First in scoring

Chapter 492 490. Milestone or milestone?

The entire league knows that Woodson's offensive responsiveness is poor, and Carlisle is confident that his defensive arrangements can dismantle the tactics prepared by the Hawks.

As for the on-the-spot response ability of the Hawks' four stars, it can be left to Zhang Yang, Okafor, and Hill and Perkins who come on as substitutes.

His attention was all on how to deal with the opponent's defensive system and defensive response... Unfortunately, after a whole quarter, the opponent did not reveal any obvious flaws and was dragged into the intermission.
Fortunately, there were no omissions on the defensive end. The Hawks only scored 17 points in regular time and finally made a difficult goal to increase the score to 20 points. If the White Devils had been a little softer, the Bobcats might have counterattacked at the last moment and widened the score difference to double digits.

But he didn't expect the three outside players of the Hawks to be so fierce! They scored 16 points in the first quarter, which was higher than the three young players on their side!
Zhang Yang scored 7 points, Felton scored 5 points, and Okafor scored 2 points, totaling 14 points.

Okafor's offensive ability is still a little weak, and he is not as good as Al Jefferson, Bosh, and Brand before his injury. He could not break through the Hawks' inside line in the playoffs.

This is the result of a combination of talent and choice. If Okafor had taken the specialized route, he might have had the conditions to become a low-post attack expert, a face-to-face singles expert, or even a shooting expert. However, he followed Duncan's comprehensive approach, and he followed Duncan, who adjusted to his second peak after a serious injury in 2000.

Duncan was not well-rounded in offense from the beginning, and Okafor's talent was inferior to Duncan's. After 9 years, he has all the skills, but not excellent. The situation on defense is similar. Fortunately, he has a down-to-earth attitude towards playing. Except for the summer of 05 when he blindly gained weight to deal with his highly talented No. 9 pick in the same class and almost got seriously injured, he was very stable at other times. He has a positive attitude towards training and good physical strength. After 30 years, most of his abilities have reached first-class level and his basic skills are solid. Unlike Josh Smith, who is a jack of all trades but not good at all, his physical fitness did not decline to the point where he could not support his playing style and collapsed in his s.

Carlisle saw a hidden danger. His defensive arrangement forced the opponent's three outside players to take a lot of shots. It was his plan, but these three players were too accurate. Not only did Bibby make a very difficult three-pointer at the end, but Pierce also had a magical 2+1 before he broke into the basket. If he could keep it up like this...

He has no way to limit this. The three Hawks' outside players can all make shots under high-intensity defense. In this regard, except for the Mavericks, no other team is stronger than the Hawks.

As for one-on-one defense, the Bulls' strong perimeter defense couldn't suppress these three guys.

On their Bobcats team, only Zhang Yang is capable of significantly suppressing one of Bibby and Joe Johnson. No one else can do it. As for Pierce, there is no other way except to use rotation warfare and double-teaming.

Seeing that the problem could not be solved, Ka Tu could not accept this situation. He did not have as much courage as Wu Tu on the opposite side.

Fortunately, after the 19-game winning streak ended, he learned something new during his half-month-long communication with teacher Sloan - remember the problems that cannot be solved, but put them aside first and use other things to divert attention.

Thinking of Zhang Yang's complaints, Carlisle responded, "Indeed, with Horford who is so talented in assists, Bibby who is a control expert, Pierce who is a master of singles skills, and Johnson who is praised by Nash as the best catch-and-shoot genius in the NBA, the Hawks don't have a formed offensive system after a year and a half... If Pierce is replaced by Jack, the Hawks' record will improve by at least 10 games and they can become a real favorite for the championship."

Carlisle is not praising Zhang Yang. Anyway, he doesn't think he is praising. He definitely contributed 70% to the completion of their Bobcats' new system, but most of this 70% is "hard work". In terms of system conception, Zhang Yang provided more ideas than him, and he even got a lot of his inspiration from Zhang Yang's wonderful ideas.

Zhang Yang’s reaction upon hearing this was… here it comes again!

He responded casually: "I don't want a stupid coach. I like to work with smart people. I like my coach to understand everything and provide more ideas."

Carlisle smiled like Jim Carrey without hair. Although Zhang Yang's response sounded perfunctory, it was full of emotional value.

Ka Tu: Maybe this is why Zhang San is successful everywhere?
In front of Hill, he didn't act like a junior at all, and loved to play pranks on the veteran, which made him, who didn't like being treated as an old man, always very angry but also very happy;
Throw out all the problems in front of Felton to satisfy his idea of ​​taking care of his teammates as the boss;

In front of Okafor, he always mentions his academic qualifications...

This is all about providing emotional value!

Apart from the boss, Carlisle felt that Jordan seemed to be irritated all the time... No! Carlisle felt that he was superficial. Bringing back the trophy and improving the record, isn't this the best emotional value to provide to the boss?

...

After the intermission, Carlisle sent out Zhang Yang, who had rested for 3 minutes in the first quarter, and paired him with Jarrett Jack, Hill, Ibaka and Perkins to continue to play defense.

Woodson also had to focus on defense, sending out a combination of Acie Law, Maurice Evans, Pierce, Darius Songaila and Horford.

The two head coaches looked at the scoreboard at the same time, their moods were very different. Kawhi Leonard, who was leading, was upset because he had lost 6 points in total, while Wu Tu, who was behind, was in a good mood because he was not behind by double digits and his chances were still great.

Soon, the second quarter began, and the Eagles attacked... and made a mistake at the beginning!
Relying on his rich experience, Hill judged the direction of Pierce's ball, pressed forward in advance, and hit the ball that had just left Pierce's fingertips!
The two men rushed towards the ball together, but failed to grab it. Pierce hit the ball towards the baseline during the scramble.

If he can't grab the ball, he will hit it to the opposite baseline. This is what his boss Kenny Anderson taught him. It can effectively reduce the probability of being counterattacked.

But it just so happened that Zhang Yang, who was defending Maurice Evans in the bottom corner, rushed up...bent down to pick up the ball, turned around and dribbled to avoid Darius Songaila's attempt to steal the ball, and launched a counterattack!
Rushing to the top arc and one step outside the three-point line on the right side, Zhang Yang looked at Horford and Asi Rau rushing over. He calculated instantly that the opponent could not block him, so he stopped suddenly, grabbed the ball, jumped, and shot...

Horford, who jumped up to block the shot, missed the ball. Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to Zhang Yang in the air, he tried hard to stop his body, but failed to open Newton's coffin and still rubbed against Zhang Yang.

At the same time, Ibaka, who was rushing down the wing to grab the offensive rebound, saw the direction the ball was flying, braked directly, turned around and raised his hands to celebrate towards Zhang Yang; the referee who ran over from the other side saw Horford bump into Zhang Yang who had just thrown the ball, blew the whistle and made a shooting foul gesture...

Horford bumped into Zhang Yang, Ibaka turned around to celebrate early, the referee blew the whistle... the entire scene was captured by reporters on the sidelines. Oh, by the way, the picture also included Asi Law, who was standing on the three-point line and looking up at Horford and Zhang Yang in the air.

With the referee's whistle, the ball fell into the frame!
Another referee who had just passed the center line confirmed that the shooting point was outside the three-point line. The referee confirmed to the technical desk that Zhang Yang's goal was valid and he was awarded a penalty!
Just 20 seconds into the second quarter, the head coaches of the two teams exchanged emotions!

Wu Tu: No way, here you go again! Zhang San, can you please be reasonable?

Kabal: Double digits! Hahaha, the difference is going to be double digits! The teacher is right, if you really can’t solve a problem, put it aside first, maybe you can solve it yourself... Third brother is awesome!
Listening to the thunderous cheers from the audience and watching Zhang Yang and his teammates celebrating...Cook: This is the youngest MVP in history, the leader of the new era of play, the most talented player since the birth of basketball... Zhang San?

Zhang Yang walked to the free throw line and took a deep breath.

When he was chasing down the ball and shooting, he had no other distractions. He took the initiative to increase the difficulty to the maximum. After making sure that he would not be blocked, he shot firmly and decisively... When developing the chase-down three-pointer, the first thing he did was to build up his mental strength to have this mentality.

Now that the shot has been made, he feels really...excited!

As for the fear? There is no such thing.

The free throw was made and hit steadily! 30 to 20, the Bobcats' lead reached double digits!
After being counterattacked and beaten 3+1, Pierce was furious for a while, but after receiving the pass from Asi Rau, he calmed down and launched an attack more cautiously.

Although he is a fun-loving, arrogant and jealous person, he is very competitive on the court. After he has a group of excellent teammates and no longer has to carry the team's offense alone, his leadership ability is also revealed.

Led by Pierce, the Hawks players did not panic because the score difference reached double digits. They played steadily on the defensive end and dragged the Bobcats into a defensive quagmire again. On the offensive end, Pierce and Horford, as well as Bibby and Joe Johnson who replaced them a few minutes later, played more "self-centered" than in the first quarter. In the first quarter, their scoring was concentrated on the three outside players, which was passive. At Bibby's signal, they took the initiative to start the "big bag" mode.

Bibby is relatively lacking in tactical ability and cannot help Woodson build a mature offensive system, but his on-the-spot response and judgment of the situation are similar to his father's. Pierce, who puts "God first and me second", is willing to accept his command.

Bibby's adjustments were indeed effective. The four stars who took the initiative to concentrate on shooting scored a total of 20 points in a single quarter. With a three-pointer from Maurice Evans, the Hawks' score in the second quarter increased to 23 points. And this was without the extremely difficult goals such as Pierce's 2+1 to close the score in the middle of the first quarter and Bibby's three-pointer to narrow the gap at the end of the quarter!

However, it was not only the Hawks' four stars who took the initiative to concentrate their shooting rights. Zhang Yang's shooting rights were also more concentrated, and the offensive coordination of Felton, Okafor, and Brad Miller who rotated into the game was also very good. The Bobcats' offensive firepower was greatly improved compared to the first quarter!

At the end of the regular season, Carlisle arranged Millsap as Felton's dual core partner. This was the same arrangement in the first quarter against the Heat. It made Felton very tired, but also gave him enough training.

After replacing the core supporter with Brad Miller, the pick-and-roll offense initiated by Felton and Okafor was obviously better than just after the All-Star Weekend.

When partnering with Millsap, Felton had to consider his younger brother's abilities more and choose the timing of passing the ball better, so it was not only Millsap who was trained during that time, but Felton also grew in some aspects.

Brad Miller benefited from this, Felton's passing timing improved, and his conditions for assisting and receiving shots also improved.

在张杨开局那个反击追身3+1后，山猫队后面11分40秒钟时间里拿到了24分，比老鹰队还要多1分！
At the end of the first half, the Bobcats led the Hawks by 54 points, 43 to 11!
Heading into halftime, the commentators were full of praise for the Bobcats’ first-half performance.

Carlisle's ability to respond on the spot was praised.

He called two timeouts in the second quarter, and the timing was just right. While interrupting the Hawks' rhythm, his rotations were also in place. The defensive characteristics of the players who were substituted were very targeted, preventing the Hawks' four-star from leading the team to play a sustained offense and not falling behind in the defensive duel with Woodson!
Kato: Everything is under control!
The double guns were also highly praised by the commentators. Of the 11-point difference, 10 points could be considered to be the result of the two players' personal abilities.

The offensive performances of both players in regular time were also outstanding. In addition to the 7 points in the first two quarters, Zhang Yang also had 4 points and 6 points in regular time, for a total of 17 points in the first half. Felton did not score many points in the first quarter. Apart from the step-back three-pointer at the beginning, he only made a close-range jump shot after the official timeout. But in the second quarter, he played for 9 minutes, made 5 of 3 shots and scored 8 points, and 13 points in the first half... The two guns scored 30 points in the first half!
When playing against the Heat in the first round, the Bobcats were never pushed to the limit. Even in G1 when they almost lost, it was only the Heat that pushed them to the limit. The Bobcats still played in the regular season style to train Millsap's supporting ability.

Tonight, they faced the Hawks, a team that was equally matched with them on the defensive end. Millsap returned to being a pseudo starter, and Brad Miller took over as the main core of the interior, reducing the playing time of Jarrett Jack and Mike Miller and increasing the playing time of the two guns...

After establishing the lead, facing the Hawks' crazy counterattack, the Bobcats firmly held on to the lead and even had a tendency to widen the gap. And this was not just for one quarter, but for both quarters of the first half.

Truly show the strength of the league's strongest offensive and defensive team with 70 wins!

...

During the halftime break, Carlisle did not take it lightly. After discussing ideas with his assistants for a few minutes, he made targeted defensive adjustments based on the changes in the opponent's team offensive coordination in the first half, trying to continue to lock down the opponent. On the offensive end, he also made detailed analysis based on the opponent's defensive changes, providing more on-the-spot ideas for the four-core offensive system of Felton, Zhang Yang, Okafor, and Brad Miller.

Obviously, Carlisle wants not only to maintain the lead, but also to continue to widen the gap and strive to lock in the victory as soon as possible.

The half-time break was almost over and the players from both teams returned to the field.

Carlisle sent out a combination of Felton, Afflalo, Hill, Okafor and Brad Miller.

Let Zhang Yang rest for three or four minutes first, and focus on the pick-and-roll of Felton + Okafor, assisted by Brad Miller, with Afflalo and Hill as the receiving points.

In terms of comprehensive receiving ability, sophomore Afflalo is actually the worst among several role players on the outside. His positioning is worse than Mike Miller, and his accuracy is worse than Mike Miller, Jarrett Jack, and Pietrus. However, his ability to withstand pressure is the strongest. In the first round against the Heat, he scored about 70-75 points. He declined in the first half tonight, but still scored 65-70 points, while the other three guys all declined to 60-65 or even lower. In addition, on the defensive end, Afflalo was obviously inferior to Pietrus at the beginning of the regular season, but now his defensive efficiency is basically the same.

This is indeed a pleasant surprise for Carlisle. He didn't expect Afflalo to have the qualities of a role player pitcher like Bowen and Raja Bell, and he can be used cheaply for two years...

On the other side, Woodson has all four stars, letting Horford play center, paired with Lithuanian forward Darius Songaila, who had the best performance tonight in receiving and attacking the basket, and has the ability to defend on the line and pass the ball.

Songaila is a former Soviet national. He has been living and playing in Russia since the upheaval in Eastern Europe. He used to be a substitute for Kirilenko. He is a very outstanding all-around role player. Although he is white, he has a tough style of play. After the end of his rookie contract in 06, he got a 5-year, $2100 million contract.

The third quarter started on time, and Carlisle's adjustments during the halftime break were very effective!
On the defensive end, except for Joe Johnson, whose running ability was praised even by Nash, who could get the chance to catch the ball and shoot in the tactics, the others, not even Pierce and Bibby, could not do so. The two could only score steadily by initiating offense with the ball. Horford, apart from holding the ball and playing one-on-one against Okafor, could only try to gamble on his touch by moving to the not-so-accurate long two-point area. Role player Darius Songaila was completely locked down. Later, Woodson had to replace him with the tall Pachulia to go to the basket to catch the ball, but he didn't have many chances.

There was also improvement on the offensive end. Even when Zhang Yang rested for nearly four minutes at the beginning, the Bobcats' offensive efficiency did not show a significant decline like when Zhang Yang rested for more than three minutes in the middle of the second quarter, but maintained efficiency throughout the whole process.

But the problem is that Joe Johnson's running position for long-range shooting is too accurate. As long as he successfully lifts up after receiving the ball, even if the shooting interference behind him blocks his wrist and covers his face, he can still score! He made 5 of 3 three-pointers in a single quarter and scored 9 points!
Bibby and Pierce's singles shooting efficiency was also highly praised. Pierce made 9 of 5 shots, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, plus 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 13 points!
毕比5投3中，其中三分球4中2，有一次加罚没进，拿到8分4助攻……

The Bobcats scored 24 points in the third quarter, which was considered a very good performance in such a game, but the three Hawks outside players combined for 30 points, plus Horford who scored 3 points with 1 of 2 shots and 2 of 4 free throws, and Pachulia who made a layup, the team scored 36 points in the third quarter!
The third quarter ended as Zhang Yang received the ball at the three-point line in the backcourt, turned around and shot a long buzzer-beating three-pointer that hit the backboard with a "bang".

79 to 78, the Hawks overtook the Bobcats by 1 point and entered the final quarter!
Zhang Yang and Felton were numbed by the three star players from the opposing team's outside line!

The duo performed well in the third quarter. Zhang Yang scored 9 points in the quarter, making 7 of 3 shots. If he had not missed the final buzzer-beating shot, his shooting percentage in the quarter would have been as high as %.

费尔顿5分1板3助攻1抢断，组织进攻表现稳健，5投2中的命中率在今晚也不算差，对面外线三星上半场命中率也都只是40%出头。

Who would have thought that the three of them would shoot 19 of 11 in the third quarter? Among them, the three-pointers were an incredible 10 of 6!

The two brothers scored 30 points in the first half, which was one point more than the three brothers on the opposite side who scored 16 points in the first quarter and 13 points in the second quarter. They were so proud of themselves during the halftime break. Wow, the three brothers scored as much in the third quarter as they did in the entire first half!
44 to 59, the double guns lost to Samsung by 16 points in three quarters!
Zhang Yang is the 'king of the third quarter' in the regular season. He averaged 11.5 points in the third quarter, the highest by a large margin. Wade ranked second with 9.6 points, Kobe ranked third with 9.2 points, and James ranked fourth with 9.1 points.

But the opponent had three outside stars who would be top scorers in the third quarter for any strong team, and they started to perform together...Kahn slapped himself in the face: What a lousy mouth!

Felton, who had been very calm, was a little flustered at this moment and didn't know what to say or do.

Okafor did have the intention, but he did not have the ability to rely on personal strength to withstand adverse situations like Duncan in his first three peak periods. He had a clear understanding of his own abilities, but at the moment he had the intention but not the power, and he became annoyed.

They both unconsciously turned their gazes towards Zhang Yang... Why was this guy so excited?
Noticing that he was being watched, Zhang Yang looked around at the two and said, "White Devil, Truth, and Long Shot King, they really aren't that easy to defeat, otherwise this awards night would be too boring... Don't worry, if we're overtaken, we can just catch up!"

His voice was quite loud and all his teammates' eyes were focused on him.

Seeing the excitement in San Ge's eyes, the teammates who were about to explode from the bombardment of the Eagles and Samsung gradually calmed down...

Yes, why worry? We have the strongest bad boy Jack in history!
(End of this chapter)