271: 137.
Overturning the hierarchy!
Sweeping through the promotion!_2 271: 137.
Overturning the hierarchy!
Sweeping through the promotion!_2 Disregarding all else, just looking at Okafor’s performance in Game 3, 18 points and 14 rebounds, there are only a handful of centers that could put up such numbers in the playoffs.
Big Z, on the other side, makes for a very direct comparison, with averages of 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in the first three games.
After practice, the four rookies huddled around a computer to check the news.
“When your team has only one All-Star and the other side has three, it’s difficult to win…”
Felton repeated what James had said in an interview that morning in response to being down 0-3, then fell silent.
Zhang Yang and Okafor didn’t speak, and Alan Anderson, usually the least talkative, kept quiet as well.
Looking left and right, Felton asked, “I remember James saying before the playoffs started that our team’s two All-Stars were only selected because of the large population in your country, Jack.
Am I wrong?”
Zhang Yang nodded, “Right, I even thanked the reporter for knowing so much about our country.”
Felton, Okafor, and Alan Anderson all burst into laughter upon hearing this.
After laughing, Felton joked, “Speaking of having three All-Stars, shouldn’t it be them with three?
James, Hughes, Ilgauskas…”
Okafor replied, “Hughes has never been selected as an All-Star.”
After thinking it over, Felton said, “It seems he wasn’t included, he wasn’t on the All-Star list last year.”
Zhang Yang recalled, “I remember he averaged 22 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.9 steals last season, made the All-Defensive First Team, and even reached the second round of the playoffs.
And he still wasn’t selected for the All-Star.
Is the competition in the East that fierce?”
Okafor explained, “It’s not that he wasn’t qualified, Hughes was a hot candidate for the All-Star for the first two months of the season, but he got injured in January and didn’t play for three weeks.
He missed the All-Star selection by three votes to Arenas during the coaches’ vote.”
Zhang Yang remarked, “Then he’s really unlucky.
His best year and he didn’t make it into the All-Stars, seems like he won’t have a chance in the future.”
Felton noted, “Emeka, I remember in your rookie season you were just two votes short of Ilgauskas, too bad, you played much better than him last season…
No wonder you’re as enthusiastic as Primoz when playing against the Knights, and you remember the All-Star roster so clearly.”
Okafor retorted, “I don’t care about it!”
Felton teased, “Sure, sure, you don’t care.
By the way, Jack, how did you put it…
oh, right, why are you raising your voice…
ow.”
Okafor: “…”
Initially, they heard that the boss, Zhang Yang, had been harshly criticized by James’s fans, and they had gathered to check out the excitement in the news, but the topic had taken an odd turn.
This time, Okafor didn’t dwell on why the conversation had veered off course, and he didn’t want to continue discussing that interview, which had irked him.
…
On the evening of April 30th at 8pm, the Bobcats welcomed the Knights at home for the fourth game of the series.
The concerns of the Bobcats hadn’t materialized; trailing 0-3, no matter how much bluster, a comeback was impossible—if it did happen, the NBA might as well shut down.
So winning one or two games just to save face seemed unnecessary.
But even with the help of the whistle, it would have been useless tonight—most of the Knights’ players had lost their spirit.
Trailing 0-3 in the series; their leader getting no calls and his normal offense being countered by the opponents, was even less effective than playing off-ball; the highly-paid star they had acquired was not fitting in well and clashed with the leader’s playstyle; the interior core who took a pay cut after being selected as an All-Star the previous season, was now being downplayed by their leader…
When you win, you can cover up all the contradictions, but when you lose, all the old grievances resurface.
As soon as one person starts passing the blame, everyone starts doing it.
In pregame interviews, Big Z complained about not having enough space for his low-post offense, Hughes grumbled about being relegated to a blue-collar role compared to what was promised when the Knights recruited him, and Gooden said he was looking at free agency with no immediate plans to re-sign after the season…
Tonight, the Knights’ strategy involved James and Hughes taking turns driving to the basket while the others formed a circle for shooting, rushing their shots and lacking enthusiasm on defense.
It’s worth mentioning that when Hughes drove in, James was very proactive in cutting and positioning himself for shots…
it’s just that he wasn’t accurate, missing all five of his three-point attempts.
The Bobcats played with focus, not letting their guard down just because the opposition slacked off.
At 10:24 PM, the final whistle blew.
James played for 39 minutes, shooting 8 for 19, including zero out of five from three-point range, and made 8 of 11 free throws, scoring 24 points with 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals; Larry Hughes scored 17 points with 6 out of 14 shots, plus 5 out of 6 free throws, and added 4 rebounds and 6 assists.
Damon Jones scored 14 points, Donnell Marshall 13 points, Big Z 10 points, Varejao 3 points, Pavlovic 8 points…
The Knights team totaled 87 points.
On the Bobcats side, Okafor had 19 points and 18 rebounds, Zhang Yang came off the bench to score 15 points with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block, Gerald Wallace got 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block, Felton had 9 points and 7 assists, Brezec 10 points and 6 rebounds…
102 to 87, the Bobcats easily defeated the Knights, sweeping them 4-0 to advance to the second round!
…
A new month has arrived, May 1st, the day after the Bobcats swept their way to the next round, the headlines on all major sports media were related to the Bobcats.
Although after Game 2 finished, most people paying attention to this series thought it was certain the Bobcats would advance, and by the end of Game 3, they felt the Knights were in for a sweep.
Yet, when the Bobcats actually did sweep the Knights, it still shocked the entire basketball world.
Before, people simply thought the Bobcats’ four young stars had great talent with unlimited potential for the future.
But having talent doesn’t guarantee performance on the court, and even if it looks promising for the first couple of years, it could all fall apart due to various reasons.
The Warriors are the best example.
In the early ’90s, the Warriors’ talent was explosive and the players seemed to fit well.
In the ’93-’94 season, they even put up a 50-win performance…
and then they collapsed in the next two or three years due to various internal problems; at the turn of the century, the Warriors picked up a bunch of talented players, looking prosperous…
only then to let their potential new stars go one after another, benefiting half the league.
Unexpectedly, the Bobcats experienced a quality improvement after Okafor’s return, rushing into the playoffs and even as the fifth in the East.
In the playoffs, they went on to upset the higher-seeded Knights!
Averaging 19 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals, with a 46.1% shooting percentage, Zhang Yang’s first-round performance may not be explosive, but as a rookie, and a 17-year-old at that, it was a different story.
He became the focal point of media and fan discussions.
Okafor’s stability in scoring, rebounding, and defense was highly praised, and he even earned the nickname ‘Little Buddha’ in his home country.
Gerald Wallace showed the full extent of his defensive abilities on a bigger stage.
Felton’s scoring wasn’t great, but his consistent passing earned praise.
Alongside Perkins, his defense against James was particularly outstanding.
Brezec was also praised for his performance this series, with the media noticing his activeness against European bigs, joking that the Western title contenders might consider him since the best of those bigs are in the West.
Matt Carroll, Jumaine Jones, Alan Anderson, Melvin Ely, Keith Bogans, and others also made their presence known in this playoff.
Just as the Bobcats’ players were enjoying the thrill of making it to the second round, someone else popped up to steal the spotlight.
It wasn’t just anyone, but the very person they had just swept…
In the afternoon, the rookie group gathered in the gym’s lounge, frowning at the column article on ESPN that had exploded on social media that morning.
“KING’s fated rival”
The gist of the article was that the Bobcats were for James what the Pistons were for Jordan, and that one day James would overcome this adversary.
Zhang Yang began to rant, “Comparing us to that Pistons team, I don’t know if I should say ESPN has thick skin or if it’s an honor for us.”
Felton said, “Have we become the villains now?
Turned into the Bad Boys Legion?”
Zhang Yang replied, “No, boss, you’ve become the villain.
Look what it says here, I should be Dumars, Gerald is Rodman, Emeka is that privileged kid Laimbeer, and you must be the assassin Thomas that the GOAT hates the most…”