One Year Left to Play-Chapter 169 - 54: When Talent Shines in the Game

Kendall Gill snatched the ball, with not much time left, took a step sideways and directly went for a mid-range shot, but it was too rushed and didn’t go in. Zhang Hao, who just made a block, secured the rebound without carelessness and was cautiously waiting for Kenny Anderson to come up for support.

The Hornets quickly retreated in defense; once Edison came to his senses, he immediately confronted Zhang Hao after the pass, not giving Zhang Hao a chance to sprint down the court.

Pressing defense on an off-ball shooter, Edison’s operation was indeed peculiar, but he didn’t think there was any problem. The opponent was faster than all their inside players, and only the point guard Kendall Gill was slightly faster than Zhang Hao.

Besides speed, there was also Zhang Hao’s physical confrontation. Edison thought of his own height of 201 cm and weight of 98 kg and found that his physical confrontation was actually inferior to Zhang Hao’s! When charging, he was more aggressive, but in terms of confrontation, the significantly slimmer Zhang Hao was stronger... Unbelievable!

While Edison couldn’t figure it out, neither could the others, but compared to the shock in the Hornets’ players’ hearts, Brooklyn Nets players were more invigorated by Zhang Hao’s block!

A block is as morale-boosting as a slam dunk. Zhang Hao’s help defense showed outstanding help awareness and physicality... Was that high school player from Minneapolis as good as Zhang Hao? His teammates thought it was impossible!

In the frontcourt, Zhang Hao continued to mainly serve as a deterrent, but this time, he noticed that the opponent’s defensive strategy had changed. It seemed less tight on him and more rigorous on the strong side’s shooting and weak side’s cutting defense.

Immediately deciding! Zhang Hao began to enhance his positioning method to create shooting opportunities for himself.

This Brooklyn Nets lineup plays at a fast pace. Although there was no fast break, Kenny Anderson advanced to the frontcourt and immediately started a quick attack, speeding up the tempo.

Zhang Hao seized the moment for a sharp reverse run along the baseline under Larry Johnson’s chasing defense, perfectly utilizing PJ Brown’s baseline cut and the opposing center Matt Geiger to block Larry Johnson, and reached the right baseline.

Kenny Anderson also detected this opportunity and quickly passed the ball to Zhang Hao. Zhang Hao received the ball and shot a baseline mid-range... It went in!

Just as Zhang Hao analyzed, the opponent might make adjustments on the defensive end; he anticipated their anticipation!

Even after this massive lineup change, Brooklyn Nets continued their offensive continuity!

Zhang Hao demonstrated strong aggression, very sharply judging the opponents’ defensive intentions on the court, along with becoming more understanding of his teammates’ court positioning habits and more familiar with his team tactics, unconsciously finding better and more suitable movement routes on the foundation of his team tactics and implementing them without hesitation, showing a brilliant performance.

His strong on-court self-adjustment awareness provided immense help to Kenny Anderson.

Whether scoring, assisting Zhang Hao, or utilizing his and Zhang Hao’s threat to pass to others... Kenny Anderson played increasingly freely!

Hornets’ coach Bristol saw this scene, knowing there was no way; Brooklyn Nets, a team mainly composed of young players, were hard to suppress if they played with morale and momentum.

However, Bristol wasn’t anxious; that he was doing his best to make adjustments didn’t mean he was afraid of losing, and they hadn’t lost yet. This game, he considered it quite a good one to get into the season rhythm, and he really wanted to thank the opponent.

Of course, winning would be better, but seeing the situation, he could only hope that the players on the court could use their plays to suppress the Nets’ momentum.

The Brooklyn Nets’ point guard line made Bristol envious. If they had someone like Kenny Anderson or Chales as a point guard, they wouldn’t have lost to the Bulls in last year’s playoffs. The team approach, where everyone can pass, is great, but sometimes having that kind of point guard who can sort out the offense on their own is equally important. Boggs is just such a point guard, but he’s too small and easily injured.

...

At halftime, with Larry Johnson and Glenn Rice scoring 6 points in the last moments, the Hornets barely kept the gap to 6 points.

to 52, Brooklyn Nets lead by 6 points going into halftime.

With 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks in 13 minutes, Zhang Hao delivered very impressive stats.

During halftime, half the players in the Brooklyn Nets’ locker room were excitedly and actively discussing how to play in the second half.

Why half?

Because in the first half, only 9 players got the chance to play, and a good portion of the other 11 players held training camp contracts and already sensed that—they had no chance. Some had prepared for being cut after returning to Rutherford Town after this stretch of away games. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Reality is cruel, but reality is indeed this cruel.

"Kenny, Chris, continue organizing the offense well in the second half, be ready to play or be subbed out at any time. We will rotate the main ball handler based on the situation on the court, just stick to your style of play, and I will make timely substitutions if we need to change the tempo.

Almon, your isolation plays are excellent...

Jason, PJ, keep up your off-ball cuts, and on the defensive end, let’s try to put as much pressure as possible on their inside offense. Aix, you need to help as well.

Aix, your off-ball positioning is excellent; I won’t limit you on this, just follow your own ideas..."