One Year Left to Play

Although Nash’s skills are currently refined but not yet mature enough to reach the future multi-year 180 club shooting level, and he lacks the breakthrough ability that even Bowen, Kobe, Kidd and others won’t be able to stop in the future, Zhang Hao patiently defends against his shots. He can’t really beat Nash in a one-on-one.

But the awareness to organize an offense is innate, with solid basic passing skills, and in his first starting appearance, Nash scored 4 points and 3 assists in just over half a quarter, truly gaining PJ Callesimo’s trust, and his career trajectory changed drastically!

Alongside this, Rashid Wallace’s situation also changed drastically. Originally, after joining the Blazers, Rashid Wallace still had to compete with Clifford Robinson.

But since Kobe did not choose to enter the NBA, the Lakers did not trade the Hornets’ draft pick, and the team with the best record that did not enter the playoffs, the Hornets, traded their last lottery pick to the Blazers in exchange for Clifford Robinson, making Rashid Wallace the primary scoring option inside as soon as he joined the Blazers.

With Clifford Robinson, the organizational inside player, leaving, the Blazers signed Robert Parker to compensate for the lack of organization in offense, ultimately benefiting Nash...

A string of changes for the Blazers, alongside the altered career trajectories of Nash and Rashid Wallace, all stem from a player at Duke University wearing number 24 who refuses to reveal himself!

In the second quarter, Nash and Rashid Wallace continued to play, giving Sabonis a bit more rest time today. The lineup of Nash, Mitchell Butler, Stacey Augmon, Rashid Wallace, and Little O’Neal took the court.

It was obvious to everyone that Little O’Neal was talented, something that the Blazers’ management and coaching staff also noticed.

They truly didn’t expect that Little O’Neal, whom they picked at only 17 years old, already had the ability to be a key substitute for a weaker team, playing over 20 minutes per game as a substitute to average about 8 points and 5 rebounds, and his talent was visible to the eye.

But it wasn’t enough, as being the main substitute on a weaker team meant that he possibly wouldn’t get any playing time on a strong team, especially for a team with strong inside players like theirs.

Moreover, being 17 years old meant he wasn’t fully developed and was prone to injuries.

In reality, PJ Callesimo has already given Little O’Neal relatively more opportunities. As long as Little O’Neal can play, he would be given about 10 minutes to experience an NBA game.

On the Lakers’ side, in the second quarter, Zhang Hao continues to play, with James Robinson, Byron Scott, Zhang Hao, Magician, and Jason Williams starting.

During the early stages, the Lakers took advantage of Little O’Neal’s inexperience, and Little O’Neal was indeed too raw, committing 3 fouls under pressure from Zhang Hao and Jason Williams, including one where Zhang Hao dunked over him for a 2+1...

After two minutes, the Blazers made 3 of 5 shots, playing well and scoring 7 points, but the Lakers managed to score on all four of their possessions, targeting Little O’Neal on the difficult possessions, and launched a 9-7 run, cutting the score to 40-44, prompting the Blazers to call a timeout.

Little O’Neal, apart from using his athleticism for a few sprints, was left to feel the deep malice from the owner of his agency...

On the sideline, spectator Henry Thomas watched Zhang Hao, who usually would go for a layup on a cut, choose to dunk over Little O’Neal, constantly grumbling.

What if you break our young high school talent!

They’re both high schoolers, why such ruthless competition!

PJ Callesimo called a timeout decisively, replacing Little O’Neal, who had experienced society’s cruelties, with veteran Chris Dudley.

Chris Dudley, drafted in the fourth round, 75th overall, in 1987, had a rookie salary of only 80,000 US Dollars, but as his career progressed, even with average stats, he always managed to secure high salaries, often with strong teams, for a reason.

Chris Dudley always had a clear understanding of himself, knowing he was just an ordinary role player, and his extensive experience playing with strong teams allowed him to provide significant support to Nash and Rashid Wallace on both ends of the court.

The Blazers’ aggressive offense continued, with Nash and Rashid Wallace playing energetically against Zhang Hao, not resting for a single second, helping the Blazers score 68 high points by halftime, adding 31 points in the second quarter!

On the Lakers’ side, even though they initially launched a 9-7 run, their offense wasn’t as aggressive as the Blazers’. The Blazers had Nash, who capitalized on good shooting conditions from his teammates and managed to accumulate 8 assists by halftime, while the Lakers were missing their offensive core Kenny Anderson.

The Lakers only scored 27 points in the second quarter and ended the half trailing by 10, with a score of 58-68!

Indeed, without Kenny Anderson, the Lakers, originally topping the league in offense, couldn’t compete with the Blazers, a team already ranked in the top five in league offense and further strengthened, trailing by 10 points at halftime!

...

Zhang Hao didn’t know why, but after the game, he unconsciously walked to the bathroom in the locker room, looking at the handsome face in the mirror, feeling immense pressure!

The situation was dire! The 10-game winning streak might be broken!

It wasn’t just a matter of getting serious; he didn’t expect the defense to collapse simply because Boss Kenny couldn’t play.

But basketball games are like that; sometimes it’s not just about pure offensive or defensive abilities. Like O’Neal, his one-on-one offense is the strongest, but otherwise, he’s just left with cleaning up rolls. But O’Neal’s rim protection can also significantly assist the offense; as long as he successfully intercepts and quickly grabs the rebound, the Lakers have a chance to counterattack.

Thinking of O’Neal and Barkley...

Zhang Hao felt he had to step up.

However, he had already given his all, scoring 25 points at halftime, 13 in the first quarter, 12 in the second, and adding 3 assists and 1 block; he couldn’t do any better.

Looking at the "Dominate" task, having only played 23 games so far, could it be ending already?

The medals, accompanying training cards, plus the peak star experience card of the 1995 star forwards...

Zhang Hao looked at the reward space...

"Let’s give it a try, there’s no other way anyway. If it doesn’t help and we lose, so be it. At least we tried! I’ll use this one, it’s safer..."

Making up his mind, he activated the system prompt!

"Host is using the rookie season first-team star experience card, targeting special contract player Zhang Hao, random selection in progress..."

"Congratulations to the host for randomly obtaining the Larry Bird 1979-1980 season star experience card, targeting special contract player Zhang Hao, matching in progress..."

"Larry Bird 1979-1980 version (rookie), 23 years old, height 206 cm, weight 100 kg, ability rating 94, offense 97, defense 90... nearly perfect match..."