Zhang Yang: "Oh, so the Celtics traded for Garnett, and they might continue to tank afterward, which Garnett is unwilling to do."
Felton: "Yes, Garnett was unwilling to tank even with the Timberwolves, and that was the biggest conflict between him and the team. The Timberwolves wanted to tank this season to get Oden, but Garnett didn’t want to lose on purpose."
Since he’s going to switch teams, he’s even less likely to tank. Plus, I heard he’s unwilling to take the risk of Pierce possibly leaving the Celtics. His refusal to commit to an extension intensified the conflict with the Timberwolves’ management. When Saunders, whom Garnett viewed as a father figure, was fired, Garnett had a conflict with the Timberwolves’ management, and now the conflict has escalated..."
As Zhang Yang listened to Big Fatty’s conversation veering into gossip, his attention wandered. These matters should be acknowledged with a nod.
He looked across the court. The Iron-blooded Wolf King, without a word, was almost as obsessive as that number 24.
In his rookie season, there was no choice. Starting from his sophomore year, Garnett refused to accept playing as a substitute. Since his sophomore year, he never played as a sub again, and insisted he would retire rather than play off the bench when he was close to 40 years old.
Plus, throughout his entire career he never tanked. Even if his teams were awful, he always fought to win every game. Starting from his sophomore year, except for the lockout season, he always managed to win at least 30 games.
This season the Timberwolves are openly tanking. Apart from Garnett, the Timberwolves don’t have a single player earning a ten million US dollar salary this season, which is a first since the start of the new millennium. All the major media outlets had already categorized the Timberwolves as ’Oden contenders’ before the season started, but Garnett led the team to a level of play that suggested they could achieve 35 wins, beating anyone, including ending the Suns’ 17-game winning streak by himself.
But as a result, the team missed out on a high draft pick...
Bickerstaff’s call came, and Zhang Yang dispelled his random thoughts to focus on the coaches giving the last-minute pre-game instructions on the bench.
Missing Gerald Wallace and playing against the Timberwolves still carried some pressure. They couldn’t be careless.
However, considering what Big Fatty had said, Zhang San found that the NBA was becoming even more interesting!
At 7 p.m., the game between the Bobcats and the Timberwolves tipped off!
With one of their front-line defensive big men missing, the Bobcats did a very poor job guarding Garnett tonight.
Garnett played 21 minutes in the first half, hitting 6 of 10 shots, along with 3 of 4 free throws, scoring 15 points, grabbing 6 rebounds, and dishing out 4 assists, leading the Timberwolves to 30 points in the first quarter and 27 in the second.
The Bobcats’ offense was also decent, scoring 29 points in the first quarter and 26 in the second, but they couldn’t suppress the Timberwolves. Zhang Yang was limited in the first half, shooting only 3 of 10.
The absence of Gerald Wallace affected Zhang Yang the most.
Without Gerald Wallace’s mid-range help defense, Garnett’s offense became more comfortable. He had more energy for defense, and without Wallace’s drives compressing the defense, Garnett also defended Zhang Yang better on the mid-range.
Coming back from halftime, Zhang Yang changed his style of play. On the first attack of the third quarter, he ran pick-and-roll with Okafor, charges into the paint with a Euro step to avoid Garnett’s help defense, and scored on a floater while drawing a foul on the Timberwolves’ center Mark Blount, completing a 3-point play and immediately taking the lead!
Without a dominant center in the paint, Garnett’s rim protection was average, which could be seen from Okafor smoothly scoring 16 points and grabbing 8 rebounds on 7 of 11 shooting in the first half.
Zhang Yang didn’t play this way in the first half because Coach Bickerstaff held him back. This style of play was more physically demanding, and since they could maintain the score with team offense in the first half, there was no need for pointless exhaustion. Zhang Yang could just be responsible for taking shots when needed, which would allow him to absorb shot attempts that his teammates couldn’t handle, and it conserved energy too.
As Zhang Yang opened up the offense with pick-and-roll attacks, both Felton and the substitute Jumaine Jones started hitting threes.
Zhang Yang shot 4 of 6 in the third quarter, scoring 10 points and dishing out 2 assists. Together with Felton’s 6 points, Okafor’s 3 points, Jumaine Jones’ 5 points, and Rondo, who rotated in scoring 2 points... the Bobcats continued their first-half offensive firepower, scoring 26 points in a single quarter!
The Timberwolves, however, fell apart during the crucial third quarter. No one could step up to relieve the pressure on Garnett.
Mike James, who averaged 20 points per game the previous season, looked completely different this season, having gained weight. At 31 years old and earning a 6 million US dollar salary, he seemed to have lost his drive.
Ricky Davis did have the energy, but he only managed 4 points on 2 of 7 shooting in one quarter; it might have been better if he hadn’t bothered.
The Timberwolves only scored 20 points in the third quarter, allowing the Bobcats to overtake them with a 4-point lead at 81-77 going into the final quarter.
In the last quarter, Zhang Yang continued his third-quarter performance. Within 7 minutes after entering the game in the 4th minute, he shot 2 of 3 and made 3 of 4 free throws, contributing 7 points and an assist. This helped his team to outscore the Timberwolves 23-21, suppressing Garnett’s attempt at a comeback.
At 9:23 p.m., the final buzzer sounded.
Garnett, scoring a game-high with 11 of 21 shots and 5 of 7 free throws, amassed 27 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block, yet the Timberwolves still lost.
Okafor held up the team’s offense in the first half, finishing the game with 9 of 16 shooting for 23 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 blocks, the best performance on the team.
Zhang Yang, shooting 9 of 19 overall with 2 of 6 threes and 4 of 5 free throws, scored 24 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and added 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Although it wasn’t a high-scoring game, 17 of those points came in the second half when the Bobcats needed him to score on his own.
Felton, making 6 of 12 shots including 4 of 7 threes and 3 of 5 free throws, scored 19 points and had 9 assists, also putting on a stellar performance.
Together with Rondo, who played 27 minutes off the bench contributing 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, and Millsap who shot 4 of 9 for 10 points and 6 rebounds... The Bobcats had five players scoring in double figures, narrowly beating the Timberwolves 104-98!
Watching the Bobcats play with organized defense and clear offensive priorities and strategies, Garnett, who played 21 minutes in the first half and 22 in the second, felt envious and resentful!