One Year Left to Play-Chapter 167 - 53: What If I Can’t Stay Low-Key?

The referee finally squeezed into the crowd, blew his whistle repeatedly, and both Larry Johnson and Jason Williams received a technical foul. In the end, the referee gave Zhang Hao a technical foul.

Zhang Hao glared with wide eyes, silently questioning why.

The referee looked up at Zhang Hao and put the whistle back in his mouth...

"I was wrong..." Zhang Hao admitted defeat decisively.

With a good attitude of admitting mistakes and having not retaliated earlier but calmly holding back, the referee didn’t issue a second technical foul.

On the side, Dale Curry saw Zhang Hao seemingly unaware of how arrogant he had just been. He felt resigned... just overly calm? Is this considered an excellent mindset?

The situation finally calmed down. The referee indicated that the technical fouls between Larry Johnson and Jason Williams offset each other. Zhang Hao’s technical meant the Hornets would take free throws and, just after the conflict, Edison’s team called a timeout due to his blocking foul.

"Aix, your dunk just now was freaking cool. Why didn’t I think of celebrating like you did after a slam? So arrogant, but so cool..." Jason Williams still hadn’t calmed down, excitedly hooking Zhang Hao’s shoulder and chattering on. At this moment, he had forgotten they were rivals.

This big guy has a sense of loyalty! Zhang Hao’s opinion of Jason Williams improved a lot, but hearing Jason Williams’ words made him realize that the way he stood still after the dunk was really a bit arrogant... he needed to be low-key!

But what to do if he can’t be low-key?

Getting a technical foul himself and dragging Jason Williams along, Zhang Hao wasn’t planning to retaliate when he was pushed. If Larry Johnson were ejected because of this, their Brooklyn Nets’ chances of winning would greatly increase.

Thinking of this, Zhang Hao suddenly felt uneasy. How did he end up just like that certain rookie from Minnesota who refused to play center all season?

"No way! I have to be low-key! Only by being discreet can I develop properly!"

Zhang Hao held firm in his belief. Upon returning to the bench, he said to Jason Williams, "Thank you, Jason."

By this time, Jason Williams had gradually calmed down. Hearing Zhang Hao’s words, he smirked and said, "I’m not helping you, just because you’re my teammate, that’s all."

He just can’t stand seeing teammates being bullied.

In this conflict, the Brooklyn Nets’ morale clearly soared, and that dunk just now really boosted morale.

Moreover, he triggered the Bronze Medal "Dunk Master," and for the next three rounds, their morale would peak!

For this conflict, Randy Whitman didn’t say anything, nor did he make any substitutions. Instead, the opponent first substituted Larry Johnson to calm down.

The timeout was about to end when Butch Baird approached Zhang Hao before the players headed back to the court, saying, "Aix, be careful next time. The game will definitely become tense. I believe your resilience can adapt to the NBA. This is a good opportunity for you to learn to play under high tension..."

Just as Butch Baird mentioned, Zhang Hao clearly felt the atmosphere change when he took the court again. The Hornets substituted Kendall Gill, Dale Curry, Scott Burrell, Darren Hancock, and George Zidek.

The inside was weak, but except for Glenn Rice, the best players on the perimeter were all on the court.

Dale Curry executed the technical foul free throw brought about by Zhang Hao. The score was 15 to 18, and the Hornets still trailed by 3 points to the Nets.

Next came the free throw for the foul Zhang Hao drew from Edison.

The crowd jeered as Zhang Hao and Jason Williams remained on the court.

This time, Zhang Hao was a bit tense, and he missed the free throw! Fellow rookie center George Zidek from the Czech Republic grabbed the defensive rebound.

Zhang Hao was a bit frustrated but immediately transitioned back to defense without hesitating.

Back in the backcourt, Zhang Hao saw Kendall Gill advancing, and 201 cm athletic swingman Hancock cutting in from the weak side. Zhang Hao quickly followed. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Hancock wasn’t particularly strong but very versatile, capable of a bit of everything. The downside being frequent injuries, but when healthy, he was a highly useful jack-of-all-trades type player. With Zhang Hao temporarily restrained, the Hornets’ perimeter trio’s team play unfolded.

The Hornets didn’t play an individual holding the ball while others stood around catching passes. Apart from isolation plays, the ball went through many players’ hands in their system. All three leading players could pass and control, with Burrell utilizing Dale Curry’s cutting threat, receiving a pass, and returning it to Kendall Gill, who circled to the baseline and made the close-range jump shot!

Last season’s Bulls and Hornets playoffs, Zhang Hao had some understanding. In his view, this trio’s coordination, with Larry Johnson in the inside to draw attention, was unstoppable even by the Bulls!

Zhang Hao felt an unprecedented pressure, being merely an NBA rookie who had played only one preseason game. The high school games never had this much pressure, and not even the Adidas Training Camp felt this intense.

However, under such a substantial amount of pressure, Zhang Hao remained calmer because he really had nothing to fear. Along with the pressure came more excitement - he finally had the chance to battle against a serious playoff-level team!

Zhang Hao didn’t have the opportunity for a fast break and just sprinted to the frontcourt, waiting for Chales, who was steadily controlling the pace.

Chales didn’t change the pace just because Zhang Hao was on the court. If there was a chance for a fast break, of course, he would pass, but if not, he wouldn’t change the rhythm.