First in scoring

Chapter 504 502. The finals begin!
Before the game even started, fans of high school basketball players were already arguing on major online sports forums.

Those platforms were naturally very happy. Not only did they put the video and text record of the conversation between Zhang Yang and Kobe on the headlines of the main interface, they also put portals in the "Related Links" position of all pages to enjoy this traffic feast.

Equally happy was the Jewish guy in the box at the Turkish Airlines Arena. When Stern received the news, his face was as big as a chrysanthemum.

He was still wondering when the first explosive point of the finals would come, but he didn't expect it to come before the game even started! He is indeed a bad boy Jack! He never lets him down!

Stern has never been averse to stars competing with each other. What he hates are those who only engage in low-level verbal abuse, show off their wealth in public, and compete to see who has slept with more people... Such competitive methods seriously affect the image of the league and even the public's perception of sports like basketball.

When he first took over the NBA, people viewed basketball players as drug addicts, criminals, and nouveau riche... All the negative images associated with black people and rednecks could be seen on NBA players at the time.

Stern wishes the whole league had this kind of competition to see who performs better on the court and who has higher and greater achievements on the court!
On the court, after the camera moved away, Kobe ignored Zhang Yang and went back to the bench angrily.

Old Blacksmith: Damn Zhang San, he actually put Ben Mamba after the answer! Why did that guy do that?
From the jersey numbers, he could understand who Zhang Yang preferred, but in the finals, shouldn't he want to defeat the stronger team? Wasn't he, the old blacksmith, better than the old dwarf?

Little did they know that what Zhang Yang really meant was that there was still a chance to compete with No. 24, but since No. 3 didn't make it to the finals this time, there would be no chance to compete again.

Two days ago, the management of the Nuggets, who were eliminated in the second round, revealed that their owner was very dissatisfied with the current situation of the team.

When Zhang Yang saw this news, a sentence popped up in his mind - the answer has been written.

Old Mamba and The Answer, from the perspective of arrogance, are the same kind of people. They will not accept marginalized roles and must at least be one of the core players. The 34-year-old Iverson will no longer have any team that gives him his previous role, even though his strength is still better than most of the starting point guards in the league.

However, Zhang Yang expressed his meaning so obscurely, obviously on purpose...

After the pre-match preparation time, Zhang Yang walked onto the court amid the cheers of the fans.

The starting teammates who partnered with him have changed. Felton and Okafor will definitely remain the same, and the other two are Afflalo and Perkins.

Afflalo, a sophomore, did not have outstanding playoff statistics. He played 15 minutes per game in 16 games, averaging 5.2 points, 2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 steals. However, his win contribution rate, that is, the team's net points when he was on the court, ranked third among all the second and third position players in the team! Only Zhang Yang and Hill had higher scores than him. His most brilliant performance was in the series against the Hawks. He shot 7 three-pointers in 15 games and made 6 goals. He was the most stable open three-pointer in the team and could withstand the pressure!

He doesn't care about statistics, doesn't fight for the spotlight, and does all the dirty work conscientiously, so much so that reporters who discovered his high victory contribution rate joked that he doesn't look like a UCLA graduate, but more like a Duke product.

Zhang Yang looked at Kwame Brown, Garnett, Ariza, Kobe, Kidd who were walking into the court...

Zhang San: There are 10 starters in both teams, 5 of them are high school students. Wow, it is really a "battle of the strongest high school students in history". By the way, the substitute Pau Gasol is not even a high school student. In 04, the 19-year-old Pau Gasol received an invitation from the Barcelona team before he graduated from high school. He dropped out of school to play professional games to make money.

As the starting lineups of both teams took their positions, Zhang Yang's excitement could no longer be suppressed. He didn't try to suppress it anymore. Damn it!
At 8 o'clock in the evening, the referee blew the whistle to start the game and threw the ball into the air. Kwame Brown defeated Okafor to win the jump ball, and the Lakers attacked first!
Kobe ran to the frontcourt and saw that the person moving with him was Zhang Yang!
Old Blacksmith: I knew it. Since Hill and Pietrus didn’t start, this guy must be guarding me!

Kobe immediately got excited, ran to the frontcourt, and waved for the ball!

Kidd was mentally prepared. When he saw Kobe coming back from the interview looking angry, he guessed that the white phosphorus cliff had been set on fire by the bad boy again. He immediately passed the ball and then pulled away.

It is better to guide than to block. Instead of forcing the team to cooperate from the beginning, it is better to let Kobe vent his anger at the beginning and play one-on-one. He has full confidence in Kobe.

Kobe received the ball, put his hands on his waist, bent down, suddenly dribbled the ball and took a step sideways, attacking Zhang Yang!

Zhang Yang reacted extremely quickly, pushing off the ground and moving sideways, sticking close to Kobe.

Kobe's sudden attack failed, and he went to the right side of the free throw line against Zhang Yang. Seeing Okafor's position move, he did not continue to go deeper, but stopped suddenly and turned his back to the basket.

Kobe's strong waist and abdominal strength allowed him to maintain perfect balance and excellent rhythm during sudden stops and starts. Zhang Yang had no chance to reach out and grab the ball, but he did not act rashly. Instead, he stayed behind Kobe obediently.

A hint of appreciation flashed through Kobe's mind, and he just played with all his strength!

Zhang Yang really couldn't hold on and was knocked back half a step. Kobe had the chance to turn around, jump, and shoot a fadeaway jump shot... After being knocked back, Zhang Yang stood still and immediately jumped up to interfere. He felt that he seemed to have failed to interfere, as he had no confrontation and his hand was a certain distance away from the ball, but he tried his best.

Then, a "clang" sound was heard.

Such a beautiful shot actually missed!
And the one who got the defensive rebound was Felton, who was trying to grab the offensive rebound and retreated to close range to help his teammates in the inside block!
Zhang Yang was extremely surprised and immediately launched a fast break!

Kobe also retreated immediately. After Zhang Yang received the ball in the center circle, he began to slow down after leaving the center circle. Kobe was able to reach the three-point line first. He did not continue to retreat, but waited for Zhang Yang to come over.

As he expected, Zhang Yang grabbed the ball two steps away from the three-point line and jumped with one step!
Kobe also immediately rushed forward and stretched out his hand to interfere... but it was just a little bit short!
Just now he paused for a moment too long at the three-point line, fearing that if he pressed forward too early, Zhang Yang would suddenly start and get past him. He rushed forward far enough and at a high enough height, but the timing was a little bit off. Half a second before he could block the shot, the ball had already flown past where his hand was!

Kobe didn't look back when he landed, but he knew the ball went in because the fans at the scene were cheering wildly!
In the first round, Zhang Yang counterattacked and received the ball and hit a three-pointer, and the Bobcats took a 3-0 lead!

Seeing Zhang San stepping back with his arms outstretched, the old blacksmith thought of the defense just now and said: This guy is really brave! He is not afraid of forging iron, nor is he afraid of being blocked!
(End of this chapter)