Chapter 52

Although the game had not yet ended, the confrontation between Yang Mo and Lopez had already determined a winner. Yang Mo, who had been on the court for only three minutes, seemed like a god descending from heaven, majestic and awe-inspiring. He played a crucial role both in defense and offense. In fact, if one were to cover up the jersey numbers of Yang Mo and Wade, anyone would think that the core of the Heat team was Yang Mo, because from the very beginning, Yang Mo had controlled the pace of the game.

In contrast, Lopez, who had boasted before the game that he would dominate Yang Mo, scored no points, was blocked once, committed a foul, and received a technical foul. Besides these embarrassing statistics, his poor performance on the court disappointed his fans greatly. They had originally thought that Lopez would completely outshine the short Chinese player, Yang Mo, but now it seemed that Lopez should be grateful if he didn't get completely humiliated.

No one had expected Yang Mo to be so strong; it exceeded everyone's expectations, even Pat Riley's. Despite hearing the coach who trained Yang Mo praise his learning ability throughout the summer, Riley never imagined that Yang Mo would be a one-in-a-million game player. No wonder Yang Mo said he was a practical player during his first tryout. Fortunately, he didn't reject Yang Mo due to his seemingly average physical attributes, or he would have lost a true genius.

There are two types of geniuses. One is the physical genius, like Kwame Brown, who are considered geniuses but are ultimately called busts because they lack the game temperament and can't find their rhythm on the court. The other type is like Allen Iverson and Dennis Rodman, who may lack physical attributes in some areas but can use their incredible willpower and desire to win to maximize their advantages, play their style on the court, and help their team win in their own way.

Yang Mo is the second type of genius. As soon as he steps on the court, Pat Riley can feel a killing intent, a determination to secure victory.

The game soon resumed. Since it was predicted that Frank would bench Lopez, the Heat's head coach, Erik Spoelstra, replaced Magloire with Haslem, and the 6'5" Yang Mo continued to play as the center. This was an interesting lineup, with the center being almost as tall as the point guard, and the tallest player being the small forward, Beasley, at 6'8".

The Nets, on the other hand, replaced Lopez with Nenad Krstic, a tough player who, although not tall, was still half a head taller than Yang Mo. Frank replaced Lopez with the strong and powerful Krstic to counter Yang Mo's strength and rebounding ability. He wanted to match strength with strength, thinking that a super blue-collar player who was also taller would be a better match.

Frank's substitution strategy was correct, but he underestimated Yang Mo, who was never a blue-collar player.

Back on the court, Yang Mo, noticing that his defender had changed to Krstic, decided not to go inside the paint but to stay outside the three-point line. Krstic was taken aback, thinking: What's this kid doing? Isn't he the one who loves to show off his muscles and strength in the paint? Why is he staying outside the three-point line now? Isn't he playing as the center?

Krstic was confused, but Yang Mo quickly provided an explanation. Mario Chalmers, after dribbling a few times outside the three-point line without finding a teammate, passed the ball to Yang Mo, hoping he could facilitate the play.

But when Yang Mo received the ball, he didn't look for other teammates; he immediately took a jump shot.

When Yang Mo shot, Krstic was completely caught off guard. He didn't expect Yang Mo to shoot, and neither did anyone else on the court.

In everyone's astonishment, swish!

The basketball sailed through the air in a beautiful arc and smoothly went through the net!

The entire crowd was stunned.

Can this guy really shoot threes???

The Nets fans couldn't believe their eyes.

Yang Mo, however, was already celebrating, shaking his head and waving three fingers, moving his head from side to side as if he were dancing the Xinjiang dance.

The gesture was comical, but no one in the crowd could laugh because the ball went into their net.

"Tell me, is my three-point shot good?" After dancing the Xinjiang dance, Yang Mo put his hand to his ear and shouted to the Girls' Generation on the sidelines.

"Excellent!" The nine girls simultaneously gave a thumbs up. At that moment, they didn't care about the company's ban; they couldn't ignore their "oppa" who was interacting with them.

"YES!" Yang Mo excitedly waved, as if he had received the world's approval.

Yang Mo's showboating was too much for the Nets fans, who began to boo loudly.

But Yang Mo didn't care. He shrugged and joked with Krstic, "Uncle, I'm different from you. My specialty is shooting. Rebounding in the paint is just a hobby. So, next time you defend me, pay extra attention. Don't let me shoot threes like this again, or your coach will criticize you."

If Yang Mo had said this to Lopez, Lopez would have punched him in anger. But Krstic was different. He had played in the league for eight or nine years and had never been provoked by even the likes of Kevin Garnett. Yang Mo's taunting was nothing to him.

Krstic remained calm, and Yang Mo stopped taunting him, knowing it was useless. Why waste his breath?

As Yang Mo ran back to the front court, the commentators from various networks were getting excited.

"Can this kid really shoot threes? Was it just a lucky shot?" ESPN's chief commentator, Mike Breen, said excitedly. He had not been optimistic about Yang Mo before, but Yang Mo's performance on the court was gradually changing his mind.

"No, absolutely not," former NBA assist champion Mark Jackson said firmly. "His shot was very smooth, and his form was perfect. When he shot, his eyes were full of confidence. He is definitely a natural shooter."

"I agree with Mark. This time, we were all wrong. We shouldn't have underestimated a rookie. I feel a bit embarrassed now, and I'm sorry for the things I said before," another guest commentator, Bill Simmons, apologized sincerely. As a well-known NBA critic, he had criticized many stars, and Yang Mo had been the subject of three consecutive articles. Now, he was making a serious apology.

"This time, Pat Riley has won again," Mark Jackson said, shaking his head. During his playing days, his best season ended in defeat against Pat Riley's team, so he had a grudge against Riley. But there was no denying that the winner was the winner.

The three ESPN commentators were reluctantly apologizing for underestimating Yang Mo, while the CCTV studio, which was also broadcasting the game, was filled with excitement. The host, Yu Jia, with his overly emotional tone, said, "I feel that at this moment, Yang Mo carries the strength of many predecessors. His three-point shot reminds me of the shining talents in Chinese basketball history, like Hu Weidong, Liu Yudun, Li Nan, Sun Jun, Zhu Fangyu, and Wang Shipeng. At this moment, their spirits are with him, and Yang Mo is not fighting alone."

If Yang Mo heard this emotional speech, he would probably spit in the host's face: "Damn it, my hard-earned three-point shot has nothing to do with their spirits. They are geniuses, but don't drag me into it. My three-point shot has nothing to do with feudal superstition."

...

[These past two days, I've been out of town, typing in a hotel, so I can only update three times a day. PS: I'll be back home tomorrow, and I might update four or even five times. Finally, I'm asking for recommendations and favorites. PS: Thank you to "Zhong Mudust" (588), "Yudi V5" (588), "Jubu yuzhenyu" (200), "Zuichun Xiaoshen" (200), "Sdfjdh", "You Jiangjun", and "Shang yi hen" for your support these past two days.]

Page break AD starts

Page break AD ends