One Year Left to Play-Chapter 171 - 54: When Talent Shines in the Game

Especially his understated playing style that still has a strong presence, making it easy for fans watching live to like him, something you can’t see in news reports.

However, if the Hornets’ players knew what the fans were thinking, they’d be spitting blood with anger.

But it’s not surprising that the fans thought this way, given that the Hornets’ market in Charlotte isn’t great, far less popular than North Carolina.

Players like Zhang Hao, who are of college age, can easily gain the affection of local Charlotte fans.

Anyway, after Zhang Hao’s arrogant demeanor following his dunk over Edison, the fans at the scene have already forgiven him. Apart from that play, Zhang Hao didn’t show any arrogance, no matter how beautiful his shots were. They considered that play an "accident."

As for what Edison thinks, no one cares.

Even for what Hornets’ players think, most of the audience doesn’t care.

Some local fans who have seen news interviews with Zhang Hao after the draft even blamed North Carolina—if you had given him a full basketball scholarship, he’d be our player!

Though they didn’t know what was in the fans’ minds, the Hornets’ players could feel the shift in fan support, occasionally hearing gasps of astonishment when Zhang Hao played well.

This made the Hornets’ players extremely displeased!

There are only 2 minutes and 39 seconds left in the game, they have regained the lead, they’re about to win!

The Hornets’ players have never been so eager to win a preseason game, but now, they just want to win!

Bristol wants this kind of mindset, this genuine new-season emotion; during the timeout, he seriously considers the opponent’s upcoming offensive strategy and their own crucial moment offense.

On the other side, Randy Whitman also seriously plans tactics, keeping Zhang Hao on the court in the final moments, not because he believes Zhang Hao will perform incredibly at crucial times, but because there are no better players available.

Besides Kenny Anderson, Gilliam, Chales, Zhang Hao, this rookie, is the best player on the team!

Considering positional overlap, style, and other factors, Zhang Hao’s impact in the game is more important than Chales.

Randy Whitman truly did not expect Zhang Hao to be this excellent!

But even so, Zhang Hao has been continuously surprising them since the first day he joined the team.

However, whether he can perform well in the critical last few minutes, Randy Whitman has no confidence; if Coleman were there, they could just pass the ball to Coleman for a one-on-one play at the end, as Coleman is stronger than the opposing Larry Johnson.

But since he’s not there, they’ll proceed as usual.

Timeout ends, Zhang Hao, Kenny Anderson, Gilliam, PJ Brown, and Vaughn Fleming take the court.

The Hornets sent out a combination of Kendall Gill, Dale Curry, Glenn Rice, Burrell, and Larry Johnson.

Bristol directly placed Larry Johnson in the center position because, compared to even an actual inside player like Jason Williams, Larry Johnson has a clear advantage in terms of confrontation, and among the playable players on the Brooklyn Nets, there isn’t a true center, so it makes sense to put the strongest five players on the court now.