No.1 in basketball scoring

But it was these 11 players who achieved 56 wins, third in the Western Conference and third in the league during the regular season and showed the strongest performance in the entire league during the playoffs, sweeping Westbrook and Howard's Rockets 4-0 in the first round and also dominating the Lakers in the second round.

It was then that people realized the Spurs system was far better than they had thought!

The media sharply commented—if Popovich hadn't messed around and tried to PUA Zhang Yang, and had honestly given him the max salary, the Spurs of last season and this season would have been unbeatable, possibly even completing what the Lakers hadn't from the 11-12 season to the 14-15 season—surpassing the three-peat.

His, Zhang San's, haters even gave him the nickname 'system player,' because the Lakers' tactical system was directly copied from the Spurs, and according to those people, his All-NBA First Team selections were all thanks to the Spurs system.

All thanks to Kobe, as Kobe's fans accepted Zhang San and also brought the attention of 60E haters to him...

Old Ironsmith: Achoo... Is someone saying I'm handsome behind my back?

While Zhang Yang was sizing up the opposing players, someone was observing him too—Popovich.

Regret, a regret that even the closing of the coffin lid wouldn't make him forget, Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker's annual pay cuts made him feel like everything was under his control. It was only now he realized that his ability wasn't that strong; he just got lucky with Duncan.

But there's no medicine for regret in this world; he turned his attention to Leonard. His growth was a bit slower than Zhang Yang's, but his potential was no less. He must be placated this time.

…

The game was about to start, and the starting lineups for both teams were on the court.

Lakers: Bazemore, Zhang Yang, Kobe, Jordan Hill, Gasol.

Spurs: Parker, Danny Green, Leonard, Duncan, Splitter.

Initially, Zhang Yang was indeed quite nervous, even after causing some trouble with Nash; he couldn't relax.

The last time he came to this timeline for practice, it was quite a failure, and if he failed again, he'd have no face to come back.

However, as he stepped onto the court, his nervousness quickly faded away, and another emotion suppressed by nervousness took over—excitement!

At 8 PM, the pivotal Game 5 between the Lakers and the Spurs began at the Staples Center!

Jordan Hill beat Duncan for the jump ball, and the Lakers attacked first!

Zhang Yang arrived at the frontcourt and immediately encountered Leonard's physical defense.

Leonard's enthusiasm was as if he was fighting for his life, causing Popovich to furrow his brow.

After Zhang Yang left, the Spurs focused all their outer training efforts on Leonard, putting even more effort than when they trained Zhang Yang. Leonard was also diligent, earning All-Defensive Second Team in his first full season after Zhang Yang left...but Zhang Yang was All-NBA First Team.

The media often compared the two players under similar tactical systems. Obviously, besides having a bigger build, Leonard was inferior in every aspect, which made him always want to prove himself.

Popovich had tried to persuade Leonard by saying things like, 'He's only three years older than you,' but it didn't work. Nevertheless, Popovich appreciated this strong-willed character, feeling it was reminiscent of Zhang Yang, Kobe, and Ginobili.

Luckily, Leonard's intensity was limited to more active defense and didn't go overboard...

Despite Leonard's physical entanglement, Zhang Yang was still able to control his movement rhythm well.

The Leonard now wasn't yet the heavy tank he would become after leaving the Spurs. Although his weight and strength were already outstanding at the small forward position, Zhang Yang's current weight and strength were equally top-notch on the swingman line, able to handle it.

Zhang Yang moved to the off-ball offense starting position, and upon seeing Kobe receiving the ball to initiate the offense, he began his off-ball running.

Facing Danny Green's defense, Kobe used rhythm to gain half a step of space, directly toppling Danny Green to the side, starting, pushing Danny Green towards the inside.

Duncan was at the middle of the three-second area, and Kobe passed to Gasol on the right side of the basket when Splitter, who moved ahead, filled the gap actively.

After Duncan stepped up to cover Kobe, he immediately moved to the left elbow area, blocking the cutting Jordan Hill.

The attack on the basket and serving the open man were both blocked. Gasol passed back to the high post. Zhang Yang ran to the left of the free-throw line in response at the right time, but as soon as he got the ball, Leonard stuck to him.

At this point, Kobe at the right 45-degree mid-range was being guarded by Danny Green. Parker was also participating in an off-ball pinch front, while there was passing space between Zhang Yang and Bazemore at the right corner. Splitter was ready to block a baseline breakthrough. Parker was prepared to receive at the baseline. Danny Green was prepared to cut off Bazemore's high post passing line after receiving the ball. Duncan was also on guard for Zhang Yang's breakthrough... but!

Zhang Yang, after being stuck by Leonard, neither passed nor broke through but turned to back Leonard, taking a hard step forward.

Leonard, having just circled a large distance to stick to Zhang Yang, didn't even have a steady footing, got unexpectedly collided, and stepped back a big step.

Zhang Yang turned around and made a jump shot... Scored!

Leonard, after being bumped off, immediately rushed up but didn't interfere effectively.

The on-site crowd erupted in cheers; the shot was not just strong but also skillful. Although it was just a shot, it got the fans' blood pumping.

Budenholzer, standing on the sideline, clapped and cheered for Zhang Yang, but at this moment, he felt quite frustrated as once again, the opening tactic was unsurprisingly seen through by the teacher.

But there was nothing he could do. The Spurs system wasn't a simple one. In the summer of 08, Popovich made a hard decision to give up Bowen, who had just made All-Defense, to start crafting a new system. During that time, he changed many players, continually adjusted the lineup to find the most suitable one, reaching a half-complete product in the 10-11 season. It wasn't until Zhang Yang's rise in the 11-12 season that they had real championship contention and won the title. He had only been there a year, and to have achieved this, the media, fans, management, team members, and even he himself, were quite satisfied.

It's just that now he was unable to make more adjustments within the tactical system's framework. A single-round tactic was fine, but that kind of tactic couldn't be played continuously.

Because they were still missing some key elements in their system—role players' independent offensive awareness. Some lacked chemistry, and some lacked ability, which brought up last season's chaos, resulting in an unfavorable summer recruitment. Kupchak had already done a great job finding role players that matched the functional requirements as much as possible, but most were 1-3 year players who hadn't finished their rookie contracts and were abandoned by other teams. To complete the system, the lineup needed to be adjusted properly.

Luckily, although he was seen through, he had an assistant coach opposite him that couldn't be seen through—Bernie Bickerstaff!

Teacher Popovich, due to a lack of in-game adaptability, liked to think one step ahead in tactics, while old Bickerstaff did the opposite, simplifying the tactics!

The turnaround in the previous game against the wind was largely thanks to Bickerstaff's advice.

However, Budenholzer saw the replay of Zhang Yang's first attack on the big screen and felt something strange... It seemed like Zhang Yang didn't even glance at the wing after receiving the ball and directly went to work?

No, no, no, it shouldn't be that. It must be the favorite's outstanding tactical awareness, anticipating the opponent's defensive moves, so no extra actions were taken to waste time.

But soon, Budenholzer realized he was wrong...

In the next five possessions, Zhang Yang chose to shoot in four of them!

He immediately acted after getting the ball at the response point, taking advantage of Leonard's unsettled position!

Utilizing his and Kobe's skyrocketed long-range threat from the last game to create opportunities for wing and attacking the basket players... This opening offensive approach, which the opponents would undoubtedly see through and guard against. Even without Bickerstaff's 'think one step less' adjustment, Zhang Yang would give up that step. As long as he got the ball, even if double-teamed, as long as it wasn't Duncan coming, he'd just throw!

And on Kobe's side, he was forced into control mode from the start, not letting his teammates be led astray by Zhang Yang...

Old Ironsmith: I never thought I'd have today!