Free Web NovelChapter 595: Chapter 183: Nothing Is Impossible in This World
It’s really something special!
His talent for basketball is widely recognized. To perform at this level at 19, anyone who says Zhang Hao doesn’t have talent— even his haters would think that person’s brain is fried.
Effort, focus... his teammates are used to these aspects of him.
But when it comes to analytical skills, the feeling Zhang Hao gives to Magician and James Worthy is just too exaggerated.
All they can do is do their best to pass on their experience to Zhang Hao, to help him improve.
After an afternoon of preparation, the game day arrived for the second game of the Lakers vs. Kings series.
The schedule for the first round of the playoffs is quite simple. There’s only one day of rest between the first three games, and then two days off between the third and fourth games. Because it’s a best-of-five series, the series might end in just three games, so the schedule is very tight.
Last night, four series played their second games, including the Supersonics vs. Suns and the New York Knicks vs. Cavaliers, which had a national broadcast... Zhang Hao didn’t watch. Before sleeping last night, he was still pondering over his play style, but by today’s game day, he was no longer entangled.
Certain things need to be tested in the game itself, only then can you know if the adjustments are effective.
Calm, focused, knowing what to let go of, and making decisive decisions, these are habits he’s developed over the past year.
This morning, after waking up, he regained his usual mindset and checked out the reports from last night’s four games.
The Bulls gave the Heat a second slaughter in Game 2, 106-75, simply brutal!
"Boss Qiao is venting all his anger from those two consecutive losses in the final moments on the Heat! Sigh... if it were in the original timeline, wouldn’t Boss Qiao be even angrier? At the end of the season, they lost a couple more games, failing to secure a playoff spot with only 9 losses...
By rounding it up, Boss Qiao is actually winning this time!"
As for the Spurs, in Game 2, David Robinson played a little better. With his precise performance of 7 mid-range shots in a single game, he changed his playstyle to facilitate from the high post, scoring 23 points, grabbing 9 boards, dishing out 6 assists, and blocking 1 shot, helping the Spurs secure a precarious 104-97 victory over the Blazers, stabilizing the situation and avoiding a 0-2 home deficit.
"If this situation was left to the beast, the beast would probably want to release more videos... uh, he might get so frustrated he wouldn’t want to play ball anymore..."
The New York Knicks continued to have a tough battle against the Cavaliers in their second home game. The two teams are evenly matched, and finally, with a 1-point deficit, Knicks guard Derek Harper hit a mid-range shot, the Cavaliers missed a game-winning three-pointer, and the Knicks secured an 82-81 victory, taking a 2-0 lead in the series.
On the Supersonics’ side, they defeated the Suns 101-87, taking a 2-0 lead. Kemp’s playoff performance is nothing short of unbelievable, with no words to describe it: dropping 29 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 steals, going head to head with Barkley’s 34 points and 12 rebounds. Barkley’s super strong individual offense was negated, and the rest of the Suns were completely dominated by the Supersonics.
"Kemp is really impressive in the playoffs. Why do some people say Griffin is a stronger version of him? Is having more skills and flashier playstyle better?
But this pace for the first round is just too fast..."
Seeing how easily the Bulls and New York Knicks reached their match points, Zhang Hao doesn’t believe the Heat has even the slightest probability of winning against the Bulls once this season once they reach the playoffs. But as for the Knicks and Cavaliers, Zhang Hao, whether from watching the games, the feeling of playing against them, or from media analysis, believes that the two teams are roughly equal in strength.
However, due to a near-game-winner, the Cavaliers are now on the brink of elimination. Being used to watching the best-of-seven first-round games, Zhang Hao feels a bit unaccustomed.
In this fast-paced first round, if a team experiences any psychological fluctuations or performs poorly, they could easily be swept away.
From the first two games, the league’s number one defensive team, the Cavaliers, should theoretically be evenly matched with the Knicks despite their poor offense, but now, the Cavaliers could very likely be swept.
In a best-of-seven, trailing 0-2 doesn’t have nearly as much pressure.
However, if the trailing team fights hard and wins, they could possibly pull off three consecutive wins and make a comeback, without facing the desperation of trailing 0-3. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
It means that whether it’s a blowout or a comeback, the odds are far higher than in a future best-of-seven series!
After analyzing, Zhang Hao felt that each system has its merits. The current first-round rules are apparently more exciting. If there’s indeed a reverse from 0-2 to 3-2, as a fan witnessing this, it would be exhilarating!
...
Yesterday afternoon’s extra practice actually started with Zhang Hao arriving at the gym and incessantly questioning experienced team players and calling up James Worthy for advice.
That enthusiasm, aside from earning respect from his teammates, also brought extra pressure and urgency, prompting Van Exel to suggest to the coaching staff to start training early, which they actually did.
And this morning, Zhang Hao’s calm demeanor as he arrived at the gym, completely different from yesterday, had a soothing effect on his teammates, gradually calming their mindset.
Indeed, there is considerable pressure, not only on Zhang Hao, but his teammates feel it too—they might be the weakest 65-win team in history; among the 60-win teams in NBA history, it’s hard to find one weaker than them.
If it weren’t for that 20 wins and 1 loss streak, based on the win rate before and after such a superb performance, they definitely wouldn’t have reached 60 wins, let alone 65.
