Chapter 369: Successful Recruitment
"You really don't deserve this jersey." When Yang Mo returned to defense after scoring a goal, he said contemptuously to Ariza who was hurriedly running over to serve the ball, without considering his face at all.
Ariza gritted his teeth when he heard this. Since he wore the No. 1 jersey, many die-hard McGrady fans have said the same thing to him, which makes him feel very stressed. He feels that he is innocent. He thinks that he has always worn the No. 1 jersey. Since McGrady doesn't wear it anymore, what's wrong with him wearing it? Who did he offend?
He really didn't provoke anyone, but his ability was too weak. The owner of this jersey once swung freely on the court and took the heads of millions of enemies. And him? As the successor of this jersey, he is too inferior. With such a huge gap, who else can we despise if not him? You wear a hat according to your ability. If you don't have enough ability, but still want to be pretentious, aren't you afraid that the wind will blow you and your hat away?
The Knicks had a crazy fast break lineup, and after Yao Ming retired, Adelman was finally able to use his Princeton style of play without any scruples.
Princeton is also a fast break style in a sense. However, it requires players to have very high passing ability. If it is the authentic Princeton, the Knicks' crazy style of play will definitely not be restrained. After all, the Kings almost overturned the Lakers led by the OK combination. But the Rockets today only have the form, but not the essence.
After all, the current Rockets are almost made up of a bunch of NBDL players. The talented ones are all rookies, and the only one who can be of some use is Scola, an Argentine power forward who can't run.
Therefore, once the two teams started running, the outcome was very clear.
At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks led by 17 points. It was hard to believe that this difference was achieved at the Rockets' home court. Adelman was so angry that his face turned blue. But what could he do if he was angry? It would do nothing except hurt his body.
Now Adelman has no way to turn the situation around. He is not a person with sharp reactions. In addition, the group of misfits under him can't really create any good chemical reactions. Even a good cook can't cook without rice, let alone he is not a good cook.
So, after the start of the second quarter, he still used the same lineup that caused the team to lose 17 points at home in a single quarter.
To put it nicely, this is called "remaining constant in the face of ever-changing circumstances." To put it bluntly, this is pure surrender.
Adelman did not make any substitutions, but Yang Mo made three substitutions, directly changing the original run-and-gun lineup to a half-court positional offense. The run-and-gun game is very suitable for the regular season, it is beautiful, scores high, and is very good for teammates' statistics, but in the playoffs, the run-and-gun game has become completely useless. Everyone is fighting on defense, suppressing the rhythm, and hammering the opponent to death bit by bit with punch-to-flesh attacks. You want to float and play the run-and-gun game? One punch will break your wings, and then you will be pressed on the chopping board and chopped up.
Therefore, facing a bad team like the Rockets, Yang Mo practiced tactics without hesitation.
This clearly shows that he doesn't take the Rockets seriously, but what else can Adelman do? If you are not as skilled as others, then you can only be used as a training ground by others. If you want dignity, at least you have to be able to influence the outcome. Otherwise? You will be at the mercy of others.
The Knicks' tactical drills were very methodical, and the Rockets, their sparring partners, were also very dedicated. They were always able to create some defensive difficulties for the Knicks, but they were never able to catch up, so they maintained a relatively stalemate score gap and kept pushing the game forward.
This was undoubtedly a good thing for Yang Mo, because the effect of training was very obvious.
In the matchup with Ariza, Yang Mo always took the initiative. Although Ariza has good defensive ability, he always lost points against Yang Mo. Last year, he could still defend with his experience, but this year, Yang Mo, whose skills and explosive power have skyrocketed, is no longer a level that he can limit. If Yang Mo didn't get points from him, he would repeat: How dare you wear the No. 1 jersey at your level? Do you deserve it?
Yang Mo's sarcasm was naked and merciless. But Ariza was helpless. He couldn't defend in basketball and couldn't withstand a punch in a fight. What else could he do except endure it?
Soon, the second quarter ended with Ariza frustrated. Since the Knicks were training, the score difference was only widened to 22 points. Compared with the first quarter, the Rockets' improvement was very obvious, even though several of their players had lost their fighting spirit.
During the half-time break, the host and commentator of CCTV seized the opportunity to praise Yang Mo harshly, making her sound like a god from heaven.
"Let's be modest. Yang Mo is definitely the strongest athlete in Asia since the advent of basketball. Is there any suspense about this?" Yu Jia slapped his thigh and got excited while chatting: "Can Tian Yong of Japan compare with him? Who else is there in South Korea? Beat them all. The Iranian team will be even more impressive. As long as Yang Mo is here, they will be beaten. Now the only one who can affect Yang Mo's historical status is Yao Ming. Although Yao Ming was the No. 1 center in the NBA at his best, he really didn't do as many things that Yang Mo did. If you watch his games, he is the only one dominating the court. Yao Ming can only dominate the three-second zone, but Yang Mo can cover the entire court. He can do so many things!"
Yu Jia praised him so much that Coach Zhang beside him couldn't help but get goose bumps. He said conservatively: "In terms of historical status, Yao Ming is still ahead of Yang Mo. However, Yang Mo's progress can be described as rapid. Last year he was just a three-pointer and fast attacker, and sometimes he could do one or two post-up singles. Now, look at him, he can dribble directly into the penalty area. When his ball-handling ability improves, the corresponding three-pointer, post-up breakthrough and mid-range shot will all become a firepower network. I think his only flaw now is his lack of passing ability. If his passing ability can also improve, he will be really hard to defend."
"It doesn't matter if the pass is not good. Yang Mo is not reckless anyway. He won't do anything reckless if the opportunity is not good." Yu Jia excused Yang Mo.
"That's true, but his ball-holding threat will be greatly reduced, which will hurt his on-court efficiency." Coach Zhang said, "So, Yang Mo can't be considered a first-rate star yet, at least not a top 10 player in the league. Of course, his excellent tactical understanding and execution can help him compete with those top 10 players, but from the perspective of a pure basketball player, he still has a lot of room for improvement."
What Coach Zhang said was exactly what Yang Mo was thinking about now. He was sitting in the locker room thinking about the second quarter. Although the Knicks had good control of the situation in the second quarter, their opponent was the Rockets. This kind of control was useless when facing a strong team.
After Yang Mo's reflection, he found that the biggest problem of the team was not anything else, but the problem of passing the ball between the balls. In other words, it was the same problem as the Rockets. The passing efficiency between the balls was very low, which was related to the team's lack of a point guard. More importantly, everyone's awareness of breaking through and passing the ball was not very good.
How great would it be if I could also improve my passing skills?
Yang Mo muttered to himself.
But this technique is too difficult. Yang Mo has no lack of imagination for passing the ball, but he lacks experience and execution of passing the ball. Since the day he started playing basketball, he has never been exposed to the technique of passing the ball. He is either a power forward inside or a shooter outside. He is always a terminator on the court, not an initiator.
Now Yang Mo's physical fitness is already top-notch, and his offensive skills, except for mid-range shooting, have a certain deterrent effect. If he wants to move forward, or even become the best player in the league, then in addition to improving his offensive skills, his passing ability also urgently needs to be improved by one or two levels, at least when he is double-teamed, he should be able to calmly pass the ball to teammates who are not guarded.
While Yang Mo was thinking about how to improve his own strength, the third quarter of the game quietly arrived. Adelman finally replaced McGrady again, and Yang Mo also discussed further recruitment plans with him during the match.
"How is it? What have you considered?" Although Yang Mo scored a three-pointer over McGrady's head at the beginning of the game, his tone was very gentle: "New York is much more luxurious than Houston, and I can promise you that you can definitely become a piece of the championship map."
"Do you really want to learn my first step and pull-up move?" McGrady raised his eyebrows and asked.
"Of course, this will make me stronger. No one can resist becoming stronger, and I am certainly no exception." Yang Mo said calmly, "And you won't suffer any loss at all, because you can get more. For a player who has passed his prime, it is undoubtedly a wonderful thing to find a championship-level team to complete his entire career."
"What guarantees do you have that New York can become a championship-level team? You're still a bad team now." McGrady said this with a bit of frivolity.
Hearing this, Yang Mo quickly flew out, stole Kyle Lowry's pass, and then rushed to the front court and made a powerful tomahawk dunk. After the dunk, he ran back to McGrady amid the cheers of the audience: "Just me."
"Just you?" Maddie frowned, feeling a little uncomfortable: "Are you alone?"
"Of course it won't be just me. I will equip my team with some All-Star players who suit my style of play. The Knicks will undergo earth-shaking changes this year, and by next year, the changes will be even greater. My promise to myself is to win the championship within three years." Yang Mo said with great confidence.
Seeing Yang Mo so confident, McGrady couldn't help but feel a little envious.
At this time, Yang Mo suddenly said, "Actually, I came to ask for your opinion out of respect for you. You should know that your general manager is eager to ship you out now, so... it is not difficult for us to get you. However, we have always been a loving group. If you don't want to come, we won't force you. We will have Plan B, Plan C... all the way to Plan Z."
Yang Mo's words were equivalent to telling McGrady, don't take yourself too seriously, I don't necessarily need you.
If the previous words were a wonderful prospect, then the words now are undoubtedly the cruel reality.
McGrady weighed the pros and cons for a long time, and finally nodded: "If the Rockets trade me to New York, I will be happy to be a member of the Knicks."
"Then are you willing to teach me how to control my explosive power?" Yang Mo did not stop there after McGrady agreed, but asked directly, "This is the core issue."
For Yang Mo, McGrady's greater value lies in his skills, followed by his expiring contract. As for his experience, it has to be ranked last. After all, he has lost all his athletic abilities, and all he has left is his vision and passing ability on the court.
Maddie smiled slightly, tilted her head and said lazily: "That depends on whether you care about my dinner."
"Haha!" Yang Mo smiled comfortably: "Of course there is no problem!"
After reaching an agreement with McGrady, Yang Mo decisively went on a killing spree, wantonly strangling the weak Rockets team. By the fourth quarter , the Rockets were already trailing by more than 30 points, and the players were listless. Finally, Adelman gave up resistance and let the Knicks win easily!
