Chapter 397 396. Execution of the Celtics (Part )

That night, sports fans across America were discussing the Celtics, and the Celtics dominated the midnight news on all major TV stations.

The next day, there were other series of games, and the Celtics’ popularity remained unabated.

The last time the Celtics were so dazzling and attracted so much attention was when they reversed the Lakers in the 87 playoffs and won the championship.

That time it was because of Zhang Yang, this time, it was still because of Zhang Yang…

Zhang Yang scored 65 points and beat his old club. The happiest people were not the New York fans, but the Los Angeles fans.

Los Angeles fans were disappointed but not surprised that Zhang Yang did not play for the Lakers.

If Zhang Yang had chosen to join the Lakers last summer, they would have welcomed him very much. If Zhang Yang did not go, they also felt that he was a proud man and would not do something like defecting to the enemy.

For Lakers fans, nothing makes them happier than seeing the former Celtics superstar beat the Celtics in the finals.

Lakers fans felt that they had no chance of beating the Celtics in the finals in the 20th century.

Bias, whose potential and connections were drained away, died suddenly. The entire Boston team forced Zhang Yang away together. The Celtics’ lost decade had just begun.

But seeing as Zhang Yang is taking revenge on his old club, there will be opportunities every year in the next few years!

Even if you can’t watch the playoffs, you can still watch the regular season!

The next morning, when Zhang Yang was watching TV and reading newspapers, he saw that the Los Angeles media praised him even more than the New York media, and a question popped into his mind.

The ‘he’ here chose the Knicks instead of the Lakers. Was it because he chose the largest and most prosperous city based on his preference, or did he foresee the current scene?
If he joins the Knicks and plays well, his popularity will surely soar.

It would be similar if he went to the Lakers, with Magic Johnson and James Worthy supporting him. He would be able to smoothly get through the buffer period of changing teams without much pressure.

And since he was the one who beat the Lakers, he won’t be branded as someone who joins when he can’t beat them.

But if he chooses the Lakers, he can only have fans on the West Coast, while if he joins the Knicks, as long as he can beat the Celtics, he can have the support of both the Greater New York and Greater Los Angeles areas.

This made him curious, but it was difficult to guess the answer.

In addition to the topic of “revenge”, Zhang Yang’s 8 three-pointers last night also broke the playoff record and were hotly discussed by the media.

However, the point of media analysis and evaluation was not how many three-pointers he made, but the way he shot three-pointers, which was unprecedented.

Nowadays, except for pure spot shooters, other scorers use three-pointers as a means of restraining or assisting breakthroughs.

Mark Price, who is second in the three-point list, averages 2.1 three-pointers per game; Michael Adams, who is third, averages 2 three-pointers per game; Reggie Miller, averages 1.8 three-pointers per game…

From the number of shots and hits, we can see that even the players with the best three-point talent and ability in this era do not use three-pointers as their main means of scoring.

Didn’t Zhang Yang just score 65 points? The host of the American Cable Sports Channel in New York praised him highly – it was a groundbreaking style of play.

As for Boston, the news to the outside world became smaller after G1, and the media stopped reporting on it.

After lunch, Zhang Yang came to Madison Square Garden to participate in the team’s training in preparation for tomorrow’s Game 2.

The main focus today was on his new ball-holding counterattack and positional warfare ‘elevator door tactics’.

These two useful moves must not be used once they are shown off.

During a break in training, Knicks point guard Mark Jackson exclaimed to head coach Stu Jackson: “Jack is really a genius. He can think of such a play. His courage and strength are amazing. He dares to play like this and shoots continuously without hesitation, and he can still make the shot! But he is really patient. He waited until the playoffs against the Celtics to use this trick to retaliate against them.”

Whether it is the media or fans, even coaches and players of various teams, they all believe that the two moves that Zhang Yang has never used are specially practiced to deal with the Celtics. Especially the fans of the Lakers, they firmly believe this and spread such remarks everywhere.

Stu Jackson: “He was really patient. In his last two years with the Celtics, the public opinion environment was so bad, but he never said he wanted to change teams. Instead, he waited until his contract expired and left directly.”

Mark Jackson: “But I think these two tactics may be banned by the league.”

Stu Jackson: “I think it’s possible, too. A three-pointer is fine, it’s just a normal counterattack shot. It’s difficult to limit Jack’s three-pointer through rules, unless you don’t allow counterattacks.

Jack can play like that because he has the ability to do so and dares to shoot like that recklessly. Other players with excellent athletic ability and the ability to pull-up jump shot can also shoot like that, but their shooting range is not as wide as Jack’s. Fast break pull-up mid-range shot is not as good as a breakthrough layup.

The closing tactic is different. This style of play has the suspicion of moving screens, but the Bulls have been using this tactic. With the current refereeing habits, as long as our high screens do not show obvious signs of movement, it is unlikely that the whistle will be blown. But after the season, other teams will definitely propose to ban this kind of play, just like the isolation tactics used by Jack and Jordan before. “

Mark Jackson was dissatisfied and said, “Such a great tactic, but just because Jack is good at three-point shooting, he is the only one who can play this way, so he is not allowed to play this way?”

Stu Jackson patted his beloved disciple on the shoulder and said, “The rules should always be in favor of the majority of players so that the game of basketball can develop better.”

Mark Jackson rolled his eyes at his mentor and said, “Stu, if you care so much about basketball development, why don’t you become the president of the NBA?”

Stu Jackson was stunned for a moment, then responded, “You have a point…After a few years, when I am fired by the team, will I apply for a job at Stern?”

Mark Jackson: “Haha, that’s a good idea. It’s not easy to be the head coach of our team. We have to change people every few years, but the NBA commissioner will not be replaced for ten years. I don’t have to worry about losing my job every day.”

The future NBA head coach thought it was a joke, but the future NBA vice president took it quite seriously…

…

During this preparation day, Zhang Yang felt that the atmosphere within the team was very different. The veteran teammates, who had originally had some differences between them due to the issue of interest distribution, began to talk to him more actively, discussing tactics, games, and daily life.

As the saying goes, don’t hit a smiling person, and he was happy to chat with these “ancients”. He could guess the reason for the change in his teammates – his performance last night.

He broke Baylor’s playoff scoring record!
Zhang San: I am really useless here. I haven’t been able to conquer this group of teammates in a year. I have to come again. Just one game will be enough!
Of course he knew that without the ‘him’ here, who single-handedly led the Celtics to 50+ wins for two consecutive years last season, and without the ‘him’ here who made the double-team first team in the regular season this season, his teammates would not have listened to his arrangements last night. Even if they listened to his arrangements and he played like that, his influence would not have been so great.

Four years ago, in Jordan’s sophomore season, he barely played in the regular season, but scored 55 points in a single game in the playoffs, which was amazing. It was the highest score in a single game in the playoffs since the 70s before last night, but his influence… is just that for now.

He just sublimated the foundation that ‘he’ had laid before here.

But it’s still okay to show off secretly.

After a day of preparation, a new month arrived. On May 5, the Knicks faced the Celtics for the second game at home.

Losing the first game badly, letting the opponent’s top scorer score 65 points in a single game, and then fighting back? Not happening.

Faced with Zhang Yang’s performance the night before, most of the Celtics had no intention of resisting.

This morning, the Los Angeles Times cited the “seven sins” of Bostonians in forcing Zhang Yang to leave. One of them was that when Zhang Yang had a conflict with Rodman and Laimbeer, his teammates were timid and no one dared to help. Only Big Bird, who was wearing a suit, dared to rush forward, but he fell face first when he flipped over the bench chair.

Most of the Celtics players were in very bad condition on the court tonight, and their body language showed that they wanted to take a vacation.

Bird tried very hard to motivate his teammates with trash talk and actions on the court, but to no avail.

Big Bird’s only hope – Zhang Yang scored 65 points in a single game and played aimlessly, but did not show up.

Zhang Yang made good use of the threat brought by the G1 sprint, creating opportunities for his teammates and making shots and passing the ball when necessary.

Bird was extremely impressed by this style of play. He was the perfect successor to the Celtics’ boss in his mind, and he taught him personally through words and deeds.

But at this moment, this dream successor brought him endless despair…

Zhang Yang took only 19 shots tonight, including as few as 3 three-pointers. The opponent only did one thing very hard tonight, which was to double-team him.

I can’t muster the heart to resist, but that doesn’t mean I want to see him get a high score again.

但他还是投出了19投9中的不错表现，其中三分球3中1，加上5中5的罚球，拿到24分5板8助攻2抢断。

在张杨单场8助攻、马克-杰克逊单场11助攻、替补上场的约翰-纽曼单场6助攻的带领下，尼克斯队以121比95再度大胜凯尔特人队，大比分2比0领先！

Two days later, on May 5, the two sides changed venues and Zhang Yang returned to his home court when he last came here to train. This time, he was booed loudly, more than the boos he received as a rookie when he first came here to train.

Tonight, he played more aggressively than in G1, attacking wildly!
When Big Bird saw Zhang Yang’s desperate attitude, he was completely numb and thought about retiring after this year.

Only after returning to Boston did he know how the locals felt about Zhang Yang scoring 65 points in a single game against their Celtics.

The regret and remorse he imagined might exist, but only in a minority of people. Most people were criticizing Zhang Yang, with some media even slandering and making rumors that Zhang Yang did not work hard and was slacking off when playing for their team, which was why he failed to win three or four consecutive championships.

He was so angry that he laughed when he saw the report. He was in bed for two months last season and only started rehabilitation treatment in January. Does this mean that it doesn’t matter whether he is there or not, as long as Zhang Yang works hard, they can win the championship?

He was so angry when he saw the news, he could imagine how mad Zhang Yang would be when he saw the news. He knew better than anyone how hard Zhang Yang tried to gain recognition last season, and he worked hard even though he knew it was impossible. That was the kind of effort that made him admire him.

And they are all broad-minded people who would definitely go crazy when seeing such reports.

Zhang Yang’s touch tonight was not as good as in G1, and the defense he encountered was also tighter than in G1. The new head coach of the Celtics, Jimmy Rogers, is still good in tactical attainments and has formulated a good strategy of double-teaming, backup defense, and assist defense, but he doesn’t care about that and just does it when the ball comes!
Under his leadership, the Knicks team also played very hard on defense.

After 2 hours and 22 minutes of play, the Knicks won another game.

张杨今晚出战41分钟，33投15中，命中率将将45%，不好不坏，其中三分球10中4，加上9中7的罚球，拿到41分9板3助攻1抢断2盖帽，率领尼克斯队以118比101轻取凯尔特人队，大比分3比0领先！

It is May 5th, and the TD Garden is exceptionally quiet tonight.

At the beginning, the Celtics fans were still very excited and shouted slogans for a 0-3 comeback, but after the game started, they found that no player responded to their lofty ambitions.

连G1拿到36分、G2拿到27分、G3拿到31分、拼尽全力的大鸟，今晚都失去了干劲。

Bird only played half the game tonight, and his playing style was reasonable. He made 9 of 5 shots, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, and 3 of 3 free throws, scoring 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. He clocked out at halftime… the kind of time he clocked out for a holiday.

首节尼克斯队34比21领先13分、第二节32比20将分差扩大到25分。

Zhang Yang played the entire first half, making 13 of 8 shots, including 4 three-pointers in counterattacks, scoring two goals, and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, and clocked out at halftime!
After the halftime break, the Knicks replaced the water dispenser manager lineup, but still played with an advantage, with a score of 25 to 23, widening the gap to 27 points. In the final quarter, a brutal scene came!

The Celtics’ water dispenser managers, who had no intention of continuing the fight, didn’t even bother to improve their stats. They shot 17 times in a single quarter, made only 3 of them, and scored only 8 points!
The water dispenser managers on the Knicks side had completely different morale. When the opportunity came, they scored like crazy and scored 33 points in a single quarter!
At 10:21 pm, the final whistle sounded and the score was fixed at 124 to 72. The Knicks slaughtered the Celtics by 52 points and advanced with a score of 4 to 0!

The Cardinal leaned against the wall at the entrance of the home team’s player tunnel. He hadn’t lit a cigarette in this series.

The better Zhang Yang fought, the sadder he felt.

He regretted it more than once. If he had not gone all out to build momentum for Bias after acquiring him in the trade, but had taken Zhang Yang along as well, would the result have been a little different?

Although he knew that given the nature of the people here, the possibility of change was unlikely, he still wanted to find some comfort.

Now, he can already see the fate of his team in the next few years. His student, who was once ignored by him, wants not only to take revenge on them, but to beat them until they completely collapse!
Given their current situation, and with the vengeful Zhang Yang ready to hammer them at any time, which superstar would come?

(End of this chapter)