton...Josh Smith made the final move!
Josh Smith keenly sensed Zhang Yang's intention. His defensive awareness and talent were both at their best. His speed and deterrence when switching defenses were exactly the same as those of the first-team leader King.

But this did not scare Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang calmly gave up the direct shot and started to control the ball and play one-on-one. Hill and Felton moved away in tacit understanding.

Zhang Yang easily resolved the unfavorable offensive environment where his running, receiving and shooting were blocked and there were a lot of people at the free throw line, making it difficult for him to break through.

However, the 24-second offensive time was running out, and Zhang Yang started to break through alone after his two teammates pulled away.

Josh Smith predicted that Zhang Yang would choose to break through. With his all-round advantages in height, wingspan, jumping ability and speed, he was certain that the opponent would not dare to force a shot against his defense.

When Zhang Yang changed direction and rushed forward, Josh Smith suddenly retreated to prevent Zhang Yang from making a quick stop and jump shot... But Zhang Yang only stepped one step into the three-point line before stopping and jumping back!
Josh Smith's strong physical fitness was displayed at this moment. After he retreated and landed, he jumped back immediately without stopping with his super explosive power, and stretched out his long arms towards Zhang Yang who was lifting the ball while retreating and landing... just a little bit short!

Zhang Yang threw the ball before landing, and the ball had flown past that position about 0.1 or 0.2 seconds before Josh Smith blocked it.

The spinning ball flew through the air and fell into the frame!

56 to 56, the Bobcats tied the score!

This time, it's the Bobcats' turn to take the lead!
And the attack was even more fierce than the Celtics in the first quarter!
Zhang Yang's personal score in a single quarter was not as high as Al Jefferson's in the first quarter. After hitting a step-back three-pointer at the beginning of the second half, he only scored 6 points with 3 of 7 shots. With Tony Allen defending him alone and Josh Smith assisting in defense, it was difficult for him to run away, but his teammates started shooting under his leadership.

山猫队全队第三节单节24投13中，其中三分球7中4，加上9中6的罚球，单节36分！
单节36比25，三节打完，山猫队以89比81反超凯尔特人队8分进入末节！
In the final quarter, the Celtics tried to fight back, but failed. They played well, scoring 24 points in the second quarter and 25 points in the third quarter, which was very stable. But facing the Bobcats' defense, with Al Jefferson unable to replicate his performance in the first quarter, it was good for them to get 25 points.

The score in the final quarter was 25 to 24, and the Bobcats widened the gap by another 1 point...

晚上9点24分，比分定格在114比105，山猫队9分优势击败凯尔特人队！

艾尔-杰弗森19投12中，加上11中9的罚球，拿到33分13板2助攻2盖帽，得分表现非常出色。

However, although he was leading in the scoring in the first three quarters, his personal score was the same as the team score, and he did not have the last laugh.

张杨首节11分、第二节6分、第三节10分、末节9分，25投12中，其中三分球9中4，加上9中8的罚球，拿到36分！
Zhang Yang's shooting percentage tonight was not higher than Al Jefferson's 63.1%, but he can shoot more!

After the final whistle sounded, Mayo kept looking back at Zhang Yang as he walked towards the player tunnel.

He was frustrated, unwilling, and angry. He shot a lot tonight, the most on the team, 20 of 8, including 5 of 1 three-pointers, plus 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 20 points, the second highest on the team, plus 5 assists, which was much better than his performance last time against the Bobcats, but it was still not enough...

But what made him even more angry and unwilling was that after the game, the damn Zhang San didn't even look at him.

Super Jordan: Just wait, damn Zhang San, one day I will make you look at me straight in the face!

(End of this chapter)