Without telling anyone what he was thinking, Jordan continued to ask for the ball for one-on-one play after reaching the frontcourt. This time there was no need for a pick-and-roll , as Zhang Hao directly defended Jordan.
No one would question Jordan's idea of ​​playing one-on-one. He is the player with the strongest one-on-one ability in NBA history. If he wants the ball, his teammates have to give it to him.
When Jordan received the ball, Graham was already in position. This time Jordan was prepared. When he got rid of the two defenders, PJ Brown was in position in time. Facing the triple-team, Jordan shot again...
This time it was still a little off and a little hasty, and the ball hit the inside of the basket at the neck of the basket. However, after being left open, Pippen, who had already understood the Nets' intentions, cut in immediately and scored two points by tip-in.
Jason Williams is the second strongest player on the field, but facing Rodman, Pippen and Longley in the interior, it was a tragic one-on-three situation.
This ball was not counted as his own score. Jordan curled his lips. He really had to go all out. It was indeed difficult to take on three at one time. Zhang Hao's size actually restrained him, but Zhang Hao's basic defensive skills were not good. Jordan understood PJ Brown, or he was the only player on the Nets that Jordan really valued before the game. He also wanted an inside teammate with such assisting defense ability.
There was also a rough Graham who stole the ball below. Jordan had to admit that the opponent had made a very thorough plan to target him alone. The Nets did use their three players with the strongest double-teaming ability.
It was the Nets' turn to attack, and this time the game fell into a positional battle. Jordan stuck to Zhang Hao after he landed after shooting, creating confrontation and not giving Zhang Hao a chance to counterattack quickly.
Jason Williams, Graham, and P.J. Brown were all setting screens for Zhang Hao, and Kenny Anderson actually had a better chance, but he didn't shoot. Instead, he waited until Zhang Hao reached the baseline, then Kenny Anderson passed the ball to Zhang Hao who had a slight opening. Zhang Hao shot from the baseline... and finally made it!
The point that the off-ball shooter can take advantage of is that he can't be double-teamed when he doesn't catch the ball. He took advantage of it! The opponent defended tightly and switched defense quickly, but he always found a chance to shoot.
When Zhang Hao made a mid-range shot from the baseline, Jason Williams and Graham had already begun to confront Jordan and did not give Jordan a chance to fast break.
Seeing this, Jordan finally confirmed that this was all the idea of ​​the rookie on the opposite side!
It was also a little surprising. Jordan also knew Kenny Anderson. Although he was not an opponent he took seriously, he was at least a player on the edge of an All-Star level and much stronger than Zhang Hao. At this time, he was willing to do so much for Zhang Hao... None of this mattered anymore. Jordan began to enjoy the opportunity to challenge the entire opposing team alone.
The next game became Jordan playing one-on-one against at least three defenders, which was very difficult. Occasionally, Kenny Anderson would sneak up and try to steal the ball, and he had succeeded in stealing it. But in such a situation, Jordan's one-on-one success rate was slowly increasing!
This made the players on the Nets team a little irritable. If it weren't for the scary Rodman on the opposite side, they would have wanted to fight. Their occasional rough and irritable confrontation was taken advantage of by Jordan. Fortunately, the success rate of their main attack was also increasing!
Zhang Hao's success rate in running, catching the ball and shooting is also increasing under the Bulls' excellent team defense!
Anyway, I just try my best to find a way to output!
Although he is still very weak, it can be seen that he is getting better and better in finding opportunities to shoot!
This excited the other players of the Nets. They had not intended to fight for victory. That was too difficult and not something they could do. If they tried and failed, it would hurt their self-esteem. However, Zhang Hao had a chance to win by fighting with Jordan for points in such a situation! Moreover, Zhang Hao did maintain the lead!
In terms of team scoring, the Nets quickly fell behind, but after the official timeout, Jordan still did not go down to rest. He was still competing with Zhang Hao.
Jordan was really surprised by Zhang Hao's performance this time. It was obvious that Zhang Hao was not just taking reckless shots, but looking for opportunities. He was really getting more and more adapted to the Bulls' team defense during the game. Although his shooting success rate was not high and he didn't find many opportunities, considering the defensive intensity, Zhang Hao's shots were really accurate, and some of the shots were made purely by his personal ability!
There is also the confrontation with Zhang Hao. When Jordan switched defense at the beginning of the game, he found that Zhang Hao's confrontation was far stronger than the impression given by his body size, and now this has been confirmed again.
He is really talented, with excellent athletic ability and sharp counterattacks; his shooting is too good. In any case, Jordan recalled that when he first entered the NBA, his mid-range shooting was not as good as Zhang Hao's... It took him several years to reach Zhang Hao's level; he has a high basketball IQ, which is very important, and this aspect of the rookie impressed him.
If there is any flaw, they are too big. He is poor at defense and does not make good use of his height, wingspan, flexibility and speed. He is completely dependent on passers on offense. Fortunately, the Nets have Kenny Anderson and Charles.
At 11 minutes and 47 seconds in the third quarter, Jordan unexpectedly made a fake breakthrough and then took a three-pointer, which went in!
15 to 14, Jordan scored 15 points in a single quarter, surpassing Zhang Hao by one point!
Jordan made 6 of 15 shots and managed to increase his shooting percentage to 40% in this situation!
The Bulls are already leading the Nets by 22 points, 77 to 55!
Jordan played very happily today, and the happiest moment was in the third quarter. Although there were some unexpected events and it seemed that he did not defeat the opponent's fighting spirit, he was really happy, and the happiest moment was this one goal...
He feels that Zhang Hao will definitely be able to shine in the future, and he is very confident in his vision.
In his opinion, he won the single-quarter scoring duel with Zhang Hao! The game also entered garbage time!
In the Nets' last attack, Jordan's defense was quite aggressive, arguably the most aggressive one. He wanted to defend Zhang Hao, and then he would win everything tonight!
Zhang Hao did not get the chance, but he had to shoot the last ball. It was basically impossible for Jordan to play in the fourth quarter. If he didn't make this ball, the mission would be in vain!
But there was really no opportunity to escape, so Zhang Hao simply leaned on Jordan to ask for the ball.
After receiving the pass from Charles, Zhang Hao turned to face the basket, jumped up, and bounced backwards with all his strength!
Jordan immediately rushed over to interfere, Zhang Hao leaned back in the air and forced a shot...
Relying on his wingspan advantage, Zhang Hao successfully threw the ball over Jordan's fingertips...
Zhang Hao was very nervous about this shot, and Jordan also showed nervousness, which was rare in the preseason. In the air, both of them looked at the basket at the same time, and saw that the ball was flying very straight. With the whistle at the end of the third quarter, Zhang Hao's buzzer-beating two-point shot made an empty shot!
After the two landed, Zhang Hao lost his balance and fell to the ground. Jordan looked at the ball bouncing on the floor, sighed, then smiled, without turning around, he reached out his hand behind him.
Zhang Hao was a little surprised and stood up holding Jordan's hand.
Jordan didn't even turn his head. He pulled Zhang Hao up and walked straight to the bench. Tonight's game was over.
77 to 57, the game has entered garbage time, and the entire fourth quarter is garbage time.
They won, and no one knew about his duel with Zhang Hao. Even his teammates just thought that he wanted to take the opportunity to polish his ability to take on many opponents. After all, compared with two years ago, his playing style has changed a lot. He did not correct his teammates' comments during the timeout in the third quarter...
In short, Jordan enjoyed the past quarter of the game. He was a little annoyed after "losing" in the end, but he was really happy because he saw a group of special players, or rather, a group of players who were made special by one person.
That group of people tried their best to keep themselves from losing the fighting spirit.
The sense of admiration increased a little more.
He remembered the rookie's name - Zhang Hao.
…
Butch Baird really didn't expect that Zhang Hao could "win"!
Even under such unfair conditions, he never thought that Zhang Hao would win because the opponent's defense was too good.
But Zhang Hao did it!
Previously, Zhang Hao had no chance to really show his mid-range shooting ability. This time, he tried his best, and Butch Baird also saw Zhang Hao's best mid-range shooting performance - absolutely top-notch! NBA's top mid-range shooting!
I can't compare to Jordan, but looking at the entire NBA, how many people dare to say that they can compare with Jordan in mid-range shooting? In the first three games, Jordan's mid-range shooting in single-handed face-up shots was already one of the best in the league, and now he has also trained to a superb level with his back to the basket.
After playing against Jordan, I realized that Jordan is not weaker than before he retired. From a technical point of view, he is even stronger!
The game entered garbage time. Originally, Butch Baird did not plan to send out players with training camp contracts, but entering the fourth quarter, he sent out all players with training camp contracts. All nine main players in the third quarter were on the field. Now, he had to give them time to relax.
Not surprisingly, the score gap continued to widen in the final quarter.
Zhang Hao felt a bit complicated as he looked at the task prompt.
Zhang Hao made 7 of 16 shots and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 16 points in a single quarter, surpassing Jordan who scored 15 points.
Moreover, Zhang Hao's hit rate of 7 out of 16 is higher than Jordan's hit rate of 6 out of 15.
This was a duel that Zhang Hao thought was completely unfair, and he won.
But no one cares.
The other players on the Nets team also felt unhappy, but at least they were not as depressed as they were after the first half.
That, in Butch Baird's opinion, was enough.
After sitting for a few minutes, Zhang Hao finally understood that there would definitely be setbacks. Their strength was weak, so there would definitely be such times.
But is it going to stay like this?
of course not!
No one on the Nets is a player like Magic Johnson or Duncan. They are not superstars who can win FMVP or be selected to the first team as soon as they enter the NBA. They will definitely face such a situation, and more than once.
Maybe one day he will become a star, or maybe he will just be an ordinary player in the NBA.
But no matter what, the best option is not to be defeated by such negative emotions and to choose to turn these negative emotions, that is, pressure, into motivation.
Since failure is inevitable, choose to accept the process!
Teammates who had been paying attention to Zhang Hao saw the change in Zhang Hao's expression and his renewed passion for basketball, and their mood began to improve from the low point.
I don’t know since when, but in terms of fighting spirit and enthusiasm for the game, teammates have regarded Zhang Hao as the backbone.
In fact, they are motivated and have renewed passion because of the changes brought about by Zhang Hao.
Charles noticed this, Kenny Anderson noticed this, Vaughn Fleming noticed this, Randy Whitman noticed this, Butch Baird noticed this…
No longer depressed and no longer thinking about the gap between himself and the truly strong teams, Zhang Hao turned on the subtitles.
Before, when the final whistle sounded and he made the buzzer-beating shot, the clue had already come, but when he made that shot and saw Jordan's back turning and leaving, unpleasant feelings such as emptiness and disappointment emerged, and he didn't want to look at it for the time being.
Now that his mood has recovered, Zhang Hao opens the subtitles and sees the prompt that the task is completed... I'm so happy...
"Dancing with God:
Goal: Under the host's guidance, in the second half of this game, Zhang Hao must score more than Michael Jordan when they are both on the court. (Completed)
Congratulations to the host for receiving the reward: 60 days of lifespan.
Remaining life: 326 days, usable life: 325 days.
Because Zhang Hao took the initiative to provoke Michael Jordan during the game, he understood the goal of the confrontation and achieved it.
Congratulations to the host for winning the award: King of Turnaround Jump Shot (Bronze Medal). "
60 days life span!
Zhang Hao felt physically exhausted. He thought about the pressure during the game, the panic he felt when facing Jordan's defense, the helplessness he often faced, and the frustration he felt when Jordan was able to score when facing three opponents at once...Hu Ke?
Finally, the lifespan returned to over 300 days!
And, I also received a medal!
“King of Turnaround Jump Shot (Bronze) (Not worn by a designated player): When a player wearing this badge uses a turnaround jump shot, in that attack, his bounce is increased by 1, his strength is increased by 1, and there is a 10% chance of ignoring the shooting impact of the turnaround jump shot.”
Of course I put it on immediately!
I looked at the effect of the medal... The bonus to physical fitness is very small, the key point is the 10% effect of ignoring the impact of turnaround jump shot!
But the problem is that he can't do a turnaround jump shot. If he can't do that, then this medal is useless.
It's not that he doesn't know how to use it at all, but he seldom uses it. He rarely used it in high school and never used it once in the NBA. He also knows that his turnaround jump shot is indeed not up to NBA level.
In that case, let’s practice!
In today's game, he understood that sometimes he needs to score by himself, even if it is running, catching the ball and shooting, sometimes he has to create close shots for himself after receiving the ball.
But his skills are too poor. Even if he wants to practice, he has to practice around his mid-range shot. He will not consider dribbling and breaking through for the time being. Practicing those will affect his current growth direction.
Of course, he should practice holding the ball as well. He plans to take a ball back from the gym and dribble it for fun. When he gets a chance, he'll practice receiving the ball and dribbling to avoid the defense when cutting in. He won't practice anything too complicated, just these.
He should also practice passing accuracy, which is a training that is in line with his current growth direction.
But now he has a clear direction to develop his skills around his mid-range shooting ability - turnaround jump shot!