One Year Left to Play-Chapter 263 - 94: Because He’s Smart
Almon Gilliam really can't break free; without considering explosiveness, Zhang Hao has the advantage in pure strength.
Seeing Almon Gilliam on the verge of losing control, Randy Whitman called a timeout.
Dale Davis was a bit confused; he was ready to take a punch to get the opponent's strongest one-on-one player ejected.
But the rookie on the other side was too calm, directly pulling Almon Gilliam away, in a somewhat… special way.
That's not important. What's important is that, in his mind, Almon Gilliam wasn't as bad as he said; instead, Dale Davis thought that Almon Gilliam might be the one to turn the tide of the game.
Because although their front line was aggressive and their center had top-notch scoring skills, their interior defense was quite weak; they were better at intercepting breakthroughs and switching defense on mid-range shots.
The Brooklyn Nets previously defeated the Heat; Dale Davis was the defensive commander for the Pacers, and he had to do something.
Once doesn't work, twice doesn't work, then keep provoking the opponent; after all, it's just a matter of using some words… though it hurts teammates, Derek McKay walked back to the bench scratching his ear; Dale Davis's shout almost perforated his eardrum.
On the other side, the Brooklyn Nets bench.
On the way back to the bench, Zhang Hao kept thinking about what to say to Almon Gilliam, and finally thought of something when they returned. He said to Almon Gilliam, "Almon, don't fall for that guy's trap. He's afraid of you and that's why he's trying to provoke you. He's scared you'll score under the basket and attract a double team, then pass the ball. Got it?"
"Mmm mmm mmm…"
"Do you understand?"
"Mmm mmm mmm…"
The teammates beside them saw Zhang Hao holding Almon Gilliam in a shoulder lock posture and covering his mouth while asking questions… this rookie is ruthless!
At this moment, it was Jason Williams who stepped forward to save Almon Gilliam: "Aix, with Almon's mouth covered, he can't answer you."
Zhang Hao was stunned, looking at Almon Gilliam whose mouth... and nose were covered, and seemingly quite forcefully, already showing the whites of his eyes. Zhang Hao quickly let go and helped him stand steadily.
After standing steadily, Almon Gilliam pushed Zhang Hao away and kept gasping for air.
"Sorry, sorry, my bad for still covering your mouth."
Almon Gilliam calmed down at this point; if he rushed up just now, he could have lost several games' worth of salary, but he still rolled his eyes at Zhang Hao and responded: "I got it!"
"Mm-hmm!" Zhang Hao nodded quickly, breathed a sigh of relief, and continued, "Almon, let's work together more next; when you have the chance, attack the opponent's basket. Their center only looks tall; when I competed against him, I found his strength mediocre. He's 116 kilograms but 224 centimeters tall; he can't stop you. They just double-teamed you; in the same zone, you're ready to pass to me at any time… whenever you feel it's time to pass, look for me, leave the rest to me."
"PJ, pay attention to grabbing rebounds."
"Boss Kenny, you go guard Miller; try to catch up with him. If you can't defend him, no worries, PJ and I will try to cover him."
"Coach, can we replace Kevin first; he can shoot threes and act as a third ball-handler for one-on-one plays…"
As he spoke, Zhang Hao instinctively shut his mouth.
Talk too much, and you'll slip up! How did I end up giving orders?"
Teammates close to Zhang Hao were worried and looked at Randy Whitman.
Randy Whitman glanced around at the players, paused, nodded and said: "Okay."
Really unbelievable!
Randy Whitman isn't the kind of person who easily agrees!
Last year, when Coleman played erratically, Randy Whitman would make him sit on the bench for an entire quarter. This season, only Kenny Anderson and PJ Brown, the dual leaders on offense and defense, could communicate with Randy Whitman about adjustments on the court, and that's communication.
The disparity in treatment between people is too much!
Even Zhang Hao was surprised by this situation…
...
As the timeout was ending, on the Brooklyn Nets side, Randy Whitman substituted Edwards for Graham; the players walked onto the court.
Butch Baird sat beside Randy Whitman saying quietly: "See that, Randy? Aix's leadership qualities!"
Ignoring Butch Baird's words, Randy Whitman muttered: "Unbelievable, these guys are actually willing to follow Aix's arrangements."
Butch Baird laughed proudly: "Because he's smart! Didn't you notice? During training camp, preseason games, and the last few regular season matches, he's been showing off his strengths, especially his basketball IQ. He's been demonstrating his strong suits. According to Vaughn, Kenny often seeks Zhang Hao out to analyze what he did poorly in games."
"Okay, okay, I get it. You have good judgment alright…"
On the court, after Zhang Hao was initially surprised, he roughly guessed that this was a testament to the coaching staff's attention to him.
Perhaps, it was also conveying a signal to other players on the team — that Zhang was the player the coaching staff cared about the most.
This is a good thing!
The timeout ended, the referee blew the whistle to resume the game, gave the ball to Derek McKay, who passed it to Mark Jackson, and the game continued.
Mark Jackson advanced outside the three-point line and began quickly analyzing the situation on the court.
