Chapter 72

David Li's mind went blank for a moment, still lacking confidence in his back-to-the-basket play, so he turned around to face Yang Mo head-on.

In a back-to-the-basket play, Yang Mo might still be a bit wary of him, after all, David Li's height and weight were there, and his strength wasn't particularly bad, so he might even manage to score a lucky shot. However, turning around to face him head-on undoubtedly weakened David Li's advantages and exposed his weaknesses, such as his high dribbling!

As soon as David Li turned around, Yang Mo quickly pressed in, giving him no room to dribble. Moreover, Yang Mo's strength far exceeded his, even though David Li looked bigger.

Thus, David Li was almost forced to lose his footing.

With Yang Mo's tight defense, David Li clearly couldn't dribble anymore, so he had to use his height to shoot directly. Suddenly, his body leaped backward... attempting a fadeaway jump shot.

But unfortunately, he wasn't in his prime Tracy McGrady, and his explosive power was far inferior to McGrady's. The moment he jumped, Yang Mo caught his intention. In fact, Yang Mo was forcing him to take a fadeaway jump shot.

So, as soon as David Li jumped, Yang Mo's long arms swiftly swatted... *slap*!

The basketball, still held in front of his chest, was snatched away by Yang Mo. He felt a tingling in his palm and lost control of the ball, while his body was still jumping upward.

Yang Mo dribbled the ball for two steps, feeling his stomach rumble even more, and quickly passed the ball to Dwyane Wade. Wade took the ball to the key, broke through to the basket, and drew a foul from Chandler, earning two free throws.

Although this defensive counter didn't directly result in a score, its effect was evident. In fact, Wade and Yang Mo had developed an astonishing level of默契 (cohesion). Whenever Yang Mo faced an opponent or positioned himself under the basket, Dwyane Wade would sprint to the front court, knowing that Yang Mo would definitely find a way to regain possession of the ball.

Now, he finally believed Pat Riley's words: Yang Mo was the perfect partner for his style of play. Yang Mo could grab rebounds, and he excelled in defensive counters. He was good at breaking through, and Yang Mo could set screens, shoot three-pointers, and roll to the basket. Their strengths complemented each other perfectly. This was truly a partner tailor-made for him!

While Dwyane Wade was taking his free throws, Yang Mo followed David Li and slowly walked to the front, saying trash talk along the way: "David, keep it up! You almost made it."

David Li, hearing Yang Mo's veiled words, was incredibly angry. He thought to himself, do I need a rookie to teach me? He glared at Yang Mo in anger but didn't know how to teach him a lesson. Should he use his fists? Clearly, he didn't dare. Not to mention the suspension, he couldn't afford to lose face. If word got out, people would definitely say that David Li lost both the game and his dignity.

"The game isn't over yet, we're still leading, so don't get cocky," David Li said, his anger turning into a weak and powerless statement. It was like a woman saying, "No matter how much you f*** me, I won't get pregnant, and you're wearing a condom!" She didn't realize that a condom could be easily removed.

"You're right, the game isn't over yet. Your lead is just adding to the drama. After the game, people will say, 'Super Yang turned the tide, while David Li was a non-factor on the court.' See, what an attention-grabbing headline," Yang Mo said, not angry at all, but chuckling.

This made David Li even angrier. He had never seen such an arrogant rookie. Weren't Chinese people supposed to be humble? How could this guy be even more arrogant than Americans?

Chinese people are indeed humble, but when it comes to being dominant, Americans were still in the Stone Age.

*Swish! Swish!*

Dwyane Wade made both free throws. *Beep!* The Knicks requested a substitution, with Zach Randolph replacing Tyson Chandler.

Now, David Li had already proven that he couldn't defend Yang Mo, so they had to try Zach Randolph. Although Randolph's entry would slow down the team's pace, his scoring ability, strength, and bulk were something David Li couldn't match.

Looking at Randolph's massive body in front of him, Yang Mo felt even hungrier. This guy looked like a soy sauce-soaked trotter, though a bit ugly.

"Kid, your next opponent is me," Randolph chuckled at Yang Mo, full of contempt, clearly not taking the small guy seriously.

"Alright, I understand," Yang Mo nodded, like a chairman listening to a subordinate's report, subtly putting Randolph in his place.

Randolph suddenly felt as if he had swallowed a fly, extremely uncomfortable.

He muttered to himself: Chinese people are so cunning!

Meanwhile, in the T-N-T broadcast studio, the two commentators and the host were discussing a template for Yang Mo.

"Yang's performance is like a miniature Amar'e Stoudemire. His chemistry with Dwyane is amazing; it's as if they've been playing together for decades. The two screens just now even made me feel like I was watching Stockton and Karl Malone," host Collins started the topic, taking advantage of Wade's free throws to add some off-topic commentary to avoid a monotonous broadcast.

"No, no, no, Yang isn't Stoudemire. Yang's defense is much better than Stoudemire's. They're not the same style either. Stoudemire's strength is his explosiveness and jumping ability, not his strength. So, I think Yang's template should be Reggie Evans," Steve Kerr offered another explanation.

"Hey, guys, don't you think Yang is more like Dennis Rodman? The same rebounding machine, the same short stature, the same constant tabloid news. Except, Rodman can't shoot three-pointers," Barkley proposed a template that left his two partners speechless.

Clearly, Yang Mo did share some similarities with Dennis Rodman in certain aspects.

[Fourth update delivered, thanks to "Jun Ao Shao Ye" for the 1888 big tip. PS, please vote and collect!]

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