CHAPTER 1333: CHAPTER 535: COSMOS LAKERS VS. COSMOS WARRIORS (PART 1)

After Curry lost to Zhang Yang in the first round in 2014, his goal became pure—to surpass the giant mountain that is Zhang Yang and become an even stronger presence.

Given that they are similar in age, this has become his lifelong goal in the basketball world.

Compared to Curry, Durant’s mind was much more complicated, and when he looked at Harden, his eyes were filled with resentment.

Backpack: "Come on, buddy, you’re going to the Lakers, couldn’t you have told me? Could you not have taken me with you?"

But he also knew that if he didn’t leave, Harden wouldn’t either. On that sleepless night when he decided to join the Warriors, Harden was still discussing how to pressure the Thunder Team’s management to pay some luxury tax and bring in better help, explaining that their income has been among the top in the league, yet their salary expenses were at the bottom, and that it wasn’t right.

However, he knew getting the Thunder Team’s owner to spend more money was impossible, so the next day he approached Harden, firmly stating his intention to split.

Who would have thought that this little fatty would run back to play hometown basketball with Zhang San and even invited DeRozan!

Now that he has joined the Warriors, it has truly become the most difficult path. If they don’t win the championship, he will become the biggest joke in NBA history!

After the players from both teams entered the court, Zhang Yang, Harden, and Curry stood together, looking at one another, mutually admiring each other.

Although they are opponents, Zhang Yang, Harden, and Curry have high regard for each other’s abilities. For four years, they have been the strongest opponents recognized by each other.

DeRozan dragged Zhang Yang and Harden away with a black line across his face.

Big Ro: "Flirting with other 2009 players? Acting like I’m not around, huh?"

Compared to others, Zhang Yang and Harden were not so serious and tense.

Zhang Yang was excited about the seemingly overly formidable opponent in front of him, eager to face him head-on.

Second Ha: "My third brother is invincible in the world. And with the big brother here, is there any opponent we can’t defeat?"

Players from both teams, with different thoughts, hurried to finish their pre-game preparations. Soon enough, it was time for the game to start, and both teams’ starting lineups came to the court.

Warriors: Curry, Thompson, Durant, Draymond Green, Pachulia.

Lakers: Harden, DeRozan, Zhang Yang, Larry Nance, Tarik Black.

At 8 PM, the referee blew the whistle and tossed the ball into the air. Black won the jump ball with an absolute speed advantage, and the Lakers attacked first!

Harden advanced after receiving the ball, and the eyes of the Compton Three Giants were all on Curry, standing at the top arc.

No probing required; whoever faced Curry had the ball. The best isolation players wouldn’t target Curry with one-on-one plays; they would employ pick-and-roll and point him out. This was the gameplay strategy initiated by Zhang Yang in the 2015 Western Conference Finals.

Thompson, Durant (Barnes), and Iguodala off the bench were all excellent perimeter defenders, great at disrupting shots from the outside and matching up well on defensive footwork, complementing Green’s help defense and coverage, extremely effective against ball-handling attackers.

Targeting Curry was the most suitable choice.

Originally, the offensive player doesn’t choose who defends them; the defender decides that.

But the rules have changed since the 2014-15 season. The shooting cylinder rule modifications not only weakened stationary centers and three-point defense but also restricted space during pick-and-rolls.

Like in the Eastern Conference Finals back in the day, Zhang Yang and Felton’s pick-and-roll attack on Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas—the same defense now, the ball-handler coming up close then tossing it could easily draw a three-point foul. There’s only switching defense available against pick-and-rolls now.

Of course, for the current Lakers, there’s no need to use pick-and-rolls to name targets. Big Ro, Second Ha, Zhang San—let the elementary student choose.

With the same batch of guys from that year watching him, Curry felt a sense of an impending storm; in a deathly game of "choose one out of three," he picked the shortest one.

Curry courageously approached Harden. Harden, far sturdier than Curry, easily completed a between-the-legs dribble while bumping against Curry, changed direction to the left to get half a body’s gap, bulldozed past Curry, and drove inside from the left!

Warriors’ defense quickly rotated to block, while the Lakers began their team collaboration around Harden’s breakthrough and Zhang Yang’s movement.

DeRozan used Blake’s pick to get to his deadliest right-side 30-degree mid-range spot, attracting Pachulia, and Harden, upon reaching the left elbow area, got double-teamed by Green. He passed to the cutting Nance Jr., and Durant actively packed the paint, covering effectively. Nance Jr. then passed...lob!

Zhang Yang rushed in from the free-throw line, leapt high, caught the ball mid-air with his left hand, pulled it back, and followed through with a tomahawk dunk as his arm descended with his body...alley-oop slam dunk!

The cheers of the on-site fans immediately erupted—Jack seemed exceptionally excited tonight?

The fans felt it, and the players on the court naturally saw how lively Zhang Yang was tonight.

His teammates certainly felt bolstered; that alley-oop tomahawk was indeed pretty and graceful in execution.

The opponents, naturally, weren’t too happy, and they had a strange feeling—this guy seems to be enjoying the game?

To this, Curry didn’t see anything wrong. He believed that the current number one player should indeed feel this way during games.

With Kobe and Duncan retired, Zhang Yang is already the current number one, even if some media don’t recognize it, feeling Zhang Yang’s regular-season accolades aren’t enough, with only a scoring title and an MVP. But as a player, Curry firmly supports Zhang Yang as the league’s number one, deserving to be discussed with Magic Bird, Jordan, Shaq, and Stone Buddha as a historical king of this era. On one hand, that’s just how he personally feels; on the other hand, if Zhang Yang isn’t the current number one, then what has he been striving for all these years?