Free Web NovelChapter 601: Chapter 185: Yet Another Betrayal of Boss Qiao
"In the playoffs, Zhang Hao has demonstrated outstanding team awareness, willingly passing the ball, and has unexpectedly showcased strong defensive talent..."
"As a rim-protector type of player, Aix’s characteristics have been better displayed in the more intense playoff matches. His shooting threat is a key factor in the Lakers gradually finding their playoff rhythm in the first round..."
"Calm, unselfish, after setting a historical record in his debut, Aix voluntarily reduced his attempts..."
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The morning after the third game against the Kings, Zhang Hao was having breakfast, watching the news...
"If I hadn’t scored 40 points in the first game, even if we swept them, their comments would have completely changed, wouldn’t they?"
For instance, they might say I can’t score as well in the playoffs as in the regular season.
Or that I rely on my teammates’ passing to score high...
Or I’m just a regular-season scorer..."
He didn’t take what the media said seriously.
After playing 3 games, they advanced, finishing the first round in just 5 days!
But after passing the first round, he felt instantly relieved, taking everything as it comes. Even if they perform poorly, they won’t be worse than the future 67-win team,
and they’ve already done better than the SuperSonics two years ago, at least without resetting the lowest limit.
After completing a series, Zhang Hao felt that his adaptation to the playoffs was quite good: 40+12+2+3+4, that’s his performance in the first game—very special indeed. Zhang Hao didn’t score as much in the next two games combined.
The second game was 15+8+3+3, the third was 13+11+6+3+1. Across the 3 games in the first round, his defensive performance improved!
He knew well that his scoring wasn’t great—not because the media said he became unselfish by shooting less, but because there was no choice; in the playoffs, he indeed had fewer shooting opportunities compared to the regular season, just like Klay Thompson, and he couldn’t find a chance to explode in the last two games.
Regarding shooting, during the playoff confrontations, he is still adapting. Unlike before the regular season when the preseason provided preparation, the playoffs demand a higher grasp of positioning, making plays, and seizing shooting opportunities. freewebnoveℓ.com
However, he indeed didn’t expect to perform so well defensively in the playoffs, although the opponents’ capabilities beneath the basket weren’t strong, his regular rim protection was genuinely good.
He could feel his own progress: playoff games, post-game reviews, training... all contributed more effectively to his defensive enhancements compared to the regular season!
Stronger confrontations on the wings provided more obstacles for outside players breaking into the inside, which benefited his defense.
Despite this, Zhang Hao felt a bit sad... Swinging defensively between positions 1 to 5 wasn’t a problem, but skipping from positions 2-4.
With the first round ending so quickly, Zhang Hao felt a tinge of regret—had they played one or two more games, a 4-1 or 4-0 in a seven-game series would have been fine, allowing more time to adapt to the playoffs’ pace.
But given it’s a five-game, best-of-three series, early advancement is naturally better; otherwise, truly giving the opponent a chance, even if leading 2-0 and losing a game, the probability of a big comeback remains very high.
Though having a 2-0 lead might directly sweep the opponent as the New York Knicks did when equally matched, it could also lead to the opponent executing a stunning comeback to take the series after being down 0-2.
Steadily advancing to the second round is most important.
Well, after breakfast, packed his luggage, took the bus to the airport, Zhang Hao found the team atmosphere significantly relaxed.
Some people were quite carefree, not noticing any issues, like the crazed Nick Van Exel during games, or Jason Williams completely focused on rebounds, but others shared Zhang Hao’s thoughts—they might be the weakest 60+ win team in history, a 65+ win team playing like them in the playoffs has never existed.
Look at the Bulls, winning by a combined 81 points in three games, averaging a 27-point victory per game over the Heat, a sheer domination.
Both the SuperSonics and Magic effortlessly swept through, and Spurs couldn’t help but struggle—a 60+ win team level was elevated by David Robinson being injured, stubbornly dragging performance down, but they managed to rebound the score.
Everyone else seemed stable; only the Lakers themselves felt unstable.
Finally, they advanced, easing up significantly in spirit.
As long as they don’t fall to the eight-seed upset, they’ll take it one step at a time.
At this point, even Del Harris didn’t jump in saying "we want to fight for the championship," cultivating a championship culture is important, yet currently, it’s not the most crucial thing.
The most crucial thing is adjusting the team’s players’ emotions; giving them too much pressure... Del Harris feels his team couldn’t bear it.
Thinking of this, even Del Harris found it bizarre—they won 65 games! Yet, the media never regarded them as a championship contender; previously, he was quite dissatisfied, but now, he truly sees it as a positive thing.
...
On the afternoon of April 30th, just back in Los Angeles after sweeping the opponent, the Lakers received good news.
Jason Williams, who averaged 7.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game this season, surpassed Toni Kukoc with 13.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4 assists, and rookie Sabonis with 14.5 points, 8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.1 blocks, winning the Sixth Man of the Year award!
After finishing the game against the Kings, since the Rockets and Utah Jazz are currently at a 2-1 stand, the next game is tomorrow, May 2nd, and the second round won’t start until at least May 4th, giving the Lakers a minimum of 4 days of rest, with the coaching staff granting players a day off, today afternoon and tomorrow morning, that is, May 1st.
