Chapter 56

"Does Nahula think he can out-rebound Yang? He must be dreaming!" Pat Riley said with a confident smile. Others might not know how Yang practiced his rebounding, but he knew it all too well. During the summer in Miami, he had specially hired two strongmen to practice rebounding with Yang for a week. Each time, the two strongmen, who could pull large trucks, would tightly sandwich Yang, and he had to fight for the rebounds in the midst of their muscle.

Pat Riley was well aware of Yang's rebounding skills, but the commentators did not know.

After Mike Breen babbled on about the technical analysis of the two offensive rebounds, Jeff Van Gundy suddenly remembered what Yang had said during the draft day interview and quickly added, "This kid once told me that his positioning, awareness, judgment, and strength were all very strong. I was skeptical, but after seeing these two excellent offensive rebounds, he wasn't lying. He was telling the truth. I believe that at his height, he is the best rebounder in NBA history."

"Isn't that obvious? There's only one person who dares to play power forward or even center at under 6'5". Others at this height are point guards, and even shooting guards struggle. For example, O.J. Mayo, who is now playing in Memphis. I watched his debut, and he clearly wasn't adapted to the physical play in the NBA. He struggled a lot," Bill Simmons, known for his sharp tongue, said. Although his spoken words lacked the force of his writing, his message was clear, and he managed to criticize two people at once.

"Playing center at Yang's height is not a disgrace to him but to his opponents. Being out-rebounded by someone a head shorter, what could be more embarrassing than that?" Mark Jackson said.

While the commentators, who had initially doubted Yang, now chattered in his favor, the referee blew the whistle... beep!

With the whistle, Yang directly passed the ball from out of bounds to Dorell Wright, who was running to the right corner. Wright caught the ball and shot... swish!

The three-pointer went in perfectly, once again bringing heartache to the Nets fans.

"Does it feel good to hit consecutive threes, Dorell?" Yang asked Wright loudly.

Unfortunately, Wright didn't understand Yang's intention and shyly replied, "It feels good!"

He sounded like a delicate lady, and Yang rolled his eyes. This guy didn't understand what it meant to crush the opponent's morale. If he were sent to war, he'd probably 'die' before reaching the front lines.

Back on the court, the Heat's run-and-gun lineup was at a significant disadvantage. This lineup was highly mobile on offense but very passive on defense, being much shorter than the opposition.

Fortunately, the Nets' frontcourt was terrible. Nahula was a pure power-type blue-collar worker, and Yi Jianlian... he had never used his post-up game in the NBA. Even against the slender Dorell Wright, he lacked the courage. He always shot from the free-throw line, and it wouldn't be long before he was back in the CBA.

This wasn't about discouraging big men from developing their shooting; it was about having the heart to attack the basket. As a big man, if you don't work in the paint, you're doing the job of a perimeter player. Isn't that like picking up a sesame seed and dropping a watermelon?

Without an advantage in the paint, the Nets were wasting a significant portion of their height advantage. Even with such a height advantage, the ball was firmly in the hands of the perimeter players, and Vince Carter wasn't driving to the basket. It was unclear if he was still affected by Yang's block.

While Vince Carter didn't drive, Devin Harris bravely charged into the paint. He thought Yang, the rookie, wasn't that strong.

So, after a crossover to shake off Chalmers' defense, he cut straight to the basket.

It's undeniable that Harris was very fast. However, his speed wasn't explosive; it was just plain fast, with no burst. He was similar to Chinese player Chen Jianghua, who always had one speed and never slowed down, let alone changed pace.

The best way to handle such players was to let them charge, wait until they reached the end, and then block their shot.

And that's exactly what Yang did.

Devin Harris charged into the paint and found Yang stepping aside. He was delighted, thinking to himself, "This rookie's positioning is really bad. Does he think I'll pass? Ha, how naive!"

At that moment, Devin Harris was filled with pride, thinking Yang had been fooled by his fake move.

In reality, Yang hadn't seen any fake move. Harris had been accelerating all the way after getting past Chalmers.

Once in the paint, to be safe, Harris prepared to lay it in with his off-hand, using the distance from the rim to block Yang's block.

However, as he jumped, before he could reverse in mid-air, Yang suddenly appeared from the side, charging at Harris. Harris was still reacting, thinking Yang wouldn't come, but Yang had been waiting for him to jump!

Slap!

Yang slapped the ball out of Harris' hands. Before he could react, he felt a strong impact in mid-air, lost his balance, and fell like a kite with a broken string, as if a speeding Japanese car had crashed into an armored tank... bang!

Devin Harris fell straight to the floor, the impact heard through the microphone, causing the fans to gasp, fearing for his safety.

After hitting the ground, the ball continued to fly through the air. Yang's block had been powerful.

Bang! When the ball was slapped to mid-court, Harris, who had been silent for a few seconds, finally let out a pig-like scream, clutching his waist... "Ah!"

The referee immediately stopped the game and called the Nets' medical staff to check on Harris.

His scream immediately triggered a wave of abuse from the fans— "Thug, go back to China!" "This isn't your place to wreak havoc, savage Chinese!" "Get out, yellow pig!" and so on.

Racial slurs and insults filled the air.

Yang, however, was unmoved and felt no guilt. He had no intention of hurting anyone when he blocked the shot; he just used a lot of force, which was part of the tough defense Pat Riley had taught him. Besides, why did Harris choose to charge in when he had a clear path?

There's a saying in Japanese manga, "If you don't seek death, you won't die." This perfectly described Harris, who dared to cause trouble in the paint with his small frame.

Have you ever seen a fist as big as a pot?

...

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[PS: Thank you to "EE I Man" for the 100起点币 tip, and "Dongfang@Invincible" for the 100起点币 tip.]