Starting lineup against Jordan!
(Please subscribe, please vote for the monthly ticket) 80: 76.
Starting lineup against Jordan!
(Please subscribe, please vote for the monthly ticket) “Name: Zhang Yang.
Age: 22 years old (June 6, 1963)
Height: 196 cm, Wingspan: 210 cm, Weight: 95 kg.
Ability Assessment (Training Mode): Three-Point 75, Mid-Range 88, Layup 92, Ball Handling 92, Passing 68, Speed 91, Strength 85, Vertical Jump 89, Stamina 91…”
Zhang Yang opened the Gate of Trials to check his ability assessment panel.
His height, wingspan, and weight were still outstanding among shooting guards, and he wanted to grow up fast!
In terms of physical fitness, compared to his nearly 23 years old self in the original timeline, he gained an extra point in speed talent, one in vertical jump talent, and three in stamina talent, all matching up.
With one or two more points in speed and vertical jump, he would be on the verge of top physical fitness.
Persevere, grow stronger, and create new glories!
His mid-range and layup were as expected; after four years of college, his shooting ability was very mature.
With still five years to go until the theoretical peak age of 27 or 28, there was much room for improvement.
But what about the coveted three-point ability that the “Red Auerbach” of his dreams had promised?
What kind of joke was a 75 three-point rating?
Oh, right, this was the 80s, and players with a decent three-point shot were rare.
Having a 75 rating in three-pointers after finishing the first NBA season, wouldn’t he have at least an 80+ by his peak?
An 80+ three-point shooter was truly top-level in that era.
However, looking at his passing and ball handling skills, he felt he should go to Los Angeles.
Byron Scott was also a backcourt technical master, currently the Lakers’ second-strongest shooting guard in team history, patient, good-natured, and both willing and happy to guide the young guards on the team.
The Lakers also had the ever-smiling “Magic” Johnson, who, as long as one didn’t stand in his way, was a perfect teammate.
Being able to harmoniously inherit the leadership from Jabbar was no ordinary feat.
Feeling a slight sadness, Zhang Yang pulled himself together.
He had already come this far; how could every training encounter teammates like Nash and Duncan?
Maybe he would even go to the Lakers of the 2020s and experience Jeanie Buss’s miraculous management.
He looked forward to the mission board with anticipation.
“Basic Mission: Scoring, Target: Score 30 points in a single game during the first round of the playoffs.
Reward: Larry Bird’s post-up rhythm (Beginner’s level).
Note: Slow down, when your movements are slower, you’ll find more weaknesses in your opponent.”
Optional Mission One: Atheist, Goal: Prevent Michael Jordan from breaking the playoff single-game scoring record during the first round of the playoffs.
Optional Mission Two: I Am God, Goal: Outscore Michael Jordan in a single game during the first round of the playoffs.”
When Zhang Yang saw the basic mission, he wondered why it was so simple, scoring 30+ points in a single game to get such a great reward.
This was the 80s, the era of offensive basketball, where picking any team at random meant they were scoring 110+ points per game on average.
He remembered that in the 85-86 season, in the first round, the Celtics’ opponent was the Chicago Bulls.
He was going to play against Jordan!
He and Jordan were probably about the same height; his 196 cm was barefoot, so it was highly likely he’d be facing off against Jordan!
Second-year Jordan, it seems, scored 63 points in the playoffs…
Without hesitation, he immediately chose Mission One, whose reward was displayed as a slight increase in core strength.
This training should be similar to his first training experience in the original timeline, just to get used to the basketball environment of this era.
As for the missions, apart from that outrageous Optional Mission Two, the others weren’t hard.
Scoring would depend on how good the defense of second-year Jordan was.
He remembered Jordan wasn’t selected for All-Defensive Team until his fourth year.
To prevent Jordan from surpassing Baylor’s 61 points in a single playoff game…He, Mad Dog Jack, surely had better defense than Danny Ainge, right?
Zhang Yang got up, took a look around his place—a living room, a bedroom, a study, a bathroom, a kitchen, about sixty or seventy square meters.
He checked the surroundings outside his door and windows.
The elevator area and the vicinity downstairs were quite clean, which suggested it was an apartment building in a decent area.
A mailbox outside contained freshly delivered newspapers and newly sent bills for rent and utilities—a monthly rent of 600 US dollars, and with heating and electricity, just over 1000 US dollars.
He recalled that according to the information, the median annual income for Bostonians last year was 19,000 US dollars.
Living costs weren’t low.
With his annual salary of 90,000 US dollars, he’d have about 50,000 US dollars left after taxes, placing him in a high-income bracket.
Zhang Yang read the newspaper for a while.
The one he subscribed to was, naturally, sports-related, with the front page analyzing the playoffs starting that day.
When he saw the Celtics’ record, a question mark appeared over his head, followed by the realization that it was no problem.
With him joining the team and playing as the sixth man, averaging 26 minutes per game, he had definitely made some contributions.
69 wins and 13 losses, this season the Celtics had tied the Lakers’ historic best record.
The local newspapers looked down on the Bulls, the eighth seed in the East with a record of only 30 wins and 52 losses.
However, in the West, the eighth-seeded Spurs had only 35 victories.
Zhang Yang counted the number of teams listed in the league standings—23 in total, 11 in the East and 12 in the West.
Indeed, with such a number of teams playing 82 games, it was impossible for the eighth seed to have a winning percentage over fifty percent.
When he saw content about the Sixth Man of the Year Award, he was surprised to see the local media actually complaining about him not winning!
The way they had presented the information, the media here seemed very discriminatory against him.
The media also praised Bill Walton for declining to accept the Sixth Man of the Year trophy.