One Year Left to Play-Chapter 320 - 104: So Completing Tasks Can Be This Simple
"Bang," the shot missed, but luckily Sibaros cut in from the weak side and grabbed the offensive rebound, scoring on the putback.
Not only that, in the last play of the first half, Zhang Hao had the chance to catch the ball and make a mid-range shot, but he stunned everyone by stepping out of the three-point line after receiving the ball and turning around to take a three-pointer...
It went in, barely, bouncing several times on the rim before dropping in, to the nervous anticipation of Lakers players and the fans present.
Del Harris, watching these two offensive plays, felt tense internally—"This rookie must have some issues! To think I had a better impression of him!"
With Sibaros, the Lakers can overwhelm the Pacers’ main lineup, just as the Pacers struggle whenever encountering Barkley or Larry Johnson. When they don’t hold an advantage during rotation stages, winning against the Lakers becomes very difficult for the Pacers.
By the end of the third quarter, the Lakers were already leading 97-76 over the Pacers by 21 points.
Zhang Hao played in garbage time, focusing on shooting threes, going 1 for 4 in half a quarter, initially 1 for 1 from three, concluding three quarters with 5 for 2 from three, and by mid-fourth quarter was substituted, ending with 9 for 3...
Ultimately, the Lakers easily defeated the Pacers 122-103, improving their record to 11 wins and 5 losses, while turning the Pacers’ record to 10 wins and 6 losses!
...
When the final whistle sounded, the task completion notification came. Zhang Hao saw he gained 25 days of life, unlocking a training mode for position rhythm, and though he usually showed little expression, a hint of joy appeared, quickly reverting to his usual stoic demeanor.
Zhang Hao and his teammates on the bench stood up together to greet the teammates who played through garbage time.
This game was overwhelmingly successful!
"Turns out completing a task can be this simple..."
He looked at his stats displayed on the big screen, having played 31 minutes with 19 attempts, scoring 9; three-pointers 9 attempts, scoring 3, plus 4 for 4 in free throws, Zhang Hao achieved 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 assists!
In terms of three-pointers, he led Reggie Miller 3-2, while Reggie Miller had already been benched after three quarters.
From his perspective, during the game’s progress, Mr. Zhang certainly played a crucial role in the latter half of the first quarter when the Pacers tried to grind defense and tempo, though the underlying team strength still lay in Sibaros’ interior impact.
Containing the Pacers, and Sibaros played fiercely.
Zhang Hao truly felt the difference between someone like Sibaros, a real All-Star, and players like Almon Gilliam, who has been seen as having All-Star potential since entering the NBA.
Sibaros played for 34 minutes, making 17 of 10 attempts, and free throws 9 of 7, grabbing 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal, highly efficient, thoroughly enjoying playing against teams like the Pacers where centers are either soft or short.
Winning is the best way to integrate, Zhang Hao’s contribution in those first-quarter moments made a strong impression on both his teammates and the fans, who at least temporarily refrained from booing him after the win.
As he prepared to head toward the players’ tunnel, Zhang Hao was stopped by Time Warner’s commentator, Hubie Brown, for a post-game interview.
Though Sibaros was tonight’s best performer, Zhang Hao is the "hot topic" player recently, besides, his stats tonight were quite good, aside from throwing 9 three-pointers...
Hubie Brown asked, "Zhang, you performed well tonight. What’s different about playing for the Lakers?"
"The fans here are enthusiastic, playing under those superstar jerseys adds more pressure, luckily, the teammates are strong, the team is talented, my debut went relatively smoothly."
After the pleasantries, Hubie Brown’s questioning turned more aggressive, "You seem calm under pressure, maintaining composure for a long time, but why did you suddenly ignore teammates, recklessly shooting threes?"
Originally, Sibaros was a tad displeased that Zhang Hao was invited for the post-game interview instead of himself. But observing, he too was curious about this, pondering why Zhang Hao lost composure suddenly as he played.
Other puzzled teammates as well as Del Harris stared at Zhang Hao being questioned.
On Zhang Hao’s usually expressionless face appeared a hint of confusion, "Reckless shooting? I didn’t shoot recklessly!"
Sibaros wanted to hit him!
If that’s not reckless shooting, then Van Exel is the most selfless point guard in the world!
Then Zhang Hao continued, "I noticed Cedric and Jason had the advantage on offensive rebounds, think about it, if I passed to them on their cut-in, and they scored, that’s two points, right?
But if they attacked under the basket, they might not always make it, even if they did, it’s still only two points. If I shoot from outside, I might not make it either, but there’s still a chance, right?
And if they have the advantage in offensive rebounds, if I make it, it’s three points; if not, they grab the offensive rebound, with the chance to make it a 2-point plus 1 rebound or restart the offense.
From an economic perspective, I chose to take the three."
The people around listened in stunned silence, momentarily unable to counter.
They somehow felt it made a lot of sense!
Hubie Brown was unsure how to continue questioning, did he believe? This rookie’s nonsense seemed to have made sense!
...
...
Zhang Hao’s debut match for the Lakers received a lot of attention.
A team as closely watched as the Lakers, many people understand their fanbase, eager to see how Zhang Hao would perform under immense pressure.
