First in scoring

Chapter 530 529. Primary school students' first experience of the darkest moment (Happy New Year)

But Curry no longer cares about the fans' reactions.

He kicked his foot so hard that he retreated to the free throw line before he completely stopped. The opponent just made a simple fake step-back three-pointer, but he was pushed to this position. It was such a shame!

He wants it back!
After receiving the serve, Curry gathered his momentum and advanced quickly, and his teammates also quickly pressed forward.

The Knicks' lineup, with David Lee playing center, advances very quickly, but the Bobcats' speed is not bad either, with the twin towers of Millsap and Okafor, focusing on mobility.

After Curry crossed the center line, he saw Zhang Yang move in front of him and wanted to shoot even more, ignoring McGrady's request for the ball.

In the previous games where McGrady was able to play, Curry would give the first attack to McGrady. After all, Harden would often give McGrady some face.

McGrady didn't get the ball, was stunned for a moment, and ran to the sideline in annoyance, ready to put his hands on his hips... This reaction didn't have much effect on Curry. In previous games, McGrady would swing the ball when he had it, and stand back when he didn't. Relying on his remaining power from the past, he was not often left alone. Look, Hill was following McGrady.

When Harden saw Zhang Yang defending Curry, he wanted to ask for the ball, but when he saw Curry staring at Zhang Yang, he decided to move away.

One of the important reasons why he became familiar with Curry so quickly and played with him every day was that Curry's attitude on the court, who dared to challenge anyone, was very similar to Zhang Yang who rashly left school and entered the NBA in his early years.

Of course, the situation he faced in his rookie season was similar. He was beaten up at least twice out of three encounters with superstars. He was too ostentatious and didn't have the low-keyness that a rookie should have. Even if other superstars didn't intend to bully the weak ones at first, they would want to bully them when they saw the two of them.

But his third brother is a little different from other superstars. Tonight, his third brother seems to be particularly interested...

On Curry's side, he unconsciously quickened his pace and rushed towards the three-point line. The scene of returning a three-pointer to Zhang Yang had already appeared in his mind... But before he reached the three-point line, the opponent rushed out first!
Zhang Yang moved quickly and judged the timing well, and he caught the moment when Curry just hit the ball!

Curry quickly bent down, grabbed the ball and stopped it!
At this moment, he felt that his whole body was covered by Zhang Yang. He subconsciously confronted Zhang Yang, trying to create a little space to stand up... As a result, he stumbled and sat on the ground with a bent back!
The referee blew the whistle, the players clenched their fists and turned around, it was a traveling violation!

Curry looked at Zhang Yang who failed to steal the ball but succeeded in stopping the ball and then stood up and raised his hands to shoot... Primary school student: No, buddy, your defensive habits are a little too good! Is this the strength of a first-class defense guy?
Harden ran up, pulled up the confused Curry, and looked at Zhang Yang reproachfully - be gentle, don't ruin this talented little brother that I finally got.

After the offense and defense switched, Curry ran back to the backcourt and took deep breaths to adjust his mood.

After Felton advanced to the three-point line, Curry immediately rushed forward... Seeing Felton pass the ball to Zhang Yang again and immediately move towards Harden's side, he followed and moved over, another pick-and-roll!
After the switch, Curry listened to the crazy cheers of the fans and watched Zhang Yang performing the butterfly steps with great swings. This time, he was really about to break apart.

In the last round, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong. Now, for the second round in a row, he had to switch defense to Zhang Yang because of the pick-and-roll. How could he not see the opponent's intention?
Call on him to be beaten!
This time, Curry did not retreat, but pressed forward with all his might... After only a brief confrontation, he was pulled back and passed by Zhang Yang, who had an excellent sense of rhythm.

Seeing Zhang Yang rush into the paint, dodging the double team of Harden and Wilson Chandler with a Euro step, and then slamming the ball into the basket...

Primary school student: I wanted to attract Zhang San’s attention, but I was targeted before I even did anything?
...

On the last day of his first month in the NBA, Curry, who had spent a month in the NBA, had the first darkest night of his career...

Curry has been looking forward to competing with Zhang Yang for almost two years.

In the season before last, Zhang Yang was the first scoring champion, and his playing style gradually became more creative.

Being in the same state, Curry was quickly attracted by Zhang Yang's playing style. In the 08 Crazy 5 quarterfinals, Zhang Yang came to the scene to watch, which made him go crazy. In the second half, he made three-pointers to reverse the opponent and reach the final semi-finals.

From that day on, his goal was to fight Zhang Yang.

But this opening was completely different from what he had imagined! He knew there was a gap, but was the gap a little too big?

Not only his strength, but his opponent seemed to know his playing style very well. He had almost caught many loopholes in technical details. But was this their first fight? !
This guy wouldn't watch his games every day to study his ball-handling habits, right?

Even if this guy is so perverted and likes to study and bully newcomers, he doesn't have so many game videos for him to study!
他今晚打了27分钟，10投3中，其中三分球5中1，加上3中2的罚球，拿到9分2板3助攻。

The offense was actually okay. Although it was his first time in the NBA to have such a bad game, after playing for 3 rounds, he no longer competed with Zhang Yang on the offensive end. Instead, he returned the ball to Harden, acted as a containment point, took Zhang Yang away, and did not continue to show off.

Harden also played very hard when he met Zhang Yang. His younger brother took Zhang Yang away. His offensive conditions were also pretty good. He made 15 of 7 shots, including 5 of 2 three-pointers, plus 4 of 4 free throws, and got 20 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. His performance was better than usual.

大卫-李15分11板、威尔森-钱德勒12分7板，替补上场的克里斯-杜洪7分4助攻、艾尔-哈灵顿12分5板3助攻、贾来德-杰弗森8分5板……表现都还可以。

But Curry is not only terrible on offense, but even worse on defense!

Whenever he and Zhang Yang were on the court at the same time, Zhang Yang would specifically target him and beat him up.

In this regard, he had no room to struggle and could only go up and fight hard, and then be hammered.

In fact, from the perspective of defensive coordination, Curry, who just graduated from college, has not forgotten so much. He has a way to crack it in his mind, but the objective conditions make it impossible!

The NBA has a longer three-point distance and a defensive three seconds. The inside-outside defense is a defensive coordination method that does not exist in the NBA. It seems that there are similar defenses, but only a few people such as Garnett, Kirilenko, Howard, and Duncan before his serious injury and after losing weight can do it purely by personal ability.

The Knicks couldn't even do the simplest flank double-teaming or inside blocking, and McGrady and David Lee were almost standing with their hands on their hips in defense.

Step-back three-pointer, pull-up three-pointer, chase three-pointer... When he was having fun, he even forced a three-pointer under confrontation. Facing Curry, Zhang Yang tried all the three-point shooting methods he knew and made 9 of 5 shots!
加上中距离4中2、攻框5中3、罚球6中5，出场32分钟，18投10中轻松拿到30分，三节打卡下班……当他打出这样的效率的时候，尼克斯很难有获胜希望。

The game ended at 10:21 pm.

124 to 106, the Bobcats easily defeated the Knicks, improving their first month record to 13 wins and 4 losses!
The Knicks' record is 7 wins and 11 losses, a little further away from a % winning rate.

In fact, the Knicks played pretty well at the start of this season.

Harden, David Lee, Wilson Chandler and others continue to improve;
Although Curry is a waste of time, he is indeed capable, averaging 2.6 three-pointers per game. He is very good at containing the opponent and digesting his shooting rights, which can be of great help to Harden, whose current ability is not outstanding.

Harrington, who usually starts and comes off the bench when McGrady plays, also performed well, and there are a group of good substitutes...

This year's Knicks are no longer the team that was aiming for the No. 1 pick last season. They are capable of fighting against strong teams. Even if Harden and Wilson Chandler continue to improve, and Curry can be more stable in the middle and late stages of the season, it is possible for them to reach a 50% winning rate and enter the playoffs.

However, facing Zhang Yang who was in great form, many Knicks players didn't even think about struggling and just wanted to go home... Harrington, who was once the most fond of targeting Zhang Yang in the league, has been assimilated into the "locals" after two years in Madison Square Garden...

...

After the game, Felton and O'Neal took some of their teammates to a nightclub to party. The next time they come to New York will be in March.

Zhang Yang did not go out to play with his teammates.

Tonight, O'Neal came off the bench to bully the opponent's team that had no center. He played for 18 minutes and scored 20 points, the second highest scorer on the team. He had a great time in the holy land of basketball and shouted that he wanted to treat Zhang Yang, but Zhang Yang declined the invitation.

Zhang Yang went to a party hosted by the Great Shark once in mid-month. It was a bit too vulgar, and it was the kind that helped Boss Qiao broaden his horizons. It was enough for him to be "fortunate" enough to go and see the world once.

He followed the coaching staff back to the hotel and attended the coaches' end-of-month meeting, just to join in the fun and hear the coaching staff's opinions on the performance in the first month of competitions.

Personally, he is quite satisfied with the team's performance this month.

A record of 13 wins and 4 losses is not bad, averaging 106.1 points per game and allowing 98.7 points per game, ranking fifth and eleventh in the league respectively.

The defense has declined compared to last season, but there are many objective conditions.

O'Neal did not play many games, only 17 out of 12 games. He could not expand the three-second zone on the defensive end and was not focused. He only defended with all his strength when facing a few opponents, and he was not willing to defend against most opponents.

There is also the issue of physical strength. O'Neal, who will soon be 38 years old, is no longer as strong as he used to be. In the 06-07 season, he was able to play 165 or 14 minutes per game and get 7+145 points despite weighing 155 kilograms. But last season, he only weighed kilograms for the same amount of time. His current weight is around kilograms, so he can't hold on for too long. If he fights hard every night, he will have to retire after just a few games.

Zhang Yang can accept this point. At least when playing against Yao Ming and Howard, O'Neal defended very hard, and his low-post defense was better than Perkins. He just needs to work hard in the playoffs.

Also, Marion is still looking for his form and can't defend anyone; after Ibaka got more playing time, his lack of basic skills became more obvious.

These two points are also what they have to bear at the moment. Both of them have to ensure basic playing time, and the overall defensive efficiency will inevitably be affected.

The defense of the other players is generally good. The defensive performance of the seven veteran players including the three young players, Afflalo, Millsap, Perkins, and Hill is no worse than last season.
Among the three rookies, Collison and Cunningham are both good team defenders, and Matthews is also aggressive enough in defense.

Their offense has improved compared to last season, and the benefits of having a complete defensive system have been clearly demonstrated this season.

As long as the five core players, including the Big Three, Millsap and Perkins, are in stable condition, the speed of integration when new players join will always be fast, faster than when new players joined in the past two seasons.

Yes, in Zhang Yang's mind, Perkins is the core, the rim protector in positional battles.

For example, when playing against the Bulls and Magic, Perkins was the center with the most playing time, and even the second most playing time inside, second only to Okafor.

Millsap started to show results in his fourth year, but there is still room for improvement. When it comes to tough games, Okafor will play a stronger role when he returns to the power forward position. It's just that in most games, Perkins will play less time, and the data doesn't seem to be that important. When it comes to the key games in the playoffs, he still has to protect the rim instead of relying on Okafor or O'Neal.

When the coaches analyzed the defensive performance since the start of the season, their views were similar to Zhang Yang's, but there were big differences in offense.

Carlisle picked out three massacre games with more than 3 points, and the scoring performance was not so good, only around 120 points.

When Zhang Yang thinks of each teammate, he will think about their strengths.

The coaching staff starts with the shortcomings.

Like the forward combination of Millsap and Hill, Hill seems to be the starting small forward, but in fact he is the substitute power forward. Millsap is doing the work of Brad Miller in last season's playoffs, while Hill is doing the work of Millsap.

Zhang Yang felt that the two of them did a good job, especially Millsap, who was constantly accumulating experience as a tactical core and Hill was also doing a good job as a supporting role.

Hill is the best performing veteran, and in the entire frontcourt, he is the best except for Okafor and Millsap.

Although this combination is not as good as Millsap + Big White Bear at present, the new season has only been played for a month, and Zhang Yang is full of expectations for Millsap's progress. After all, he has been a substitute for three years and Brad Miller has been teaching him everything he knows in the past year and a half. If he fails to achieve results, he will accept it.

But the coaching staff picked out a lot of problems, such as Millsap's lack of experience and Hill no longer playing as hard as he did in the previous two years...

Zhang Yang thinks the three rookies and Afflalo, who has just become the leader of the second team, are all very good.

Especially Afflalo, although he is a little bit tongue-tied, the way he leads the team with practical actions is very Los Angeles.

His defense has become more solid, and he is already the second-best perimeter defender on the team. Although his defensive range is not as good as Hill's, his performance in defending the second and third positions has surpassed Hill and last season's Pietrus.

The catch-and-shoot and spot-catch-and-shoot tactics were better than in last season's regular season.

He has also developed a low-post turnaround jump shot and can occasionally dribble forward, which is a significant improvement. With these two additional offensive abilities, Afflalo can handle some of the ball, and he has gotten more rest time during the rotation phase. In the first month, he only played 17 minutes per game in 35 games, a full 4 minutes less than the first month of last season.

场均打22分钟拿到9分2.1板2.3助攻1.3抢断，非常不错的表现。

But the coaches seemed to be dissatisfied with everything, for example, Afflalo did not have the ability to create opportunities independently outside of tactics... This made Zhang Yang want to complain - if the senior had such ability, you would be worried about not being able to keep him, right?
In the absence of tactics, finding opportunities and finding the right route to receive the ball and shoot is an ability that only top pure shooters such as Korver and Mike Miller have. These two people can earn an annual salary of six to seven million purely by relying on their shooting. Of course, if they want to go to a strong team, they will have to give a discount.

If Afflalo can find shooting opportunities by himself like those two players, he will not only be a substitute. With his increasingly mature defense and the potential to develop above-standard ball-handling offense, there will definitely be a team offering him an annual salary of tens of millions when his rookie contract expires!
Zhang Yang was surprised by Afflalo's low-post turnaround jump shot, but the coaches were not very satisfied with it. They thought it was too rough. He could only catch the ball and turn around to shoot directly. When facing tall defensive players, he couldn't even turn around and break through. His breakthroughs with the ball were also rough. He usually just went straight in without any changes and no awareness of observing the positions of his teammates...all of these need to be improved.

Zhang Yang feels that Collison has a mature playing style, strong adaptability, and is already the team's best outside player besides him and Felton. Afflalo and Hill's personal abilities are not as good as this rookie. He is completely at the level of lottery picks in the 1980s and 1990s who can adapt to the NBA. He will be a complete body once he enters the NBA.

He felt that if Collison was placed on a playoff team that lacked a point guard, this old high school rival would be able to start and serve as the main point guard.

But the coaching staff felt that Collison was too unstable, his maturity was limited to physical development and technology, and his personality was very impulsive. Old Bickerstaff described him as a typical West Coast player.

However, there are still positive comments about Collison, who is considered to be very capable and, when playing well, is better than the great Jack of the past three years.

However, Jarrett Jack has played for many years and has realized the fact that he is just a substitute. He plays randomly just to score goals instead of competing with the opponent. When he is defeated, he will actively hand over the ball and will not get angry if he is replaced because of playing poorly... Collison is quite stubborn, and his extroverted personality makes all his emotions written on his face.

The evaluation Matthews received was even more direct - except for his accurate three-point shooting and sufficient hard work, everything else was a shortcoming. He committed too many fouls on defense and did not understand the rules well enough on offense. After working hard all summer, only his shooting improved.

If O'Neal hadn't missed so many games, he would have been sent to the Development League long ago.

Of the six new players who joined this year, only Cunningham really satisfied the coaching staff.

However, Zhang Yang feels that the new teammate he is most comfortable working with is also Cunningham. This teammate is truly extremely mature in both ability and character. No matter whether he plays as a shooting guard, small forward, or power forward, as long as he is not assigned to do things beyond his ability, he rarely makes mistakes. He is more reliable than many high-quality veterans who have played for many years.

Of course, we cannot have unrealistic expectations of this teammate. There is no doubt that there will be no surprises.

After more than half an hour of meeting, Zhang Yang was full of complaints, but he held back and said nothing. He took the initiative to join the coaches in watching the meeting, and came to listen, not to find fault.

And if he had to say something, he also felt that there was nothing wrong with what the coaches said, and those problems really existed...

...

After the meeting, Carlisle took the initiative to find Zhang Yang and said, "What do you think, Jack? I told you not to come, but you insisted on coming. Are you furious when you hear that we are having a meeting?"

Seeing Zhang Yang rolling his eyes, Carlisle smiled and said, "We coaches will definitely not say nice things when we have a meeting behind closed doors. Our goal is to bring up problems and find ways to solve them. We think the aspects that are played well are correct, and what we correct are definitely mistakes, not correct things."

Zhang Yang nodded and said, "I understand. However, I have a question. You didn't seem to mention me tonight. If I wasn't here, would you have found a lot of faults with me?"

Carlisle's mind seemed to light up at this moment, and he said, "You do have a big problem, but we don't know how to solve it."

Zhang Yang: "Oh, then tell me, and I'll work with you guys to find a solution. Don't worry, I won't get angry because you speak directly. It will help me improve. Even if the words are unpleasant to hear, I will try to accept them."

Carlisle shook his head. "This problem is too difficult to solve. Even you yourself may not be able to think of a solution. Your progress is too fast. Every time we find that you need to improve, you solve the problem yourself and become better than we thought. This makes us very frustrated."

Zhang Yang: "...Rick, you have changed, becoming more and more social. You are no longer the high-spirited boy who dared to confront Big Bird."

Carlisle touched his bald head: Me? A boy?
Is this how people born in the 80s judge others for becoming old-fashioned?

After making a joke, Carlisle came back to form and said, "In fact, the theme of our meeting today is to evaluate the 'test' of the first one-fifth of the schedule and the areas where we did not do well. Next, before the All-Star Weekend, we have to make some adjustments to the system."

Zhang Yang was a little surprised: "Our system is already very complete, right? It's a system adjustment? Not a detail?"

Carlisle: "No system is perfect. If they had always kept the same style of play, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley wouldn't have won so many championships. If you observe their coaching, you'll find that their philosophy remains unchanged, but their style of play is constantly changing."

Zhang Yang recalled the '92 Eastern Conference Finals Game ' and nodded. Indeed, the tactics of that Bulls team and the current Lakers team are completely different.

Carlisle continued: “We’re not going to make big changes all at once, but little by little.

Based on our mature tactical system and the abilities we have demonstrated through previous game videos, summer league performances, and training camps of the new players... we have assigned each new player the role we need them to play in the tactics.

We remained patient. We didn't have too many surprises if we played well in one or two games. We didn't do well enough in five or even ten games. We didn't give up reducing our investment in playing time and tactical resources. From the preseason to tonight, we spent two months testing our patience. Now, it's time to put away our patience and start adjusting... Jack, do you want to know what we are going to do next?"

Zhang Yang: “Is that a very realistic answer?”

Carlisle: "Yeah, realistically, we're going to make decisions about a player's future based on how we feel about him.

If his performance meets our requirements, his position in the main rotation will be secured.

If he has tried hard to adapt to the role, still not doing well, or is not competent, we have to decide whether to accommodate him tactically, adjust the system for him, or let him do simpler things based on his value in our minds. "

Zhang Yang: "It's really realistic. Doing simpler things means he will become a substitute player, right? There is no place for him in the tactics anymore."

Carlisle: "Haha, Jack, don't worry. Since we have pointed out so many problems in the meeting, we are aiming to solve them. If it is a player we are ready to give up, we will not waste time looking for his problems.

Like Sean, even if he only hit 38% in the first month and made many mistakes on defense, we will definitely give him patience. We know that for a player in his 30s, it is not easy to adapt after not playing or training for such a long time, and his physical fitness has declined. For a player like him, it is worth waiting for him throughout the regular season. "

Zhang Yang: "That means, so far, the only one who has lost his position is Wesley?"

Carlisle nodded: "Yes, Wesley is great, very talented and hardworking, but for us, he is a drag. We will put him in the Development League next. Even if we are short of manpower, we will only choose to increase the playing time of others or sign a substitute player. If he wants to get playing time again, he has to rely on his own efforts and improve to satisfy us."

Zhang Yang also nodded: "For a team like ours whose only goal is to win the championship, Sergi is enough as a player with insufficient maturity. Any more would be a burden to us."

Carlisle was completely relieved. He was really afraid that Zhang Yang's attitude towards Matthews would be the same as Alan Anderson's.

In fact, if Zhang Yang had not asked him to select Matthews, he would have put him in the Development League long ago. The reason he made this decision now is because he discovered that the relationship between Matthews and Zhang Yang was not as good as he imagined, and it could even be said that they were not familiar with each other at all.

Carlisle speculated that Zhang Yang only admired Matthews because he worked hard enough. He also admired Matthews, but this rookie might have been too well protected by his mother. He thought that maybe it would be a better choice for him to be sent to the Development League to taste the hardships, learn how to get along with others, and how to adapt to the professional court, which is better than sitting on the bench in the NBA...

……

……

Happy New Year! Wish you all the best in the new year!
(End of this chapter)