basketball never sleeps

Chapter 31 emotional damage

The Zen master felt an indescribable strange feeling when he saw Mo Wen moving freely on the field.

He has been in the NBA for decades, and from championship player to championship coach, he has seen too many rookie talents - Larry Bird and Magic's almost magical golf intelligence, Isiah and Iverson's flamboyance

The skills of Olajuwon and Duncan's mature style of play.

But there has never been a rookie who possesses three precious qualities like Mo Wen.

He no longer knows how many times he saw it in the second quarter. Mo Wen only used a few smooth fake moves and skilled passing skills to shake Devin George clean; he also doesn’t know how many times he saw it, and Mo Wen participated in it.

The zone defense used tricky positioning to block the passing route of the player holding the ball.

For a moment, he felt that Mo Wen was even a bit like a larger version of Payton - mediocre in body, but very mature both in mind and hands.

"Jimmy, help me collect information and game videos about that Asian. The more detailed the better." The Zen master ordered the assistant coach beside him.

He became very interested in this kid who had been hidden by the Pistons for half a season and had only recently made a name for himself.

The Lakers players who were still resting on the sidelines were also discussing.

"What, this kid is the Pistons' rookie this year?" Payton asked with wide eyes in surprise.

Luke Walton nodded and said with a little embarrassment, "The last rookie of the year."

As a rookie in the second round, Walton also had average physical fitness and relied on his golf intelligence to play, but under Mo Wen's background, he felt like a complete parallel import.

"Why, I didn't expect that the guy who stole me twice in the first half was just a rookie?" Malone, who was also resting next to him, joked.

"Huh? You have the nerve to blame me. Didn't you also get a rebound from this kid in the first quarter?" Payton never dared anyone with his talk. He picked up his own penis as he spoke.

He took off his shirt and pointed at the scratches on his back.

"Did you see this? It's not that I didn't get the ball well. Look at this guy's hands. They're not much cleaner than that old guy you had in Salt Lake City."

Although Malone's "golden partner" Stockton in the Jazz is famous for his terrifying assist numbers, his contemporaries have little respect for this star who has been praised by the media, because everyone who has played against him knows that

How dirty is this guy's game?

In the "dirty ratio" rankings among NBA players, Stockton ranks even higher than Malone.

Stockton's confrontational ability is insufficient. In order to cover up his shortcomings, he uses a lot of small moves on both ends of the offense and defense - stepping on his feet to pull people, flying knees and backs, and hitting people when he can't beat the ball. But the referee just gave it to this asshole star.

Whistle, don’t blow it even if you see it.

If Malone is a rickety dump truck, then Stockton is a sprinkler truck on the way to work in the early morning. It is very harmful and extremely insulting.

"John (Stockton)...well, John only started to use some of his 'privileges' after he became famous, but the Chinese is just a rookie, so he is so wanton and reckless, and he really lacks education."

Ma Long thought for a while but couldn't find a way to defend his friend. Everyone had been opponents in the past, so he didn't know who was who, so he could only surround Wei to save Zhao and shifted the topic to Mo Wen on the court.

Just now, Malone was harassed several times by Mo Wen's little moves when assisting in defense. He stepped on his feet, bumped his shoulders, and was even elbowed while fighting for a rebound. But he forgot that it was him in the first quarter.

Mo Wen was first pushed with his elbow, but he didn't remember it. He just felt that this young man was a bit arrogant and had no moral ethics.

"Be careful. This kid doesn't seem to be the kind of wimp who is easy to bully. Don't let yourself get involved at your age." Payton heard the meaning of Malone's words and reminded him not to do it too much.

Too much.

"Don't worry, I know it well." Ma Long said nonchalantly.

On the court, Mo Wen was embarrassed by Kobe's pursuit.

Kobe is as talented on the defensive end as he is on the offensive end, unlike Bowen who relied on his black feet to make the All-Defensive Team. Kobe, like Artest, combines talent, technology and experience.

A truly perfect perimeter defender.

The physical impact and the mingling of sweat made the fans in Los Angeles excited.

"It's over, kid, your performance time is over!" Kobe grinned and said to Mo Wen in a fierce tone.

"Really? I don't believe it." Mo Wen took a step away to protect the ball, lowered his body and did not give up.

The two balls he shot just now were blocked by Kobe, but he still showed a tough look at this moment.

Mo Wen made a pick-and-roll gesture with Okur on the court, and then Mo Wen moved straight in Okur's direction.

As expected, Mo Wen was intercepted by Kobe before he could break into the paint.

Just when Kobe wanted to taunt Mo Wen a few more words, Mo Wen actually threw the ball in an outrageous hook gesture.

Phew—BOOM!

When Kobe put down his interfering hand and looked back, Okur, who had just cut into the paint, had already swung from the basket twice and landed.

"You know, RIP is much better than you in terms of offensive choices and coordination with teammates." After receiving an assist, Mo Wen put down a taunt and turned away.

"you·······"

"Don't refute, this kid seems to be right." O'Neal, who had been replaced just now, grinned and echoed from the side.

"Shut up, Fatty, your basket was dunked by someone else and you still have the nerve to mock me?" Kobe gritted his teeth and gave Fatty a death glare, and ran towards the frontcourt in a sullen tone.

The Lakers were attacking, and Kobe wanted the ball to return to the court, but Fisher was a little hesitant. Jackson just gave him many instructions to pass more passes to O'Neal.

O'Neal has just recovered from injury, and his playing time is strictly controlled. If O'Neal is allowed to play only to watch Kobe running back and forth with the ball, and only to grab rebounds for secondary attacks, it will undoubtedly be a waste of O'Neal's physical strength.

However, O'Neal was not in a good state at 1-for-2 in the two rounds just now, and finally passed it to Kobe.

When Kobe got the ball, he looked like he was going to tear Mo Wen to pieces, and he started mumbling. Kobe also had a strong desire to win in verbal confrontations.

But Mo Wen, who had developed a pair of "selectively deaf" ears in the dungeon, just watched Kobe beeping indifferently.

Seeing that Kobe was not attacking for a while, he took a step back and put his hands on his hips.

I just watched you beeping quietly.

Kobe, who was midway through his harsh words, looked at Mo Wen's defensive posture with arms akimbo, and his anger suddenly went to Tianling Gai.

This is the real "e→motion→al dama→ge!" (mental attack)

Standing outside the three-point line and being left open, Kobe hesitated and did not directly shoot a three-pointer. His previous 2 of 7 shots were not good, but he chose a more reliable breakthrough, pedaling to accelerate, cross-stepping and starting with his body tilted.

It's like the NBA logo, with an arc drawn and it breaks through toward the inside.

Mo Wen squeezed Kobe into confrontation, and then continued to interfere with Kobe under the basket with Rashid who came to help defend.

Faced with two people double-teaming under the basket, Kobe did not choose to pass the ball, but just threw the ball up with a handsome-looking pull rod.

The ball bounced twice on the basket and still fell into the frame.

Kobe was very excited after scoring the goal. He just wanted to yell at Mo Wen, but he didn't expect Mo Wen to be the first to attack.

"Look at it Shaq, Kobe is much more reliable than you in the low post."

Kobe was choked directly. Why couldn't he be happy even though his opponent acknowledged it?

"Fu*k, shut up, kid, I'm going to smash your basket in a minute." Shaq, who followed the trip in vain, spat and cursed. This time it was his turn to glare at Kobe.

O'Neal didn't care about Mo Wen's obvious confrontation. Anyway, the conflict between him and Kobe was already public, but the inexplicable shooting made him very unhappy. In this game, he played very efficiently under the Pistons' double inside defense.

Not high, just a lot of anger.

When he came on as a substitute, he thought he could score a few points easily, but he only caught the ball twice in three minutes.

Mo Wen then played two more rounds with Kobe on the outside, but he did not find a chance to take action. He only assisted his teammates. Kobe was extremely aggressive on the defensive end, especially when defending against him, which was not very confrontational.

Enter the player with the ball.

In several games in the 2008 Olympics, Kobe often prevented the opposing team's point guard from reaching the three-point line.

Fortunately, O'Neal, who had been provoked by Mo Wen just now, began to ask for the ball with emotion on the offensive end. After all, O'Neal was still the boss of the Lakers at this time. In addition, the Zen Master off the court also began to intervene, and Fisher could only be obedient.

Pass the ball.

Before Kobe could get the ball back from O'Neal, the second quarter ended.

Thanks to Mo Wen's performance in the second quarter, the Pistons recovered some points. The Lakers 49:48 Pistons at halftime. The point difference between the two teams is now only one point.

Mo Wen made 8 of 12 shots in the first half (1 of 2 in the first quarter), scoring the highest score in the game - 16 points, as well as 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals.

"It's amazing, that Chinese boy dominated the substitute time!"

Buckley said happily in the studio.

"It's 16 points, hahahaha, Kenny, do you want me to loosen your belt for you?"

"I think you'd better make sure you're not wearing underwear today. The Lakers won't give this kid a chance to score easily in the future. Just like in the first quarter, he will probably not be able to score a single point in the future.

"Kenny Smith's butt is soft, but his mouth is still hard.

But what happened next seemed to be following Kenny Smith's script.

Starting from the third quarter, the defensive intensity of the two teams, which re-established their starting lineups, returned to the first quarter.

Mowen continued to rest in the first half of the third quarter and never got a chance to perform after coming on the field in the second half.

The Lakers' four stars have all been on the best defensive team. As long as they have the right attitude, they can do well based on their personal abilities.

Under the deliberate targeting of the Lakers, Mo Wen was unable to continue to play the second quarter effect on Devin George, and Larry Brown did not allow the players to perform on their own as the situation became increasingly stalemate.

However, the Pistons also have their own advantages with their younger lineup.

Rasheed, who is less than 30 years old, has not yet deteriorated in athletic ability. Hamilton, who is better rested, also has more physical strength. Coupled with Billups' "bold and conservative" organization and passing, the Pistons continue to use high pick-and-rolls to mobilize.

On the defensive end, the physical strength of the Lakers' internal and external stars.

The Lakers' two inside stars could keep up at first, but by the end of the third quarter, they felt they couldn't hold on any longer.

In the fourth quarter, neither team made any substitutions, and the starting lineup was still the same. At the critical moment, the two academic coaches used the same move to "fuck the main force to death."

It's not that Jackson didn't want to give Malone and O'Neal a break, but the situation didn't allow it. The Pistons' interior zone defense was too good. When the Lakers didn't have reliable outside shooters, the offense couldn't start if the interior deterrence was insufficient.

Both Kobe and Payton's shooting percentages from the outside were ugly in this game. Hamilton knew how to defend would make Kobe uncomfortable, and Billups still used Payton as a model when he first entered the league.

When Mo Wen used Bai Jing's "big swing" in the paint to cause a defensive foul on Malone, Kenny Smith was about to despair, but an accident happened.

The team was at a disadvantage. Ma Long was already unhappy, but was tricked by Mo Wen. He was not convinced and deliberately elbowed Mo Wen when he passed by.

Mo Wen, who was almost knocked down by an elbow, caught Da Ben who was aware of it and calmly scored a free throw.

Then when everyone was relaxed, he took off with the ball in both hands and hit it on Malone's pointed bald head.

(End of chapter)