Chapter 461: Risky Strategy
Phil Jackson, who was sitting over there, seemed a little surprised that Yang Mo called a timeout so quickly. He didn't expect Yang Mo's reaction to be so sharp and decisive. He would respond immediately when the situation was slightly wrong. Even those famous coaches might not have such keen insight!
However, Phil Jackson didn't believe Yang Mo could make any effective adjustments. The Knicks only had a few capable players, and switching them around wouldn't produce any results. He believed that as long as the Lakers played steadily and at their normal level, the Knicks would be hard to shake. After all, their strength was clear.
Phil Jackson thought Yang Mo couldn't make a counterattack, and Yang Mo actually thought so. When he sat back on the bench and looked at the players there, he suddenly fell silent, his brow furrowed. The current situation was simply a case of a good cook having no rice to cook.
We must sign two strong inside players in the summer, otherwise we will have no chance of playing against strong teams.
Yang Mo shook his head helplessly and sighed twice.
Stan, who was standing by, shook his head and sighed when he saw Yang Mo coming down, but he didn't know how to ask. After a while, he said, "Yang, the timeout is almost up. Do you want to make some arrangements?"
Hearing Stan's words, Yang Mo finally woke up. He looked up at the players around him, then glanced at Stan, and slowly said, "Call another long timeout."
Another long timeout?
Stan was completely confused. He had no idea what the meaning of Yang Mo's actions was, but he still acted quickly and went to the referee to ask for a long timeout.
When Phil Jackson saw the Knicks call another timeout, he immediately smiled. He was filled with confidence. He believed Yang Mo wouldn't be able to come up with a good strategy in this situation. However, he also hoped Yang Mo would do something surprising. He wanted to compete with Yang Mo in a battle of wits and courage. As a head coach, the most exciting thing was to brainstorm with the opposing head coach.
Yang Mo hesitated for a long time with the tactical board in hand, looked around at his teammates, and finally made a decision: "The next players to play with me are Turiaf, Jeffries, Tracy McGrady and Tony Allen. Turiaf, you go to defend Lamar Odom, you were teammates before, I believe you must have a good way to create difficulties for him. Jeffries, you defend Kobe, your task is to stop Kobe from passing the ball, and never let him connect the Lakers' attack points. Tony, your task is also defense, focus on assist defense, and you need to keep running on the outside. Tracy, your task is the most important, next you will be the core, you have unlimited firepower, I hope you can find your former self, you used to be the only outside player in the league who could suppress Kobe, I believe in you!"
When Yang Mo made this move, the players were puzzled, but Stein, standing nearby, immediately saw Yang Mo's frustration. The Lakers were a strong team both inside and outside, but the Knicks were weak inside and outside, so Yang Mo could only push himself inside. With the half-invalided Tracy McGrady supporting the perimeter, it looked like at least a dual-core operation. He barely managed to counter each move!
If the Knicks had an All-Star perimeter player and a slightly tougher tall center, plus Yang Mo, they could definitely go against the Lakers, but unfortunately, the Knicks have neither. They only have Super Yang, so they can only use this strategy to deal with the Lakers, a team of fierce opponents.
While Yang Mo was making personnel adjustments, ESPN discussed Yang Mo's bizarre timeout: "This is so weird. Super Yang actually called a timeout, and two in a row. It's only been less than half a minute since the start of the game? Was Super Yang scared by Odom's dunk? Impossible? The Knicks are still leading by 39 points. Is... Super Yang going to declare garbage time? That doesn't make sense. Declaring garbage time doesn't require calling a ."
"Didn't you notice that Kobe passed the ball just now? The dunk was not the most deadly thing. The most deadly thing was that Kobe Bryant changed his playing style. Super Yang knows better than anyone how powerful a normal Lakers team is, so he is so cautious. He certainly doesn't want the Lakers to narrow the gap by more than ten points before making adjustments, because in this way, the Knicks will be more passive. It is safer to carry out targeted defense from the beginning." Chris Webber explained.
"Yes, Kobe Bryant has woken up and is back on the right track. So that guy was scared, he was scared, he was trembling! So... he started calling timeouts one after another!" Steve Kerr said happily. From the words he used, it was not difficult to see that he was unwilling to give Yang Mo even one more neutral word. All of them were negative sarcasm.
As Steve Kerr was making his sarcastic remarks, the game resumed. When Phil Jackson saw the five Knicks players take to the court, he was a bit surprised: Was this short lineup going to be a run-and-gun game? Why not put Gallinari in there? Jeffries and Tony Allen are both defensive players, right? And Turiaf is also a defensive player. Could it be that... Super Yang was going to give the offensive firepower to Tracy McGrady, that guy with the damaged knee?
Phil Jackson was completely taken aback. He hadn't guessed Yang Mo's true intentions. It wasn't until he saw Yang Mo diving into the paint that he suddenly realized what was going on. He slapped his head: This guy 's actually going for a dual-core offense. Does he really consider himself a post player? Even if he could replace a post player, McGrady couldn't possibly be the core of the perimeter.
If McGrady were five years younger and Yang Mo were ten centimeters taller, this lineup might have made the Phil Jackson nervous. But now... the Phil Jackson wouldn't. He would just think Yang Mo was a little too naive, trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm, and overestimating his own abilities.
The Phil Jackson doesn't think the Knicks can maintain their lead with this lineup. He even thinks this lineup will doom the Knicks and make it easier for the Lakers to regain lost ground.
But soon, the Zen Master was stunned. After receiving the ball from Tony Allen at the top left of the free throw line, McGrady suddenly turned his back to face Ron Artest's defense. Just as Ron Artest was about to put more pressure on McGrady, McGrady's arm suddenly shook, and the ball went into the penalty area at an unpredictable angle. Before the Lakers players could react, a dark figure suddenly appeared in the penalty area and grabbed the ball with a giant hand.
At this moment, Pau Gasol rushed to defend. He tried to use his height advantage to tap the ball, but he missed and it hit the hand. The hand used his strength to gently push the ball... Swoosh! The ball went into the net!
Ding! The referee blew the whistle very perceptively, indicating that Pau Gasol had committed a hand foul, and Yang Mo was given another free throw!
Two plus one!
Very nice two plus one!
As expected, the fans at the scene erupted in thunderous cheers and screams. However, Yang Mo tilted his head to Jessica Alba behind the Lakers bench and asked, "Can you tell me how many fouls Kobe drew tonight?"
"10 times!" Jessica quickly told Yang Mo the answer.
After hearing this, Yang Mo stood on tiptoe and asked Johnson Scarlett in the back half of the court, "So, how many fouls do I have now?"
"10 times!" Scarlett Johansson answered in a hoarse voice, with full momentum, as if to suppress Jessica Alba here.
Judging from the way he treated the two goddesses who pursued him, Yang Mo was a fair person. He never favored one over the other. He assigned work to both of them, and the boundaries of the work were clear and he would never cross the line.
"Hey, Kobe, did you hear that? I've caught up to you in terms of fouls!" Yang Mo chuckled at Kobe Bryant and goaded him, "Forget about winning. You can't make a comeback. You might as well think about how to beat me in terms of fouls. That's more realistic."
"Shut up!" Kobe was furious at what Yang Mo said. He had finally convinced himself to put the team first, but now Yang Mo provoked him again and again, which made him anxious and anxious. In desperation, he could only swear.
Facing Kobe Bryant's aggressive momentum, Yang Mo just shrugged his shoulders and walked to the free throw line easily...Swish!
He made the free throw with absolute certainty, it couldn't be easier.
The score difference returned to 42 points.
Phil Jackson was not too anxious about the score difference hitting a new high. He believed that the Knicks' lineup would not be able to last three rounds, and by then their true colors would be exposed, and they would be defeated.
He was so confident in his prediction because he knew Tracy McGrady so well. Tracy McGrady had never been one to withstand pressure; he always buckled under immense pressure. He believed that the now-half-crippled McGrady would be even more vulnerable, so he made no adjustments. He simply waved his hand, signaling the Lakers to continue operating as normal and pressure the Knicks.
The Lakers returned to half court and immediately encountered considerable resistance. Turiaf, as Yang Mo had predicted, exploited Odom's weaknesses, causing him immense trouble. Jeffries's long arms also made it difficult for Kobe to find his passing path inside. Gasol was even worse off, facing a powerful swerve from Yang Mo. Kobe Bryant had no choice but to resolve the situation with a single jump shot.
The moment Kobe scored, Yang Mo shouted loudly: yes!
He was extremely happy, even happier than if he had scored a goal.
