Chapter 433: Hungry Tiger
Regardless of whether Yang Mo's goal is to win the championship, his current task is to play well in one game after another. Soon, the Knicks ushered in their first opponent after the All-Star Game, the Memphis Grizzlies.
If the dark horse of the Eastern Conference this year is the New York Knicks, then the spoiler of the Western Conference must be the Grizzlies. And what made the Grizzlies soar was definitely not this year's second pick Thabeet, nor last year's third pick OJ Mayo, but the real hero behind the scenes was Zach Randolph, who was kicked out by the Knicks last year.
When Zach Randolph joined New York, the then general manager Isaiah Thomas praised him highly, saying that he was a brilliant talent. Unfortunately, the fat guy never played a performance that matched his talent. When he was kicked out by D'Antoni, he immediately had a second spring in the Grizzlies, and he looked like the best power forward in the league today.
For the game that night, more than 20,000 people madly flocked to Madison Square Garden, more than 70% of whom were Knicks fans, and the remaining 30% were naturally Yang Mo's die-hard fans.
Ever since Yang Mo openly showed the middle finger to Knicks fans, Knicks fans seem to have learned what shame is overnight. Although they still express their dislike for Yang Mo on various occasions, thinking that Yang Mo is too arrogant and his playing style is too arrogant, they just can't control their feet and eyes. They began to take the initiative to book tickets in advance, or abstain from gatherings on game days and watch Knicks games in front of the TV. Even if they don't see the game because of some reasons, they will ask about the game as soon as possible.
Although New Yorkers prefer to talk about the Yankees, this year seems to be a bit unexpected, the Yankees' record has been declining this year. After the Knicks got Yang Mo, not only did the topic soar, but the record also changed dramatically. Under various negative and positive reports, the Knicks team began to appear widely in front of New Yorkers. Whether they are active or passive, they can always receive the latest news . Gradually, the influence has been improved.
The team's influence in New York City is growing, which is undoubtedly a good thing for Yang Mo. After all, he is a shareholder of MSG, and the increase in stock prices means that his pockets are getting fatter. Of course, Yang Mo still says that he doesn't like New York fans, just like New York fans have always hated him.
The media had anticipated a thrilling clash between the Eastern and Western Conference dark horses. Instead, the Knicks, with their overhauled roster, collapsed from the first minute of the first quarter, being swiftly dispatched by the Grizzlies. It was as if the Knicks had forgotten how to play. Their defense began to falter, their offense became disorganized, and they could only rely on individual players to barely keep the score from expanding beyond ten points.
For the team's defeat, Yang Mo rarely took the team's responsibility on his shoulders. He didn't even increase his shots, but passed the ball patiently. Yes, Yang Mo completely transformed into an organizer in the first three quarters. He worked hard to manage this new job, but... the result was cruel. He only gave out 4 assists in the first three quarters, but had 8 turnovers.
Seeing Yang Mo constantly passing the basketball to his opponent on the court, Knicks fans were about to collapse. In the past, they always felt that Yang Mo took too many shots, but now, they couldn't wait to see him take action to solve his opponent.
What's wrong with this guy? Why does he feel like a tiger with its teeth pulled out?
Almost all Knicks fans felt Yang Mo's weirdness. Although they didn't like Yang Mo, they knew him very well. This guy should be a crazy and arrogant person. How could he tolerate his opponent's continuous lead? Has he changed?
The fans were puzzled, and Yang Mo also felt frustrated. After the third quarter, he walked to Stockton behind the bench and asked impatiently, "Can I go all out in the fourth quarter?"
Stockton half-closed his eyes, pretending to be mysterious, and slowly said, "Have you understood the true meaning of passing the ball?"
"No." Yang Mo shook his head very honestly.
"No hurry." Stockton nodded slightly, still speaking slowly and leisurely like a charlatan: "Next, you just play the way you want to. Continue to learn in the next game."
"Yes!" Yang Mo nodded quickly, licked his tongue subconsciously, looked hungry, and walked towards the bench excitedly.
Karl Malone, who was standing next to Stockton, shook Stockton's shoulder in confusion and asked, "What are you doing? If you had let him go from the first quarter, the Grizzlies would have been defeated long ago."
"What do you know?" Stockton rolled his eyes at Karl Malone and said, "I did this to improve his passing ability."
"You can wait until garbage time to practice your passing skills." Karl Malone still didn't understand.
"Do you think the passing skills learned in garbage time are useful? Only strong opponents can hone the strongest skills!" Stockton said unhappily, "Besides, I deliberately made the Knicks fall behind. A true leader should lead the team out of trouble, not sail smoothly. Also, didn't you see Yang's expression just now? He looked hungry. Do you know when the tiger is the most ferocious?"
"A hungry tiger?" Karl Malone muttered uncertainly.
"Yes, that's what he is like now." Stockton nodded with a smile, then pointed his finger at Yang Mo.
At this time, Yang Mo was holding Stein's tactical board and arranging tactics: "Come on, guys, let's get serious next. Micilic, Turiaf, Gallinani, and Tony Allen. Follow me later. I don't need you to remember any tactics, you just need to follow my footsteps and obey my orders, and I will lead you to victory."
When Yang Mo said this, the two veteran players were full of confidence, while the two newcomers seemed a little confused: "Dude, are you bragging? We are already 16 points behind, okay?"
When Tony Allen and Turiaf were not confident, the whistle for the game to restart had already sounded. After entering the court, Yang Mo directly passed the basketball to Tony Allen. Then he reminded Turiaf: "You swim near the free throw line. Your mid-range shooting ability will make Randolph afraid to leave you."
Turiaf was skeptical when he heard this, but when he returned to the half court, he stood firmly near the free throw line. Sure enough, Randolph stood not far from him without moving. At this moment, Tony Allen had brought the basketball to the front court. When Yang Mo asked for the ball, he quickly passed the ball to him. Yang Mo took the ball and immediately made a gesture to him to run back.
He was also half-believing and half-doubting, thinking that it was unnecessary to run back at this time. However, due to the authority of Boss Yang Mo, he immediately ran back inside.
At the same time as he was running back, Yang Mo made a fake move to break through OJ Mayo's defense, and then used his abnormal explosive power and speed to cut into the penalty area. Seeing Yang Mo rushing away, OJ Mayo had no way to stop him at all. His defense was not good to begin with, and when he met a breakthrough player of Yang Mo's level, he could only be defeated.
When Yang Mo was about to rush to the free throw line, Zach Randolph quickly came up to defend. Seeing Randolph coming up to defend, Yang Mo immediately stopped and easily passed the ball to Turiaf. Turiaf was already open when he received the basketball. He was about to shoot, but found that Tony Allen had already run to the basket. Conley, who was defending him, was blocked by Milicic. Such a good opportunity, of course he would not miss it, and passed the ball in the first place. Tony Allen received the ball and jumped up and dunked directly... Boom!
"Well done, man." Yang Mo immediately gave Tony Allen a thumbs up.
The fans in the stadium also cheered enthusiastically, after all, this was the first dunk of the game.
Tony Allen was not only excited about the dunk, but also more shocked: Did this guy calculate the passing path from the beginning? Otherwise, why would he let Turiaf stand at the free throw line and let me run back quickly? But... he didn't give any tactical hints at all. I have never seen this kind of running position in Stein's tactical system.
Tony Allen was so shocked, but Yang Mo took it as a normal thing. This level of planning was a piece of cake for him and it couldn't be easier.
"Tony, you go and defend OJ Mayo alone. Turiaf, you hold off Zach Randolph. Milicic, you support Gallinani at the 45-degree position on the left wing. As for Gasol, leave it to me."
As soon as Yang Mo returned to the backcourt, he loudly reminded his teammates to move.
Under Yang Mo's arrangement, a fan-shaped defensive position was formed very quickly, covering almost all the Grizzlies' offensive players. Of course, Conley was habitually ignored.
Conley seemed unwilling to be ignored. He moved around without being guarded and shot directly from outside the three-point line. At the same time as he shot, a figure flew out and jumped high, like a roc spreading its wings. The short Conley only felt a black screen in front of his eyes, and then a big hand snatched the basketball he shot directly within his sight. At this time, his feet had not even landed in time.
It wasn't just Conley who was blocked who didn't react. The two new players of the Knicks didn't react either, until Yang Mo, who had taken the shot, shouted, "Fast break!!"
Hearing this call, they immediately ran. However, they were slower than Yang Mo who was dribbling the ball. When they desperately ran across the center line, Yang Mo had already made a quick stop jump shot outside the three-point line... Before they could stop, they saw the basketball accurately fall into the net... Swish!
As the Nets surged like waves, the passion of the entire Madison Garden was instantly ignited, and the surging cheers bloomed like fireworks!
