Kendall Gill grabbed the ball, and time was running out, so he took a step sideways and shot a mid-range shot, but he was too hasty and the shot didn't go in. Zhang Hao, who had just blocked the shot, guarded the rebound, didn't take it lightly, and waited cautiously for Kenny Anderson to come up and receive the shot.
The Hornets retreated quickly, and after Edison came to his senses, he immediately confronted Zhang Hao who passed the ball, not giving Zhang Hao a chance to quickly make a move.
Edison's operation of pressing and defending an off-ball shooter throughout the court was indeed strange, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. The opponent was faster than all their inside players, and even Kendall Gill, the point guard, was only a little faster than Zhang Hao.
In addition to speed, there is also Zhang Hao's confrontation. Edison thought that he was 201 cm tall and weighed 98 kg, but he was not as good as Zhang Hao in confrontation! He was more powerful in the rush, but Zhang Hao, who was obviously thinner than him, was stronger in confrontation... It's amazing!
Edison couldn't figure it out, and neither could anyone else. However, compared to the Hornets players who were shocked, the Nets players were even more motivated because of Zhang Hao's block!
Blocking is a way to boost morale that is no less effective than dunking. Zhang Hao's help defense just now showed his excellent defense awareness and physical condition... Is the Minneapolis high school student who is praised as good as Zhang Hao? His teammates think it's impossible!
When he reached the frontcourt, Zhang Hao continued to focus on containment, but this time, he found that the opponent's defensive style had changed. It seemed that the defense on him was not so tight, but the defense on shots on the strong side and cuts on the weak side was tighter.
Immediately, Zhang Hao began to strengthen his running style to find shooting opportunities for himself.
The Nets' lineup had a very fast pace. Although they did not play a fast break, Kenny Anderson immediately started a quick attack after advancing to the frontcourt to speed up the tempo.
Zhang Hao seized the opportunity and ran back suddenly, slipping to the baseline under the pursuit of Larry Johnson. He took advantage of PJ Brown who cut in from the baseline and the opponent's center Matt Geiger to block Larry Johnson and came to the right baseline.
Kenny Anderson also judged this opportunity and quickly passed the ball to Zhang Hao. Zhang Hao received the ball and shot a mid-range shot from the baseline...and it went in!
Just as Zhang Hao analyzed, the opponent might make adjustments on the defensive end, and he predicted the opponent's prediction!
The Nets still maintained continuity on the offensive end after this large-scale lineup adjustment!
Zhang Hao showed great aggressiveness and was very keen in judging the defensive intentions of his opponents on the field. In addition, he became more and more familiar with his teammates' running habits on the field and his own tactics. He unconsciously found better and more suitable movement routes based on his team's tactics and put them into practice without hesitation. His performance was very eye-catching.
His strong awareness of independent adjustment on the field gave Kenny Anderson great help.
Whether it is scoring, or passing the ball to Zhang Hao, or using his own threat and Zhang Hao's threat to pass the ball to others... Kenny Anderson plays more and more freely!
When Hornets coach Bristow saw this scene, he knew there was nothing he could do. A team like the Nets, which is mainly composed of young players, would be difficult to suppress if they really boosted their morale and momentum.
But Bristow is not in a hurry. He tries his best to make adjustments, which does not mean he is afraid of losing, and they have not lost yet. He thinks this game is a good game to enter the season rhythm, and he really wants to thank his opponent.
Of course it would be better if they could win, but given the current situation, we can only hope that the players on the court can suppress the Nets' momentum through their performance.
The Nets' point guard line makes Bristol jealous. If they had a point guard like Kenny Anderson or Charles, they would not have lost to the Bulls in last year's playoffs. Team play and everyone being able to pass the ball are good, but sometimes a point guard who can organize the offense by himself is also very important. Bogues is such a point guard, but Bogues is too short and too prone to injury.
…
At the end of the first half, the Hornets managed to keep the score difference at 6 points thanks to Larry Johnson and Glen Rice scoring 6 points in the final moments.
58 to 52, the Nets led by 6 points into halftime.
With 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in 13 minutes, Zhang Hao put up very nice stats.
During the halftime break, half of the players in the Nets locker room were excitedly and actively discussing how to play in the second half.
Why half?
Because only 9 of their players got the chance to play in the first half, and a good number of the other 11 players were on training camp contracts, and they had already seen the outcome - they had no chance, and some were already prepared. When they returned to Rutherford Town after this away game, they estimated that they would face elimination.
Reality is cruel, but it is indeed cruel.
"Kenny, Chris, you guys continue to organize the offense in the second half and be ready to play or be substituted at any time. We need to rotate the core players with the ball according to the situation on the court. You guys just stick to your own style of play on the court. If the rhythm needs to change, I will make substitutions in time.
Almon, you did a great job on your singles...
Jason, PJ, you need to maintain your off-ball cutting. Also on the defensive end, we need to put as much pressure on the opponent's inside offense as possible. Axel, you also have to help.
Aix, you do a good job of running without the ball, I won’t restrict you on this point, just follow your own ideas…”
When Randy Whitman gave instructions to Zhang Hao, he found there was really nothing to give him. Zhang Hao was still a rookie and had no experience or skills on the defensive end. He could only hope that Zhang Hao would not fall behind, and it would be a blessing if he could perform well occasionally.
On the offensive end, there is no way to give orders. From the perspective of seizing a pitcher's opportunity, Randy Whitman discovered that the problem of Zhang Hao "knowing too much" that had troubled them before was not a problem at all during the game!
During the game, Zhang Hao always found good opportunities with the Nets' offensive tactics, which were so ordinary that they couldn't be more ordinary.
Although it is only a preseason game, we can get a glimpse of the situation.
Compared with ordinary pitchers, Zhang Hao may have just chosen to accelerate or stop suddenly and change direction at a certain moment, sometimes accelerated and ran a few more steps, and sometimes chose a slightly better route, but one or two times is just good luck, but when it happens more times or sometimes several rings are combined together, the difference between Zhang Hao and ordinary pitchers is revealed.
Talent is real talent only when it can shine through in the game!
…
After the halftime break, Hornets coach Bristow saw that the opponent sent out a combination of Kenny Anderson, Edwards, Gilliam, Jason Williams and PJ Brown, and he already understood the opponent's rotation arrangement.
They really treat the preseason as the regular season!
So will the regular season be as competitive as the playoffs?
For a bottom-ranked team, anything is possible because they have many ways out.
But he couldn't do it. At the beginning of the second half, the lineup he sent out was obviously inferior to the Nets' starting lineup.
After just over 3 minutes of play, several main players of the Hornets could no longer sit still. Gilliam and Kenny Anderson combined to score 8 points and led the team to a 12-6, 70-58 run. The Nets expanded their lead to 12 points!
Bristol could only replace all the main players in advance, and the strongest lineup of Kendall Gill, Dell Curry, Glen Rice, Larry Johnson and Matt Geiger came on the court!
On the Nets side, Randy Whitman also made a rotation, with Kenny Anderson, Graham, Gilliam, Zhang Hao and PJ Brown coming on the court.
The situation on the court became chaotic, and the Hornets players began to fight! Because if they were not careful, they might be easily taken away by the Nets' attack.
This time, the Hornets players really didn't want to lose this preseason game.
It can be seen that there is a gap in strength between the two teams. After the Hornets started to fight with all their strength, even though the Nets had such a big advantage before, their lead began to be eroded by the opponent.
But the Nets are trying hard to compete with the strong strength shown by the Hornets.
Kenny Anderson struggled to run the offense.
Zhang Hao tried his best to cooperate with Kenny Anderson to organize the offense, actively looking for counterattack opportunities, and when falling into positional warfare, he tried hard to analyze the situation and choose between looking for personal opportunities and helping teammates find scoring opportunities...
When the rhythm changed and Charles came on the court, Zhang Hao's tendency also changed, and he was more focused on helping Charles connect the positional offense.
The Nets tried hard to maintain their lead until the middle of the fourth quarter. During this period, Zhang Hao got a total of 7 shooting opportunities, made two mid-range shots, a dunk after cutting in, a counterattack layup, plus 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 10 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in 18 minutes!
Zhang Hao played for 31 minutes and had 20 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. He had very good stats. He had two turnovers, but compared with such stats, the two turnovers are really not important.
Not only did the stats look good, but the fans watching the game on site also felt Zhang Hao's strong presence.
An unconventional power forward!
Unlike other players who play without the ball and can score high points without realizing it, Zhang Hao’s playing style is very direct, as if it’s written on his face that “I want to shoot”.
But I can find opportunities to shoot!
Zhang Hao's positioning ability exceeds the Hornets' perception of players of his age. The most important thing is that Zhang Hao's mid-range shooting is too accurate. He can both run and shoot. The Hornets have paid a lot of attention to Zhang Hao because of the last match, but now they realize that they still didn't pay enough attention to him!
In addition, Zhang Hao also made 3 assists in 31 minutes! The most incredible thing is that they hardly saw Zhang Hao dribbling the ball. All 3 assists were passed within two seconds after he got the ball. His ability to pass the ball in high and low positions is very good, or in other words, his awareness of passing the ball in high and low positions is extremely good!
However, even though Zhang Hao performed so well, the Nets still couldn't stop the Hornets' momentum of chasing points.
Zhang Hao performed so well that they were even more unhappy!
With 9 minutes and 21 seconds left in the final quarter, the Hornets relied on Dell Curry's three-pointer from the bottom corner to overtake the Nets by one point with a score of 106 to 105, and the Nets called a timeout!
Some fans watching the game on site even blamed the Hornets - it's just a preseason game, and there's such an outstanding rookie on the other side, do you have to take it so seriously?
No matter whether he was leading or lagging behind, no matter whether he played a beautiful offense or did poorly on the defensive end and let the opponent score, Zhang Hao's emotions did not seem to change much, as if he immediately devoted himself to the next round after the end of one round.
From an observer's perspective, Zhang Hao is so likable. A player who is so focused on the game and has so much talent, how can he not be likable if the fans have no bias?
In particular, his unobtrusive playing style has a strong presence and is more likely to attract the love of fans who watch the game in person, which is not seen in news reports.
However, if the Hornets players knew what the fans at the scene were thinking, they would definitely be so angry that they would vomit blood.
But if the fans at the scene could come up with such an idea, it would not be surprising to others. The Hornets' market in Charlotte is not very good and is far less popular than North Carolina.
Players like Zhang Hao, who are college age, are easily liked by local fans in Charlotte.
Anyway, the fans at the scene have already forgiven Zhang Hao for his arrogant look after he dunked over Edison. Apart from that goal, Zhang Hao did not show any arrogance at other times, no matter how beautiful the goal was. They regarded that goal as an "accident."
No one cared what Edison thought.
Most people at the scene didn't even care what the Hornets players thought.
Some local fans who had seen the news about Zhang Hao’s interview after the draft had complaints about North Carolina in their hearts - if you give him a full basketball scholarship, he will be our player!
Although they didn't know what the fans were thinking, the Hornets players also felt the change in the fans' support, and could occasionally hear exclamations when Zhang Hao made a good shot.
This made the Hornets players extremely unhappy!
There were 2 minutes and 39 seconds left in the game, and they had already reversed the score and were about to win!
The Hornets players have never wanted to win a preseason game so much, but now, they just want to win!
This is exactly the mentality that Bristol wants, this real emotion of entering the new season. During the timeout, they seriously think about the opponent's next offensive tactics and the Hornets' own offense at critical moments.
On the other side, Randy Whitman was also seriously arranging tactics. At the last moment, he still kept Zhang Hao on the court. It was not because he believed that Zhang Hao would perform well at the critical moment, but because there were no better players available.
Apart from Kenny Anderson, Gilliam and Charles, the best player on the team is the rookie Zhang Hao!
Taking into account the overlapping positions, playing style and other factors, the role Zhang Hao played in the game is more important than that of Charles.
Randy Whitman really didn't expect Zhang Hao to be so outstanding!
But even so, Zhang Hao has been constantly bringing them surprises since the first day he joined the team.
However, Randy Whitman had no confidence whether he could play well in the last few minutes. If Coleman was there, he could just give the ball to Coleman for a one-on-one shot at the last moment. Coleman was even stronger than Larry Johnson on the opposite side.
But since there is no such thing, then just arrange it as usual.
After the timeout, Zhang Hao came on the court with Kenny Anderson, Gilliam, PJ Brown and Vaughn Fleming.
The Hornets sent out a combination of Kendall Gill, Dell Curry, Glen Rice, Burrell, and Larry Johnson.
Bristow directly put Larry Johnson in the center position, because even compared with a real inside player like Jason Williams, Larry Johnson has a clear advantage in confrontation. There is no real center among the players on the opposing Nets team, so at this time, just send the five strongest players up.