Looking only at the last 38 games, the Jazz Team’s performance has not been as good as the Bobcats’, since the Jazz Team began the season with a 7-3 record, once outpacing the Nuggets Team for the top spot in the Northwest Division, but in the following 38 games, they only managed 16 wins against 22 losses.
In this respect, the Bobcats were in a similar situation. Before Okafor began experiencing injuries, the Bobcats had started their season with a 3-1 record.
After Okafor got injured, Gerald Wallace, Zhang Yang, and Felton all received more playing time.
After Boozer’s injury, Deron... still waited impatiently on the bench, but Okur took the opportunity to shine, currently averaging 18 points and 9 rebounds per game.
Perhaps this deepened Deron’s dissatisfaction with Sloan...
At 8 o’clock, the game started on time.
Felton and Gerald Wallace launched a fierce attack at the beginning of the game, leading their team to a 10-6 start.
However, Deron and Kirilenko also stepped up their game in return, scoring a 7-4 run, cutting the lead to 13-14 and halting the Bobcats for an official timeout.
Felton envied Deron being the third overall pick, and Deron also harbored a grudge from last year’s NCAA championship game.
Gerald Wallace and Kirilenko were competing head-to-head tonight, although they didn’t actually have much in common.
But this season, Gerald Wallace was often compared to Kirilenko.
So far this season, Gerald Wallace had played in 40 games, averaging 19.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.5 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game.
Kirilenko had played in 42 games, averaging 16.5 points, 8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 3.2 blocks per game.
On offense, Gerald Wallace was better at scoring, while Kirilenko was better at orchestrating the offense. On defense, they were roughly even. Wallace was 23 years old and Kirilenko was 24, so it was quite normal to compare them. The two players also came to view each other as rivals because of media and fan comparisons.
After the timeout, both head coaches switched to a lineup with one big and four smalls, Jazz Team: Deron, Devin Brown, Matt Haplin, Kirilenko, Okur; Bobcats: Felton, Zhang Yang, Matt Carroll, Gerald Wallace, Perkins.
The Bobcats go on the offensive.
After using a Perkins screen to penetrate close to the basket, Felton encountered help defense from Kirilenko and felt his shooting space was completely covered!
The power forward position was Kirilenko’s favorite spot. Although his lean frame made playing power forward more injury-prone, he was more comfortable there, being able to drop back for interior defense. Playing small forward, he could only shrink his defense like Gerald Wallace, which was not as outstanding as Wallace’s style. He preferred expanding outward on defense.
Felton did not force the shot; he immediately looked back for his teammates... and the young brother did not disappoint him! Pass!
After setting a screen for Felton at the top, Perkins did not cut to the inside but moved to the left side of the foul line to set a screen, blocking Matt Haplin who was chasing Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang received the ball on the right side of the foul line, pressed forward a step to avoid Deron, who was switching to defend him, and grabbed the ball...
Kirilenko charged out from the right side of the three-second area!
Seeing Kirilenko’s arm-swinging charge at Zhang Yang, Felton who had just passed the ball felt a surge of anxiety for the younger brother.
However, Zhang Yang was not intimidated. After catching the ball, he immediately jumped, keeping his rhythm steady and his movement fluid, and took a jump shot from the foul line distance facing the charging Kirilenko...
He judged correctly. From that distance, Kirilenko could not block him!
By the time Kirilenko’s hand reached in front of Zhang Yang, the ball was already on its way. In his first attempt on the court, Zhang Yang’s touch was excellent, and the shot went in!
16-13, Zhang Yang scored right off the bat, stabilizing the team’s position.
Zhang San was capable of handling pressure, and his teammates had grown accustomed to that.
But courtside, Sloan was witnessing Zhang Yang play basketball for the first time, and he found something disconcerting in his very first offensive play... That aura was too much like that high school kid from Los Angeles, and too reminiscent of the Bobcats’ damned owner!
I’ve only written 6,000 words, sorry. I’ll write an additional 1,000 words in tomorrow’s guaranteed update. One must be cautious when staying up late to add more content; I’m a bit tired today, so I’ll sleep earlier and strive to add more content before 12 at night next time so there’s no need to stay up late... Seeking monthly tickets! Seeking recommendation tickets!