One Year Left to Play-Chapter 315 - 103: One Basket to Make Them Cheer

...

After the timeout, the Lakers put in a lineup of Van Exel, Anthony Peeler, George Lynch, Zhang Hao, and Jason Williams.

The Pacers sent out a lineup of Travis Best, Haywood Walker, Reggie Miller, Dale Davis, and Antonio Davis.

Seeing that Zhang Hao wasn’t substituted out, the fans in the arena got restless again, and this time even Del Harris was getting cursed at.

Amidst the boos and curses, Zhang Hao muttered, "The Lakers sure are special..."

Standing next to him, Anthony Peeler couldn’t understand Zhang Hao’s muttering but could guess what he was talking about. He said, "This place is just like that. Don’t be frustrated. Didn’t Cedric just praise you for your excellent offensive positioning that put pressure on the opponents’ defense?"

Zhang Hao didn’t respond, and Anthony Peeler didn’t find it strange.

The game continued, and the Lakers were on offense, inbounding the ball in the frontcourt. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

George Lynch passed the ball to Van Exel, who excitedly began to launch the offense.

With Divac and Eddie Jones substituted out, he was one of the happiest, and now with Sibaros and Campbell resting, he had absolute control of the ball!

Teammates?

No time to worry about them! Van Exel observed that breaking through to score wasn’t easy, so he chose to take a step across and attempt a three-pointer!

Jason Williams, who became delicate after being traded, wasn’t idle. He had his agent prepare the Lakers’ videos from the first dozen games of the season. It was easy to get, straight from the Lakers, and he studied the shooting habits of the Lakers’ perimeter players — hadn’t gotten around to the interior ones due to tight time.

However, for the other Lakers shooters, Jason Williams could judge their shooting characteristics and habits. There was just one exception: Van Exel!

Who would’ve expected he’d shoot now?

Though averaging 2.3 three-pointers per game since the start of the season, he also contributed 4.1 misses per game. The thirty-five percent shooting percentage was decent, but his performance was inconsistent. This time, the three-pointer didn’t go in!

"Clang"

Dale Davis secured the defensive rebound.

Zhang Hao quickly retreated on defense, falling back directly to the basket. Del Harris on the sideline felt that this rookie’s defense was simply terrible, didn’t even know where to stand. But then he saw Jason Williams not retreating back to the basket, instead focusing on following Antonio Davis... Their defense on the court wasn’t as he had previously arranged!

"Hmm... Right, I remembered, got all muddled by Jeanie, Jerry did say that Aix is excellent at rim protection, his physical test strengths were also outstanding..."

Reggie Miller continued to carefully push forward to the frontcourt. After passing the initial phase of full offensive starters, it was time to slow down, wear down the defense, and let the other three starters who have shooting ability rest well and maintain their touch. This was the time for him to score and organize the offense.

George Lynch’s defense was very active, finally getting playing time in the regular rotation phase!

Back in his rookie year, he averaged 24 minutes, scoring 9 points, grabbing 6 boards, and achieving 1.4 steals in a stellar performance. But last season, during his sophomore year, the Lakers selected Eddie Jones, who averaged 14+4 in his rookie year. It wasn’t only Anthony Peeler who got benched, but also him.

This season, in the first 15 games, he averaged only 11 minutes, mostly playing during garbage time, with an average score of just 3.2 points.

Now he had a chance, and he was defending with all his effort.

For Reggie Miller, facing George Spirit with an 81 defense rating, controlling the ball to organize the offense became a little difficult. He called Antonio Davis up to block George Lynch. Jason Williams, already instructed by Zhang Hao before the game, quickly pressed out beyond the three-point line.

Reggie Miller maneuvered around Jason Williams, broke past the three-point line, and stopped abruptly for a long two-point shot...

The opportunity was great, but his rhythm was interrupted by George Lynch earlier. Upon shooting, he realized it would miss, and indeed it did!

Seeing Dale Davis under the basket close to Zhang Hao, fans couldn’t bear to watch this moment. The size difference between the two underneath was huge, and they were ready to boo Zhang Hao... Zhang Hao held Dale Davis firmly, securing the defensive rebound!

He actually held him off!

Van Exel, running in to receive the pass, was surprised when he got the ball from Zhang Hao, who had secured the defensive rebound and immediately initiated a fast break!

Too fast!

Van Exel was stunned by the sprinting Zhang Hao. The speed, combined with that physique, was unbelievable... "Whut?"

Van Exel saw Zhang Hao getting faster! As he reached near the halfway point, his speed surged again, and crossing the half-court, he was even faster!

The opposing guards Travis Best and Haywood Walker were crossing midcourt but were overtaken by their forward from the Lakers!

Van Exel quickly passed the ball... Very accurate! After all, with an average of 8.6 assists per game ranking seventh in the league, although he was a bit of a lone wolf and had average playmaking vision, his passing accuracy was excellent!

Zhang Hao charged into the three-point line and caught the ball perfectly, took one dribble, then took three large strides, raised the ball with his left hand outside the charging circle, and slammed it into the basket with one hand!

This time, the fans had prepared to boo, but too late, it turned into a collective gasp of astonishment!

From Zhang Hao grabbing the rebound and passing to Van Exel, to dunking in the frontcourt, took only about four seconds! The sprinting speed across the court was ridiculously fast! At most, three and a half seconds!

The Lakers players on the court widened their eyes — the last time this guy played them, they didn’t see this skill! Wait, last time, it seems their coach had them defend this guy toughly... So the coach was already wary of him... But why did they start him?

The Lakers players couldn’t figure out what was going on, and at that moment, sparse cheers began to emerge from the crowd!

Zhang Hao — "Finally, not getting booed, it feels a bit strange..."

He spread his left hand behind his ear in a listening gesture.

Seeing this scene, the fans wanted to boo, but the fast break just now was too impressive! So fast it elicited screams of surprise.

If we don’t want to boo this time, and this newcomer is playing quite well, then let’s cheer!