Zhang Yang didn’t continue to lead but finished what he had to say in one go.
He took a sip of water, so tired!
After listening to Zhang Yang, Felton felt less anxious.
It was all about the 50% win rate. When he talked about it, he felt it was terrible, but after hearing Zhang Yang, he thought a 50% win rate was brilliant!
He realized he had been overthinking. Reflecting back, they were predicted to win just 20 games at the start of the season, but now they had won more than 30 games. What was there to be anxious about?
Felton exclaimed, "Jack, I really envy you, always so composed."
Zhang Yang said, "You’re different, you’re the leader, you need to always be at the forefront, transmitting positive energy to the teammates. If everyone is calm, who will lead the team?"
After hearing this, Felton straightened up, right, he was the different one!
But really, Zhang Yang wasn’t always that calm and composed.
His mental fortitude was strong, but not to the point where nothing could shake him.
The fat boss was reckless, the prince hot-blooded, neither were calm types.
Okafor was calm, but he had only learned the composure of his idol, calm, stable, but hadn’t learned to pass these qualities onto his teammates like his idol did.
The others were role players, bench players, and without any experienced veterans in the team, who else could step up if not for Zhang Yang when the fat boss wasn’t composed?
Besides, it really had been the fat boss being too impatient. He recalled after the second game back-to-back loss to the Wizards, some teammates had similar emotions.
Initially, no one really cared about the win rate. Just fight through each game.
But people’s thoughts change with circumstances. When they truly entered the playoff race, regardless of prior thoughts, they started to care about it.
Zhang Yang thought this was a good thing but also that it shouldn’t create too much pressure. They should realize they were already doing very well.
Now that the fat boss had been enlightened, it was almost like the whole team had been enlightened!
In the afternoon, Zhang Yang saw the teammates arrive at the stadium voluntarily for practice. By 2:00 p.m., all teammates had arrived! Even Voskuhl, who was relegated to water duty since Okafor’s return, was there.
He found some issues resolved themselves naturally without worries.
Like worrying about the teammates’ motivation continuity.
After Brevin Knight was traded, some teammates were fighting hard, fearing being left out, hoping to earn more playing time by showing off. But with the addition of Perkins, Gerald Wallace’s improved health, Okafor’s return, and Alan Anderson getting into the rotation for his defense and three-point shooting, those few teammates had already found it hard to vie for more playing time.
But before those few discouraged teammates could feel disheartened, the whole team’s effort gradually got public attention; those feeling the crunch realized that it wasn’t just their team’s management noticing them—other teams might begin to notice them too. Their motivation shifted and continued.
Whoever said it was right, when the team starts winning, everything seems to move in a good direction.
Once all the teammates arrived, Felton gathered them and communicated, ’We are already doing well, we are doing great,’ and as he spoke, he suddenly shouted the slogan "Win Rate Defense!"
Zhang Yang was silently criticizing how Americans love to shout slogans... when he saw his teammates joining in the chant!
What’s going on? Weren’t there quite a few teammates who didn’t understand?
Then he remembered, it was too before the game against Knight. Felton talked for several minutes, and still, a good portion of the teammates didn’t get it, but when Felton shouted ’beat James,’ suddenly everyone understood what they needed to do.
Lesson learned, Zhang Yang realized not every teammate understood plain talk like the fat boss. For those types, slow communication wasn’t as effective as setting a target, having everyone fight together. A slogan was a target.
Of course, communication was still necessary. There were smart people in the team, but that task could be left to the fat boss. He didn’t need to worry.
The next day, March 25, the Bobcats’ 69th game day of the season arrived, hosting the Magic at home.
Today was a pre-scheduled media day, but the number of media present surprised Zhang Yang.
It wasn’t advertised as a nationwide broadcast, was it?
The matchup between Okafor and Howard did attract some attention.
But as the Magic fell out of the playoff contention, the interest in their matchup had significantly diminished.
Upon hearing Zhang Yang’s surprise, Felton said, "Jack, didn’t you watch the news?"
Zhang Yang replied, "From yesterday to now, I haven’t, been busy training. What major event happened?"
Felton said, "Last night Duke was also eliminated, upset by Louisiana State University ranked 11th in their bracket..."
That explained it, Zhang Yang understood immediately.
Since the start of March Madness on the 17th, local support for their Bobcats had diminished somewhat, evident in some empty seats when they played the Pistons.
But when they played the Wizards at home on the 22nd, the venue was packed, because North Carolina had been upset the day before in the round of 32.
Now that Duke was also out, the local fans had only their games to focus on, right? By now, they were also considered an up-and-coming team with potential.
Zhang Yang looked carefully, and indeed, most of the media were from cities in the Carolina region, not many were national-level media.