58: 57.

The Fully Liberated Demon Sword 58: 57.

The Fully Liberated Demon Sword “That kid, he’s improving so fast!”

Zhang Yang’s Euro steps made even Ginobili exclaim in astonishment.

He had been ready to be subbed in early, having pulled down his training pants halfway, but Zhang Yang’s last two plays made him sit back down.

Next to him, McDyess spoke in a deep, resonant voice, “Jack is the hardest working youngster I’ve ever seen.

The progress he’s made is well-deserved.”

Ginobili shook his head, “It’s not just about hard work…”

The Euro step isn’t a particularly difficult move, simply put, it’s a three-step layup.

But it’s also quite complex, with a high ceiling that makes it almost impossible to defend, and yet a low floor that can make it worse than a standard three-step violation.

Timing, anticipation of the opponent’s movement, sense of position, balance…

it all requires a very high level of overall ability to execute well.

Ginobili felt teaching the rookie this time was worth it.

Zhang Yang learned the Euro step from him, and in the future, when Zhang Yang made a name for his Euro step, people will certainly mention Ginobili.

At this stage of his career, with no worries about honors or a steady salary, what he pursued was that bit of fame, wasn’t it?

Meeting Ginobili at this age was a stroke of luck for Zhang Yang.

Had it been Ginobili at the peak of his career three to five years earlier, too proud to bother teaching rookies, he wouldn’t have given them a second glance…

Back then, Ginobili thought a leader was someone arrogant like Duncan, and Ginobili believed Duncan’s arrogance stemmed from the fact that Duncan would go an entire season without speaking more than a few words to Parker…

It was only later that Ginobili realized Duncan just simply didn’t like the French.

On the court, Zhang Yang faced the rampaging start of Paul with no fear, going head-to-head, but he couldn’t hold on for too long.

With 6 minutes and 22 seconds left in the first quarter, the score had reached 17 to 23, with the Spurs trailing by 6 points.

Popovich called for a timeout, entering the official break period.

Watching Zhang Yang walk back to the bench with his hands on his hips, looking unwilling to give in, Popovich patted him on the back.

Popovich was very satisfied with Zhang Yang’s performance.

With Paul scoring 9 points and 4 assists in half a quarter, it was already good that Zhang Yang could last until the end of it, successfully giving Ginobili an extra two minutes of rest.

Furthermore, Zhang Yang had helped Ginobili survive Paul’s explosive state, at least for part of that phase!

After the timeout, Ginobili came in for Zhang Yang and led the team on a 17 to 13 run in a little over 5 minutes.

At the end of the first quarter, the Spurs trailed the Hornets by a score of 34 to 36, closing the gap to two points!

Zhang Yang’s half-quarter contribution of 9 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists, along with Ginobili’s 8 points and 1 assist in over 5 minutes, meant that when someone needed to step up and take on the superstar on the other side, both players did.

They made Paul’s 17 points and 5 assists in the quarter look futile!

…

The Hornets really were a ‘one-man team’.

With Paul’s rampage, the whole Hornets team went on a rampage; when Paul’s performance declined, the Hornets wilted.

In the second quarter, Paul had a moderately good performance with 6 points and 4 assists, and the Hornets scored a typical 26 points.

The Spurs scored a normal 25 points in the quarter.

Popovich didn’t push for more, despite Zhang Yang and Ginobili’s surge in the first quarter.

He controlled the rhythm and played the usual tactics, just stabilizing the game.

By halftime, the Spurs were trailing the Hornets by 3 points, 59 to 62.

After the mid-game break, Paul rallied again with 10 points and 6 assists, leading the Hornets to a 29-point quarter.

This quarter, Popovich increased the time the GDP trio played together and upped the output, but the Spurs still scored 28 points, biting closely at the score difference.

Paul fought hard for an entire quarter, but the difference only widened by 1 point, 91 to 87, with a slight lead over the Spurs.

In the final period, a frustrated Paul started with a “clang clang clang” of three missed shots, and Zhang Yang and Parker seized the opportunity for a counter-attack.

The Spurs began the final quarter with an 8 to 0 run, overtaking the Hornets with a score of 95 to 91!

The notoriously tough Popovich was very adept at using his team’s ‘steadiness’ to mess with the opponents’ mentality.

After gaining a 4-point lead, Popovich began to slowly grind it out with the Hornets.

The following 8 minutes saw a score of 16 to 16, keeping the score close.

The Hornets seemed to have a chance to turn the tables, but in reality, they stood no chance.

With just over two minutes left to play, Paul lost his composure, and the Spurs finished the game with a 6 to 2 run in the final moments.

Paul fought hard for 41 points, 16 assists, and 4 steals, but it wasn’t enough against a well-rounded opponent!

Zhang Yang scored 20 points with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals, Ginobili had 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists, Parker contributed 16 points and 7 assists, and Duncan added 18 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks…

117 to 109, the Spurs solidly defeated the Hornets, leading the series 1 to 0!

In his playoff debut for the Spurs with over 20 points, Zhang Yang was quite satisfied.

When the final whistle blew, he heard many fans in the arena shouting “Jack”, which gave him a sense of accomplishment.

He still remembered the first time he played in the AT&T arena and was booed as if it were just yesterday.

After the first game, Zhang Yang felt that the Hornets’ strength was actually not much different from the Grizzlies’.

Both had the ability to upset their opponents, yet their styles were completely different.

While the Grizzlies were strong as a collective, the Hornets were strong because of one individual, but both had the same flaw—they lacked someone who could elevate the team’s ceiling.

Tonight, Paul took on that role himself in the first quarter, leading the Hornets to a dominant performance, but his style of play wasn’t sustainable.

They needed a teammate who could raise the team’s ceiling for him.

If David West hadn’t been injured, he could have taken on some of that role.

All things considered, playing against the Hornets was easier than playing against the Grizzlies!

…

Paul’s stellar 40+15 performance in the first game still hadn’t led his team to victory.

By the 23rd, in the second game of the series between the Spurs and the Hornets, the Hornets players were downcast, their morale was low.

Paul’s performance was also “average,” scoring 23 points, grabbing 6 rebounds, dishing out 10 assists, and stealing the ball 3 times while the Hornets only scored 98 points as a team.

On the Spurs’ side, it was a team effort.

Zhang Yang had 16 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, Duncan had 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, Parker had 28 points, 11 assists, Ginobili scored 13 points with 5 assists, and George Hill added 12 points and 2 assists…

110 to 98, the Spurs won two consecutive games, making the series score 2-0!

When Paul wasn’t on a rampage and the Hornets returned to their regular playoff team strength, the French sports car shone brightly!

He played as effortlessly as he had in the ’07 Finals.

After resting for two days and switching venues, the Spurs came to the New Orleans Arena, the Hornets’ home court, to kick off the third game of the series.

The Hornets, trailing 0-2, had no ground left to give; their backs were against the wall, and they had no choice but to make a stand.

In the first quarter, led by Paul, the Hornets furiously scored 31 points, putting on a performance similar to the first game.

But this time, the Spurs were better prepared.

They had a deeper understanding of the Hornets’ weak defense, and they executed better defense than in the first game, overpowering the Hornets with a 33-31 lead after just one quarter!

The Hornets narrowed the gap by 1 point in the second quarter, 26-25, but come the third quarter, the Spurs countered with a 26-24 run, finishing the third quarter ahead by 3 points, 84-81.

By the final quarter, Paul’s shortcomings became apparent.

Although he could rack up 13 points and 4 assists in the first quarter alone, when he needed to step up and solve problems through scoring in the final quarter, he couldn’t do it!

His skills and shooting were better than Zhang Yang’s, but there was too much difference in their physique.

Using screens, Zhang Yang just had to make quick moves, allowing him to disregard the opposing big men on switches and just pull up for shots.

In the first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, he made 2 out of 4 shots, including going 1 for 2 on three-pointers, plus making both free throws, for a total of 8 points.

During this time, Paul went down.

After putting in effort for three quarters, his energy levels began to decrease, affecting his movement.

Following pick-and-rolls, he struggled against the likes of Duncan or McDyess, and even desperate shots from outside proved more effective than his efforts.

After playing for 5 minutes, Zhang Yang was substituted off, and Ginobili took over.

In 7 minutes, he made 5 out of 7 shots, including hitting 2 of 4 from beyond the arc, without taking a single free throw, for a total of 12 points, putting the game out of reach.

Duncan had his best performance of the series, scoring 26 points, grabbing 9 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists, and blocking 3 shots in 32 minutes.

With the Hornets’ defense focusing on Parker, Ginobili, and Zhang Yang in the first three quarters, Duncan was happily feasting on easy points, something he wouldn’t have believed possible during last year’s offseason.

Zhang Yang scored 17 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and had 2 assists, 1 steal, Parker added 15 points and 8 assists, Ginobili had 21 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists…

With a final quarter score of 28-23, the Spurs beat the Hornets by 8 points, the final score being 112 to 104, giving them a 3-0 lead in the series and putting them within sight of advancing!

Having secured a steady victory, Popovich was very pleased, and what made him even happier was seeing the ‘fully unleashed’ Ginobili, but it also gave him a bittersweet feeling.

Now that the team had a scoring guard who could relieve pressure off Ginobili, the focused energy output of the Argentine became even more formidable!

Popovich reflected on Ginobili’s nine years with the Spurs, and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, the truth was—Zhang Yang was the best scoring guard Ginobili had partnered with in nine years.

Before Zhang Yang, Ginobili’s best scoring guard partner was a 33-year-old Michael Finley, who by then could only average about ten points per game and depended on his teammates to feed him the ball…

with only his spot-up shooting ability left.

Back then, Ginobili played as a sixth man; was a starting scoring guard there to alleviate pressure from him?

That was wishful thinking, as every time Ginobili came off the bench, he was filling the holes dug by the starting guards.

Popovich had Ginobili playing off the bench because there really wasn’t a viable scoring guard on the bench; Ginobili as a starter during the 04-05 season was ferocious.

With Zhang Yang on board, Ginobili truly became that ’20-minute Jordan’!

Unfortunately, Ginobili was about to turn 34 years old…

Popovich didn’t want to repeat such a “regret” and was determined to bring that certain someone back, even if it meant giving up George Hill, whom he was very fond of.

…

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