Chapter 1113: Chapter 1113
Of course, this mutual compromise and tolerance have a reason—Brooks is great at developing players. In 2008, when he became the Thunder Team’s head coach, Durant, Harden, Ibaka, the rookie Adams who’s gradually showcasing talent this year, and the departed Westbrook, were all nurtured by him single-handedly.
This is no easy feat. With teams like the Timberwolves, Kings, and other teams as benchmarks, the Thunder Team’s star players are quite appreciative of Brooks’s nurturing efforts. If not for this camaraderie, Brooks would have been ousted after the 2012 Western Conference Finals reversal.
After discussion led by Ibaka, the Thunder Team players decided to change their defensive strategy, rely more on individual skills, and implement man-to-man defense.
The result was effective, catching the Lakers off guard. Although the Thunder Team only scored 25 points in the first quarter, they held the Lakers to 22 points, securing a 3-point lead!
The Lakers adjusted thereafter, started taking control, scoring 30 points and 33 points in the second and third quarters respectively, surpassing the Thunder Team’s 32 points and 29 points across these two quarters.
After three quarters, the Lakers narrowed the score to 85-86, reducing the gap to 1 point.
However, the Thunder Team’s adjustments weren’t limited to defense; their offense changed too.
Da Ha took good care of wrapping up Du. Tonight, he needed Durant to make sacrifices, further reduce ball handling, play more off-ball, and reduce exhaustion. Durant agreed and in the first three quarters, played 30 minutes mostly taking catch-and-shoot shots, with only four isolation plays, greatly enhancing his consistency!
Durant hit 9 of 16 shots for 24 points in the first three quarters and hit 5 of 8 shots for 12 points in the final quarter, leading the Thunder Team to a 32-27 score burst.
Durant scored 36 points, Harden had 23 points and 16 assists, Ibaka scored 20 points with 6 rebounds and 4 blocks, Reggie Jackson scored 14 points, outshining Zhang Yang’s 34 points on 29 shots with 14 hits, Kobe’s 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists, Gasol’s 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Nash’s 12 points and 7 assists! The source of this content ɪs novelꞁire.net
to 112, the Thunder Team defeated the Lakers, avoiding a 0-2 deficit at home, leveling the series!
On the afternoon of the 21st, after two away games, Zhang Yang returned to Los Angeles.
Not being able to secure both away games, even knowing it would be difficult, he was still somewhat disappointed.
Moreover, he felt he had to take direct responsibility...
Others thought his 48.2% accuracy with 29 shots was already excellent, but compared to Durant’s 14 out of 24 shots, he felt somewhat like a drag.
Like in Game 1, he hit 100% from three-point range, but last night only 2 out of 8... If not for having won one away game beforehand, his performance surely would’ve been criticized.
Back home, he began reviewing last night’s video. Although he hadn’t obtained the edited clips yet, he had the full game footage, needing to put in effort to cut scenes and fast forward.
He wanted to thoroughly examine the shots he missed, the rhythm, distance, posture... to identify what went wrong and avoid repeating mistakes next time.
When learning from Kobe earlier, he privately wondered ’Why does the old ironsmith only teach how to make tough shots, not how to create shooting opportunities’, completely unaware he was similarly flawed...
In the evening, Zhang Yang went to Nash’s home to grab dinner, subsequently learning one or two technical skills.
Before dinner, Kobe called just to mention one thing—Gasol renewed his contract, 2 years for 20 million.
Gasol’s salary this year was 19.2 million, nearly half reduced.
Compared to Duncan, the deal was quite generous.
Not long after retirement rumors surfaced, Duncan completed his renewal with the Spurs, 3 years for 15 million.
Rumor had it that Duncan planned to retire at 40, meaning the new contract likely executes two years, yet his salary for the final year is still payable post-retirement, effectively giving him 7.5 million annual salary to perhaps circumvent luxury tax.
Zhang Yang remembered Gasol originally joining the Bulls after leaving the Lakers, with a salary over 7 million, given he’s soon 34, market prices weren’t high.
In two years Duncan retires, Gasol’s contract expires, and salary caps rise... Gasol could potentially have the Spurs pay top dollar, possibly 50 million or even more?
Originally, in 2016, the Spurs also gave Gasol a 3-year 48 million offer. Here, having played 3 years in the Spurs system with the Lakers, the Spurs could seamlessly integrate him, Zhang Yang couldn’t believe Popovich would resist spending.
As for the Lakers, whether or not Kobe chooses retirement after 20 years, with other teams offering such high sums, Jeanie Buss and Kupchak certainly wouldn’t renew...
Jeanie Buss’s ability was weak, but Kupchak did well at the Lakers’ big scene, originally being ousted was entirely due to Kobe’s injury predicament.
However, before ousted, Kupchak still lay a pit for Jeanie Buss in revenge—handing big contracts to Luol Deng and Mozgov.
If Zhang San could lead the team to a championship, Jeanie Buss wouldn’t be able to oust Jeanie Buss and Kupchak. Then who would follow? He’s very curious...
After a two-day break, on May 23rd, the Lakers hosted the Thunder Team for the third game of the Western Conference Finals.
During preparation, the Lakers did their homework well, Budenholzer genuinely inherited Popovich’s teachings. After two games of getting ample understanding of the Thunder Team, tonight he achieved ’being a step ahead and further prepared’!
Zhang Yang played only 36 minutes tonight, hitting 8 of 15 shots, including 2 of 4 three-pointers, alongside 8 of 8 free throws, scoring 26 points.