One Guard

Although this is already the fourth year of his career, Wall has never forgotten the first time he and Yiyang met.

Voice of God Academy faced off against Bayless High School, and Wall thought it would be like usual, an easy game to win. When he saw that the opponent's starting point guard was actually a yellow-skinned guy, Wall was even more convinced of this.

However, the Chinese man wearing the No. 1 jersey with a murderous look in his eyes intercepted himself as soon as he came up and launched a fast break to perform a tomahawk-style dunk.

After so many years, Wall and Yiyang have also played against each other many times in different places. But only the scene just now was clearly etched in Wall's mind forever.

When he first met Yiyang, Wall might not have imagined that one day he would become the No. 1 pick in the NBA, and that the boy who was insulted by fans on the court because of his skin color would become the MVP and the most popular basketball player on the planet. One of the athletes.

That was the beginning of Yiyang's legendary basketball career. It was also the beginning of Wall treating him as his lifelong enemy!

"John, what are you thinking about?"

Wall felt like someone poked him with his elbow. He turned around and saw that it was Bradley Beal, the team's No. 3 overall pick in 2012, who has made significant progress this season.

"Hey, Bill... I didn't think anything. Have you finished eating?" Wall looked at the plate in front of Bill that was cleaner than his own face. Such a big pile of chicken breasts made Wall just stunned. In a matter of seconds, Bill ate them all.

"Hey, the training this morning was too intense and I'm a little hungry. Are you okay, buddy? I see you've been restless since yesterday's game." Bill looked at his "boss" with concern. Since joining the team, Bill has been following Wall all day long, always wanting to start a career with the No. 1 pick.

Facts have proved that the backcourt partnership of Wall and Bill is really the hope of the Wizards' future. The growth of these two people will directly affect the Wizards' ceiling.

"No, I'm not restless. Let's take a rest after eating. The training volume in the afternoon will be heavier." Wall waved his hand and lied.

The fact is that Wall did become restless after yesterday's game. Ever since the reporter reminded him that he would be facing off against Yiyang, Wall had been in low spirits.

In yesterday's game, Wall scored 29 points and 7 assists, which already made the fans in Washington, D.C. cheer. But what about Yiyang? 32 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block. This is Yiyang's relatively "low-key" statistics in recent games. Dallas fans seem to have become accustomed to Yiyang scoring 30+10.

Such a huge contrast kept Wall thinking. When did the gap between himself and Yiyang widen?

In his rookie season, although Yiyang defeated Griffin and Wall, the two top picks, he won the Rookie of the Year award. But that year, Yiyang's statistics were actually not much better than Wall's, and even slightly worse than Griffin's. What Yiyang has more is the training he gained in the playoffs and finals.

As a result, in the second season, when Wall was still proud of his ability to score 16+8 per game, Yiyang had become a top point guard who scored 20+10 as a daily routine. . That year, the Wizards were second to last in the Eastern Conference. Yiyang and the Mavericks made it all the way to the Western Conference semifinals, only to be defeated by the youthful and invincible Thunder.

By the third year, Wall was already averaging assists per game. He is more mature and more of a true leader. This year, the Wizards are fourth from the bottom in the Eastern Conference, and they have finally improved compared to the previous two years.

However, when Yiyang also handed over his transcript, Wall found that his top pick seemed to be worthless in an instant.

He averaged 4.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, which was only 0.1 points away from the scoring leader Anthony’s average of 28.9 points per game.

The 2.2 steals also ranked third in the league, and the 11.3 assists surpassed Rondo to rank first in the league. Yiyang's data is no longer on the same level as Wall at this moment.

Yiyang used his incredible performance to lead the Mavericks, a team of old, weak, sick and disabled, to enter the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference. The Spurs were finally defeated.

Until now, people believe that if it weren't for Yiyang, the Mavericks last season would have been hard-pressed to reach the top eight in the Western Conference, let alone reach the Western Conference finals.

At this time, Yiyang had completely taken over the team from Nowitzki. The MVP trophy is the best proof of this. The 10-year No. 1 player has already produced the first masterpiece of his career. But the No. 1 pick in 10 years is still waiting for his accumulation.

It wasn't until this season that the Wizards finally saw a glimmer of hope of reaching the playoffs. And now, people are finally willing to label Wall as a top point guard. It can be said that Yiyang had already done all this two seasons ago.

Thinking of the growing gap between himself and Yiyang in the past four years, Wall smiled bitterly. Is it because I don’t work hard enough? No, Wall is also a hard-working player. Is the Wizards lineup too poor? No, the Mavericks' roster last year was just as bad. Or is it that his talent is not as good as Yiyang's? No, being able to be selected as the top pick at least shows that his talent is no worse than Yiyang.

Wall thought about it and finally came to a conclusion. The real difference between me and Yiyang is the experience in the playoffs in those three years!

Since his rookie season, Yiyang has been struggling in the Western Conference playoffs where there are many strong players. His worst result was the Western Conference semifinals. Wall has been in the league for four years, but he has never known what it is like to play in the playoffs.

The playoffs are indeed a testing stage, and Yiyang's progress is visible to the naked eye. When he and Yiyang met, Yiyang was the weaker one. But now, he and the Wizards have become the weak side.

Wall is not jealous of Yiyang. His and Yiyang's similar life experiences even make the two of them feel like heroes. Although they have always been competitors, they also respect each other.

Wall just wants to try now, try to see if he can still beat Yiyang on the court. He was unwilling to fall behind like this, and was unwilling to be forgotten under the wheel of history. This season, he is completely different from before. He doesn't believe that the gap between him and Yiyang will be as huge as it seems on the surface!

Even putting this aside, Wall must do his best to defeat every opponent and strive to enter the playoffs. If he can't get tempered by the playoffs this year, the gap between him and Yiyang will probably get wider and wider.

Wall couldn't help clenching his fists. Every time he faced off against Yiyang, the No. 1 pick's blood would boil.

So in the afternoon training, Wall's excellent form in confrontational training made Wizards coach Randy Whitman very happy.

Against the Dallas Mavericks, this is not easy for every head coach. But seeing Wall, the top pick, perform so well, Whitman also had a glimmer of hope in his heart. Maybe, they can really create a miracle at home? The Mavericks have not lost this season. If other teams can beat them, the Wizards also have a chance!

Wall attacked the basket again and again on the training court and hit outside shots again and again. He has already begun to simulate in his mind what will happen when he plays against Yiyang, and then adjusts his strategy based on his understanding of Yiyang.

Two consecutive victories and 29 points can no longer satisfy Wall. Now, the only thing he wants to think about is to defeat his enemy and friend in Yiyang! Wall wants to prove it to others as well as to himself. The gap between me and Yiyang is actually not that big!

Come to Washington for the next game and I won't make it easy for you, old friend!

※※※

January 1st, the first day of 2014. At this time in the past, Yiyang would spend New Year's Day at home with Wenxue. Although they have been in the United States for so many years, mother and son are still Chinese at heart and attach great importance to many traditional Chinese festivals.

Only this year, Yiyang happened to have a competition on New Year's Day, and Wenxue was still traveling in Italy. Therefore, Yiyang called his mother and had a few words to celebrate New Year's Day.

But what surprised Yiyang was that when he set foot in Washington, the New Year's Day atmosphere here was not weak at all.

The streets outside the car window are filled with Chinese-style lanterns, and many restaurants on the street specially offer dumplings. Countless Chinese people dressed in red clothes walked festively on the streets, filling Washington, the capital of the United States, with a strong Chinese flavor.

"Today is New Year's Day, right?" On the team bus, Nowitzki looked curiously at the scene outside the window and asked Yiyang.

"Do you know about New Year's Day?" Yiyang turned around in surprise.

"Who in the United States doesn't know about New Year's Day and Spring Festival now? Just like you Chinese people also know about Christmas. Looking out the window, I can't even believe that this is the capital of the United States." Nowitzki pointed jokingly An American vendor sells lanterns on the street. On New Year's Day, Washington looks as lively as it does on Christmas.

As the team bus continued to go deeper, Yiyang did see many huge advertisements full of Chinese flavor. It seems that New Year’s Day is becoming more and more influential in the United States.

When passing by several booming dumpling restaurants, Yiyang always couldn't help but swallow his saliva. In the past, Wenxue would cook a pot of dumplings every New Year's Day so that Yiyang, who was far away from home, could taste the familiar taste. But this year's situation is special, and Yiyang naturally doesn't get such treatment.

The Chinese defender suddenly had an idea and looked at his teammates who were full of curiosity about this Chinese festival.

"Hey guys, have you ever eaten dumplings?" Yiyang suddenly asked, attracting the attention of everyone in the car.

"I've eaten it before. It's just a small piece of meat wrapped in a pile of dough. One is as big as a bowl!" Marion immediately started gesticulating.

"The dumplings you eat are called dumplings, Sean. Dumplings are not what you said. I saw them on TV!" Marion's words were immediately refuted by Nowitzki. It seems that not only have these foreigners never eaten , some people even don’t know what dumplings are.

"I see that Marbury often posts photos of eating dumplings on his Twitter. They seem to be quite delicious." Carter also expressed his views on dumplings.

"After we win the game today, I'll treat you all to a meal of dumplings." Looking at a bunch of foreigners arguing here, Yiyang finally extended the invitation.

"Okay! I happened to be hungry after the game. As promised, you'll treat me!"

When he heard someone was treating him, Tony Allen, who had been silent just now, suddenly became excited.

Everyone also agreed, who doesn’t want to try something new?

Yiyang smiled, although there was no father or mother on New Year's Day this year. But it seems pretty good to be able to spend time with my “other batch” of family.

"Then, let's think about how to win the game now! If we lose, I won't have the appetite to eat." Yiyang looked into the distance, and the huge figure of the Verizon Center Arena came into view. Hanging on the front of the arena is a huge poster of Wall. It seems that this kid is very happy in Washington!

But I'm sorry, today, I'm just here to cause trouble!

John Wall is looking forward to the arrival of Yiyang, and Yiyang is also eager to defeat Wall at home. The end of 2013 was very successful for Yiyang, and the beginning of 2014 must also be perfect.