First in scoring

Chapter 496 494. I want to beat the Jazz too!

But think about it, that is Jack, the bad boy who is fearless, this kind of operation on that guy... Bibi and others don't think it is very surprising.

After the timeout, neither team made any substitutions and both teams continued to fight for their starting lineups.

The opponent threw a "trump card" at the beginning of the game. The countermeasures discussed by the three superstars during the timeout were - a head-on confrontation!

They must suppress the opponent's momentum at the beginning and narrow the score difference. They cannot let the opponent maintain this score difference! If they let the opponent use this score difference as the basis for the start, it will be difficult for them later.

The three superstars’ ideas were totally fine, but they couldn’t overcome the opponent!
Okafor moved out to help Zhang Yang and Hill defend Joe Johnson and Pierce, leaving the back to Perkins.

Zhang Yang and Hill kept the forward and guard defense at a very high level. Although Felton's defense was not good, at least he did not make any mistakes and was trying his best to defend. With the help of Okafor, the Bobcats' mid-range and long-range defense performance improved significantly, bringing more restrictions to Joe Johnson and Pierce.

At this time, the key point of the Bobcats' defense was under the basket. Perkins did not disappoint his teammates. He played the entire first quarter and got 9 blocks in the next 2 minutes. The Hawks attacked the basket 5 times in total and only scored 3 points, making 4 of 1 shots and 2 of 1 free throws.

The three stars were best at long two-pointers and three-pointers, but they only scored 8 points during this period. Although four stars played the entire first quarter, the Hawks only scored 17 points in the entire quarter!
As for the Bobcats, Zhang Yang scored 9 points at the start. After the Hawks came back from the timeout, they had to focus their defense on Zhang Yang and the basket. There was no longer the usual process of fighting with the shooter. Hill and Okafor did not lose their lead in the crucial game. Hill made a long two-pointer, grabbed an offensive rebound and made a second attack, causing Horford to foul and made two free throws. Okafor each made a catch-and-shoot shot from mid-range at the baseline and at a close range at a 45-degree angle. The two scored a total of 8 points!
Zhang Yang scored a three-pointer and a Eurostep, causing Pachulia to foul and make two free throws. Felton made a close-range jump shot, causing Pachulia to foul and make two free throws.

首节战罢，山猫队以27比17领先老鹰队10分，张杨首节11投6中，其中三分球4中2，单节拿到14分！
Tonight's start completely disrupted the rhythm that the Hawks were accustomed to. Although Woodson was anxious, there was nothing he could do. Fortunately, he was used to such situations and called Bibby, Pierce, Horford and Joe Johnson together to discuss.

On the Bobcats side, Carlisle also found it difficult to predict subsequent developments and could not even see a clear direction.

Because Zhang Yang started the match against Joe Johnson because the opponent responded to his challenge for a singles match. He made the decision "on his own" to see if the opponent would get angry. As a result, the opponent really got angry...

As a result, their five starters played the entire quarter. Fortunately, the four stars on the opposing team also played the entire quarter. Only Pachulia was replaced by Darius Songaila after the official timeout due to two fouls.

Although the situation was out of control, Carlisle didn't care at all because they were the ones leading!
If you can’t predict what will happen next, then don’t predict it!
In the first round against the Heat, he defeated the opponent in Game 2. He naturally liked the feeling of crushing them.

But competitive sports are always full of unknowns and uncontrollable things!
He recalled five years ago, in the 5-03 season, his first year with the Pacers, he led the Pacers, who had only 04 wins in the previous season, to 48 wins and ranked first in the league. They went smoothly in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but in the Eastern Conference Finals, they lost in Game 61 and lost their home-court advantage to the Pistons. Then he was in a panic. The newly crowned best defensive player Artest tried his best to lead the team and defended the Pistons to only 2 points in the next four games, but he failed to give the players effective tactical and adjustment support on the offensive end, resulting in the Pacers scoring only 4 points in two of the next four games, which was worse than the Pistons' offense. They lost three of the four games and were eventually eliminated 70-4, stopping in the Eastern Conference Finals.

This time, from 3-1 to being tied and dragged into a tiebreak, he did not panic like last time. Instead, he was calmer, more engaged, and his thinking was more active.

Ever since he watched the Bobcats’ comeback and championship in the 07 playoffs, he has fallen in love with this thrilling feeling!
...

After the intermission, Woodson did not replace Pachulia, who had rested for half a quarter, but continued to let Darius Songaila play. The four-star player only replaced Joe Johnson, who was beaten by Zhang Yang in the first quarter and made only 8 of 3 shots. Maurice Evans came on the bench, and Bibby, Pierce and Horford continued to play.

This is an adjustment jointly decided by the four-star team and Woodson after consultation - continue to protect the rim + double-team the key defensive targets on the defensive end, sacrifice some defense, ensure shooting firepower, and immediately start counterattack!
But when Bibby, who led the intermission adjustments, saw the opposing players starting in the second quarter, he couldn't help but swear.

Felton, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Ibaka, Brad Miller...offensive basketball lineup!
White Devil: You are leading by 10 points! Can you hold on tight?

Kabal: Steady? If we are still ahead by 35 points in the last 10 seconds, I will show you how steady I am.

The opponent's lineup rotation was unexpected, and the offensive and defensive adjustments discussed during the intermission were useless, but Bibby forced himself to calm down and look at the bright side. The opponent's front court trio, two sieves, one showed talent in his rookie year but had a poor foundation and lack of experience...

After the start of the second quarter, the Hawks, under Bibby's command, developed passing and cutting coordination around his pick-and-roll offense with Horford and Pierce's high-post singles.

The Eagles' offensive firepower was indeed good, scoring 4 points in the first four minutes.

But the Bobcats had more ferocious offensive firepower, scoring 13 points during this period!
Zhang Yang's singles, Felton and Ibaka's high-post pick-and-roll, combined with the long-range shooting combination of Brad Miller and Mike Miller, the team's offense soared!
After a fierce attack, the score difference did not narrow, but was widened by two points. Woodson called a timeout and replaced Joe Johnson early.

Carlisle also sent Okafor back to the court at this time to enhance his screening and attacking abilities.

After the timeout, the two teams continued their offensive battle. Joe Johnson adjusted himself on the sidelines and his condition was indeed much better when he came back, which improved the Hawks' offense to a certain extent. However, Okafor brought a greater offensive improvement to the Bobcats!

At the same time, Okafor's appearance also enhanced the Bobcats' rim protection ability, forcing the Hawks' shooting distance to be further out, which to a certain extent affected the Hawks' offensive firepower.

In the next 7 minutes or so, the Bobcats firmly suppressed the Hawks and scored 21 to 19.

张杨单节9分3助攻，率领山猫队打出34比30的比分，半场打完，他们以61比47领先老鹰队！
Entering the halftime break, the four stars of the Eagles looked at the score. Even the White Devil was confused at this moment. How did the game get to this point?

The modern Jordan regretted it, and at the same time felt that Zhang San on the opposite side was simply a lunatic!

Didn't he respond with two shots at the beginning? This guy bit him like a mad dog, kept talking trash, and even mocked him by saying that he averaged 06 points per game in the 07-25 season to win the third pick for the Hawks to select Horford. This made him crazy and he shot 3 of 6 at the beginning, which triggered a chain reaction. The situation was completely out of their control...

No, Zhang San is not the only madman, there is also the bald guy on the opposite bench!
What head coach would do this in a Game 7?
...

Gamblers, everything is yours if you gamble to the end. Zhang San and Ka Tu, the new gambling duo, gambled tonight and got a 23-point, 5-assist and 14-point lead in the first half!
After the halftime break, Carlisle sent out a combination of Jarrett Jack, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Hill and Perkins.

The player on the opposite side...is still a four-star, paired with Pachulia.

There were only seven players on the Hawks' court tonight, but neither Woodson nor Bibby dared to let the eighth player play. Now they can at least give it a try. God knows what will happen if there is one more person in the rotation. They have no room for trial and error, and the four stars can only grit their teeth and keep fighting!

Using Pachulia as center instead of Horford as center, and Darius Songaila and Pierce to form a double forward line that can switch positions with each other, was a decision made by Woodson, Bibby, and Horford after discussing during the halftime break. They wanted to slow down the tempo, improve defense and limit the opponent's firepower.

But after the start of the third quarter, the Hawks found that they could no longer control the rhythm. The rhythm was already disrupted after half of the first half.

Of course, it wasn't just them who were in chaos. The other side was also in chaos. Perkins came back on the court, Zhang Yang and Hill were all there, and the defense was also disorganized.

But the difference is, there are Jarrett Jack and Mike Miller on the opposite side!

In the first six games of the series, when the game became a stalemate, if these two players were on the court, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were a drag.

But the rhythm was completely messed up, and the team was leading by more than ten points. There was no need to worry about losing the score due to one or two missed shots... For the two of them, it was simply heaven!

The Hawks tried their best in this quarter, but their score still dropped compared to the second quarter. The team scored 21 points with 9 of 26 shots.

For the Bobcats, Zhang Yang played for 9 minutes in the third quarter, making 5 of 2 shots, including only one three-pointer that he missed, and 1 of 2 free throws, for a total of 1 points.

他这一点得分不多，但打满整节的迈克-米勒三分球3中2，外加3中3的罚球拿到9分，贾莱特-杰克4投2中加上4中3的罚球，打满整节拿到7分3助攻！

In addition to Hill's 4 points, Okafor's 2 points, Perkins made 2 of 1 free throws, Brad Miller got two points with a dunk, and Afflalo made a catch-and-shoot three-pointer...

Led by two masters of melee combat, the Bobcats scored 33 to 26 in the third quarter.

After three quarters, the Bobcats led the Hawks by 94 points, 73 to 21!
The White Devil was defeated by the great Jack in this quarter. He had planned everything, but he didn't expect that the one who helped the Bobcats secure the victory tonight was the backup point guard whom he completely despised!

During the intermission, the fans at the scene had already started to open champagne to celebrate the victory in advance, but the Hawks players did not give up. What if? In the last quarter of the seventh game, they had to fight no matter what.

However, after returning from the intermission, the White Devil uttered another swear word as soon as he walked into the court.

Zhang Yang, who returned to the court after a 3-minute break, second-year guard Afflalo, who had an outstanding defensive performance in this series, veteran Hill, who had an excellent defensive performance at positions 2-4 tonight, plus the twin towers of Okafor and Perkins...

Ka Tu: If you want stability, I will give it to you!
...

The Eagles really didn’t give up in the final quarter and did fight for an advantage in the score, but this advantage…

The Bobcats' defensive coordination in this quarter was actually quite poor, and their rhythm was disrupted early on, but Carlisle anticipated this, so he did not send Felton to control the offensive rhythm, nor did he use the regular lineup for defensive coordination. Instead, he sent out the five players with the best performance in inside and outside defense tonight, and the two substitutes with relatively better defense, Pietrus and Millsap, were rotated in later.

In the previous few games, Carlisle would not make such a rotation arrangement, and the three superstars would definitely beat him one-on-one.

But tonight, not only the three big stars, but even Horford was exhausted. Except for Joe Johnson who rested for more than 4 minutes in the second quarter, the other three Hawks played the entire first three quarters, and they started fighting hard from the first quarter. By the second half of the third quarter, their offensive efficiency had already declined significantly.

In the final quarter, the Bobcats only scored 15 points, but the Hawks only scored 19 points!
As for the Hawks' continued fight in the final quarter, the commentator's evaluation was that it would be better to give up after the third quarter, at least it looked more decent. Of course, there were also commentators who praised the Hawks' spirit of not giving up and worthy of praise.

The game ended at 10:20 pm.

首节14分、第二节9分、第三节5分、末节6分……张杨全场打了45分钟，最后也快累崩了，还是坚持守在毕比身前，当然对方到最后也已经突不动就是了，从半场15中9，打到27中13，其中三分球9中3，外加6中5的罚球，拿到34分4板7助攻2抢断1盖帽！

加上贾莱特-杰克的12分5助攻、费尔顿的13分4助攻、奥卡福的8分10板、迈克-米勒的15分、希尔的11分、帕金斯的5分8板5盖帽……109比92，山猫队击败老鹰队！
The moment the final whistle sounded, the fans who had been celebrating for the entire quarter entered into carnival mode again.

The Bobcats players, with all the pressure off, gathered together to celebrate. Even though they were leading by 21 points after three quarters tonight, they still restrained themselves during the last break.

The White Devil + Truth + Modern Jordan, these three were so fierce. Even though they looked like they were about to collapse at the end of the third quarter, the Bobcats players still did not relax. They did not start to release their emotions until there were two or three minutes left in the game and they still maintained a 15-point lead... They finally won!

In the post-match interview, the reporter expected Zhang Yang to speak passionately, but Zhang Yang did not diss the opponent again after winning the game. Instead, he said: "This is an unforgettable series. Mike, Paul, and Joe are the best opponents I have met this year. My mind is full of how I will play against them next time. I look forward to meeting them again in the playoffs next year..."

……

……

Zhang Yang was exhausted after the seventh game. He slept until noon the next day. When he woke up, the little bitch had flown over from New York and was sitting at the head of his bed playing with her cell phone.

Zhang San’s first reaction when seeing this scene: Welcome to the era of looking down.

He remembered that it was in these two years that the number of smartphone users exploded and became popular all over the world. The era of "I buy a Nokia with my left hand and a Motorola with my right hand" suddenly passed.

Thinking of the era of feature phones, which have a lifespan of less than 10 years, he, who has already gotten used to being in his 20s, has a discordant feeling of "my youth has passed away."

Seeing that the little bitch hadn't noticed that he had woken up, Zhang San suddenly attacked, "ripping, ripping" as the little bitch screamed... After lunch, he took the angry little bitch into the city to buy beautiful clothes.

Although Emma Roberts acted angry, she was actually very satisfied after being well fed. She knew that Zhang Yang was exhausted from the last series, so after buying two pieces of clothes at the mall, they went to the cafe to rest together.

The Bobcats did not arrange any work for the players today, just pure rest. Zhang Yang did not want to affect the upcoming Eastern Conference Finals which would be difficult to play, so he worked hard right after getting up at noon. He did not go for extra practice, bought a new computer while shopping in the mall, and read the news in the cafe.

Just as he imagined, they won in a tiebreaker, which disappointed many people.

This time it wasn't the '1 Hawks fans' who showed up after the team narrowly won G2 and regained the home-court advantage in G63 who expressed regret. The Bulls, Jazz, and Lakers fans all hoped that the Hawks could beat the Bobcats.

It is true that the Hawks' performance in this series is eye-catching, but if they can choose, those three teams would still prefer to see the Hawks advance... Jazz fans are also "considering their opponents in the finals." Yes, the current Jazz are compared to the 99 Knicks, and there is an element of media hype involved, but they have been defeated in two consecutive rounds and are indeed in the limelight.

After this round of series, the four stars of the Hawks have truly become the championship-contending combination in the minds of the media, fans, and even players, especially Pierce. In 7 games, he averaged 45.9 points, 27 rebounds and 5.7 assists with a shooting percentage of 3%. He has always been known as the "king of boasting", but he has proved his competitiveness in the playoffs.

However, the Bobcats, who had to wait until the seventh game to win, received quite high praise in this series! This surprised Zhang Yang, as he thought that they would be looked down upon because they were almost overturned in this series.

After reading some comments from fans and the media, he understood the reason - 70 wins and a 3-1 lead at one point.

The Eagles' two consecutive wins only earned them higher praise after they had already attracted attention after the first three games.

The Bobcats were almost reversed, but they won in the end. Not many people would find fault with them. It's just that Zhang San was the 'person involved' and recalled those two games with a 'reflective' mentality, so he thinks they will be criticized because of those two games.

However, when he looked back at the series that just ended, he did see a lot of things that were not done well.

He personally averaged 31.1 points, the highest on both teams, plus 5.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.7 steals and 1 block. The statistics were very good, but his shooting percentage started high and ended low, from 50%+ to 46.5%. He made 1 three-pointers in G6, and in the last 7 games he made 19 three-pointers in one attack, averaging 2.7 per game. His shooting percentage also dropped to 33.75%. He averaged 8 per game.

This aspect is actually not so bad. The shooting percentages of the three opposing superstars are also declining. Pierce, who has the highest shooting percentage, is 0.6 percentage points lower than him.

The team did one thing particularly poorly, which directly led to them almost being overturned by the Eagles - after leading 3-1, the adjustments were not strong enough!
After losing G2 at home, in order to deal with the Hawks' star-chasing style of play, they chose to actively adapt to the opponent's style of play in the first away game, "if you can't beat them, join them", using defense + singles to solve the problem. This was a very good adjustment made by the coaching staff, and it was executed very well, winning two games in a row.

However, in Game 5, when they were already in an absolute advantage in the overall score, they should have adjusted their style of play, tried to get the rest of the game back to their rhythm, and took the opportunity to play the game they were good at.

If timely adjustments had been made at that time, even if G5 was lost, the chances of winning G6 might have been greater.

Their idea at the time was that they had already won two games in a row, so they might as well take advantage of the momentum of the two consecutive victories and defeat the opponent in one fell swoop, forgetting that "if you can't beat them, join them" was just a stopgap measure.

Their original intention in making the G3 adjustment was to withstand the opponent's first wave in the away game, and then bring the rhythm back to their side after the opponent's offensive weakened.

They failed to make timely adjustments and fell deeper and deeper into trouble. Not only in G5, but also in G6, they fell into the opponent's rhythm. By the time of the seventh game, there was no time for them to make drastic adjustments to their playing style, and they could only fight to the end.

In last night's Game 7, if he hadn't started well and Joe Johnson hadn't been too excited in the crucial battle, the final result would have been hard to say. Although the Hawks' overall strength is not as good as theirs, their three superstars really exploded.

After thinking all this through, Zhang Yang no longer dwelled on the fact that he had not done well in preparation after G4, but instead regarded it as a valuable experience.

After all, this is the first playoff trip after the system was established, so it is inevitable that there will be mistakes and omissions. This time, the reliance on "temporary effective play" is higher than "long-term effective play". Next time when encountering a similar situation, with experience, we will know how to avoid it.

As the winner, it is always easier to think positively...

...

After a day of rest, on May 5, the first game day of the divisional finals arrived, and Los Angeles will start the game first tonight.

In Charlotte, Zhang Yang started preparing for the Eastern Conference Finals with the team. After lunch, he received news that the Bulls had arrived at the Turkish Airlines Arena.

He went to the opposite side and greeted the little giant, but they didn't talk much. Both of them were currently concentrating on their own team's preparations.

The Bobcats have a clear direction for preparation. They have played against the Bulls three times since the All-Star Weekend, one of which was the final game in their quest for 3 wins. They are very familiar with the game.

Of course, this means that the opponent is also familiar with them, so even if the coaching staff is well prepared, they dare not be careless.

At night, Zhang Yang and Xiao Biao Biao curled up on the sofa together to watch the Western Conference Finals Game 1 live.

The four brothers, Ronaldo, Hart and Tatum, rushed to Los Angeles early yesterday morning to watch the Old Man play in the Western Conference Finals. They said they would be back tomorrow afternoon. Zhang San even paid out of his own pocket to buy front row tickets for these three unscrupulous people!

But who made these four brothers grow up watching the old blacksmith play basketball?

Boss Joe, who gave away 32 tickets in the last round, had no intention of offering more tickets this time and only gave him 4 family tickets.

In fact, Boss Joe has been very nice. There is no such thing as family tickets in his rookie contract. It is the family tickets stipulated in his contract extension that has not yet been executed. Moreover, the contract stipulates that he has the right to ask the team for no more than four family tickets in advance during the regular season. The team has no such obligation in the playoffs. After all, no salary is paid in the playoffs, it is a pure battle of honor.

Moreover, the four self-paid tickets were all "self-retained tickets" used by the team to entertain guests, and he only had to pay the face value of the tickets. For front-row tickets like these, and the opponent was the Bulls, even if they were sold to the "channel party" half an hour before the game started, the price could be increased by half.

At 9 pm Eastern Time, the first game of G1 between the Lakers and the Jazz started.

Zhang Yang saw the Jazz players stepping onto the court with full confidence... and was beaten up badly.

首节30比26、第二节26比20、第三节26比17……三节打完，比赛失去悬念。

科比打了29分钟，17投10中，其中三分球4中3、加上8中8的罚球，拿到31分2助攻。

加内特打了27分钟，拿到13分6板4助攻2抢断；基德打了28分钟，拿到6分7板8助攻。

The Lakers led the Jazz by 82 points, 63 to 19, and the Big Three clocked out after three quarters.

The Jazz took advantage of the absence of the Big Three in the final quarter and scored 33 to 25, which only made the score difference a little better.

In the end, the Lakers easily defeated the Jazz 107-96 and took a 1-0 lead.

This result prompted Emma Roberts, who doesn't know much about basketball, to ask, "Jack, are the Lakers so strong? I feel like they're playing against the last team in the league with ease. Aren't the Jazz the favorites to win the championship?"

"If the Lakers weren't there, given the situation in the Western Conference this year, the Jazz would have a great chance of making it to the finals. They're not weak, but they're unlucky. Kobe and Jackson have a thousand ways to deal with the Utah duo..."

Zhang Yang's tone was full of envy, he also wanted to play against the Jazz, he had just fought seven games with Bibby, Joe Johnson and Pierce in mid-range and long-range battles, he was fully confident that he could beat the new duo like an old blacksmith!

(End of this chapter)