No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 201 - 114. Media Attack

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Chapter 201: 114. Media Attack

"Little brother always says pressure is what drives motivation, doesn’t he?"

"So why is it good to have no pressure now?"

During physiotherapy, Felton expressed his confusion to Okafor.

Initially, Felton didn’t like Okafor, thinking he was too arrogant.

Upon learning that Okafor didn’t want to speak with him because he didn’t have a degree, Felton felt speechless, but wasn’t angry. Instead, he was happy to "meet the high standards" set by others, because they were ’high standards’, and he would obtain his degree after completing his thesis defense soon; as a very successful college athlete, passing his defense would be easy.

After talking more with Okafor, Felton thought Okafor wasn’t too bad, polite, and logical in his discussions—unlike many teammates who couldn’t even understand human speech.

Moreover, Okafor had no intentions of fighting for the top spot...

If Felton told Zhang Yang about Okafor’s attitude toward "fighting for the top spot," Zhang Yang would help Little Fat Boss realize—Okafor doesn’t even think you two pose any threat to him.

As long as Okafor wasn’t severely injured, even if Felton and Gerald Wallace teamed up to compete against Okafor, the team would have to trade one of them, and it would only be them who got traded.

Having played one game alongside a fit, uninjured Okafor, Zhang Yang understood why Howard, with his average of 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks, only had a fraction of the first-place votes that Okafor did last season—he was truly outstanding!

Last season, in the best Rookie votes, Howard had only 6 first-place votes, compared to Okafor’s 66.

Howard might have a higher future potential compared to Okafor, but comparing only to Howard, Okafor’s own talent was definitely top-tier too. Combined with his effort, his attitude during games, and the endurance he demonstrated later, an average of 15+10 was just his starting point.

Okafor: "I think what Jarett means is that success isn’t just about having pressure and motivation. Last year, Gerald and I worked very hard. As the core of a new team, we felt obliged to make the team stronger and bear the pressure of Charlotte. But we only secured 18 wins. This year, even though I was out for three months, we already have 25 wins. The key is the roster strength, not the pressure. To reach the playoffs, all we need to do is work hard. Every step closer to the playoffs shows our progress."

Felton: "So that’s how it is, really. Emeka, when I think of it like this, the pressure just disappears, but my desire for the playoffs hasn’t decreased at all!"

Seeing that Felton understood, Okafor nodded in satisfaction.

Once one’s educational level was sufficient, Okafor was willing to engage in a meaningful conversation—the minimum requirement being that the other person could understand human speech.

...

On the evening of the 26th at 6 PM, the Bobcats’ home game against the Trail Blazers commenced.

Zhang Yang sat courtside, watching Jarett Jack from the same agency start for the Trail Blazers, mourning for Blake.

Blake was a member of the golden generation of ’03, who only entered the NBA after graduating college. He had a strong immediate impact; during his college days, he was possibly the greatest point guard in Atlantic Coast Conference history, leading the University of Maryland to the 2002 NCAA Championship. Although the MOP went to his teammate Juan Dixon, who exploded during the finals, most college fans believed Blake was the better player.

The Wizards initially drafted Blake to start, but they surprisingly found a loophole in the rules that allowed them to snatch Arenas, acted decisively, and it actually worked, even leading to the creation of the "Arenas Provision."

Consequently, Blake became a backup. His rookie year was okay, averaging 18 minutes a game, scoring 5.9 points and making 2.8 assists with a three-point shooting percentage of 37.1%. Who knew that by the 2004-05 season Arenas would play an average of 40 minutes, turning Blake practically irrelevant...

Finally, last summer, when Blake’s rookie contract expired, he left the Wizards and joined the Trail Blazers, who lacked a dominant point guard, and quickly secured a starting position. But then, his backup was the great Jarett Jack.

After half a season, Blake finally couldn’t hold on. Just before the All-Star break ended, he slipped while catching a push pass under the basket, severely twisting his ankle, and was sidelined for 3-4 weeks.

The way Blake shot, hardly jumping when he went for rebounds, it’s a mystery how he could twist his ankle so badly.

Tonight, Okafor returned to the starting lineup as the power forward, teaming up with Gerald Wallace and the substitute Perkins to limit Randolph’s shooting percentage to just 38%.

However, at this point, Randolph didn’t care if his shooting efficiency affected the outcome of the game. He stubbornly took 21 shots, scoring 8 out of 21, even stepped out to throw a couple of three-pointers, both missed, plus 5 out of 7 free throws, scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Having faced Randolph twice, Zhang Yang truly understood why Randolph’s reputation was so poor. He had always been puzzled—Randolph was at least an inside player averaging 20+10, right?

His idea of Randolph padding stats was like Towns, who collected stats but couldn’t win games, or like Whiteside, who stacked up rebounds and blocks, but the real Randolph seemed to not even bother defending. After attacking, he would just wait under the opposite basket, letting his teammates play 4 on 5, eventually just catching long passes for fast breaks.

Tonight, Zhang Yang performed averagely, playing 23 minutes, and scoring 14 points with 4 rebounds and 1 steal. His mid-range and fastbreak shooting was 5 out of 9, but he missed all four three-point attempts. ƒreewebɳovel.com

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