One Year Left to Play-Chapter 276 - 97: The Despairing Three-Point Package

Previously, Chris Owen helped Zhang Hao improve his three-point shooting form, focusing on refining the details without compromising its aesthetic appeal.

Now, watching Zhang Hao's series of showcases, he felt a mix of emotions…

After watching it through once, Chris Owen was silent for a while before saying, "Aix, this shooting motion… I don't know if it can be practiced faster, but your turnaround three-pointer was so smooth. Once perfected, it will be incredibly hard to defend."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hao fell silent.

Having an ugly shooting form isn't the saddest part; the saddest part is that this shooting form actually received approval from a professional shooting coach!

"Aix, you should practice with it first…"

...

On November 18th, Zhang Hao and his teammates faced the challenge of the Utah Jazz.

Tonight, there were significantly more fans in attendance; although the venue wasn't full, it was a stark contrast to the one-third empty seats at the start of the previous night's game.

Listening to the enthusiastic cheers from the fans, Zhang Hao quipped, "Fans are still very realistic..."

Next to him, Kenny Anderson chimed in, "That's perfectly normal. If my hometown team constantly lost, I wouldn't want to watch either."

"True that."

Without dwelling on it further, they won against the Pacers the other day; can they keep up the momentum and take down the Jazz today?

Such things always leave one wanting more.

"John Stockton, 33 years old, height 185 cm, weight 79 kg, skill rating 93, offense 86, defense 91, passing 100…"

"Karl Malone, 32 years old, height 206 cm, weight 127 kg, skill rating 98, offense 99, defense 94…"

"Jeff Hornacek, 32 years old, height 191 cm, weight 86 kg, skill rating 85…"

Looking at the scouting report of the other side's core trio, Zhang Hao found it absurd!

It's mainly because of Malone and Stockton at their age; it's kind of outrageous! But considering that Malone won the MVP at the age of 34, had significant controversy over losing the MVP to Jordan at 35, and won another MVP at age 36 after Jordan retired…

Being able to see just how strong the opponent is, in detail, is pretty tormenting.

Currently, the Jazz have played 8 games, one more than the Nets, with a 6-2 record placing them second in the West, just behind the 7-1 SuperSonics.

The SuperSonics lost their one game to the Bulls, with the old trashtalker Payton being schooled by the other old trashtalker, Jordan.

The Jazz, who have reached the Western Conference Finals twice in the past three seasons but have fallen short, are naturally in the ranks of championship contenders.

The Nets, fresh off a victory over a strong team with 50+ wins, faced a 55+ win-caliber strong team in the Jazz, and the difficulty level of the game escalated…

At 6:30 p.m., the game between the Nets and the Jazz began.

In the previous game, at least the Nets struggled at the start, which gave Almon Gilliam room for an angry outburst later on.

But tonight, the Nets had no room to struggle at all.

The anticipated outburst didn't come.

Also, after playing against the Pacers, Zhang Hao thought Almon Gilliam would have turned over a new leaf and no longer falter when encountering stronger opponents. However, Almon Gilliam only toughened up for that one game!

Tonight, facing the 123 kg Ostertag and the 127 kg Malone, Almon Gilliam faltered again, but he still found opportunities to score 12 points in 29 minutes of play.

Over this period, Zhang Hao realized why Almon Gilliam, despite often scoring more than 20 points, has still had a career average of just over 15 points: he acts fierce against weaker inside players but falters against stronger ones.

However, the Jazz's interior defense is indeed good, they control the tempo well, and their offensive efficiency is high…

With a score of 82-104, the Nets faced an unsurprising yet crushing defeat.

...

After the game against the Jazz, Zhang Hao returned to his apartment and lay on the sofa lost in thought.

Tonight's game couldn't even be called an education; the Jazz didn't even consider the Nets as a threat. They weren't playing casually either, but from the start, they played at full strength, not thinking about conserving energy for the future, and truly just crushed the Nets.

The Utah Jazz, having been together for over a decade, now have that predatory air of a team that shows no mercy against fringe playoff teams or non-playoff teams, going all out to secure victory. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The pick-and-roll combination of the Nets, which usually seems decent, pales in comparison to Stockton and Malone.

Going to sleep early, Zhang Hao woke up at dawn the next day and entered study mode to review the game, focusing on Stockton and Malone's pick-and-rolls, with special emphasis on Malone's movement after the pick.

His own performance didn't offer much for analysis; he played 31 minutes, shooting 6-for-15, 3-for-4 on free throws, securing 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists, with no blocks and 2 turnovers.

Meanwhile, Malone scored 28 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals with a 10-for-18 shooting performance!

He is top-level on both ends of the court, undoubtedly a first-team player.

"To improve shooting technique, beyond mastering the catch-and-turn fadeaway and post-fadeaway… and three-pointers, developing a shot after a pick-and-roll can also enhance shooting ability…"

He spent over two hours reviewing the game, meticulously studying every detail of the duo's pick-and-roll, uncovering quite a bit, though not everything, which he plans to discuss with Chales on the way to the next away game to learn more.

After finishing the review, Zhang Hao headed to the training room to simulate three-point practice…