Chapter 54

Drip!

The Heat's head coach, Erik Spoelstra, requested a substitution. He didn't know why he called for a substitution; it was Pat Riley, sitting on the bench, who had instructed him to do so. Joel Anthony came on to replace Yang Mo, who had been performing outstandingly.

When Yang Mo was substituted out, he was also confused, thinking to himself, "Wasn't I playing well? Why did I suddenly have to come off?" It wasn't until Pat Riley beckoned to him that he understood and hurried over.

When Yang Mo was substituted out, the crowd actually erupted into cheers. It felt like a celebration, which showed just how terrifying the shadow Yang Mo had cast over them.

Yang Mo walked straight to Pat Riley's side and sat down. Pat Riley personally draped a towel over Yang Mo. This scene surprised the audience watching on TV. Wasn't Pat Riley known for being strict with players? Why was he now personally draping a towel over Yang Mo? Had he switched to a more affectionate approach?

As the audience found his actions puzzling, Pat Riley whispered to Yang Mo, "Now you know what it means to be a superstar, right?"

"I know," Yang Mo nodded, his tone somewhat aggrieved. He had made a great block, but it was called a foul.

"If you encounter a superstar again, just block him and make a big scene. This might actually prevent a foul call. Understand?" Pat Riley patiently instructed.

"..." Yang Mo was slightly puzzled but replied, "Understood."

"You can be even more aggressive on defense. You need to establish your presence, make the opponents fear you, and make them subconsciously avoid challenging the paint you guard. This is the quality a great defender should have," Pat Riley continued. In his days in New York, he was known as a tough coach. He was skilled at training fierce defenders, and Yang Mo indeed had this potential. However, Pat Riley had a bigger plan in mind. He decided to mold Yang Mo into an all-around superstar, not just a super blue-collar player. Although this plan seemed too ambitious, he was willing to try it, as the influence of a Michael Jordan far outweighed that of a Dennis Rodman.

"Understood," Yang Mo nodded, now very convinced by Pat Riley's words. He regarded Pat Riley as a mentor in many ways.

Pat Riley paused for a moment and then suddenly asked, "What do you think about Dwyane Wade not passing you the ball just now?"

"Huh?" Yang Mo was taken aback, not understanding why Pat Riley suddenly asked this.

"I have no other intention; I just want to hear your honest thoughts," Pat Riley said seriously.

"Honest thoughts?" Yang Mo repeated, not holding back and said directly, "I was definitely a bit unhappy at the time. If he had passed me the ball, I had a 90% chance of making the shot, an open three-pointer. But since he chose to take the shot, there was nothing I could do. After all, my main job on the team right now is defense and rebounding."

"So, you still have some reservations about it?" Pat Riley asked.

"Yes," Yang Mo answered honestly, not wanting to deceive Pat Riley or himself.

"Would you like to know what Dwyane did in his early days?" Pat Riley asked and answered himself, "When Dwyane first joined the team, the core players in Miami were Lamar Odom and Caron Butler, and his shot attempts could only rank third at most. But he gradually seized every opportunity, and his scoring increased to the point where we couldn't ignore him. So, the next year, we established him as our primary perimeter player. We then traded for Shaquille O'Neal, and we won the championship in 2006. He was the Finals MVP."

"I understand. I will wait," Yang Mo said thoughtfully.

"Good that you understand," Pat Riley nodded and smiled, "I hope that one day, you will make us, the Miami leadership, have a headache, deciding whether to choose you or Dwyane. But I hope you can achieve a peaceful transition of power, like David Robinson and Tim Duncan did with the Spurs. For now, you should focus on being Dwyane Wade's assistant."

"Okay," Yang Mo nodded, paused for a moment, and then asked, "Sir, do you really have that much confidence in me? I might end up being a blue-collar player for life."

"Impossible," Pat Riley shook his head firmly, looking directly into Yang Mo's eyes and said with certainty, "From the moment you stepped onto the court, I knew you would never be a blue-collar player forever. Your strong confidence won't allow you to do so. Powell is right; you are a Michael Jordan-type player. Although your current skills are not as good as Michael Beasley's, your ceiling will definitely be higher than Beasley's. Attitude determines height, and I have always believed this to be true."

"Ha ha," Yang Mo smiled faintly, neither denying nor confirming Pat Riley's assessment.

The two chatted happily on the sidelines, attracting much discussion from the commentators broadcasting the game.

"I've never seen Pat Riley be so kind to any player. He actually draped a towel over Yang; this is truly surprising," ESPN's Mike Breen said, amazed. To him, this was even more unexpected than Yang Mo's outstanding performance on the court.

"Me neither," Mark Jackson shook his head and said to Jeff Van Gundy on his left, "Jeff, you know Pat Riley better. Have you ever seen him like this?"

"No," Jeff Van Gundy shook his head decisively, "Pat is very strict and even has a rule that coaches should maintain an appropriate distance from players."

"That's really strange. Could Yang be his illegitimate child?" Mike Breen joked.

The ESPN commentators teased the relationship between Yang Mo and Pat Riley, while the CCTV commentators were very excited. In a country where personal connections are highly valued, they naturally interpreted Pat Riley's closeness to Yang Mo as a sign of support and promotion, believing that Yang Mo's future with the Heat would definitely improve, given that the general manager had such high hopes for him.

...

[Four updates today, this is the second one. Please give recommendations and add to your collection. PS: I'm on the Three Rivers list, everyone, please vote for me. PS2: Thank you to 'akey' for the 588 coins, 'xiaotiandao1' for the 200 coins, and 'ruo er er' for the donation. I will continue to work hard. PS3: Now,起点 has a like function, please give me a like.]

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