One Year Left to Play

Zhang Hao, who completed the game-winning shot, held his head as he walked toward the player tunnel and was then carried away by the ready medical staff...

The scene stunned the live audience, who were in the midst of lamenting, while the Pistons’ players were bewildered, and the Lakers’ players were startled.

Lakers fans in front of the televisions were excited about Zhang Hao completing the game-winning shot, only to suddenly see on TV Zhang Hao being taken away...

After the game, the media reviewed the footage and identified the likely play during which Zhang Hao was injured: Ratliff’s defensive block was dodged by Zhang Hao’s pull-up move, and Ratliff’s wrist directly hit the left side of Zhang Hao’s head.

This was analyzed by the media as the moment Zhang Hao was injured.

During the post-game wrap-up on the American Cable TV Station broadcasting the match live, the entire segment turned into commentators discussing Zhang Hao’s injury. The director found footage from multiple cameras showing Zhang Hao being struck on the head, completing the free throw, returning to the bench, and the Lakers trainer Gary Vitti approaching Zhang Hao; it was at that time Zhang Hao began holding his head.

In the subsequent Lakers’ post-game press conference, Del Harris confirmed that when Zhang Hao returned to the bench after completing the free throw, Gary Vitti had already determined that Zhang Hao was injured.

In other words, Zhang Hao had a concussion in the final moments, received the ball, shook off Grant Hill, and completed the buzzer-beater facing Ratliff and Jerome Williams!

Additionally, Zhang Hao scored 23 points in the fourth quarter alone, with a total of 50 points in the game!

For a moment, Zhang Hao once again became the center of attention.

However, this game itself also had many hot topics.

Grant Hill achieved a triple-double, leading the team to catch up on the score; Joe Dumars showed he’s still got it, almost dragging the game into overtime; Terry Mills, who has become as round as a ball, amazed everyone with his three-pointers...

And Jerome Williams became famous overnight!

Jerome Williams shone in this game, daring to face O’Neal’s arm while defending, causing O’Neal to receive a technical foul; in the third quarter, his defense limited Zhang Hao to only 6 points—without his outstanding defensive performance during that period, the Pistons could not have closed the gap.

In the final moments, Jerome Williams demonstrated solid defensive fundamentals, making a strong impression.

Although he couldn’t truly stop Zhang Hao, Jerome Williams’ playing attitude closely resembled that of the Bad Boys group, with a hooligan-like demeanor.

Despite many fans despising the Bad Boys group, the era of the Bad Boys remains a fond memory for many fans; without those people, fans always feel something is missing.

Now, a player with a similar playing style, who plays equally fiercely and resiliently, has won the love of many veteran fans.

...

The morning after the game against the Pistons, Zhang Hao still woke up promptly at 6:15 AM.

Last night, after being roughly pinned down by Ben Wallace, carried back to the locker room for examination, the medical staff confirmed concussion symptoms, and he was then sent to the hospital for a series of checks.

Ultimately, it was determined to be a concussion, and he spent the night in the hospital.

In study mode, there was no feeling of concussion in his dreams, no sensation during review, after simulating crossover under training and simulating a jump shot off the dribble, he learned two moves that were forced out in the game against the Pistons from a basketball knowledge perspective.

These two moves, paired with his fundamentals, body shape, and athletic ability, really suit him and were added to the technical development project alongside the stop-and-jump shot.

The stop-and-jump shot is in the process of learning those action details from Kenny Anderson, while for these two new moves, he hasn’t yet figured out who to learn from; if no one is found, he might have to explore slowly.

After waking up, the concussion symptoms were still present but were already much better compared to the drowsiness during the examination last night.

This morning, with reports from newspapers and TV news, the excitement around last night’s game peaked.

Near noon, Henry Thomas and the medical staff arrived at the hospital to discharge him and take him to the airport.

On the way to the airport, Zhang Hao accepted an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated in a conversational format.

This injury cannot be remedied by medications or physical therapy, and the doctor’s instructions were simple—keep your eyes closed, don’t watch TV, don’t read books, and it will get better in a few days.

This type of injury, if it doesn’t worsen, should heal in a week for a regular person, but athletes might recover even faster.

When asked other questions by the Sports Illustrated reporter, Zhang Hao answered simply, brushing off queries about the seventh game-winning shot of his career, sixth-time scoring over 20 points in a single quarter, first 50-point game of the new season, and similar topics.

But when it came to the topic of Jerome Williams, who became famous overnight due to his defense and attitude, Zhang Hao spoke more: "I don’t like that rookie’s defense, it’s like a pile of trash, making one nauseous, but his spirit is like a rabid dog, which I admire; perhaps that’s his survival strategy... I’ve noted his face down, and hope to face him again someday. What’s his name again? Forget it, let’s just call him trash dog."

...

The team originally had a 9 AM flight, but due to Zhang Hao, it was rescheduled to 1 PM.

After 3 PM, Aprile Clark came to the airport to pick Zhang Hao up and take him home.

It’s fine when others are around, but upon returning to the little girl’s villa, Aprile Clark burst into tears, hugging Zhang Hao’s head and rambling incessantly.

This scene made Britney, who had come to Zhang Hao’s house in the morning, quite envious...

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