Chapter 468: Fighting Race
Regardless of what the commentators say, the definition of the game remains unchanged: both teams are playing to win. It's just that tonight at Madison Square Garden is a little different.
Before the game started, Yang Mo emphasized to his teammates not to be disturbed by the fans. No matter what noise they made on the court, they should ignore them and just focus on playing their own game.
Sloan also told his players the same thing. There was no way around it. For most people, the significance of the game had become secondary, with the most important thing becoming the off-court battle between Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Alba.
As Yang Mo had anticipated, when she entered the stadium, she didn't hear her name being called. Instead, she heard "Scarlett!" and "Jessica!" Madison Square Garden was already divided into two camps, and the atmosphere instantly reached a fever pitch with the confrontation. To be fair, they were even more enthusiastic than basketball fans!
"Is this the Oscars?"
Yang Mo couldn't help but complain in his heart. Just as he was complaining, Scarlett Johansson, who was sitting on the sidelines, suddenly stood up and walked towards him, giving him a big hug: "I'm serious. I swear I've never been so serious before."
Scarlett Johansson whispered these words in Yang Mo's ear, and then Yang Mo heard thunderous shouts from the entire audience: Scarlett! Scarlett! Scarlett!
Yes, Scarlett Johansson's supporters went wild over the hug. They seemed to have seen the dawn of victory, and they roared with excitement. In contrast, Jessica's supporters were silent. At that moment, Jessica Alba stood up and prepared to approach Yang Mo, but Madison Square Garden security quickly intervened. They first pulled Scarlett back to her seat and warned her not to approach the court, or she would be ejected. They then reminded Jessica Alba not to do anything drastic.
With the intervention of security, the fight between the two did not escalate further and the game was able to start normally.
The Utah Jazz fielded a lineup consisting of center Okur, power forward Boozer, small forward Kirilenko, shooting guard Korver, and point guard Deron Williams. The Knicks, on the other hand, used their consistent starting lineup from recent games: center Milicic, power forward Turiaf, small forward Tracy McGrady, shooting guard Yang Mo, and point guard Tony Allen.
The Knicks' lineup is mainly based on defense, while the offense relies heavily on McGrady's support and Yang Mo's singles.
drop!
The referee blew the whistle, and Milicic quickly jumped up and enthusiastically passed the ball to Tony Allen. After winning the ball, Milicic immediately ran to Yang Mo's side, bent over and excitedly said, "Yang, can I play a few more singles tonight? I spotted Paris. She finally appeared on the sidelines again."
Milicic pointed in a direction on the left side of the court and said, Yang Mo subconsciously looked in the direction of his finger, and sure enough, he saw Paris Hilton. At the same time, he also saw Lu Xuefei, Emma Watson, Taylor Swift and... Stuart Kristen.
Oops!
Yang Mo subconsciously let out a wail in her heart. When these women appeared in such a large group, including Lu Xuefei, wasn't it obvious? This was the rhythm of opening up a new harem, but... many of these women had nothing to do with her at all. "Lu Xuefei, that's enough! I'd rather be without than have something bad, not rather have something bad than be without."
"Yang, Yang, what's wrong?" Milicic saw Yang Mo suddenly lapse into a daze and couldn't help but push Yang Mo. Yang Mo finally came to his senses under his push. After shaking his head vigorously to dispel these bad thoughts, he nodded and replied quickly, "Okay, no problem. If you have an open position, I will definitely let Tracy pass the ball to you."
"Well, okay." After getting the answer, Milicic immediately blew a kiss to Paris Hilton, then ran quickly to the frontcourt like a happy little deer.
Although Milicic was so happy, Yang Mo was a little unhappy. He shook his head helplessly, and after getting rid of the last trace of negative emotions in his heart, he concentrated on the game.
As soon as Yang Mo arrived at the frontcourt, Kirilenko quickly followed closely behind him. His towering stature made Yang Mo seem smaller than he actually was. Kirilenko's long arms also blocked Yang Mo's ability to catch the ball. In this situation, Yang Mo quickly gestured to Tony Allen, telling him to pass the ball to McGrady, who would then do the damage.
Tony Allen received the instruction, feinted two drives, and quickly passed the ball to McGrady. McGrady received the ball and faced Korver's defense, but he immediately gave up the idea of passing. Although he was getting older and his body was declining, he still felt confident standing next to Korver. After all, Korver's physical fitness was not great, and his defense was even worse. He was just a three-point shooter, nothing to be afraid of.
And that was indeed the case. McGrady bent down and dribbled a few times, which completely created an opening. Then he shot very easily... Swoosh! McGrady made a steady mid-range shot.
Watching McGrady take the lead for the team, Knicks general manager Isaiah Thomas, sitting on the sidelines, couldn't help but shake his head helplessly: "How great it would be if it was McGrady in his prime. He and Yang Mo teamed up, one in the mid-range, the other invincible from beyond the arc, and they could win the championship. This combination is definitely better than the Jordan-Pippen combination!"
With this thought, Thomas pulled out the small notebook he always kept in his pocket and began ticking off names. These were all big names among big names. After a long pause, he circled Carmelo Anthony's name: "Carmelo can work with Iverson, so he can definitely work with Young. He doesn't have a dominant personality, so it's possible he could be the team's second-string. The center position is already confirmed to be Chandler. Chandler's offensive firepower isn't great, so adding him would make it perfect!"
As he was thinking, he suddenly put a small cross on Anthony's name, and then drew a circle around Chris Paul's head next to him: "Anthony can't pass the ball, but Paul can. But... Paul is a little too sticky with the ball, which is the opposite of Super Yang. Alas... You can't have it both ways!!"
Isaiah Thomas's brow furrowed in frustration. The problem facing him was incredibly complex. First, the Knicks needed a playmaking point guard. Second, they needed a second offensive player capable of disrupting the opponent's system. Finally, they needed a defensive barrier in the paint. However, all three of these factors had to be integrated with Super Yang's style of play. Therefore, it was a particularly difficult situation. Unless Yang Mo could become a passing master overnight, he would continue to fret.
While he was worried, Jazz's Boozer scored easily. A very simple pick-and-roll screen gave Boozer an open shot, and then Deron passed the ball to him, and he hit the mid-range shot steadily.
So efficient!
Yang Mo had to admire Sloan's methods. Under his system, there was no need for superstars to play freely. Everything ran according to his ideas. Scoring goals was too easy and did not waste any energy.
Unfortunately, in this era of individual heroism, only big three-pointers and exciting dunks can attract fans' attention. As for steady mid-range shots, people no longer like to watch them. Moreover, a point guard who passes the ball in a disciplined manner will be regarded as lacking in spirit.
This is the contradiction between Sloan and Deron. Deron is also a young man who loves fame and fortune. He doesn't want to be left too far behind by Chris Paul. Yang Mo, on the other hand, has the exact opposite idea. Yang Mo is now the most popular star in the league, but he desperately wants a fixed system to run his team.
People by the river envy those on the boat, and people on the boat envy those by the river. Perhaps all of this is due to human dissatisfaction.
The game was still going on. As Kirilenko was chasing him closely, Yang Mo was too lazy to waste energy to fight him and just let McGrady handle it. Anyway, McGrady was more than capable of dealing with a guy like Korver.
After a while, it became a duel between McGrady and the Jazz duo, both shooting with very high accuracy. So, after nearly eight minutes, the game was still tied. Yang Mo, the player so eagerly anticipated by countless fans, scored zero points. He didn't even touch the ball, just running back and forth, appearing completely relaxed.
Yang Mo chose to take it easy, but Kirilenko couldn't stand it. The Russian player had the temperament of a fighting race. After Yang Mo's repeated back-and-forth runs, Kirilenko finally lost his patience and couldn't help but taunt Yang Mo, "Hey, Chinese boy, when are you going to stop being such a coward? Don't you love the spotlight? Why don't you attack me when you see me? Are you scared???"
Are you scared?
Yang Mo frowned, looked up at Kirilenko, who was a head taller than him, and asked with his head tilted, "Are you complaining that I didn't beat you to pieces?"
"Haha." Kirilenko grinned with the arrogance that was unique to his race, and said unscrupulously, "You don't even dare to touch the ball, and you still want to beat me? You're just a movie star who bullies the weak and fears the strong."
As he said this, he even gave Yang Mo a thumbs-down gesture.
It's indeed a Russian bear, indeed a fighting race, with the blood of "I'll be uncomfortable if I don't commit suicide" flowing through his body. He actually dared to provoke Yang Mo like this .
"Very good." Yang Mo nodded and smiled slightly: "Since you have made this wish, I will fulfill it immediately."
As the two men engaged in verbal attacks, Sloan requested a timeout.
"I'll wait for you!" Kirilenko said this to Yang Mo and quickly ran back to the bench.
Yang Mo grinned when he heard that, but secretly clenched his fists.
