One Year Left to Play

Chapter 573 - 175: Melancholy Youth (Part 3)

The inclusion of this clause has increased players’ autonomy in decision-making, but it also allows teams to offer non-guaranteed contracts. If the team option is not executed, it is essentially non-guaranteed.

In 1994, Barkley and the Phoenix Suns reached a 2-year, $8.79 million contract extension, set to expire at the end of this season. Barkley has the right to extend the contract for one more year.

From Zhang Hao’s impression, Barkley went to become a cornerstone alongside Olajuwon and Drexler...

Given this season’s performance, Zhang Hao believes Barkley is truly formidable! In the face of the Suns losing Dan Majerle, aging main players, or constant injuries, Barkley managed to secure the Player of the Month award in February, leading the Suns back into playoff contention and has now locked in a Western Conference top-eight spot with a 40-38 record.

Besides Barkley, another Suns player who caught Zhang Hao’s attention was Michael Finley, whose playing style was extraordinarily similar to Jordan, though his demeanor didn’t seem so friendly.

He might not look the part, but Michael Finley is genuinely a good person, friendly and gentle.

Among his peers who are talented rookies performing well, he’s one of the few with whom Mr. Zhang has a decent relationship.

The relationship between the two teams is relatively good. In recent years, they’ve had victories and losses against each other, and this season is no exception. After a brief exchange of pleasantries before the game and completing the final pre-game preparations, both teams’ starters took to the court.

The Lakers sent out a lineup of Van Exel, Doug Christie, George Lynch, Zhang Hao, and Campbell.

The Suns responded with Kevin Johnson, Wesley Person, Michael Finley, Barkley, and AC Green as their starting five.

Barkley looked at the young yet incredibly dazzling lineup opposite. Although he has doubts about how far this young Lakers team can advance in the playoffs — doubts similar to those people had about the Celtics team a decade later that was full of quality players — Barkley still finds the current Lakers team remarkable.

If he could go back ten years, he’d also want to play on a team like the Lakers.

Young, talented, and, they have such a genius — Zhang Hao.

At 7 p.m., the game began. Zhang Hao won the jump ball over former Lakers two-time champion member AC Green, and the Lakers had the first attack!

Zhang Hao dashed to the free-throw line to catch the ball, drawing a double-team from Barkley and AC Green. He gently lobbed the ball towards the right side of the basket, as George Lynch rushed into the right side of the three-second zone, taking a step to out-jump Michael Finley and slam the ball tossed by Zhang Hao into the basket!

Zhang Hao leaping over after the jump ball, deflecting off the opposing center and charging through the middle, with George Lynch supporting from the wing, and Van Exel assisting with a long pass — this was the Lakers’ strategy immediately following the jump ball after about a dozen games, even the opposing teams were on guard.

However, there aren’t that many teams who can effectively defend it, and the Suns were clearly not one of them.

Scoring quickly for the opening two points, the Lakers had only Zhang Hao, George Lynch, and Doug Christie, who followed up with the outside shot, pass half court. Campbell had retreated back under the basket from the left side of the three-second zone immediately after Zhang Hao won the jump ball.

Therefore, during this fast break, Campbell’s reception of cheers was the most. Many fans in the arena were chanting "EC," with Zhang Hao winning the jump ball to complete the fast break and Campbell retreating to defend while his teammates attacked... This scene has been the most exciting at the start of every game for Lakers fans since Campbell stopped jumping for the ball.

Campbell, hearing his name being called, didn’t know whether to be happy or sad...

The transition to defense: the Suns now attacking.

The Suns players are very focused, wanting to win the last four games, so they might still have a shot at securing the sixth seed. Currently, the Portland Trail Blazers, with a 42-36 record, hold the sixth spot in the West. The gap of two wins leaves just four games, making the opportunity much more slim.

But the Suns still aim to give it their all; half a month ago, all the lower-seeded Western playoff teams hoped to avoid the Spurs in the first round. Now, they all wish to encounter the Spurs in the first round...

Barkley advanced to the frontcourt and faced George Lynch’s defense, with Campbell down low... tricky!

Having the Magician and Anthony Peeler on the bench, with George Lynch and Doug Christie in the starting lineup, and Zhang Hao defending the point guard has greatly compensated for the Lakers’ defense, almost equating to a 4-out-1 strategy. The other four at their defensive positions perform quite well, above average, and while Van Exel’s defense technique and awareness aren’t strong, he’s proactive in trailing and fast enough to keep up.

Not long after Zhang Hao joined the Lakers, Barkley had faced them before. Although he lost then, he felt the Lakers were just an offensive powerhouse. In this half-season, the Lakers have clearly improved significantly!

Even compared to their last encounter post the All-Star weekend, Barkley felt the Lakers had grown stronger.

Del Harris, after spending more than half the season analyzing and experimenting, has determined the starting lineup, which can indeed be described as well-rounded in offense and defense.

Against top-tier teams, issues still abound, but when facing playoff fringe or non-playoff level teams, they are stable, as evidenced by their 22-8 record after the All-Star weekend.

This record might only pale compared to the Bulls, but having over a 70% win-rate is certainly nothing to scoff at.

For the opening play, Barkley didn’t request the ball to initiate offense; Kevin Johnson, facing Zhang Hao, opted for a fake move followed by a long two-pointer step-back... but was completely covered by Zhang Hao!

As Kevin Johnson released the ball and saw Zhang Hao closing in, getting a fingertip on it, he finally understood why the small point guards with shooting abilities that he studied under Zhang Hao’s defense stopped shooting from the outside...

That physique, reaction speed, and agility — it’s a total cheat code!