One Year Left to Play-Chapter 174 - 56: The Coaching Staff Wants to Go Wild
In a game without much chatter, the last words were unexpectedly badass!
Zhang Hao’s voice was loud, and his teammates instinctively gathered around him.
In contrast, over at the Hornets, Larry Johnson was all alone, and he chose to turn and walk away.
Not that he was afraid of a big crowd; when Larry gets angry, he dares to fight everyone solo.
But, he lost!
The rookie secured the victory single-handedly in the crucial moments!
Kenny Anderson breathed a sigh of relief — being the boss is tough!
...
The next morning, Zhang Hao got up early once more.
Last night, he secretly drank again, while his teammates went out after the game to have fun. Charlotte, what a place, not really bustling, but a coastal city with a high green coverage and good environment... so there are lots of beautiful girls, an NBA team, and lively nightlife. Not to mention Charlotte is the richest city in North Carolina, Rutherford Town, even though it looks like the urban-rural fringe, is blooming with wildflowers in the fields.
Celebrating the victory was secondary; the main thing was the eight main players discovered the coaching staff’s strategies, which Zhang Hao learned about too. So, taking those with non-guaranteed contracts and training camp contracts out to drink in case some of them wouldn’t be seen again soon. Even though they’re in different positions in the team, some have become friends with others.
This time, Zhang Hao felt Mike Bibby’s mindset...
However, due to age issues, Zhang Hao didn’t socialize much, so there wasn’t such a situation for him.
It’s rather harsh; becoming friends, opening up to each other, and forming bonds sometimes really depends on your position. People on different paths may never truly connect.
Looking at the bottle on the bedside table... it was brought back by Kenny Anderson last night. He said he wanted to invite Zhang Hao to drink, so he really brought back alcohol, but didn’t drink much. Zhang Hao only drank half a cup because that’s all he was poured. The rest was finished off by Jason Williams who came into the room afterwards.
US Dollars!
Jason Williams got fined 500 US Dollars for a technical foul to stick up for Zhang Hao, while Zhang Hao’s technical was revoked after the game for taunting without action. If it causes a conflict during the game, it’s a technical foul to appease the opposing team, but often gets revoked post-game. Only confirmed actual actions result in technical fouls.
These days, the tolerance is high!
But Jason Williams loves indulging, initially coming to Zhang Hao’s room to seek reimbursement, but forgot about it when he saw the alcohol.
Thinking about this cheered Zhang Hao up.
Recalling his words post-game, if someday he makes it big, they might become famous words — but it’s just a preseason game, although winning felt as thrilling as a playoff victory...
Zhang Hao in deep thought felt a tinge of sadness.
At least, this group hasn’t lost its fighting spirit yet; at least, they still want to win; at least... they’re still trying hard enough to win!
Does it matter how many games they can win?
Perhaps it does, but after the team’s survival instincts before training camp, which was as silent as a dead pool, now every individual is striving hard to taste victory... it doesn’t matter how many games they can win.
What matters is, they want to win!
There are problems, like they struggled to win even against a half-hearted Hornets team, with 9 rotations without anyone left out, whereas Hornets used 17 players in rotation in the first half.
Hornets only played seriously in the period from 3 minutes into the third quarter until the end.
But that doesn’t matter...
Everything is moving in a positive direction.
Losses always happen; even the strongest teams face defeat, regardless of regular or playoff season, none have had an undefeated record, let alone the Brooklyn Nets?
Zhang Hao hopes the team can maintain a good mindset after losses and not collapse.
...
points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal, and nearly a game-winner! Zhang Hao made the news again after the game!
This stat, even if it’s just the preseason, is excellent for a rookie, especially a controversial high school recruit like Zhang Hao.
Antonio McDyess and Damon Stoudamire, the two Best Rookie favorites, were outshone by Zhang Hao.
It wasn’t just a seasonal midterm burst overshadowing them; it was from the start, outperforming anyone of the same batch!
Kevin Garnett, Rashid Wallace, Joe Smith, Starkhouse... etc., seemed dimmer in comparison to Zhang Hao.
All of this seemed irrelevant to Zhang Hao as he contemplated how to improve himself. In a suite at the Brooklyn Nets’ hotel, two key coaching staff members were in a private conversation.
The Brooklyn Nets coaching staff had only four people, which was quite impoverished; two of them were mostly useless.
The year before Butch Baird became head coach, the Brooklyn Nets made the playoffs and seemed capable of repeating that for consecutive years, but the management gave up, longing for more without any concrete plans, yet with distant visions.
