Chapter 383 382. A group of big guys!
In the evening, the Bulls and the Magic took the lead in opening the second round. This time, Zhang Yang and Felton went to Okafor’s house to watch the live broadcast together.

比赛很激烈，最终分差5分，姚明19投10中，加上6中5的罚球，拿到25分8板1助攻2盖帽，率领公牛队以84比79险胜魔术队。

Felton: “2 steals and 4 blocks. Howard’s defense is getting better and better. I feel like I can see his improvement every once in a while.”

Okafor: “I hate to admit it, but Howard’s defensive talent is as exaggerated as Jack’s offensive talent.”

Zhang Yang: “I’m not that great… (Crayon Shin-chan scratches his head and laughs)”

Okafor: “…”

Zhang Yang: “Ahem, Howard was crouching under the basket by himself. In addition to being unable to defend Yao, he also defended all the other Bulls players who entered the paint. Hinrich made 12 of 3 shots, and 3 shots into the paint missed. He also lost his breakthrough threat because he couldn’t score in the paint. Nelson could focus on his outside shots. When he played pick-and-roll, Lewis, who switched to defend him, could ignore his breakthrough. Deng only made 7 of 2 shots, and both of his shots were three-pointers. Both of his attacks on the basket were blocked. Wallace didn’t even attack again after grabbing an offensive rebound. Howard’s dominance under the basket is really strong!”

How come these two people both boost others’ morale? Felton said, “But Howard couldn’t beat Yao at all. He only made 10 of 2 shots and 7 of 3 free throws. He only got 7 points and couldn’t get rebounds. He couldn’t get around Yao blocking him. He only got 9 rebounds and only 1 offensive rebound. He had no rebounding guarantee. The Magic team’s outside shots decreased and they didn’t dare to shoot. His scoring and rebounding were worse than usual, and the Magic team’s offense was also bad.”

Okafor: “Yao has always restrained Howard and has always defended him well, but it is rare to see such an exaggeration as this time. It is because the scale of referees has become looser in the playoffs, and there is also the help of Wallace. The way he and Wallace cooperated to defend Howard is worth learning for Kendrick and me.”

Felton: “Emeka, are you going to say…”

Okafor: “The Magic’s core players are as young as us, plus Turkoglu and Lewis in their prime, they will definitely be a strong opponent for us in the championship in the next few years!”

Felton said angrily: “I really want to refute you, but the Magic are really hard to deal with. They will be even stronger in the future. The Bulls, Hawks, Magic, and James and Wade’s teams may also rise. How come there are so many potential teams suddenly emerging in the East?”

Zhang Yang comforted them by saying, “In the past few years, most of the high draft picks were in the East. For example, in the year of Emeka, the top three picks, Howard, Emeka, and Gordon, were all in the East. Since 2000, except for Yao and Oden, the other six first picks, Martin, Brown, James, Howard, Bogut, and Bargnani, were all in the East. It’s normal to have many teams with strong potential. The probability of only these teams rising is already very low. Even so, the competition environment in the East is already very relaxed. Just look at the West, it’s really exaggerated.”

Felton thought and muttered: “The Lakers, Kidd, Bryant, Garnett;

The Spurs, Duncan, Ginobili, Bowen, Conley and Gay are also good;

The Hornets, Paul, Stojakovic, West, Chandler is okay, after the Hornets were eliminated, the news said he was going to be traded;

Jazz, Williams, Boozer, Kirilenko;
The Suns, Nash, Stoudemire, and originally Marion, Bell, although I hate him, but his defense and three-point shooting are really good;
The Mavericks have Nowitzki, Terry, Howard, Harris, Dampier… The Warriors have Artest, Davis, Ellis, Jackson… Both teams have many capable players;

The Nuggets have Iverson, Allen, Anthony, Martin, and if Nene can recover from his illness, he will also be a strong inside player;
The Grizzlies, Parker, Wallace, Gasol, just because the role players are a little bit poor, they can’t make the playoffs even if they win 50 games…

It’s better to be in the East! There are only a few opponents! “

Okafor was speechless. It was hard to describe his boss’s ability other than being a boss.

…

The next day, May 5, at 7:8 p.m., at the Turkish Airlines Arena, the Pistons were the first to enter the court, and the crowd was filled with boos.

This is the third consecutive year that the Bobcats have met the Pistons in the playoffs. After three seasons, Zhang Yang can clearly feel the change in the fans’ attitudes. The fans of their Bobcats team and the fans of the opposing Pistons team have become sworn enemies.

Players will influence fans. For example, when he was fouled by Raja Bell, local fans hated Raja Bell and the Suns to the extreme.

The same is true in reverse. Influenced by the fans, every time Zhang Yang and his teammates meet the Pistons on the court, they want to defeat the opponent more than the last time, both for their own face and for the face of the fans who support them.

With the bond of the three “North Carolina legends” Zhang San, Xiao Fei and Tian Zun, most of the players on the two teams have a good personal relationship, but when they are on the court, they are enemies.

At 9 o’clock in the evening, the game began. Rasheed Wallace narrowly defeated Okafor in a jump ball and the Pistons attacked first.

The Pistons sent out a starting lineup of Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace.

The Bobcats sent out the starting combination of Felton, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Okafor and Brad Miller.

Billups advanced to the frontcourt, facing Zhang Yang’s defense, and took advantage of the screen to shoot a three-pointer at Okafor… and it hit!
In the offense and defense transition, Zhang Yang ran, cut back and received the pass from Okafor, but was blocked by Rasheed Wallace and Prince when he got close. The ball was passed to the other side of the baseline, and Brad Miller received the ball and shot from mid-range…also went in!
Hamilton then ran away from Felton, received the ball, turned around and made a mid-range shot, but missed. Brad Miller protected the defensive rebound and passed the ball to Zhang Yang as soon as he landed. Zhang Yang held the ball and counterattacked one against two, grabbed the ball at close range, squeezed Billups and Hamilton and forced a jump shot… He was lucky, the ball hit the rim and bounced into the frame.

Looking back, Hamilton ran to receive the ball and attracted the backup defense before passing the ball directly to the inside. Rasheed Wallace faced Brown’s Mike Miller and made a high jump shot…leading 5-4!

The two teams have rich experience in playing against each other, and they got into the game directly from the start with no adaptation period.

Like the past two seasons, the duo of Billups and Hamilton were more reckless in the playoffs than in the regular season. The former threw the ball as soon as he saw an opportunity, while the latter caught the ball and threw it again when his opponents could not keep up with him.

Prince is quite good at catching three-pointers, long two-pointers, and attacking the basket;

McDyess is a top 2D player. This season, his long two-point shooting percentage is an exaggerated 47.4%. He averages 2.5 goals per game and his shooting percentage at the basket is 68.6%.

Tianzun’s ball-handling offense has basically regressed to nothing, but his skills in scoring are getting better and better every year. This season, his two-point shooting percentage is 46%, mid-range shooting percentage is 45%, close-range shooting percentage is 39%, and under the basket shooting percentage is 66%. His scoring style is a bit like Duncan. He doesn’t jump if he can rely on his height and wingspan to ensure shooting stability.

With two guns and these two players, the Bobcats’ current defense is really unstoppable.

However, the Bobcats’ offense, judging from tactical coordination alone, is better than the four times they played against the Pistons in the regular season!
In the regular season, the Bobcats had a record of 1 win and 3 losses against the Pistons. After the Bulls secured first place in the Eastern Conference, Carlisle began to study the videos of those four games repeatedly. He watched them dozens of times in more than a month and made highly targeted adjustments to the offensive tactics.

The Pistons have fast rotations, high intensity of confrontation, and a strong ability to cut off passes. In his third year as coach of the Pistons, Philip Saunders made adjustments to the defensive system created by two generations of head coaches, Carlisle and Larry Brown, and tuned the defensive system to an almost perfect level. In terms of defensive coordination, it is difficult to find fault with it.

If there is any flaw, it is that the Pistons could not afford to pay and let Ben go. If not, the Pistons’ defense this season might be even more terrifying than when they won 05 games in the 06-64 season.

The 08 champion Celtics in the original time and space, after experiencing the running-in in the first two rounds, were at their peak in the Eastern Conference Finals. They played 6 games against the Pistons before winning. The Pistons’ second lineup was even weaker, and in Game 6, they relied on Pierce’s extremely high hit rate of 12 of 8 shots and 13 of 10 free throws, and their lethality to defeat the Pistons 89 to 81. Without Pierce’s outbreak, the Eastern Conference Finals would have dragged on to a seventh game, and it would have been hard to say who would be the final champion. At that time, the media generally believed that the strength shown by the Pistons against the Celtics was stronger than that of the Lakers. The Lakers lost by a full 6 points in Game 39 and were defeated.

In the regular season, the Bobcats won the game because Philip Saunders confidently executed predictive defense. As a result, the more adjustments he made, the more mistakes he made. In the second game of the back-to-back game, Philip Saunders gave up the idea of ​​taking shortcuts and playing with predictions. He was pragmatic, relied on his brain to respond on the spot, and won the game with overall strength. In that game, he proved that their team defense can still play a restraining role for the Bobcats after their tactical adjustments.

This can be considered as a pit that Carlisle dug for himself now. It was his first time as a head coach and he was not afraid of anything. He strived for perfection when building the defensive system, but ended up making things difficult for others.

After determining that it was difficult to create good scoring opportunities for Zhang Yang by relying on tactics, Carlisle thought from a different perspective. He took the initiative to put Zhang Yang into a double-team and let Zhang Yang serve as the first receiving point in the tactics. It was up to Zhang Yang to decide whether to pass or shoot, that is, to make Zhang Yang the core of the tactics.

Okafor and Brad Miller moved actively, and when McDyess or Tianzun went to double-team and help defend Zhang Yang, they were ready to receive the shot. If Zhang Yang passed the ball, they shot decisively.

Mike Miller takes the defender to the three-point line close to the two players. If Hamilton goes to make up for the defense, the twin towers can also pass the ball to Mike Miller.

This style of play tests the positioning, shooting, and passing of the inside players. Okafor and Brad Miller played well at the start tonight, helping to relieve a lot of pressure on Zhang Yang, who was the tactical core tonight.

Halfway through the first quarter, Felton received a pass from Mike Meek in the right corner at a 45-degree angle on the right side and hit a three-pointer, stopping the Pistons. The score was 14 to 13, and the Bobcats overtook by 1 point and entered the official timeout!
Philip Saunders looked at Zhang Yang’s performance of 4 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists in half a quarter and made a sound of admiration. He is truly a genius!

As a scorer, he has no tactical skills, but has the ability to average 25+ points per game and has system support. After Kobe withdrew from the competition for the scoring title, he was able to win the scoring title. As a tactical core, he also played very well. He was not greedy for data, and he passed the ball decisively, allowing his teammates to have better opportunities to pass the ball again.

He couldn’t help but feel a little regretful – if he had known earlier, he should have resigned and joined the Bobcats, then he wouldn’t have been kicked out by the refrigerator to take over.

After Bickerstaff was invited by Jordan to become the general manager of the Bobcats in 04, he had no intention of becoming a head coach. He had recruited a head coach, but the Bobcats were just established at the time and had nothing. The team was bound to be in a slump. No outstanding coach was willing to go, and he looked down on coaches who gave up. In the end, he had to take over himself.

It’s too late to regret. Philip Saunders knows he has no chance. In his opinion, Carlisle is no worse than him. As for the defensive foundation that Carlisle left for the Pistons, he may not be able to build it as well even if he comes.

It seemed that both teams scored low points because both teams played a slow-paced positional offense and did a good job defending against counterattacks. Only Zhang Yang of the Bobcats launched a counterattack at the beginning of the game, and he missed two counterattack opportunities in the next few minutes. The Pistons did not score a single counterattack in half a quarter.

During the official timeout, Carlisle sent out a combination of Tyronn Lue, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Millsap and Okafor.

Questioning Van Gundy, understanding Van Gundy, becoming Van Gundy…When encountering a truly strong opponent in the playoffs, Carlisle would rather use Coach Lu than the great Jack.

Last year, when he was watching the Bobcats play in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Finals as a consultant, he felt a headache when he saw Jarrett Jack on the court. This master of chaos and combat can only be a fixed shooter when playing without the ball, which is a huge drag on the integrity of the tactics. Facing the defense of the Pistons and Spurs, his hit rate of just over 30% is really touching.

It would be better to let Tyronn Lue take over and help Felton create a few minutes of rest time. Most of his shots are missed anyway. At least Tyronn Lue is not a hindrance in tactical execution, his passing is better, and he has a certain ability to command the court. He can help Zhang Yang, who is the tactical core tonight, share some of the command pressure.

On the other side, Philip Saunders sent out a combination of Billups, Ronald Murray, Prince, McDyess and Noah.

After the timeout, the Bobcats launched a fierce attack, trying to gain an advantage, but to no avail.

To reverse the Pistons last season, the Bobcats relied on two things: one was a battle of physical attrition, and the other was a fierce attack to gain an advantage when they entered the rotation phase and Rasheed Wallace was resting.

But now the Pistons have Noah. Noah is definitely not as good as Rasheed Wallace, but he is enough for the second lineup. The Pistons have the continuity of inside defense that they did not have in the past two seasons!
Another thing is that the Bobcats’ inside impact has declined. Although Zhang Yang and Millsap’s ability to attack the basket has improved compared to last season, they are still far behind Gerald Wallace, who is one of the league’s top impact forwards.

The Pistons held on to the score tightly and severely dampened the Bobcats’ spirit. At the end of the first quarter, Hamilton and Billups, who returned to the game, scored three goals in a row, one of which was a three-pointer. Felton, who returned to the game with Alan Anderson, also made a three-pointer during this period, but no one else scored. At the end of the quarter, the Bobcats were beaten 3 to 1 by the Pistons’ double guns.

After the first quarter, the Pistons overtook the Bobcats by 31 points with a score of 27 to 4 and entered the intermission!
After the intermission, the Bobcats regrouped and launched another fierce attack. The whole team did not consider responding on the defensive end. They did not have the conditions at the moment, so they attacked!
Zhang Yang started the second quarter with a one-on-one play. Facing the top-arc defense of the Pistons’ backup small forward Jarvis Hayes, he pulled sideways and made a three-pointer, increasing his personal score to 10 points and narrowing the score to 30-31, keeping the score close.

Zhang Yang increased his shot ratio, preferring to shoot whether he was playing one-on-one or running and receiving the ball. He has been in good form recently, and this adjustment had an immediate effect on the Bobcats’ offense. Both teams’ overall offense declined in the second quarter due to confrontation and physical exhaustion, but the Bobcats’ scoring did not decline significantly, all because Zhang Yang increased his shots.

Carlisle was very satisfied with this independent response. He couldn’t think about the future at this moment and had to take care of the present first.

At the last moment of the first half, the score was 53 to 55, with the Bobcats trailing by 2 points. The score in this quarter was 26 to 24, with the Bobcats winning by two points!

When the Pistons attacked, Maxiell received the ball and flew for a layup, but was slapped down by Okafor who came back from the free throw line. Looking back, Felton took up the burden again at the last moment and hit a three-pointer with a step back!

At the end of the first half, the Bobcats overtook the Pistons by 56 point with a score of 55 to 1!
第二节张杨打满整节，6投3中，其中三分球2中1，加上2中2的罚球，拿到9分，半场17分3板6助攻1抢断！

Felton played for 19 minutes in the first half, making 8 of 3 shots, including 5 of 2 three-pointers. His overall shooting performance was poor, but both three-pointers were crucial. The three-pointer at the end of the first quarter prevented the Bobcats from falling behind by more than 5 points in the first quarter, and the three-pointer at the end of the second quarter helped the Bobcats overtake the score!

However, after returning from the halftime break, the Pistons started the third quarter with a 12-6 run, overtaking the Bobcats by 67 points with a score of 62-5 and stopping the Bobcats!
During this period, the Bobcats made two goals in five shots, one three-pointer and one 5+2, which was not bad, but Hamilton, Prince and Rasheed Wallace scored consecutively, two three-pointers and three long two-pointers, scoring five goals in a row, which dealt a fierce blow to the Bobcats.

Carlisle called a timeout to adjust the playing style, letting Zhang Yang, Felton and Okafor start!
In the second quarter, they were able to lower the Pistons’ score, a full 7 points lower than in the first quarter. This was because the Pistons were affected by the confrontation and physical strength, and their mid-range shots were inaccurate. They were able to block three-pointers and the basket more boldly. When the Pistons’ several players with accurate two-point shooting regained their touch after the halftime break, they could no longer defend against them, so they had to fight!

After the timeout, Zhang Yang took the lead, breaking into the paint and making a layup that hit the backboard.

Immediately afterwards, Billups hit a quick stop and mid-range shot to retaliate.

When the Bobcats attacked, Zhang Yang played another fake pass. When he broke into the elbow area, he grabbed the ball and tried to pass it to Okafor at close range on the left side. But when McDyess under the basket made a move to the left sideline of the three-second zone, Zhang Yang started the European step, took two steps in a row to shake off Prince and Rasheed Wallace, and made a layup under the basket.

Looking back, Billups also broke into the inside and scored two points.

The score was 71 to 66, and the two waves fought for two rounds, and the game was evenly matched!

Zhang Yang is young, has many ideas, and dares to think and act. Billups is reckless by instinct. Although he lacks the sharpness of young players, he has more experience and is better at seizing opportunities than Zhang Yang.

After the two scored two goals in a row, they encountered tighter double-teaming from the opponent. They both decisively switched their playing style, launching attacks with singles and playing team cooperation.

In the last half quarter, both teams were very efficient on offense. In 6 minutes and 47 seconds, the Pistons and Bobcats were tied at 17 to 18.

After three quarters, the Pistons led the Bobcats by 88 points, 84 to 4, and entered the final quarter!
After the intermission, in the final quarter, the Bobcats finally took control of the initiative and pressed the Pistons on the court.

In the third quarter, although the burden of both teams was mainly on the stars, the role players were also under great pressure. They needed to move actively and seize the opportunities to pass the ball. The role players of the Bobcats had to deal with the Pistons’ super rotation defense, and the Pistons players also had to deal with the Bobcats’ rough defensive confrontation.

In the final quarter, the team could only rely on the stars to score. At this time, the trio of Felton, Zhang Yang, and Okafor firmly suppressed the duo of Billups and Hamilton!
At 10 minutes and 47 seconds in the final quarter, Okafor received the ball in the low post, turned around and made a layup, the score came to 105 to 104. The Bobcats overtook the Pistons by 1 point, and the score of this quarter came to 21 to 16!

Just as the Bobcats were preparing to press on, Billups stepped up and hit a long three-pointer from the top of the arc, and the Pistons regained a two-point lead at 107-105.

Looking back, Mike Miller received the ball from the sideline and missed a three-pointer. When the Pistons were attacking, Hamilton made a three-pointer after a long run, making the score 110 to 105. The Pistons took a 5-point lead at the critical moment!
At 11 minutes and 27 seconds, with 33 seconds left in the game, the Bobcats called a timeout.

After the timeout, Zhang Yang received the ball at the top of the arc. His teammates moved to their positions. Facing Prince’s defense, he did not wait for his teammates to get into position. He suddenly started, faked a breakthrough, stepped back and shot, and took a three-pointer in the style of Little Fatty…

After a two-minute break in the first quarter, Zhang Yang did not rest for the next three quarters. He was almost exhausted at this time, but at the critical moment, he still wanted to do it himself. As long as this ball went in and the next ball was blocked, he would “reappear as a killer” at the last moment! But unfortunately…

This ball is iron!

Rasheed Wallace blocked Okafor, Noah protected the defensive rebound, and the Bobcats failed to grab the ball and could only commit a tactical foul.

Although Noah missed both of his free throws, when the Bobcats attacked, Zhang Yang was double-teamed by Prince and Hamilton when he received the ball at the top of the arc.

At this time, Zhang Yang was no longer able to fight a one-on-two shot, so he passed the ball to Mike Miller who ran to the right at a 45-degree angle. Mike Miller took the ball and shot a three-pointer…very decisive, but it didn’t go in. This time, after Rasheed Wallace grabbed the defensive rebound, the Bobcats did not foul again, and the Pistons did not continue to attack, and the game was over.

Billups and Hamilton resisted the pressure for a whole quarter, holding the score tightly and not giving the Bobcats a clear advantage. They broke out at the last moment and scored 6 points in a row…

汉密尔顿今晚20投9中，其中三分球7中4，加上5中4的罚球，拿到26分3板4助攻。

比卢普斯20投8中，其中三分球9中5，加上4中4的罚球，拿到25分2板7助攻。

加上拉希德-华莱士的15分7板3助攻、麦克戴斯的13分6板、诺阿的4分10板4助攻、普林斯的13分4板3助攻、杜德利的7分1助攻、林奇-亨特3分2助攻、马克希尔4分4板……

110 to 105, the Pistons defeated the Bobcats away and took the home-court advantage right from the start!
…

Losing the first game was a critical blow to the Bobcats players.

Although they were criticized before the second round began – the Bobcats’ offensive basketball was not strong enough in the playoffs, the Pistons had a clear advantage in the regular season, the Bobcats lacked the impact under the basket and could not break the Pistons’ team defense, and although their record was better than the Pistons, it was mainly due to three long winning streaks at the beginning and the end of the season…

But as the defending champions and a team with 61 wins, they did not lose confidence because of the bad news. Instead, they kept encouraging themselves and faced the Pistons with high morale.

But the facts have proved that morale alone is not enough.

Fortunately, after three years of leadership by Felton, assistance by Zhang Yang and stability by Okafor, the Bobcats have become a resilient team and are not so easily defeated.

On the next day, Carlisle arranged to rest in the morning and prepare for battle in the afternoon.

But at 10 o’clock in the morning, the members of the Boss Gang, led by Felton, actively started a review discussion.

Okafor started to talk a lot at this time – unpleasant words.

“If we exclude the 13-game winning streak at the start, the 17-game winning streak at the end of the season, and the last two games with rest, our record in the other 1 games is 49 wins and 31 losses, which is at the level of 18 wins. Of course, we are definitely stronger than this. By the end of the season, we had made great progress compared to the middle of the season, which allowed us to win 50 and 8 games in a row…”

Okafor first brought up the problems that were covered up by the record. If they had won, he would not have said these things. In the end, when they won, the covered-up problems would be as if they had never appeared. But now that they lost, they even lost the home advantage.

After Okafor said the unpleasant words, he gave the boss a look.

Felton began to say something nice: “Yes, we have made great progress later on, we have been improving and growing all the time, this is our advantage.

Looking at all the 60-win teams in NBA history, our process of getting 61 wins is very special and unique.

In NBA history, there are only two teams that started out with the same performance as us, the Mavericks and the Rockets. After their explosive start, they also faced a collapse in the middle of the season like us, and they collapsed all the way to the end of the regular season, and neither of them won 60 games. So we are very special. We must clearly recognize our shortcomings, but we must also maintain the confidence we should have! ”

Zhang Yang… clapped his hands. The little fat boss was talking more and more like Zhang San…

After the good cop and the bad cop roles were played, the members of the Boss Gang officially entered the review mode, starting with analyzing the data.

张杨首节7分4助攻、第二节9分2助攻、第三节8分3助攻、末节7分1助攻，全场打了46分钟，26投12中，其中三分球10中3，加上7中5的罚球，拿到32分6板10助攻2抢断。

费尔顿18投7中，其中三分球10中4，加上3中3的罚球，拿到21分2板5助攻。

奥卡福17投9中，加上5中2的罚球，拿到20分13板2助攻2盖帽。

Hill pointed to the data on the projection screen and said: “Our three core players did a good job last night. Emeka was responsible for basic scoring. He performed well in mid-range shooting, attacking the basket, and second offense. Free throws need attention, but there were not many free throws last night, so it didn’t have much impact.

Raymond’s shooting performance in the interior was not good enough, but his three-point shooting was excellent and he made the key goal.

Jack’s performance was impeccable. The fact that he missed the crucial shot in the end was not really his fault. He almost played the entire game. The reason why he played the entire game was our fault.

Other than those three, we only had Brad score in double figures last night…”

布拉德-米勒，7投4中，其中三分球1中1，加上2中2的罚球，拿到11分6板3助攻。

Zhang Yang expressed a different view: “The shooting performance of others was not bad from the beginning. In the first quarter and most of the second quarter, our overall offense was very good. The obvious decline occurred in the third quarter. After the shooting rights were concentrated in the three of us, the others did not necessarily receive the ball after actively running. Their physical strength declined and they did not receive the ball. Their touch also declined faster. Mike only made 9 of 2 shots last night. We who pass the ball also have to bear a lot of responsibility.”

Hill: “Yes, that’s right, that’s what I was going to say. This is our biggest problem when facing the Pistons’ defensive system. The Pistons have done a better job in this regard in the playoffs.”

Brad Miller rarely spoke: “I think this situation happened because we were too concerned about controlling the turnover rate. That is very important, but I think we can be bolder. Of course, we can’t blindly increase the movement of the ball without restraint. We are very different from that Kings team. We have better depth, but we don’t have so many top players. We have to consider that many players still can’t receive the kind of passes that require basketball IQ. We have to base it on tactics.”

Seeing that Zhang Yang, Okafor, and Hill all agreed with this statement, Felton responded, “This is a good suggestion. Brad, you can take the initiative to bring it up to the coaching staff at the team preparation meeting this afternoon.”

Brad Miller: “Ah? No… No need, Raymond, just you say it.”

The Rust Belt Big White Bear looked so embarrassed that the other members of the Boss Gang couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The Big White Bear didn’t even know where to put his hands.

This little episode made the atmosphere of the meeting much more relaxed.

Everyone began to actively put forward ideas and then discussed which ones were worth providing suggestions to the coaching staff.

We also discussed some unexpected situations we encountered last night and how to deal with them if they happen again…

At the afternoon preparation meeting, Carlisle saw the members of the Boss Gang speaking enthusiastically, and the pressure on him, who had lost some hair roots, was relieved a lot.

After coaching the Bobcats for a year, he often regretted why he opened the door to Bald Joe last year and embarked on this “road of no return”, but he had no intention of quitting at all.

The positive and invincible spirit of the Bobcats led by Felton is one of the reasons!

…

On May 5th, at 9 pm, the second game of the series between the Bobcats and the Pistons started.

The two teams continued to fight fiercely from the start.

Seeing the Bobcats players playing harder and more aggressively, but not lacking in calmness, Billups did not feel any regrets. He appreciated such opponents even more! He enjoyed the game with the Bobcats very much.

This has to do with the mentality of the Pistons’ four core players—they are the champions!
Although they have already won the championship, they have not lost their dreams or fighting spirit because of winning the championship, but when looking at their opponents, they should be more open-minded and more willing to acknowledge their opponents’ strengths.

The three core players of the Bobcats were able to withstand the pressure of losing the first game and calmly lead the team in analysis and preparation, also because they are the champions.

This is why championship-contending teams that have no championship experience are obsessed with veterans who have championship experience.

Facing the Pistons’ strong and highly targeted rotation defense, the Bobcats increased ball movement tonight and passed the ball more decisively. Although they made more mistakes than in the previous game, they still caught the Pistons off guard.

Mike Miller, Alan Anderson and Hill, the three players who executed mid-range and long-range shots on the wing, had obviously better chances than in the previous game.

On the defensive end, the Bobcats captain did a better job of blocking two-point shots, but because of the effort to block the long two-point shot, the Pistons were left with more open three-point shots and cutting opportunities. The three-point defense was relatively poor, and the pressure on the inside rim protection increased. But that’s defense. Unless there is a Howard under the basket, or a Garnett in the medium and short distances, it is impossible to take into account both mid-range shots and three-pointers.

Compared to the Bobcats who made very clear adjustments, the Pistons’ opening style of play was no different from the previous game. They were the winner. Facing the Bobcats, predictive adjustments were not advisable. Philip Saunders chose to continue with the previous game’s style of play and respond on the spot.

In the first quarter, the Bobcats trailed the Pistons by two points at 25 to 27. In the second quarter, the Bobcats tied the score at 26 to 24. At the end of the half, the two teams were tied at 51!
The situation looks similar to the previous game, and the Bobcats still haven’t gained an advantage, but there is no need for a detailed analysis. Just compare the Bobcats’ stats in the first half of the two games and you will know the difference.

In the last game, Zhang Yang, Felton and Okafor scored a total of 73 points, while the rest of the team scored less than half of that, only 32 points. The Pistons used team defense, forcing the Bobcats to play the same style as they did in last year’s playoffs, with all the points concentrated on the three core players.

Tonight, the scoring percentage of the three players in the first half dropped significantly, and Zhang Yang’s half-time playing time also dropped from 22 minutes in the previous game to 19 minutes!

The 3-minute break in the middle of the second quarter was of great help to Zhang Yang!
In the third quarter, after the two teams fought fiercely for half a quarter and the score was 11 to 12, the official timeout came back and Zhang Yang exploded. He first broke into the inside and scored 2+1, then stole the ball and hit a three-pointer in the counterattack. He beat the Pistons 6 to 0 alone and helped the Bobcats overtake the Pistons by 68 points with 63 to 5!
After the two teams fought over a 5-point score for half a quarter, the Pistons trailed by 4 points at the end of the third quarter. Billups made another effort and made two three-pointers in a row, showing his ability in key shots.

But this time the Bobcats kept up, Zhang Yang scored consecutively in singles, and Mike Miller and Felton each made a three-pointer!

两队最后1分钟6比6收尾，三节打完，山猫队以84比80领先活塞队4分进入末节！
In the third quarter, the two teams launched a 33 to 29 offensive wave. Zhang Yang, Billups, Felton, Hamilton, Mike Miller, Dudley and other six players performed brilliantly in this quarter. The commentators were amazed at their shooting performance at the critical moment. They could only score about 6 points in the first half. The third quarter was theoretically the lowest scoring quarter, but they went against the trend and scored about 25 points!

Especially the rookie Dudley, he is mature, steady and has a big heart. He really dares to shoot when given the ball!

Carlisle even regretted not choosing Dudley, who was one of their favorite candidates during the preparation stage for last year’s draft.

It was just that choosing Afflalo, Zhang Yang’s high school classmate, was the right decision based on “team politics” at the time.

Carlisle is a man with a long-term vision. He saw Afflalo’s talent and believed he could become a deluxe version of Alan Anderson. Although Dudley is relatively good in terms of immediate combat effectiveness, such players are not rare, although they are not in great numbers. Mike Miller is a super deluxe version of Dudley.

The reason for some regret is that Dudley was selected by the Pistons. Dudley is dispensable to the Bobcats, but for the Pistons, which have not had any effective signings in the past few years, Dudley is really the treasure of the second team.

In the final quarter, the two teams continued to attack each other. The Pistons took the lead with an 11 to 6 climax to overtake the score, but the Pistons were empty after the climax. The Bobcats then responded with a 9 to 5 wave and regained a 99-point lead with 96 to 3.

At the end of the game, the Bobcats struggled to hold on to their slim lead, leading the Pistons 106-104.

When the Pistons attacked, Hamilton led Felton to run. Felton almost vomited because of Hamilton’s running the year before last, and almost vomited because of Hamilton’s running last year, and it happened again this year…

At the critical moment, Felton couldn’t keep up and after chasing for 10 seconds, he was left behind by Hamilton’s counter-run. Billups seemed to have only the basket in his eyes, but in fact he was keeping an eye on all directions and passed the ball in time. Hamilton received the ball and turned to make a mid-range shot… Zhang Yang rushed up from the baseline and interfered with the opponent’s face!
Hamilton turned around and missed the shot!

At the critical moment, Okafor did not lose the rebound. He grabbed the rebound before McDyess and passed it to Zhang Yang. In the offense-defense transition, Zhang Yang failed to counterattack, but created a dislocation. The one who caught up with him was Hamilton, who had just run on the offensive end for 10 seconds and rushed back to defend after shooting.

Zhang Yang did not pass the ball. He leaned against Hamilton and waited for his teammates to get into position. He then took a step closer to Hamilton on the right side of the top arc, made a fake step forward, and while Hamilton was pressing forward, he turned around and rushed to the free throw line, facing McDyess’s defense and made a mid-range shot… The ball flew over McDyess’s fingertips and went straight into the basket!

108 to 104, Zhang Yang hit the key shot!

In the last 17 seconds, Billups missed a three-pointer from Zhang Yang, Okafor secured the defensive rebound, and the Pistons committed a tactical foul, but Okafor made both free throws…

Zhang Yang played for 39 minutes tonight. He rested for two minutes at the end of the first quarter, three minutes in the middle of the second quarter, and two minutes each in the middle of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter. His rotation was far more perfect than in the previous game, and he did not let down in key shots, which is directly related to this!

21投10中，其中三分球6中3，加上6中6的罚球，张杨拿到29分4板4助攻1抢断1盖帽；奥卡福12投6中，外加7中6的罚球，拿到18分13板2助攻2盖帽，两人最后时刻携手连得4分，杀死比赛！
Although the Bobcats scored only 5 more points than the previous game, their overall offense improved significantly and the scoring distribution became healthier.

Felton’s shooting performance in the last game did not look good, but his three-pointers left a deep impression on the Pistons players. He was closely watched tonight and his shots were limited a lot, but he also made more assists and his breakthrough shooting performance was better. He made 11 of 5 shots, including 5 of 2 three-pointers, and 5 of 4 free throws, and got 16 points, 3 rebounds and 8 assists.

迈克-米勒拿到17分、希尔拿到11分6板2助攻、布拉德-米勒7分5板5助攻、米尔萨普8分5板2助攻……

The Pistons played no worse tonight than in the last game.

比卢普斯和汉密尔顿又是双双25+，比卢普斯25分7助攻、汉密尔顿26分4助攻，拉希德-华莱士的18分、杜德利的13分也都很好。

It was just that in the third quarter tonight, Zhang Yang performed better in the middle. That was his time. When it was Billups’ time at the end of the season, Felton and Mike Miller stood up and withstood Billups’ personal counterattack.

110 to 104, the Bobcats defended their second home court and tied the score to 1 to 1!
…

Since the Bobcats started losing in the middle of the season, the media has been saying that they will lose their advantage when they meet a truly top defensive team in the playoffs. Bobcats fans have been refuting this view, but at the beginning of the second round, they were awakened and had to admit that this was a fact.

They lost the first game against the Pistons, whose offense and defense systems were very complete and whose defense had a clear restraining effect on the triangle offense and Princeton-based offensive basketball.

If, as Carlisle said in an interview, they will improve their defensive system in the future, it may not be so difficult to play against the Pistons, but it is not yet perfect and has not even started.

Now that the score is tied at 1-1, the Bobcats fans’ uneasy and impatient hearts can finally be put at ease a little.

The next day, May 5, Bobcats fans received some good news that allowed them to temporarily put aside their worries about the playoffs and have a little party.

The Bobcats welcomed the first all-star in team history!
In the best team voting, Zhang Yang received 110 of the 76 first-place votes, and with 497 points, he ranked first among guards, beating Paul’s 482 points!

Paul, Zhang Yang, Kobe, James, Howard and other five people were selected into the first team of the best lineup!
(End of this chapter)