One Year Left to Play

Chapter 512 - 155: Every Cause Has Its Effect (Part 2)

Originally, not many people thought Kidd’s shooting percentage was a problem, because in his rookie season, Kidd didn’t take many shots, and his low shooting percentage didn’t significantly affect the Dallas Mavericks due to his smart playing style.

This year, he took more shots for a reason, Marion was out for the season.

But after Kidd was selected as an All-Star substitute, things changed; his shortcomings were put under the magnifying glass.

His offensive efficiency was extremely poor, with a true shooting percentage ranking last among all starting guards in the league at only forty-three point three percent, nearly the lowest in history since true shooting percentage statistics have been recorded. This became the point most attacked by the media when discussing All-Star players during the All-Star weekend.

But at that time, it wasn’t so prominent.

This time, being associated with the hottest rookie of the season, after Zhang Hao faced Kidd’s squat defense over a dozen times in one game and was edited into a highlight reel broadcast on sports news, Kidd’s personal offensive abilities became the focus of criticism by media, experts, and reporters.

The morning after the Lakers finished playing against the Dallas Mavericks, Zhang Hao saw these news articles about Kidd.

No need to think deeply, Zhang Hao knew his relationship with Kidd would not be good.

"These days, wanting to maintain good relationships with contemporaries, unless they have a gentle personality like Hill or are as forthright as Moning, would be very difficult, just like the four great centers who don’t see eye to eye with each other..."

With 39 wins and 10 losses, Zhang Hao looked at his own team’s victory record in the newspaper and recalled the Magician’s words during halftime yesterday to keep the teammates’ spirits up.

"I seem to remember that since I joined, the Lakers haven’t experienced consecutive losses..."

Something that might go unnoticed by many, Zhang Hao wanted to maintain.

The games in the second half of February are evenly distributed, one matchup every other day, with 6 games remaining.

After a day’s rest, the Lakers began a series of alternating home and away games against the same team, almost like exchanging home court because the opponent is the Clippers.

On February 18th, after a day’s rest, the Lakers played against the Clippers at the Great Western Forum.

In the previous two encounters, the Lakers won both times, and this time was no exception, with a score of 121 to 104, the Lakers easily defeated the Clippers to claim their 40th victory of the season, achieving the 40 wins one hour earlier than the SuperSonics, becoming the second team this season to reach 40 wins.

This game saw Zhang Hao especially outstanding, with only 13 attempts but hitting 10 shots, no three-pointers as he only attempted one, yet he scored 35 points... with 15 for 15 on free throws! Drawing fouls by driving inside, there was no need to seek three-point opportunities outside.

After this game, Zhang Hao finally achieved his 15th occasion scoring 30+ this season.

On February 20th, the trade deadline of the season arrived, and at noon, when the NBA officially announced the closure of the trade window, the Lakers’ players all breathed a sigh of relief. They currently have 14 players, with the possibility of signing a free agent or not signing anyone, but there would be no trades.

Zhang Hao felt he could be the happiest one, as after the trade deadline, it was almost certain to consistently play out the remaining 32 games.

On the night of the 20th, the Lakers arrived at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and with home fans turning against their own team at the start, the Clippers, playing at home, barely put up a fight, scoring less than 20 points in two quarters.

It’s truly not that the Lakers defended exceptionally well, as their good defensive formation includes Campbell, known for his specialized role defending O’Neal. His defensive uniqueness makes him less versatile compared to Ewing, Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Moning, whose defensive capabilities are diverse, making the Lakers’ defense generally mediocre most of the time.

The Lakers have played up to now, advancing to an average of 107 points per game, ranking second in the league only behind the Chicago Bulls, as evident by the Bulls averaging 107.3 points, conceding an average of 93.56 points, while the Lakers average 107 points with concessions at 102 points...

Tonight the Lakers didn’t strive for defense, as the Clippers only managed 83 points overall, with the Lakers overwhelming the Clippers 109-83, completing their season sweep against the Clippers!

Zhang Hao played 21 minutes and did not play in the second half, going 6 for 8, free throws 2 for 2, scoring 14 points with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 blocks, calling it a day at halftime.

...

The away game against the Clippers marks the start of a 4-game away streak for the Lakers. On the night of the game against the Clippers, after numerous exchanges deep into the subject with Aprile Clark, Zhang Hao traveled with the team to Dallas early the next day, and after a night’s rest, on February 22nd, the Lakers faced their third encounter this season and Zhang Hao’s second encounter with the Dallas Mavericks.

Kidd didn’t hit the rookie wall in his rookie season, could he suddenly hit it in his second year?

Yes, this is Kidd’s biggest news lately; the Mavericks had been on a 5-game losing streak after the All-Star weekend!

Returning from the All-Star weekend, the Mavericks narrowly lost their first game 97 to 99 to the Rockets. During that time, neither Kidd nor the Mavericks were heavily criticized; the opposition were the reigning champions, though their record was mediocre, yet with Drexler and Olajuwon healthy, they still played well against strong teams.

However, from their loss to the Lakers onwards, the Mavericks suffered four consecutive crushing defeats, all with margins exceeding 15 points.

Originally, a player’s flaw isn’t easy for opponents to target collectively.

But when such a flaw is magnified by the media, and the team the player belongs to isn’t extremely weak nor particularly strong, when strong teams find it a bother meeting them, they will target this flaw.