The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 26
"0 points and 0 rebounds, Zhang Xiaotian's future in the NBA is bleak."

At the beginning of the regular season, Zhang Xiaotian actually received a lot of attention, especially on the other side of the ocean. Many fans stayed in front of the computer just to see his demeanor.

Not playing in the first game has already made many people anxious. In the second game, he didn't score any data in 2 minutes and even got a foul. Many people couldn't stand it anymore.

Not to mention those who blackmailed him, many fans who supported him before also lost patience.

Zhang Xiaotian is not an All-Star player. His fans are basically curious about his Chinese identity and attracted by his summer league and preseason performances.

He can't even get a chance to play now, so naturally he can't keep the fans.

"Why should we worry about a foreigner? If you don't have the strength, you can't play. This is professional basketball."

"Let's leave, everyone. Zhang Xiaotian's strength is that he can be lively in summer. There are too many people like this."

Fans who still like Zhang Xiaotian can't refute it, they can only respond weakly that the Spurs don't give the opportunity, if given the opportunity, Zhang Xiaotian will definitely perform well.

But they themselves didn't believe it, if Zhang Xiaotian was really good, how could the Spurs not give him a chance.

Popovich is not like some stubborn coaches, he is willing to give newcomers a chance.

"I'm so pissed off. Those guys pretended to be your fans before, but now they leave messages and scold you."

"It seems that you have paid attention to me. It's a great honor. Athletes rely on their achievements. It's normal for me to be scolded for not showing my achievements. Besides, I don't care about the fans who are not determined."

"You know that I follow you, why haven't you followed me?"

The woman's thinking was too jumpy, and Zhang Xiaotian couldn't keep up for a while, but he was not a little boy who didn't know anything, so he immediately asked Yang Feiyu's social account.

Obviously Zhang Dajun also called, but hearing Yang Feiyu's voice was more healing.

It seems that Dad is right, he needs to find a girlfriend.

Zhang Xiaotian said it's okay, but he was suffocated in his heart, and he worked extra hard in the next day's training.

On November 11, the Spurs played at home against the visiting Utah Jazz.

The Jazz supplemented the firepower in the backcourt this summer, traded Maurice Williams, and signed Randy Foye. They also have certain ideas.

With Ginobili coming back for the Spurs, it is still unknown whether Zhang Xiaotian will be able to play.

However, the team has seen his hard work in training, at least he will not be pulled off the activation list.

This game is different from the previous two games. The Spurs showed their power as soon as they came up in the backcourt.

It's okay for Parker to score consecutive points, and Danny Green also broke out and scored 10 points without missing a single shot.

The Spurs easily led by 11 points for the first time, and Zhang Xiaotian was also observing the gap between him and the starting players and even the main rotation players.

I have to say that if he chose to go to the Magic, even if he couldn't start, he would definitely be in the main rotation. It can only be said that the Spurs are too strong.

Zhang Xiaotian is good at the [-]nd and [-]rd positions. Needless to say, Leonard, the team focuses on training young people, Danny Green is more stable defensively, does not want the ball at all, and is also very young. Substitute Ginobili is already a team giant. One of the GDP, Stephen Jackson, even if he has a little conflict with the head coach, he has rich experience.

The Spurs are off to a good start, and Popovich will certainly not change easily.

In other words, whether he plays the second or third position, he is only the team's third choice.

What Zhang Xiaotian has to do now is to keep improving and seize opportunities when the team needs him.

It's just that patience is easier said than done, and the Spurs didn't reassure him.

In fact, Zhang Xiaotian felt that he could replace Stephen Jackson after adapting to the rhythm of the NBA, but his status was declining with an annual salary of tens of millions. No matter how he thought about it, it would be better to use a cheap and young player like Zhang Xiaotian.

It's a pity that he is not the head coach, so he still needs to prove his strength in the regular season.

Manu Ginobili came back and performed well, Stephen Jackson did not perform well when he came off the bench, but Duncan showed off again in the second quarter, and the Spurs once led by 20 points.

Zhang Xiaotian and a few buddies who had no chance to play were praying, they could just beat each other well, so that they could go up and have a good time.

Leading by 18 points at halftime, the locker room at halftime was full of joy and laughter.

If the second half continues, Popovich will definitely not let the main players stay on the court.

But what I didn't expect was that the Spurs started the third quarter. .

Maurice Williams was originally a nerve knife, and he couldn't help it when he was accurate. The key is Millsap. He can also shoot three-pointers and has good athletic ability. Duncan can't keep up, and Matt Bonner can't guard.

The 18-point lead was gone if it was gone, and the two sides even drew in the third quarter.

Not to mention that Zhang Xiaotian vomited blood, Popovich just didn't have a knife in his hand, otherwise he would have to cut someone because of his posture.

Just when Zhang Xiaotian thought there was no action today, Popovich with a bad face called his and Nando De Colo's names.

Popovich was very angry, thinking that there was a problem with the defensive attitude of the players under the lead, so the two newcomers were a blessing in disguise.

With two rookies plus Ginobili and Danny Green and Leonard, the Spurs don't even want insiders.

Even the commentator was surprised. The Jazz's inside line is short, but they still have inside lines. It's just a tie. Are the Spurs crazy?

The first offense in the fourth quarter was the Spurs, with Ginobili holding the ball.

Zhang Xiaotian was facing Millsap, and the Jazz wanted to take advantage of the victory to pursue. Except for Randy Foye who replaced Marvin Williams, the other four main players were still on the field.

In fact, Millsap is not much higher than Zhang Xiaotian, but as the fourth position, he is much stronger.

Zhang Xiaotian made up his mind, with him around, Millsap wouldn't even think about playing outside.

Because there is no inside line, the Spurs stretched the offensive line very wide, and all five players on the field have three-point capabilities, and the Jazz did not dare to put it too far.

As a result, Ginobili directly broke through the running shot and scored.

The Jazz have a huge inside advantage, of course they are in the field, and the ball is quickly handed over to Millsap, because Zhang Xiaotian, who is defending him, looks like a bully.

Millsap didn't pay attention to Zhang Xiaotian at all. After catching the ball with his back, he turned around, dribbled the ball and took a step inside like a small forward, squeezed with strength, and then pulled up and shot.

Zhang Xiaotian was indeed pushed away a bit, but his bullet speed was faster than the opponent.

He quickly jumped up and stretched his long arms, and he got Millsap's shot.

Leonard caught the disturbed basketball and immediately passed it to Ginobili. Ginobili quickly dribbled the half-court pass like a scalpel. Zhang Xiaotian, who was running wildly, started directly. Yela didn't even hold back, it was a shocking dunk.

(End of this chapter)