NBA: Rising Superstar!-Chapter 205 - 154, Efficient Data, Continuing the Winning Streak.

Praising a rookie player as an MVP is quite a rare occurrence for him.

But since the atmosphere has been set, it’s hard not to go with the flow.

In the second half, after Zeng Xingyang continuously played against Little Thomas, he found a way to win the game.

As long as Little Thomas is taken down, this game can be won.

Mike Malone has completely grasped the future direction of the team during this period.

Building tactics around Zeng Xingyang and Jokic, the team has a chance to win the championship.

Both of them have very strong creativity on the court.

Although they both have their own flaws, these flaws can be compensated for.

The Chinese media reporters are satisfied with Mike Malone’s praise.

Mike Malone’s status with Chinese media and fans has undergone a roller-coaster of changes.

Initially, when he made Zeng Xingyang play as a substitute, he was criticized as foolish, incompetent, and rigid in coaching.

But now, after focusing on fostering Zeng Xingyang, domestic fans refer to him as Coach Mai, meticulous in coaching, and a capable head coach.

"Nikola, what do you think of Zeng’s performance in the last two games?" the reporter asked.

"Actually, for me, I’m not surprised. I know how strong he is, how much effort he has put in behind the scenes. It’s not just these two games; he will achieve more in the future," Jokic said seriously.

This is only the first season Jokic is collaborating with Zeng Xingyang, and he already feels that basketball should be played this way.

The feeling of this collaboration is very comfortable.

He understands Zeng Xingyang, and Zeng Xingyang understands him. The cooperation between the two is very harmonious.

After casually asking a few more questions, the three of them also left the arena, boarded the bus, and prepared to head to the next location.

On the other side, the Celtics’ players and their head coach were still being interviewed.

The reporter asked, "Isaiah, you were repeatedly beaten one-on-one by Zeng on the court. What are your thoughts?"

Little Thomas, with black lines across his face, what else could he think?

After glancing at the reporter, he said, "This is just part of the game. Next time, I’ll try to defend him."

The reporter continued to ask, "So how do you evaluate Zeng?"

Little Thomas said, "He has excellent basketball skills and range, which reminds me of Klay with dribbling skills. On the defensive end, he also puts a lot of pressure on me. He’ll be the best rookie this year. To be honest, no one likes to match up against such a player."

The reporters, as bystanders, can’t really feel the despair of Little Thomas.

On defense, it’s hard to go one-on-one, and on offense, he completely dominates you!

The bitterness of Little Thomas can only be truly felt by himself.

Such an opponent is like a nightmare for him. Fortunately, the Nuggets are in the West, and they only face them twice a season.

The reporter asked, "Do you think Zeng now has the potential of a superstar?"

Little Thomas quickly replied, "Of course." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Seeing the reporters’ skeptical looks, Little Thomas didn’t go on to explain anything.

He knows that as time goes on, others won’t find it so surprising that Zeng Xingyang dominates him.

The reporter asked Stevens, "Coach, what do you think about the completely different halves of the Nuggets?"

Stevens said, "They played a classic comeback game. In the first half, they didn’t get into the rhythm, but in the second half, Zeng had a dominant performance on the court, which made our situation very passive."

Stevens didn’t want to say that the opposing core suppressed our core, which is why the halves were so different.

He still wants to show some respect for Little Thomas.

The reporter continued to ask, "How do you evaluate Zeng’s performance this season?"

Stevens said, "Obviously, Zeng is a rookie comparable to Michael. He’s so special on the court."

"He and Stephen will stir up a three-point storm in the league. We need to increasingly value the three-pointer, or we’ll fall behind the times."

Stevens gave Zeng Xingyang a hearty praise. The Nuggets have a very bright future. It won’t be long before they are among the championship-contending teams.

....

The next day.

The Nuggets’ comeback victory against the Celtics once again ignited a frenzy on basketball websites in China and the US.

"Ten solo plays, Zeng Xingyang crushes Little Thomas, leading the team to a spectacular comeback!"

"Coach Mai: Zeng will become the most outstanding player in Nuggets history."

"Stepping on the LOGO, provoking the entire court, Zeng Xingyang conquers Boston!"

"The Mayor of Boston, a die-hard Green Army fan, has no answer for Zeng Xingyang."

"The audience chants MVP, a Boston subdued!"

"Two consecutive games with 40+, Zeng Xingyang’s explosive performance continues."

"Averaging more points than KD, trailing only Harden and Curry!"

There is a lot of news about Zeng Xingyang, and fans are discussing enthusiastically.

"Last night’s game was really amazing. Finally, I understand how important talent is for winning championships. Little Thomas was completely overwhelmed."

"So stable, Zeng Xingyang crushing mismatches like that shows what steadiness means."

"In the playoffs, Little Thomas might be targeted the same way."

"Little Thomas got beaten into a slump, haha, it’s so funny."

"Those watching the live broadcast will be thrilled because it showcased Zeng Xingyang’s individual ball-handling and one-on-one abilities."

"Xingyang has been fierce in the recent two games. I’m looking forward to his next performance."

"At the season’s start, no one expected Xingyang’s average personal score to chase Kuha Duo."

"James can’t even catch up to Xingyang’s average points per game."

"I’m increasingly enjoying watching Xingyang play because it’s thrilling enough."

"Xingyang’s scoring is so impressive, those three-pointers just swish in."

Nuggets fans are all in great spirits.

Apart from the fans, quite a few Celtics legends have also begun discussing this matter.

The main issue is Zeng Xingyang stepping on the LOGO, which rubbed them the wrong way.

.....

Then, the next night, perhaps stimulated by Zeng Xingyang.

In the Rockets vs. Warriors game, Harden exploded with 53 points, Curry put up 50 points.

Their scoring duel pushed both team scores to over 140.

Durant also scored a high 48 points against the 76ers, which allowed him to surpass Zeng Xingyang in average points again.

Because of Zeng Xingyang’s fierce pursuit, fans were treated to game after game of scoring feasts.

Zeng Xingyang was speechless when he saw these game reports; it’s clear these three were crazily scoring, not wanting to be surpassed by him.

When they want to score, they just increase their shots.

Their abilities are evident, for super scorers like them, aiming for 40+ points intentionally isn’t too hard.

As long as their shooting hand is slightly better, it’s possible.

Of course, trying to hit 60+ points increases the difficulty by several levels; it takes perfect timing, location, and coordination.

...

After playing the Celtics, the Nuggets went to Miami to challenge the Heat.

After entering the post-James era, the Heat’s team leader is Chris Bosh.

This season, Bosh is averaging 20 points and 8 rebounds; he’s still an All-Star level player in the East.

Before the game, Bosh also commented on Zeng Xingyang: "Zeng is a good rookie, but just a rookie; they haven’t put too much pressure on him, I’ll show him what NBA level intensity is. The competition’s intensity is diluted compared to a few years ago."

Although Bosh plays somewhat softly, his personality is relatively old-school; he dislikes the growing trend of three-point shooting in the league.

Zeng Xingyang quickly responded to Bosh’s comments: "He says the intensity is lower now, yet I don’t see his stats increasing much."

Bosh quickly fired back on Twitter: "Rookies shouldn’t be so cocky, I’ll give you a few blocks tonight."

Zeng Xingyang continued to retort: "Then give it a try."

The online sparring between Bosh and Zeng Xingyang grabbed some attention from the fans.

Zeng Xingyang is not disrespectful to veterans, but he doesn’t like players who act condescendingly.

It’s fine to critique others, but if the critique gets unfriendly towards him, he won’t be courteous either.

...

In the first quarter against the Heat, the Nuggets showcased their forte of defense and counterattacks.

The Heat focused on Bosh’s half-court offense, but Bosh likes to shoot from the perimeter; whenever he missed, the Nuggets would counterattack.

In the second quarter, the Nuggets’ second unit also had the upper hand against the Heat, easily widening the gap.

By halftime, the Nuggets had a 20-point lead.

In the third quarter, Zeng Xingyang and Jokic continued to amuse themselves with various pick-and-rolls against the Heat’s defense.

James’s departure took away the spotlight and spirit from the Heat team.

The Heat players seemingly lost their hunger to compete for the championship!

By the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets’ lead had reached 30 points, and Zeng Xingyang and Jokic clocked out successfully.

Watching Zeng Xingyang joking around on the bench.

Heat fans looked frustrated with Bosh.

"Why provoke this guy in the first place?"

"See, got completely outplayed, can’t bear to watch anymore, let’s go."

After watching the third quarter, a batch of Heat fans started leaving one after another.

In the first three quarters, Zeng Xingyang scored 25 points, 13 assists, and 4 rebounds, showing great poise and a superstar demeanor.

This performance made quite a few Heat fans envious.

This is only Zeng Xingyang’s rookie season, and he’s already this fierce; hard to imagine what kind of performance he’ll deliver in the future.

Meanwhile, Jokic still managed to get a near triple-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Bosh also sat out in the fourth quarter, not needing to play during garbage time, and unlike Zeng Xingyang and Jokic who were laughing together, Bosh’s expression was grim.

Bosh couldn’t believe the trouble wasn’t being caused by Zeng Xingyang targeting him, but Jokic was targeting him; Jokic’s presence on the court gave Bosh a lot of troubles.

Jokic loved to go against the tall and thin power forward, overpowering and crushing them.

Bosh had no answers for Jokic.

The presence of Zeng Xingyang and Jokic made Bosh feel like an old wave crashing on the beach, a very uncomfortable feeling.

Bosh somewhat misses the days of dominating with Zhan Wei a few years ago.

Sadly, their era is over.

BEEP BEEP!!

Eventually, as the fourth quarter ended, the score froze at 108 to 91.

The Heat managed to claw back some points in the last quarter, but it couldn’t hide their embarrassing defeat.