Bucks General Manager Larry Harris: It’s really not our fault. We’ve tried hard. We saw the issues with the "Painter" early on and traded him for Magloire and a first-round pick.
Over the years, we’ve been trying to develop a core and trade for role players. In ’04, we were over the cap and even paid the luxury tax last season. Who would have thought that after finalizing our roster in ’06, our core players would suffer injuries? This season, with a healthy core, the role players had left, and we no longer had the credentials to pay the tax. It’s tough on us too!
Using the words of former NBA coach and Larry Harris’s father Del Harris: Larry hasn’t done anything wrong these years; he’s simply been unlucky, which led to his failure.
The coach of the Bucks could only worry about his starting lineup.
After the timeout, Bucks on offense, Reed commanding his teammates to move and make runs.
But when Reed saw the fierce look on Mo Williams’s face, he knew trouble was coming and quickly retreated into the paint, ready for the rebound.
On Mo Williams’s side, the expressionless Rondo in front of him really ticked him off!
Step-back feint, crossover feint, all sorts of fakes... Rondo didn’t fall for any of them.
Wary of Rondo’s absurd wingspan and big hands, and with just over a minute left, Mo Williams chose to drive hard... but Rondo stuck close, preventing him from getting airborne.
Driving to the left side of the three-second area, Mo Williams, feeling humiliated, refused to pass and abruptly stopped, taking a close-range jump shot... "Slap"... Zhang Yang went up for the influential block!
Okafor grabbed the defensive rebound but Reed, fighting hard, knocked it out of bounds.
Reed had put in a good effort but could only prevent a fast break, failing to snatch the offensive rebound among the big men.
The ball went out of bounds, and Carlisle immediately substituted Felton for Rondo to increase long-range shooting, with Hill on the court, having an additional three-point shooter was more useful than another playmaker.
Bobcats inbounding from the baseline, Felton taking the ball and advancing into the frontcourt despite Mo Williams’s pressure.
Zhang Yang continues to ask for the ball from the high post.
In a crucial moment, after being blocked, the Bucks players grew agitated, including Reed...
Reed, using his strength, moved directly in front of Zhang Yang at the top, making an aggressive move!
No need for eye contact, Zhang Yang immediately made his cut, Felton delivered a stable lob pass, and Zhang Yang caught the ball on the right side of the three-second area with Bogut frantically lunging out.
Okafor quickly pulled out, and as he had guessed, here comes Zhang Yang!
Facing Bogut’s oncoming defense, Zhang Yang unleashed a Euro step, took two steps past Bogut, launched from the restricted arc, and slammed the ball one-handed into the hoop!
minutes and 2 seconds left, the score 111 to 106, the Bobcats extended their lead to 5 points!
Zhang Yang’s basket drained the will the Bucks had maintained for a quarter.
Following Reed’s two wasteful three-point attempts that missed, his personal score was fixed at 43 points and the Bucks’ total score for the game at 106 points.
In the final minutes, the Bobcats got only a put-back from Okafor, with no others scoring.
At 8:24 PM, the final whistle blew.
Reed shot 15 out of 32, including 3 out of 9 from the three-point line, plus 10 out of 12 free throws, scoring a total of 43 points.
But he was outperformed by Felton with 22 points and 5 assists, Rondo with 5 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, Hill with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, Okafor with 10 points and 17 rebounds, Mike Miller with 9 points... and Zhang Yang, who went 18 for 33, including 4 out of 9 from beyond the arc, and 10 out of 11 free throws!
Playing 39 minutes, he scored 50 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, made 1 steal and blocked 3 shots, as Zhang Yang led the Bobcats to a 113 to 106 comeback victory over the Bucks!
Watching Zhang Yang stand up straight and puff out his chest to enjoy the cheers from the home crowd, Carlisle realized his error in judgment... Last season in the playoffs, he thought Bickerstaff was too reckless to let a barely 19-year-old player shoot wildly and without limit, but tonight he truly understood.
It wasn’t that Bickerstaff was bold in letting Zhang Yang play that way; it’s because Zhang Yang is such a player that he could afford to be bold!