"Although he likes to finish with jump shots, it doesn’t mean he’s afraid of confrontation. When he has a clear advantage in a one-on-one fast break, he’ll use his body to overpower his opponents."
"Zeng Xingyang really enjoys using step-backs or side-steps from beyond the three-point line to finish, which maintains a very stable rhythm for his shooting. As a player who often shoots from the outside, he has an impressive shooting percentage of 48% and a three-point shooting percentage of 43%, which is very rare for a rookie."
"Zeng Xingyang and Nikola Jokic form the highest-scoring pick-and-roll combination in the league. The two of them play together like seasoned veterans, repeatedly toying with the defense using basic pick-and-roll strategies, often leaving defenders baffled by their moves."
"As for defense, Zeng Xingyang ranks among the top five for steals and blocks among guards in the entire league. He applies intense pressure on both ball handlers and players without the ball, making it difficult for opponents to pose any scoring threats in front of him. No offensive player likes Zeng Xingyang, and if he maintains this level until the end of the season, he’ll undoubtedly make it to the All-Defensive team."
"By the end of the season, Zeng Xingyang might be another player, after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Magician, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, and Shaquille O’Neal, who solidifies his super-star status in his rookie year."
Charlie’s evaluation sparked heated discussions in both China and the United States.
Such praise was very high-profile and the opinion extremely strong.
Some fans agreed with this view, but some did not.
Especially fans of Ku, Jie, and Du.
No matter how well Zeng Xingyang performs, he’s still just the leader of the Nuggets, not a very strong team.
"A large part of Zeng’s stats are just padded. Every time he faces a weak team, this guy goes all out and racks up points."
"Who said that? He was also dominant and scored high against the Warriors, with two game-winners too."
"Often, he needs pick-and-rolls to get past strong individual defenses."
"Are you talking about Our Emperor?"
"How can Zeng Xingyang be compared to the legendary stars in history? His athleticism is too poor, and his ceiling isn’t high."
"With such poor athleticism, he’s still able to put up such beautiful stats. Doesn’t that prove how strong his abilities are?"
Fans on both sides were fiercely arguing.
Some NBA players also expressed their displeasure with this report.
He is a player on the New Orleans Pelicans, the Nuggets’ next opponent.
After losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Nuggets quickly headed to New Orleans for an away game to face the Pelicans, where the team’s two rookies were waiting. They would join the team there.
Tyreke Evans entered the league with the Kings, putting up 20+5+5 stats in his rookie season. Back then, players like Jordan and James also posted such numbers in their rookie seasons.
At that time, Tyreke Evans was undoubtedly regarded as the core of the Kings and a future league superstar.
But Tyreke Evans peaked as a rookie and didn’t deliver in the subsequent years. His shooting was inconsistent, and his three-point percentage remained below 30%, which eventually led to the Kings giving up on him.
After joining the Pelicans, he had averages of 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists per game, performing well as if finding a second wind.
Zeng Xingyang’s shooting is excellent, and the level of praise he receives is even more exaggerated than what Evans experienced in his day, leaving Evans feeling quite imbalanced.
When the Open-Air Stand Newspaper report came out, Evans told reporters: "You like to build a rookie up high and then watch him fall hard, the same way I did back then. Zeng has some abilities, but he still needs a long time to adapt to the harsh realities of the league. Tomorrow night, I will defend him and show him what NBA confrontation is really like. Welcome him to the NBA."
Tyreke Evans has excellent athleticism and physical toughness. His playing style is completely opposite to Zeng Xingyang’s, focusing on confrontation to score inside the paint. His strong body makes him feel confident in taking down Zeng Xingyang.
This interview quickly spread online.
Fans supporting Zeng Xingyang promptly responded under Tyreke Evans’ Twitter: "You’re just jealous of the praise and reception Zeng is getting right now. You were once this popular, and now that the admiration is gone, you’re envious."
Tyreke Evans quickly replied: "Do I need to be jealous of him? Wait for the game, and I’ll show you the kind of answers he’ll give when he faces me."
Zeng Xingyang saw Tyreke Evans’ comments but was too lazy to respond.
Various matters are piling up, and whenever he has a moment, he has to deal with those commercial operations.
The planning is good, but when it comes to execution, there’s always a lot of small issues that need handling.
New Orleans is a port city in the southern part of the state of Louisiana in the United States, and it’s also the largest city in the state.
After the hurricane attack in 2005, the population fell from 790,000 to 370,000, making it another city like Detroit with a significant population decline.
The team now known as the Pelicans was originally called the Hornets, later renamed for various reasons, and the pelican is a common bird in the area.
After the departure of Bee King Chris Paul, the team became Anthony Davis’ squad.