One Year Left to Play

Chapter 584: Chapter 179: Struggling to Adapt to the Playoffs? (2)

When the regular season ended, and there was time to rest, especially when preparing for the Lakers as an opponent, Adeny watched Zhang Hao’s performance and felt completely out of sorts.

Many talents from the ’95 draft class felt the same way as Adeny. Most of the high draft picks from ’95 were already on vacation, with the talents concentrated in high picks...

At this point, Adeny and other well-performing rookies from the ’95 class realized the vast gap between Zhang Hao and themselves!

Some players simply gave up on the idea of competing with Zhang Hao for the spotlight.

Playing basketball mostly starts from passion, but people, after all, need to eat.

The pursuit of earning money doesn’t hinder the goal of winning a championship or the aim of winning games. Similarly, giving up competing against players like Zhang Hao, comparable to Larry Bird, Jordan, and David Robinson, doesn’t hinder their ambitions. frёewebnoѵēl.com

But some players are different, like Adeny.

He admits Zhang Hao is amazing, but he... Adeny just refuses to accept this!

From a young age, compared to other basketball talents, he always had a huge disadvantage - height.

When he entered college at 18, he was only 163 cm tall, but he grew quickly in his freshman year, reaching a not-so-bad height of 178 cm among ordinary people. But this is still a significant disadvantage in the world of top basketball players.

He even lacks the same speed as Damon Stoudamire. His speed is considered outstanding for a guard position, but compared to the league’s fastest speed like Damon Stoudamire, he is a notch slower. When defended by Zhang Hao, he has no speed advantage.

He persisted despite countless skeptical gazes and hearing "You should give up" many times, ultimately entering the NBA because he refuses to concede to anyone.

This competitiveness is the reason Adeny has persevered until now.

Zhang Hao was focusing on the strongest opponent, Mitch Richmond. This top star is about to turn 31, and was once part of the TMC trio, sharing the court with Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin while averaging over 20 points each season.

"Mitch Richmond, 31 years old, 196 cm tall, weighing 98 kg, ability rating 91, offense 96, defense 83, three-point shooting 92, mid-range shot 96, layup 90... averaging 23.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals... shooting percentage 44.7%, three-point percentage 43.7%, averaging 2.8 three-pointers per game..." freēwēbηovel.c૦m

An annoying technical scoring player, last year’s All-Star MVP. His stats might only be All-Star level, but he’s definitely capable of being selected for the best lineup. His performance and stats over the past two seasons are similar to this year, yet he was chosen for the second team both times, due to his high win contribution rate.

According to the scouting report, when Richmond is on the court, the Kings can compete with anyone. When he’s not, the team’s strength plummets.

Consistency and resilience are the most known traits of this All-Star MVP. Since his rookie season, he has averaged 20+ points each year. His nickname "Rock" represents his personality trait.

His weakness is that although his skills are comprehensive, his athletic ability was almost destroyed after missing half a season due to an injury in January ’93. Although his strength increased post-injury and his stats did not drop but rose, his ability to break through weakened, making mid-range and long-distance shots his main scoring methods. His shooting percentage, which once reached 49% pre-injury, dropped to just above 44% for three consecutive years.

Yet, his number of three-pointers and accuracy have been increasing year by year... The most terrifying part is the fact that the shooting percentage is also increasing year by year!

Having faced him several times before, Zhang Hao knows this is a tough nut to crack!

When Zhang Hao drew his attention away from Richmond and focused on the upcoming match, ready for the jump ball, he felt the fiery gaze from the Kings’ new rookie...

This fellow rookie from the same class who performed wonderfully during the preseason has shown significant hostility towards Mr. Zhang!

Today’s game started particularly early to accommodate Eastern fans watching the live broadcast. The first game of the first round for the West’s top team began at 4:30 p.m., and the referee blew the whistle to start the game.

Zhang Hao outperformed the Kings’ veteran center Alden Polynice to win the jump ball. Upon landing, just as he was about to break into a fast attack, one foot had only just crossed the mid-court line when a force from the sideways direction hit him. Caught off guard, Zhang Hao nearly fell off to the left but quickly steadied himself.

The referee’s whistle blew! Polynice fouled, and the Lakers were awarded the mid-court throw-in.

What’s this? A deliberate foul? Opening the game with a deliberate foul?

This early?

When Zhang Hao steadied, he quickly scanned everyone’s expressions on the court, noticing that whether it was the opposing Kings or his Lakers, all players, even the referees, seemed unsurprised.

Alden Polynice had deficits whether retreating to defend or moving sideways against Mr. Zhang, and he definitely couldn’t stop him. The forwards Billy Owens and Brian Grant had decent defense, plus George Lynch was ready at the flanks... Zhang Hao immediately understood the intent behind the opponent’s direct foul.

They don’t want to let them play a fast break at the start!

Since the All-Star weekend, many capable teams have started to emphasize defense against his Mr. Zhang’s opening fast break. Therefore, his Lakers moved George Lynch to the starting lineup to further strengthen the fast break commencing. Although the Lakers aren’t sure why George Lynch’s opening break doesn’t make them quite... quite as excited, they regard it as Zhang Hao’s greater personal charisma.

With the starting lineup adjustment, whenever his Lakers won the jump ball for quick attack initiation, it would be almost guaranteed, occasionally encountering defenses, but definitely not from a team like the Kings hovering around playoff thresholds.