Chapter 210: Streak and Weakness
"Oh, Emily hug, Hibbert and Zhang Kong's air relay, how did Zhang Kong see this guy behind others, Chandler could only look helplessly at Hibbert flying in the air, a player like Hibbert is destined to have a good outside cooperation to be able to successfully run the ball, and Zhang Kong is such a good player, look at Chandler may also remember when he was in the Hornets!" The commentator at the scene couldn't help but shake his head as he watched the game on the field.
In this game, the Pacers were really good, although the Bobcats ended the Pacers' nine-game winning streak.
But meeting the Pacers at home is doomed, especially when all the players are injury-free and morale is high! Seeing Zhang Kong smile and retreat to his own half, there are really not many ways on the Bobcats' side.
Zhang Kong, Dundee Jones, Danny Granger and Michael Dunleavy, plus players such as Brandon Rush, TJ Ford, Luthor Haight, Earl Watson, etc., have a much greater firepower on the outside than expected.
Three-point rain has never had much to do with the Pacers before, although their three-pointers can sometimes make more than a dozen shots at a time. But the hit rate has never dared to compliment, and the devil knows when they feel good and when they don't.
But when Zhang Kong joined the team, the Pacers' three-point shooting rate and average number of three-pointers in a single game have risen to the first place in the league in recent games, especially in the past five games, after Zhang Kong's three-point firepower was turned on, the three points of the entire Pacers rose quickly, and the Pacers averaged 12 three-pointers per game in the last five games. Zhang Kong can contribute 6.7 three-pointers per game, an average of 24.8 points per game, the last game Zhang Kong against the Magic, in the face of obvious weaknesses, Zhang Kong once again hit 24 points plus 11 assists, three consecutive games 20 + 10.
"If I were the owner of the Pacers, I would have found a way to buy in some interior lines, and with the firepower of those outside players and a good balance on the inside, the team would definitely go far! The current Pacers interior rotation lineup only has four people who can play, and two of them are still playing soy sauce, and it is not a big problem to break into the playoffs, but when they meet those strong teams on the inside, it will be over! The commentator at the scene watched the Pacers' game and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
He is not wrong in saying this, now all discerning people can see that the Pacers' outside configuration has become a little bloated, and the interior has obvious weaknesses, Murphy is not good at defense, Hibbert is good at defense, but it is too easy to foul.
So now the Pacers need to find a new interior line to solve these problems, but Jim O'Brien doesn't care much about this, he has already mentioned this problem like Larry Bird, and Larry Bird has also given a positive answer, recently the team has identified a target for reinforcements, and now it depends on whether the other party will let go, but it is estimated that the other party should let go.
With Zhang Kong's performance improving, and the atmosphere in the team is also very good, the Pacers are beginning to think about a longer-term plan, Zhang Kong's contract is not too anxious, after all, Zhang Kong's contract is a little expensive, and the Pacers' boss is not very reluctant.
Anyway, they are still ready to fight as far as they can this year.
The game with the Bobcats didn't last too long, 101-95, although the point difference was not too big, but the Bobcats did not lead the Pacers once in the whole game except for the opening, and kept the Pacers pressing the game until the game was finished.
Now the Bobcats lineup is very good, the captain Stephen Jackson in the second, third and fourth positions, the combination of Gerald Wallace of the Cat Mountain and the French all-round Beris Dior is really a bit unguardable, under the tutelage of Larry Brown, the offense and defense are extremely balanced, and the three can change positions at any time, and then come to assist in defense, make up or rotate positions.
Whether it's offense or defense, these three people can play very well, and under this offensive system, Zhang Kong and the others were also made into a mess, but fortunately, the shooting rate on the Pacers' side was still passable, and they were not restricted by the opponent.
In the end, he won the game, Zhang Kong's score in this game was not as good as in the previous games, he only scored 18 points in this game, because he converted more shots into assists, 14 assists in a single game, enough to tell the problem, in addition to 8 blocks, as more and more energy is put on offense and organization, Zhang Kong's defense is not as good as last season, a game can shoot more than a dozen blocks out, people's energy is limited after all.
As the on-site commentator said, the Pacers look strong now, but when they meet a strong team inside, they are more hanging, and after playing the Bobcats, the Pacers ran to Memphis to play the Grizzlies, who originally thought the Grizzlies were a soft ballast.
But who would have thought that the Grizzlies' interior line made Zhang Kong suffer enough, and Hibbert committed two fouls early in the first quarter.
There is no way to compete with Randolph and Gasol Jr. of the Grizzlies, and the one who was beaten up is a miserable one.
The difference between the two teams in the first quarter was the largest to 17 points, and in the last quarter of the game, if it wasn't for Zhang Kong's sudden outbreak, he shot 20 three-pointers in the first quarter, hit 8, and scored 24 points alone.
Maybe they won the Pacers in this game, but there is nothing to say, in the end, the Pacers still relied on Zhang Kong's 24 points in the last moments to save the defeat, Zhang Kong scored 36 points to win the season's high, but the assists were only a season-low 6, and only 4 blocks also hit a season-low point, because he contributed all his ability to the offense.
However, the media doesn't care about Zhang Kong's lack of assists and blocks, because Zhang Kong has set his own scoring record for the new season.
36 points! Although Zhang Kong used 27 three-pointers to pile up, but in the NBA game 30 three-pointers are nothing, Zhang Kong hit a total of 10 three-pointers in a single game, and the remaining six points are through layups and mid-range shots.
Just a little bit to break the record of 11 three-pointers set by Dennis Scott in a single game against the Hawks on April 18, 1996, but even if he didn't break this record, Zhang Kong also broke the record of 8 three-pointers in the half held by Kobe, Ray Allen, Michale Reed, Maddy, and J.R. Smith, Zhang Kong shot nine in the half, especially in the final quarter he shot eight three-pointers. This kind of data is enough for Zhang Kong to appear on the front page of all sports newspapers again, as far as the current situation is concerned, Zhang Kong's three-point data is not too high, he has been labeled with three-point shooting, and some people even proposed that Zhang Kong should be allowed to participate in the three-point competition, but Zhang Kong will definitely not go.
What did you go for? Shame on you! Three-point competition, that game should be explosive, stable surname is completely useless there.
Zhang Kong shoots quickly on the court, with a shooting rate of about 60% without defense, a perfect score of 30, and a shooting of 18 points, is it possible to win the championship? It is estimated that he will not even be able to pass the first round, so Zhang Kong will not lose that person.
On the Grizzlies side, the starting five of the team all scored double-doubles, Zach Randolph 26 points and 16 rebounds, Rudy Gaiyi 18 points and 3 rebounds, Mark Gasol 17 points and 14 rebounds, Mike Conley also scored 15 points and 8 assists when Zhang Kong gave up defense, his assists were all brushed inside, and Zhang Kong had no way to hang the ball directly into the interior in the face of Zhang Kong.
OJ Mayo has 20 points and 6 assists, and today is also the No. 2 position of the Pacers, except for Zhang Kong's 36 points, the Pacers have no more than 20 points, Mike Dunleavy 16 points, TJ Fouche 12 points, Granger 16 points, Dundee Jones 10 points, Roy Hibbert played only 16 minutes, contributed 6 points and stayed off the court.
Troy Murphy played 35 minutes and scored just seven points on 0-of-5 three-point shooting...... Both sides ended up scoring 109-107.
As soon as this game is over, the weaknesses of the Pacers' interior line are undoubtedly exposed, although they have won 7 consecutive wins, but the situation on the Pacers' side is a little worrying, if the Pacers' interior line has been like this, then it will be difficult for them to go far.
It's so hard to beat a Grizzlies, not to mention far from it, just take the situation in front of you, the next game the Pacers face the Spurs.
If that's still the case on the inside, the Spurs with Duncan will tell the Pacers what a real pseudo-powerhouse is!
Everyone knows the situation in the team, although Jim O'Brien didn't say anything, but everyone knows that if the Pacers want to improve, they need to trade, and if they want to trade, they need someone to leave, and Granger is the boss of the team and can't go.
Mike Dunleavy and Dundee Jones, these two are unlikely to leave, after all, they are also the offensive core of the Pacers, and Zhang Kong is even more unlikely to be traded, if Zhang Kong is not there this season, maybe the Pacers are still fishing.
Everyone knows the changes that Zhang Kong has brought to the walkers, and everyone says that if they find Zhang Kong, they don't complain about the money spent.
There have been many teams that have secretly contacted Zhang Kong, but Zhang Kong ignored them and collected money to eliminate disasters for others.
Zhang Kong will not accept offers from any team until the end of the season, and he is now fully committed to the Pacers, and at this time, the Pacers' management is also in full swing to prepare the news about the Pacers' next trade.
(To be continued)