basketball never sleeps

Chapter 24 How many ribs are there, so stunned?

Of course Mo Wen is not floating.

Don't look at the fact that Artest's only honor before was a defensive second team, but this year he has basically booked the best defensive player.

Tough confrontation, difficulty getting rid of entanglements, and full aggressiveness have made Artest a nerve-wracking wing defender this year.

Even if he encounters this type of player in a dungeon, Mo Wen will try his best to avoid direct confrontation with him.

But the team now needs to show momentum, rather than being guarded and afraid to take action like Prince.

Besides, if it was just a matter of hitting one or two balls, Mo Wen was still confident that he would have some fun with this naughty beast.

The players on the Pacers court widened their eyes after watching Mo Wen hold the ball and start a singles game.

Why, Larry Brown really arranged for players to play alone on their wings. That was Artest. What did he think?

Artest has become famous for his defense this year. Mo Wen and others looked at the player information before the game and found out that he is just a substitute player for the Pistons.

How dare you?

Artest even got a little angry. Normally, you can only have a chance to enjoy singles due to defensive holes. When did he become a player who could be beaten in isolation?

But when Mo Wen actually walked up to him, this angry beast felt an aura from Mo Wen that was different from ordinary players. He had also felt this aura from Reggie Miller.

The seemingly casual pace revealed a confident and experienced feeling at every step, and there was no trace of nervousness on Mo Wen's face. He was like a top student facing a difficult problem, not panicking, but calmly looking for the answer.

But Reggie Miller has played more than 1,300 games in the league, and Mo Wen is just a rookie. He has not played even a fraction of Miller's games. How is that possible!

Just when Artest was about to step forward to break the strange feeling, Mo Wen also moved.

The slight shaking of the shoulder in front and the sudden and rapid dribbling sound suddenly drew Artest's attention. Artest stretched out his long arms, trying to catch the prey in front of him like the tentacles of a jellyfish.

Seeing Mo Wen take a step forward with his right leg, Artest only slightly tilted his center of gravity and shifted his center of gravity to the side. Just as he expected, this was just a feint. Mo Wen did not take the step forward at the end but made a retraction.

action.

He judged that what Mo Wen really wanted to attack was his left side. Just when he prejudged his center of gravity, Mo Wen transferred the ball to his right hand with a back dribble, then twisted around and pulled his left foot towards

Artest's right hand continued to rush past.

This caught Artest off guard, but Mo Wen had not yet escaped from Artest's defensive range, and this twisting and twisting breakthrough was not quick.

Before Artest got involved, Mo Wen's left hand, which was not holding the ball, put his left hand on Artest's thigh to lend some strength, which delayed Artest's turn and also increased his own speed.

Artest's outstretched interception hand blamed Mo Wen for a slippery sideways touch and wiped it clean.

"Cunning Skunk"

Artest cursed secretly but still followed closely.

Mo Wen knew that his burst and speed were still far behind those of a top-level star like Artest, so he didn't think about hitting the basket to find a shot, but made an emergency stop in the mid-range.

Pull back.

But Artest is indeed worthy of being the best defensive player. He used his core strength and stomped on the brakes to stop the inertia before Mo Wen made a shooting move and completed the turnaround interference.

"It's really difficult to deal with."

But Mo Wen's slow shooting action was just waiting for this moment.

Mo Wen's left hand protecting the ball came forward and made contact with Artest's hand, and then pushed the basketball toward the net with his right hand.

The basketball hit the backboard as expected, but it didn't matter, the referee blew the whistle.

Thug foul!

"WTF, I didn't commit a foul, he took the initiative!"

Artest looked at the referee in disbelief and spread his hands to argue.

"No need to quibble, he is just a thug, a standard thug." The referee responded coldly.

He also knew that Mo Wen's ball was a touch, but Artest did not hit the ball just now, but hit Mo Wen's toucher. According to the rules, no matter what the rules say, this is a hitting foul.

If he didn't call for such an obvious foul, he would have to write a report or even be investigated and held accountable after the game.

Reggie Miller came over and patted Artest on the back, telling him to stop arguing.

Miller usually plays this kind of ball a lot.

Speaking of which, Reggie Miller can go even further when shooting. He has a signature hook-up jump shot. When he is lazy, he adds a kicking action. Players in front of him are often kicked without saying a word.

If you get kicked, you will be called for a defensive foul.

The reason was violation of Reggie Miller's cylinder.

Later, in the small ball era, a lot of outside players imitated Miller and used this trick more and more frequently, forcing the league to issue a "Reggie Miller Rule". Then a certain star who shot too accurately lost his cylinder.

That's all for later.

Artest complained a few words and knew that he could not change the penalty, so he could only turn around and glare at Mo Wen.

"Boy, just wait for me, FK"

Mo Wen ignored Artest's murderous look and just clapped his hands with his teammates.

His mentality has already been tempered in the dungeon, and he made two free throws without any surprises.

In the Pacers' offensive round, Artest wanted to retaliate. He wanted to score a goal with a real sword to show Mo Wen what a man's offensive style is.

"Reggie passed the ball to Ron (Artest), and he signaled his teammates to pull away. It seemed that he was responding to the attack by Pistons No. 66 Mo just now."

"Ron was a three-point threat with the ball outside the three-point line, but his opponent chose to keep his distance. This was not a wise choice because Ron has the ability to make three-pointers."

"It was a tentative breakthrough, but unfortunately I didn't choose a three-pointer. Mo followed up tenaciously without losing his position. The Pistons' inside line was ready to cover up the defense, but no one could stop Ron... Hey, he was anxious in the mid-range.

Stop, do you want to hit me from behind?"

"Well, it's okay. Ron's back slap is also his photo...wait a minute, this Asian is not weak, he can actually withstand Ron's strength. Two people... uh, two people can withstand it."

We were fighting fiercely together, but if Ron had to take a shot or pass the ball quickly, it would be a five-second violation."

"Forced the shot - still tough. I have to say that the young Pistons defended well."

Artest looked at Mo Wen in disbelief, no, boy, are you also a gangster?

Just now, Artest actually had a chance to crush him with strength. Mo Wen's strength was not that strong. Even though he was very experienced and seasoned in exerting force, in this kind of continuous competition, strength is everything.

s things.

Who knew that Mo Wen would start exchanging elbow skills with him when he felt he couldn't stand it anymore!

Jordan has tasted the elbows from labor and management and has said that you are good at it. You are a young rookie. If you don’t obediently get hit by me on the back and don’t wait for me to elbow you, then you actually elbow me with a machete in front of Guan Gong?

How many ribs are there, so stunned?

The two of them were openly playing back-to-back, but the nearby players could clearly hear that the thumping and thumping sounds were definitely not playing.

If Artest is a natural born magic elbow, Mo Wen is a hundred-fight elbow wizard.

Without being able to swing their elbows obviously, the two were evenly matched for a while. This was a battle of spirits, and basketball was not important anymore.

In front of the TV, Payton was amused by the back-up play between the two of them, and poked Malone next to him.

"You already have a successor. You and Rodman must have played this way back then."

The corner of Malone's mouth twitched. This scene was indeed a bit similar to the duel between him and Rodman in the finals of those two years.

"It's different. The two of us were trying to score goals at the beginning, not just... a competition. This stupid boy Ron is just a fool. He can obviously hit hard and then attack quickly, but he has to compete with that Asian guy.

On the contrary, the gain outweighs the loss.”

···

"Play hard and don't get carried away Ron." O'Neill was a little dissatisfied with Artest's performance just now and said from the side.

"You don't need to say it, labor and management know." Artest waved his hand impatiently. The relationship between the two in the team is not very harmonious. Xiao Ou feels that Artest is often willful and unreliable, while Artest is

Because he has been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in consecutive years, I feel that Xiao O has no leadership qualities and is not a qualified boss.

If the locker room didn't have the leader of the old Miller to adjust, the two of them would probably have the same quarrel as the Lakers' OK.

"That Asian is tougher than you! Hiss—" Artest said in his mind as he touched his waist where he had been elbowed just now. "Good boy, so hard, so cruel!"

Artest was in pain, but Mo Wen was not much better. If there was no five-second rule for back-hitting, he felt like he could be vomited blood by Artest's elbow.

Mo Wen has suffered countless big elbows in the system, but Artest can be ranked in the top three.

It seems that we have to call for help in the next round. The reality is not as good as the dungeon, and you will really get hurt.

When attacking again, Mo Wen didn't ask for the ball and played alone. No matter what, he had to take it slow.

Billups was also very considerate, and the Pistons adopted conventional tactics.

"Boy, where are you? You did a good job just now." Artest gritted his teeth and asked in front of Mo Wen.

"Our family controls some of our local necessities transactions. There are hundreds of people working for our family. Some of them are engaged in security, some are engaged in transportation, and some are engaged in sales." Mo Wen smiled slightly and showed a very meaningful smile.

"To be honest, I haven't had anything to do with my family business for a long time. I'm just an athlete now."

"What?"

"Mom, Fuck, are you serious?"

"Of course, if you go to China one day, I can ask them to take you there for fun. My family also has business all over China." Mo Wen shrugged, his tone was very natural.

Mo Wen didn't tell any lies. His family runs a chain of supermarkets. Most of the supermarkets with an area of ​​more than 100 square meters in the entire county carry their brand. A large stall does not require security, transportation and sales, but also needs to be maintained every day.

We are looking for suppliers all over the world.

(These days, children from poor families basically have no chance to go to school in Chou Country.)

But in Artest's ears, Mo Wen's description of his family was very consistent with that group of bad guys in Queens.

Queens is generally a business district, usually a slum. If Artest, who grew up there, had not been so good at playing basketball, he would have had to make a living with those guys who were licking their blood when he grew up.

No wonder this kid is as tough as him, it turns out it's really a family connection.

The Sopranos? You can’t afford it, you can’t afford it.

Artest shrank his neck. He would definitely not be timid. He just felt that it was better for players to rely on basketball to speak for themselves.

"I also have connections in Queens, New York. If you go to New York, I'll buy you a drink."

Artest is no match for others, so he brags. In fact, not many of the brothers he is still in contact with are from the gang, but black people may not have a father, but they will definitely not lack relatives.

Mo Wen saw through it without saying anything, and nodded, and the atmosphere became harmonious for a while. If it weren't for the competition, the two of them might even be hooking up.

Of course, the small moves of the two of them have not decreased. This is a reasonable confrontation under the rules of the times. The restraint of the two is limited to the big moves like just now, where they rush to hurt people with all their strength.

The two barely had time to rest for one round before they started fighting hand to hand on the field again.

But this time, Mo Wen didn't choose to fight alone with Artest. He was just a young rookie with a second-round salary, and there was no need to trade with Artest, a multi-millionaire.

As long as this guy has the intention to play inside, Mo Wen will either call on Ben or Okur. Helping defense itself is the core content of the Pistons' defensive system. This was what Carlisle decided when he was in the Pistons.

If everyone could solve the problem by focusing on individual defense, Ben wouldn't have been the best defensive player for so many years.

Mo Wen played for 8 minutes in the second quarter. When he returned to his seat and opened his clothes, he saw that apart from the initial elbow on his chest, there were several red spots on other areas.

Not only on the defensive end, but also on the offensive end, even if Mo Wen's fake moves were full and he borrowed the cover of his teammates, it was still difficult to get a completely open opportunity.

In the second quarter, he faced Artest for several shots. Mo Wen felt like he had a muscle strain. The home referee seemed to have lost his whistle and refused to blow it.

Fortunately, the Pistons' pitchers have regained their touch during this period. Hamilton made 2 of 3 mid-range shots, Billups made 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 layups. In addition, the Pistons' inside line shot after Xiao Ou came off the court.

They also took a breath and found the feeling one after another. In the second quarter, they scored 33 points, but they were still defensive and only scored 23 points.

At the end of halftime, the score difference between the two teams was only 1 point.

Mo Wen played a great role in the second quarter. He made 2 of 5 shots and scored 6 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal with the initial free throw.

His shooting is not very accurate, but he assisted Billups to connect the team on the offensive end, and used his experienced running position to involve the defense, which played a big role in the performance of other players.

During the halftime break, Carlisle was not too nervous because he was caught up with the score difference.

In the second quarter, several of the Pacers' starters took turns to rest off the court, while the Pistons' starters have been working hard on the court. The main battlefield of the strong team is never the first half, but the second half. To be more precise, it is in the second half.

Four sections.

When the players' physical strength is no longer sufficient, the real test begins.

In the third quarter, O'Brien returned to the court, and the Pistons' situation became difficult again.

O'Brien has touched the superstar's floor on both offense and defense, making it impossible for the Pistons, who only have blue-collar workers inside, to make a move.

Ou's three blocks in one quarter directly made the Pacers' interior a restricted area.

It doesn't help that Larry Brown is yelling and yelling next to him. This is a gap in the lineup.

The Pistons lineup has deficiencies in interior defense and insufficient offensive ability, which also limits the performance of the outside line.

Larry Brown rarely replaced offensive players that he didn't think highly of before, and even put on Astkin and Sula, the fast break brothers on the back line.

But the two of them launched a total of three fast breaks on the court. Once Artest directly intercepted and passed the ball, once he was laid up with Tinsley's interference, and once Artest defended the frontcourt from one to two.

The two brothers O'Neill and Artest are really as good as they were back then. They can even be said to be a low-end offensive version and an accelerated defensive version of OK.

Mo Wen also played for four minutes in the middle of the third quarter. He originally made 1 of 2 shots and was playing well. However, he was replaced by Larry Brown because he let Artest hit a 3-pointer.

After the third quarter, the Pistons fell behind by 10 points.

Looking at Larry Brown, who was pouring chicken soup and giving orders to the starting players, with drool flying everywhere, Mo Wen leaned closer to Milicic again.

Mo Wen also saw someone on the Internet saying that Larry Brown has a strong ability to adapt to situations, which is quite nonsense.

Larry Brown is very sensitive to losing points on defense. If the defense is not good, he will change players. He can barely talk about being stubborn, but on the offensive end, this old guy really only knows how to arrange and combine.

Mo Wen did not play again in the fourth quarter, and several Pistons struggled for another half of the quarter. The point difference did not narrow but widened. The coach, whose efforts were fruitless, could only accept the defeat helplessly.

In front of the TV, Shaq and Malone clapped their hands happily, picked up the fruit plate and began to enjoy their spoils.

"Mayfair, remember, we have a day off the day after tomorrow!" Shaq showed off happily as he pushed aside a banana that was not much thicker than his thumb.

The Zen master smiled helplessly and shook his head. He would not tell O'Neill that he originally planned to take a whole day off.

"Donuts for you." Kobe took out a pack of donuts from his backpack, threw it on the table, then picked up his backpack and left without looking back.

He's going to call RIP (Hamilton) later. This bastard didn't even hit that old bastard Miller today. He must have neglected to exercise recently. He lost face in front of that smelly shark. Why should he be here?

Taunting comes back from friends.

After all the players left, Feier watched the game end before planning to turn off the TV and leave.

This season the Lakers' opponents in the Western Conference are either the Timberwolves or the Spurs, or both, and their opponents in the Finals will probably be the Pacers.

However, the scene after the game made Jackson feel a little weird. Larry Brown, who had been very irritable during the game, put on a gentle gentleman's smile and shook hands with Carlisle in a friendly manner after the sweep.

In his impression, Larry Brown was not such a grand person.

···

After the game, Larry Brown got very angry in the locker room. After he got rid of all the anger in his chest, he found a quiet corner and called Dumars.

"Help me persuade Davis, stay patient, we are about to turn a corner."

There is one more update.

(End of chapter)