One Year Left to Play-Chapter 274 - 97: The Despair-Inducing Three-Pointer

Tonight, Zhang Hao and Almon Gilliam attended the post-game press conference together. There weren't many media outlets present, but about a dozen, half of which were Chinese media...

With 13 out of 25 field goals, 1 out of 1 three-point shots, and 4 out of 5 free throws, Zhang Hao scored 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal, with only 3 turnovers, and made the game-winning shot. Naturally, Zhang Hao had to attend the post-game press conference.

Almon Gilliam loves to brag. After winning the game and scoring the highest points, his demeanor was flamboyantly smug, and Zhang Hao had already gotten used to it.

When it came to Zhang Hao's turn, the atmosphere noticeably changed.

"Congratulations, Aix. You also made a game-winning shot in the regular season. As the most crucial player in winning against a strong playoff team tonight, how would you rate your performance in this game?"

The question came with a trap right from the start... Previously, Almon Gilliam's questions also had traps, but Almon Gilliam was an unrestrained character; no one cared much about how he responded.

But for Mr. Zhang, it's not the same.

Zhang Hao quickly thought it over and said, "Almon was the key player in winning this tough game. He scored 34 points and got 10 rebounds. Without his team-high performance, without Boss Kenny's clutch plays in the fourth quarter, without Chris and Jason's pick-and-roll coordination, we couldn't have won.

I just made the last shot."

He didn't boast, directly avoided the question, and shifted the title of the most critical player to Almon Gilliam.

Hearing Zhang Hao's words, Almon Gilliam glanced at Zhang Hao with a frown—compared to this, he realized how brainless his earlier answers sounded... Forget it, the rookie who made the game-winning shot said he was the most critical player, no need to sweat the details.

A high school student responding to an interview so calmly surprised some reporters.

But in an interview, you have to dig out some news.

A reporter from New York asked, "Aix, weren't you too confident at the last moment? There was still time, and Anderson was in an open position then."

Sure enough, some reporter popped this question, and Zhang Hao responded, "The ball was in my hands and within my shooting range, so I should take responsibility. If I passed the ball and made a mistake? You saw I had 3 turnovers tonight, so it was better for me to shoot; if I missed, it would be on me.

But didn't I make it?"

Unable to find many faults or stir things up, the reporter from New York backed down; after all, it wasn't a headline event. He was just fulfilling his duty as a journalist.

The ensuing questions were all from reporters from China, making the interview instantly more harmonious.

...

Sometimes, you need to be bolder, state the facts, and speak your mind.

After concluding the interviews and returning to the apartment, Zhang Hao went to bed early.

Early the next morning, Zhang Hao didn't review the game. This game didn't have much reference value—Almon Gilliam performed extraordinarily well, scoring 34 points, placing it fourth in Almon Gilliam's career single-game high. The last time he scored this much was during his prime at 28.

Scoring high is not Almon Gilliam's norm; scoring steadily between 15 to 20 points per game is his usual.

Tonight, Zhang Hao had something else he wanted to work on.

He spent 1 Celestial Mandate and started the passing simulation training.

The designated training opponent was the Pacers, their opponent from tonight's game.

The simulation training content included baseline passing from the free-throw line distance and dealing with passes during mid-range shot reception.

Previously, in passing studies, the focus was mainly on theoretical learning and passing accuracy. Zhang Hao was diligently acquiring knowledge from team players proficient in organizing offense for the former. For the latter, practice was needed, which involved not only training but also real-match experience, as the environment of a match and practice are two different things.

However, Zhang Hao now had a clear development direction—post-up threat passing and high-post secondary playmaking.

The latter was already a focus in his studies, while the former was a newly discovered playmaking method by Zhang Hao.

After practicing with the Pacers as the training target, Zhang Hao switched to the Heat, honing his playmaking abilities on defense against these two future Eastern Ironblood Legions… quite exhilarating. In actual games, opponents would have various objective factors affecting their defense, but in simulation training, the opponents followed tactical cooperation to defend strictly by the book.

However, when Zhang Hao thought about using the Bulls as a simulation training target initially… it didn't seem like much of a big deal anymore.

After two hours of simulated passing, Zhang Hao stopped this aspect of his training.

There was something he was reluctant to face, namely that three-point shot during last night's game against the Pacers.

He coincidentally made a three-point shot. No one thought it was odd. Even a blind cat can occasionally trap a dead mouse, let alone his excellent long two-point shots, so making a three-pointer under pressure seemed normal. No one cared about his shooting form.

However, should that shooting form become his regular shot...

The thought made Zhang Hao feel hopeless.

But then he remembered the week of preparation before the regular season and the conversation with Chris Owen about expanding his shooting range. Chris Owen had said, "Aix, your shooting style mainly involves shooting off the dribble, and you're quite used to it. But threes are different; there are catch-and-shoot threes, but after receiving the ball, you shoot while facing the hoop as a stationary target without much room for movement. Your slow progress in three-point shooting isn't because you're new to it; your basic shooting skills are solid. If the shooting style suits, the initial progress should arguably be faster. We should consider how to adjust your shooting action…"