Zhang Hao's concentration when playing the game is what makes him different from ordinary people.
It's rare to see a player as focused as him!
Just now he went to block Kevin Willis and thought that Jason Williams could protect the rebound. But the moment Jason Williams failed to protect the ball, Zhang Hao immediately observed the positions on the court and found a counterattack route.
The Heat's pursuit and defense was just a waste of energy, and the Nets sent out two point guards to ensure a smooth pass of the ball.
It would be great if Kenny Anderson could receive the ball and counterattack directly. If he can't receive the ball, the inside player who serves or grabs the rebound can also pass it to Charles first, so as not to delay Kenny Anderson from speeding up and leading the counterattack.
The thing that makes the Nets team most reassured is Zhang Hao!
When Zhang Hao rushed forward, the Heat had to retreat at a faster speed and spend more energy on slowing down the tempo.
After all, their players are just beginning to learn Pat Riley's high-tempo play. It looks a bit like the Iron Age, but it is only after days of hard training that they have achieved this look.
When they focused on slowing down the tempo, they played more hastily on the offensive end. It was not something they could do to slow down the tempo and ensure the success rate at the same time.
The key point is that they were lagging behind and they were thinking about how to catch up, which prevented them from concentrating on one thing - making it impossible for their opponents to score.
As for the Nets, those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. If they have a goal, they will do their best to achieve it. Now their goal is to find opportunities for Zhang Hao to rush forward and play more freely.
The opportunity to counterattack is not always there, but regardless of whether there is an opportunity to counterattack or not, Zhang Hao will rush forward to consume the opponent.
At 6 minutes and 55 seconds into the third quarter, the score difference reached 18 points, which was not a big gap, but Pat Riley still took the initiative to call a timeout again.
Pat Riley felt that the Heat had to explain themselves in this game.
Unless their outside shooting is explosive, if they continue like this, the Heat will lose.
Mourning is the cornerstone of the team, ensuring that the team's lower limit of strength will not be bad, but it is difficult for a center to turn the tide of the game. It is possible for a small forward to be able to break through and score like Olajuwon, who has other skills besides low-post back-to-the-basket, but Mourning does not have this ability.
Unexpected! Pat Riley really didn't expect that the Nets team could perform like this with just this group of players.
Because even if this group of people played so well, Pat Riley still didn't think that other than those three or five players, other Nets players would have the opportunity to play in the NBA for too long.
But it was this group of people who played in a way that he couldn't handle!
Overall, Pat Riley feels the problem lies with themselves.
However, Pat Riley did not choose to use some strange tactics, such as suddenly changing the formation to the style of play in the mid-to-late 1980s, speeding up the game crazily... He did not, but continued to emphasize defense during the timeout.
On the offensive end, he made adjustments and thought of ways, but all of them were based on slowing down the tempo.
However, this adjustment was not effective. Since the first quarter, when they failed to create a leading advantage through defense, the Heat have been in a passive state.
Doesn't Pat Riley know that their lineup is not actually suitable for playing like this?
Of course not, what he wants is to change the team's discipline and ensure the continuity of defense under any circumstances.
He knew that they definitely couldn't beat those top teams at the moment, and they would be helpless if the weak teams exploded.
But his goal was not the present, but the future. No matter how they played, he knew they could not go too far in the playoffs.
Therefore, what he wants is to change this team and make it more adaptable to the new era with a shorter three-point line.
…
Pat Riley constantly emphasizes defense, and the effect is actually very obvious. Every time he can cause the Nets' scoring to be interrupted, it's just that the Heat's own offense lacks continuity.
From the second half of the first quarter, the Nets have been slowly widening the gap.
At 3 minutes and 37 seconds in the fourth quarter, Zhang Hao dragged his heavy feet and stuck out his butt to crush Owens, who was defending him, to the left side of the three-second zone for a backboard jump shot. He was too weak to turn over, but fortunately, he was lucky with this shot, as it hit the backboard, bounced onto the basket, turned around and fell into the frame!
Finally, thanks to Zhang Hao's goal, the Nets made the score 79 to 58 and expanded their lead to 21 points!
Pat Riley called a timeout.
"As expected, if the lineup is not good, all ideas are useless..."
Pat Riley pursed his lips, replaced the main lineup, and surrendered!
He does not regret giving up the opportunity to coach the Knicks, because except for not being the boss and the boss not being an ATM, everything else in this team is better than when he was with the Knicks.
He signed an indefinite contract. Unless he resigns voluntarily or the boss pays a huge penalty, he has 100% power to transfer team personnel. He can change the team according to his own ideas, which is a right that neither the Lakers nor the Knicks have given him.
He has one obsession - to beat Michael Jordan in the playoffs!
In 1992 and 1993, the Knicks he led were favorites to win the championship. In 1993, the Knicks were even first in the Eastern Conference. However, in the playoffs for two consecutive years, the Knicks he led were eliminated by Jordan.
Although he led the Knicks to defeat the Bulls in 1994, Jordan had retired that year.
However, adjusting the team's playing style, discipline, etc. are relatively simple and just require time to do. Building a championship-contending lineup is not such a simple task. The Lakers and Celtics have been away from the finals for several years.
But it’s so difficult to recruit players!
"How about we also play badly and let Duncan play? That way we don't have to rack our brains to think about how to recruit new players. The twin towers are perfect for the new era with a shorter three-point line... No, no, no, no, don't believe a word that West says!
It would be nice if the rookie on the other side was ours..."
…
21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal! Only 2 turnovers! 5 assists set a new personal single-game assist record!
Zhang Hao scored 20+5+5 for the first time in his career, but unfortunately, he lacked one rebound.
In the end, the Nets defeated the Heat 92-77, improving their record to 3 wins and 1 loss!
The final whistle sounded and Zhang Hao received a reminder.
"Special signing player Zhang Hao played 31 minutes in the game between the Nets and the Heat, helping the Nets beat the Heat.
Congratulations to the host for receiving a total of 5 days of life bonus.
Remaining lifespan 428 days, usable lifespan 427 days. "
Nice! My life increased by 5!
However, in this game, Zhang Hao didn't feel like he was winning away from home at all.
After winning the opening game against the Pistons, the fans at the scene were almost going crazy.
Here, the game had just ended, and only one-third of the people were left...
Back in the locker room, Zhang Hao accepted a post-match interview with Chaoting TV.
The domestic media is always more excited than he, the person involved. With 3 wins and 1 loss, the team is tied for second in the Eastern Conference with the Bulls and Cavaliers, who also have 3 wins and 1 loss, and is second only to the Magic, who started with 4 wins and 0 losses. He felt that some of the questions he was asked during the interview were inappropriate.
"2 blocks and 1 steal. Zhang Ritian smiled slightly. His defense has won the trust of the coach..."
Zhang Hao seemed to see such a news headline.
But their defense tonight was really good. Facing the Heat team that pressed the tempo, their whole team played decent defense.
After taking care of these trivial matters, Zhang Hao no longer cared about them. He had no way of predicting what kind of news headlines the domestic media would write.
The teammates went out to think of ways to share what they had , while Zhang Hao stayed alone in the locker room to receive treatment from the team's physiotherapist.
Mourning came to the visiting team's locker room to find Zhang Hao to go to his house to play. He had already guessed that Zhang Hao would not be able to play with his teammates after the game. Seeing Zhang Hao applying ice, he was surprised and said: "Wow, this is the first time I see an 18-year-old young player applying ice after a game. I will go for physical therapy later."
Zhang Hao was surprised to see Mourning coming, but he still asked calmly, "Alonzo, why are you here?"
"I lost the game, and I'm not happy with you, so I want to have a fight with you."
“…”
"Oh, no, you don't have any sense of humor!"
"I just didn't expect you could still be humorous after losing."
Hearing this, Mo Ning felt a pain in his waist!
As for why it was back pain instead of testicular pain or angina, Mourning couldn't explain.
Mourning really wanted to ask - how many times have you been beaten in your life?
However, from previous contacts, Mo Ning understood Zhang Hao's personality traits, which were sometimes quite "direct".
Ignore this issue, he came here to get familiar with Zhang Hao, which is just right since other Nets players are not here.
"Come over to my house after physical therapy? Riley gave me a bottle of awesome wine after the lockout."
"Can I go to bed next time? I usually go to bed at 11 o'clock after a game... drink less alcohol, especially after a game, it's not good for the kidneys."
Mo Ning was not dissatisfied with this answer. He just wanted to get familiar with Zhang Hao. It didn't matter whether they drank or not. As long as they made an appointment for the next drinking date, he had achieved his goal.
But regarding Zhang Hao's last words... Mo Ning flexed his biceps and said, "With my strong body, there's no way my kidneys will have any problems!"
“…”
…
…
If you say you're going to bed at 11 o'clock, then you really go to bed at 11 o'clock.
After finishing the physical therapy and returning to the hotel, Zhang Hao took a shower. It was almost 11 o'clock, so he went straight to bed.
At the first second of the next day, Zhang Hao woke up and started the review mode. His life span was reduced by 3 days in total, and his remaining life span became 425 days.
The review of this game was relatively simple because the opponent did not change his playing style much, so we just kept the tempo.
If the Nets failed to open up the situation in the first quarter and were completely worn out by the opponent, then it would be them who would be suppressed afterwards.
The core purpose of the tempo-slowing play is to disrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm and consume the opponent's touch through confrontation.
Zhang Hao's focus in the review was on his back-to-the-basket singles.
He hadn't practiced this in actual training, he just memorized the movements in simulated training.
The power forwards he encountered in the previous games were all quite strong, at least they were strong enough or had played for several years . Zhang Hao had never tried them. This time it was purely Almon Gilliam who passed the buck, and then, Zhang Hao saw a new world...
I couldn't help but go to the training room to practice some more back-to-the-basket shots. While practicing, Zhang Hao returned to the small living room and sat down, thinking...
"Did I do something wrong? When practicing a turnaround jump shot, shouldn't I just think about the turnaround jump shot? I need to have more opportunities to get familiar with the turnaround jump shot in the game, like when I played against the future Dirty Kurt? Only then can I get better used to the turnaround jump shot?"
If you think of it, just try it. You have already started practicing mid-range shots. The original direction of developing new technologies around mid-range shots is to turn around and jump shot, just adjust the order.
…
On the morning of November 9, the NBA officially announced the Player of the Week for the first game week, and the award went to Anfernee Hardaway, who led the Magic to a 4-0 record.
In 4 games, Anfernee Hardaway averaged 30.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1 block per game.
It is worth mentioning that O'Neal is still injured since the start of the season and is expected to return in early December at the earliest.
Most importantly, the Magic, when O'Neal was not there, the Magic defeated the Bulls! That night, Anfernee Hardaway scored 36 points and Jordan scored 20 points on 8 of 23 shots.
After this start, the local media in Orlando began to promote a view that Anfernee Hardaway is currently the best player in the world.
The reason is very good. Jordan had Pippen and Rodman by his side and started with 3 wins and 1 loss.
Olajuwon had Drexler and started with 3 wins and 1 loss.
Anfernee Hardaway had a better record without O'Neal.
For a time, news also came out that O'Neal's request for a billion-dollar contract failed to reach an agreement with the Magic and that early contract renewal was shelved.
However, the focus of this news is still on the local fire in Orlando.
Apart from the long and boring soap opera "Magic's Comeback", the news across the United States is about Wake Forest University's star player Tim Duncan.
As of the afternoon of November 8, Duncan had only played two games in the new NCAA season, and the theory of "Duncan is the strongest talent" has emerged again.
In the first game against Duke University, Duncan scored 39 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks, leading the Demon Deacons' weak teammates to an upset victory over the Blue Devils.
In the second game against North Carolina, Duncan scored 28 points, 16 rebounds, 5 blocks and 6 assists, once again leading the team to an upset victory over the Wolf Pack.
The two giants in the ACC league were beaten badly by Duncan at the beginning of the new season.
Why was Duncan's performance in his first two years of college so well-recognized? Because his university was in a league that included Duke and North Carolina, and he broke ACC records every year, most of which belonged to these two universities.
Some media reported that the Celtics tried to tank Bo Duncan, and this idea was proposed by Cardinal Auerbach.
So, the media blocked the cardinal's door last night. Auerbach didn't know how the news got out, but he couldn't deny it.
Facing the media's questioning, Auerbach could only answer: "Who doesn't want to get Duncan?"
As soon as this answer came out, Duncan's fame reached a new level!
The Logo Man and the Red Cardinal, the greatest leaders of the two greatest teams in NBA history, both took a fancy to Duncan, and Duncan's already strong chance of being the No. 1 pick became even stronger.