First in scoring

Chapter 488 486. Pick up the biggest one and beat him!
In the evening, Zhang Yang sent Emma Roberts on a plane to New York, and he took the team charter plane back to Charlotte. The two agreed to meet again at the MVP award ceremony... The first rest day before the playoffs passed just like that.

The next day, on the morning of the 22nd, Zhang Yang attended the team's preparation meeting, attended the fan appreciation meeting held by the team in the afternoon, and the whole team celebrated in the evening.

Time was very tight. Originally, the fan appreciation party and the team celebration were things that should have been done yesterday. They should have flown back early yesterday morning to deal with these things, but there was no way. Who made Zhang San shout out "party time"? Boss Joe, who always likes to show off, of course had to make arrangements, so it was delayed for a day.

Fortunately, although the first game day of the playoffs was on the 24th, the Bobcats were ranked first in the league, and the playoffs started on the second game day. This was the first time that Zhang Yang tasted the preferential treatment of being the first in the league.

On the 23rd, the Bobcats began intensive training in preparation for the game. Zhang Yang trained very attentively because he knew his importance in the team. He wanted to be the best trainer and set a good example so that he could adjust his playing style in the first place when the team switched any tactics.

However, he discovered not long into the training that the imaginary objects of the training were not just the first-round opponents... No, to be precise, the targeted training of the first-round opponents accounted for a very small proportion, and most of the tactical training content was still doing "in-depth adjustments".

He felt a sense of relief that he didn't regard his first-round opponent as a human being...

He also likes the main response method established in the first round - giving the ball to the two guns.

I vaguely feel that Kato is being lazy.

It was noon on the 24th. After a day and a half of high-intensity training, the Bobcats' final preparations before the start of the playoffs were completed, and they had a day off to rest in the afternoon.

Most of his teammates had left, but Zhang Yang planned to practice for another half an afternoon. This kind of preparation training was not difficult for him. After all, most tactics were designed around his characteristics. Even the double Miller tactics were based on his running style. The difficulty in learning tactics actually lay with his teammates.

During lunch time after eating a nutritious meal, Zhang Yang browsed the news for a while.

The topic trend after the end of this year's regular season is a bit special.

In previous years, after the regular season ended, fans of major popular superstars would argue fiercely about who is stronger, who performed better this season, and who led the team best. The media also liked to lead with such topics, but this year there was no such discussion.

As for the team, even the Spurs, who started to perform amazingly in the middle of this season and once surpassed the Bobcats before their 19-game winning streak, have not had many people discussing their performance in the past two days after the end of the regular season.

At this moment, just as Zhang Yang remembered that time and that moment, in his memory of the 15-16 season, Duncan once again shone in the role of assisting the veteran in his career final season. In his retirement season, he played with almost the same efficiency as his rookie season, assisting Leonard in leading the team to 67 wins, setting a new best record in team history... But after the season ended, no one discussed their good results that would have ranked fourth in history before that season.

Because the first place is too dazzling, it steals all the limelight.

In terms of players, as the number one star player, although his personal performance may not be the best, in terms of influence on a team, Howard can be said to be the only choice in the league this season; in terms of game efficiency, James is the strongest; in terms of personal victory contribution rate, Paul is the best, followed by Wade... But considering the team record, data, and awards, he, Zhang San, is undoubtedly the first.

In addition to this, he has another thing that has attracted much attention. Although he, the new three-point king, averages 3.2 three-pointers per game and a 40.6% three-point shooting percentage, which is not very high, he has refreshed many fans' inherent impressions of three-point shooting. It's not that there were no players who made long shots before, but in the eyes of fans, he is no longer reckless, but crazy.

Zhang Yang and the Bobcats stole all the limelight at the end of the regular season, but he felt that they were also affected.

The media were all praising the event, with few people singing a different tune. After the level of discussion reached a limit, it could no longer rise. The actual level of discussion was even lower than the Bulls' shout-out last year after they won 68 games, 'I am the first, second, and third in history.'

The topic changed quickly, with the media and fans' attention focused on several popular matchups in the first round starting on the third day after the end of the regular season.

There are indeed many highlights in the first round this year. In the Western Conference, the playoffs start with 50 wins, so every group has something to watch.

Spurs vs. Jazz, a battle between two of the top three coaches in the Western Conference.

Lakers vs. Mavericks, Kidd is the psychological shadow of Billups, the matchup between Nowitzki and Garnett is also very interesting, but Kobe can only be compared with Terry.

Nuggets vs. Hornets, Iverson vs. Paul, a showdown between the four No. 3 stars.

Trail Blazers vs. Grizzlies, Roy, Aldridge, Oden, vs. Parker, Gerald Wallace, Gasol. The Trail Blazers have more money and better lineup depth, while the Grizzlies have more mature stars and although their lineup depth is not as strong as their opponents, the entire lineup structure is better. Both teams are considered to be unlucky to be in the West, and it will not be a problem for them to add 3-5 wins to achieve a 55-win record.

In the East, only the series between the Cavaliers and the 76ers has no suspense and nothing to watch. Iguodala really can't support the box office, and the live broadcast depends purely on James.

But the other three groups are all very interesting.

Magic vs. Bulls. The matchup between the league's top center, who averages 20+ points per game, ranks first in rebounds and blocks, can protect the entire space within the elbow area by himself, and has the ability to switch to defend the outside, and Yao Ming, who ranks first in both scoring and rim protection among centers, is the biggest highlight of the first round. Without a doubt, big centers will always be favored.

The Hawks vs. Celtics, the showdown between Pierce and his old team, and the modern Jordan vs. Super Jordan are also highlights.

The Bobcats vs. the Heat is also a showdown between the four No. 3 superstars. This topic has continued for three full years and is still hot. It is considered one of the unforgettable classic matchups for this generation of fans.

However, when Zhang Yang was browsing the forum this time, he found that fans were once again discussing the Bobcats' 70th win. Was it because the playoffs were about to start tomorrow?

After reading a few posts, he found out the reason - ESPN followed the Bulls fans' cry of "Welcome to the 70 Win Club" after the final game and created sub-pages of "60 Win Club", "65 Win Club" and "70 Win Club" on their official website.

This thing quickly aroused heated discussion among fans. There are quite a few teams that have won 60 games in team history, but there are only a handful of teams that have won 65 games, and only two teams that have won 70 games.

As one of only two members of the '70-win club', and just got the title, the Bobcats are becoming a hot topic again, and this time they have a comparison object - the 69-win Bulls, the 69-win Lakers, and the 72-win Bulls.

This has brought more discussion about the Bobcats than in the past two days!

Zhang Yang was very surprised. ESPN started to support him? That's not right! I heard that King's team already has shares in many media outlets, and a commercial common interest group has been built in the past six years.

He scanned a few more posts and paid attention to what the fans were discussing, and found out that the Royal Media indeed had bad intentions!

ESPN is pretending to brag, but in fact it wants to weaken the impact of 70 wins!
He remembered that when the regular season just ended on the evening of the 20th, their 70 wins were called a "miracle", and the same was true for their 72 wins that year, which were regarded as an unrepeatable performance.

But after the '70 Win Club' was officially launched, fans began to discuss which team might get 70 wins in the future, playing the same role as the guy in slippers launching a missile at the Eagle Sauce aircraft carrier.

Zhang Yang doesn't care much about this. After they got 70 wins, 70+ wins is no longer the only record. This situation will happen sooner or later. It's just that ESPN has pushed it forward for a while. It's not a big deal.

He browsed the forum for a while, took a half-hour nap, and when he got up to prepare for extra practice, he received good news from Tellem - AJ was going to launch the 'Zhang Yang IV 70th Wins Commemorative Edition' combat boots for him.

He called back and talked about this with Tellem, and they both thought it was a good thing. Launching too many signature shoes in a year might affect average sales, but as more series of signature shoes were named after his trademark, the "independence" of his personal trademark would become more obvious, which would be more conducive to the plan that he, Zhang's father, and Tellem had discussed during the Olympics.

...

In the afternoon, Zhang Yang practiced for two extra hours and finished training at 4 o'clock. He took a shower and did physical therapy. In the evening, he returned to his parents' house for dinner. He asked about the games he wanted to watch and sent the information to the team in advance to reserve the tickets. Of course, he did not forget the tickets for the guys in Compton who he was still in contact with.

After dinner, Zhang Yang watched the live broadcast of the Bulls and Magic with his parents and brother...Shou Shou was so miserable, being ridden by the little giant!
霍华德全场打了43分钟，10投3中，加上8中5的罚球，拿到11分13板3助攻5盖帽6失误……被逼得都开始策应分球了！

姚明16投8中，外加9中9的罚球，拿到25分10板2助攻1抢断2盖帽。

The score was 85 to 78, and the Bulls took away the home-court advantage right from the start.

After watching the live broadcast, Zhang Yang said with regret: "The Magic, the strongest team in team history, will be eliminated in the first round. There is no chance to play against them."

Yang Jing: "It doesn't matter. We didn't play against each other this year. We still have a chance next year or the year after. Turkoglu, Nelson, Lewis, and Howard are all in their prime. They should be in their prime for three or four years, right?"

Zhang Yang: "Theoretically, that's true, but Turkoglu's contract expires this year and the Magic may not keep him."

Yang Jing: "Ah? Are they crazy?"

Zhang Chen interjected, "I saw in the news that the Magic and Turkoglu haven't discussed contract extension since they failed to reach an agreement in February. Turkoglu wants a six-year contract with an annual salary of tens of millions, but the Magic are only willing to sign a short-term contract or a long-term contract with a lower salary because Turkoglu is already 2 years old."

Yang Jing: "When renewing a contract with a 30-year-old veteran with outstanding strength, be prepared to provide for his retirement in the last two or three years. This should be the unspoken rule of the NBA, right?"

Zhang Yang laughed and said: "Other teams will reach a tacit understanding with their players and follow these rules, but that is Orlando. They are reluctant to give even O'Neal a big contract, let alone a 30-year-old Turkoglu."

Yang Jing: "I forgot they are from Florida, that makes sense..."

After watching the live broadcast, it was already 10:. Zhang Yang said goodnight to his parents and Xiao Wukong, then returned to his room, took a shower and went to bed. Before going to bed, he read the news as usual.

今天的其他3组系列赛首战，骑士队和76人队的比赛果然最无悬念，骑士队94比77吊打76人队。

The first game between the Trail Blazers and the Grizzlies is just halfway through and it is very intense, with the score being 51 to 53. It can be predicted that this will be the series with the smallest strength gap in the first round and the highest intensity.

The hottest topic right now is not the outcome of the duel between the two superstar centers, but...the Western Conference No. 99 Spurs lost to the Jazz 105- at home in the first round! Zhang Yang saw the latest post-match analysis by the commentator of Time Warner Cable Sports and learned that a key factor in the Jazz's victory over the opponent and their home advantage was cutting off the defense in the middle!
Duncan's 45-degree angle assist, Ginobili's breakthrough pass, Conley's pick-and-roll offense...all were locked down.

反倒是无视防守在长两分区域狂扔的盖伊打得最好，17投8中，其中三分球5中2，加上10中8的罚球拿到26分。

It's a pity that Conley was outplayed by Deron, who made 23 of 12 shots, including 3 of 2 three-pointers, plus 10 of 9 free throws, scoring 35 points, 9 assists and 4 steals, defeating the Spurs.

Zhang Yang recalled the torment he felt when he played against the Jazz twice this season. The Bobcats scored 78 points and 81 points respectively in the two games. They were completely unable to defeat the Jazz on the tactical level and defeated them purely by relying on defense and star singles.

It's not just them. In the two finals between the Bulls and the Jazz in 97 and 98, they were completely unable to play the triangle offense and could only rely on the three-on-one defense during regular time. In the crucial stages, Jordan killed the Jazz with one shot after another.

Zhang San has become very interested in this series: Will the evil stone Buddha, who has done so many evil things, get his retribution?
...

On April 4, tens of thousands of fans gathered in Charlotte, inside and outside the Turkish Airlines Arena, as well as in bars, clubs, and attractions throughout the city. The city entered its annual tourist peak.

Senior officials at Charlotte City Hall and the North Carolina State Capitol's tourism department were excited, but also annoyed.

Based on hotel reservations, air ticket sales, and last year's data analysis, Chicago initially predicted that more than 3 tourists would flock to the city on the day of Game 10 of the Bulls-Magic series.

They in Charlotte are less than half the size of Chicago!
And even so, this is already beyond the city's tourist capacity.

Other popular cities that have entered the playoffs, including Los Angeles, Portland, New Orleans, Miami... have many more tourists pouring in or about to pour in than Charlotte.

The people in City Hall and State Assembly were very upset that Zhang Yang's gold mine could not be fully developed. Fortunately, the situation in Cleveland was similar. They could not fully absorb the tourism value of James, which made them feel less lonely. As long as they were not the only ones who were "miserable", it would not be so tragic.

At 7:40 p.m., players from both teams entered the Turkish Airlines Arena.

Wade, who entered the stadium first, looked at the words "No. 3 VS No. 3" on the big screen, listened to the cheers from the fans, and groaned.

When the home team entered the court, he stared at Felton, Millsap, Okafor, Pietrus, Zhang Yang... and groaned again.

After exhaling these two breaths, Wade felt less depressed.

A few days ago, on the second day after the regular season ended, what Big Cheeks thought when he saw the standings: I fought so hard to drag the team into the playoffs, just to face off against the 70-win team that is second in history?

But now, when he saw Zhang Yang, his excitement overshadowed the pressure brought by the 30-win gap.

The Heat will definitely not make the top six, so is there much difference between playing the Cavaliers in seventh place and the Bobcats in eighth place? It would be better to pick the biggest one!
After the players' entrance ceremony, the No. 3 superstars of both teams were invited to accept a pre-match interview together.

The two men had completely different expressions, Wade looked serious while Zhang Yang looked relaxed and gentle.

When the reporter asked Wade what his chances were, Wade said without hesitation: "I will sweep the Bobcats and advance to the next round."

The reporter immediately handed the microphone to Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang was stunned for a moment and responded, "Then you have to work harder and believe that miracles will happen."

After hearing that, Big Cheeks wanted to walk away. It was true that Zhang San was the new generation talent that he admired the most, and their personal relationship had gotten better and better after their collaboration in last year's All-Star Game. But that didn't stop Zhang San from being the one that made him angry the most!
...

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

The Bobcats continued with their regular season starting lineup, while the Heat sent out Chalmers, Wade, Beasley, Haslem and O'Neal Jr.'s starting lineup.

The Bobcats had a relaxed atmosphere before the game, but they were not careless on the court.

After O'Neal Jr. came to the Heat, he played well. With the help of Wade, his shooting percentage soared from 44.6% when he was with the Raptors to 52.9%. His shooting percentage for the entire season was raised to 30% in just 47.9 games. His season data also increased from 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds before the trade to 13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.

O'Neal's excellent mid-range shots, dunks, and above-average rim protection have greatly improved the Heat's inside strength. The exchange of Marion and O'Neal has benefited the Heat both in terms of future plans and current strength, demonstrating the excellent management capabilities of the fortune teller.

In the last regular season matchup between the Bobcats and the Heat, when they had gradually regained their form and were completing their depth adjustments, they relied on the cooperation of Wade and O'Neal Jr., Beasley's chaotic singles, and the pitchers' support.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, the game began.

O'Neal Jr. defeated Okafor in the jump ball. Wade went to the frontcourt to receive the ball, singled out Pietrus, broke into the inside and made a layup with a European step, starting the game in a fierce attack mode!
When it was the Bobcats' turn to attack, Zhang Yang followed suit without hesitation, breaking through Wade's defense and entering the mid-range. Facing Beasley, who had the athletic ability to make up for the opponent but was not aware of the need to make any substantial interference, he made a quick stop and jump shot to fight back!
The two superstars started playing singles right away, with the fans cheering wildly. The two were also very excited, with only each other in their eyes, and then they began to attack in turns with one ball each.

Zhang Yang... couldn't do it! As the saying goes, a barefoot man is not afraid of a man wearing shoes. Wade didn't consider anything else and just wanted to beat Zhang Yang in the star matchup. He defended Zhang Yang's interference better than Pietrus did, and was more reckless in offense than Zhang Yang, and he beat Zhang Yang in the opening stage.

After several rounds of attacks, Zhang Yang scored 3 points less than Wade. He wanted to fight back, but felt he needed a rest. After hesitating for a while, he chose to move to the corner after reaching the frontcourt, leaving the offense to Felton and Millsap, while he, Pietrus and Okafor were responsible for defense.

The fans at the scene were a little disappointed that Zhang San was unable to return the ball... When Zhang Yang ran to the bottom corner, he heard the regretful voices of the fans. He chose to restrain himself. The one who laughs last is the winner. Making use of his teammates' abilities is part of his strength.

Wade's performance in the playoffs is better than that in the regular season. He showed this superstar quality very early on. In his rookie season, he averaged 16 points per game in the regular season and increased it to 18 points in the playoffs, surpassing Odom and Eddie Jones to become the team's leading scorer.

上半场，韦德率领热火队压制住了山猫队，首节比分25比22、第二节比分25比24，半场以50比46领先山猫队4分！
Zhang Yang scored 14 points in the first half, the highest on the team, but overall he was steady and did not force singles. He gave the ball when he should, giving Millsap, Mike Miller, Pietrus, and even Ibaka the opportunity to train in the playoffs.

韦德半场20分6板5助攻，只用了21分钟时间就打出了20+5+5的数据！
In the third quarter, Zhang Yang was no longer suppressed and started to wave!
Wade, who was full of energy in the first half, was completely stunned by Zhang Yang in this quarter.

Including free throws, this guy shoots once every minute on average...is that outrageous!

Wade played very aggressively in the first half. Although he maintained his offensive efficiency in the third quarter, scoring 12 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists in a single quarter, leading the Heat to score 30 points in a single quarter, he could not keep up with Zhang Yang on the defensive end. He could only watch Zhang Yang step back for a three-pointer, counterattack dunk, and pull-up jump shot in front of him...

Playing the entire quarter, Zhang Yang made 9 of 5 shots, including 5 of 3 three-pointers, and 6 of 5 free throws. He scored 18 points in a single quarter. Under his leadership, the team scored 35 points in a single quarter!
81 to 80, the Bobcats overtook the Heat by 1 point and entered the intermission!
Let role players take on the responsibility of being the first tactical endpoint. Even Mike Miller couldn't handle it in the playoffs. His statistics dropped sharply every time the playoffs came. He was abandoned by the Grizzlies because of this.

But let the role players find their form as the first finishing point first, and then let them play supporting roles when the stars are attacking, they will feel that the style of play that should belong to them is so easy. This was the case with the role players of the Bobcats in this quarter... However, this response with many shortcomings was executed so smoothly, and the opponent was the Heat.

After this quarter, the fans who were originally unwilling to give up became excited again!
Zhang Yang scored 32 points in three quarters, catching up with Wade!
By the end of the quarter, Wade, who had played for 34 minutes in three quarters and scored 32 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, was obviously overwhelmed. He tried his best to play for 10 minutes, but only made two of 7 shots and 3 of 3 free throws, and only got 7 points. He failed to shoot well and had fewer assists, only 1, plus 3 rebounds.

Wade was gone, and the Heat's score in this quarter dropped to the lowest in the game, only 21 points.

Zhang Yang continued to perform well in the final quarter! He didn't come on the court until the 3rd minute. In 9 minutes, he made 7 of 4 shots, including 2 of 1 three-pointers, plus 5 of 4 free throws, scoring 13 points in a single quarter, leading the Bobcats to 25 points in a single quarter!
At 10:22 p.m., Wade's three-pointer was blocked by Zhang Yang, who was defending him. The ball flew to the opposite basket, but no one grabbed it. When it rolled out of bounds, there were only 3.6 seconds left. The Heat sent the ball back, but did not continue to attack. The final whistle sounded on time...

首节7投3中，其中三分球1中0，加上2中2的罚球拿到8分，第二节5投2中，其中三分球3中1，加上2中1的罚球拿到6分，加上第三节的18分、末节的13分……

张杨全场打了40分钟，28投14中，其中三分球11中5，外加15中12的罚球，狂轰45分，外加8板4助攻3抢断2盖帽！

韦德血战44分钟，拿到39分11板10助攻2抢断1盖帽，依旧没能阻止后来居上的张杨的反扑。

106 to 101, the Bobcats narrowly won by 5 points and maintained their home-court advantage!
...

After the final whistle, the Bobcats players surrounded Zhang Yang and celebrated this exciting comeback victory.

Hill patted Zhang Yang on the back and praised him, "Fortunately you were calm enough and didn't go against Wade in the first half because of Wade's provocation. Otherwise, it would have been really hard to turn the tables in the second half... You guys wearing No. 3 jerseys are all monsters!"

Zhang Yang rubbed his chin, which was just beginning to stubble, and said curiously, "If I really attacked him recklessly in the first half, would I definitely need to score points in the second half to lead the team to a comeback?"

"Jack, calm down!" Hill really wanted to slap himself. He clearly wanted to praise Zhang Yang's performance, but he accidentally said something that might irritate this slut.

Okafor rarely spoke: "Grant, don't worry, Jack is just teasing you. He is calmer than anyone in the playoffs."

Executive Vice Boss: Knock! Zhang San is teasing the old man again!

Zhang Yang stopped joking and analyzed: "Even though Wade played like this, the Heat still lost. Do you think the other players on the Heat can handle the pressure?"

Hill: "It's tough. Wade played so well in the first game. From my experience, it's not a good thing for them.

There were many role players on the other side who were very competitive. They failed to help Wade when he got a triple-double, which led to the loss of the game by only 5 points. Whether those players blamed themselves or wanted to work hard, it might affect their normal performance. For role players like me, the correct way to play is not to try to play better, but to do what you can do well..."

(End of this chapter)