First in scoring

Chapter 507 505. Who doesn’t know how to do the triangle offense?

The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Zhang Yang opened his computer to check the news during his break before going out, and he couldn't suppress his smile again.

He, Zhang San, dominates the charts of major portals!

He also dominated the sports forum.

There are also many hot search terms related to him on various search engines.

He made 8 three-pointers in the first game of the finals, breaking the record for three-pointers in a single game in the finals; he scored 4+ in the first game of four consecutive series, continuing to break the historical record... He, Zhang San, got a new nickname - G40 Zhang.

"Era-breaking Three-Point Shooter", "King of G1", "Strongest Scoring Champion", "Strongest Pitcher"... The news headlines are all as exaggerated as possible.

He read most of the news for fun, but there were some news that caught his attention and he read them carefully.

Like the 'King of G1' listing his performances in the 12 series openers he has played so far.

He has performed well in the first games of every round this year, which he must know. He scored 40+ points every time, and even scored 1 points in Game 51 of the Eastern Conference Finals. However, he did not realize that he also performed very well in most of the Game 3s of the eight series he played in the previous three years.

In his playoff debut against the Cavaliers, he scored a game-high 15 points with a high shooting percentage of 8 of 22. At that time, he was still 38 days away from turning 18, and it was a stunning appearance in the playoffs.

二年级4个G1，前三轮都是30+，只有总决赛G1打马刺队低于30分。

上赛季两个G1，也都是30+，今年更不用说，45分、41分、51分、43分。

He played in 12 G1s, but only in the second round of his rookie season against the Detroit Pistons, when he was still an off-ball shooter and was almost vomited by Hamilton, scoring 30 points with a hit rate of 10%.

Being called the "king" in a certain aspect is not a bad thing, as long as it is not the "king of pits", "king of water" or the like. It is a manifestation of strength, even if it is the "iron king".

The answer to the current iron king is Iverson, with 11500 irons, which has surpassed the "eight runner-up" Baylor. The answer ahead of him is the God of Basketball with 12345 irons.

When Zhang Yang saw the number of missed shots in Jordan's career, he was sure that he was counting the missed shots in the last game.

Jordan was on the court for 28 minutes in that game, and was defended by Iverson almost the entire time. He played in every game that year and averaged 44.5 points per game with a hit rate of 20%. He mainly played high and low post shots, but Iverson defended him and he only made 15 of 6 shots in the first three quarters. It was outrageous no matter how you think about it, especially in the last 3 minutes of the game when Jordan came back to the court to say goodbye to the fans after falling behind by 20 points. He didn't shoot a single ball, even though Iverson, who followed him on the court, kept shouting "Dunk" and threw the ball 1 times in 3 minutes...

Zhang Yang was naturally happy to be called the 'King of G1', as this was a nickname he had earned game after game. But when he thought more deeply, did the fact that G1 was particularly outstanding mean that he would 'start high and end low' in every series?
He checked the 12 series he played in. The ones from his rookie year were of no reference value, so he mainly analyzed the following three years. After the analysis, he breathed a sigh of relief.

It is true that after each G1, his G2 score would drop sharply, but his assists would often increase a lot. Because of his performance in G1, his opponents defended him more tightly, and his teammates benefited from the scoring environment.

His scoring tends to pick up in G3, and the following games enter a relatively stable trend. When it comes to crucial games and he is needed to step up to solve problems, he also has explosive performances. The way he explodes is, of course, by scoring. His philosophy is to score first. In Game 07 of the 6 Eastern Conference Finals, he scored a career-high 44 points at the time, and in this year's second-round Game 34, he scored a game-high points.

To sum up, he believes that although he often performs best in G1 of the series, it cannot be said that he starts high and ends low.

As for the G1's constant "explosion", he also analyzed the reason - the improvement exceeded the opponent's expectations.

When preparing for a series, we must refer to the recent direct confrontation experience, but it may be a long time after the last regular season confrontation until the next playoff encounter. For example, the last regular season confrontation with the Lakers was in early April, and now it is early June, so two months have passed.

His scoring became stable in G3 and G4, which is understandable. After all, they are all playoff teams. Even if he has made great progress, they can effectively target him after two or three games.

As for his particularly outstanding performance in G1 this year, it should be the situation that people were hotly discussing during the Eastern Conference Finals - the accumulation of his first four years of career broke out in this year's playoffs.

Will the Lakers target him more tomorrow? Judging from the past series, they should, and this is a point that can be exploited...

...

Near noon, Zhang Yang came to the Turkish Airlines Arena to have a nutritious lunch.

The guys from the Boss Gang have also arrived and are having a preparation meeting at 1:pm. After dinner they chat for a while about last night's game.

Okafor spoke first: "I came to the arena this morning and watched the video of last night twice. I think we won smoothly and luckily."

Zhang Yang agreed: "I think so too. Ariza and Garnett shot very poorly from long range last night. Our defensive goal at the beginning was accomplished very easily. This has no reference value."

Hill also echoed: "Yes, we can't expect that situation to become the norm. We must be prepared to be unable to defend. The Lakers' defense is really terrible. I remember we scored 29 points in the first quarter and 24 points in the third quarter, but we only scored 90 points after the whole game..."

Millsap: "Yes, if Jack hadn't held off Kobe's offensive in the third quarter, and if Jack and the boss hadn't scored two 2+1s in the beginning of the final quarter, we might have been overturned..."

Hearing the younger brothers talking to each other, Xiao Fei's round head showed dead fish eyes: Why do these people always talk so heavily? No, it's little Duncan, this guy is always like this, but our little brother is not like this, he has been led astray.

After Felton and his teammates expressed their opinions, he said, "I have a different opinion."

Seeing his teammates' attention focused on him, he continued: "If we win, we win. We must firmly believe that we have the ability to beat the Lakers. We need this belief to let other teammates, fans and opponents see our confidence. After these two games, our next three games are all away games. We must win Game 3... Of course, I think your concerns are right. We really can't expect Garnett and Ariza to always have a bad touch, and we can't expect the game to always go so smoothly.

However, with the experience of Game 1, we at least know how the Lakers will adjust when they encounter a bad shooting situation, and we also understand the importance of Garnett's offensive performance to the Lakers' overall offense. Based on this, we can think about how to respond to their adjustments and determine the defensive tendencies. "

Okafor thought for a moment and said, "Raymond, you are right. I was too nervous and only saw the hidden dangers, not the advantages. Yes, we cannot expose this pressure. We just need to digest it among ourselves. All we can show to other teammates and opponents is our confidence."

Zhang San looked at little Duncan's poker face... Do you think you are too nervous?

With Okafor's response, when others expressed their opinions, they also began to talk about how to use the experience gained from G1, instead of simply analyzing the difficulties like at the beginning, but without a specific solution, which made everyone's words more and more stressful.

Hill mentioned that Zhang Yang could learn from Kobe's opening play...

Opposition was mixed with recognition, and finally his own views were put forward, turning the ineffective discussion into an effective direction... Zhang San: The little fat boss has made progress again!

On the other side, the visiting team lounge.

The Lakers' Big Three, as well as tactically skilled players like Felton and Luke Walton, also held a small meeting before the team meeting.

Unlike the Bobcats who took the initiative to hold a meeting under the leadership of Felton, the Lakers were purely forced to do so.

The Zen Master is always talking nonsense. Although he rarely makes mistakes when arranging the strategic direction, the players have to think about the specific details and how to execute them. Most of the players don't have that kind of brains. Therefore, players with good brains such as Kukoc, Rick Fox, Horry, Luke Walton... are crucial to the Bulls and Lakers during the Zen Master's coaching period.

But now it is not so important for the Lakers to have a smart organizing forward, because they have Kidd.

The overall atmosphere of the Lakers was relatively relaxed. Although they lost last night, it was their first away game after all, and they only lost by 4 points. If it weren't for the last 7 seconds of the third quarter and the first 49 seconds of the final quarter when the Bobcats' double shooter scored 9 points in a row, they would have relied on Kidd and Garnett to lead the bloody battle and Kobe to focus on singles to turn the game around.

One of the key topics they talked about was the poor touch of Ariza and Garnett in Game 1.

At the beginning of last night, from the perspective of tactical execution, they actually did very well.

Kobe was so excited about the pre-match interview that he rushed the first ball. Kidd immediately adjusted the opening offensive strategy according to his style of play. Kidd directed his teammates to adjust their positions, and Kobe played singles in multiple positions, looking for the most suitable position to start the offense. He finally chose the low post. Garnett was responsible for the other half of the high post, and Kidd was responsible for organizing the offense and receiving shots from a long distance, leading the team's offense. When the team offense was opened, it fed back to Kobe who initiated the offense, creating better singles conditions for Kobe... forming a virtuous circle. Kidd had a thorough understanding of the core concept of the triangle offense.

The two starting forwards missed open shots, ruining the opening plan created by Kobe and Kidd.

It’s okay if Garnett can’t make the shot. Besides receiving the mid-range shot, he can also do a lot of things.

But Ariza couldn't make the shot and didn't even dare to shoot, so he could only cut to the basket. However, he was facing the twin towers of Okafor and Perkins, and the new defensive star Zhang Yang who had quick mobility and excellent help defense in the low post. He couldn't get to the basket at all.

However, regarding this situation, the Lakers players hold completely opposite attitudes to those of the Bobcats players.

Kidd: "The Bobcats' defense was so good. We only had a few flaws in those rounds, and they quickly approached and kept pressuring us, not giving us a chance to adjust, so we couldn't re-deploy our tactics for the entire game."

Kobe: "Their defense is tough. Everyone puts the team's defense goal above their personal defense performance. The last time I encountered such a defense was the Spurs before the black eight."

Garnett also agreed: "Yes, their individual defensive abilities are outstanding in my opinion, only Jack and Okafor, but their team defense is the second best in my mind."

Ji Bugong and Old Blacksmith were both speechless: Do we have to put team defense with ourselves as the core first?
Noticing the looks from his two teammates, Garnett didn't blush at all and continued, "My touch wasn't good last night. Although it was an unexpected situation, I think it may become the norm. We have to be prepared for me not to score..."

These words of "accepting old age" affected the mood of Kobe and Kidd.

想当年，加内特26岁到28岁最巅峰的3年，季后赛个人表现无比残暴——01-02赛季首轮场均24分18.7板5助攻1.7抢断1.7盖帽；02-03赛季首轮场均27分15.6板5助攻1.7抢断1.7盖帽；03-04赛季西区三轮系列赛合计场均24.3分14.7板5.1助攻1.7抢断2.3盖帽。

But after turning 28, Garnett, whose personal offense was highly dependent on mobility, began to decline in scoring, organizing offense, and shooting percentage. In the 04-05 season, he barely maintained an average of 20+10+5 per game. Starting from the 05-06 season, his assists fell below 5 and never went back.

The scoring rate declined more slowly, but it was supported by an increase in the number of shots. In the 06-07 season, his shooting percentage had dropped to a career low of 47.6%.

His shooting percentage has been very good in the two years since joining the Lakers, 53.9% last season and 54.1% this season, but his points are only 18.8 and 15.9.

In last season's finals, Garnett was defended by Ben Wallace and averaged only 12.7 points per game with a shooting percentage of 44.9%. He was criticized badly and even the media and fans said that his scoring ability has always been poor.

This was a top scorer who averaged 9+ points per game for 20 consecutive years...

Kidd and Kobe both felt the cruelty of time, but their moods were very different.

Kidd felt bad for a while, but then he got over it. He is older.

And Kobe...Old Blacksmith: I have to plan my future career well, and I must not become the next Wolf King. I have to adjust my playing style as soon as possible. The playing style of Zhang San on the opposite side last night seems to be very suitable for me. It is worth practicing secretly. I just don’t know why I feel something is a bit weird...

...

After a day of rest, the second game of the finals started as scheduled at 6 pm on June 8 at the Turkish Airlines Arena.

The Lakers' starting lineup remained the same, with Kidd, Kobe, Ariza, Garnett, and Kwame Brown; the Bobcats also continued with the starting lineup from the previous game, with Felton, Afflalo, Zhang Yang, Okafor, and Perkins.

This time Okafor was strong, defeating Kwame Brown to win the jump ball, and the Bobcats attacked first!

Zhang Yang came to the frontcourt and saw that the opponent adjusted the outside defensive formation. Ariza went to defend Felton, Kidd followed Afflalo on the right sideline, and in front of him, Zhang San, was the old blacksmith Kobe!
After Felton pushed the tempo to the frontcourt, he saw Ariza guarding in front, which was very tempting...but he still passed the ball to Zhang Yang.

This little trick really didn't work. The Lakers players felt a little regretful, but they didn't take it to heart as it was just a side effect.

Ariza certainly can't defend Felton, a small point guard, but if Felton initiates the main attack, without a strong inside support, the Lakers' team defense will be simple... As expected of the leader of a 70-win team, he didn't take the bait at all.

In fact, if it weren't for the analysis at noon, which speculated on the defensive adjustments that the Lakers might make, Zhang Yang would have really opened up, and Felton would have taken over the main offensive banner at the beginning. This is also related to the Lakers' performance in Game 1. They learned from Kidd and Kobe, and made progress in playing experience, one of which is - patience at the beginning.

After Felton went to the weak side corner and Okafor went to the left elbow area, Zhang Yang started to play one-on-one against Kobe's defense, and the curtain of G2 officially opened!

In the first attack, Zhang Yang chose to step back and shoot a three-pointer, but was blocked by Kobe and missed the jump shot.

In the next two offensive rounds, Zhang Yang took advantage of Kobe's close proximity and broke through to mid-range shots, making 2 of 1 shots. However, he still chose to give up this area as it was too difficult, and he had to shoot against the defense. When he got to that area, he had almost no conditions to pass the ball, and all his passing routes were cut off by Kobe, Garnett, and Kidd who was helping on the right.

In terms of athletic ability and defensive impact, Kobe is indeed not as good as the 24-year-old Ariza, who has no limits in youth. He is also not as good in physique. His barefoot height is one centimeter shorter than Zhang Yang, and his wingspan is also at a disadvantage. However, his defensive awareness, basic skills, and experience are not comparable to Ariza. He is the defensive leader with the highest votes at the guard position.

Garnett is also a solid first-team defensive player, but he missed too many regular season games and was not selected for the best defensive team. Moreover, even though he only played 57 games, the number of votes he received from the head coaches of various teams still ranked fifth among forwards. If only counting power forwards, he only lost to Duncan and ranked second. If Okafor had not played as a flexible center in the regular season, he would have been eliminated from the best defensive team.

With these two people attacking from both sides, and Kidd assisting, Zhang San's high-position attack was defeated...

On the fourth attack, Zhang Yang continued to try more possibilities and chose to break into the inside... but was disturbed by Kidd who was shrinking on the wing and Kwame Brown who was protecting the rim.

Zhang Yang made only 4 of 1 shots at the start and only scored two points!
During this period, on the Lakers side, Kobe started the game by going directly to the low post to launch an attack, but was double-teamed on the first attack. He faced the double-team and made a strong shot with a backward shot, but the shot missed. Then he began to pass the ball decisively. Garnett and Kidd's mid-range and long-range coordination was really amazing. Kidd cut in around the top arc and made a layup to get two points. Kwame Brown received the ball twice, made one dunk, and the other was blocked by Zhang Yang... 4 of 2 shots, it looks okay, but you have to know that this is the beginning, when they have the best touch, and their three giants with the best mid-range and long-range shooting didn't make a single shot!

Even except for Kobe's missed shot, they didn't have any mid-range or long-range shots! Only Kidd, who had the weakest ability to attack the basket, and Kwame Brown, who was a pure dunker, got a chance to attack the basket, and Zhang Yang blocked one of them!
Garnett guessed that the Bobcats would definitely use physical combat to wear him down, trying to replicate the start of Game 1 and disrupt their team offense. They also thought of a countermeasure...but they didn't expect the opponent to be so aggressive, not even trying, and just going for it! Okafor, Felton, and Afflalo went all out to deal with him, Kidd, and Ariza!

This really is something they can’t do!

It was the Bobcats' turn to attack again. Zhang Yang thought for a while before crossing half court. After receiving the ball, he immediately started and broke through!
The Lakers' defensive formation moved accordingly, but Zhang Yang ignored it and went straight to... the baseline!
As he expected, Garnett stopped at the elbow and spread his arms to interfere with his passing line with Okafor who was moving up from the left elbow. Kidd let go of Afflalo on the right sideline and brought him in.

Zhang Yang grabbed the ball and took a big step forward, rushing here from the top arc. His speed advantage was revealed, and with this step he widened the distance between himself and Kobe!
One step inside the baseline, he turned quickly, jumped before Kidd could get to the point, and shot a fadeaway jump shot...

Kobe's hand flew forward, but it missed, and the ball spun in an arc and fell into the basket! 4-4!
Kobe did a great job in chasing and defending this ball. He did not give up even after being left behind. Instead, he seized the slight moment when Zhang Yang turned around and jumped, and leaped up with one step... but he could only aim at one position and wave his hand to block the shot. He actually guessed that Zhang Yang would make a fadeaway jump shot, but he couldn't just swipe at the fadeaway position. What if Zhang Yang didn't fade away? Then he would just hit his hand or even his head, and giving the opponent a free throw would be the least of his punishment.

During the transition, Kidd received the serve and pushed forward. Kobe followed Kidd and asked hesitantly, "Continue? Or should I do it?"

Kidd: "The tactical execution is effective, of course we should continue, or are you worried that you haven't shot for too long and your shooting touch is gone?"

Upon hearing this, Kobe immediately rushed to the frontcourt, dropped to the low post, and took the initiative to fight with Zhang Yang. After receiving the ball, he played one-on-one in the low post to attract double-teaming.

Ji Bugong: Little blacksmith, get it!
The Lakers' tactics began to work, with Kidd cutting in from the high post around Garnett and attracting Okafor to come to defend.

Garnett received the ball and was blocked by Felton who was defending Kidd, which restricted his jump, but now he had a new target to pass the ball to!

Kidd was followed by Okafor, and seeing Perkins under the basket and Zhang Yang on the right sideline eyeing him, he turned to the left and blocked Afflalo in the middle distance on the left. Ariza cut in and left Okafor behind in two steps!
Zhang Yang immediately stepped up from the baseline and blocked Ariza's attacking line. Garnett passed the ball to...Kobe!
Kobe went around the basket to receive the ball, turned around and faced Perkins' defense and made a fadeaway jump shot...and it went in!
Kobe received the ball comfortably and shot it happily. He can always trust Garnett for support and Kidd for tactics!
However, after Kobe retreated to the backcourt and high-fived his teammates to celebrate, he turned around and saw Zhang Yang running towards him. He felt upset... Never mind, he could trust Garnett and Kidd in defense!
Zhang Yang received the ball and attacked, and he went straight to the baseline again. Garnett gritted his teeth and followed him this time. Zhang Yang still chose to grab the ball, stepped out and jumped... and passed the ball to Okafor!

Kobe actively switched defense, got to the free throw line, and stuck to Okafor, but Kidd felt bad when he saw this scene...Okafor passed the ball!
Afflalo went around to the top right side of the arc to receive the ball and took a three-point shot...and it went in!
Kobe also realized that he had been deceived, and he discovered something.

Old Blacksmith: Zhang San is learning our tactics! Isn't this the triangle offense? Hiss... Yeah, they also use the triangle offense!

(End of this chapter)