章 25: 24. The First Trial Ends
The next day, May 5th in the afternoon, Zhang Yang and his team left Phoenix and flew to San Antonio.
Playing an away game, Zhang Yang was looking forward to experiencing the Texas scenery... As Nash was taking him to the airport, he spoke in a tone that all men understand about the exotic charm of the area and the passionate South American women living there, and Zhang Yang started thinking about how if Nash planned to take him out on the town, he should play hard to get just enough to not seem too eager...
However, after arriving in San Antonio, he remembered he had been in Phoenix for a few days and had only been to Nash's house, the stadium, and gas stations. They were here for a game, a postseason game at that, and it was dark by the time they reached the hotel. The coaching staff prohibited leaving the hotel that night, and the next morning, the entire team went together to the ATT stadium to prepare. There was absolutely no chance to enjoy the Texas landscape.
After feeling slightly disappointed, Zhang Yang concentrated on his training.
On the 7th, the Suns played against the Spurs in the third game of the series on the road.
The Spurs, trailing 0-2, were not about to give up and played desperately. The Suns faced the most challenging game of the series so far.
In the first quarter, the Suns were down by 6 points, trailing the Spurs 19 to 25. In the second quarter, the Suns fought back, scoring 31 to 24 and ended the half one point ahead at 60-59, overtaking the Spurs.
Just when the TV commentators thought the Suns were going to replicate their Game 1 success, under intense pressure, Ginobili exploded with 18 points in one quarter, leading the Spurs to score 30 to 22 in that period, overturning to lead the Suns by 7 points, 89-82, going into the final quarter.
With a 7-point lead entering the third quarter, the announcers quickly switched sides, starting to praise the Spurs for a potential comeback,. They said this game was the Spurs' call to counterattack, and with Duncan present, a 7-point lead was enough to grind it to the end.
This time, however, Duncan disappointed many as his performance no longer resembled the stability of the past decades; his performance was lackluster on both ends, clearly showing his age.
Stoudemire continued his aggressive play, repeatedly scoring against Duncan one-on-one, making 5 out of 7 shots and all his 2 free throws to score 12 points in the quarter.
Nash shot 4 of 8, including 2 of 5 three-pointers, scoring 10 points and contributing 5 assists in the quarter, providing strong support for Stoudemire from the perimeter.
With these two leading, the Suns blasted 35 points in the last quarter, completely breaking down the Spurs' defense.
On the offensive end for the Spurs, despite facing adverse conditions, Parker's performance wasn't bad, but he didn't excel; Duncan was unusually dull on both ends; Ginobili continued to shine despite the dire situation, scoring 12 points in the quarter and reaching a career playoff high of 30 points in a half, and his 37 points for the game ranked second highest in his playoff career... However, the Spurs only managed 24 points in that quarter.
Stoudemire with 29 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, Nash with 31 points, 9 assists, and Hill with 16 points... The Suns turned the game around to beat the Spurs 107-103, leading the series with a large margin of 3-0!
Zhang Yang tonight made 2 out of 4 shots, performing decently in shooting, with the most 'eye-catching' being his 6 of 6 free throws, four of which he earned in the last quarter.
After reaching the foul limit in the last quarter, Popovich employed the Hack-a-Shaq strategy. The dominant player tonight succeeded in 9 of 10 free throws, proving the strategy ineffective. The Suns' other players who played also performed well in their free throws, and then he targeted Zhang Yang, who was still a rookie.
Popovich's highly creative idea was actually well-considered, as in recent years rookies have increasingly poor fundamentals, especially in free throws.
Although Zhang Yang was bold, his abilities were indeed ordinary, making him a worthy gamble.
But, coincidentally, free throws were the first aspect of shooting that Zhang Yang practiced when developing his shooting skills...
Zhang Yang also made his contribution; his free throws in the last ten seconds not only scored him 4 points amidst boos and curses from the audience but also created some rest for Nash, who had played for over 40 minutes.
...
On May 9th, the day of the fourth game in the Suns-Spurs series arrived.
At noon, the Suns received good news—Nash and Stoudemire both were selected for the second team.
Duncan only made the third team and second defense, marking this year as his worst performance and least honors since entering the NBA.
With the dual cores winning awards, the already high morale of the Suns was boosted even further.
On the other hand, the entire Spurs team was in low spirits.
Media, the deceiving ghost, had been praising Duncan as one of the all-time greats who was old but sturdy, an evergreen before the second round started. But after falling behind 0-3, the media's Duncan was suddenly past his prime, the peak of the Spurs' era was over... This exacerbated the loss of confidence among the Spurs players.
By 8 pm, when Game 4 started, the impact of the morale was evident.
The Spurs played like the Suns did in Game 1. No, they performed even worse than the Suns had back then.
The Suns were the ones consistently losing, and with the grudge of an off-court defeat, they fought fiercely even when demoralized and lacking in confidence.
However, the Spurs, who had always been winners, just fell apart completely.
The Suns blasted 39 points in the first quarter, outscoring the Spurs, who only managed 22 points, leading by 17 points and essentially removing any suspense from the game.
By the second quarter, the score was 27 to 24; by the third quarter, 25 to 22. The Suns did not give the Spurs any chance to overturn the game, and the Spurs actually failed to mount an effective counterattack.
The overly stable Spurs, when faced with such suppression, often found themselves without a solution. Moreover, apart from a few players, most had already lost confidence. Ginobili, scoring 27 points from 17 attempts and making 10, was merely performing a solo dance.
By the end of the third quarter, the gap had reached 23 points, and Popovich pulled out his big three, effectively conceding defeat.
This elimination did not result in Popovich raging courtside as he had in the past; he was unusually calm, having made up his mind.
After losing to Kobe with Gasol in 2008, he had contemplated changes, but back then they had at least made it to the Western Conference Finals, and the reserves for the new system were not yet sufficient.
Last season's first-round exit was because Ginobili was out for the season. Before his injury, they had been second in the Western Conference and fourth in the league; Popovich had felt no immediate need to change.
Now, a change was imperative!
Popovich turned his focus to the explosive performance of Ginobili in this postseason. His new system would not include conventional stars, but it needed a dagger for piercing through opponents at critical moments.
...
During the final quarter's garbage time, Zhang Yang was substituted in.
He hadn't played in the first three quarters. Starting with the upper hand, Gentry had opted for stability, using the strongest lineup and firepower to maintain the lead until the opposition had completely given up, only then bringing in the first and second-year players.
Zhang Yang and Dragic took turns shooting, one ball each, during garbage time; that was the time for these young guards, who were part of the team's development plan, to swing away.
Dragic made 4 of 7 shots and all 3 free throws, earning 11 points and 3 assists; all three assists were passes to Zhang Yang that directly turned into assists.
The Spurs didn't really defend anymore; Zhang Yang could circle out to receive the ball and shoot, making 4 out of 9 shots for 8 points, along with one rebound basket from Robin Lopez. The Suns scored 21 points this quarter... while the Spurs scored 31.
Losing by 10 points during garbage time had no real effect on the Suns.
112 to 99, the Suns won again against the Spurs, sweeping them 4-0 to advance!
After the final whistle, the "Gate of Trials" appeared before Zhang Yang's eyes, indicating that his training mission was complete, rewarding him with the "Son of the Wind Ball-Handling Rhythm: Beginner Edition."
At the same time, a wave of sleepiness, unusual after just one quarter of playing, flooded into his mind, indicating that this training session was coming to an end.
The principal's words, "I can hardly bear to watch you turn away from me, and when it's time to leave, please do not hold on too much," seemed to echo in his ears.
It appeared he hadn't said goodbye... but perhaps no goodbye was necessary. The Zhang Yang here would still strive to continue his basketball dream... although this version of him was a bit stubborn... He wished him good luck.
He was quite pleased with this training journey.
Though he had mostly been a benchwarmer, his involvement in the second quarter of Game 1 had been impactful.
After all, as a basketball player, was there anything more joyful than winning on the court?
He had a very positive impression of this team.
The team was strong, the veterans had good characters, and since the core players were not young, they were very supportive and willing to help the younger players grow.
Robin Lopez, a first-round pick in 2008, Goran Dragic, a second-round pick in 2008, Louis Amundson, undrafted in 2006, and Dudley, a first-round pick in 2007, had all made their mark this season.
Even Earl Clark, a lottery pick who had never performed well during the season, was not abandoned by the team during the playoffs; they arranged a personal trainer for him.
If possible, he wanted to enter the NBA in such a team, where he could win with the greats and also have plenty of opportunities to grow.
As his vision gradually blurred, the last image Zhang Yang saw was the Son of the Wind and the Dominator surrounded by reporters under the spotlight.
He longed for the day when in such a grand scene, he would no longer be standing on the side!
...
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