No.1 in basketball scoring

Played for 40 minutes, scored 35 points, with a remarkable defensive performance. Managed to hold Hinrich to just 8 out of 20 shots, while switching defense and double teaming were above standard... Zhang Yang was eagerly anticipating media and fans' praises for his performance tonight when he opened his computer to see a catchy headline - "Jack surpasses Pierce, Carter, ranks fourth among active players."

But in what aspect do Pierce and Carter rank fourth among active players? Three-point shooting? That's not right! He, Zhang San, topped the three-pointer list for the first time this season, and his total made is surely far behind these two, although his highest average is above both of them, but last December, his average three-pointers made surpassed 3 per game.

With a mix of joy and curiosity, Zhang Yang scrolled through the computer headlines...

"Clickbait should stay single forever!"

Zhang Yang blurted out angrily.

It turns out that this so-called fourth among active players refers to the number of times with 20 missed shots in a single game!

Pierce and Carter were both lottery picks from the 1998 draft, both initially played as shooting guards before switching to small forwards. They both have career averages just over 23 points... Coincidentally, both have missed 20 shots in a single game exactly 8 times.

Both have averaged over 20+ points, many times over 25+ points as top scorers during their prime, now in their 11th season, having missed 20 shots in a game 8 times is not a high iron output given their history with struggling teams.

Zhang Yang remembered his rookie season, where two "Iron Gods" had similar 20 missed shots numbers in just one season as these two in 11 seasons.

However, Zhang San has missed 20 shots in a single game... 9 times!

With his 4-year rookie contract not even finished, he's already surpassed those two from the 1998 draft, and with their current play styles, there's no way they can overtake him.

The reporter thoughtfully posted a ranking of all players' number of games with 20 missed shots in their first four years since 1976 when detailed stats began.

Second place goes to Iverson, with 10 times by the end of the 99-00 season; first place goes to Jordan, with 12 times by the end of the 87-88 season.

Zhang Yang commented jokingly, "Jordan is everywhere," and looked at the top three active Iron Kings.

Third place is McGrady, with 17 times, more than doubling his cousin.

The top two are impressive, both are not only the top two active but also the top two historically since detailed stats were kept.

Kobe has missed 20 shots 40 times! Iverson 45 times!

The journalist again thoughtfully listed Jordan's career 33 times of missing 20 shots, which seems a bit clearly intentioned.

Zhang Yang speculates that the top Iron King title will eventually go to the old Ironsmith, as The Answer's current play style no longer allows for more 20-miss games, while the old Ironsmith is at his peak with at least four more years of high iron output.

As for himself... Zhang San: I'm surely going to get more accurate with my shooting, I certainly won't be in this group!

Closing the headline news webpage, Zhang Yang continued to look at the news, there was still serious analysis of the game.

Though the Chicago Bulls lost, their defense received high praise, predicted to be the strongest defensive team in the playoffs.

He also felt that meeting the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs would be a headache, as they face the same dilemma as last season's Lakers – relying only on him, Felton, Pietrus, and Okafor to attack the Yao Ming-guarded basket.

Seemed fine during the Christmas battle, but last night, when the Chicago Bulls pushed their defense to the limit, their four-man attempt at the basket was less effective than expected.

However, a lot can be learned from regular-season records, so they wouldn't be afraid to meet each other in the playoffs, rather, they look forward to it.

Zhang Yang noticed his Bobcats' defensive performance received commendation as well, not just for tonight but for several games before the All-Star weekend. The most praised aspect was their execution of rotational defense.

Efforts were publicly acknowledged, they put in great effort to master this.

The hottest topic about their Bobcats remained Zhang San's playstyle tonight. He browsed various websites and forums, seeing many people saying he was imitating Kobe.

It was indeed the case, playing against the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls, he actively imitated Kobe's way of finding shooting rhythm, always worth trying what you just learned. He did the same when he initially learned the styles of Ginobili and Nash, starting by imitating and gradually integrating into his own style.

It was appropriate to say, the old Ironsmith's playstyle is truly freakishly unstable!

Playing against the Miami Heat was fine, their overall strength was weak, even if he slipped, their Bobcats could still defeat them through overall offense and defense.

But tonight against the Chicago Bulls was different, many times he felt like it was going to fall apart.

However, with the old Ironsmith's playstyle, once you catch the opponent's flaw, it's easy to get hot, as previous frequent shots have forced the opponent's defense to the limit.

But to utilize it well, you need to be strong enough and have excellent stamina, luckily his stamina has already reached the top-tier limit of 94, nearly historical level, otherwise, he might not have been able to hold up.

Zhang Yang analyzed for a while and thought that this playstyle is not inherently good or bad, it depends on suitability. For a stamina freak like Kobe, using this playstyle is perfect, and for him right now, it's indeed very much worth referencing.

…

The next day, Zhang Yang headed south with the team, arriving in Orlando. After a night's rest, on the 22nd, they went to Amway Arena for the back-to-back home-and-away fixtures against the Magic Team.