On October 12, the Nets' second preseason game day arrived.
After finishing his chores after getting up, at 8:35 in the morning, Zhang Hao followed the team to the Charlotte Arena.
Today, the atmosphere was very different from before the last game. Both Kenny Anderson and Charles were very actively communicating with their teammates.
Jason Williams and PJ Brown have been working very hard. They are very good and are still competing with Zhang Hao. Gilliam, Vaughn Fleming, Edwards, Graham and others are led by the two point guards.
Moreover, the boundaries of the small circle were broken today. With the addition of Zhang Hao, the nine main players were actively discussing how to play.
Although it was just a preseason game, Zhang Hao felt that his teammates really wanted to win!
"Aix, try your best to move, and I will pass the ball to you..."
When Kenny Anderson said this to Zhang Hao, Zhang Hao interrupted Kenny Anderson, shook his head and said: "Boss Kenny, you don't have to deliberately accommodate me in tonight's game. You can play in any way that is beneficial to the whole team.
I think after the last game, my shooting threat should affect the Hornets' defense. If I run out of opportunities, you can give me the ball, but don't just focus on passing it to me. It would be better if you can use my containment to help others create opportunities, and our offense will play more smoothly. "
Kenny Anderson and Charles were very surprised, and two competitors Jason Williams and PJ Brown were even more surprised to hear what Zhang Hao said.
In front of so many people, Kenny Anderson and Charles did not reject Zhang Hao's suggestion and nodded.
The two tactical classes passed quickly. After lunch, Kenny Anderson asked Zhang Hao to stroll outside the Charlotte Arena to digest the food.
"Aix, I didn't expect you to say that."
"I'm a pitcher, sir. What team would focus on creating scoring opportunities for a pure pitcher? Shouldn't a pitcher pitch when there's an opportunity and do a good job of containing the defense when there's no opportunity?"
"Of course, but I thought it would take time for you to accept it, but I didn't expect you to be ready after just one game."
"I think it's just this one game. In the next game, even if I want to integrate into the team, I think the opponent won't want to. They will definitely give me a lot of chances."
Kenny Anderson thought about the last game against the Hornets and said with a smile, "That's right, but you played well in the last game, which must have attracted the attention of some opponents. Maybe you need to be more sensitive in judging the situation on the court. Although the pitcher is mainly responsible for containment, if necessary, you can be the main scorer. But now I am not worried about whether you can adapt..."
…
Soon, at 5:15 in the evening, Zhang Hao and his teammates finished warming up and entered the stadium together.
Today's starting lineup remained unchanged, Butch Baird still sent out Kenny Anderson, Edwards, Gilliam, Jason Williams and PJ Brown as the starting lineup.
Not long after Zhang Hao entered the court, he was called to the technical table by Dell Curry on the opposite side, along with the Hornets' top scorer Glen Rice.
"Glenn, this guy is pretty good."
Perhaps it was out of respect for Dell Curry, or because of Glen Rice's outspoken personality, Glen Rice said enthusiastically: "Yeh, I saw the talented rookie who shot like crazy in the last game. I'm Glen Rice, Axel, right? Just call me Glen."
"It's my honor to be noticed by you, the best pitcher in the world. My goal is to become a pitcher as good as you." Zhang Hao immediately responded.
Dell Curry was very satisfied to see Zhang Hao and Glen Rice praising each other. He was afraid that the young man Zhang Hao might offend his senior pitchers with his words. Pitchers like them should stick together for warmth. As for Zhang Hao saying that Glen Rice is the best pitcher, there is nothing wrong with this statement. He would not think there is anything wrong with it. Glen Rice is a pitcher who can be compared with Reggie Miller.
When it comes to banding together, of course the young people surround the big guys, and then the big guys take care of the young people.
After a few pleasantries, Glen Rice said, "I have to play seriously against you tonight. Perform well and try to be better than me and Dale."
Watching the two top pitchers on the opposing team return to the other side of the bench, Zhang Hao felt that he was lucky. When he entered the NBA, he joined the Nets, a team with such an excellent point guard line. Although other positions were weak, they also gave him opportunities to show his abilities, and the seniors he met were also good... As for Larry Johnson, he wanted to bully him physically and was indeed bullied in the last game. The team also had teammates who were determined to compete with him.
As for opportunities, of course you have to fight for them yourself, and it is only natural for opponents to target you.
Before the game started, Butch Baird called Randy Whitman over, glanced around, and said, "Randy, we should change our plan. Cultivate their desire to win and make them more active and motivated."
Randy Whitman looked at Butch Baird in surprise. He was stunned for a moment, looked up, and after calming down, he said, "Nine-man rotation?"
"We only have nine guys that qualify as NBA rotation players, right?"
Randy Whitman hesitated for a moment and replied, "I'll listen to you, but it's hard to win."
"It doesn't matter if I lose."
"That's right, it doesn't matter if you lose."
…
At 5:30 in the evening, the Nets' preseason game against the Hornets away from home began.
The starting lineups of both teams remained unchanged. The Nets sent out Kenny Anderson, Edwards, Gilliam, Jason Williams and PJ Brown.
The Hornets sent out a starting combination of Kendall Gill, Glen Rice, Scott Burrell, Larry Johnson and Matt Geiger.
After the start of the game, the Hornets clearly had the upper hand. Compared with the previous game, the Hornets were more serious and their tactical coordination improved.
But the Nets played well. Butch Baird worked very hard to mobilize the players before the game, and every word he said revealed his desire to win.
Language is a very good way to "incite". After experiencing the joy of winning in the last game, the Nets players really wanted to win again. Perhaps this emotion will not last long. If they lose more, it may be more difficult to arouse such emotion again. But now, Butch Baird's hard mobilization just hit the players' emotions.
Players don't care if the team is tanking or not, they just want to win! Who knows if they will stay with the team after a year of tanking? People are selfish, and a player with good statistics on a 20-win team may not be more valuable in the free market than a player with relatively poor statistics on a 30-win team!
So, the Hornets relied on the advantage established by singles at the beginning, but after the Hornets' serious start wore off, they were gradually caught up by the Nets!
At 5 minutes and 2 seconds in the first quarter, with Edwards receiving the ball, cutting into the basket and scoring the ball, he also made the free throw, and the Nets overtook the Hornets by two points with a score of 14 to 12!
Hornets coach Alan Bristow called a timeout.
Bristow doesn't care about winning or losing, but the habit of making timely adjustments when encountering problems must be maintained from the beginning of the season. He also made adjustments in the last game, but the players didn't care about the Nets as their opponent.
Today was a little different. Seeing Zhang Hao standing up and taking off his training suit to reveal his No. 8 jersey, Bristol clearly felt that his players were more serious than in the previous game! No matter what the reason was, Bristol thought it was a good thing! He didn't care about the preseason, but winning was a good thing.
After the last game of the Hornets, some players admired Zhang Hao, but some players felt a little angry.
They became the stepping stone for the rookie on the opposite side to become famous!
Larry Johnson admitted that Zhang Hao was an outstanding rookie. He knew he could not compare with Zhang Hao in mid-range shooting, but in other aspects, he was much better than Zhang Hao.
His nickname is Auntie, which literally means "Grandma". Although he sounds like a very gentle person, he actually has a very hot temper. In the last game, he felt embarrassed when the rookie Zhang Hao scored more than 30 points.
Another reason is that the rookies are outstanding. Larry Johnson is very concerned about stepping on rookies. This mentality is very common in this era, especially among top players in various positions .
Zhang Hao heard Randy Whitman's arrangement and went on the court with Charles, Vaughn Fleming, Gilliam and Jason Williams.
Feeling the burning gaze from behind, I took a look when I went to the technical table to apply magnesium chalk. It was the strongest player on the opposing team, Aunt Johnson.
Zhang Hao naturally knew what this meant. He was being targeted by the league's top power forward!
Feeling quite aggrieved, Zhang Hao couldn't help but complain to Charles next to him: "Chris, I have been low-key enough, why is someone targeting me in the second preseason game?"
Charles had just finished applying magnesium chalk and turned around to get ready to go on court. When he heard what Zhang Hao said, he tripped over his left foot and almost fell down - how are you being low-key?
Is it low-key to not say anything? Just like the faceless guy in college who dunked with people hanging on him for no reason? Is it low-key to not say anything during the game? Is it low-key to not respond during the interview?
On the Hornets side, Anthony Goldwyer, Dell Curry, Edison, Larry Johnson, and Matt Geiger came on the court.
The timeout ends and the Hornets attack first.
Zhang Hao followed Larry Johnson to the frontcourt. Larry Johnson took the initiative to come to the low post to seek confrontation. Zhang Hao clearly felt that the opponent was more aggressive and more violent than in the previous game!
199 cm, 114 kg, strength rating of 96, with the height of a small forward, the weight of a center, and brute strength. Facing such an opponent, Zhang Hao thought that his static strength of 90 was excellent before the last preseason game and was quite complacent, thinking that this was something he could rely on to sneakily attack his opponents on the court. But after playing against Larry Johnson, he truly understood what it meant that there are always people better than you!
However, Zhang Hao's inner stubbornness emerged. Judging from his memories of this era, he actually had a very difficult time in the United States. Not in terms of life, but in his high school career. Even with Pierce's care, it was actually very difficult, and it was a difficulty that no one told him about. But he still persisted because he had a very strong stubbornness.
There was no fear. With the experience from the previous game, Zhang Hao no longer thought about relying on his height advantage to intercept the ball in the air. In the NBA, they were all super short power forwards averaging 20+10 per game. Why would they be afraid of a rookie like him?
So this time Zhang Hao chose to go for it head-on!
Larry Johnson was quite surprised when he felt Zhang Hao's confrontation! The strength displayed by that thin body was comparable to those of power forwards with impressive tonnage!
However, top-level strength alone is not enough for Larry Johnson.
Holding Zhang Hao tightly, Larry Johnson received the ball from Goldwell and turned around suddenly!
Zhang Hao quickly exerted force to push forward. He had studied it after the previous game. If the action was quick and timely, the force would not be called a foul during the movement. Of course, it had to be a reasonable confrontation.
But what Larry Johnson was waiting for was Zhang Hao to take the initiative to exert force, and his force when turning around was a fake move. Larry Johnson followed Zhang Hao who was pressing forward and turned from right to left at the baseline. His skillful low-post turning skills made Zhang Hao spin around, and he came to the upper line and made a one-step jump shot outside the reasonable collision zone!
It all happened in a flash. When Larry Johnson threw the ball into the basket, Zhang Hao's full-strength push caused the ball to bounce out of the basket!
tease!
Seriously, Larry Johnson was just teasing Zhang Hao!
Larry Johnson, who scored the goal, did not retreat immediately. Instead, he waited for Zhang Hao to stand firm and turn his head, then said, "Rookie, welcome to the NBA!"
Be angry! Blame me! Hate me! Larry Johnson laughed in his heart, expecting the rookie on the other side to go berserk.
However, Zhang Hao just glanced at Larry Johnson and silently picked up the ball and served it.
This made Larry Johnson's laughter in his heart suddenly die down, as if he had punched cotton.
Little did they know that the rookie on the opposing team was thinking in his heart - He is indeed the poor version of Barkley, so awesome!
Being fooled by a top power forward who averaged 19.2 points, 11 rebounds and 3.6 assists in his rookie season, played in the NBA for many years and is currently at the peak of his age, would Zhang Hao be furious? Not likely.
After serving the ball, Zhang Hao immediately rushed to the front court!
Larry Johnson hurried to catch up. He was a little slower than Zhang Hao, but he reacted in time and was able to keep up.
Moreover, the Hornets' attention to him has obviously increased a lot today. Dell Curry and Goldwyer retreated to defense at the first opportunity, and with the active Larry Johnson on the defensive end, the three of them motivated the entire Hornets team to retreat to defense.
Zhang Hao was not discouraged by the failure of the fast break. He waited for Charles to advance to the frontcourt and then started to run actively.
After Charles advanced to the frontcourt, he quickly analyzed the opponent's defensive tendencies, found Jason Williams for a pick-and-roll, and then broke through from the right side of the top arc!
Matt Geiger squatted under the basket and did not come out. When defending the pick-and-roll, Goldwell chose to go around the back to block Charles, who had weak athletic ability, from shooting after the pick-and-roll. Charles could not pass the ball after cutting in, so he did not pass the ball to Guillem who came to the left side of the three-second zone to respond, but passed the ball to Zhang Hao who was running towards the free throw line!
Gilliam immediately understood the intention of Charles, with whom he had the best cooperation last season, and turned to cut into the inside.
Zhang Hao ran to the free throw line and saw Charles passing the ball in advance, so he rushed forward quickly. When he received the ball, Edison, who was on the left side of the three-second zone, blocked him. Larry Johnson also followed closely and defended him this time.
From this position, he could have forced a shot, but Zhang Hao didn't. He saw Gilliam's cut-in, and after receiving the ball, he immediately took a step towards the basket, easily pushing Edison away on the left and attracting the attention of Matt Geiger under the basket.
At this time, Zhang Hao threw the ball into the basket...
A throw from this position?
Matt Geiger took a step forward and turned to look at the basket, and Gilliam cut in and slammed the ball into the basket!
Beautiful high-position support!