The referee decisively confirmed that the goal was valid!
When the final whistle sounded, the ball had just fallen from the highest point. There was no doubt that the score was 107 to 106. Zhang Hao made the buzzer-beater and the Nets defeated the Pacers by 1 point.
Zhang Hao's pretentious action of celebrating in advance did not turn out to be stupid, but it was actually very awesome.
The more than 15,000 fans at the scene were excited and shouted "X"!
This game is worth the ticket!
"Oh, Xiate, you stole the limelight again!" Jason Williams was the first to rush out, jumped onto Zhang Hao's back, hugged Zhang Hao and yelled, "Remember, I got the ball! It was me!"
Kenny Anderson, who had the best shooting opportunity but didn't receive the pass and just watched a high school student make a buzzer-beater, didn't care about it. He went in and won! He rushed up and patted Zhang Hao on the shoulder to celebrate, and his teammates on the bench also rushed up.
After fighting for the whole game, the exhausted Nets players felt so great at this moment!
Before Zhang Hao, who scored the buzzer-beater, could respond to Reggie Miller, Almon Gilliam started to scold Reggie Miller first: "Bicky, so what if I can't defend you? You lose!"
There was no time to celebrate as his teammates gathered behind Almon Guillem.
The referee wanted to give the Nets a technical foul after the game was over. He felt that this group of guys had the tendency to become a troublemaker. In the previous preseason game when the Nets played against the Hornets, it was this referee who blew the whistle. Zhang Hao provoked after the game. This time, Zhang Hao showed off in advance with his buzzer beater, and Almon Gilliam provoked after the game...
Fortunately, these days, everyone has the heroic spirit of a playboy. If you lose, you lose. Go back and practice hard to win the next game.
Dale Davis, who had a foul mouth, just put his arm around the boss's shoulder and walked away.
Reggie Miller lost, but he didn't get angry. It wasn't because he played badly. Tonight he made 12 of 25 shots, 3 of 7 three-pointers, 7 of 14 mid-range shots, all 5 free throws, and 2 of 4 in attacks under the basket. He got 32 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. He performed very well.
The reason for the loss was that they were unable to stop the explosive Almon Gilliam, and Zhang Hao, who took advantage of Almon Gilliam's explosive inside containment and made 8 of 14 mid-range shots.
Unlike the Pacers, whose highest scorer, Schmitz, only scored 14 points except for his 32 points, the Nets scored a total of 107 points, with Zhang Hao and Almon Gilliam scoring 65 points alone. If Kenny Anderson who scored 15 points and Edwards who scored 12 points were included, the four main players of the Nets scored 92 points, and the others only scored 12 points in total.
The opponent's strongest scorer exploded and three main players seized the opportunity to play so well, but they still lost. Reggie Miller was convinced.
When he reached the player tunnel, Reggie Miller turned around and glanced at Zhang Hao who was still being celebrated by his teammates - this high school student was quite amazing, he made 8 mid-range shots!
Although Reggie Miller is unwilling to work with other pitchers, it does not mean that he does not want to improve the status of pitchers. He is just doing these things in his own way.
…
"Because the special contract player Zhang Hao helped the team win the NBA regular season as a main player, congratulations to the host for receiving a total of 5 days of life reward."
"The best shooter (shooting star):
Objective 1: Under the guidance of the host, special signing player Zhang Hao helped the team in this game. (Completed)
Goal 2: Under the guidance of the host, special contract player Zhang Hao must make more mid-range shots than Reggie Miller in this game. (8 to 7, completed.)
Congratulations to the host for receiving the 15-day lifespan reward and Michael Adams' three-point shooting action package.
Reggie Miller's favorability towards the host has increased, and he has developed a strong interest in the host."
"Remaining lifespan 440 days, usable lifespan 439 days."
We won the game with a decisive goal. Even though it was a bit tiring, it felt great.
After the celebration, he went back to the locker room and took a good look at the reward. It was even more satisfying! However, he felt that something was wrong when he saw that Reggie Miller was interested in him. Why didn't he pass the last ball? In addition to being confident in his mid-range shot, he could not beat Reggie Miller, so he retired and waited for death. In addition, after he made a mid-range shot in the fourth quarter, he caught up with Reggie Miller, who did not make a mid-range shot in the fourth quarter. The last ball was in the mid-range area, so of course he had to shoot.
Michael Adams’ three-point shooting package... Zhang Hao thought of the action of making his first three-pointer in his career... a shot put-style three-pointer... He still had to get it. It would be stupid not to fight for the reward.
It's a full game... Zhang Hao felt his physical strength was almost reaching its limit. Fortunately, Almon Gilliam had an outburst tonight, otherwise they would have no chance to play with the Pacers who were in good shape until the last minute.
Picking up the ice pack from the bucket next to him, Zhang Hao began to apply the ice carefully.
The teammates were very excited after winning the game. Zhang Hao felt this was a great feeling, but many of his teammates just wiped their joints with ice and threw it back into the bucket.
Although there is air conditioning, in the middle of winter, many teammates still find it troublesome to take a shower and go home early.
Zhang Hao couldn't say anything about this kind of thing. Some people just don't like physical therapy.
Zhang Hao tied ice packs on his knees, ankles, waist and other parts for 3-5 minutes. The trainer helped him apply ice to his back. After receiving a massage and taking a shower, Zhang Hao was taken to the press conference by the team's press officer.
Tonight, Zhang Hao and Almon Guillem attended the post-match press conference together. There weren't many media outlets, but there were more than a dozen, half of which were Chinese media...
Zhang Hao made 13 of 25 shots, 1 of 1 three-pointers, and 4 of 5 free throws, scoring 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal, with only 3 turnovers and a buzzer-beater. Naturally, Zhang Hao had to attend the post-match press conference.
Almon Gilliam loves to brag. He wins games, scores the highest points, and is very boastful. Zhang Hao has gotten used to it.
When it came to Zhang Hao, the style of painting changed significantly.
"Congratulations, Axl. You also made a buzzer-beater in the regular season. As the most crucial player in our win against a strong playoff team tonight, how would you rate your performance in this game?"
This question at the beginning is a trap...Almon Gilliam's previous question also had a trap, but Almon Gilliam is a carefree person and no one cares what he answers.
But Mr. Zhang can't do that.
Zhang Hao thought quickly and said, "Almon was the key player in winning this difficult game. He scored 34 points and 10 rebounds. Without his highest scoring performance, without Kenny's singles in the fourth quarter, and without Chris and Jason's pick-and-roll cooperation, we couldn't win.
I just made that last shot.”
There was no drifting, it simply sidestepped the question and shifted the title of most crucial player to Almon Gilliam.
When Almon Guillem heard what Zhang Hao said, he frowned at Zhang Hao - in comparison, he found that his answers to the questions just now seemed so brainless... Forget it, the rookie who made the buzzer beater said that he was the most key player, so there was no need to pay attention to these details.
The reporters were a little surprised that a high school student answered questions so calmly during an interview.
But when conducting interviews, you have to dig out some news.
The reporter from New York asked: "Axel, were you too confident in the final moments? There was still time and Anderson was in an open position."
Sure enough, a reporter asked this question, and Zhang Hao responded: "The ball was passed to me, and it was within my shooting range, so I should take the responsibility. If I don't pass the ball well , what if I make a mistake? You see, I made three mistakes tonight, so I might as well shoot it myself. If I miss, the loss is my fault.
But didn’t I make it?”
Unable to find too many faults and unable to stir up trouble, the New York reporter stopped making trouble. It wasn't a popular match anyway, and he was just making trouble based on his professional ethics as a reporter.
The next reporters who had questions to ask were from China, and the interview instantly became harmonious.
…
Sometimes, you should be a little crazy. You should be a little crazy when speaking the truth and reasoning.
After finishing the interview and returning to the apartment, Zhang Hao went to bed early.
In the early morning of the next day, Zhang Hao did not review the game this time. This game was not very meaningful for reference. Almon Gilliam played too well, scoring 34 points, which ranked fourth in Almon Gilliam's career single-game scoring. The last time he scored so many points was when the veteran was at his peak at the age of 28.
Scoring high points is not the norm for Almon Gilliam. Scoring 15 to 20 points steadily in every game is the norm.
Zhang Hao has other things he wants to practice tonight.
After spending one day, Zhang Hao started the passing simulation training.
The training target is tonight's opponent, the Pacers.
The content of the simulation training is the back-to-the-basket pass from the free throw line and the pass handling when receiving a mid-range shot from the high post.
When he was learning to pass the ball before, he mainly focused on learning theory and passing accuracy. For the former, he is still trying his best to absorb the knowledge of the players who are good at organizing offense in the team. For the latter, he needs time to practice. It is not just training. Practical experience in the game is also very important. The environment with opponents and training are two different things.
However, Zhang Hao now has a clear development direction - threatening back-to-the-basket passes and high-position second-pass support.
The latter was the original focus of study, and the former was a new way of coordination discovered by Zhang Hao.
After training with the Pacers for a while, Zhang Hao switched to the Heat to hone his supporting abilities on the defensive end against these two future Eastern Conference iron-blooded teams... It was quite refreshing, because during the game, the opponents would have various objective factors that would affect their defense, but in the simulated training, the other side would just follow the tactics and coordinate defense in a rigid manner.
However, when Zhang Hao thought about using the Bulls as a simulated training object...it didn't seem like a big deal.
After practicing simulated passing for two hours, Zhang Hao stopped training in this area.
There is one thing he really doesn't want to face, and that is the three-pointer in last night's game against the Pacers.
He happened to make a three-pointer, and no one found it strange. Even a blind cat can catch a dead mouse. Besides, he was good at two-point shooting, so it was normal for him to make a three-pointer in a hurry. No one cared about his shooting posture.
But if that shooting posture is to become a common shooting posture...
Zhang Hao felt despair at the thought.
But he remembered what Chris Irving said during the preparation time a week before the start of the regular season when they discussed expanding the shooting area - "Axl, your shooting method is mainly to catch the ball and shoot while running, and you are used to this shooting method, but three-pointers are different. Three-pointers also require running and catching the ball, but after catching the ball, you face the basket and shoot from a fixed point, and there is not much room to move. Your three-point training progress is very slow, not because you just started practicing. Your shooting basics are very good. When you first start practicing, if your shooting method is suitable, your early progress should be faster. We should think about how to adjust your shooting action..."
Since then, until now, he and Chris Irving have made many adjustments to his shooting posture outside the three-point line, but the effect is not very obvious because they mainly make small adjustments based on his shooting action.
Changing the shooting action is definitely not a good choice in the eyes of the shooting coach, and Zhang Hao has always thought so.
Then there is another possibility... not suitable for shooting three-pointers?
Zhang Hao has really thought about this. Not every player is suitable for shooting three-pointers. In the future, there will be a player named DeRozan who is accurate in mid-range shots but terrible at three-point shooting.
Of course, the greater probability is that they are not used to spot shooting outside the three-point line. It is said that mid-range shooting is more difficult to practice, and Zhang Hao also thinks so. The uncertainty of distance and angle of mid-range shooting... are all more difficult than three-pointers. Three-pointers have the three-point line as a reference, and each area has a fixed angle. Moreover, players who are good at three-point shooting can stand at the most accurate shooting point and wait, so they can open up space without the trouble of mid-range shooting.
But it is not easy to get used to mid-range shots and then practice three-pointers from the beginning.
The main reason was that he was too impatient. This was the "aftereffect" of using the "mid-range shooting growth card" before. Chris Irving felt that it would be fast to spend one or two years to let Zhang Hao slowly get started with three-pointers, but Zhang Hao felt it was too slow.
Now there's an opportunity to change your shooting posture...
"Let's try the shooting bag!"
The subtitle popped up - "Michael Adams three-point shooting bag (not worn): Averaged 2.5 three-pointers per game in the NBA 1990-1991 season, ranked first."
As soon as I thought about it, the content of the subtitles changed.
"The host has equipped the special contracted player Zhang Hao with Michael Adams' three-point shooting bag, and has started the shooting demonstration. The host can observe and memorize Michael Adams' three-point shooting skills, and use this to guide the contracted player to better adapt to this shooting bag."
The image of a player who had been seen before appeared in the training room - Michael Adams.
Then, the stereoscopic image began to show the weird three-point shooting posture.
Grab the ball with your right hand, on the right side of your right chest, and protect the ball in front of your left hand. It is not to help your right hand support the ball, but to block in front of the ball to form a protective action.
The feet, knees, waist... In a continuous force movement, the right hand simultaneously pushes the ball from the right side of the right chest to the right shoulder position, just to the right of the head, and pushes the ball towards the basket like a shot put...
This is a fixed-spot shot, and there is also a shot from the back or sideways to the basket. The shooting posture is the same, pushing the ball out from the shoulder like a shot put.
"The movement is very smooth, the ball is well protected, and it is difficult for the defensive player to steal the ball. When catching the ball and turning to shoot, the speed is very fast. There is no need to raise the ball above the head. The shot is released after the turn. It is difficult to be interfered... But this is too ugly!"
…
This guy is so unlucky that even drinking cold water gets his teeth stuck.
Zhang Hao scored the buzzer-beater against the Pacers, winning by one point. On the same night, last season's runner-up, the Magic achieved revenge by defeating the defending champions 97-96 with Anfernee Hardaway's 28 points, 13 assists and a buzzer-beating layup.
His buzzer beater was also included in the top five plays of the day on major TV stations, but the media was discussing Anfernee Hardaway's buzzer beater.
Zhang Hao saw that the buzzer beater didn't make the headlines... "I think I should release an album to pay tribute to you. If I don't have money to release an album, I can just wear leather pants or play on the court."
Zhang Hao knew something about Anfernee Hardaway, but not much. His memories of this era were all about going to college. His memories of the future mainly involved the first decade of the new century, when Anfernee Hardaway had already passed away.
It was only at this time that Zhang Hao realized how dazzling Anfernee Hardaway was before he suffered a series of injuries.
In addition to the news about Anfernee Hardaway, Zhang Hao also saw news about Duncan. The space in the newspaper was even larger than that of his buzzer-beater!
"That's too much! Is it really that serious that a college student makes the news every time he plays a game? This stuffy guy didn't even mention that he won't participate in the draft this year. No, I have to practice hard and give this guy a welcome ceremony when he comes in... It's a bit difficult, he's only been in the NBA for a while..."
Zhang Hao felt like he was going to become depressed, and only training could relieve his sadness.
In the early morning, I adapted to the new three-point shooting bag with sadness. The feeling of learning the shooting posture as soon as I used it was very comfortable, just like I had practiced three-pointers in the same way.
Of course, being familiar with the movements is another matter. Whether you can throw accurately is another matter. You still need to practice.
Zhang Hao arrived at the gym before 7:30 and found Chris Irving who was preparing for his shooting training. He said, "Chris, I found a method that may improve my three-point shooting. I will try it today to see the effect of the training."
When Zhang Hao was training shooting, he occasionally had the idea of ​​trying to improve his three-point shooting action, and Chris Irving also had the idea, which the latter did not find strange.
After starting the training, Zhang Hao no longer felt "ashamed". He even had shooting moves like McGee, so what was a big deal for him? After warming up, he began to show the demonstration moves he saw when he just put on the Michael Adams three-point shooting bag last night.
Zhang Hao's mid-range shot is very aesthetic, without any frills or unnecessary movements, it is clean and neat, coupled with his slender physique. For a professional shooting coach, his mid-range shot is the model of the player a shooting coach wants to coach.
Previously, Chris Irving helped Zhang Hao improve his three-point shooting action, and the improvement was based on this. He only changed the details and did not want to destroy the beauty.
Now he saw Zhang Hao's series of performances, and he felt very complicated...
After watching it once, Chris Irving was silent for a while before he said, "Axl, this shooting action... I don't know if you can practice it faster, but the turnaround three-pointer you just did was so smooth. If you practice it well, it will definitely be hard to defend."
Hearing this, it was Zhang Hao's turn to remain silent.
The saddest thing is not that the shooting action is ugly. The saddest thing is that this shooting action is actually recognized by a professional shooting coach!
"Aix, try practicing it first..."
…
On November 18, Zhang Hao and his teammates faced the challenge of the Utah Jazz.
There were a lot more fans at the venue tonight. Although it was still not full, it was not like the night before when the game started when one-third of the seats were empty.
Listening to the enthusiastic cheers of the fans, Zhang Hao complained: "The fans are still very realistic..."
Kenny Anderson next to him said: "It's normal. If the fans in my hometown keep losing, I won't want to watch it."
"Right."
Don’t pay attention to this anymore. We beat the Pacers the day before yesterday. Can we continue our success and beat the Jazz today?
This kind of thing is always unsatisfactory.
"John Stockton, 33 years old, 185 cm tall, 79 kg in weight, ability rating 93, offense 86, defense 91, passing 100..."
"Karl Malone, 32 years old, 206 cm tall, 127 kg in weight, ability rating 98, offense 99, defense 94..."
"Jeff Hornacek, 32 years old, 191 cm tall, 86 kg in weight, ability rating 85..."
After looking at the player detection report of the opposing core trio, Zhang Hao felt it was outrageous!
The main reason is the age of Malone and Stockton, which is a bit too much! Think about it, Malone won the regular season MVP at the age of 34, lost to Jordan in the MVP competition at the age of 35, and after Jordan retired, Malone won another MVP at the age of 36...
The feeling of being able to see specifically how strong your opponent is is quite torturous.
The Jazz have played 8 games so far, one more than the Nets, and their record of 6 wins and 2 losses ranks second in the Western Conference, second only to the Supersonics with 7 wins and 1 loss.
The Supersonics lost a game to the Bulls, and the old troll Payton was taught a lesson by another old troll Jordan.
The Jazz, who have reached the Western Conference Finals twice in the past three seasons but lost, are naturally one of the favorites to win the championship.
The Nets, who had just defeated a strong team with 50+ wins, met the Jazz, a strong team with 55+ wins, and the difficulty of the game increased again...
At 6:30 in the evening, the game between the Nets and the Jazz started.
The Nets were able to struggle at the beginning of the last game, and it was because they had room to struggle that Almon Gilliam had his angry outburst later.
But tonight, the Nets had no room to struggle.
The expected explosion did not come.
Also, Zhang Hao thought that after playing against the Pacers, Almon Gilliam would change his ways and no longer be timid when facing stronger opponents. As a result, Almon Gilliam was tough for just that one game!
Tonight, facing the 123 kg Ostertag and the 127 kg Malone, Almon Guillem was weak again, but he still found opportunities and scored 12 points in 29 minutes of playing time.
After this period of time, Zhang Hao finally understood why Almon Gilliam often scored over 20 points, but has always averaged 15+ points per game in his career. He gets aggressive when facing weak players in the interior, but becomes timid when facing strong players.
However, the Jazz's interior defense is indeed good, the tempo is also very strong, and the offensive success rate is high...
82 to 104, the Nets suffered a crushing defeat without any suspense.
…
After the game with the Jazz, Zhang Hao returned to his apartment and lay on the sofa in a trance.
In tonight's game, we can't say that we were taught a lesson. The Jazz didn't take the Nets seriously at all. They didn't play casually, but played with all their strength right from the start without considering the issue of retreat at all, and they really defeated the Nets directly.
The Utah duo, who have played for more than a decade, have developed the temperament of a bully. They show no mercy when playing against teams on the edge of the playoffs or non-playoff teams, and they go all out to win.
The Nets' pick-and-roll combination seems to be effective at ordinary times, but it is far behind Stockton and Malone.
He went to bed early and entered study mode in the early morning of the next day. Zhang Hao reviewed the game, focusing on the pick-and-roll between Stockton and Malone. The most important part was Malone's position movement after the pick-and-roll.
There's really nothing to analyze about his own performance. He played for 31 minutes, made 6 of 15 shots, 3 of 4 free throws, scored 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, no blocks, and had 2 turnovers.
Malone made 10 of 18 shots and scored 28 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals!
He is top-notch on both offense and defense, a definite first-team player.
"To improve shooting skills, in addition to practicing turnaround jump shots after receiving the ball and turnaround jump shots after back-to-back shots... and three-pointers, if you can practice shooting after receiving the ball after the pick-and-roll, it is also a way to improve your shooting ability..."
It took him more than two hours to review the game. He carefully studied every detail of the double-kill pick-and-roll and saw a lot of things, but there were more things he couldn't analyze. He plans to talk to Charles on the way to the away game tomorrow and learn from him.
After the review, Zhang Hao came to the training room and started to simulate three-point practice...
In the locker room, and on the morning of the game against the Jazz, he spent more than an hour practicing three-pointers before his teammates arrived, and then the most tragic thing happened...
Zhang Hao pushed out a shot put for a three-pointer and, with good luck, it went in.
“This shooting posture actually suits me very well!”
I'm not willing to accept it, but this three-point shooting action training effect is indeed better than using the regular shooting action! Since it is accurate, what else can I do? Practice! It is more important to practice the three-pointer well than to have a good three-pointer shooting posture.
…
After a day of non-stop work, the next morning, Zhang Hao brought his luggage to the gym early for extra practice.
Another round of away games is about to begin. The team bus departs from the stadium at 9:20. Zhang Hao arrives at the stadium at 7 o'clock, and has nearly two hours to train.
Chris Owen yawned as he helped Zhang Hao prepare the things he needed for training at 7 o'clock. Looking at Zhang Hao's angry expression, he joked, "Axel, can you give me a day off?"
"No! Work makes us happy!"
"I don't think you're very happy."
"That's your illusion..."
"Then why do you hide from your teammates during training?"
Hearing this, Zhang Hao thought for a moment and responded, "I'm afraid that I'll appear too talented and make others feel inferior."
“…”
Looking at Zhang Hao's shameless attitude, Chris Owen had nothing to refute - he is indeed talented!
Zhang Hao was already very good at long two-point shots, and the three-point shooting area from the 45-degree three-point line on both sides to the top arc area was much shorter than before 1994. After Zhang Hao found the right shooting action, the effect of three-point training in this area was quite obvious... "No!"
Chris Owen quickly shook his head and almost believed this guy's lies!
At 8 o'clock in the morning, the coaching staff arrived at the stadium.
Originally Butch Baird and Randy Whitman were going to drive directly to the airport, but this morning the team owner notified them to go to the stadium for a meeting.
The content of the meeting was not so pleasant for the two. After the boss left, the two sat in the meeting room for a long time before coming out.
Zhang Hao had just finished a set of three-point training and was discussing the details of the training with Chris Irving when he saw two coaches with obviously unhappy expressions coming to the training ground.
Before Zhang Hao could speak, Chris Owen asked, "Butch, Randy, what's wrong with you?"
Seeing Zhang Hao, their expressions softened significantly. Butch Baird forced a smile and said, "It's okay. You guys continue practicing. Pay attention to the time. We have to go to the airport soon."
Since the other person didn't want to talk about it, Chris Irving didn't ask any more questions and continued to discuss three-point training with Zhang Hao.
The two coaches did not stay either, fearing that their emotions would affect Zhang Hao's training, and they also did not want Zhang Hao to know about those things.
…
"The Cavaliers' ancestors were actually stronger than..."
Looking at the Cavaliers' lineup that started with 6 wins and 3 losses, Zhang Hao once again understood a truth - weak teams have no human rights!
There are 13 games in a month, and 10 of them are against strong playoff teams.
After a day of rest in Cleveland, on November 20, the Nets faced their ninth game of the season away from home.
Zhang Hao thought about it and realized that the Cavaliers were regarded as a top-notch team with the ability to win 50 games. The most dazzling season in the team's history was the 1991-92 season. Under the leadership of legendary coach Lenny Wilkens, they relied on Larry Nance, Brad Doherty and Mark Price to win 57 games and reached the Eastern Conference Finals that season, playing the defending champion Bulls in the sixth game; in the 1992-93 season, they got a good record of 54 wins. The team they defeated in the first round was the Nets, but the Cavaliers met the Bulls again in the second round. In 1993, Pippen reached the peak of his career and played the best playoff performance of his career. If it weren't for Jordan's god-level performance of averaging 41 points per game in the finals that year, the FMVP would have been snatched away by Pippen, who averaged 21+9+7+2+1 in the finals. In the second round, the Cavaliers were easily swept by the Bulls.
After the 1993-1994 season, the Cavaliers' three main stars were aging. Larry Nance and Brad Daugherty chose to retire at the height of their careers. Seeing the team's decline, the substitutes they had previously selected performed well after getting more playing time.
Trill Brandon, Chris Mills, Bobby Phils, and Danny Ferry, the top four scorers of the Cavaliers this season, were all players selected by the Cavaliers themselves around 1990. After the retirement of the older generation of stars, they stepped up in time and continued the strength of the first-class team.
Coupled with their decisive decision to trade last season's star player Mark Price for former Suns All-Star Dan Majerle, the team started the season quite well.
Having just been beaten by the Jazz, the Nets players are thick-skinned enough not to be discouraged by such an incident, but they did not have high expectations for tonight and just wanted to play hard.
Zhang Hao also thinks that the Cavaliers are the second strongest team among their recent opponents after the Jazz. Compared with the Pacers who have not yet reached their peak, the Heat who have just begun to transform, as well as the Hawks and Kings, the Cavaliers, a strong team that has performed well in the playoffs for many consecutive years, are obviously stronger at this stage.
However, theoretical strength and weakness are just theories. When things develop, they are always uncontrollable.
It is difficult to win when the Cavaliers' top three scoring players shot 3 of 12, 4 of 15, and 5 of 14 respectively.
Trill Brandon scored only 9 points, Chris Mills scored 12 points, and Bobby Fields scored 13 points. The shooting percentage of the three was less than 40%. The highest scorer of the Cavaliers was Danny Ferry, who made 7 of 14 shots and 3 three-pointers, scoring 19 points.
The Cavaliers had a good start, and former All-Star starter Dan Majerle, who was considered a favorite for the best sixth man, made 0 of 4 shots tonight and only got 1 point thanks to Almon Gilliam's technical foul free throw. He only made one of two technical foul free throws. Almon Gilliam played for 20 minutes, made 5 of 7 shots and 4 of 5 free throws. He was so excited that he caused a conflict and was sent off.
The Cavaliers' mid-range and long-range shots were like a lid on the basket, with 14 of 44 shots! They only scored 73 points in the whole game!
Although the Cavaliers have good defense, limiting their opponents to an average of 88 points per game so far this season, and only allowing the Nets to score 91 points tonight, the Nets still beat the Cavaliers by 18 points.
Zhang Hao scored the highest points of the game tonight, making 10 of 18 shots and 5 of 7 free throws, scoring 25 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks and 3 turnovers.
He blocked three shots easily. The opponent couldn't shoot accurately from mid-range or long-range, so they could only drive to the basket. The Nets team retreated frantically, and the opponent's teammates were there to support them when they broke through. Zhang Hao just had to rely on his mobility, arm span and jumping ability to interfere.
The key was Kenny Anderson who scored 13 points and 8 assists, and Charles who scored 6 points and 7 assists. Their point guard rotation was first-class or even top-notch in the entire NBA. Under the Cavaliers' defense, the two organized the offense well and were always able to get the ball to teammates with good opportunities. Otherwise, even if the Cavaliers' offense was so bad, they might have been defeated by the Cavaliers' amazing defense.
Another key point is Jason Williams' 6 points and 19 rebounds. He was average on the defensive end, but he was really good at rebounding. His athletic ability was not that good, but he was very good at predicting rebounds.
When Zhang Hao was a fan, he often saw the last-place Bobcats beat the defending champion Lakers, and the Cavaliers, who lost James and lost more than 20 games in a row, beat the runner-up Celtics...
"Today is finally our turn!"
…
…
Three weeks into the regular season, the Nets have a record of 5 wins and 4 losses, ranking seventh in the Eastern Conference!
This result is not amazing, but when fans see that the Nets are still in seventh place after three weeks of playing, they will more or less pay attention to them.
When paying attention to them, I naturally noticed Zhang Hao, one of the two top high school lottery picks this season.
In 9 games, he played 34 minutes per game, scoring 19.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 blocks! The 44 points in the opening game greatly increased his average score, after all, he only played 9 games.
However, even if we don't count the first game, his shooting percentage was 48%, and his mid-range shooting percentage was an astonishing 43%. He averaged 4 mid-range shots per game, which was quite outstanding.
If there is Damon Stoudemire who averages 18 points and 9.2 assists per game, Zhang Hao's data is not the best in this session; Jerry Stackhouse averages 19.5 points, Michael Finley averages 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Antonio McDyess averages 26 minutes per game and gets 14 points and 8 rebounds... Zhang Hao does not seem so outstanding.
But even though he is not outstanding, compared with these people, Zhang Hao is not bad and can be said to be on par with them.
The most important thing is that Zhang Hao is not even 19 years old! At the age of a freshman, these people were definitely not as strong as Zhang Hao when they were freshmen.
Another point is that Garnett, who is of similar age, averaged 7.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.2 blocks in 21 minutes per game. In comparison, Zhang Hao is much better.
Although Garnett's talent was exaggerated by McHale, his talent was indeed recognized.
And Zhang Hao
Regarding the best rookie, many experts predict that Zhang Hao may become the youngest best rookie in NBA history.
Jordan, who led his team to an 8-game winning streak and surpassed the Magic to top the Eastern Conference, gave an interview on the off-season and commented on these rookies. When he mentioned Zhang Hao, he became more talkative: "Axel is very good. I am not surprised that he played like this. He should be better next time..."
…
After the game with the Cavaliers, the Nets continued their away trip and arrived in the Big Apple on the 21st. After a night's rest, on the 22nd, the first day of the fourth game week of the new NBA season, the Nets played an away game against the Knicks.
Coming to the place where the dreams of players who entered the NBA through the draft began, the Nets ushered in a nightmare.
Although Edwards, who came off the bench, scored a game-high 26 points with 8 of 16 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, and 8 of 9 free throws, the Nets only scored 92 points as a team.
Apart from Edwards' 26 points, Almon Gilliam's 15 points and Zhang Hao's 14 points, no one else scored in double digits.
In terms of assists, Charles only had 5 and Kenny Anderson only had 3.
As for the Knicks, although Patrick Ewing, the highest scorer, only scored 17 points, 9 players of the Knicks scored in double digits!
Under the coaching of Don Nelson, the Knicks played a strong offense, with 9 players scoring in double digits and a total of 125 points, easily defeating the Nets.
The Nets also wanted to hedge against the opponent, using Kenny Anderson, Zhang Hao and PJ Brown to fight against the opponent, but in terms of rhythm change, no coach in the league can compare with old Nelson.
Zhang Hao had the highest number of shots tonight, 21 times, but only made 5...
…
After the game, Zhang Hao thought about the bad words spoken about him by the future famous boss in the news interview he saw yesterday evening. He really wanted to strangle that string of data in the learning mode.
Although I have a strong psychological endurance, I still feel depressed when I lose the game, and lose so badly.
After the game and physical therapy, Zhang Hao did not return to the hotel immediately, but wandered around the streets of Manhattan Island.
When we arrived in New York yesterday, the entire team didn't go out. After losing the game, many teammates went out to find places to vent their anger.
However, even if they won, Zhang Hao felt that these teammates would not stay in the hotel after the game. They could only come to New York a few times a year during the season, so they would definitely go out and have some fun in this place full of lights and wine.
Manhattan Island is neither small nor big. While strolling around, Zhang Hao came to the edge of the island. He was walking in the direction of the Statue of Liberty and now he could just see the Statue of Liberty on the small island a few miles away.
Coincidentally, Zhang Hao met his teammates here.
"Jason, why are you here?"
Jason Williams looked back at Zhang Hao. It was no surprise to see Zhang Hao. His teammates would not bring a guy who looked like a junior high school student with them when they went out to play. If you didn't know, you would think he had some special fetish...
Originally, Jason Williams would feel a little proud every time he thought about this - he started to be unruly after entering the NBA, and although Zhang Hao is big, he is useless !
But when he thought about how he was besieged by Charles Oakley, Ewing, Anthony Mason Jr. and others tonight, and only got 4 points and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes, and failed to help the team guard the defensive rebounds, and the opponent grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, he couldn't be happy because this link collapsed.
With a hint of sadness, Jason Williams did not answer Zhang Hao's question, but asked back: "Aix, have you ever seen the sea?"
Looking at the big eyes in front of him, Zhang Hao responded: "Nonsense."
This question was a bit stupid. Jason Williams ignored the previous question and continued to ask: "Have you ever cried?"
After thinking about it, Zhang Hao replied: "I haven't cried for a long time."
Jason Williams continued to ask: "Then tell me, why is the sea water salty and tears are idle?"
Looking at Jason Williams, Zhang Hao tilted his neck, thought for a moment, and said to Jason Williams, "Maybe there's seawater in his brain, and what's coming out of his tears is seawater."
“…”
Jason Williams, who just cried secretly, wants to jump into the sea!
There is no way to communicate normally with this guy!
Really deserve a beating!