Chapter 888: I Just Put the Ball In

“No.”

“No?”

What kind of answer is this?

The media once again feels that Zhang Hao is difficult to handle, but there’s no way around it; the fans love watching Zhang Hao’s interviews.

“Yes, no, I’m not trying to let him rest without worry. Of course, he should rest honestly and recover quickly. I hope he doesn’t get injured. Playing with him allows me to effortlessly enjoy victories; playing like this in the final quarter is too tiring.”

The media analyzed Zhang Hao’s words carefully. Was this praising O’Neal for being strong?

Really, if they hadn’t been journalists for so many years with strong reading comprehension skills, they wouldn’t have understood the hidden meaning in Zhang Hao’s words!

…

…

In the final quarter alone, scoring 20 points, playing for 31 minutes in total and smashing 41 points, against a team like the New York Knicks, the Lakers only scored 87 points in total, with O’Neal scoring 20 points in three quarters…

In the past five games since the All-Star weekend, O’Neal has undoubtedly been the most dazzling star of the Lakers. O’Neal proves with actual performance that he’s the most powerful contender for the title of the league’s number one center, and he’s the best player of the Lakers.

During this time, although Zhang Hao’s performance was also great and remained the highest scorer in the team, O’Neal undeniably shone brighter.

However, after O’Neal left injured, Zhang Hao delivered an astonishing half-quarter performance, making 7 consecutive shots. Despite the high-intensity competition and lenient refereeing, he only got one free throw and still scored 17 wild points, helping the Lakers bounce back with 19 half-quarter points against the Knicks after being down 18-7 in a half-quarter…

The guy just didn’t need to go all out, not that he couldn’t!

So, who is indeed the best player of the Lakers, O’Neal or Zhang Hao?

In terms of strength, most people still believe O’Neal is stronger, with comprehensive inside techniques, more comprehensive defense, and having won the scoring title… indeed, more people feel O’Neal is stronger.

Yet, being stronger doesn’t mean the performance will be necessarily better; Zhang Hao’s ability to utilize his advantages is incredibly strong, as is his ability to seize opportunities!

Zhang Hao’s explosive scoring capability is something O’Neal cannot possess!

Also, during the live broadcast of the post-match interview, quite a few fans in front of the television thought he was just showing off.

But during the locker room interview after the fourth quarter official timeout, a player who stepped onto the court disclosed that Zhang Hao indeed said those words on the court—this player, by the way, is someone from the Knicks who, in the future, will have a clause created in his name.

By the next morning, a television news picture showed the footage of Zhang Hao saying those words at that moment; after lip-reading analysis, it confirmed that Zhang Hao did say those words during the game…

This was outrageously wild!

Moreover, he indeed accomplished it; for every time the Knicks overtook the score, Zhang Hao managed to immediately take the lead back!

And furthermore… last night after the game, footage of Ewing chasing his son down the street in Inglewood Town made the news.

Patrick Ewing Jr. was getting hit while yelling, “Dad, you must believe in the light…”

…

The Bulls fiercely defeated the Brooklyn Nets 133-92, who had defeated them once last year, simultaneously as the Lakers and Knicks were playing.

But after the game, not a ripple arose.

The Lakers achieved a nine-game winning streak, boosting their record to 44 wins and 10 losses, continuing to compete with the Utah Jazz for the top in the West!

Despite again being the focal person of a spotlight team, Zhang Hao really couldn’t be happy.

Yes, winning against the Knicks was indeed pleasant.

But O’Neal was out injured again…

This morning, the hospital gave a confirmed report: minor injury on the elbow joint and soft tissue sprain on the left ankle, requiring 2-3 weeks for recovery.

Mr. Zhang does enjoy leading the team to comeback in adversity, but it doesn’t mean he likes playing reversal games every day!

Moreover, their defensive synergy had just started getting on track, barely showing potential, and now it’s forcefully delayed by at least two weeks…

He could only look at the financial news about Reebok’s stock plummeting this morning, with a market value evaporating by almost 1 billion US Dollars, for Zhang Hao to express his frustration.

Given the situation, thinking about this further would only add worry.

There’s no point dwelling on this, so he packs up, gets on the car, and Aprile Clark drives him to the airport.

After 4 consecutive home games, up next are consecutive away games: first against the Hawks on the 25th, which is tomorrow, then against the Rockets on the 27th, before returning home on the 28th for a back-to-back against the Grizzlies.

December and January schedules are relaxing, with only 14 games each month, but from February to April, it gets tighter, and opponents are strong!

Getting on the plane, Zhang Hao looks at the rewards from last night’s game.

“Just this light: Objective: Under the host’s guidance, the special signed player Zhang Hao should help the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the New York Knicks. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the basic reward: Medal Tier Upgrade Card (Silver). Because Zhang Hao managed 17 out of 19 points for the Lakers in the final moments, congratulations to the host for obtaining the advanced reward: Conditional Limit Silver Lottery Draw Opportunity 1 time.”

The medal upgrading, Zhang Hao had been entangled with for quite a while last night, and he tangled with it again this morning after finishing the review of last night’s game in learning mode.

The next game hasn’t started yet; there’s time for entangling, so he really got tangled up.

The designated lottery draw, originally, he planned to save and use it for future games when needed; currently, even if he draws a medal, there’s no time to adapt and learn, like the previous medal related to Nash’s same-hand same-foot layup he received, no time to develop.

But this lottery is somewhat different…

“Silver Lottery (1) (With Condition Restriction): Can consume 90 days of lifespan to draw a defensive skill card converted from the 1996-1997 season New York Knicks’ random player feature; if not using condition restriction designated right, viewed as ordinary lottery chances.”

This, wasn’t a point of entanglement, it was just that after the match last night, back home, he got busy with bathing and sleeping… arrived at the Atlanta hotel, Zhang Hao took a bath at noon and wore the hotel’s white robe…

“Next time, I need to buy a Taoist robe, Three Pure Ones bless… system boss, use the Silver Lottery, the life-consuming one!”

“Host uses condition restriction designated Silver Lottery Draw Opportunity 1 time… Congratulations to host for obtaining Silver Medal: Baseline Dominator…”