Capítulo 1338: Chapter 536: Two Unstoppable Teams

And Durant prefers to do it himself, enjoying the feeling of carrying the team on his shoulders.

It seems… Zhang Yang is more stubborn, often creating difficulty even when there is none.

However, with a 20-for-12 shooting, including 3 three-pointers out of 7 attempts, plus 5 out of 6 free throws… a shooting percentage of 60+42.8+83.3. Under Zhang Yang’s leadership, the Lakers’ shooting percentage remains neck and neck with the Warriors!

Halftime score is 69 to 68, with the Lakers leading the Warriors by 1 point!

…

During the halftime break, while the players rested, the Lakers Coach Team encountered a disagreement.

At this point, the situation is basically beyond their control. In the two quarters of the first half, apart from the early stage adjustments, it mostly relied on the players’ autonomous play. Both short and official timeouts merely served for player substitutions.

Regarding this, Budenholzer from Popovich’s camp thinks it’s fine to keep playing like this, taking a steady approach and waiting for the opponent to make a mistake first.

There was a time when the old Bickerstaff was his assistant, he also enjoyed being adaptable, with those unexpected ideas that surely attracted people.

But after old Bickerstaff retired with two rings, none of the subsequent assistants had that kind of eye-catching adaptability, so he reverted back to the inherent style of Popovich’s lineage.

Mike Brown supports Budenholzer’s idea, after all, when he was the head coach, he didn’t have much say on the court. To put it nicely, he’s the kind of coach who uses the unchanging to deal with change.

Kobe and Gentry feel that standing by and doing nothing is not the way to go, some ideas should be considered to help the players.

Budenholzer can understand the two, Gentry’s style specializes in run and gun, always thinking about how to overwhelm the opposition on offense and cannot bear the lack of advantage in offense, Kobe played under the Zen Master for many years and is accustomed to actively thinking about adaptability when faced with problems, of course supporting Gentry’s idea.

It’s just that Gentry’s proposal is not stable—speeding up to catch the opponent off guard.

If the role players aren’t in good form, given the Warriors’ retreat defense and double-team ability, our side might crumble first.

Zhang Yang finished his bit and returned to the locker room. Hearing the coaches and guest argument, he joined in as a spectator… only to be dragged in as a judge.

After listening to Budenholzer and Gentry’s opinions, Zhang Yang thought for a moment, then responded, “I think we should make some adjustments. Continuing with this approach puts us at a disadvantage. Our passing interior line is not as good as the opponent’s. You can tell from the turnovers, the opponent had only one turnover in the first quarter, whereas we had two. In the second quarter, the opponent had two turnovers, while we had four, almost all occurring during interior-exterior transitions.”

Kobe’s lips curled upon hearing this. Indeed, Zhang Yang was on his side.

But Zhang Yang wasn’t finished: “However, I don’t support speeding up. Half-court play is our strong point. No team’s lineup is more suited to running than the Warriors… I think we should change from within the half-court play style. It’s simple, just do this…”

The Coach Team’s response after hearing Zhang Yang’s idea varied.

Mike Brown: Not my business.

Gentry: Might as well not have called you to judge, might as well keep playing cautiously, the head coach will never agree.

As soon as he thought of this, he saw Budenholzer’s eyes lighting up!

Budenholzer: This is the adaptability that gives me an eye-opener!

I ignored the two assistants and guest, Budenholzer then pulled Zhang Yang to discuss the details of adaptability, talked for two minutes, then called Gentry over to discuss interchanging movements and coordination. After all, Gentry was responsible for tactical movements; adaptability can change with star players, but role players must consider their movement habits.

Kobe stayed silent for a while before voluntarily joining in… though this situation wasn’t what he imagined, Zhang Yang at least supported change.

But this feeling of lacking decision power is so frustrating! Less than a year into retirement, and during a crucial game direction, they’re not even consulting him.

Going back? Impossible, after a year my body has already slackened, unlikely to return to pre-retirement state, grateful for half a year’s rest after the 2013 All-Star weekend, despite the surgery reducing running and jumping ability, at least crucial areas like the achilles, cruciate ligament, rotator cuff, which were close to breaking back then, wouldn’t hinder training, thus both physical and technical skills weren’t wasted.

Returning to support the team against the cosmic Warriors, he realized he indeed cannot leave the court; even if not a player, he wants involvement.

As the head coach? He has a good idea about it; knows his court thinking hasn’t detached from player status.

Gathering assistant experience, solidifying basics then seeking head coach position, such pragmatic acts suit his personality, yet he can’t bear the face to do so.

Old Ironsmith: Should I get into money-making to acquire a basketball team?

Unfortunately, it’s past the prime time to buy a team. Broadcasting fees have skyrocketed, NBA team prices have multiplied many-fold, unless I sign a selling contract, otherwise earn enough money.

However, investment might gain me a shareholder spot in a team-buying consortium, and potentially a position in empowered management or advisory? Accumulate experience for several years, personally coaching against my old team?

Since retiring, Kobe’s been exploring entrepreneurial ideas, and after this thought emerged, he couldn’t stop thinking…