Chapter 459 This is an open conspiracy!
Steve Cole was speechless. He really had no way to answer this question because by analogy, he would also be attacked. No matter what vicious words he used to describe Yang Mo, these vicious words would quickly be reflected back at him.
In fact, Yang Mo didn’t think that far ahead. He just wanted to win the game, that’s all.
To him, playing the Magic is no different than playing the Cavaliers. The only thorny issue is a first-round encounter with the Celtics. With the Knicks' current roster, facing the aging, experienced Celtics isn't a given. But facing the Cavaliers or Magic, Yang Mo isn't intimidated at all, as both teams have numerous flaws. In the traditional sense, neither is a playoff team. In the Western Conference, they'd likely be eliminated in the first round.
Sitting on the bench, Yang Mo pondered for a while. After carefully analyzing Kobe's personality and Phil Jackson's reaction, he resolutely replaced the defense-first lineup with Milicic, Wilt Chandler, Gallinari, and Douglas. In fact, if Anthony Randolph wasn't too thin, Yang Mo wouldn't even want to put Milicic on the roster.
"We are now leading by fifteen points. Our next task is to expand the lead to 30 points. We must beat the Lakers to death while Kobe is still asleep!" Yang Mo mobilized enthusiastically.
After he finished his mobilization, Stein immediately stepped forward to lay out the specific tactical moves. His job now was to focus on the details, while Yang Mo was in charge of the overall direction. He didn't resent this position in the slightest. Unlike D'Antoni, D'Antoni considered himself a renowned coach after all, and disliked Yang Mo's interference in the team's internal affairs, even though Yang Mo's tactical prowess was clearly superior to his. As a result, he lost his position and remained unemployed, with no news of him to this day. Stein, on the other hand, never considered himself a renowned coach. He was Yang Mo's personal promoter, and he was fully aware of Yang Mo's influence on the team, and he was even more familiar with Yang Mo's tactical vision, which was why he wouldn't easily cross Yang Mo.
Soon, the bell rang, the break ended, and the game continued.
Back on the court, Kobe still looked menacing, and Yang Mo was completely relieved. As long as Kobe's anger remained, it proved his one-on-one mode was still on. Furthermore, another positive news for the Knicks was that Bynum remained on the sidelines, suggesting the Lakers' internal conflicts remained unresolved. Or perhaps, the Phil Jackson hoped to resolve the situation with this cool-headed approach.
As the referee blew the whistle, Yang Mo quickly passed the ball to Douglas and then slowly ran upcourt. Kobe Bryant followed Yang Mo closely, saying coldly, "I know what you're up to. You want to provoke me. You want me to play one-on-one so your team can win. Right? You never intended to win from the beginning. This is all your conspiracy, right?"
Kobe Bryant's sudden questioning startled Yang Mo for a moment, but then, with a smile on his face, Yang Mo admitted, "Yes, you guessed right, that's what I thought. But... what can you do? The whole world knows about your matchup with me now. Can you afford to lose? Can Kobe Bryant afford to lose? I can afford to lose, because I'm just a sophomore, and you... you claim to be the league's top star, do you dare to lose?"
Yang Mo's face was full of candor, but his frankness didn't make Kobe Bryant feel comfortable. Kobe Bryant's teeth chattered at his frankness, and after a while he finally said, "You're so cruel!"
"Thank you." Yang Mo smiled faintly. He thoroughly enjoyed the battle of wits and courage with Kobe Bryant. The player in the league who knew Yang Mo best was Kobe Bryant, and Yang Mo was the only one who knew Kobe Bryant best. Yang Mo knew exactly where Kobe Bryant's weaknesses lay, but Kobe didn't. He only knew Yang Mo as his own shadow, a carbon copy in many ways. But today, his shadow had stabbed him, dug a trap for him. And it was a trap he had no choice but to fall into! Because he was Kobe, the Kobe Bryant who never gave up and yet dared not lose.
While the two were chatting, Wilt Chandler had already scored. He forced his way to the basket, drew a double-team, and passed the ball to Milicic, who easily scored a layup. The Knicks extended their lead to 17 points.
As the gap between the two teams widened, Kobe became increasingly anxious. He was torn between wanting to win the game and, even more so, to win the match against Yang Mo. In this dilemma, he ultimately chose to pass the ball. He came to the frontcourt, received the ball from Fisher, and quickly passed it to Pau Gasol in the paint.
Gasol received the ball, nudged Milicic twice, and then quickly used his gorgeous footwork to create an open space and quickly shot... Bang! Unfortunately, this wonderful move did not create a wonderful goal. This was his first shot of the game, so it was inevitable that he was a little unsure of the feel.
The iron-shot basketball was immediately snatched up by Yang Mo, who darted into the paint. After grabbing the rebound, Yang Mo quickly launched a fast break. He ran furiously, Kobe chasing him, his breathing becoming disordered. Just when he was about to give up, Yang Mo suddenly slowed down, turned around, and smiled at him: "Hey, old man, I was just teasing you on purpose."
Yang Mo's teasing made Kobe feel uncomfortable. At this moment, he had to admit that he was getting old. This sudden surge of energy was indeed a bit unbearable for him. He was old after all !
As Yang Mo slowed down, the Lakers' inside players quickly returned to the restricted area. Just as the Lakers' inside players entered the paint, Yang Mo, who was outside the three-point line, quickly started to move forward. Just as Kobe was about to move forward to block Yang Mo's path, Yang Mo's sudden start caught him off guard again. The two of them didn't even have a chance to see each other before Yang Mo once again shook him off.
After shaking off Kobe's defense, Yang Mo darted into the restricted area like a ghost. Before Lamar Odom could react, Yang Mo was already beside him. He tried to dodge, but Yang Mo rubbed against him and then... with a twisted motion, launched the ball... ding! The referee blew the whistle decisively, and swish! Just as the referee called a foul on Odom, the ball fell into the net!
Once again, two plus one!
The female fans at the scene immediately burst into the most enthusiastic cheers. They loved Yang Mo so much. No one in this stadium could win more than them and they liked Super Yang more than them.
"Now, I've tied your foul count again!" Yang Mo reminded him and quickly stepped up to the free throw line... I don't know if it was because he was too happy or what, but bang! Yang Mo actually missed the shot!
This rare missed shot actually stunned the Lakers' inside players. Could Super Yang also miss a free throw?
At the moment when they were stunned, Yang Mo had already rushed into the restricted area quickly. No one knew better than him where the basketball he shot would fall, so he easily got ahead of Gasol and controlled the ball in the air, and gently tapped it into the basket...Swish!
21 points!
The defending champions are already 21 points behind.
This is a shameful score difference. For Los Angeles fans, they would rather see the Clippers lose by 50 points than see the Lakers lose by 20 points. After all... the Lakers are their glory!
But at this moment, Kobe Bryant, the Grand Marshal of the Purple and Gold Army, was more worried about something else: This guy actually tied the game. What should I do? I can't lose, I can't lose, I have to get back at him!
It's clear that even at 30, Kobe Bryant remains impulsive, accustomed to prioritizing personal ambition over team glory. He's only concerned with not losing, not whether the Lakers win or not. Of course, this also has to do with the fact that this was just an ordinary, insignificant regular season game. He's certainly not going to be so concerned with "personal glory" in the playoffs, and certainly, Phil Jackson wouldn't allow him to do so.
So, back at half court, Kobe once again launched a drive, and his drive went just as he'd hoped: he was fouled. Gallinani couldn't help but reach out, trying to steal the ball from him. How could this obvious stealing attempt possibly work against Kobe? The referee blew the whistle, calling a foul!
This foul allowed Kobe to take the lead over Yang Mo again, but Yang Mo didn't pay much attention to it and continued to play the way he wanted.
However, Kobe seemed a bit hesitant. When he was ahead of Yang Mo, he always wanted to pass the ball to his teammates to get them involved in the game, but it didn't work very well. Whenever Yang Mo saw Kobe showing signs of playing team basketball, he would resort to fouling, forcing Kobe Bryant back into the habit of drawing fouls.
To Yang Mo, this wasn't a conspiracy; it was a blatant, open scheme to take advantage of Kobe Bryant. Who made him so careful about his reputation? If he had been a little more easygoing, a little less competitive, he wouldn't have been exploited by Yang Mo.
In this repetitive cycle, not only did the Lakers fail to develop good chemistry, but Kobe's own efficiency also declined significantly due to the constant interruptions in his passes. As a result, the score difference continued to widen, and soon it looked like a tragedy. In fact, before the end of the second quarter, many Lakers fans had already stood up and left. They simply did not have the mood to continue watching their home team being slaughtered.
And this is not the worst. The worst thing is that even though the Lakers lost by so many points, Kobe was still tied with Yang Mo in terms of fouls.
This is undoubtedly a sad story.
But if you look into the root cause, this is also a natural result. Kobe fell into a passive position from the beginning. He was swung back and forth on the scale of "individual" and "team" by Yang Mo. In this swing, it was impossible for him to do anything well, so this led to the team's big score behind, and at the same time he failed to get what he urgently needed.
If he had focused solely on drawing fouls, he might have left Yang Mo far behind. Similarly, if he had ignored personal honor and disgrace and played as a team, the team would have been even less likely to lose by so many points and would have even been ahead. After all, the Lakers' hard power far surpassed the Knicks.
