Gerald Wallace actually had the best qualities to be a leader. He had risen from the edge of the league to become a top defender and an All-Star, possessing the heart of a leader but lacking the mind of one. Take the incident where Millsap ’betrayed’ him; they played together for most of the season, yet Millsap only learned the aggression, skills, and basketball awareness by figuring it out on his own...
Aside from his age, another reason Zhang Yang was reluctant to proactively discuss these matters was laziness.
Felton spent a considerable amount of time every day communicating with his teammates and even had to take them out on days off... Being a leader was great, but it wasn’t very free.
Moreover, he had to lead by example, which was troublesome. Zhang Yang preferred playing freely. Perhaps one day, he would have to take on the role of the leader, managing more than Felton, but for now, he was still young and wanted to enjoy his freedom.
Under Felton’s leadership, the Bobcat’s players reviewed the game based on the match report sent by Randy Brown.
In the first half, no, even after three quarters, they were no worse than the Pistons; but...
After three quarters, Felton had 18 points, and by the game’s end, he still had 18 points. Okafor was the same, with 18 points in three quarters and 18 points in total.
Gerald Wallace had 14 points in three quarters and managed to get only 4 points from free throws in the last quarter, totaling 18 points.
Rondo had 6 points by halftime and finished the game with 6 points...
If it wasn’t for Zhang Yang taking the ball and consistently scoring and drawing fouls in the last quarter, they might have been decimated!
Rondo, seeing the boss analyzing but unable to conclude, chimed in, "We played very well in many areas tonight, our core players had a significant advantage in their matchups, especially Jack. Since the Pistons lost Ben Wallace, it was tough for them to defend against Jack’s perimeter offense; they could only try to trap him or foul to prevent him from shooting."
The other guys had a terrible shooting performance, after not shooting for a while, even when they got the ball, they couldn’t make it, wasting a lot of opportunities, like in the last quarter, we missed all six open three-point shots."
Felton continued, "This game, we didn’t do well enough as a team, didn’t show cohesion. We need to adjust well for tomorrow’s preparation, but this also shows that we have a lot of room for improvement!"
Rondo was pleased; the boss didn’t disappoint him!
He began to understand why that person had been so patient in pushing the boss to the forefront... he felt the joy of a nurturing game.
This brief game review was very effective, the Bobcat’s players were no longer as mentally explosive as they had been right after losing the game, but their mood had become more complicated.
They felt more pressure but also gained some confidence, feeling despair and unwillingness, yet seeing hope...
After Game 1, the Bobcat’s players were greatly psychologically impacted, reshaping their postseason values between self-doubt and self-affirmation.
Externally, the series between the Bobcats and the Pistons exploded in popularity!
The series drew a lot of attention and had good ratings, but not many held high expectations for the entertainment value of the games.
From the second game of Round 2, the Bobcats entered a fierce defensive battle mode, while the Pistons spent the entire second round defending against the Chicago Bulls... Indeed, many fans paid to watch the live broadcast out of curiosity to see how ugly a match between two ’Bad Boys Legion’ teams could get.
Unexpectedly, the two teams staged a splendid offensive and defensive battle!
Jeff Van Gundy, who had resigned from the Rockets after being prompted by Yao Ming, commented on the game during an interview, "Bickerstaff and Saunders might both be reluctant to proactively engage in a defensive battle. Once defensive mode is triggered, the operable space becomes very limited, likely turning the contest into a struggle over physical endurance and star players’ ability to hit crucial shots.
Bickerstaff fears Billups’s clutch shooting capabilities, and Saunders fears Jack’s as well.
Moreover, a playoff defensive battle is like Pandora’s box; once opened, they no longer control whether they can stop, they also worry if they play defensively and the other side doesn’t follow and instead plays an excellent offense... I’ve had experience with this dilemma when I coached the Knicks and the Rockets.
I think, unless one side determines they definitely can’t win, those two coaches won’t start a defensive battle willingly. The Pistons managed the pace so well this game and only won by 6 points; I believe it’s unlikely that such a scenario will occur.
This will be a thrilling regional final, I’ll be watching the whole series... Make sure to tune in on time to ESPN Sports for the live coverage of the game, I will be commentating throughout..."
After Yao Ming’s ultimatum, the Rockets quickly implemented changes, the first of which was to calm the players and fans by firing the head coach.
After leaving his position, Jeff Van Gundy didn’t rest for long, feeling restless, he took up a job at ESPN.
During the second round ESPN tried having Jeff Van Gundy as a guest commentator, unexpectedly, the former coach, who seemed rigid and lacking adaptability, displayed a strong ability to analyze and predict various strategies during commentary, suggesting many alternative tactics, some even better than those executed in the game... It surprised many.