One Year Left to Play-Chapter 155 - 48: Gabfest Takes More Than a Day
The Hornets’ defense is actually not bad, not bad at all, it should be quite good. Just now, when Vaughn Fleming cut in, Larry Johnson had no problem covering the position, but Edison should have been able to switch to cover him. Instead, Edison followed Vaughn Fleming into the paint, seemingly preparing for PJ Brown’s pick and roll cut-in.
They underestimated him...no, they ignored him!
In this situation, Zhang Hao really feels...it’s great!
The more the opponent underestimates him, the better. It gives him time to develop stealthily and quickly integrate into the NBA style of play.
Transition from defense to offense, Hornets attacking.
Michael Adams passed half-court and handed the ball to Dale Curry.
Dale Curry executed a fake move, followed by a smooth behind-the-back dribble, with perfect rhythm, leaving Kenny Anderson behind with one step, breaking through from the left side of the arc!
Veteran Parish did a good job of blocking PJ Brown, who wanted to help defensively. Dale Curry was ready to accelerate for a float shot inside, but as he reached the free-throw line, a tall figure suddenly appeared in front of him!
"Wasn’t this rookie supposed to be at the baseline?"
Dale Curry was unprepared for another player coming to defend, got stuck by Zhang Hao, and with the passing lane gone, decided to force the shot! He wanted to push away the slender rookie in front of him, but upon physical contact, he couldn’t overpower his opponent and was forced to stop dribbling!
In a flash, with no time to think further, and with Kenny Anderson catching up from behind, Dale Curry attempted a forced fadeaway floater... Zhang Hao jumped up sharply and grabbed the ball!
Height, wingspan, vertical leap... all are outstanding as Zhang Hao completed a grab against Dale Curry! 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
This scene drew gasps from the fans in the stands — such mobility, awareness, this block... it was beautiful!
Brooklyn Nets fans were initially unhappy with their team selecting a high school player, especially a Chinese high school player, feeling like their tanking last year was wasted. Not only did they lose Coleman over the summer, but they chose a high schooler like this.
With just this move, Zhang Hao instantly made the stadium’s fans take notice of him.
Grabbing the ball, Zhang Hao held it to his chest without rushing, not even seeming too excited — after all, he blocked a 193 cm player with a wingspan of only 194 cm, from the Curry family whose wingspans seemed hereditary...
This skinny stick turns out to be a powerhouse boy! Dale Curry is also a veteran, and after a brief moment of surprise from the block, quickly retreated to defend. Zhang Hao carefully handed the ball over to the approaching Kenny Anderson, then swiftly ran forward.
Kenny Anderson pushed forward to the frontcourt, seeing Zhang Hao actively moving.
The Hornets still didn’t pay much attention to Zhang Hao, who followed the tactic to sneak along the baseline, using screens to maneuver around to the free-throw line, catching Kenny Anderson’s pass post-pick and roll, scoring again with a mid-range shot!
Really, an opportunity given!
During the next period, Zhang Hao didn’t achieve much on the defensive end. After Dale Curry began taking note of Zhang Hao’s help defense, Zhang Hao’s awareness alone wasn’t enough. He had talent and a frame, but lacked defensive fundamentals and experience.
Larry Johnson singled out Zhang Hao twice, using his strong physique and superb one-on-one skills to play Zhang Hao like a puppet — not even bothering to bully him exclusively with strength — like they were just playing around, the Hornets players’ focus on Zhang Hao quickly dissipating.
Even occasionally scoring a mid-range shot, so what? Still just a skinny high school rookie.
Though poor on defense, Zhang Hao excelled on offense, utilizing the opponent’s defense well, shooting as soon as he got the ball, fully warming up bringing him a good touch!
After the first quarter, the Brooklyn Nets relied on Zhang Hao’s 8 points and 1 rebound, and Kenny Anderson’s single-quarter 10 points and 5 assists, bringing the score to 31-33.
The Hornets didn’t really take this game seriously at all; during the intermission, with the main Hornets players having played a quarter, they began subbing in their training camp players.
The Brooklyn Nets, on the other hand, saw Randy Whitman subbing Kenny Anderson out and bringing in Chales and Jason Williams, their core duo, as well as their primary scorer Gilliam, and versatile scorer-receiver Edwards, alongside Zhang Hao.
Setting up Chales and Jason Williams’ pick and roll core tactic, with space creation plays revolving around Zhang Hao, the first shot choice shifted from Zhang Hao in the latter half of the first quarter to Gilliam.
The Hornets also made substitutions, bringing in Dale Curry, 26-year-old 92 draft year exclusion Antoine Lyles, 91 second-round pick Gregg Sutto, 87 veteran inside Joe Wolf, and this year’s first-round 22nd pick rookie George Zidek.
Playing the point, which is not Dale Curry’s usual position.
Being shifted to this position, the insecurity brought by the new season grew stronger.
Last season’s first-round loss against the Bulls was partly due to important point guard backup Tini Boggs being sidelined with injury in the third game of the series, disrupting their entire playoff setup. Despite losing the first game and the home court advantage, they won the second game on the road 106-89 against the Jordan-led Bulls, reclaiming the home court advantage; the first game was only lost by 8 points to the Bulls.
It can be said the Little Worm’s injury in game three changed the entire series’ balance.
The reality is Boggs is essentially out for the new season, rather it’s not really anytime soon that he’s playing the point guard role a lot.
With a bunch of concerns, heading to the court, Dale Curry planned to unleash these negative emotions onto his opponent.
