Chapter 313: Heat Totem
One hundred seconds may not mean much to most people, but for Yang Mo, it is enough for him to regulate his disordered breathing and then drink a few sips of energy drinks to replenish his body fluids.
Soon, the pause was over.
The players from both teams came back on the court. The Cavaliers' lineup was Ben Wallace, Varejao, Hickson, Szczerbiak and LeBron James, five forwards about 6'8".
Pat Riley on the sidelines had mixed feelings, because many years ago he predicted that all five positions on the court would move closer to the height of 6 feet 8 inches. Now, his opponent, the Cavaliers, has used this lineup.
If this lineup is used to play against the Celtics, it will definitely be a dead end. But when used against the Heat, it is comparable to an iron bucket formation. Because the Heat are not tall, their breakthrough ability is also extremely dependent on Wade and Yang Mo. Most importantly, their inside center is less than 6 feet 5. Although Wallace is very small among centers, he has an absolute height advantage against Yang Mo.
Soon, this lineup had a miraculous effect. Wade failed to win free throws in three consecutive breakthroughs, only hitting one goal, and the other two goals missed the basket with a large deviation. There was no way, the interior defense with Ben Wallace was not comparable to the Ilgauskas period.
Wade's breakthrough was blocked, and Yang Mo also felt that he was blocked by a strong wall when grabbing rebounds. Many of the frontcourt rebounds that he could have won before became a thing of the past. And when it came to protecting the backcourt rebounds, he also encountered unprecedented challenges. Almost every time, Wallace squeezed with brute force, while Hickson and Wallace fought for it on the side. In this situation, Yang Mo had to grit his teeth and try his best.
As a result, the little bit of physical strength that had just been accumulated with great difficulty was completely lost in this defensive collision.
In addition to his tenacious fighting on the defensive end, Yang Mo once again took up the lead on the offensive end. In order to create space for Wade to break through, he kept back-to-back against Ben Wallace, who was known for his strength, in the penalty area.
Yang Mo was now both a father and a mother, gritting his teeth and carrying the Heat forward. And it was precisely because of his desperate attitude that he finally held on to the score and continued to compete with the Cavaliers.
In the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, the Heat kept calling for timeouts to give Yang Mo enough rest. Even Spoelstra couldn't help but sympathize with Yang Mo when he saw him fighting so hard on the court.
Yang Mo, who is less than 1.94 meters tall, not only fought with the three big players of the Cavaliers on the defensive end, but also carried half of the flag on the offensive end. After every goal, you can see his drooping arms, and after every rebound, you can hear his heavy breathing. That feeling of powerlessness can directly hit the human heart. Even the fans of the Cavaliers couldn't help but give him a thumbs up in their hearts.
This is a real man.
At this moment, even the harshest and most sarcastic commentators could not find any reason to attack him. This guy may have some technical flaws, but at least in terms of spirit and professional ethics, he is impeccable.
Thanks to Yang Mo's tenacious fighting, the Heat's broken morale finally slowly gathered again. In the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, when Yang Mo was almost unable to hold on, Beasley, Chalmers, Dorrell, Wright and others stepped up and scored rebounds to alleviate the shortcomings in offensive firepower.
During this period, Spoelstra called Yang Mo to the sidelines more than once and asked him if he needed a rest.
Yang Mo's response was very simple, just shaking his head.
Yang Mo knew better than anyone what he meant to the team. If he sat back on the bench, the team's hard-earned morale would be crushed in an instant. He was now the Heat's spiritual totem. Everyone could rest, but he couldn't. Even though his physical strength was about to collapse, even though his legs would go weak and he would fall down if he wasn't careful.
Because the Heat team fought hard under the encouragement of Yang Mo, the game was still tied until the last thirty seconds.
This was beyond the Cavaliers' expectations. The Cavaliers originally thought they could easily win the game, and even Mo Williams shouted the slogan of 4-0. Then, they lost the first game. The Cavaliers, who lost the first game, still did not take the Heat seriously, so LeBron James personally shouted the slogan of 5-0. Now, there are 30 seconds left in the second game, and the two teams are tied at 98:98.
drop!
The Cavaliers requested a timeout, and now they had two options: either a quick attack and then a counterattack.
Either they spend 24 seconds directly and then attack. Leave six seconds for the Heat. If they can grab the frontcourt rebound, then the victory will be completely theirs. Because, even if they enter overtime, Yang Mo's physical strength will definitely not last for five seconds.
"LeBron, do you think we should play twice or once?" Mike Brown asked LeBron James for his opinion first. In this team , LeBron James has the privilege of having the final say.
This privilege is exactly what Yang Mo wanted.
LeBron James hesitated for a moment, then said firmly, "Hit once."
McBrown was a little confused after hearing this, and LeBron James quickly said, "We'll put three inside players next, and Mo and I will be the outside players. Even if I don't make the shot, the other three must grab the rebound. Now the Chinese guys have no strength left, and there is no one on their team who can grab the rebound."
LeBron James spoke very clearly, as if he had already put the fruits of victory in his pocket.
Seeing LeBron James so confident, Mike Brown couldn't help but become confident as well.
At the same time, on the bench, Yang Mo was drinking nutrient solution while analyzing the situation with a tactical board: "If I guess correctly, they will definitely choose a 24-second attack. So... next, our defensive strategy is, Mario, you follow Chalmers closely, Dwyane, you and Beasley defend LeBron. Don't let him throw the ball in, and leave the rebound to me."
The rebound is for you?
Everyone looked at Yang Mo in confusion at the same time. Obviously, they did not believe that the weak Yang Mo could protect the rebounds.
