Chapter 490: Glory is my life
Yang Mo slowly bent down, then pushed his left foot back. Even a fool could see Yang Mo was going to break through, and Nelson certainly saw it too. But... could he really stop him?
At one point, Nelson even thought it might be a fake move by Yang Mo.
But in the blink of an eye, Yang Mo, at explosive speed, had already swept past him from his left. He tried to block her, but he couldn't keep up. Instead, half of his shoulder was paralyzed. How could his body possibly stop Yang Mo, who was as powerful as a small tank? Even though half of his shoulder was paralyzed, Yang Mo showed mercy.
After Yang Mo easily crushed Nelson's defense, he immediately made a sudden stop and then took a jump shot...Swish!
The ball went into the net with ease, just as easily and cleanly as he had passed Nelson. There didn't seem to be any tactical planning involved; it was just a simple, unforced victory, a fair and honest crushing victory.
However, Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy still believed there must be some conspiracy behind this: What exactly was Young trying to do ? Why did he put so many attackers on the court, but instead of passing the ball to them, he went it alone? What was this conspiracy?
Stan Van Gundy racked his brains to figure out what Yang Mo was up to. His brother, Jeff Van Gundy, also carefully deliberated on the TNT broadcast: "Yang's highly mobile lineup is definitely an attempt to wear down the Magic with a diverse offense, but... I don't think the Magic will be slower than the Knicks. Furthermore, the Magic have a superstar center, which is the key to their victory."
"Logically speaking, the Magic players are far better than the Knicks. Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Matt Barnes, Nelson, Ryan Anderson, Courtney Lee, these are all very good players with both offensive and defensive abilities, and they also have super center Dwight Howard. In comparison, the Knicks only have Super Yang who can come up with something special, and the rest are almost all fringe players in the league." Collins also said this, he still prefers the Magic.
"If every game was a direct comparison of player strength, then there would be no suspense about the outcome. If the Knicks were really that weak, how could they have swept the defending champions twice this season? How could they have upset the Celtics twice? How could they have beaten the Cavaliers?" Barkley, seeing his two partners' disdain for their idol, immediately stood up to defend the Knicks: "Besides, even if the other Knicks players were not good enough, Super Yang could single-handedly turn the game around. I've said long ago that if Super Yang learned to pass, he would be the league's greatest weapon, and not even LeBron James could compare."
"Super Yang is powerful, but he's not enough to turn the game around on his own. Remember, this is the playoffs, and there are players here who are more aggressive than him." Jeff Van Gundy immediately retorted, "And his height already determines his ceiling."
"Is his height a definite ceiling? Haha!" Charles Barkley sneered and said unceremoniously, "The only person on this planet who can play from the five position to the one position is Super Yang, and he can maintain a strong level in all five positions."
"Your boasting will hurt him. Do you think he can defend Howard..."
Jeff Van Gundy hadn't finished his words when gasps of surprise erupted from the stadium. They glanced at the screen, which was showing a replay of Yang Mo's one-handed block on Howard.
When Jeff Van Gundy saw Yang Mo jump up like a grasshopper and then fiercely slap Howard's one-handed hook shot out of the court, he shut his mouth instantly. He felt as if he had said something wrong.
At this time, Charles Barkley was already explaining himself: "You see, this is the difference between a great defender and a smart defender. Before Howard received the ball, Super Yang had not put any pressure on him. They did not even have physical contact and deliberately created some safe distance for Howard. But when Howard received the ball, he immediately used powerful force to carry out oppressive defense. Howard's weak lower limb strength was instantly destroyed. He was forced to retreat backwards and finally jumped in an extremely narrow space. At this time, Super Yang had already been waiting in the air for a long time and slapped the basketball out of the court with a slap."
After Charles Barkley vividly explained Yang Mo's block in detail, he glanced provocatively at Jeff Van Gundy: "This block should tell some people that height is not a reason for lack of dominance. None of the guys who dominated the rebounds in the 1990s were over seven feet tall. If strength was determined by height, then... wouldn't Bradley have dominated the league long ago?"
Every word Charles Barkley said landed on Van Gundy's cheek, making him blush.
"Height isn't the only criterion for determining strength, but if Super Yang's height is indeed a bit misplaced," Collins said, noting the awkward atmosphere, "If Yang had Howard's height, Howard wouldn't have been able to even take that shot."
"If Yang had Howard's height, there would definitely be people who would say that Yang is so strong because of his height." Barkley smiled faintly, but his tone was still mocking: "So, it's better to slap them in the face in this direct way."
Barkley's tone was full of sarcasm and innuendo to the extreme.
Although Van Gundy found it harsh and felt uncomfortable, he still forced himself to suppress the urge to argue.
Jeff Van Gundy could hold back his inner roar, but Stan Van Gundy couldn't. When Dwight Howard was blocked, he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Dunk, Dwight, you should dunk, don't hide from him, he's not as tall as you, you have more physical advantages than him!"
Stan Van Gundy's yelling made Howard, who was blocked, even more upset. He thought to himself, "If you can do it, go for it! Don't you know this guy is as strong as a bull? You think I don't want to dunk? I can't squeeze in!"
Howard complained bitterly. After the serve was restarted, he tried to continue to block the ball, but Yang Mo didn't give him another chance. Yang Mo aggressively harassed him, constantly moving forward and squeezing him. In this situation, Howard had no way to gain a foothold and ultimately failed to block the ball.
At this point, Rashard Lewis on the perimeter used a back-run to get out of position, received a pass from Nelson, and attempted a jump shot. However, the jump shot wasn't smooth, as Anthony Randolph's enormous wingspan and athleticism created a blockade effect that seemed to block the sky.
In the end, the basketball missed the target, and Yang Mo grabbed the defensive rebound before Howard. Then he continued to slow down the pace and slowly moved forward.
Watching Yang Mo's team moving forward, Stan Van Gundy was still full of questions. He still firmly believed that Yang Mo was carrying out a conspiracy. He concluded that Yang Mo would suddenly come up with a clever idea to hit them and take away the victory.
In truth, Yang Mo didn't have any ulterior motives. His slow pace wasn't a conspiracy. He was simply exhausted. Not only did he have to battle Howard in the paint, but he also had to dribble and direct the offense—two of the most tiring jobs on the basketball court. Could he not slow down to maintain his stamina for forty-eight minutes? If he started rushing back and forth from the start, wouldn't he be exhausted before the second half even started?
Stan Van Gundy was so worried that his worry blinded him. He did not make any personnel adjustments on the court. He still let Nelson defend Yang Mo.
What the hell is Nelson? His mouth cannon might be a bit powerful, but if he were to defend Yang Mo, wouldn't he be blown to pieces in a matter of minutes?
Therefore, it was almost effortless for Yang Mo to score the goal extremely easily. With a slightly larger change of direction, he shook off Nelson, and then made a jump shot directly from outside the three-point line. The basketball obediently went into the net.
5:0.
By the time Stan Van Gundy was worried about the impending conspiracy, the Knicks had already built a five-point lead.
Over the next three minutes, the Magic scored a few baskets on the run, but they failed to adjust their defense at point guard. It wasn't until Yang Mo scored 17 points, extending the lead to double digits, that Stan Van Gundy finally realized what was happening and called a timeout. With three minutes left in the first quarter, the Knicks led 27-17.
Yang Mo hadn't anticipated this outcome. He'd originally intended to use this transitional lineup to drag out the game for a quarter, even a ten-point deficit would have been acceptable. Unexpectedly, this lineup actually gave him a ten-point lead. This was completely unexpected, like a godsend.
Returning to the bench, Yang Mo quickly made lineup adjustments. He didn't think that this lineup could maintain the leading advantage in the future .
"Turiayev, next I hope you can hold off Dwight Howard. Remember, he can score, but he can't dunk. Our penalty area requires you to defend with your life. Can you do it?" Yang Mo stared at Turiayev and asked very solemnly.
"Yes!" Turiaf said with great determination, gritting his teeth. Then he held his heart with his right hand and whispered softly in the language of his motherland.
At this moment, Yang Mo was a little stunned. He suddenly felt that there seemed to be a kind of jihadist mental state on Turiaf's face.
At this time, Anthony Randolph next to him couldn't help but ask: "Hey, man, what were you mumbling about just now?"
"French, glory is my life!" Turiaf looked solemn, as if this was his regret before going to the battlefield.
