First in scoring

Chapter 474 473. The MVP Competition Begins
He fought for 40 minutes and scored 35 points. His defensive performance was also remarkable, as he prevented Hinrich from making only 20 of 8 shots. His switching and double-teaming was also above average... After the game, Zhang Yang was looking forward to how the media and fans would praise his performance tonight. When he opened his computer, he saw an exciting title - "Jack surpasses Pierce and Carter to become the fourth active player."

But in which aspect can Pierce and Carter be ranked fourth among active players? Three-point shooting? No! Zhang San topped the three-point shooting list for the first time this season. His total hits are definitely far behind these two. His highest average hits per game is higher than both of them, but his average three-point hits per game exceeded 12 in December last year.

With a mixture of joy and curiosity, Zhang Yang's computer headlines...

"The clickbait headline is single forever!"

Zhang Yang cursed out loud.

It turns out that the so-called fourth among active players refers to the number of 20 irons in a single game!
Pierce and Carter, both of whom were lottery picks in 98, both started as shooting guards and then switched to small forwards, and their career averages so far are just over 23 points per game... Coincidentally, they both hit 20 irons in a single game exactly 8 times.

Both of them are former top scorers who have consistently averaged 20+ points per game and 25+ points multiple times. Both are in their 11th season and have missed 8 shots in a single game eight times. Given that both have experience in leading bad teams to score points, their miss production is not high.

Zhang Yang remembered that in his rookie season, there were two iron gods who had 1 iron shots in one season, which was almost the same as these two people had in 20 seasons.

However, the number of times Zhang San hit 20 irons in a single game was... 9 times!
His four-year rookie contract hasn't even been completed yet, but he has already surpassed the two guys from the Class of 4, and with the way those two are playing now, it's impossible for them to surpass him.

The reporter was also thoughtful enough to post the ranking of the number of 1976-iron shots in a single game in the first four years of all players' careers since 4, when detailed statistics were available.

第二名的艾弗森，99-00赛季打完时，单场20铁次数是10次；第一的乔丹，87-88赛季打完时，单场20铁次数是12次。

Zhang Yang complained, "Jordan is everywhere," and looked behind him to see the top three active shooters.

The third active player is Tracy McGrady, who has 17 20-iron shots in a single game, more than double that of his older cousin.

The top two are really impressive. They are not only the top two active players, but also the top two in history since detailed data statistics were available.

Kobe Bryant missed 40 shots in a single game 20 times! Iverson missed 45 shots in a single game 20 times!
这里记者又很贴心的把乔丹职业生涯33次单场20铁贴上了，拉踩痕迹过于明显了一点，他在生涯前6年有23次单场20铁，90年代的6年半和21世纪复出的两年加起来，一共只有10次。

Zhang Yang estimated that the number one iron king would belong to the old blacksmith sooner or later. The answer was that his current playing style was no longer able to continue to get 20 irons in a single game, while the old blacksmith was at his peak and would have at least 4 years of peak iron production.

As for him... Zhang San: My shooting will definitely get better and better, and I will never associate with this group of people!
After closing the webpage with the headlines, Zhang Yang continued to read the news and analyze the game seriously.

Although the Bulls lost, their defensive performance was highly praised and they were predicted to be the strongest defensive team in the playoffs.

He also feels that facing the Bulls in the playoffs will be a headache, as they are in the same predicament as the Lakers last season - they can only rely on him, Felton, Pietrus and Okafor to attack the basket guarded by Yao Ming.

It looked OK during the Christmas game, but when the Bulls were going all out on defense last night, their four players attacking the basket were less effective than expected.

However, we can still see a lot from the regular season record. I am not afraid of the playoffs if I really meet them. Instead, I am looking forward to it.

Zhang Yang saw that the Bobcats' defensive performance was also praised, not only in tonight's game, but also in the few games before the All-Star Weekend. The point they were praised the most was their ability to execute rotation defense.

They worked hard to gain public recognition and put in a lot of effort to get it right.

The hottest topic about their Bobcats team is still Zhang San's playing style tonight. He browsed around various websites and forums and saw many people saying that he was imitating Kobe tonight.

That's indeed the case. When playing against the Heat and the Bulls, he actively imitated Kobe's way of finding the shooting rhythm. He always had to try out what he had just learned. When he first learned the playing styles of Ginobili and Nash, he also started by imitating, and then gradually integrated it into his own style of play.

In these two games, he happened to face the Heat team led by Wade, the defensive tycoon, and the Bulls team with three major defensive formations or quasi-defensive outside players. The opposing defense was very targeted at him, so naturally he had to give it a try.

I have to say, the old blacksmith’s playing style is really unstable!

It was okay against the Heat because the opponent was weak overall. Even if they missed, the Bobcats could still defeat the opponent by overall offense and defense.

It was different tonight against the Bulls. He felt like he was going to collapse several times.

However, the old blacksmith's style of play, once he finds the opponent's flaw, can easily lead to a surge, and the large number of attacks in the past have already pushed the opponent's defense to the limit.

But the prerequisite for using it well is that one's strength must reach a strong enough level and his physical strength must be extremely good. Fortunately, his physical strength has reached the top limit of 94, close to the historical level, otherwise he really could not hold on.

Zhang Yang analyzed it and felt that this style of play itself was neither good nor bad, it just depended on whether it was suitable. For a physical maniac like Kobe, this style of play was the most suitable. For him now, it was indeed worth learning from.

...

The next day, Zhang Yang went south with the team to Orlando. After a night's rest, they arrived at the Amway Arena on the 22nd. They will play back-to-back games with the Magic, alternating between home and away games.

At 6:40 in the evening, Zhang Yang and his teammates entered the stadium. As the first one to enter, he was booed more than in previous away games here, which was within his expectations.

After defeating the Hawks the day before yesterday, the Magic's record reached 39 wins and 14 losses, ranking third in the league. Their style of play is not only strong in the regular season, but also very suitable for the playoffs. They are an absolute championship contender.

As for the Bobcats, they are ranked first in the league with 44 wins and 9 losses. They fought back and forth with the Nuggets on offense and narrowly won with 125 to 122. They were evenly matched with the Bulls on defense and narrowly won with a low score of 6 points. They also won the Lakers in three overtimes... They are currently in this ongoing 11-game winning streak. They are too dazzling and have played many shocking games. They will definitely be a thorn in the eyes of Magic fans.

But this is only secondary. The regular season and the playoffs are still different. When the time comes to compete in a series, it will definitely be different from the regular season where opponents change every day.

Zhang Yang guessed the real reason why he was so personally hated by Magic fans - the MVP competition.

At the end of the mid-term, all major media outlets made MVP predictions, and the top five on the list were the same - Kobe, Duncan, James, Howard, and Zhang Yang.

Kobe and Duncan, regardless of their team's needs or their personal performance, have not shown any desire to compete for the MVP. Unless the Lakers and Spurs have a long winning streak, surpass the Eastern Conference's top three teams, and are far ahead, they will have a chance to win the award. Otherwise, their overall performance so far has given them no real chance of winning.

So as of now, the real MVP candidates are the star players of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference.

Howard was ranked third at the time, but there was no real gap between him and James, who was in second place. Their personal performances were evenly matched. Who the media would vote for would most likely be determined by their record. The Magic have only two fewer wins than the Cavaliers and may catch up in the later stages of the regular season.

Howard is also the top favorite for the best defensive player. This season he has performed well enough to win both MVP and DPOY, but the number one on the MVP prediction list is Zhang Yang!
霍华德个人表现对比张杨谁更好，这个很难直接对比，霍华德场均21分14板1.1抢断3盖帽、张杨场均31.7分6.3板4助攻2.5抢断，但战绩差距过大，足足5个胜场。

It is understandable that the hostility of Magic fans towards Zhang Yang has soared.

However, Magic fans believe that they are not without hope. As long as they win the back-to-back matchup against the Bobcats, the gap in wins can be reduced to 3! Howard still has a chance!

Not only Magic fans think so, the media also believe that this is a key node in Howard's competition for MVP, and even added a live broadcast for this back-to-back game.

The pre-match preparation time ended and the starting lineups of both teams came onto the court.

The Bobcats' starting lineup remains the same, while the Magic's starting lineup has changed compared to when they played against the Bobcats two months ago. The starting point guards have become Alston, Courtney Lee, Turkoglu, Lewis, and Howard.

Nelson was seriously injured in mid-January and his recovery period lasted 1-8 weeks. Taking into account the time required for recovery training, he was basically out for the regular season.

However, the Magic used veteran pitcher Keith Bogans as a bargaining chip in time to exchange for streetball king Alston who had lost his position in the Rockets.

Sometimes it's not about who is stronger or who can help the team more. Alston, who is about to turn 33, is definitely not as good as Nelson, who is 27 years old and in his prime. But after Alston joined as a substitute, the Magic's winning rate has not decreased but increased, and their record is almost catching up with the Cavaliers.

Although Alston is almost 33 years old, he still has an advantage over Nelson in terms of speed. The counterattacks he promotes bring out Howard's speed advantage better; the tendency to double-team on the defensive end is more obvious, which can more effectively bring out the defensive advantage of Howard protecting the rim and others double-teaming on the outside; and there is also a very important point - Alston does not need a pick-and-roll when he attacks with the ball, which makes Howard, who doesn't like pick-and-roll, and Lewis, who is not good at pick-and-roll, play more freely.

Of course, Alstom is still not as good as Nelson in many aspects, such as scoring in singles. Nelson has comprehensive scoring methods, and his three-pointers, mid-range shots, and attacks are all above average. Alstom was a very inefficient scorer in his prime. Now, except for scoring in counterattacks and long-range three-pointers, other aspects are worse.

It’s just that most of the time, Alston is more suitable for the Magic’s lineup configuration and playing style than Nelson.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, the first game of the back-to-back game between the Bobcats and the Magic, which was broadcast live nationwide, began.

Howard beat Okafor to win the jump ball, and the Magic attacked first!

Alston advanced to the frontcourt and broke through to pass the ball to Turkoglu who went around to the high position. Howard ran back and cut in at the right time, attracting the shrinking team. Turkoglu passed the ball to the wing, and Courtney Lee received the ball and made a three-pointer!
Then Turkoglu and Lewis each made a three-pointer, and the Magic started raining three-pointers!

During this period, the Bobcats only had Felton who scored a jump shot after receiving the ball from close range and Howard was in the extreme defensive position.

The Magic led the Bobcats by 9 points with a score of 2 to 7 at the start!
It was the Bobcats' turn to attack. It was difficult for the outside players to get rid of the defenders with or without the ball. Okafor took the initiative to drop to the low post to ask for the ball for a single play, turned around to face Howard's defense, and hit a 45-degree hook shot off the backboard, helping the Bobcats stop the bleeding and not giving the opponent a chance to extend the score difference to double digits without giving the opponent a single goal.

When retreating, Okafor called on his teammates to strengthen the defense on the outside.

Okafor talked a lot tonight and led the team very proactively. Even though the opponent hit a small climax at the beginning of the game, he led the team to stabilize its position.

In the following time, the Bobcats did a great job of blocking the Magic's long-range shots from the outside, and their execution was once again reflected. However, the Magic did not foolishly shoot from the outside, but made good use of Howard's cut-in threat and Lewis' long-range shot containment. Under the leadership of Turkoglu, they played a beautiful pass-cut coordination. The Bobcats basically missed the inside line, but the three young players did not make on-the-spot adjustments, and the head coach did not command on the sidelines. Everyone insisted on blocking the outside line and fighting. Of course, they did not sit and wait for death, but tried to find opportunities on the offensive end.

It's just that the Bobcats' starting lineup is the last in offense among their main lineups, and they rely solely on the three young players. The Magic have Howard alone under the basket, and the outside double-team is very fierce, especially Zhang Yang, who is the focus of defense, and Felton's extreme close-range shooting can't guarantee stability... Fortunately, Okafor took the initiative to take up the offensive banner tonight, and performed well in one-on-one singles, leading the team to keep the score close.

After the first quarter, led by Howard with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks, the Magic team made 8 of 5 three-pointers, scored 31 points in a single quarter, and took a 6-point lead in the first quarter!
For the Bobcats, Zhang Yang played in the first half and the last two minutes of the quarter, scoring 8 points and 4 assist in 1 minutes. Okafor scored 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in a single quarter. Brad Miller, who came on as a substitute, made two open three-pointers... Okafor and Brad Miller led the team to score 25 points together, which was considered to have narrowed the score gap.

In the second quarter, the Bobcats, under the command of Carlisle, increased their offensive output in an attempt to turn the situation around.

They did play well on offense in the second quarter. Brad Miller and Hill played for long periods of time, Okafor and Felton attacked the basket continuously with the help of their passing. Howard had a hard time defending and needed help from his outside teammates to delay on the wing. Zhang Yang and Mike Miller, who replaced him, seized the opportunity to run continuously, receive the ball and shoot to score. The Bobcats scored a lot in the second quarter and scored 30 points in a single quarter.

But the Magic made another 4 three-pointers in the second quarter, 7 of 4, and continued to have fierce firepower, forcing the Bobcats' defense to continue to expand outward, playing a combination of inside and outside, and scored another 31 points in a single quarter!
靠着15投9中的三分，魔术队半场打完，以62比55领先山猫队7分！
After fighting hard for one quarter and playing well, the score gap did not narrow but was widened by 1 point. This was quite a big blow to the Bobcats players.

Another plan - to contain Howard - was not as effective as the last time. Howard only scored 9 points in the first half tonight with such good space in the interior, but he did not throw a tantrum like in the previous game. Instead, he actively rushed for the ball and protected the rebounds, getting 11 rebounds in the first half, 1 assist and 3 blocks!

Fortunately, Felton and Okafor actively communicated with their teammates, and Zhang Yang's ever-confident appearance helped his teammates keep calm.

Finally, in the third quarter, the Bobcats' half-court melee of attrition paid off.

The Magic players were in a state of continuous offense in the first half, and their hot touch was maintained. The intermissions and timeouts could not interrupt their hot touch. However, the halftime break was too long, and they could not find that state when they returned to the game. The impact of being in close combat for half the game became apparent.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

The Magic missed several shots at the beginning of the third quarter, and the Bobcats took the opportunity to counterattack. They couldn't make any shots, so it was Zhang Yang's turn to fire!

Zhang Yang, who missed all three three-pointers in the first half, made 3 of 4 three-pointers in the third quarter, including 3 of 3 counterattack three-pointers, plus a catch-the-ball mid-range shot, a jump layup, and two free throws, scoring 2 points in a single quarter!
在他的带领下，山猫队第三节打出29比18的比分，以84比80反超魔术队4分进入末节！
The opponent made 60 three-pointers with a hit rate of 9% in the first half, and they reversed the score in the third quarter. This comeback against the odds gave the Bobcats players great confidence.

They stepped onto the court with the belief that they would win and started the fourth quarter decisive battle with the Magic...but they were caught off guard by the Magic's shot at the beginning.

The Magic team, who had missed all three-pointers in the first quarter and made only 7 of 1 three-pointers, made two three-pointers in a row at the beginning of the final quarter. They threw 6 three-pointers in the first 5 rounds and made 3 of them, plus a cut-in layup, and beat the Bobcats 11 to 7!

91 to 91, the Magic tied the score!

Of the Bobcats' 7 points, two were scored on the second offense. Ibaka, who came on as a substitute, got two points by tip-in, Zhang Yang sneaked out from the crowd and tapped the ball into the basket, causing a foul and scoring 2+1. The other two points came from Okafor's mid-range shots from the baseline.

A total of four shots from the outside, including two-point and three-point shots, were all missed.

After Lewis hit the Magic's third three-pointer in the final quarter to tie the score, Zhang Yang took the initiative to call a timeout!

Zhang Yang cursed in his heart, the Magic team's ability to adjust is really amazing!
It is worthy of being a team that can reach the finals with the one-star-four-shooting tactics.

In the original time and space, with a similar playing style, a player as strong as James could not make it to the finals when leading a team alone before the Eastern Conference collapsed. He had to form a 361 Big Three. On the contrary, in the 07 playoffs, when Larry Hughes was still capable of fighting, Big Z had not yet completely become a role player, and the playing style was more traditional, the Cavaliers managed to make it to the finals by chance.

A big difference between Howard's teammates and James' teammates when he was the only core player is that Howard's teammates are truly "team players."

It's not that James' teammates are bad. In terms of personal ability, most of the players that the Cavaliers spent a lot of money to buy are better than the role players of the Magic. But in Cleveland, the Cavaliers either signed players who are not so suitable at a premium, or signed outdated stars, and most of them were once the top scorers and tactical cores. Few of those players can really focus on doing what they should do like role players...the money is wasted.

Melee combat consumes energy in defense, which is actually a defensive strategy that hurts the enemy by a thousand while hurting yourself by eight hundred. However, once your side's touch declines faster, or the opponent recovers and adjusts first, it will not just be like that, you will be the one who loses a thousand.

Facing the Magic team, which has gradually reached the peak of its current lineup, the Bobcats dug a hole for themselves with their game strategy tonight.

However, Zhang Yang did not think that there was anything wrong with their strategic choice tonight. He just underestimated the Magic's long-range shooting adjustment ability and was not vigilant enough, so he fell into the trap.

Moreover, they had already taken advantage in the third quarter and overtook the score. They had just suffered a loss at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but the score was only tied. At least they were not behind!
As they walked toward the bench, Zhang Yang, Felton, and Okafor looked at each other and confirmed their expressions...

Felton walked straight to the head coach and stated the need for adjustment.

Carlisle originally had his own idea for adjustments, but it was a temporary idea.

This timeout was called by Zhang Yang, and the three young players also had a clear direction for adjustment. Carlisle chose to trust the players' actual game feelings, and cooperated with the ideas of the three to rotate the lineup and adjust the playing style.

...

After the timeout, Carlisle continued to send out the three young players, paired with the two Millers.

On the other side, Van Gundy also sent out the entire starting lineup, he knew that the decisive stage had arrived.

The Bobcats attacked, Okafor took the lead, playing one-on-one against Howard in the low post, using a fake move to trick his opponent, creating a time difference, and then jumped when the opponent fell, and slammed the ball into the basket over the opponent!

This shot is quite unrestrained and not Okafor's usual shooting choice, but Howard often plays like this.

It can only be said that every time he meets Howard, Okafor can always bring some surprises to his teammates.

When the Magic team attacked, Alston broke through and passed the ball to Lewis. Lewis had a bad chance and passed the ball to Turkoglu who was at the top of the arc. Turkoglu passed the ball again... After breaking through, Alston turned to the corner, then ran around the three-point line, with the help of Courtney Lee's screen, he received the ball at a 45-degree angle and made a three-pointer!

After the offense and defense switched, Okafor continued to play singles in the low post.

Howard's defensive ability is indeed not exaggerated. Okafor's singles became more and more difficult tonight, but his goal of the beast-like lob shot in the last attack was achieved, attracting all of Howard's attention, and he seized the opportunity to pass the ball...

With the help of Felton's screen on the wing, Zhang Yang squeezed past Alston who was helping him defend and cut into the inside, caught the ball and made a layup behind Howard!

Okafor borrowed this style of play from Yao Ming. Whether he was with the Rockets or the Bulls, Yao Ming could easily lead his team to break through the Magic's defense because he could attract all of Howard's defensive attention by himself.

It's just that in today's league, there is no other center with the ability of Yao Ming, and Okafor's normal playing style would hardly achieve that kind of effect, so he just wasted his time.

However, the Magic turned around and hit the Bobcats with a 2+1. Turkoglu took advantage of Howard's cut-in to contain the opponent, received the ball in the high position and rushed straight to the basket, where he made a layup against Brad Miller and caused a foul!

The Magic players' morale was restored after a crazy run at the beginning of the final quarter to tie the score. They once again played the kind of passing and cutting combination in the first half that seemed to be able to break down all defenses!

In the few rounds before and after the official timeout in the middle of the final quarter, the Magic team firmly held the upper hand. The Bobcats could only barely compete with the three young players' fierce attacks, Brad Miller's high-post support, and Mike Miller's flank control.

打到8分55秒，魔术队以104比99领先山猫队5分，且握有球权！
Turkoglu advanced to the frontcourt and continued to cooperate with the team. This time it was Alston who received the ball. He made a jump shot from close range... The ball hit the rim and Brad Miller got in position, secured the defensive rebound, and passed it to Zhang Yang.

With less than 3 minutes left, Zhang Yang advanced to the frontcourt, facing Courtney Lee's close defense, and changed direction to break through!

Turkoglu and Alston both double-teamed the Bobcats, and none of their wings had made a three-pointer in the final quarter, and Mike Miller's containment power decreased.

Zhang Yang did not pass the ball, but quickened his pace and rushed to one step within the free throw line. Howard took two steps out. Zhang Yang suddenly stopped and grabbed the ball, and threw it before Alston could get close to him... He used too much force and the ball hit the basket on the opposite side, but he was lucky, and the ball spun backwards and bounced into the basket!
Teacher Na’s teaching tips are used - when shooting, if you don’t have the conditions to accurately control the shooting force, then you can go big rather than small, and try not to shoot straight back and forth, increase the use of your fingertips, and make the ball spin!
In the transition from offense to defense, the Magic successfully passed the ball to Lewis who was in the empty corner.

This made the Bobcats players feel a little bit overwhelmed. Lewis had already scored 31 points tonight, making 9 of 5 three-pointers!

There were more than two minutes left, Lewis made a three-pointer, and the Bobcats were about to collapse...but!
Lewis' ball hit the basket and bounced out!
Brad Miller did a good job of positioning again this time, and Okafor secured the defensive rebound and passed the ball to Zhang Yang.

The opportunity finally came! Zhang Yang received the ball, dribbled it quickly, turned around, dodged Alston's rush, and launched a counterattack!
Howard's defensive awareness is truly top-notch in history. He immediately rushed to the backcourt when he was blocked by Brad Miller. When Zhang Yang passed Alston, Howard already had one foot in the center circle.

Felton and Mike Miller followed up on both wings, but they were not very fast, so Courtney Lee and Turkoglu chased them and defended them.

When Zhang Yang rushed through the center circle, Howard was blocking him on the three-point line in front of him and Alston was blocking him from behind.

Howard saw Zhang Yang slow down after passing the mid-circle. When Zhang Yang reached the position where he could take a step and shoot a three-pointer, he suddenly jumped forward and blocked the shot...

Zhang Yang took a step to the left and accelerated into the inside!
He is not stupid. He would not shoot when a big and bouncy inside player flew towards him from the three-point line.

Courtney Lee quickly moved back... and stopped outside the three-second zone, watching Zhang Yang take three steps from the free throw line and violently dunk to score two points.

With his small 91-kilogram body, he didn't want to be hit by this powerful monster. He was confident that he would not be able to stop it and might even be called for a foul.

As Zhang Yang made a fast break dunk, Van Gundy called a timeout!

103 to 104, the Bobcats narrowed the gap to 1 point!

Van Gundy's suit had a few more wrinkles created by his hands, making him look even sloppier... Aren't all basketball stars so unreasonable?
(End of this chapter)