Chapter 903 The Diligent Shark Returns

Yes, it was indeed a score, the Nuggets’ perimeter players all have strong shooting abilities. McDyess, after setting a screen, can also create opportunities for teammates to take immediate shots. But this deviates significantly from the Nuggets’ seasonal goals.

They neither provide McDyess with a truly good growth environment, nor do they suppress the individualism of several perimeter players by giving the ball to McDyess. They could perform better, but they can’t completely tank...

If it were up to me, I would just let the perimeter players isolate consistently, and have McDyess focus on improving his rebounding and mid-range shots this season, without practicing anything else..."

Once Byron Scott started talking, he couldn’t stop.

The Magician listened to his old teammate speaking eloquently, with eyes widened—How come even Byron Scott seems to have a greater coaching talent than him as a Magician?

He never really noticed before that this old teammate was a genius at tanking!

Moreover, his thought process for nurturing new players was very clear. Developing rookies is not just about giving them playing time and ball-handling opportunities; it’s also about placing them in suitable positions and matching them with the right players. Sometimes, you aren’t afraid of learning a skill late, but rather learning it incorrectly!

Thinking about it carefully, the Magician truly believes Byron Scott has the talent to become the head coach of a rebuilding team!

...

With Barkley’s 20 points and 12 rebounds, Kenny Anderson’s 23 points and 7 assists, and Zhang Hao’s 19 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 blocks, the Lakers narrowly defeated the Nuggets 103 to 97, finally raising their win count to 50 wins, becoming the third team in the league to achieve 50 wins!

Although Zhang Hao only scored 19 points, Antonio McDyess managed only 6 points, shooting 1 out of 7, making just one basket, with other points coming from free throws.

Ben Wallace, even after starting, did not perform outstandingly, but one advantage was evident—no matter who he matched up against, he wasn’t outmatched physically!

He looks strong, yet he is even stronger than he appears. His strength is evident just by looking at his muscles, but in reality, it’s even greater!

However, his current role is likely just to foul Antonio Daniels five times in 20 minutes, sending him to the free-throw line six times, and leaving him rattled enough that he missed open mid-range shots, completing the game with 8 out of 4 free throws.

After four road games, the Lakers’ record improved to 50 wins and 14 losses.

After the game against the Nuggets, the Lakers returned to Los Angeles.

Just as the Lakers fans were celebrating their 50th win, bad news broke soon after the Lakers returned to Los Angeles...

Kenny Anderson, who felt discomfort in his calf during the game against the Nuggets, went for a hospital check-up upon returning to Los Angeles and was diagnosed with a calf muscle strain, requiring 1-2 weeks of rest.

...

What must come, will come!

Upon receiving the news of Kenny Anderson’s injury, Zhang Hao felt overwhelmed...

During the first half of the season, the Lakers prioritized offense and minimized physical confrontation, which allowed them to maintain good health through the season’s first half. Only O’Neal, James Robinson, and Jerome Collins missed more than five games due to injuries in the first half. Even with Jason Williams’ style, he only missed three games, and Brian Shaw missed just one.

Despite O’Neal’s prolonged absence, the Lakers’ injury situation this season continued to surprise people. They were among the four most health-conscious teams in the league this year, with the other three being the Bulls, Utah Jazz, and New York Knicks.

Aside from these four, the remaining 25 teams in the league had players miss at least 50 games combined due to injuries, with 16 teams having over 100 cumulative games missed because of injuries!

Since detailed injury statistics have been kept, this has been the most severe season regarding injuries.

However, as the Lakers shifted focus to defense after the All-Star Weekend, injuries began to increase...

Luckily, it’s not too serious. Zhang Hao recalled that it was likely a fall while chasing the Nuggets’ backup point guard Anthony Goldwire, that led to the strain. Kenny Anderson, after being pulled up, twisted his leg but still played 31 minutes the whole game.

Fortunately, it’s not severe, forming a plan to heal it is enough.

...

After resting for a night in Los Angeles, on March 14th, the Lakers faced the Clippers’ challenge at their home court.

The injury of the team’s organizational core and commander greatly impacted the team, as one might expect.

At this moment, Zhang Hao’s shortcomings were exposed—insufficient leadership ability.

He possesses a tremendous ability to elevate the team’s ceiling with his extraordinary concentration, acute judgment, opportunity-seizing capabilities, solid shooting foundations, and excellent static physical attributes and athleticism, given that his teammates can guarantee a baseline of skill, he can enhance the ceiling.

But when it comes to leading a team solo, he indeed struggles.

In the game between the Lakers and Clippers, Zhang Hao mainly focused on shooting, going 10 for 24, with 2 of 6 from three-point range, plus 9 of 11 free throws, scoring 31 points, and grabbing 12 rebounds, but only achieving 3 assists against 6 turnovers.

His ability to organize offenses is pretty good, but with Kenny Anderson helping since he started being more involved in passing, the overall offensive organization relied on Kenny Anderson’s coordination. The Magician has the same capability, but in this season, the Magician’s role was mainly spearheading counterattacks and playing with the second squad...

Despite Zhang Hao’s utmost effort, and Barkley scoring 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists, the Lakers still lost to the Clippers at home, 95 to 102.