On the 6th, the Nuggets went to Salt Lake City as guests for the second battle against the Jazz, and this time the Nuggets lost.
The score of the two teams was lower than the last game, only 82 to 89, with neither team scoring over 90 points.
The Jazz’s defense at home was fiercer than when they were away, showcasing a rugged defensive atmosphere.
Zeng Xingyang was intensely double-teamed, and his shooting percentage tonight was only 33%, scoring 12 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, and making 3 assists, but also committing 4 turnovers.
After their first encounter with the Nuggets, the Jazz became somewhat familiar with Zeng Xingyang’s playing style and intensified their resolve in defense against him.
The Jazz’s offense wasn’t very strong, causing both the coaching staff and players to emphasize defense and pace.
When Hayward, Favors, Gobert, Milsap, and others crowded the inside, Jokic almost turned into a pancake.
They upheld the notion of "if we can’t score, then don’t expect you to score either."
Both sides just went head-to-head physically.
The offensive pace of both teams was very slow, with almost every possession being a physical battle, and shooting accuracy was extremely low.
This situation favored whoever was playing at home.
The Jazz had more free-throw opportunities than the Nuggets.
Zeng Xingyang didn’t score high, but his former teammate Trey Lyles was even worse, scoring only 3 points, all from free throws, and failing to hit a field goal.
Zeng Xingyang was too familiar with Lyles.
Lyles is the type of player with some breakthrough, some shooting, but not that fast nor physically strong.
To put it nicely, his playing style is versatile, but in front of the summer-trained Zeng Xingyang, it became awkward and ineffective.
His preferred breakthroughs were disrupted several times by Zeng Xingyang, and he couldn’t shake off Zeng Xingyang’s long arms to shoot effectively.
Lyles already had a slow rhythm and not many chances; seeing him fail to score, even his teammates stopped passing him the ball.
Zeng Xingyang also had the mentality of mutual hardship — you make it tough for me, and I won’t let you have it easy.
Isn’t defense about being tough?
Lyles was practically driven to silence by Zeng Xingyang’s defense.
After the game, Lyles complained, "Zeng, I originally wanted to treat you to dinner, but now the dinner is canceled."
Zeng Xingyang laughed and said, "Come on, I’ll let you off next time."
Lyles replied despondently, "I don’t think there’ll be a next time. Being beaten , I might not even have a chance to play in the future."
Zeng Xingyang laughed, "Even better, collecting salary without playing, starting retirement life 20 years early."
Compared to his highlight performances in the first three games, Zeng Xingyang’s performance in the last two games against the Jazz was slightly worse, prompting some discussions.
A Smith said, "Scoring less than 20 points in two consecutive games means opponents are getting familiar with Zeng Xingyang’s style and strengthening their defense against him. As for his defensive ability, when the Nuggets face strong teams again, he’ll be tested once more."
"This also shows we shouldn’t jump to conclusions about a rookie; we need to see more of their performances."
On the 7th, the Nuggets continued their away games to challenge the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks had a 3-3 record in their first 6 games, slightly better than the Nuggets. Their team core is Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
This season, Middleton is averaging 18 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds, with a three-point shooting percentage as high as 40%, making him the sharpest weapon on the Bucks’ perimeter.
And Brother Alphabet, under Jason Kidd’s guidance, is transitioning to becoming the main ball-handler, averaging 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists this season.
Zeng Xingyang looked over the scouting report handed by the assistant coach while on the plane.
It said Middleton was the most dangerous player on the Bucks.
But Zeng Xingyang didn’t think so; he believed Brother Alphabet was the most dangerous.
With his height, wingspan, physical qualities, and technical advantages, Brother Alphabet has a very strong offensive ability under the basket.
Of course, the scariest part is when he transitions into offense.
A 2.11-meter tall, 110-kilogram, 2.24-meter wingspan, with a 13.5-inch Achilles tendon length giant fully accelerating, no one can stop him.
In the first few games of this season, many people were surprised to find this guy, who was still unknown a couple of years ago, can now charge to the basket with power dunks or use fancy footwork for change-of-direction layups.
Zeng Xingyang knew well that although Brother Alphabet, compared with other pure inside players, shares the end zone under the basket, the difference is that Brother Alphabet has strong ball-handling abilities to initiate offense from the perimeter, not just standing under the basket waiting for passes.
In other words, even if he’s outside, as soon as he gets the ball, he is highly threatening.
Zeng Xingyang utilizes spacing for shooting, while this guy uses spacing for explosive acceleration...
Brother Alphabet isn’t in his peak period yet and is still growing. When he truly reaches his prime, he will be a player on the same tier as his teammate Jokic.
By then, he’ll be even harder to deal with.
After the game against the Bucks started, Zeng Xingyang focused on limiting Brother Alphabet’s transition and the first step, adopting a direct stance of letting him shoot from the outside.
Brother Alphabet’s offensive strategies are still somewhat single-tracked, finding Zeng Xingyang’s defense troublesome.
The Bucks’ overall strength is pretty good in the East, but if placed in the West, they count as a weak team.
Their roster depth is even worse compared to the Nuggets!
The only decent outside shooter for the Bucks is Middleton; the other players’ shooting skills aren’t that impressive.