Last summer, the Hawks and Jazz picked Deron Williams and Chris Paul respectively, and those two have really shaken things up in the playoff race for both the East and West this season.
With Deron on board, the Hawks don't have to stress anymore about whether they should play Tyronn Lue or Royal Ivey at point guard. No doubt, Deron joining the team was like swapping out the engine of an already excellent muscle car for a top-of-the-line model. Ever since Deron joined, Atlanta fans have seen Josh Smith take flight, and Al Harrington and Joe Johnson are now punishing those slow, clueless defenses on offense by creating mismatches.
As of the All-Star break, the Hawks are currently sitting at seventh in the East. In previous seasons, Hawks fans would have been shouting from the rooftops for Deron Williams, who's averaging 14.8 points, 7.4 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in his rookie season. (Note ①) Because, honestly, a Deron playing like that wouldn't even be considered in the Rookie of the Year discussion this season.
However, not only are Hawks fans not complaining about Deron, but even Deron himself has lost interest in the Rookie of the Year award.
Just like Deron, Paul isn't interested in the Rookie of the Year award either. Before the All-Star break, under the guidance of veteran coach Jerry Sloan, Paul was averaging 15.1 points, 8.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.8 steals for the Jazz. Without a doubt, Paul's rookie season performance has been outstanding, simply exceptional. After he joined, the Jazz, who were an old car that only managed 19 wins last season, have truly started to rev up this season. Currently, they're sitting at seventh in the West.
But even a Paul playing like that still isn't considered for this season's Rookie of the Year. Truth be told, if David Stern didn't want to break NBA tradition, he probably would have sent this year's Rookie of the Year trophy straight to Oakland right away. Because with Zack bursting onto the scene this year, is there even any suspense for Rookie of the Year? Deron and Paul have certainly put up excellent numbers this season, but what can they do when the guy they're competing against is playing at an MVP-caliber level?
After the All-Star break, Zack led the Warriors to Atlanta, kicking off their latest road trip.
At Philips Arena, facing the first opponent on this road trip, the team that became a playoff wildcard in the East because of him, Zack delivered 28 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks, and 1 steal. He successfully made Atlanta fans recall their most hated and shameful memory.
"Fixed! Fixed! Fixed!"
All night long, whenever Zack had the ball, Hawks fans expressed their displeasure with the NBA in their own unique way.
Hawks fans certainly had reason to be upset. Last summer, to get Zack, they pretty much endured a whole season of torture. In games, if there was any sign of a home win, every fan in the arena would immediately shout down the players on the court who had such outlandish ideas. "We don't want to win! Throw that damn ball to the other side!"
But even with the Hawks' insane 11-win season, that Jewish guy, David Stern – who should be burned alive – didn't give Atlanta the first overall pick last year.
Initially, as time went on, Hawks fans gradually forgot that memory.
But... why? Why isn't the Messiah ours? Why did Stern have to send him to save those smelly, dried fish Warriors? What's so great about Oakland? What's so great about the Bay Area? One day, the all-knowing, all-powerful God will send down a great fire and burn that damn California to ashes!
On this day of this year, as Zack led the Warriors to a 110-101 away victory over the Hawks, Atlanta fans also sent their most venomous curses to all of California.
However, Zack knew this curse simply couldn't happen. Because until he traveled back in time, California, as the only state in the U.S. that adopted fire safety building codes at the junction of wilderness and urban areas, had fire services that were well-regarded even in newspapers and magazines. So, a great fire burning California to ashes? Absolutely no way!
"I completely understand how the Hawks fans feel, because I truly believe my rookie season performance is just that good."
After defeating the Hawks, the Warriors, with no time to rest in Atlanta, rushed to their next away game. It wasn't until mid-March that they finally reached the end of this month-long journey: Salt Lake City.
Before arriving on the Utah plateau, the Warriors' record stood at 41 wins and 21 losses. As the fifth team in the league this season to reach 40 regular-season wins, they still held fifth place in the Western Conference.
It's worth noting that since the Jazz are currently only 0.5 games behind the Nuggets, even though they only had 33 wins before their game against the Warriors, a victory tonight would immediately propel them to third in the West.
Yes, this is the most ridiculous part of the system where division champions automatically get a top-three seed in their conference. Because no matter how hard the Warriors try, the Phoenix Suns, the current rulers of the Pacific Division, are not going to give up their top spot.
Before the game, veteran coach Jerry Sloan deliberately dragged his increasingly slow steps over to the Warriors' side of the court. Compared to the Sloan of the 1990s, who commanded respect without needing to rage, he still led the Jazz, but his brow now showed more peace and serenity.
"I've watched many of your games. I really like your playing style. It's a shame you don't play for us."
"It's a shame you don't play for us." Ever since entering the league, this was definitely the sentence Zack heard most often. At this moment, watching Sloan turn and walk away after saying that, Zack looked bewildered. "He came all the way over just to compliment me?"
Hearing this, Dunleavy Jr. unusually rolled his eyes at Zack. "Legendary coach Jerry Sloan just paid you the highest compliment."
After a pause, Dunleavy Jr. added, "People often say that the quality of a screen is often the key to whether an offense succeeds. And for you to receive praise from 'King of the Pick-and-Roll' Jerry Sloan, you are undoubtedly the 'King of the Pick-and-Roll' among today's NBA players. Even your senior, Tim Duncan, never received such an evaluation from Jerry Sloan."
Stubborn and inflexible – that's often the stereotype many later fans had of Jerry Sloan. But historically, when that "Golden State Band of Thieves" broke through Dallas and reached the Utah plateau, how many people still remembered that it was Jerry Sloan who, with a grand gesture, raised the banner of "run-and-gun" basketball and completely crushed those Warriors with an offensive onslaught?
Though a remnant of an older era, this didn't mean Jerry Sloan didn't understand the beauty of the new era. This season, the Warriors players' cuts and movements around Zack's screens on the court, in Sloan's eyes, were a unique kind of beauty.
Sloan was really looking forward to this game against the Warriors. It wasn't about the importance of the game itself.
At center court, after the tip-off, the game officially began.
On defense, Boozer and Okur settled low on the baseline, one to the left, one to the right, while Kirilenko was in charge of perimeter defense. Paul and Harpring, meanwhile, were guarding Davis, who had the ball, and Artest, who was setting a screen on the left side.
This was a standard 2-3 zone defense. Seeing this, Zack directly posted up against Kirilenko at the free-throw line in the middle. The next moment, the Jazz's zone defense crumbled on its own.
On the sideline, witnessing this, Sloan said admiringly, "His comprehension is indeed far beyond ordinary people."
Why would a simple free-throw line high-post action to break a zone defense earn Zack such praise from Sloan? Because Sloan noticed that Zack almost immediately read the Jazz's defense and, by moving early, prepared to break the zone.
In the NBA, because all zone defenses can't fully exert their original power, in most cases, NBA teams' zone defenses are mixed with man-to-man defense. That is to say, the defense might use certain alignments to confuse the offense. You might think they're playing zone, but they could actually be playing man-to-man.
What Sloan just praised was Zack's reading of the Jazz's defense. Because he quickly read the Jazz's defense and immediately took the free-throw line, Zack, almost the moment he received the ball, created an excellent opportunity for Richardson to drive to the basket with a pass. Then, Richardson, charging into the paint, finished the play with a powerful one-handed dunk.
At this moment, Sloan was certain that, compared to the first meeting between the two teams, Zack's game reading ability had climbed another level. This was an incredible improvement in Sloan's eyes. Because in the world of basketball, game reading ability is a skill that's incredibly hard to improve. In fact, even some players who have played in the NBA for one or two decades can't react as quickly as Zack just did after discerning the Jazz's defensive intentions.
Sloan knew well that the norm in the NBA was for average players to spend several seconds, even ten seconds or more, dribbling at the top of the arc just to observe the opponent's defense. Players like Zack… generally speaking, are once-in-a-generation talents.
Back to the Jazz's offensive possession.
The Jazz's pick-and-roll plays were also difficult to defend. Because pick-and-roll doesn't just refer to the cooperation between the ball-handler and off-ball player. Although Sloan's pick-and-roll tactics mostly showed this effect, in fact, to execute a good pick-and-roll, the offense also has a lot of preparatory work to do before the screen even happens.
Take this time, for example. Near the Warriors' baseline, because Kirilenko suddenly cut after a screen from Okur, at the top of the arc, as Paul and Boozer ran a pick-and-roll, Zack had to make a decision immediately. Whether to switch for Davis to contain Paul, or to cover Kirilenko on the baseline, who Artest had already lost.
In this defensive possession, Zack chose to trust Brown to recover on defense for Artest through help defense. However, the moment the Jazz completed the high pick-and-roll, Paul found another passing lane that the Warriors had overlooked. Paul's pass went directly to Harpring, who had taken advantage of Zack extending out to the perimeter to contain the play, and cut to the basket after a screen from Kirilenko.
On the court, after receiving the pass, Harpring easily made a layup off the glass.
Although no play in basketball can be 100% successful, a play like the Jazz's just now, if executed perfectly, is undoubtedly a masterpiece. It's just a shame that in the NBA, such intricate plays, which require team chemistry and coordination, aren't as direct as a thunderous dunk, and therefore are often forgotten or overlooked. For example, twenty years from now, even if Nikola Jokic becomes world-famous, how many people will truly appreciate Jokic?
On the court, Warriors' possession. This time, the Warriors successfully executed the Flex offense, and through subsequent movements, Zack found Artest waiting on the perimeter. Then, as Zack added another assist to his stats, Artest opened his scoring account with a three-pointer.
In the NBA, passing for an assist can be that simple. You just need to press the pass button and find an open teammate, and you get an assist. But in the NBA, passing for an assist can also be very difficult. Because no matter how many assists you've accumulated in your career, if you don't have that ability to quickly observe and read the opponent's defense, then direct or make a brilliant pass to your teammates, then you just don't have it.
On the Jazz bench, Sloan sighed and said, "Mediocre facilitators will wait for teammates to get open before passing. Advanced facilitators will use their passes to lead teammates into position. But true legends often have the entire play envisioned before the offense even begins."
Sloan couldn't even imagine how much Zack would grow with a few more seasons of development. The future? In this era, no one can compare their future to Zack's. Because, he is the future.
This night, the shock Zack delivered to Sloan continued. Perhaps on a certain Warriors offensive possession, he just completed a seemingly unremarkable screen. Perhaps he was just a decoy for the Warriors. Perhaps, when the offense was completed, the ball wouldn't even touch his hands. But as long as Zack was on the court, the Warriors' offense had a unique aesthetic.
"It's a shame their head coach can't fully utilize his tactical value."
In Jerry Sloan's eyes, Mike Montgomery had clearly become the biggest weakness of these Warriors. But what did that matter? The fact that Montgomery could coach Zack said it all.
In the first half, facing Sloan's meticulously designed defense, Zack, who didn't take many shots, tallied 8 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal. It was a half that left Sloan both delighted and despairing. Delighted because with Zack, Sloan enjoyed almost every offensive and defensive possession. Despairing because with Zack, after these possessions, Sloan had already foreseen the future of these Jazz.
However, isn't struggling through repeated despair the truest portrayal of Jerry Sloan's entire coaching career? Salt Lake City is small, so small that almost no NBA stars want to play here. The Jazz's presence is low, so low that even though they might make the playoffs this season, no one cares whether they live or die.
But Jerry Sloan is undoubtedly a true warrior. Because no matter how many times he fails, no matter what despair awaits him, he will stand tall and proud the next second. Just like tonight. Just like his coaching career, filled with failures and unfulfilled desires.
In the second half, with 4.7 seconds left in the game, Chris Paul successfully hit a crucial mid-range jumper to put the Jazz ahead. Yes, it was just a crucial mid-range jumper. Because after the timeout, in front of a shouting Kirilenko, Zack hit the game-winner that silenced the entire arena.
A game-winning free-throw line jumper, jumping straight up, maintaining balance, and then with a soft touch, sending the ball with that exquisite arc into the hoop.
On the scoreboard: 101 to 102.
The Jazz were just one breath away from jumping to third in the West. But that moment didn't happen.
On the court, watching Zack, who was surrounded by his teammates, Jerry Sloan turned and helped Chris Paul, who was squatting on the sidelines.
"Chris, experiences like this will certainly not be the first in your basketball career, and life is the same. But that's the most interesting part about life and basketball. They'll sometimes leave you feeling unsatisfied, sometimes in pain, sometimes tossing and turning all night... But with the start of a new day, hope will appear with the first rays of morning light. We lost tonight, but we have another game tomorrow."
Hearing this, Paul, who knew the Jazz would host the Nuggets again tomorrow night in a crucial standings battle, slowly stood up and told Sloan, "Tomorrow... I definitely won't lose. No, we definitely won't lose!"
After this game, Zack and Paul didn't choose to meet up. Because the Jazz still had to prepare for their even more critical positioning battle against the Nuggets. And the Warriors needed to return to Oakland, rest, and keep moving forward.
On March 17th, back at the familiar Oracle Arena, a red-hot Zack finally rewrote his career head-to-head record against his college senior to 1-3. This season, the Warriors, who were nearly swept by the Spurs in the regular season, had a fighting chance against anyone except the Suns and the Spurs—they were the insurmountable barriers before this game.
In private, Anthony had complained to Zack more than once about the incredibly tough environment in the West. "Zack, do you know who our four opponents were in the first week of January? The Spurs, Mavericks, Rockets, Suns... Honestly, when I saw that schedule, I felt like killing someone. LeBron, that bastard hiding in the East, has no idea what kind of hell you and I are living in!"
It must be said, after spending so much time in the West, "Melo" inevitably turned into a "bitter gourd." But fortunately, before the regular season ended, Zack successfully led the Warriors to shatter their inner demons. This win was called:
"As long as I can beat you once, I can beat you countless times in the future!"
In this game, the Spurs' tactical setup didn't change much from their previous encounters with the Warriors, but during the game, Artest and Zack both exploded. In the first half alone, Artest scored 21 of his 27 points for the entire game. And in the second half, Zack scored 24 of his 31 points for the entire game. With the Warriors' two main stars going off in succession, even the Spurs' iron-clad defense couldn't contain the Warriors that night.
Of course, after the game, Duncan didn't forget to pat his adorable junior's head. "I let you win this time; I won't next time."
Hearing this, Zack immediately got defensive. What do you mean, you "let" me win? So, your 23 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks in the game were just for show, huh? Zack absolutely couldn't accept Duncan's post-game remarks that day. But he had to admit, Duncan was far better at messing with people's heads than he had imagined. No wonder his good friend LeBron would get so annoyed whenever he heard the phrase "the future is yours." Honestly, in front of Tim Duncan, who can truly maintain a normal mindset?
As March drew to a close, in a strong matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, the Warriors successfully changed their regular-season head-to-head record against them to 2-2, undoubtedly gaining more confidence when facing top Western Conference teams. As the NBA's runner-up this season in Zack's memory, the Mavericks weren't as difficult to deal with as Zack had imagined, compared to the Suns and Spurs.
Although it was difficult to contain Nowitzki in games at this point, the defensive system meticulously crafted by "Little General" Avery Johnson for these Mavericks was always unexpectedly broken by the Warriors. For example, in this game, Richardson scored 33 points for the Warriors, and Dunleavy had 24 points with 6 three-pointers.
In short, Zack found it hard to describe the games against the Mavericks. Simply put, whenever the Warriors played the Mavericks, it was like every Warriors player, including himself, automatically got a 15-point boost to their shooting percentage, hitting every shot they took. Now, almost everyone in the Warriors believes that if the Mavericks end up as the fourth seed in the West, the Warriors have a real chance to come out on top in that incredibly brutal first-round playoff matchup in the West.
On March 31st, the Warriors hosted a crucial battle at Oracle Arena. They were facing the Suns for the last time in the regular season. Before the game, although some suggested the Warriors should lose to the Suns to help them compete for a top-two seed in the West, the Warriors players, who had never beaten the Suns before, unanimously rejected this proposal. As for Aaron Miles, who made the suggestion? Frankly, his name absolutely won't be on the Warriors' playoff roster for the upcoming playoffs.
"Since our goal is a championship, the Suns are an opponent we absolutely must defeat. How can we go into the playoffs with an 0-4 regular-season record against them?" Baron Davis, who was fuming so hard his beard seemed to stand on end, said in the locker room.
Yes, in this game, the Warriors had to defeat the Suns. Because after breaking the mental block against the Spurs, the Warriors' only remaining inner demon this season was the Suns. That Phoenix run-and-gun squad, led by Nash, Stoudemire, and Marion.
"After winning a crucial positioning battle against the Nuggets, the high-flying Jazz have extended their division lead to 1.5 games before entering April." — ESPN News Flash
"Hey, Kobe, we know you're tired, we know you're more tired than anyone, but the Lakers need you, Los Angeles needs you! Come on, snap out of it, we have to protect our current ranking!" — Los Angeles Times
"After firing American agent Bill Duffy, Yao Ming, with the help of Jeff Schwartz, officially requested a trade from the Houston Rockets, shocking the entire Space City." — Houston Chronicle
"Which team is most likely to get the 2006 first overall pick? Most fans are now casting their sympathy votes for the Seattle Supersonics, who only have 14 wins this season." — Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"When asked who his playing style most resembled, Josh Smith said he often tries to emulate the Warriors' Messiah." — Atlanta News
"Can the Warriors defeat the Suns tonight? In a pre-game interview, the Messiah said the Warriors are fully prepared to defeat the Suns." — TNT Pre-game Report
Note ①: Since Zack has already influenced this timeline, if every NBA star's original stats remained the same and their growth environments weren't considered, it would seem very illogical to me.
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