Capítulo 1308: Chapter 529: An Elementary Schooler’s First Descent Into Darkness (Part 3)

Yes, in Zhang Yang’s mind Perkins is the core, the cornerstone of defense in half-court play.

When playing against the Chicago Bulls and the Magic Team, Perkins was the center who spent the most time on the court, even the second most in terms of inside presence, only behind Okafor.

Millsap started showing results in his fourth year, but still has room for improvement. When it comes to critical games, Okafor’s role as a Power Forward becomes more significant.

It’s just that in most games, Perkins will have less playtime, and judging by the stats, it doesn’t seem that important. But when it comes to crucial playoff games, rim protection still relies on him, not expecting Okafor or O’Neal.

The coaches’ analysis of the defensive performance so far is quite similar to Zhang Yang’s view, but they differ greatly in offense.

Carlisle pointed out that in three games where they scored over 120 points, their scoring wasn’t that impressive, just around 100 points.

Zhang Yang thinks of the strengths of each teammate.

While the coaching staff starts from the weaknesses.

Like the forward combination of Millsap and Hill, Hill seems to be the starting small forward, but actually serves as a backup Power Forward. Millsap is doing Brad Miller’s job from last year’s playoff, while Hill is taking on Millsap’s role.

Zhang Yang feels the two did well, especially Millsap, who is continuously accumulating experience as the tactical core, and Hill is doing a good job assisting.

Hill is the best-performing veteran in the entire frontcourt, second only to Okafor and Millsap.

This combination, although not yet matching Millsap + Big White Bear, has only played a month in the new season. Zhang Yang is full of expectations for Millsap’s progress, considering he’s been a backup for three full years, and Brad Miller has been imparting his knowledge for a year and a half. If he doesn’t produce results, he would accept it.

But the coaching staff picked out a lot of problems, such as Millsap not having enough experience and Hill no longer playing as hard as the previous two years…

For three rookies, including Afflalo who just became the leader of the second unit, Zhang Yang thinks they’re pretty good.

Especially Afflalo, although he’s not great with words, his practical approach to leading the team is very Los Angeles style.

The defense has become more stable, already the team’s second-best defender on the perimeter. Although his defensive range doesn’t match Hill’s, for guarding the two and three positions, his performance has already surpassed Hill and last season’s Pietrus.

The tactical catch-and-shoot, spot-up shots are better than last season’s regular games.

He’s also developed a low-post turnaround jump shot, and occasionally can drive straight in with the ball, showing significant improvement. With these two ball-handling capabilities, Afflalo can absorb some ball-handling duties, allowing Zhang San more rest time during rotation phases. An average of 35 minutes per game in 17 games in the first month, 4 minutes less than last season’s first month.

On average, playing 22 minutes, scoring 9 points, grabbing 2.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game, performing very well.

But according to the coaches, nothing seems to satisfy them, like Afflalo’s lack of ability to create opportunities outside of tactics… which makes Zhang Yang want to retort—if this senior had such abilities, wouldn’t you be worried about not being able to keep him?

In the absence of tactics, being able to recognize opportunities and find the right movement routes to receive the ball and shoot, indeed, that’s a skill only top pure shooters like Korver and Mike Miller have. These two, purely relying on shooting, can earn six or seven million annual salaries. Of course, with strong teams, they could offer a discount.

If Afflalo could autonomously search for catch-and-shoot opportunities like these two, he wouldn’t just have the skills of a backup. Together with the ever-maturing defense and the potential to develop more than average ball-handling offensive capabilities, once his rookie contract is up, he’ll surely earn a multi-million annual contract offer!

What pleasantly surprised Zhang Yang was Afflalo’s low-post turnaround jump shot, but the coaches are not very happy, considering it too rough, as he only manages to turn and shoot when backed into place. Against a tall defender, he wouldn’t be able to turn and drive; his driving is also raw, typically forcing it in without variation or awareness of teammates’ positions, all needing significant improvement.

Collison, Zhang Yang feels, shows mature playing style, strong adaptability, and is already the team’s best perimeter player except for himself and Felton. Afflalo and Hill’s individual abilities don’t match this rookie, reaching the level of a complete lottery pick from the NBA in the late 80s and early 90s.

He feels if Collison were placed on a playoff team lacking a Point Guard, this old high school rival could take on a starting and leading role.

But the coaching staff feels Collison is too unstable, that his maturity is limited to physical development and skill, and his personality is highly impulsive. Old Bickerstaff described him as the standard West Coast player.

However, they did praise Collison, recognizing his strong ability and that when playing smoothly, he is better than Jack the Great of the past three years.

However, Jarett Jack played for many years, recognized that he was just a backup, and merely played randomly to score rather than contend with opponents. When outmatched, he proactively handed over the ball and didn’t sulk when subbed out for underperforming… while Collison is quite stubborn, with his outgoing nature, wearing his emotions on his sleeve.

The evaluation of Matthews is more straightforward—besides accurate three-point shooting and commendable effort, everything else is a downside: foul-prone defense, insufficient understanding of offensive rules, and after a summer of hard work, only his shooting has improved.