Chapter 402: Iron Cage Formation
When Isaiah Thomas felt enlightened, Stockton gave him another big surprise: " How about we call Karl to teach him mid-range shooting and how to use strength?"
As soon as Stockton made this suggestion, Thomas instantly felt like he was hit by a huge prize that fell from the sky. Karl Malone, one of the most powerful forwards in history, is a master of mid-range shooting. If he teaches Yang Mo how to shoot mid-range, then Yang Mo's attack weakness will definitely change dramatically. By then, let alone LeBron James in front of him, even Michael Jordan's position as a god can be overturned!
At that moment, Thomas couldn't help but feel like he was dreaming. He pinched himself hard to make sure it was not a dream. Then he confirmed it and said with a big smile on his face: "If Karl is willing, the Knicks will definitely welcome you. We will cover all your expenses in New York!"
"Karl will participate in any game against Jordan. Besides, being able to be the mentor of the number one player in history is much cooler than winning the championship." Stockton said with a proud face, as if he had already seen the scene of Yang Mo pulling Michael Jordan down from the throne.
Thomas saw this and rubbed his palms excitedly. This matter was much more exciting than the exchange, because the subsequent transactions were just small fights, exchanging a few disobedient players for a few tough players, that's all.
At the same time, the game on the court gradually lost its suspense. James continued to pass the ball, and the players who received his passes kept missing shots. The score difference had risen to 24 points, which had exceeded James' jersey number.
This result was undoubtedly beyond everyone's expectations. Before the game, most polls supported the Cavaliers to win. After all, the Cavaliers looked much stronger, and the Knicks were almost a defeated army. However, Super Yang's victory or defeat could never be predicted. European bookmakers have a deep understanding of this. Last season, they were robbed of a lot of money.
drop!
As LeBron James missed a long-range three-pointer, the half quarter ended and the Knicks entered the locker room with a 24-point lead.
Before going to the locker room, Yang Mo pointed at the New York fans who were cheering for James and shouted, "Isn't he your savior? Didn't you say that only he can save New York? Look, in front of me, he is not even as good as a piece of dog shit!"
Yang Mo was arrogant and presumptuous, arrogance to the extreme.
But those fans could only bear it, because Yang Mo was the one who had the overall advantage. They were undoubtedly the most uncomfortable at this moment. It was obviously the home team that won, but it was as if there were countless flies stuck in their throats. There was nothing they could do, because they were so unscrupulous and treacherous.
While they were feeling as uncomfortable as if they had swallowed countless flies, Yang Mo strode into the player tunnel with the pride of a winner.
"Incredible, totally unbelievable." TNT commentator Collins said loudly in astonishment during the halftime break: "The Cavaliers are actually behind by 24 points, and this is only the first half of the game. Look at James's stats, 12 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 turnovers, this is totally not his usual level. He said before the game that he wanted to teach Super Yang a lesson, is he too nervous?"
"This has nothing to do with being nervous. It's because Super Yang is too strong. Super Yang has forced him to this point." Barkley said dimly, his expression full of sarcasm.
"Did Yang force him into this state?" Collins was a little surprised. He asked in confusion, "But Yang's stats tonight were also very ordinary. He only scored 10 points in total. Although his hit rate was very high, this statistic was not particularly outstanding!"
"Man, there's more to the game than just statistics." Kenny Smith muttered unhappily, "Whether it was Young who forced LeBron James to play tonight, he played nothing like before. It was too abnormal."
"This just shows that the No. 1 player in the league has not truly dominated the NBA. The real No. 1 player is the one who can destroy anyone he catches, just like Michael Jordan did back then. No one dares to disobey him, and he will beat anyone who disobeys him until they do!" Barkley's voice sounded a little sarcastic, and his words were full of innuendo.
"In the post-Jordan era, only Shaquille O'Neal has dominated the league. Even Duncan doesn't count. His dominance is still a little lacking." Kenny Smith said: "This seems to show that the era of outside players is gone forever. Although 70 to 80 percent of today's superstars are outside players, the big men still determine the outcome."
"That's right. Whoever controls the restricted area controls the world. Whoever controls the rebounds controls the entire court..."
As the conversation went on, the topic shifted from the game to the league's general situation and the strengths and weaknesses of inside and outside players.
At the same time, the locker rooms on both sides had completely different reactions. The home team's locker room was undoubtedly warm and excited. All the Knicks players who played today played very well and had very good statistics. If it weren't for this, the team wouldn't have been able to lead by 24 points at halftime.
The Cavaliers' locker room was undoubtedly much more deserted. Even the lively O'Neal had lost the mood to show off. He sat in a corner in a daze, and no one knew what he was thinking. James also sat in his seat, biting his fingers, looking like an eggplant hit by frost. The two leaders were silent, and the others naturally dared not speak. They all had their heads hooked so high that they could almost lick their balls.
Finally, the silence was broken by Mike Brown himself. He stood up, clapped his hands and encouraged loudly: "Guys, keep your heads up. Twenty-four points is nothing. The other team is just a bad team. The reason they were able to take the lead was entirely because I didn't guess their tactical changes. But now we have figured out their tactics. I believe that under LeBron's leadership, we will definitely be able to equalize the score and win the final victory."
At this point, Mike Brown paused for a moment, glanced at LeBron James, and saw that he had raised his head. Although he was still a little dazed, he was many times more energetic than before.
"The Knicks were leading by 24 points at halftime, can't we catch up by 25 points in the second half? Of course we can, our LeBron is the invincible scoring champion and the invincible MVP! Right?" Mike Brown shouted loudly, waving his arms.
Under his leadership, the players finally opened their voices and responded loudly: Yes!
These responses were like tubes of chicken blood, which continued to be injected into James' back as the volume increased. James stood up suddenly under the effect of these chicken blood. When he stood up, his momentum instantly burned up, and he really had a bit of kingly aura, no wonder he was called the Little Emperor.
"Yes, Mike is right. You still have me. I am invincible. How could that Chinaman defeat me? I will definitely show them some color next time. I swear, as long as you follow me, victory will belong to us!" James roared viciously with his fists clenched.
James' roar undoubtedly gave the Cavaliers players some confidence, allowing them to temporarily forget the huge score difference of 24 points.
While James was motivating everyone, Yang Mo calmed down after a burst of excitement and gathered his teammates together. He took out the tactical board and said, "I have to remind everyone again that James will definitely fight for his life in the next game. I have pushed him to the edge of the cliff. He will definitely fight desperately. So, I hope the inside players can provide me with the strongest support later."
Yang Mo glanced at Jordan Hill and Milicic and said, "Dak, Jordan, the next inside position is up to you. I hope you can prevent any player wearing a Cavaliers jersey from gliding in the sky. No matter who it is, I hope to see you tear them down with strong force. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" The two of them looked determined and nodded very clearly.
"Jeffries, you still play. Although I will be the main defender of LeBron, once a pick-and-roll occurs, you must be the first to appear in his path, do you understand?" Yang Mo pointed at Jeffries and continued to arrange tactics.
"Understood." Jeffreys nodded, also with a firm look on his face.
"Larry, if I remember correctly, you are the steals champion twice!" Yang Mo looked at Larry Hughes with burning eyes and said very seriously: "Once I entangle James, you will appear beside me and use your stealing hand to take the basketball away from him, understand?"
"I understand!" Larry Hughes also nodded.
At this moment, David Lee, who was standing nearby, raised his objection: "Yang, isn't it too risky for you to focus all your defensive attention on James alone?"
"No, not risky at all. This is the most conservative way of playing." Yang Mo smiled and said slowly, "Now the Cavaliers are counting on James to fight his way out and lead them to victory. What we have to do is to strangle James to death. We must strangle him to death with all our strength. Once he dies, the entire Cavaliers will be finished."
David Li still didn't quite understand what Yang Mo said, but Stan next to him nodded repeatedly and said, "Just do as Yang said. His idea is correct."
The head coach expressed his support, and David Lee's objection was invalidated. With this, a cage formation was set up around James, waiting for the game to start and James would fall into the cage.
Whether James will soar to the sky or be beaten to death in the iron cage by Yang Mo and his men will depend on the crucial third quarter.
