Chapter 435: Raising Troops for a Thousand Days
This Eastern and Western Conference dark horse battle ended with a dramatic fourth quarter, with Yang Mo, who shot 5 for 8 from three-point range, once again thrust into the spotlight. Almost everyone was discussing whether using two teammates as screens for a shot was legitimate.
Those who think this is unreasonable feel that this is simply indulgence of shooters. If this continues, every team will simply put four musclemen and one shooter on the field. At that time, the game will be no different from a penalty kick in football. The competitiveness will be greatly reduced to zero.
Those who think it is reasonable say that when using multiple screens to shoot, they also give up second offense, and there is nothing unfair about the risks and opportunities.
The debate between the two sides became increasingly intense, and in the end, the alliance's top management had to stand up and express their views, saying that they would carefully consider the opinions of all parties and make a decision that would satisfy everyone.
Yang Mo paid no attention to the outside world's arguments. He put all his thoughts on his passing skills. He still threw the tennis ball tirelessly every day. In the following games, he always followed Stockton's teachings, which was to practice passing in the first three quarters and fight hard in the fourth quarter.
In a sense, this style of play was a misshapen model established for Yang Mo's personal growth. However, for the Knicks right now, Yang Mo's growth was more important than anything else. They were willing to play with Yang Mo and allow him to grow. To that end, they were willing to sacrifice their performance, as the Knicks' management hadn't made any substantial demands on this year's results.
Logically, given the New York fans' deep hatred for Yang Mo, they would have resolutely resisted this style of play that sacrificed the team's interests. However, in reality, all Knicks fans kept silent, and few questioned it. Even though the Knicks began to lose games, in fact, since defeating the Grizzlies, the Knicks have lost all three of their games, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, and Portland Trail Blazers.
Essentially, none of these three teams are strong, and the Timberwolves could even be considered a bad team. Yet, the Knicks lost. Despite their losses, Knicks fans are even more confident. This isn't because all three games were away games. Instead, they lost by only one point, two points, and one point, respectively. The loss to the Timberwolves was due to Yang Mo's missed buzzer-beater, the loss to the Jazz was due to a buzzer-beater with 0.8 seconds left, and the loss to the Trail Blazers was due to Yang Mo's three-pointer hitting the line, completely denying the chance to tie the game and force overtime.
How could the Knicks not be happy that they had lost 20-30 points in the first three quarters and still managed to hold on until the last second to decide the outcome? And, most importantly, Yang Mo's assists in these three games were 5, 3, and 5 respectively.
Although Yang Mo's long passes are still unreliable, it is becoming increasingly difficult to make mistakes in short-distance passes.
In addition to the Knicks fans being happy about this, Simmons, who used to be a bitter critic of Yang Mo, also wrote an article praising her in his ESPN column: "The Knicks are winning the future! Super Yang is on the fast track to becoming a superstar!"
In the article, he emphasized Yang Mo's ability to handle clutch plays. He believed that while Yang Mo often , he rarely proved himself in crucial moments. His games were either big wins or crushing losses, rarely winning or losing by a single point or two. Now, Yang Mo has rapidly improved in this area, and he also expressed his admiration for Yang Mo's short-range passing, believing it to be safe and discreet, very much like Stockton's.
Of course, in addition to praise, there are also criticisms. He still stubbornly believes that Yang Mo can only score outside the three-point line and in the paint area, and can only be regarded as an enhanced version of Nick Young.
However, he still wrote emotionally at the end of his article: "As much as I hate his flamboyance, his three-pointers still make me cheer. As much as I hate his outspokenness, when he bursts into the paint and dunks over his opponent, I still keep my mouth shut. His mid-range shooting drives me crazy , but his defensive prowess makes me slap my thigh and cheer him on. His passing is terrible, but his shooting is accurate... He's just that kind of guy, with many strengths and just as many weaknesses. Fortunately, he's still young."
Bill Simmons' column seems to indicate a change in the atmosphere of the entire basketball world. Recently, the original nitpicking has become less and all kinds of brainless criticism have gradually subsided. Various sports media have finally begun to look at Yang Mo with a normal eye...
Yang Mo had predicted that this day would come, but she didn't expect public opinion to change so quickly.
No matter how public opinion changes, the entire Knicks team still plays according to their own model, which is to play badly in the first three quarters to help Yang Mo hone his passing ability, and then enter a suffocating defensive period in the fourth quarter.
This slack-and-easy pace actually gave the other players a good experience. Gradually, they began to hone their offensive skills in the first three quarters. After all, Yang Mo barely shot in those three quarters, so the ball was easily distributed. In the fourth quarter, all the players buckled down, ingraining defense into their DNA and fighting with a fierce attitude.
Under this game model, nearly every player has grown, and every rotation player's stats have improved to varying degrees. However, after a month of playing like this, with the playoffs just around the corner, McGrady couldn't help but speak out in front of the media: "I can't help it. I feel terrible about the situation. We absolutely can't continue like this. The playoffs are coming soon, and we have to fight for a playoff spot. Look, we're seventh in the Eastern Conference, only 1.5 games ahead of eighth place, and only 2.5 games behind ninth place. We can't play like this anymore."
McGrady's complaints seemed to make reporters smell something unusual. They thought McGrady had finally exploded and was finally going to fire back.
When these reporters frantically rushed to Yang Mo, trying to get some different information, Yang Mo responded calmly: "This is his personal opinion. If you want to know more, you should ask him instead of coming to me. Thank you."
Yang Mo's response was instantly interpreted by the media as a tit-for-tat, and they generally believed that Yang Mo was already dissatisfied with McGrady.
The media love to create conflicts, and even if there are no conflicts, they will create rumors. After all, they live on exposure. They originally thought that Yang Mo, who has a strong personality, would immediately have a conflict with McGrady, a former privileged player. Unexpectedly, nothing happened. Until now, when they were about to forget about this matter, McGrady expressed a different opinion.
The conflict between Yang Mo and McGrady intensified under the media's deliberate fabrication and hype. Since Yang Mo is the most influential player in the NBA today, and McGrady was once a star player, the conflict between the two instantly sparked nationwide discussion.
Everyone expressed their opinions in various ways at various times and places, and it is worth mentioning that when the media interviewed Knicks fans on the streets, almost all public opinions were one-sidedly biased towards Yang Mo, the arrogant element and big devil in the eyes of New York fans.
"Regarding this matter, I support that guy. You know, that guy is only 20 years old, and letting him practice passing is the most important thing for the Knicks at this stage . It doesn't matter even if we don't make the playoffs, our goal is in the future." An old fan in his 50s said excitedly. This old guy is obviously full of confidence in the future of the Knicks, even though he himself seems to have no future.
"Maybe Tracy can't wait any longer, but I still want to say that we should let the team move at its original pace."
"I hate that China guy so much that I tore up my daughter's jersey with 'yang' written on it yesterday. But what Tracy did was obviously wrong."
"As much as I don't like the guy, I don't support Maddie on this one."
Almost all the comments start with 'I don't like Yang Mo' or 'I hate Yang Mo' and end with 'But I support him this time' or 'But I think McGrady is wrong'.
Obviously, Knicks fans have actually been conquered by Yang Mo, but they are unwilling to admit it. Because once they admit it, it means that they were wrong before.
While the outside world was arguing about the feud between Yang Mo and McGrady, a heavyweight game was approaching: the Knicks played against the Boston Celtics at home.
The Boston Celtics are currently ranked second in the Eastern Conference, just one win behind the first-place Magic. Theoretically, their playoff opponent is the New York Knicks, so this game is being called a playoff preview.
Tickets for this game were announced to be sold out a week ago, and with the Yankees in a slump, New Yorkers gave almost all their love to the Knicks.
The Knicks' management is also taking this game very seriously, hoping to use it to boost MSG's stock price. They're also about to announce ticket prices for next season, and are considering a 20% increase compared to this season's. This game is clearly a litmus test for that price increase. If they win, they'll have every reason to tell fans: Look, we even beat the Celtics, so why shouldn't you pay 20% more for the team?
Yang Mo seemed a little listless despite the management's great attention, because Lu Xuefei was tinkering with her plan of a harmonious harem again.
