Chapter 831 - 260: The Emotionless Old Fox

Near the basketball fan club by Richardson Middle School in Oakland County, Illinois, United States, the Wade brothers came to watch a game again in the evening.

The club staff and guests were used to it.

The younger Wade brother, Mike Daniels-Wade, was a genius player and the star of the Richardson Middle School junior high team, only 11 years old and already toying with those adult players on the street courts, while his older brother Dwayne was quite average, already in high school,

Both brothers were Bulls fans. The younger brother, Mike Daniels, was lively, while his older brother, Dwayne, was dull and reserved. When the Pistons lost a game, the older brother wasn’t very happy. Zhang Hao was a big rival of their favorite team, the Bulls, as was the Lakers.

The younger brother was very excited to see the Pistons lose. Ever since he was three or four years old, he often heard his dad curse the Pistons while watching live broadcasts. Even though now the Bad Boys are history, he still really hates the Pistons.

But the older brother thought more, a standard spiritual shareholder, feeling that if the Lakers got stronger, the Bulls would be in danger.

This largely showcases the difference brought by talent. The younger brother, Mike Daniels, has been a street genius since elementary school, while the older brother is quite average. Even though he’s on the school team in high school, he’s only there for practice partners. Mainly, at 15, he’s only an inch taller than his 11-year-old brother...

Seeing Zhang Hao’s explosive triple-double, Dwayne felt anxious, but after watching Zhang Hao’s post-match interview, for some reason, Dwayne felt it was so cool! He wanted to be that kind of man too, saying those kinds of things!

"I heard Zhang got significantly taller after entering the NBA. I’m only 15, so I should have a chance, right? Should I join the volleyball team and train with them?"

...

Exciting games always occur when stars face off, contemporaries compete, and arch-rivals meet because when playing against other opponents, there might be some slackness, underestimation, or impatience.

But when competitors meet, both sides often seriously analyze their opponent from preparation, preparing patiently and meticulously, and giving their all in the match without sparing any effort...

Like 15-year-old Dwayne Wade, fans who watched the live Lakers and Pistons game were shocked by Zhang Hao’s performance.

Some because of the post-match interview, others for the game itself.

In the first three quarters, no one felt Zhang Hao’s performance was bad. Although not as dazzling as Grant Hill leading the team alone, he still showcased Zhang Hao’s special qualities—utilizing his strengths, his shooting threat, utilizing his teammates’ abilities, excellent basketball IQ... and so on.

However, it was clear that when Zhang Hao was fully committed to grabbing rebounds, defending, and passing, scoring was not the priority.

In the first three quarters, Zhang Hao only scored 6 points, but rebounds and assists were almost in double digits.

That wasn’t bad; instead, it allowed people to see more possibilities in Zhang Hao, with the word ’talent’ almost written directly on the TV screen.

But in the end, Zhang Hao’s fierce attack in the last 9 minutes and 58 seconds, raging for 20 points, was impressive, even though Zhang Hao almost didn’t have any assists during that period!

This change in playing rhythm, stamina, and opportunity-grasping ability... the most impressive is Zhang Hao’s ability to leverage his strengths!

At this moment, people realized that compared to those with comprehensive skills, at critical moments, players like Zhang Hao, with obvious weaknesses but extremely outstanding strengths, would be more effective!

A triple-double of 26+17+13, simply exaggerated. Before the start of the fourth quarter, fans thought Zhang Hao scoring in double digits to get a triple-double would be enough, but he came up with such a ferocious triple-double.

However, no one thought Grant Hill was inadequate. His comprehensive and proficient skills indeed made his team-leading ability formidable under normal circumstances.

Compared to Anfernee Hardaway’s individual ability to lead a team, Grant Hill was certainly a bit more outstanding!

Zhang Hao and Grant Hill, these two gentlemen players, other new-generation players compared to these two... fans felt these two were simply too dazzling, almost no other new-generation player could compare with them. This is the future!

The visible future!

Then there’s the "grudge." The media love to hype grudges, and fans love to watch grudges between star players.

The scene of Zhang Hao blocking Grant Hill and then wagging his finger after a counterattack overturning the score became the scene that fans who watched the live broadcast of this game remembered most.

After the game, the rivalry between Zhang Hao and Grant Hill, Zhang Hao’s 20 points in the final quarter, Zhang Hao’s massive triple-double, and the finger-wagging scene... all went viral!

...

...

"Taunting" the superstars, a "villain" in the eyes of players of the same era, also bearing the reputation of bullying rookies, Zhang Hao felt very aggrieved... Does he look like that kind of person? He’s still a kid who can’t buy alcohol!

After the game, the NBA officially issued Zhang Hao a technical foul, the reason being that finger-wagging...

With this grievance, Zhang Hao followed the Lakers to start a four-game road trip.

The first game of the road trip was against the Clippers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Zhang Hao hadn’t paid attention to the Clippers before. In Los Angeles, who would pay attention to the Clippers for no reason?

But during the tactical meeting on the morning of the Clippers game day, seeing the Clippers’ ranking... Yo-ho! Seventh in the West!