Chapter 479: My Own Way of Ruling
"I have to regretfully tell you that I will win tonight." Yang Mo gave Michael Jordan an apologetic smile: "I'm sorry, sorry!"
Yang Mo's apology was undoubtedly the highest level of provocation to Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan never forgave any opponent's provocation, so he took a deep breath and nodded at Yang Mo: "I accept your apology, but the victory is mine."
Although Michael Jordan did not glare and grit his teeth like Kobe Bryant, his anger could be easily felt.
However, Yang Mo wished Michael Jordan would go into a rage. No matter how powerful Michael Jordan was, as long as he had too much obsession, he would clash with the team. In comparison, the entire Chicago Bulls team was far more formidable. After all, basketball was a five-person competition, and even the God of Basketball couldn't do without his teammates.
Yang Mo expected an enraged Michael Jordan to go into isolation mode, much like his successor, Kobe Bryant. However, Yang Mo was disappointed. After returning to half court, Michael Jordan didn't resort to a one-on-one approach. Instead, he actively engaged the defense, using his powerful containment abilities to forcibly disrupt the Jazz's defensive system. This allowed his teammates to easily secure scoring opportunities. Soon, Ron Harbaugh received his pass and, facing an unguarded three-point line, easily slotted the ball into the net.
Michael Jordan had a very clear mind; he knew exactly what was best for the team. Kobe's scoring ability might not have been much different from Jordan's, but Jordan's ability to judge the overall situation and read the game was at least five blocks ahead of him. This is why, no matter how good he is, he can only hope to rank second on the NBA's all-time shooting guard list.
Jordan was so calm, and Yang Mo was no less. His ability to read the game was no less impressive than Michael Jordan's, so after returning to half court, he didn't fall into isolation. Instead, he ran a pick-and-roll with Karl Malone, quickly running down the court, drawing Rodman's close defense before passing the ball to Malone behind him. Malone, facing the mismatched defense of Scottie Pippen, naturally made a very easy mid-range shot.
Both Yang Mo and Michael Jordan chose to let their teammates resolve the battle. They both transformed themselves into electric eels among a school of sardines, constantly activating their teammates and facilitating their scoring.
In this situation, the score between the two teams was very close and slowly rising. Because Yang Mo hit the Bulls in the opening, the home team Salt Lake City was able to maintain a lead of five to six points.
This lead lasted until a minute before halftime. With the minutes ticking down and seconds ticking, the relentless Michael Jordan suddenly launched a fierce attack. He first stole the ball from Karl Malone through a double-team, then raced downcourt to sink a three-pointer. Then, taking advantage of Russell's missed mid-range shot, he grabbed the rebound and drove down the lane, drawing a foul from Ostertag and scoring a 2+1.
In less than twenty seconds, Michael Jordan turned a five-point deficit into a one-point lead.
At this moment, Yang Mo truly understood what a ruler meant.
Michael Jordan can go a whole game without taking a shot, but when he wants to score, there is no way to stop him. You can only watch him throw the ball into the basket, and the opponent has no way to stop it.
This is dominance! LeBron James, known as the best player in the league, is really weak compared to Jordan. James' scoring ability in the clutch is not even as good as Nate Robinson.
Michael Jordan showed his dominance, and Yang Mo's heart couldn't help but pound. Almost in an instant, he decided how to play the next ball.
He dribbled the ball back to half court, facing Scott Pippen's defense, he quickly bent down, lowered his head and made a quick breakthrough, instantly creating a one-step distance, but he did not break through. Instead, he suddenly stopped and took a step back, catching Scott Pippen off guard.
Taking advantage of Scott Pippen's unpreparedness, Yang Mo immediately prepared for a fadeaway jump shot, but just as he was about to raise the basketball, Michael Jordan suddenly appeared from the side, opened his arms and tried to slap Yang Mo's basketball away with a hard slap.
Seeing this, Yang Mo quickly abandoned his shot. He tried to pass, but Jordan completely blocked any chance of a pass. It was obvious this was a premeditated plan. Seeing that Scottie Pippen was about to double-team him, Yang Mo acted decisively, leaping high and slamming the ball hard into Pippen's shoulder... BANG! The basketball collided heavily with Scottie Pippen's shoulder, then quickly flew away... BEEP! The referee blew the whistle, signaling possession of the ball to the Jazz.
"John, we knew you would retaliate." Scott Pippen chuckled to Yang Mo, "You'll never be Michael Jordan. He always takes the initiative, while you just follow in his footsteps."
While Scott Pippen's words tinged with sarcasm, Yang Mo, upon closer reflection, felt they made perfect sense. She had indeed been influenced by Michael Jordan. Seeing his dominant scoring, she couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion. This was truly a case of imitating others. How could a ruler achieve success through imitation?
The reason why Kobe and Carter can never catch up with Michael Jordan is because they have been imitating Michael Jordan's way of handling things all their lives. However, there is only one Michael Jordan. No matter how well they do, they can only be second and can never reach the first.
Suddenly, Yang Mo had a sudden epiphany. He suddenly understood, but he didn't spare Scott Pippen: "So you didn't guess I was going to hit you in the shoulder with the ball?"
Yang Mo's words were also stinging. Obviously, Pippen had no answer to this rhetorical question, just like when he said to Karl Malone, "The postman doesn't work on Sundays."
Russell quickly passed the ball back to Yang Mo. After receiving the ball, Yang Mo didn't continue to force the attack. Instead, he summoned Karl Malone, used his body to quickly break through, rushed into the penalty area, attracted a double-team, and threw the ball into the air. Russell, who was running back on the other side, jumped high and slammed the ball into the basket.
"I will never follow in your footsteps. I will have my own way to dominate the game." Yang Mo said directly to Michael Jordan.
"It's none of my business." Michael Jordan curled his lips, looking nonchalant.
But in reality, he was surprised. So many people had challenged him over the years, but many of them were using Jordan's way of challenging Jordan. Wasn't that just courting death? Remember, the Jordan Rules were created by Jordan himself. How could you possibly defeat the creator?
Yang Mo didn't care about the discrepancy between Jordan's outward appearance and his inner self. He only knew he had to contain Jordan with his tough defense. He entangled Michael Jordan for the entire first half of the game, constantly using his body and speed to collide with Jordan. Jordan had excellent physical fitness, but he was old after all. Under the impact of Yang Mo's wild and beast-like body, he was somewhat overwhelmed.
Yang Mo clung to Jordan like a sticky candy, occasionally using his body to collide with him. In these situations, Jordan simply stopped holding the ball and continued to run to create space for the team. But in the end, Pippen's touch was slightly off, and his 18-foot shot was short, hitting the front of the basket. Yang Mo finally snatched the ball away before Dennis Rodman could reach it.
Seeing Yang Mo grab the rebound before him, Rodman couldn't help but feel curious: Could this guy also guess where the basketball would land? He was clearly standing farther away than me just now, how could he predict the landing point in advance?
In a sense, Yang Mo could be considered a smaller version of Dennis Rodman. He even had a sharper sense of rebounding than Rodman. So, it was not surprising that he could steal Rodman's rebounds.
Back in the half court, Yang Mo chose to break through and pass the ball again, but this time he did not pass the ball to the penalty area, but passed it to Hornacek outside the three-point line. Hornacek also performed well and hit the three-pointer steadily.
At this point, the second quarter ended with this buzzer-beating three-pointer. The Jazz led by four points into the second half.
Back in the locker room, Coach Sloan emphasized defense. He suggested Russell and Yang Mo should double-team Michael Jordan . However, Yang Mo offered a different interpretation of this strategy: "Leave Jordan to me. Russell should guard Ron Harper. We should first break up their triangle and disrupt their team's offensive rhythm. This will be more beneficial to our victory. As for Michael Jordan, I will use tenacious defense to make it difficult for him. Even if I can't stop him from scoring, I will make it extremely difficult for him to score."
"Can you really defend Michael by yourself?" Sloan said with some concern. "You have to know that once Michael Jordan gets angry, his fighting power can surpass the entire team."
"I will never let him have whatever he wants." Yang Mo answered firmly.
"Okay, Michael Jordan is left to you. Russell, you go deal with Ron Harbaugh. You have to block his passes. It's better to let him shoot than to let him pass the basketball into the inside." Sloan turned around and gave instructions to Russell.
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Mo continued to add: "You can let Ron Harbaugh pass the ball to Michael Jordan, but you must never let him pass the ball to Scottie Pippen. We must widen the gap in the third quarter and then reap the victory in the fourth quarter. Your performance is very crucial!"
"Yeah." Russell nodded heavily, he was very confident. As a defensive stalwart, although he couldn't defend Michael Jordan, he was still confident if he had to specifically defend Ron Harbaugh.
After Sloan laid out the perimeter defense strategy, he then focused on explaining the use of pick-and-roll tactics. Yang Mo benefited greatly from his explanation. Since he joined the professional basketball team, he had never received such academic tactical instruction.
