First in scoring

Chapter 437 436. Big Reshuffle Phase

It is always difficult for people to empathize with each other. Mayo regards Zhang Yang as an enemy and a goal to be surpassed, but in Zhang Yang's eyes, Mayo is just a rookie who is a little special.

This is special only because of the fun Mayo brought him. In terms of talent and strength, it is obvious that Rose, Turtle, Ronaldinho... and others make him more concerned.

If Mayo plays particularly well, he might treat him differently, or if Mayo plays particularly badly, he will just watch it for fun.

But Mayo scored 40 points and 20 assists with a 5% shooting rate tonight, which is definitely not bad, but it can't be said to be very good either, so it's naturally difficult to attract his attention.

After the back-to-back games, the Bobcats will have two days off, really a day off, as the Christmas game is coming soon.

Zhang Yang didn't have any additional training plans for the past two days, so he took a good rest.

The day after playing against the Celtics, he slept in for a rare time. He was woken up by Xiao Wukong at noon, got up and had lunch, and went back to his parents' house in the afternoon to prepare for Christmas Eve and Christmas.

In the evening, Zhang Yang and Xiao Wukong watched the Pacers and Knicks game broadcast live on American cable sports, and the "fight" between Ronaldinho and Erha.

In terms of strength, there is a big gap between the two teams. The Pacers have a winning rate of nearly 50%, while the Knicks are second to last in the Eastern Conference.

But the Knicks' games were really good to watch. They changed their head coach to D'Antoni, and dug up championship point guard Chris Duhon from the Bulls. The backup point guard was Nate Robinson, a favorite for the best sixth man. They also had forwards and guards with outstanding athletic abilities such as Harden, Wilson Chandler, Big Q, and Al Harrington... They played pretty well on offense, averaging 106 points per game.

There is only David Lee left in the interior, and the basket is basically undefended. They lose 108 points per game and are third from the bottom in the league in defense, only slightly better than the Warriors and Suns, and worse than the Nuggets.

In the end, the Pacers defeated the Knicks 123-116.

Harden started the game and scored 15 points and 3 assists, and DeRozan came off the bench and made two three-pointers, two mid-range shots and 3 free throws for 13 points. Their performances were pretty good.

Zhang Yang was deeply impressed by Harden and David Lee's several pick-and-roll attacks. He played with D'Antoni at the beginning of his career, and this D'Antoni was not like the "Moneyball" he played later. Harden's offense was very comprehensive, and he had much more opportunities than when he joined the Thunder after Durant and Westbrook.

It's just defense... All I can say is that blessings and disasters go hand in hand, and you always lose something when you gain something.

The NBA has scheduled as many as 10 games today. Because tomorrow is Christmas Eve, a bye day, and the day after tomorrow is the Christmas game, most teams continue to rest.

After the Spurs defeated the Timberwolves 109-97 in the last game of the day, all the games in the early season came to an end. The Christmas game will begin the day after tomorrow, and the 08-09 season will enter the mid-term stage.

In the past, different media had different opinions on whether the Christmas game belonged to the early season, the mid-season, or the dividing line. Fans also had their own views. This year, major media made a unified division.

This may seem to have no substantive significance, but after major media outlets made a unified statement and made a new division, fans really felt that the NBA regular season entered a new stage starting from Christmas. They cared more about this time point than before, and their enthusiasm for discussion increased a lot.

Even many players were affected and played very hard in the few games before Christmas, trying to sprint for the ranking at the end of the early season. The games in recent days have been much more entertaining.

Before going to bed, Zhang Yang took a look at the 'early battle reports' released by major media outlets that were being hotly discussed by fans.

The main topics include record rankings, player performance rankings, future prospects, etc.

After entering the second month of the game, he didn't pay much attention to the rankings. As a result, they had already rushed to second place in the league!

Currently, the Cavaliers are ranked first in the Eastern Conference and the league with 21 wins and 5 losses.

The Bobcats are 20-6, second in the Eastern Conference and tied with the Western Conference-leading Lakers for second in the league.

The Bobcats have averaged 104.8 points per game so far this season, ranking seventh in the league in offensive firepower. In fact, it should have been higher, but the score of their game against the Jazz a few days ago was over 70-70, which pulled them down. Otherwise, they would have almost caught up with the Knicks.

On defense, Carlisle's defensive system has done a good job of advancing the rhythm. After their opponents got used to their defense in late November, their performance had shown a downward trend, but after adjustments, their defensive performance has stabilized and is steadily improving. They currently average 11 points per game, ranking ninth in the league.

The Bobcats are in the top ten in both offense and defense, a first in their history. Even fans who don't like them and the media who target them think that they still have a lot of room for improvement in both offense and defense.

The second-placed Mavericks in the Western Conference have 20 wins and 7 losses, third in the league;

The Magic, third in the Eastern Conference, have 19 wins and 7 losses, fourth in the league;

The Grizzlies, third in the Western Conference, have 18 wins and 9 losses, fifth in the league...

After entering December, the league's performance trend was very different from what Zhang Yang had predicted after the first month of competition.

For example, after defeating the Celtics last night, the Bobcats won six consecutive games, tying the season record, which is the Cavaliers' six consecutive wins at the start.

I've been playing for almost two months, and the longest winning streak is only 6!

Less than one-third of the regular season games have been played, and there is already no team with less than five losses. This can be said to be a very rare situation.

This situation was also analyzed in the media column articles. The last time it happened was in the 00-01 season. What was the situation in that season?

The sixth place in the Eastern Conference can sweep the third place, and then play seven games with the second place, and the second place can play a game seven with the first place; at the same time, the fourth and fifth place can play a game five, and the fourth place can play a game seven with the first place. In the entire Eastern Conference playoffs, there are seven series, and four series will go to the last game.

The Western Conference was also very tense that season. The seventh team in the West had 50 wins, the eighth-placed Timberwolves had 47 wins, and the first-placed Spurs had only 58 wins.

首轮森林狼队还在两个客场都输了之后回到主场赢了1场，把大比分追到1比2，到G4时加内特还把邓肯防得23投仅8中。

要不是马刺队在G4三分球14中8、而森林狼队三分球拉垮13投3中，加上大卫-罗宾逊爆发10投6中拿到21分，马刺队真有可能被森林狼队拖进抢五，那最终结果就很难说了。

In the eyes of fans, the 00-01 season playoffs was the most predictable playoff in NBA history, purely because the Lakers were invincible like a bug in the playoffs, sweeping all three rounds in the Western Conference. In the finals, they were defeated by the 76ers in overtime only because they had rested for ten days and were careless. In fact, if you put aside the Lakers' related series in that playoffs, it was definitely the playoff with the smallest gap in strength between teams since the modern basketball era.

Of course, that is also a reflection of the OK combination's dominance.

Zhang Yang looked up some information and found that there were many similarities between that period and the present.

Jordan retired—O'Neal aged; the Jazz declined—the Spurs entered a period of adjustment and the Pistons disbanded; Duncan won the championship in his second year—Zhang Yang won the championship in his second year; the Lakers recovered—the Kings rose; the OK combination aged rapidly after winning the first championship—the Bulls also experienced an aging lineup and talent loss after winning the championship; the Cavaliers topped the league—the Nets went from a rotten overlord to the first in the East...

Many middle-aged superstars have entered the league, new-generation stars have emerged, and at the same time, there are also veteran superstars dominating the league.

Zhang Yang saw Time Warner Sports commentator Bill Walton's evaluation of the current league landscape - the league is undergoing a major reshuffle.

He looked back at the 00-01 season, which was also a major reshuffle.

That time, the OK combination won three consecutive championships and dominated the league. Then the Spurs won two championships in three years. Duncan became the greatest power forward in history. The duo of Fred and Shark dominated an era.

So what about this time?
Zhang Yang couldn't stop getting excited, full of anticipation and desire.

In terms of player performance, James' overall performance was ranked first in the early stage. For most teams, King is already unstoppable.

The second is Howard. He has many flaws, especially in his personality. Once he is frustrated and unhappy, it can always be a fatal blow to the Magic. However, this not only does not have a negative impact on the evaluation of his strength, but on the contrary makes many people improve their evaluation of his strength. Whether he plays well or not, and his influence on his team, it is difficult to find a second player who can be compared with him.

There are several other MVP candidates - Zhang Yang, Kobe, Wade, Billups, Paul, and Roy.

Billups and Roy are particularly special in the list. Their statistics are not outstanding. Billups averaged 16 points and 8 assists per game, and Roy averaged 22 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Just looking at the statistics, they should not be put together with the others. They really made it into this list purely based on their leadership ability.

张杨赛季至今场均30.6分5.6板4助攻2.5抢断0.75盖帽，投篮命中率48.3%，三分命中率39.1%，罚球命中率87%。

His scoring, blocks, and three-point shooting percentage are lower than last season, but his overall shooting percentage has improved slightly, and his rebounds, assists, and steals are all career highs.

Moreover, the decline in his three-point shooting percentage is due to his reckless shooting. He would shoot chase three-pointers, pull-up three-pointers, and step-back three-pointers at the slightest disagreement. In fact, the effectiveness, threat, and impact of his three-pointers on the opponent's defense are much stronger than last season.

Wade is still the top scorer at the moment, averaging 31 points per game. The difference in average points per game is only 0.4 points, which makes fans look forward to the competition between the two in the middle and late stages of the season...

...

The next morning, Yao Ming came to Charlotte with the team and went straight to Zhang Yang's house. Ye Li helped to make lunch while Yao Ming played chess with Zhang's father in the living room. Yang Jing came out with a fruit plate and asked Yao Ming, "Xiao Ming, aren't you staying for dinner tonight? Your uncle Zhang ordered fireworks this year, and I heard they are very beautiful."

Being treated like a child is one of the reasons why Yao Ming likes to visit Zhang Yang's home.

His family environment is actually quite complicated. Both of his parents were people in the system, but after he entered the NBA, they had become businessmen. When he was playing for the Rockets, his father invested in many industries around him. When he made up his mind to go to the Bulls, his parents not only did not support him, but became one of the obstacles to his choice.

There is no doubt that their family is already considered a "wealthy family", and it can even be said that they have capital. Of course, family affection exists, but interests have gradually taken the lead.

Zhang Yang's family situation is much simpler. Yao Ming guessed that it might be because Zhang Yang was only in his 20s. If it were other families, they would not even have stepped out of the school gate and would still be treated as children by their parents, and even his friend would be treated as a child as well.

He was treated like a child only in other people's homes, but not in his own. He suddenly felt sad...

Yao Ming responded, "Thank you, Sister Jing, but our team has a dinner party tonight. On days like this, we have to stay with our teammates. We also had team arrangements yesterday, otherwise Lily and I would have come yesterday."

Zhang Yang, who was playing with Little Wukong, interrupted and said, "I heard that there are some problems within your team. Is that true?"

Yao Ming turned his head to Zhang Yang and said unhappily, "Look at you, you look so happy about other people's misfortune, but there is indeed such a problem. I don't care about the title of 'boss' like you, but I am not as lucky as you. No one has the leadership charm of Felton, so I have to do it myself..."

There were rumors of internal strife within the Bulls before, which was not actually as serious as "internal strife", but there was indeed internal fighting.

The problem lies with Ben Wallace. He is not a veteran player on the Bulls and does not have a solid foundation. The reason he was able to become a leader immediately after he came in 06 was because he had just won his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award in the 05-06 season and was still at the tail end of his peak. His teammates were convinced of his strength.

But after winning the championship again, Ben Ben no longer had the ambition to use the championship to prove that the Pistons were wrong not to pay him a high salary. He will be 9 years old in September. With two years left on his big contract this season, he will be 34 years old when the contract expires. There is no prospect of a new contract. Also, at the age of 36, he is indeed old. His performance has plummeted since the start of the season, and his influence within the team has also plummeted.

Hinrich from the 03 class and Luol Deng from the 04 class have both signed new long-term contracts. Both want to become the new boss of the team and form cliques within the team, but neither can suppress the other. Both have "defects". Hinrich is white and Luol Deng does not have the ability to lead a team when playing.

The competition between the two once affected the team's performance, so Yao Ming chose to stand out and be the boss... The problem was soon solved. Let the Bulls players choose to stand with Hinrich or Luol Deng? They both chose to stand on Yao Ming's side.

But Yao Ming also lost a lot of private time because of this. He had to often invite teammates to eat and drink to build relationships with them, just like Ben Wallace and Felton of the Bobcats before him.

He arrived at Zhang Yang's home at 11 o'clock, and left before o'clock in the afternoon to prepare for the next Christmas Eve dinner with his teammates. He became a busy man.

Zhang Yang was not idle either. He was called out by Felton to go to the mall to buy Christmas gifts for his teammates. He was also looking forward to receiving some gifts tomorrow.

They don't really care about the "value" of the gifts they receive, nor can they care. No matter what kind of weird gifts they receive, they will be happy because at least they are given by others.

But the things they buy have to be expensive and flashy.

These are the experiences I have gained after giving gifts for several years...

The two-day rest time passed in a flash, and on December 12th, Christmas arrived.

In the morning, Zhang Yang brought Xiao Wukong, drove a small pickup truck, and towed a cart of gifts to the Turkish Airlines Arena to exchange Christmas gifts with his colleagues in the club.

Little Wukong played in the gym for the whole morning, gave a bunch of gifts to the children of Zhang Yang's teammates, and took back a bunch of gifts. He was happily picked up by his mother at noon.

Zhang San and Xiao Fei Lao Da feel that such activities are quite meaningful, as they increase communication within the team and promote the improvement of relationships among teammates.

The most thoughtful gift Zhang Yang received was a wooden bicycle made by his new teammate Jamal Magloire. The workmanship was pretty good!
It can also be said that Magloire is really free this year. He picked up his childhood hobby of carpentry and almost all the Christmas gifts he gave to his teammates were made by hand.

So far this season, Magloire has been injured in three games due to Perkins. He has played for a total of 3 minutes and has gained a lot of weight.

However, Zhang Yang learned from Jordan that the team management and coaching staff not only did not dislike Magloire for this, but instead liked this player who loved life very much and believed that his presence was beneficial to the team atmosphere.

Zhang Yang did not feel this. Perhaps he was part of the "atmosphere". As a third party, the management and coaching staff may have a deeper feeling.

At 1 p.m., the first Christmas game began in Orlando.

There are a lot of games scheduled for this year's Christmas battle. The last game will start at 9:5 pm Los Angeles time, with a total of games.

Since the concept of the Christmas game came into being in 1947, the second year of the establishment of the NBA, three games have generally been scheduled. Some seasons only schedule one game, such as the OK game after O'Neal's trip to the East in the 3-1 season. This was the only game on Christmas Day in 04. The most anticipated matchups were all scheduled, and one game was enough for a game as explosive as the OK game.

There have only been one such event before this year, namely the 5-1 season, the second season after the lockout. In order to attract fans to come back and watch the games, the NBA arranged a large number of games at every important time point.

After the 98-99 season was suspended, the NBA's overall attendance and game ratings hit a 20-year low, so the new season had to come up with some new ideas to attract fans and sponsors.

This time it is not because of the problem of income from last season. In the 07-08 season, NBA attendance, game ratings, sponsorship fees, etc., all set new highs in NBA history against the market environment. The league's total revenue increased by nearly 06 million US dollars compared to the 07-2.5 season.

But this summer's season ticket pre-sales hit a four-year low, even lower than the summer after the 4-04 season finals between the Spurs and the Pistons dampened fans' enthusiasm for watching the game. Even for the top five teams - the Knicks, Lakers, Bulls, Nuggets and Bobcats - the number of season ticket pre-sales has fallen by more than 05% compared to the summer of 07.

The impact of the downward trend of the overall environment finally fell on the NBA. Even Stern was helpless. The 19-year-old FMVP, the formation of the Big Three of Angel City, the little giant going to God's place... Such market conditions cannot be replicated. When the NBA released its financial report in July, Forbes Sports used the word "miracle" to describe the NBA's revenue last season. The only trick that sports leagues can think of is to arrange more games at important times.

This year's five games were all carefully selected by Stern.

Magic vs. Suns - Showdown between the new and old supermen.

Cavaliers vs. Heat - a showdown between two single-core superstars of the 03 generation.

Hornets vs. Jazz - a showdown between two new generation superstar point guards.

Bobcats vs. Bulls - China Derby.

Lakers vs. Nuggets - Big Three vs. Three Guns, Kobe vs. Iverson.

After lunch, Zhang Yang set the alarm for three o'clock while taking a nap in Lounge No. 3. After waking up, he went to the gym and worked out for more than ten minutes to activate his body. Then he returned to the lounge to check the result of the game between the Magic and the Suns. The final score was 115 to 107, and the Magic won.

Looking at O'Neal's performance of 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks, Zhang Yang could only call Carter a "miracle doctor."

After last season, O'Neal looked like he was going to retire due to many injuries and poor physical strength. But since the start of this season, O'Neal has averaged 29 minutes per game, scoring 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, without missing a single game.

In the first 20 games or so, O'Neal's average points per game once reached 20+ and he was even in the news. His points have declined a bit in recent games, but he is still at a superstar level. His efficiency at the center position is only worse than Yao Ming, who averaged 31 points in 23.5 minutes per game.

It’s a pity that the Suns and O’Neal didn’t get along, and both sides held each other back.

Zhang Yang felt that the commentator's evaluation after the game was quite correct - O'Neal, who has regained his health this year, has the ability to allow a team with strong defense to build a championship lineup around his rim protection; Nash, who continued to "improve" this year, with a 51% shooting percentage, 44% three-point shooting percentage, and 94% free throw shooting percentage, plus Stoudemire and Jason Richardson, if O'Neal is not there, the Suns will still be a championship team.

But the current situation is that the Suns cannot provide the slow-paced positional defense that O'Neal needs, and at the same time, the Suns' fast-paced offense is also destroyed by him. Even if the head coach is replaced from D'Antoni to Alvin Gentry, who is better at coaching positional offense and defense.

In the next two games, Zhang Yang also took the time to pay attention to the results.

热火队爆冷以92比87击败骑士队，韦德31投14中狂飙41分12助攻，干翻了20投11中拿到35分7板8助攻的詹姆斯。

爵士队以133比102吊打黄蜂队近30分，保罗这场打得还行，10投6中，其中三分球2中2，加上8中6的罚球，拿到20分10助攻，只是德隆23投14中、其中三分球7中4、加上13中10的罚球，拿到生涯新高的42分……

At 9:10 p.m. New York time, players from the Bulls and Bobcats entered the Turkish Airlines Arena in Charlotte one after another.

The upcoming game is the highlight that Stern arranged for this year's Christmas game. For this reason, he even gave up the "tradition" and did not arrange the matchup between last season's champion and runner-up.

The main reason is that the Bobcats and the Bulls are also very popular in the United States. They may be slightly less popular than the Lakers playing against the Bulls, but in the largest overseas market, the popularity is completely different!

After the game between the Heat and the Cavaliers, fans had higher expectations for the game between the Bobcats and the Bulls - the Cavaliers were upset by the Heat, and their record dropped to 21 wins and 6 losses, only half a win ahead of the Bobcats with 20 wins and 6 losses.

The Bobcats may overtake the Cavaliers and top the league after this game!

(End of this chapter)