Scared the opponent away?
Scared the opponent away?
Well, you could say the young man was in good shape; completely drained the previous night, he was back in action the next morning.
When Zhang Yang woke up, he felt like he was fully alert; he wasn’t noticeably tired, just a bit of muscle soreness.
He rarely did this, but he spent the morning lounging in the hotel for a good rest.
He was still staying at the hotel; the time for team-sponsored room coverage had passed, and now he was paying for the room himself.
He hadn’t opted for renting an apartment because a good standalone apartment in a good location was nearly the same cost as a month’s payment at the hotel, and it was closer to the ATT Stadium, with daily cleaning service included.
After lunch, Zhang Yang went to the ATT Stadium; today he was the only one training.
After last night’s triple overtime victory, Popovich had walked back into the locker room and announced that this afternoon’s training was canceled.
The “idiot” and the “bald guy” were ordered to cut back on training and rest more; everyone else was too exhausted from last night and hadn’t come.
He had originally planned to rest all day, but he couldn’t sit still and wanted to try out the new reward.
Experience gained: 1.
Steve Nash’s ball-handling rhythm (beginner level);2.
Devil’s Pace of the “Demon Blade”: When executing a short-distance Euro step, the initial burst of speed is significantly increased.”
Unlike the vague feelings associated with rhythm, the effects of the Devil’s Pace were directly described.
He started warming up, training around the chair.
The first time, he felt the difference; his initial movements after catching the ball were faster!
The speed of his direction changes increased as well!
But there was no discomfort; it felt as natural as when he first managed to activate ‘Nash’s ball-handling rhythm,’ and he ‘got used to’ it naturally.
This made Zhang Yang very happy, as he had thought it might take time to adapt.
However, after practicing a few more times, he realized he still needed to ‘adapt.’ Footwork wasn’t just about chasing speed.
If the opponent’s big man was slow, and he used a Euro step pretending to move left but aimed for where the opponent was originally, and the opponent hadn’t fully shifted, he would just run into him…
This involved a rhythm issue; better ask an expert!
The team had a top-tier expert in Euro step, so no worries!
He then practiced mid-range shots using screens; although he had thought about the ‘facing the tenth in the West, what fate are we playing with’ after last night’s game, now that he was rested, recalling that game-tying mid-range shot felt wonderful.
This move, though simple, really worked.
After a day of rest, on April 15th, the home game against the Lakers arrived for the Spurs.
Early in the morning, Stern’s blood pressure shot up.
Popovich announced ahead of time the adjustment of the rest rotation plan, saying Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, and Richard Jefferson would all sit out tonight to preserve strength for the playoffs and he cancelled the rest rotation plan for the final game against the Suns.
‘Rest rotation,’ a term originally from agriculture, refers to letting the land ‘rest’ and regain fertility by not planting crops for a period; quite aptly used here.
This once again sparked a media storm; nobody cared when the Spurs rested players against the Suns.
In just four years, Steve Kerr had collapsed the lineup that Joe Colangelo had initially built by tapping heavily into his connections, and the Suns were no longer a playoff team.
But the Spurs and the Lakers were the two most popular teams in the Western Conference this season.
The rest rotation by the Spurs caused a significant impact, but Popovich, through previous rest rotations, had managed to draw all attention to himself, sparing others such as GDP from criticism.
Everyone was targeting him.
This time Stern couldn’t do anything to Popovich.
They had just played a triple overtime two days ago, the veterans were exhausted, and not playing to avoid injuries was completely justified; as for Duncan and Ginobili not playing at all, that didn’t matter.
Moreover, Popovich had announced this in advance, leaving Stern with no grounds for fines, only impotent fury.
By night, the game lacked suspense; this time even Parker didn’t play, and the Spurs were hammered.
Kobe scored 26 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Gasol had 21 points with 9 rebounds and 5 assists, Bynum got 13 points and 8 rebounds, Odom had 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists, Blake scored 12 points with 4 assists…
The Lakers defeated the Spurs 99 to 83, handing them their 17th loss of the season.
Zhang Yang made 9 out of 24 shots tonight, including 0 for 4 from three-point range and 2 out of 3 free throws, scoring a total of 20 points with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.
George Hill scored 15 points with 3 assists; Blair scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, with no other player scoring in double digits.
Actually, the Spurs’ team tactics were decent tonight; they only scored 83 points, but each of the 10 players who played scored.
Even players pulled from the inactive list like Udoka, James Anderson, and Chris Quinn managed to score.
However, without someone to clearly play the strong role like GDP to draw the Lakers’ defensive attention, the team couldn’t get a good shooting rhythm, and Zhang Yang was not yet at the point where he could carry the team alone.
On April 17, the Spurs arrived at the Phoenix City Western Arena for an away challenge against the Suns.
After a triple-overtime battle with the Spurs on the 13th, the Suns had also struggled the day before yesterday, being slaughtered by the Nuggets by 34 points, 98 to 132, in a scene that was utterly bloody—the third quarter alone ended 17 to 44, branded as the season’s most disastrous single-quarter massacre.
But tonight, facing the Spurs in their final regular-season game, the old guards of the Suns rallied, slamming in 30 points in the first quarter.
For the Spurs, Parker and Zhang Yang were also firing on all cylinders, leading the team to score 35 points in one quarter and firmly pressuring the Suns.
In the time that followed, both teams played a beautiful offensive battle, with the Spurs ultimately overcoming the Suns 114 to 107!
Zhang Yang scored a game-high 19 points, along with 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal.
Parker played 23 minutes and scored 17 points with 7 assists; Ginobili played 26 minutes to score 18 points with 3 assists; Duncan played 18 minutes to score 8 points with 7 rebounds and 3 assists; George Hill added 16 points and 4 assists…
On the Suns’ side, 9 players played, and 8 scored in double digits.
Nash had 15 points with 15 assists, fully activating his teammates’ abilities, but with both Ginobili and Duncan in play, the Suns’ best performance in the first half was still dominated by the Spurs.
It’s worth mentioning that the Suns were one of this season’s best-performing teams against the Spurs.
Although they lost all four games, each game had a margin of fewer than 10 points, pushing the Spurs to the limit every time.
After the game, Nash encouraged Zhang Yang briefly, then waved goodbye to the fans in the arena, saying, “See you next season.”
Nash appeared to take it graciously, but Zhang Yang sensed his disappointment.
In 2005, Nash had made it to the Western Conference Finals, but during his peak six years, the league had number 21 and 24 dominating, these two occupied the Western Conference Finals spots for five of those years, collecting four championships.
Reflecting briefly, Zhang Yang turned his focus back to his own team.
With a record of 65 wins and 17 losses, the Spurs completed their first-ever 65-win season!
Had his arrival turned their last dismal finish of 4 wins and 8 losses into 8 wins and 4 losses?
Well, such improvement was already a great success.
The hardest part was actually the four consecutive away games at the start of the last 12 games.
If they hadn’t stood firm then, they might have lost all the way to the end.
Zhang Yang began to look forward to the playoffs against the Grizzlies, knowing the matches would be grueling, but the feeling of winning against such a tough, resolute team was genuinely thrilling.
But just as Zhang Yang and his teammates returned to the locker room, staff brought in a surprising piece of news.
The Grizzlies’ final regular-season game against the Thunder Team had ended, with the Grizzlies narrowly winning 110 to 105 in overtime, surpassing the Hornets and securing the seventh spot in the Western Conference regular season with a record of 48 wins and 34 losses.
Not playing the twin bears, time for 58?
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