Capítulo 1297: Chapter 524: Number One in the World, Yearned For

Of course, Millsap has his advantage over Horford—individual defense and rebounding capability, his college days were not entirely wasted.

Millsap is in his contract year, and the media offered a renewal quote with a mid-level starting salary based on last season’s performance, but even if he improves significantly this season, the starting salary is estimated to be around seven to eight million.

As for Millsap, by the end of his sophomore season, the market price for a contract extension had already exceeded ten million.

The two had similar talents, but with such a disparity in their early performances, Zhang Yang indeed feels a bit regretful, but if that weren’t the case, it wouldn’t have been their turn to pick them.

The Bobcats won both preseason games against the Hawks with Millsap leading, mainly because the three major stars on the opposing perimeter didn’t play much, leaving Crawford and Horford to manage things on the court.

This was very disadvantageous for Crawford and Horford, as the Hawks’ offensive playstyle is built on the ability of perimeter stars to play one-on-one, connecting with Horford on assists. Crawford alone isn’t enough to support the entire team, whereas Millsap leads a system where he is the tactical core of the inside game, giving him better conditions to lead than Horford.

But Crawford being the Sixth Man is indeed a bit of a cheat; this year’s Best Sixth Man award is completely unsurprising since Crawford averaged 21 points per game for the Knicks in the 07-08 season.

If they meet the Hawks again in the playoffs, it’s sure to be a headache, as the Hawks can open up with four stars on the perimeter averaging 20+ points per game.

Averaging 20+ isn’t something that can be piled up just by having shooting rights, refer to the hard worker in the original timeline…

On the Bobcats’ side, the situation is pretty much as Zhang Yang expected; they have a complete tactical system and just insert the suitable players into it.

Collison and Cunningham, both 23-year-old immediate impact rookies in their senior year, performed as expected, with the former being energetic and the latter as steady as a veteran.

Matthews does have many flaws; his dribbling isn’t good, he’s not great at responding, and he’s prone to offensive fouls when cutting in. On the defensive end, he often reaches in high positions, committing too many fouls. However, his strengths are also notable, as seen in the preseason when he seemed completely adapted to the NBA three-point distance. Unlike Collison, who copied Zhang San’s trailing three-pointer and ended up with an airball, which made the fans in the stands laugh.

There’s also Matthews’ ‘introvert’ trait. After Zhang Yang pointed it out, he occasionally paid attention to this rookie teammate’s training situation, seeing no change initially, which left him speechless until the second quarter of the first preseason game when Matthews committed three fouls in seven minutes and started seeking advice from the assistant coach.

But at least there’s been some change, right…?

The veteran duo, Marion and Hill, because Zhang Yang had very low expectations, provided ‘surprises’ during training camp and the preseason.

Hill is very professional. Although Zhang Yang hasn’t heard from this teammate about a strong desire for another championship since their previous win, Hill remains proactive in training, games, and supporting Felton leading the team, enjoying his time on the professional stage.

As for his condition, the veteran Hill maintained it well, with no visible difference from last season. With Ibaka in his sophomore year, just turned 20 and more of an untamed athlete, being a raw talent, it’s crucial for Hill to maintain his form.

Marion’s condition is relatively poor, performing worse than rookie Cunningham, but he is enthusiastic in training and strives to do well on the court, unlike his time with the Heat and Raptors where he seemed uninterested in playing. For Zhang Yang, that’s enough; with Marion’s static physical conditions, defensive awareness, and relatively young age, as long as he gets through this ‘rehabilitation’ and adjustment period, he will be a significant force on their path to retaining the championship.

Felton and Okafor, both over 25, have passed the stage of very rapid improvement, but their shooting stability has improved, which is quite good.

Afflalo strengthened his dribbling this summer, with a clear improvement in breaking through during the preseason. With better ball-handling, he showed a certain ability to initiate offense, although not strong yet, but in the future, Carlisle might have an extra option for initiating offense, with a sturdier frame and now weighing in at 98 kg. Although he couldn’t withstand Pierce, at least he didn’t get shoved aside by Joe Johnson like last season’s playoffs.

In terms of consistency in shooting threes, there has also been an improvement. Last year in the playoffs, facing the Bulls’ three major two-defense perimeters and the Lakers’ big three perimeter players, Afflalo dared to shoot and had decent accuracy, leaving a fairly deep impression on both the team and the outside world.

Zhang Yang feels that his senior wants to seize the opportunity left by Jack, Pietrus, and Mike Miller departing to become more versatile, given the limited potential on a single track, showing great ambition.

Interestingly, O’Neal was a substitute throughout the seven preseason games, and Carlisle openly stated more than once that Millsap is the starter and the new tactical core.

During the training camp, media predicted their starting inside lineup to be Okafor + O’Neal, as O’Neal is, after all, O’Neal and commands the highest salary at the center position.

But Carlisle disagrees; he intends to keep the $20 million ‘feature’ firmly on the bench!

Zhang Yang could see O’Neal’s dissatisfaction with the situation, and his relationship with Carlisle has become tense, with a sharp decrease in communication, but he hasn’t acted out.

Zhang Yang speculates that O’Neal suppressed his temper, and Carlisle’s confidence came from the same cause—last season’s 70-win record and the championship.

There might also be another reason—O’Neal doesn’t want to miss a potential opportunity to face Kobe head-on in the finals.

Zhang Yang recalls that in the original timeline, to defeat Kobe in the playoffs, O’Neal joined the Celtics, a former archenemy, in the summer of 2010 with the runner-up Celtics.

Kerr didn’t dare to directly cut O’Neal, opting instead to make a redundant move of trading O’Neal for Ben Wallace, and then cutting Wallace.

Jordan would have no hesitation if starting position actually impedes the team’s path to a title defense, and would cut without a second thought.

On this matter, Zhang Yang, Felton, Okafor, and Millsap all backed Carlisle, making their coach feel supported.

If they’re going to suppress him, they must keep him suppressed!

They mustn’t be like D’Antoni and Gentry, wavering uncertainly, with a Suns lineup that didn’t even make the playoffs; they don’t want to repeat the Suns’ mistake.