novelraw Chapter 502 - 152: W-Wait a Minute!
Chapter 502 - 152: W-Wait a Minute!
On the evening of February 14, 1996, at 7:30, the Lakers welcomed the Hawks on their home court.
Early in the game, the Lakers relied on consistent performance, leading the Hawks by 13 points at one point, 47 to 34, midway through the second quarter.
After an official timeout in the second quarter, the Hawks launched a fierce counterattack. The Lakers were slow to respond, didn’t pay much attention, and their old issue reemerged. In the latter half of the second quarter, they managed only 6 points, finishing the half with just a 53 to 52 lead over the Hawks by 1 point.
By the third quarter, the Lakers started to pay more attention mentally, but their approach seemed too casual.
The most obvious sign was Van Exel deciding to take over the game during the halftime break. At the start of the second half, he shot three consecutive three-point misses...
Because he had been in such great form before the All-Star weekend, from mid-January to February 6, over 13 games, Van Exel had a 44% three-point shooting percentage, averaging 2.9 three-pointers and scoring 24.3 points per game, lifting his average points from 14.8 to 17.1 per game for the season.
This made Van Exel want to rely on his personal ability to solve problems when faced with difficulties.
But, after a week’s rest, that extraordinary form was gone!
Under normal play, Van Exel played even better than before the All-Star weekend after a week’s rest, but during the transition phase of the game, he couldn’t adjust in time.
Conversely, the newly formed trio of the Hawks, Mookie Blakegro, Steve Smith, and Kristen Lightner, quickly found their rhythm, playing steadily and robustly. At the start of the third quarter, they helped the Hawks go on a 12 to 2 run, and the Hawks overtook the Lakers 64 to 55!
At this point, the Lakers fell into decline, trying to counterattack, but with little effect.
This exposed Zhang Hao’s biggest weakness—lack of hard strength!
His playstyle gives him the ability to raise the team’s ceiling.
But to guarantee the team’s baseline strength, he has to rely on his teammates.
The Lakers’ team strength is mutually reinforcing; only when Zhang Hao’s traits, along with Van Exel and the Magician leading the team’s offense, play well together, can they achieve their core success of 20 wins and 1 loss before the All-Star weekend.
Zhang Hao scored a stable 24 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks, but 16 of those points were obtained in the first quarter and a half. Playing the entire second half, he only scored 8 points.
Ultimately, the Lakers lost to the Hawks 91 to 98, suffering a major comeback!
...
"Actually, it’s not that the Hawks were in better form than us; we were in great shape too. We were just used to the explosive state of still scoring under defense. Before the All-Star weekend, we were shooting well against the Utah Jazz all the time, and we haven’t adjusted yet..."
Aprile Clark nodded like a chicken pecking rice, echoing Zhang Hao. She really liked this feeling.
After the game, Zhang Hao almost refused to answer any media questions. When Aprile Clark went to the home team’s locker room to find Zhang Hao, the other Lakers players were quite depressed, and the Magician was actively adjusting everyone’s emotions, but Zhang Hao said nothing.
Instead, once back home, he opened up to her about his views on the team’s current situation, explaining why he didn’t express too many ideas in front of the media and his teammates.
"This is trust, isn’t it..."
Aprile Clark made a firm decision, took out a match, and lit a wick...
"Aprile, what is this?"
Aprile Clark was startled, quickly raking her hand twice to extinguish the match, fumblingly saying, "This is an aroma I bought in San Antonio to relax the mind. I see you’re very anxious... Don’t worry too much, our condition is still okay. We were leading by more than ten points in the first half. You’re still a rookie, don’t put so much pressure on yourself."
How could there be no pressure? Zhang Hao opened the system subtitle, looking at the task triggered this morning.
"Another small goal:
Goal: Special contract player Zhang Hao helps the Lakers achieve at least 60 wins in the 1995-1996 season.
Reward: One top star experience card.
Failure penalty: For each game the Lakers’ final regular season record falls below 60 wins, deduct 10 times the game count in lifespan from the host.
Advanced goal: ?
Advanced reward: ?"
The advanced goal and reward are unknown, but the standard goal’s reward is already enticing enough!
"A top star experience card... seems different from a top strength experience card, but it should be useful. After all, the penalty is quite harsh. 60 wins... It’s not that simple. Many teams in their entire history haven’t achieved 60 wins once."
After losing to the Hawks, the Lakers’ record became 38 wins and 10 losses, with 34 games remaining, needing to win at least 22 of them.
Even though they were 38 wins and 9 losses before the All-Star weekend, that was achieved with an exceptional 20 wins and 1 loss, the strongest segment of the season across the entire league.
With their status stabilizing and encountering strong opponents after the All-Star weekend... Reaching a 22 win and 12 loss record seems not that easy, Zhang Hao knew.
His character is very resilient, sometimes even stubborn. In front of others, he always maintains a confident and calm demeanor.
However, when alone, he still reveals his softer side...
Aprile Clark, who has become increasingly close with Zhang Hao over the past year, clearly felt Zhang Hao’s rather vulnerable mood at the moment and felt a pang of heartache, but...