Chapter 13: On Fire, Bursting with Fire!
Bynum came over and hugged Zeng Zhen excitedly, "Zeng, you finished the quasi-killer, tonight is your game."
Walton laughed back, "Rookie, enjoy the cheering."
Wharton was a good old boy, and he knew Zeng Zhen quite well, and was happy to offer his congratulations.
Odom, Vujacic, Kwame Brown and others also came over to high-five and hug Zeng Zhen.
Zeng Zhen was just a rookie, and this moment of completing a quasi-jam was memorable.
Kobe also came down from the field and high-fived Zeng Zhen.
Kirby said, "Tseng, you played well."
I don't know how long it's been since the Lakers could still play so soundly without him.
Zeng Zhen nodded at him and said, "Thanks for the compliment."
Kirby shrugged and laughed, not saying anything as he prepared to leave when Zeng Zhen called out to him.
"Kobe, I have a friend who's a fan of yours, let's take a picture together."
Saying that, Zeng Zhen waved his hand to signal the three Zhao Xue sisters to come over.
When there are fans, Kobe changes his expression and he quickly puts a smile on his face.
Sisters Zhao Xue, Zhao Na and Zhao Yu were all very excited to have their pictures taken with Kobe.
"CLACK CLACK CLACK!!!"
After the group photo, Kobe coolly turned away to walk in the direction of Vanessa with her two daughters.
...
Stats for both sides.
On the Magic side, Howard scored 22 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks, Hill scored 18 points and 4 rebounds, Nelson scored 12 points and 6 assists, Turkoglu scored 10 points and Francis scored 10 points and 4 assists.
Howard's performance has been the best among Magic players, he has gradually become the core of the Magic offense and defense trend.
On the Lakers' side, Odom scored 14 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, Bynum scored 12 points and 11 rebounds, Vujacic scored 6 points, Walton scored 8 points and 5 assists, Smash Parker scored 6 points and 2 assists, and Zeng Zhen scored 35 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.
There is no doubt that Zeng Zhen, who cut down the highest score of the game and completed the quasi-slaughter, is the key man for the Lakers to win the game tonight.
Zeng Zhen was ready to walk back to the locker room after celebrating with his teammates.
At this time ESPN's beautiful reporter Erin Antrus ran towards Zeng Zhen with a microphone.
Erin Andrews, with her shiny blonde hair and slender body that looks like a supermodel, is also the star of ESPN. Since joining ESPN in 2004, Erin has gone from being a reporter for the NHL to being an all-around talent in basketball, football, baseball, and college football.
She's kind of an online journalist.
Zeng Zhen had also met her, but before that she had gone to interview Kobe mostly, and it was the first time she interviewed Zeng Zhen.
Erin said enthusiastically, "Tseng, congratulations on winning tonight's game, and you finished with a quasi shutout on the field, how are you feeling right now?"
Zeng Zhen slightly bowed his head and said into the microphone, "This feeling is great, a kind of dream come true, when I was a kid, I thought about what it would be like for me to complete a shutout in an NBA game, and now I've done it."
Erin asked, "You made nine three-pointers tonight, but missed the last one, would you have felt like it was all over at that point?"
Zeng Zhen shook his head and said, "That's not true, I was fully committed to the game and the first thing I knew was that the ball wasn't going to go in, so I tried to go for the offensive rebound, and luckily, I got it."
Erin asked, "You've been on point with your three-pointers in both games, how did you do that?"
Amount!
Zeng Zhen can't say he's open in front of the camera, right? No one will believe it when he says it.
Curry is dopey?
Zeng Zhen said, "A lot of practice off the court, maybe you see that I made nine threes on the court, but you don't see that I made 500 threes just yesterday, and after constant training, those are just for training back."
Erin then asked, "Do you think you'll be able to start for the Lakers in the future?"
Zengzhen said, "It's the coach's arrangement, and of course, I'm eager to become a more important role in the team."
Erin asked, "You've encountered a lot of skepticism from fans before, how did you deal with that?"
Zeng Zhen said, "Shut them up with performance."
If it was a normal fan questioning, Zeng Zhen wouldn't feel anything, but there were many fans attacking him who also attacked his family, which made Zeng Zhen would feel very upset.
Zeng Zhen's words were still a bit punchy.
Erin smiled before ending the interview, "Thanks for the interview and I hope you continue to do well."
"Thanks."
After saying goodbye to the ESPN reporter, Zeng Zhen walked back to the locker room.
The assistant coaches came over to inform Zeng Zhen that he would take part in the post match interview.
It is also a consistent practice for players who perform well to attend the post-game press conference.
Zeng Zhen is not the first time to face this kind of big scene, when he just entered the NBA, the country has come to a lot of reporters to interview.
A lot of the interviews that followed got stale and it was more about seeing how he responded to questions and such.
And tonight was clearly different.
Zeng Zhen, who has a bottom line, faced various reporters after the game to cope with the freedom.
.......
"Super Rookie, Two Battles to Win!
"Zeng Zhen jerseys are sold out.
"Two consecutive 30+, Zeng Zhen shows the strongest battle of rookies this season.
"Surprise, Zeng Zhen's second consecutive congrats ah 30+.
"With nine 3-pointers + a quasi-kill, Zeng Zhen has become the Lakers' most reliable scorer.
"Kirby, you're free to go. I'm ready to usurp the throne.
"A new emperor is on the throne, and the boss of L.A. is about to change.
"Kobe's not here, Zeng Zhen is king!
"Zeng Zhen is worth ten million dollars a year!
"The Rising Three-Point Shooter, Ray Allen, Are You Afraid?
These news headlines are tinged with some hyperbole, but that's the nature of the media's pissing contest.
A good fight keeps blowing up and a bad fight is all kinds of shady.
Of course, no matter what, it's obvious that Zeng Zhen is on fire with these two matches.
Zeng Zhen's three-point shooting ability is constantly touted by many media outlets.
The national media, in particular, bragged about it even more.
What Zeng Zhen is Ray Allen at the lowest level, and Reggie Miller at a higher level.
Big Yao took up a piece of the inside of the Chinese men's basketball team, Zeng Zhen is going to take up a piece of the outside of the Chinese men's basketball team.
.....
Previously, Zeng Zhen's performance can not carry these boasts, he can only be considered a marginal player, such players look at the CBA also has a large number.
But these two games, two consecutive 30 + game output, let many domestic media and fans have a long breath of relief.
Blow it any way you want, as long as the ball is in play, it's bull.
In Hubo, posting, and all the major portals, Zeng Zhen's news also rushed to the front page.
Even for ordinary people who don't pay much attention to basketball, a lot of people saw Zeng Zhen's name.
Some fans who follow the NBA, but don't see the games live, they go to various browsers and search for game footage to watch.
....
....
Tao Li is a national basketball video editor.
His part-time job is to edit game highlights of major NBA stars and post them on a website thread for fans to watch and comment on.
This part-time job doesn't pay, it's just a hobby.
In the past, Li Tao edited the most individual clips of super giants like Big Yao, Kobe and Maddie.
I can't say those people's videos don't get any airplay, but they look too mundane to be seen anywhere.
But on this day, Li Tao cut a special that belongs only to Zeng Zhen.
"His shot is real awesome."
During the editing process, Li Tao couldn't help but exclaim.
After Li Tao edited Zeng Zhen's match highlights and posted them on the forum.
In just under 20 minutes, there were quickly thousands of comments underneath.
Li Tao couldn't imagine at first that this post would be so hot.
But when he thought about it carefully, Li Tao understood.
Zeng Zhen is Chinese and then a rookie, and it's a wonder that his streak of 30+ games couldn't have been hot.
"Awesome, Zeng Zhen is awesome!"
"Crap, shocked me."
"Are Chinese defenders already this good?"
"That three-point shooting ability is just top-notch."
"Quasi-jam, the throw was so solid."
"I hope the owner continues to update."
The fans' comments made Li Tao very excited as well.
Li Tao was now also getting more and more excited about Zeng Zhen's performance.
The explosion of this video also made Li Tao decide to change his post to be exclusive to Zeng Zhen, and from now on, he will exclusively put Zeng Zhen's videos and news.
.....
On a TNT talk show the next morning.
Barkley also talked about Zeng Zhen in a chat with recently retired 3-point sharpshooter Reggie Miller.
Buckley said, "Reggie, there are a lot of fans concerned about Zeng Zhen's ability to hit, and you're more similar in style to him, so let's talk about it."
Miller, who finished his career last season, is also the NBA's active three-point all-time record holder.
Miller doesn't have a strong body, doesn't jump high, and doesn't run fast, but as long as he's standing at the three-point line, he'll always be the deadliest threat to his opponents.
Miller laughed and said, "Tseng didn't get playing time at first, he kind of exploded out of nowhere, and it's still too early to tell because a lot of opponents haven't done some research and setups specifically for his characteristics."
Buckley said, "So it's actually you who don't think highly of Tsang?"
Miller said, "That's not true, Tseng is very much like me, average talent and not top-notch explosiveness, but he has a shooting touch that's no less than mine, which is key, and future accomplishments will need to be determined by the length of his career, which is just getting started, and anything is possible! What do you think?"
Miller has seen Zeng Zhen's two games, he can see from all kinds of details Zeng Zhen's shooting ability is very strong, which is the root of Zeng Zhen based on the NBA.
Compared to Miller's mellow, Barkley was direct: "I think he's more suited to be a 3D player, but his defense needs to be strengthened, he's easy to be beaten by opponents, his type of player is a typical offensive and defensive player, it's hard to become an all-star unless he plays a more long-term, stable play, of course, there is no problem to play a qualified rotation. "
"Pop!"
Zeng Zhen turned off the TV in his room.
It was already late at night when he returned home last night, and after eating a bowl of noodles made by Zhao Xue, Zeng Zhen rested.
Coming out of the room, there was no one in the apartment.
At this point in time, Zhao Xue had gone to work, and Zhao Na and Zhao Yu had both gone to school.
But a meal was left on the table.
"Brother Zhen, last night's game was so wonderful, we all had a great time watching it, thank you for the tickets, jerseys and of course Kobe's autograph, lunch is ready, enjoy at ease."
There's also a red lipstick on the piece of paper.
Apparently, this is the lunch that Joanna made.
Zeng Zhen's impression of this landlord's sisters was very good, and all three sisters were quite nice.
After lunch, Zeng Zhen drove to the training center.
Trainer Jack had already started working, he smiled and said to Zeng Zhen, "Zeng, you were so cool last night, come on, help sign your name, my 5 year old son is now a fan of yours too."
With that, Jack took out Zeng Zhen's jersey and a pen, and Zeng Zhen signed it with a smile.
NBA players to give people autographs and photos is a job, Zeng Zhen also seldom go to refuse, which for him is also regarded as a value.
Zeng Zhen said, "Work hard and continue to train with me today."
Satisfied, Jack put away his clothes and smiled, "That's my job, what do you want to practice today? Still three-point shooting?"
Now Jack was convinced of Zeng Zhen.
Other people look at Zeng Zhen last game scored nine threes seems to be a night burst like, but Jack know scored nine threes, Zeng Zhen how much effort, just the day before yesterday, a day to train 500, obviously, that is not a coincidence.
Zeng Zhen said, "500 threes, then slide, strength, and single defense drills."
Jack nodded.
In addition to shooting, Zeng Zhen is also ready to enhance his defensive ability.
When he was on the court in the last game, he did only average defensively, and if he met the kind of physically strong forward or a guard with superb one-two punch, the probability of him being eaten alive was very high.
The Lakers are a demanding defensive team, and if you want to be a starter, you can't afford to put up a fight on the defensive end.
....
....
The next day, the Lakers had another game day at home.
This time it's a home game against the Sun.
Last season was a season of remarkable transformation for the Suns.
The Suns were the top team in the West last season, getting a 62-20 record.
The Suns were notable last season.
The team's core players, such as Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, and Amare Stoudemire, all had outstanding performances, with Nash winning regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors by averaging 15.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 11.5 assists per game, and Marion and Stoudemire averaging 19.4 and 26.9 points per game, respectively, as the team's Marion and Stoudemire were the team's top scorers with 19.4 and 26.9 points per game respectively.
It's just that the Suns didn't fare as well in the playoffs. In the Western Conference Finals, they lost to the last championship team, the San Antonio Spurs. Although the fans' expectations of the team fell through, it still still showed the potential and strength of the Suns.
With players like Leandro Barbosa and Steven Hunter joining the Suns this season, it gives the Suns a lot to look forward to in terms of overall performance and potential to show.
On the pregame press interview.
Suns point guard Lagabelle went straight to the press and said, "I'm going to take care of that rookie, he's not going to score in double digits."
At 196, Lagabelle is a defensive stalwart who plays ferocious defense and often goes up against the league's superstars.
Despite Zeng Zhen's 30+ game streak, Lagabelle still doesn't put it in perspective.
Lagabelle has watched Zeng Zhen's videos and he feels that Zeng Zhen is just not being taken seriously, so as long as he is given a little more physical confrontation so that Zeng Zhen doesn't have the space to make a move, then Zeng Zhen will not be enough to worry about.
The only Laker player who can make Lagabelle take him seriously is Kobe.
With Kobe off the court, the Lakers are really not being watched by Lagabelle right now.
The Suns are a powerhouse in the West, with a current record of 21-9, which puts them in third place in the West.
The Nash-led Suns have been playing a shellacking game, and they have a potent offense.
The outside world thinks this game is still difficult for the Lakers to beat them.
Domestic, CCTV 5.
Zhang Weiping and Xu Jicheng are also ready.
With Zeng Zhen's hot performance, the CCTV have also increased the number of Lakers' broadcasts.
More and more fans are willing to sit in front of their TVs and wait around for the game to start.
The internet and the fans are buzzing about it.
"Can Zeng Zhen still play like he did in the first two games?"
"I hope his play is normal, China hasn't had such an awesome defender."
"I think it's hard, the Sun will definitely target the defense and Lagabelle is not your average defensive player."
"Kobe's absence feels really difficult for the Lakers, not having a regular scoring point anymore."
"A big part of the reason Zeng Zhen was able to blow through his first two games was that opponents didn't pay enough attention to him, and the Sun's scouts won't be able to do any less research on him."
The fans talk.
On the TV screen.
Zhang Weiping and Xu Jicheng also prepared the information.
Zhang Weiping said: "Sun this period of play is great, they have achieved an impressive record of three consecutive wins, led by Nash, their offensive firepower high in the league, today the Lakers will encounter a huge challenge on defense, if there is not enough firepower with the sun against the sun, may be the first three quarters of the sun will close the game."
Xu Jicheng said, "Director Zhang, who do you think can step up for the Lakers in this game?"
Zhang Weiping said, "The Lakers this season's offense is very dependent on Kobe, Kobe was able to bombard 35 points per game of individual scoring, in addition to Kobe, the highest scoring is Odom, averaging 14 points per game, as for Smash Parker, Vujacic, Walton and others do not have that ability, and now can be slightly counted on is Zeng Zhen."
Zhang Weiping went on to say: "But today Zeng Zhen should also face very big difficulties, tonight he faced defensive pressure may be greater than the first two games, the sun will also focus on defending his three-point, this situation he still want to take 30+ with the last game as it should be very difficult."
Seo Je-sung laughed, "What if Zeng Zhen gets another 30+ tonight?"
Zhang Weiping said, "That shows that Zeng Zhen has the ability to cut points in high-intensity games, there is this ability to the Lakers is quite critical, that he can have a very important position in the Lakers."
.....
Staples Arena.
The race is about to begin.
The Hollywood stars were shining brightly from the front row seats.
Dane Cannon, Nicholson, the Kardashians and others came to the front row to watch the game.
Recently, Zeng Jin has exploded in Los Angeles, and all these people want to come and see Zeng Jin as well.
Especially die-hard Lakers fan Nicholson, who knows every Lakers player like the back of his hand.
In the wake of Kobe's injury, he thought for a while that the Lakers' playoff hopes for this season would be far away again, but Zeng Zhen's emergence gave him hope of surviving this time.
Zeng Zhen gave him a sense of anticipation for the Lakers game as well.
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