One Year Left to Play

November 6th, the day after the game between the Lakers and the Hornets, Zhang Hao became a hot topic when the Lakers returned to Los Angeles!

With the first five game days over, every team had played at least three games.

The media tends to divide a season into several stages, and this year, they introduced a "new season opening phase". When T.N.T proposed this term, all major media adopted it. As a result, each year there’s a fresh opportunity for news writing.

After each team completed their first three games, the new season opening phase was considered over, giving rise to discussions about each team and all major stars.

The defending champion Bulls didn’t seem any worse than last year at the start. In the first three games, they averaged 106.3 points per game, conceded 92 points on average, with a net victory margin of 14.3 points. Jordan scored a total of 99 points in the first three games, averaging 33 points per game; Pippen averaged 22 points and 7 assists; Rodman maintained his strong performance with averages of 6 points and 15 rebounds.

The Hornets started with four games in five days. Their performance in the first three games was impressive, and although they lost the fourth game, their performances in the first three were definitely surprising.

The Utah Jazz were unexpected, as they usually don’t excel against strong teams in the regular season, but this year they started impressively by consecutively defeating the Spurs, the Heat, and the Knicks.

Unfortunate teams included the Heat and the Knicks. They didn’t seem bad, but the Knicks faced misfortune by meeting the Lakers in the opening game and the Jazz in the third game, resulting in a 1-2 start. The Heat also faced bad luck, delighting in a big victory against the Pistons in the opening game only to meet the Jazz and the rampaging Hornets, resulting in a 1-2 record as well, leaving Riley and Little Van Gundy’s teams outside the top eight in the East temporarily.

People could understand the Heat’s and Knicks’ 1-2 records. After all, it’s just luck, and three games are too few to set a pattern. Given more games, they likely wouldn’t perform too poorly. Judging by their rosters, at least 55 wins should be expected, especially with Moning’s and Ewing’s impressive conditions.

However, two popular teams have yet to secure a win this season, which truly surprises people.

The Rockets suffered a heavy defeat against the Bulls in their opener, lost by a buzzer-beater to the Hawks in the second game, and fell to the Timberwolves at home in the third game. Olajuwon only managed 15 points and 9 rebounds, while Garnett secured 20 points and 21 rebounds, and Guglielota scored 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Even with Drexler shooting 9-13 to achieve 22 points and 7 assists, and Divac adding 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists, they couldn’t avert the loss!

Olajuwon averaged 20.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2.7 blocks over the first three games, not bad at all. Yet compared to the previous season’s double championship, something seemed missing.

The Rockets’ losses could be partly explained by their roster changes—they traded away Horry, Kenny Smith, and Cassell, acquiring Divac, Kevin Willis, and Matt Brad. While their inside presence was significantly strengthened, their outside presence was considerably weakened, although they fortuitously picked up an undrafted player who averaged 11 points and 3 assists in the first three games, Matt Maloney. Yet they still need to adjust their playing style or further tweak their lineup.

On the other hand, the Spurs’ three-game losing streak can be attributed entirely to human error.

After a summer, David Robinson’s foot injury seemed unresolved. He barely played in the preseason, and during the regular season, he only averaged 25 minutes in the first three games. His performance was efficient, with averages of 18 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1 block, but it was clear to the attentive that something was wrong.

Reports from local media indicated that David Robinson’s foot never truly healed over the summer, yet every visit to the team doctor ended with a diagnosis of no issues and a prescription of rest. So, he rested the entire summer... only for his foot to remain unhealed!

After Robinson was subbed out just 18 minutes into the opening game against the Jazz, leading to the Spurs’ heavy loss, a San Antonio hospital rushed to Los Angeles for a joint consultation with the hospital diagnosing Robinson—though neither the Spurs nor Robinson participated.

After a thorough analysis, the consensus was that Robinson’s cartilage had been overstretched last year. Now, it’s practically on the verge of tearing, with the worst-case scenario being necrosis in the tissues surrounding the torn cartilage.

The hospital affiliated with the Spurs’ medical team quickly denied these claims.

This news eventually fizzled out without much public attention.

Last night, after the Lakers ended the Hornets’ three-game winning streak in their third game of the new season, they "helped" the Spurs by taking the spotlight away.

Zhang Hao put up a staggering 41 points, becoming the first player to score 40+ points in a game for two consecutive seasons!

Jordan’s consistency is astonishing—he scored 32 points in the opening game, 35 in the second, and 32 in the third. This level of stability is outstanding, especially since Jordan will be 34 in just over three months.

Jordan, with 99 points in the first three games and Glenn Rice, with 100 points, were the players showcasing the best individual offensive performances.

However, after last night, the situation changed—Zhang Hao scored 101 points in the first three games!

The key was Zhang Hao’s 41 points last night, as the Lakers dominated the Hornets with a 24-point margin. It was surprising given the Hornets’ strong start, but the Lakers’ victory was still understandable.

After all, they had Kenny Anderson, the Magician, Zhang Hao, and Barkley on their team.

The Lakers relied on individual heroics to win the game, which wasn’t surprising. Barkley demonstrated in the opening game that his form was no worse than last season.

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