CHAPTER 1250: CHAPTER 507: NOT ALLOWED TO SHOOT? I’LL SHOOT ANYWAY! (PART 4)

With the success demonstrated by these two teams, other teams have begun to pay attention to rookie contracts. After ’16, the value of draft picks has also continued to rise.

Before that, for example, during this period in ’09, rookie contracts were very ’cheap’. The Clippers were still playing the game of drafting a talented rookie to use for three years, and then selling them cheaply in the fourth year to avoid losing them for nothing or to avoid giving a high salary.

Because of their previous operations with the Bobcats and the subsequent success, the concept of ’rookie dividend’ was born ahead of time?!

Zhang Yang analyzed it a bit. Even so, it wouldn’t affect their Bobcats. They’ve already exhausted the dividends of their three young players. The ones who should be worried are the teams with such foresight but haven’t started executing yet, like the Spurs, who are waiting for Duncan’s big contract to expire to renew with a lowered salary and have talented rookies like Conley and Guy under contract.

However, the impact should not be too great. In the next two or three years, we should still be dealing with the aftermath of the subprime crisis. It’ll be good as long as the salary cap doesn’t fall back. The original rookie dividend phase for the Warriors and Spurs coincided with the stage when the NBA salary cap started rising again. It’s already difficult to operate now.

The Bobcats were able to successfully complete that wave of operations because they had just been formed for three years at the time and didn’t even have a mid-level contract, while now every team has one or two burdens.

After browsing the news for a while, just after 9:30, the team staff arrived, and Zhang Yang got the video of last night’s game that the editor worked overtime overnight to finish.

He spent an hour watching the edited clips of G1 and G2... The opponents were really strong!

Last night in the fourth quarter, after the Lakers put up that 8-3 run, if he hadn’t managed to withstand the pressure and make that mid-range shot, it might have all collapsed! If that mid-range shot hadn’t gone in, Kobe probably wouldn’t have forced a three-pointer to fight for a 5-point difference, and there likely wouldn’t have been his subsequent counterattack dunk to tie the score, sparking a 10-0 run.

G1 was the same. They took advantage of Garnett and Ariza’s poor shooting touch at the beginning and secured a 7-point lead in the first quarter, forcing the opponents to start a superstar battle. As a result, by the end of the third quarter, the point difference was reduced to just 1 point with 7 seconds remaining...

Zhang San: This video is not worth watching!

Though he thought this way, he still watched the video again. The more research, the better he can respond in similar situations on the spot in the future...

...

In the afternoon, Zhang Yang went to Los Angeles with the team. His girlfriend didn’t go with him, but she will go with Zhang’s dad, mom, and little Wukong tomorrow.

After a night of rest, the whole team went to the Lakers’ training facility at the Toyota Center for preparatory work the next day.

There are 3 away games that Zhang Yang likes to go to. Two are in the West - the Lakers and the Mavericks. The owners of these two teams are both decent people, and the training environment arranged for the away team is even better than for the home team, which is very impressive.

The one in the East... the Hawks. The son of the consortium there, without saying anything else, when it comes to face-saving, he is no worse than Cuban and old Buss, replacing new equipment every year is unique in the entire NBA.

Zhang Yang remembered when Boss Qiao signed a deal to update the facility’s equipment in the Imperial City last summer; his face turned green at the prices. Of course, Boss Qiao is also about face, so he forced a smile.

After a day of preparation, at 8 p.m. on June 11th, at the Staples Center, the Bobcats face off against the Lakers for the third game of the finals.

The Bobcats stepped onto the court with a must-win spirit, while the Lakers also had a determination not to lose.

From the start of the game, both teams engaged in an intense duel, whether in tactical operations or superstar isolation plays, maintaining the high level from G2.

Both teams also did extremely well on defense. Even a team like the Nuggets, if they met the current state of the Bobcats and Lakers, their scoring performance would drop significantly... but tonight, it didn’t have a particularly significant impact!

Aside from the three-point attempt numbers on both sides being limited, Zhang Yang and Kidd had a hard time starting a fast-break rhythm constrained to a slow pace. Neither side could stop the other, as both delivered high-level offense under high-intensity defense!

After a 2 hours and 26 minutes intense battle, relying on Zhang Yang’s long two-pointer, the Bobcats tied the game at the last moment, ending regulation with a 101-101 draw with the Lakers getting into overtime!

In the first quarter, the Bobcats led 27-26. In the second quarter, the Lakers overtook with a 26-23, leading by two points. In the third quarter, the Lakers occupied an obvious advantage with a 25-21, pressing the Bobcats down, leading by 6 points, 77-71, by the end of the third. Fortunately, in the final quarter, Zhang Yang and Okafor rose to the occasion. Although they still couldn’t stop the defense, the Lakers remained steady throughout the game, scoring another 24 points in the final quarter. However, the duo led the team to explode with 30 points in the quarter, erasing the 7-point advantage the Lakers built over two quarters.

Unfortunately, come overtime, the Bobcats couldn’t rise to the occasion again. The Fisher and Kidd dual point guard combination started with two consecutive three-pointers under Kobe’s isolation pass, leading 6-0. In the next 4 minutes, the Lakers only scored 4 more points but still managed to hold the Bobcats to just 6 points during defense...

At 10:41 p.m., the game ended.

The Bobcats’ goal of finishing off the Lakers in one go was shattered. Kobe scored 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Kidd shot 16 for 8, scoring 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Garnett shot 11 for 5, scoring 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists. Fisher shot 8 for 4, scoring 10 points and 2 assists... The Lakers narrowly won 111-107 against the Bobcats, denying a 0-3!

The Bobcats performed very well, hitting 42 out of 83 shots with a shooting percentage over 50%.