One Year Left to Play

The two teams staged a bombastic fast-paced showdown, with Kidd and Kevin Johnson competing against Kenny Anderson and Elvin Johnson in a brilliantly orchestrated offensive battle. However, after a few rounds in the fourth quarter, Kidd could see that Zhang Hao’s stamina, having played 32 minutes in the first three quarters, was waning!

But just when Kidd thought he could seize the opportunity for an impact, Zhang Hao suddenly sped up from slower movements! Kidd was puzzled — was Zhang Hao just teasing him with the slow steps earlier? The notion of recovering stamina during a quarter break seemed absurd!

Zhang Hao, now quick on his feet, didn’t start on the offensive end; instead, he made efforts defensively. Although the Suns’ offense was sharp, they were in terrible shape. In this era where defense had become mainstream, in crucial moments if the situation is tense, they often lose more than they win. In the opening three games, the one they won was by 14 points — a significant margin.

But in the two losses, they couldn’t defend the opponent during critical moments and were restrained by the opponent’s aggressive defense, losing by a total of 6 points in both games.

Upon realizing that the Lakers were not defending well against such fast-paced offensive teams at the start, Zhang Hao decided to first assist Kenny Anderson, the Magician, Doug Christie, and other teammates in having their offense well-executed, and then wait for crucial moments to strengthen the defense!

Offensively, he stopped spending stamina on cuts for one-on-one plays, instead looking for opportunities to catch and shoot. Before, he’d already posed a threat, so instead of making actual dribbles to cut through, he simply moved slowly, prompting the opponent’s double-team, giving Kenny Anderson better scoring and organizing opportunities.

Relying on the stamina restored at the start of the second half, Zhang Hao was active and effective defensively, not in sync with the opponent due to his physical reaction capability. His rim protection improved compared to the first three quarters, blocking shots from Sibaros and Matt Williams, and Danny Manning who came off the bench, demonstrating defensive threat. His teammates decisively opted to guard against outside shots when facing cut offenses and outside shooting threats, greatly limiting the Suns’ offensive plays.

On the flip side, the Suns simply couldn’t defend during critical moments!

In the middle of the fourth quarter, the Lakers went on a 12-4 run, establishing a clear lead.

In the end, with Zhang Hao’s 28 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks; Kenny Anderson’s 25 points and 11 assists; Jason Williams’ 9 points and 14 rebounds; George Lynch’s 16 points; and the Magician’s 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, alongside Doug Christie’s 11 points and 2 assists, the Lakers defeated the Suns 114-107 to secure a 4-0 start!

Kidd scored 13 points with 16 assists tonight, Kevin Johnson had 21 points, Sibaros added 17, and Danny Manning, coming off the bench, contributed 16. The role players performed decently, but while the Lakers managed to tighten up defensively during critical points, the Suns couldn’t do the same.

The Suns faced another fiery battle only to lose by a single digit in the end, unwilling to accept the result.

...

The Lakers won again, Zhang Hao proved that the new approach he showed in the game against the Hornets wasn’t a coincidence, but a method he genuinely started employing.

Yet, what caught fire in the post-game news wasn’t this, or the Lakers’ 4-0 start, or even the sudden "Los Angeles Nets" nickname joke.

It was the phrase "industry conscience."

In their season opener against the New York Knicks, the game wasn’t particularly thrilling, but the defensive battle itself was quite exciting. Facing the slow-tempo Knicks, the Lakers defended well, and the point gap wasn’t very large.

Against the weak Raptors, it took Zhang Hao and Barkley’s clutch reversal to turn the tide.

In their match against the Hornets, it was fought to the last moment; now against the Suns, they relied on the decisive fourth-quarter surge to secure victory...

Look at teams like the Bulls and Jazz, they turn the game around without suspense in just a few plays. Jordan, Pippen, and Malone play around thirty-five or thirty-six minutes; Rodman and Stockton even only roughly thirty minutes.

Then look at the Lakers, whether facing a fiery start against teams like the Hornets, or iron-willed teams like the Knicks, or non-playoff teams like the Suns and Raptors, the Lakers can always push the game to the last minute. Zhang Hao’s playing time consistently floats above forty minutes per game, with matches so close, prolonging suspense to the end, giving fans a whole game of visual delight — truly an industry conscience!

...

...

Seeing the saying "industry conscience" unexpectedly gain popularity, Zhang Hao was rendered speechless.

Did he want to be so conscientious?

Moreover, he also saw a piece of newspaper news jokingly liken them to becoming the "Los Angeles Nets Three Giants," only able to silently hold back tears of sorrow.

Someone said it well — a rapper cannot shed tears.

Additionally, he saw comments about their Lakers on a basketball columnist’s section — a fast-paced transition would be effective against the current Lakers.

Zhang Hao felt this himself; the opponents slowed down and engaged in set plays, they defended even better. Their victory over the Hornets partly came because the Hornets themselves failed to discern the most advantageous rhythm to play.

There’s no way to solve this without O’Neal’s return, as it’s a hard condition issue. Thus, Zhang Hao opted to analyze things properly.

After playing several more new season games, Zhang Hao finally understood the correct usage of the "Little Flying Hero’s Physical Pool."

Since he wore the Lakers’ Number 8 jersey, which could absorb sweat to power up, certainly he should act as a defensive workhorse and prioritize shooting.

It’s not just "shooting would suffice," but "I absolutely intend to play..."—or rather, should say— "I just want to shoot."

He discovered that when playing more proactively, Kenny Anderson and the Magician could organize more smoothly; since with Barkley’s lackluster effort, among players actively capable of autonomous offensive play, only Kenny Anderson truly excelled. Doug Christie had some offensive capabilities, but they were just average. Brian Shaw was a jack-of-all-trades with comprehensive abilities, notably useful although just performing as a role player’s Swiss Army knife without strong autonomous offensive threat...

At this time, a stronger, more proactive scorer point is needed.

Unfortunately, in Barkley’s presence, Zhang Hao had to assume this role.

Upon realizing this, Zhang Hao almost laughed out loud sadly...

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!