Chapter 309 Cold Eyes and Laughter
The Heat beat the underdogs and created the first dark horse in the playoffs. However, due to Jermaine O'Neal's injury, almost no one was optimistic that the Heat could make it to the eighth place. Even if the Cavaliers were not good enough, they were still the Eastern Conference champions. They were stronger than the Heat, although Miami created many surprises this year. But... they were still not optimistic.
In a sense, the current Miami Heat has suffered the same treatment as Yang Mo. Although Yang Mo has played many jaw-dropping games one after another, the definition hanging above his head is still those five words: idol player.
Those critics are used to describing some objective victories as coincidences or accidents. However, there are no absolute coincidences in this world, let alone absolute accidents. Everything has a cause and an effect, and it is impossible to appear out of thin air. Luck is an element, but it is definitely not all.
Jermaine O'Neal's injury report was released at noon the next day after the game. His anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments were ruptured and his season was over. Jermaine O'Neal also expressed his intention to retire.
As soon as the news came out, the expert commentators who had been pessimistic about the Heat had more factual basis, and they jumped out to analyze the impact of Jermaine O'Neal's departure on the Heat from various angles.
Although their eyes are varied, they can be summed up in one sentence: Jermaine O'Neal is the only inside player in Miami who can score independently in the restricted area. He is also the last defensive shackle of Miami. His assist defense provides a solid barrier for the weak defensive Heat team.
And now, he's gone.
The Heat no longer have any available center on the bench. The aging Magloire was admitted to the hospital last week. His old injury has been bothering his waist, and he is already old enough to retire, and it is impossible for him to withstand the intensity of the playoffs.
The playoffs are a stage for defense, and the most important thing for defense is the defender of the restricted area. This is why in this era of declining centers, a center who averages a double-double can easily get a salary of tens of millions per year. Because no matter how the times change, the saying that whoever controls the restricted area wins is always irrefutable.
Now, the Heat are left with a bunch of mediocre forwards. Miami's personnel are already very poor. Apart from a few players, the substitutes are only at the level of the NBDL. It is already surprising that they can make the playoffs. How can they still hope to make it to the eighth place? Is it a pipe dream?
When the whole world was not optimistic about the Heat's victory, Yang Mo locked himself in the hotel room and watched the Cavaliers' videotapes over and over again. The Cavaliers' offensive routines were not complicated, and almost every tactic was based on James. However, they were linked together, especially when defending, and the response between them was particularly good. And most importantly, the Heat did not have a center, while the Cavaliers could easily put out three or four centers with completely different styles.
This is the most difficult part.
They have centers for run-and-gun and positional offense, but the Heat don't have centers no matter what tactics they use.
After watching for nearly a day, Yang Mo gritted his teeth and said, "There's no other way. I'll have to do it."
Yang Mo was determined to fight all the knights' inside players by himself. Although the road ahead was full of difficulties, Yang Mo was full of heroic spirit after making up his mind. He didn't care about the millions of generals in Cao's camp, he would kill seven in and seven out first!
Yang Mo was full of ambition, but the team's morale was also unusually low. Yang Mo was not affected by the outside world, but others were, and they were affected a lot.
They all looked listless, as if they had already packed their bags for off-season fishing.
Seeing this, Yang Mo wanted to say something but knew that words were far less powerful than actions. He just chatted with Dwyane Wade. To be honest, Wade's confidence was not very high, and he was also mentally prepared to be eliminated.
However, Yang Mo easily convinced him and made him full of fighting spirit. The reason he used was very simple: "I would rather die standing than kneel down and surrender. No one can make me admit defeat before the final whistle. I think you are the same as me. We should be the same kind of people."
Wade may have some shortcomings in his private life, but as a professional player, his fighting spirit is absolutely top-notch, and his desire for victory far exceeds his pursuit of everything else, so Yang Mo can easily convince him.
Just when Yang Mo and Wade had the same idea, the 007 crew became bad teammates.
They announced the start of the crew the day before the second game of the playoffs, and claimed at the press conference that the lead actress Yang Mo would soon join the crew.
When this statement was spread, even a fool would think of the recent playoffs, and almost everyone thought that Yang Mo had given up the game. You see, he has already started to work on filming a movie.
Instantly, this news exploded in the basketball circle, and countless commentators stood up to criticize Yang Mo's professional ethics. They finally found material to unscrupulously slander her.
Many basketball legends also stood up to criticize Yang Mo's behavior, including Magic Johnson: "We have no objection to players shooting movies, but it is absolutely unprofessional to be distracted before the game is over. Yang should reflect on himself. He seems to have lost his way in the overwhelming cheers and screams. Before becoming a Hollywood star, he was still an NBA basketball player."
Originally, Yang Mo didn't want to respond to those stupid commentators' criticism, but this public opinion has already affected the team. Many players began to ask Yang Mo where he was going in the summer and whether he needed extras in the movie he was shooting.
Once this kind of negative emotion ferments among the players, then they will just surrender in the next game. The game is always a five-person game. Even if you have two people fighting hard, the other three don't cooperate, there is still one way: lose!
In addition, some basketball legends whom Yang Mo respected criticized her. Yang Mo had to respond very seriously under the reporters' questioning: "I don't know why the crew would spread such news. So far, I have not had any contact with them. Everything is handled by my agent. In addition, please rest assured that all friends who are concerned about this matter will not give up the game. My self-esteem cannot tolerate a negative and lazy self. Even if everyone thinks that the Miami Heat will lose this series, I will fight to the last second, until the bullets are exhausted, until I am carried off the battlefield."
When Yang Mo's words spread, the voices of doubt did not stop immediately, but became more and more intense. Sometimes, words are never as good as actions.
A thousand words cannot compare to a real fight on the court, so Yang Mo did not speak again after making this statement.
LeBron James jumped out at the right time and said confidently: "The reason we lost the last game is that we haven't adjusted our status from the regular season to the playoffs. Our goal is the championship, so we will definitely not lose in the first round. If nothing unexpected happens, we will end the battle in the fifth game."
LeBron James' words can be described as arrogant.
However, almost all the audience felt that what he said made sense, because this Heat team was indeed no longer competitive.
At the same time, major bookmakers also opened their handicaps, and almost all of them had the Cavaliers giving a handicap of more than 10. The odds of the Heat winning were astonishingly 1:10, which means that if you bet $10 million on the Heat to win, then after the game, you will have $100 million back in your pocket.
These are tempting odds, but few people dare to put their own money into it because more people think that the money will be wasted.
