Chapter 77 Charge! Charge! Charge!
After returning to the locker room to calm down and think, Zhang Hao knew that his opponent had underestimated him and did not defend him well.
But this is his advantage. His face and age are so confusing.
In this half of the game, the Nets players were very excited and saw hope! At the beginning of the training camp, the team's future seemed bleak. At that time, they had no aspirations at all. Now it is different!
For them, it feels like their destiny has changed.
The coaching staff feels the same way.
Randy Whitman has deeply felt the changes in the team during this period.
There was another change tonight. They fell into a slump in the second quarter. When Zhang Hao was just substituted in, there was no obvious change in the slump. But after a few rounds, Zhang Hao began to direct his teammates to defend.
It feels like a coach on the court!
Zhang Hao directed his teammates, but he only realized it, without any clear solution.
But this is actually the most difficult thing. No matter how hard you work, it will be in vain without that sudden flash of talent.
The height and wingspan of a power forward + the athleticism of a small forward + the shooting touch of a shooting guard + the brains of a point guard... his rim protection ability can also be observed. Randy Whitman finds such a rookie weird no matter how he thinks about it.
But they have a rookie with such strange characteristics.
I feel a little excited when I think about it.
As long as the method works, it's fine. As a coach, he can see more clearly the role of Zhang Hao's command of his guard teammates and make use of it on this basis. This is also the reason why the Nets played better in the second half of the second quarter.
Seeing that the momentum is picking up, it’s time to make a push in the third quarter!
…
After the half-time break, Zhang Hao and his teammates were once again met with loud boos from the fans.
In the first game of the new season, Pistons fans feel in danger!
Their Grant Hill had 18 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal in the first half. This performance couldn't be better.
But the rookie on the opposing team made 9 of 12 shots in the first half!
"Scream, scream, the louder you scream, the more excited I get!" Almon Gilliam boasted.
Kenny Anderson used to dislike Almon Gilliam's extroverted personality, but the main reason was that no matter how the team performed in the past few years, there was chaos internally and the teammates didn't like each other.
Now the situation has changed a lot. Kenny Anderson no longer feels any particular dislike for Almon Gilliam despite his arrogance.
On the contrary, I feel that having Almon Guillem, a passionate teammate, on the court is reassuring.
This is the strongest singles player on the team.
Edwards, who performed well tonight and scored 6 points and 3 assists in the first half, will play more time tonight. He will play with Charles, Zhang Hao, Almon Gilliam and Jason Williams.
The second half of the game was about to begin and Zhang Hao was very excited.
One point away from 20+ points in a single game and 15 days of life, his current score is also the highest in the game...
Looking at the five-man team of Joe Dumars, Alan Houston, Michael Curry, Don Reed, and Terry Mills coming on the court, Zhang Hao took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
Longevity, medals, victory... As an adult, he wants them all!
At times like this, you should calm down.
Jason Williams was very sensitive to Zhang Hao's emotional changes, and he felt a little sour in his heart.
Playing so well in the first game of his career and being able to control his emotions and adjust his mentality is definitely a talent.
From any perspective, Jason Williams thinks Zhang Hao is a genius.
There is no competition for the starting position...
But we have to find a way to make this guy pay back the money!
Soon, the second half of the game began.
The Pistons wanted to let Joe Dumars and Alan Houston lead the team for a while, and wait for Grant Hill to get enough rest and play the remaining time.
A team in a city relies on a star player, and the star player gives back. This is a very beautiful landscape in the NBA.
The same is true for the Pistons. They place all their expectations on Grant Hill, and Grant Hill also has the ability to give back.
And what the Nets want to do is to prevent this from happening.
Almon Gilliam attacked with all his might from the start of the second half, which is what the coaching staff asked of him.
He doesn't need to think about allocating his physical energy like Grant Hill, and he doesn't even need to care about what will happen to the team after he is tired. His role is simple and pure, which is to attack the basket and score.
Ratliff is not there, Grant Hill is not there, and even Edith Thorpe is not there. Almon Gilliam, who averages 20 points per game, is the most ferocious arrow on the court.
Zhang Hao, Charles and Edwards had enough restraining power. In the first half, all three of them made mid-range and long-range shots, giving Almon Gilliam perfect space to play.
Jason Williams is definitely the best rebounder in the game. If the team is bad enough and allows him to get rebounds, he might become the rebounding champion. As long as Terry Mills double-teams Almon Gilliam, he will be ready to grab the offensive rebound.
As long as Almon Gilliam was double-teamed by two inside players, he would force a shot, giving Jason Williams the opportunity to steal the ball.
This was a familiar way of working together between the two of them over the past two years, and at this moment, it worked very well.
On the defensive end, the Nets did a pretty good job. Except for the absence of PJ Brown, which resulted in insufficient help defense against Alan Houston in the mid-range, the Nets did a good job in other aspects of defense.
Charles and Edwards are the best defensive combination of the Nets' back line. They lack impact on the offensive end, but their defense is okay. They belong to a specific type of guard combination. It is impossible to defend to death, but they only need to play a limiting role and make the two stars of the Pistons' back line play not so well.
What they have to do is to ensure that their success rate is higher than their opponents!
Luckily they did!
Relying on the inside offense of Almon Gilliam and Jason Williams, they scored four consecutive attacks at the beginning of the third quarter, among which Jason Williams scored 2+1 on the second attack after an offensive rebound and made the free throw.
On the other hand, the Pistons didn't expect the Nets' style of play to become more and more targeted, and they were stunned!
The Pistons' coaching staff is very confident in their players and believes they have the ability to make the playoffs, which was verified during the preseason.
In their view, the Nets without Coleman are definitely part of the competition group for Tim Duncan.
If the Nets underestimated the Pistons in their pre-game preparations, then the Pistons didn't take the Nets seriously at all before the game.
They just give extra care to the rookie Zhang Hao.
Of course, after the Nets played well, the Pistons also played seriously, actively looking for the Nets' weaknesses and doing their best to exploit them.
It’s just that the Nets’ strength has indeed exceeded the expectations of the Pistons players, far beyond that, and the Nets also have the strength to impact the playoffs!
The Nets themselves didn't notice this.
Both coaches are novices, and the players all put themselves in a very low position, just doing their best to do what they think is the right thing to do.
The Pistons are facing the current situation and can only fight hard for the time being.
Although their strength has improved by leaps and bounds this year, it is still the first game after all.
In the first four attacks, the Nets only made one mid-range jump shot by Alan Houston, and were beaten 9 to 2 by the Nets!
67 to 60!
Seeing that the situation was not good, the Pistons called a timeout to make substitutions. Just two minutes into the third quarter, the Nets scored 9 points and they had to substitute Grant Hill in advance.
Grant Hill is under a lot of pressure. This season is different from last season. No matter how bad the team's performance was last season, the fans were willing to vote him as the All-Star because he was still a rookie.
But he is now the All-Star voting champion!
Now, the expectations he faces are the same as those of superstars, and he needs to lead the team to win.
Joining Grant Hill were Lynch Hunter, Michael Curry, Edith Thorpe and Terry Mills.
Looking at the opposite side, Grant Hill found that the other side had not made any substitutions. Zhang Hao, Charles, Edwards, Almon Gilliam, and Jason Williams were gathered together to discuss.
Probably, Grant Hill guessed the changes that the opponent might make.
After the timeout, the Pistons attacked.
The appearance of a player close to the superstar level brought about obvious changes. Grant Hill rushed to the basket and scored the ball against Zhang Hao.
The tonnage was still a little bit lacking, and they failed to hold the ball steady. Zhang Hao also failed to defend the ball under the basket and was fouled.
Grant Hill also made the free throw.
63 to 67, the score immediately returned to a tense state.
Zhang Hao actually enjoyed being attacked head-on by Grant Hill. This was what he wanted, although it was a little painful.
Really strong! He is indeed a super all-around player who can defend power forwards these days.
In this situation, Zhang Hao really wanted to yell - come on, harder.
The goal is to make Grant Hill use more force, and it would be best if Grant Hill attacks him every time.
This kind of thing is a little painful at first, but you get used to it after doing it a few times.
Although this kind of offense has a higher success rate, it consumes more energy for Grant Hill than mid-range and close-range shots!
In the transition from offense to defense, Grant Hill surprised Zhang Hao this time.
I thought Grant Hill would come to defend him, because it was obvious that Almon Guillem needed a rest and had to be defended, but there was no need to use Grant Hill to defend him.
Zhang Hao was thinking that the Pistons would definitely see this at this time, and then use Grant Hill to defend him, Zhang, so he could run with Grant Hill and further consume Grant Hill.
The reason why Zhang Hao had this idea was that Grant Hill defended him for a long time in the first quarter.
But Grant Hill followed Almon Gilliam, and Edith Thorpe followed Zhang Hao.
“Is he taking Gilliam seriously or is he seeing right through us?”
Zhang Hao was confused for a moment, but ignored it. Edith Thorpe was defending him, and with the current lineup... it was time for him to attack!
Charles also made the same judgment and gestured. Guillem restrained the opponent at close range and Edwards restrained the opponent outside the three-point line. Charles and Jason Williams used pick-and-roll to instigate the offense, and Zhang Hao took the lead in the attack!
When Zhang Hao started the pick-and-roll, he accelerated suddenly, keeping an eye on Charles' pass. Zhang Hao received the ball at the baseline and shot...
It’s iron!
However, when Edith Thorpe went back to grab the rebound, Jason Williams hit the ball over the heads of Grant Hill and Edith Thorpe, and the ball was hit to the left baseline where Zhang Hao was.
Zhang Hao received the ball and shot again...
This time it went in!
21 points!
20+ in a single game!
Simple and crude! One trick can conquer all!
When Edwards has the ball, Zhang Hao tries to go inside. This is how Zhang Hao played in the second quarter. But when Charles has the ball, Zhang Hao has more options. He is a first-class passer who puts passing first.
Connecting with Almon Gilliam's singles, the Nets quickly entered team offense mode.
On the Pistons' side, almost every ball had to pass through Grant Hill's hands. He didn't play the ball all the time, but he had to hold the ball first. Once he had the ball, it would affect the Nets' defense, causing more loopholes in the Nets' fairly good defense, so that other Pistons players could play more smoothly.
However, this could not guarantee that the Pistons could keep the score close. What allowed the Pistons to keep the score close was Grant Hill's singles and breakthrough points.
The pick-and-roll combination + Zhang Hao, in such a situation, basically ended in a draw with Grant Hill!
The TV commentator kept expressing surprise.
Originally, everyone came to this game just to watch Grant Hill.
Grant Hill's progress is truly amazing. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that after his rookie season, Grant Hill truly became a top superstar in his sophomore year. If he continues to grow smoothly, he will definitely become a super striker like Karl Malone and Barkley.
But this is not surprising, it's just admirable. What is surprising is the performance of the Nets.
This group of "miscellaneous soldiers" can actually compete with Grant Hill!
The importance of a superstar in the game cannot be compared to that of a few ordinary players. An all-around superstar like Grant Hill can definitely bring the team to the playoff level as long as the head coach does not make mistakes.
But these few players on the Nets actually played at a similar level!
And in the second half of the third quarter, the Nets really established their advantage!
It wasn't Zhang Hao, it wasn't Edwards, and it wasn't Almon Gilliam who had been too hard and hadn't gotten hard again after a long time...
It was the overlooked Jason Williams who helped the Nets establish an advantage!
Jason Williams scored 6 points in 58 seconds from 10:26 to 11:24 in the third quarter, helping the Nets to a 6-0 run! All by eating cakes!
In any era, players who can catch dribbles are very important because they are often the overlooked ones.
And that overlooked point can always play a crucial role in being able to stably get the ball into the basket when needed!
78 to 88, the Pistons are 10 points behind! There are 36 seconds left in this quarter, and the Pistons have only scored 20 points! The Nets have scored 30 points!
Grant Hill had just taken two rounds of rest when he was beaten 6-0. He had to grit his teeth and continue.
However, he had already scored 15 points in this quarter and 33 points in total. After changing direction and breaking through to close range, he was exhausted and his close-range shot was actually short!
Seeing Jason Williams in the position to grab the rebound, Zhang Hao rushed directly to the frontcourt with great confidence.
His physical strength also declined seriously, but when he surpassed four teammates and got closest to the opponent's basket, his speed suddenly increased!
"Solo Rider (Gold) is triggered. Special contract player Zhang Hao's counterattack speed is increased by 5. The current speed rating is 91..."
Zhang Hao, whose speed had slowed down due to declining physical strength, has returned to the top level again, and Grant Hill, who was slightly faster than Zhang Hao, can no longer catch up!
I watched Zhang Hao rush to the frontcourt to receive a long pass from Charles and make a layup!
33 points!
Zhang Hao scored 14 points in a single quarter! He tied Grant Hill's highest score of the game!
With Alan Houston of the Pistons missing a three-pointer under Charles' close defense, after three quarters, the Nets led the Pistons by 12 points, 90 to 78, with Zhang Hao scoring 33 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks in three quarters and entering the final intermission!
After playing for 30 minutes in three quarters, it was tiring! But Zhang Hao still planned to continue playing in the fourth quarter because the opponent was also tired!
Zhang Hao’s current goal has changed and is clear!
rush!
Now, he just needs to keep charging!
Because he can charge forward, but the other party can't!
