Chapter 50

"Regardless of what Yang Mo does on the court, it cannot be denied that his NBA debut is the best among Chinese players. Yao Ming only scored two points and one rebound in his first game, but Yang Mo, who has only been on the court for a minute, has already achieved this and even added a block. The American media can temporarily put aside the question of whether Yang Mo is a fraud, because just now, as the eighth pick, Yang Mo mercilessly outplayed the second pick, Stromile Swift, who was once hailed by the American media as a super rookie with unlimited potential." The CCTV commentator said during the timeout, naturally supporting his compatriot as a Chinese.

And what he said was indeed an objective fact. After this game, in the United States, the voices questioning Yang Mo's ability would definitely weaken.

"Haslem, you go to the bench, Magloire, you come in." Under Pat Riley's guidance, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra put Magloire in the center position, as he had already guessed that the Nets would definitely put Brook Lopez on the court. Although he strongly supported Yang Mo's performance against Lopez, now was not the time for them to face each other directly.

This was actually Yang Mo's initiative. When talking to Pat Riley about this, Yang Mo even mentioned a Chinese saying: "Strike while the iron is hot, the second time it cools, and the third time it is exhausted."

When Lopez came on the court, he would definitely be full of anger, ready to settle the score with Yang Mo. But... Yang Mo would not confront him directly, allowing his momentum to gradually weaken, and then strike decisively.

Pat Riley deeply agreed with Yang Mo's approach. He felt that he had truly found a gem. At the beginning, when Yang Mo roared and taunted the fans on the court, he was slightly worried, fearing that he had chosen an emotionally driven player. But after hearing Yang Mo's explanation, he understood everything. It turned out that everything Yang Mo did was for victory, even the technical fouls were carefully planned. He liked smart players, and even more, players who could control their emotions. Yang Mo had both. How could he not be proud of such a player?

Beep!

Soon, the game resumed, and Brook Lopez indeed stepped onto the court.

When Lopez entered the game, the entire arena erupted in cheers, with everyone shouting his name as if welcoming a superhero. For the Nets fans, their greatest wish now was for Lopez to teach the arrogant Yang Mo a lesson. They could not tolerate Yang Mo's repeated arrogance on the court.

"Hmph."

Amidst the cheers, Yang Mo sneered, muttering to himself: The happier you are now, the more miserable I will make you later. You are putting all your hopes on the useless Lopez, which means you are destined to leave this arena with a heavy heart tonight.

After the referee announced the start of the game, Yang Mo followed Yi Jianlian. This scene immediately excited the Chinese fans watching the game: Is the Chinese derby finally here?

The Chinese fans were eagerly awaiting the Chinese derby, but Lopez was clearly angry, feeling deceived. He loudly said to Yang Mo, "Kid, your opponent is me! Are you afraid now?"

Yang Mo didn't even look at him, giving him a glare and continuing to defend Yi Jianlian.

Yang Mo's act of ignoring Lopez made him very upset, as if he had swallowed dozens of flies. He gritted his teeth and cursed in his heart: What is this? How dare you ignore me! Just wait, kid. I'll show you the price of ignoring me.

Lopez's mental fortitude was undoubtedly several levels below Yang Mo's. Yang Mo could face the boos of over 20,000 fans and even taunt them with a silencing gesture. Lopez, however, lost his composure due to Yang Mo's small act of ignoring him. With such mental fortitude, he would not achieve greatness.

After Devin Harris brought the ball to the front court, he immediately called for Yi Jianlian to set a screen near the free-throw line. Although Yi Jianlian was the sixth pick last year, his status in the Nets was not particularly high, basically serving as a mobile cannon.

Yi Jianlian set a screen for Devin Harris, but Yang Mo did not follow him, instead standing a step behind the free-throw line, waiting. He did not believe in Harris's three-point shooting ability.

And Harris did not disappoint. After using Yi Jianlian's screen to create space, he did not directly shoot a three-pointer but instead dribbled the ball at high speed toward the interior, attempting to directly attack the Heat's interior defense.

How could Yang Mo let him succeed? He immediately stepped forward and tightly stuck to Harris. As soon as Yang Mo got close, Harris felt as if he was squeezed by a bull, almost losing the ball. This way, breaking through to the interior was completely out of the question.

At this moment, Lopez was actively positioning himself in the interior and quickly received the ball.

Lopez caught the ball and forcefully pushed Magloire's back twice. Magloire, being old, was almost falling apart, and could not withstand Lopez's impact. He immediately retreated two steps.

Seeing Lopez's aggressive performance on the court, the fans were excited, almost singing. They had been suppressed by Yang Mo, and now it was finally their turn to feel vindicated. They were already imagining Lopez, like Shaquille O'Neal, pushing the old Magloire aside and then spinning for a slam dunk.

Unfortunately, Lopez was not Shaquille O'Neal. Moreover, among the ten players on the court, the one closest to Shaquille O'Neal was not someone else, but the very Yang Mo they hated.

Under the enthusiastic expectations of over 20,000 fans, Lopez inevitably wilted. After pushing Magloire four or five times, he finally ran out of strength. Although Magloire was old, he was once an All-Star, and even a thin camel is bigger than a horse. His 2.21-meter frame was a mass of over 300 pounds.

After pushing Magloire three or four times, Lopez immediately turned around and used a slide step to instantly shift Magloire's center of gravity. This was not a high-level move, but it drew cheers from the entire arena, as if Lopez had performed a spectacular dribble.

Amidst the cheers, Lopez looked very happy. After completely shaking off Magloire, he leaped high and raised the ball, preparing to slam it into the rim.

Just as he raised the ball, the court echoed with Vince Carter's shout: "No!"

Lopez heard the shout but didn't react in time. He suddenly felt a huge shadow loom behind him, completely enveloping him. By the time he reacted and tried to quickly shoot the ball off the backboard... *Slap!*

He felt the ball being heavily slapped, the sound piercing his eardrums. The ball was then viciously slammed into the backboard and quickly rebounded backward.

When he turned around, Dwyane Wade was already sprinting to the front court with the ball.

"Did you think you were a combination of Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon just now? I know both of them well, and you are probably one percent O'Neal and one thousandth Olajuwon. By the way, the game has just started, please try harder, don't let the result lose its suspense too early."

At this moment, Yang Mo's cold and disdainful voice entered his ears.

This made him very angry, but he was helpless. Who could blame him for being blocked by this kid? He silently vowed to block him back and not let this guy be 'arrogant' for too long.

Yang Mo, however, did not care about his 'vow' or his anger. His goal was to make him uncomfortable. As Lopez trembled with anger, Yang Mo turned around, smiling and sending a flying kiss to Jessica sitting on the sidelines, deliberately shouting in English: "Jessica, this block is for you, I hope you like it."

The Nets fans, hearing this, became even angrier. Was he treating the court as a place to flirt?

But, so what?

Make your players better!