But when it was crunch time and Rasheed Wallace needed to step up and relieve the pressure, he failed to sink his open three-point shots, wasting Hamilton’s 31 points and Billups’s 22 points.
Tianzun saw the fans’ evaluation of his performance: "The children of Xia Village mock me for being old and weak!"
On the afternoon of the 2nd, the Bobcats returned to Charlotte.
During the playoffs, it was either meetings or training. Today was no different. Back in Charlotte, the players with a tactical mind were called to the arena for a meeting.
Zhang Yang found the recent nerve-racking days to be quite sweet, and if possible, he hoped to still be in the playoffs at this time every year, enduring even longer periods of tension.
After Game 3, the meeting’s content shifted to — which opportunities we seized well last game that we need to grab next time, and which opportunities we missed that require more practice.
Since Game 2, their style of play had been set in stone: to charge forth relentlessly!
Carlisle continued to enter his "scumbag mode," responding when asked but keeping quiet otherwise, avoiding influencing Bickerstaff’s coaching.
This road trip once again let him experience just how wild Bickerstaff’s methods were.
If it were him, he might not have dared to continue playing that way after losing Game 3. It was completely a gambler’s approach, yet it somehow led to victory!
He couldn’t learn it; absolutely not. Carlisle considered that next season he definitely had to coax... no, persuade Bickerstaff to take a position as an assistant coach or a consultant for the coaching staff.
He didn’t have to help during the regular season, but come playoffs, he needed to chip in with some advice.
He might not adopt it, but there would undoubtedly be aspects worth considering.
As for now, he wasn’t the head coach yet, so he could continue being the tactical answer-man — a jack-of-all-trades.
That evening, Zhang Yang watched the Western Conference Finals Game 4 live... It was quite interesting. As soon as Duncan returned, Parker, who had only shot 4 for 12 and scored 12 points with 7 assists last game, instantly perked up, shooting 7 for 13 and getting 21 points with 10 assists. Although he couldn’t guard the hefty Del well, he exploded offensively against the other team.
Together with the routinely excellent Duncan, who scored 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and blocked 3 shots, the Spurs beat the Jazz Team 109 to 90, leading the series with a large score of 3 to 1 and reaching match point.
Ginobili only played 17 minutes tonight, not even having the chance to unleash his full power, making 3 of 6 shots to score 8 points, and clocking out after three quarters.
Duncan’s performance influenced Zhang Yang. The next morning, he arrived early at the arena to do extra practices...
The two rest days flew by quickly, and on the 4th of June, the Eastern Conference’s fifth game day arrived. The Bobcats faced off against the Pistons at home for the pivotal battle.
By this stage of the game, the two teams’ strategies were clear.
Bickerstaff had no choice but to continue with an extreme strategy to maximize the reduction of the difference in team structure and game experience.
Saunders had to focus on team offense to circumvent the drawback of the "Four Tigers" scoring abilities not being on par with the "Four Youngsters."
Zhang Yang played even more purely tonight, shooting, shooting, and shooting, damn it, just shooting!
He left the defense to his teammates, merely following Prince or Delfino on the wing with his hands on his hips. Of course, he would still collapse inside when needed, conserving his energy for the offensive, leveraging his teammates’ scoring threats to maximize his output.
In the first quarter, he played 7 minutes and got 5 points; in the second quarter, 8 minutes for 6 points; he played the entire second half and got 23 points; totalling 39 minutes of play, 27 shots made 13, including 2 of 6 three-pointers, plus 6 of 8 free throws, scoring 34 points, with 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
Okafor solidly grabbed 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Gerald Wallace scored 17 points, Felton 13 points with 5 rebounds and 9 assists, Millsap 10 points and 8 rebounds...
The four scored a combined 82 points, leading the team to a total of 100 points in the game.
On the Pistons side, Hamilton scored 27 points, Billups 21 points with 6 assists, Rasheed Wallace 13 points and 7 rebounds, Webber 14 points with 7 rebounds and 5 assists, Lynch Hunter 12 points, Prince 10 points...
to 100, the Pistons narrowly defeated the Bobcats away by 8 points, winning the pivotal battle and once again seizing the home-court advantage!
The Bobcats’ "Four Youngsters" couldn’t outshoot the Pistons. Billups and Webber connected well offensively, demonstrating a wild performance with six players scoring double digits.
At the post-game press conference, Bickerstaff heaped praise on Saunders: "Philip is outstanding. Even when forced to play offensively, he is capable of making extremely effective adjustments every game, rendering all my defensive preparations useless. I think he’s the best basketball coach."
Saunders returned the compliment: "Bernie is even more remarkable. He has brought out amazing fighting spirit in a group of young players aged 18 to 24. If it were me, I couldn’t have done it as well as he has. He’s one of the greatest coaches in history..."
After the game, the two head coaches exchanged compliments, much to the amusement of bystanders and fans.
The mutual admiration didn’t come off as commercial flattery, but more like a ’ploy off the court.’
Attributing the players’ performance to the opposing coach.
Many fans felt sympathy for Saunders.
The coach always appeared distant, serious, confident, and rarely smiling, with a strong sense of ceremony, always appearing in various suits with a ramrod posture, even earning endorsements from suit brands thanks to his personal charisma and charm.
Fans remembered that after Game 1, Saunders confidently declared that everything was under his control.
After Game 2, Saunders said that securing an away game advantage was in his control.
After Game 3, Saunders remarked that the Eastern Conference Finals weren’t over yet, that even at 2 to 1, they were facing tough times.
After Game 4, he stated he was ready to fight to the last game...