Chapter 505 We Want to Sweep Across
Phew!
When Howard's left foot landed on the ground, there was a slight sound from his ankle, and then his brain nerves received the heart-wrenching pain at an extremely fast speed. Almost in an instant, his huge body fell down due to the pain. At this time, this was the only way to reduce the damage. If he continued to fight against the pain, it would be very likely to tear the wound.
Howard fell in the penalty area and covered his ankle with a painful sound.
Almost instantly, Stan Van Gundy's heart sank to the bottom. He slumped in his chair, his head bowed. He knew this season's playoff run was coming to an end. Even with Howard on the court, they couldn't defeat the Knicks. If he left the court, then... the Magic would be completely wiped out.
After Yang Mo landed after his layup, he obviously didn't expect Howard to be so injured. He quickly bent down and asked with concern, "Did you sprain your ankle?"
"I'm not sure, but I might have to leave the court." Howard said with a cold breath and great pain: "My playoff journey is over. I hope you can beat the Celtics."
Howard suddenly mentioned the Knicks' next opponent. Yang Mo was a little slow to react. All his focus was now on studying the Magic. When Howard suddenly mentioned the Celtics, he didn't think about that.
"I will give my 100% effort in every game." Yang Mo nodded and said confidently, "Just like this game."
"I really wish you were my teammate." Howard smiled bitterly. He glanced at his teammates around him with a very bleak expression.
Yang Mo smiled faintly. "If you're willing to play for me in the Knicks, I can probably give you three or four championship rings, and your shots at the rim will be two or three times more than they are now. Think carefully about whether you want to continue being a leader on a bad team like the Magic, or make history with me."
Yang Mo's words clearly conveyed his intention to recruit. Howard might be a leader on the Magic, but he felt awkward in that role, essentially a blue-collar worker. Since he was still a blue-collar worker, why not follow Yang Mo? While he might not be a leader in name only, the benefits were immense! Who didn't know that Super Yang was the league's most talked-about superstar?
"I'll seriously consider it." Howard nodded. He had this idea in his mind, but some things were not something he could decide alone.
"I'm waiting for your answer. Although I can win the championship without you, you are indeed the center in the league whose playing style is most compatible with mine." Yang Mo patted Howard's shoulder, stood up and walked to the side: "Heal your injury well!"
Yang Mo left with these words, but Howard's thoughts drifted off. Indeed, his playing style was highly compatible with Yang Mo's. His influence in the paint was exactly what Yang Mo desired, while Yang Mo's penetration and three-point shooting ability would allow him to create even more space. Their perfect combination, inside and out, would definitely become a super partnership surpassing the OK combination. But... his contract hadn't expired yet!
The Magic's team doctor quickly diagnosed Howard, and moments later, a stretcher was wheeled in and Howard was taken away. The atmosphere at Madison Square Garden couldn't help but brighten with joy as Howard was carried off. While this was somewhat disrespectful to an injured player, it also served as a testament to Howard's formidable nature. Although he didn't take many shots, he was the Knicks' biggest problem. Now that he's gone, Knicks fans are naturally celebrating his departure with joy.
Unlike the joy of Knicks fans, the Magic team is shrouded in a thick haze. Now the team is behind by 30 points, and the most important inside barrier is gone. He is the tactical cornerstone of the Magic team. Now that he is gone, how can the team play?
Suddenly, every Magic player was overcome with frustration. They began to grow timid and lose confidence. Some even began planning a summer trip. Negativity quickly spread throughout the team, and Stan Van Gundy was powerless to stop it. Unlike Yang Mo, who led by example and galvanized the team, his oratory was limited to a few passionate expletives.
In this situation, what can the Magic do?
In fact, they really beat like shit, which is worse than shit and piss.
For the remainder of the fourth quarter, the Magic's slump proved their incompetence. The so-called crushing defeat was probably their state on the court. They didn't even organize a single offense in three minutes, and Stan Van Gundy had no objection. In fact, he surrendered even earlier than his players, burying his head between his legs like an ostrich stuck in the sand.
Stan Van Gundy didn't want to see his team suffer such a tragic defeat on the court, but when the final bell rang, he had to pull his head out from between his legs. He looked up and saw the bright red score above the court: 125:82, a tragic massacre!
The Magic, ranked third in the Eastern Conference, lost three games in a row, and in the third game they were beaten by the Knicks, ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference, by 43 points.
When Stan Van Gundy lost Game 2, he thought it might be the end of his coaching career. Now, he has to admit that it is a shame in his coaching career, a shame that will be recorded in history and will never be erased.
"Coach Stan, although I'm sorry, I still have to say that your on-the-spot reaction tonight was terrible." Yang Mo took the initiative to approach him after the game and shook his hand in a friendly manner, but the words that came out of his mouth were unfriendly: "You really are the best sixth man of the Knicks."
"We will win Game 4," Stan Van Gundy replied, gritting his teeth.
"You know better than anyone that you can't win anymore," Yang Mo responded calmly to Stan Van Gundy's words. "Perhaps you still have the confidence to win, but your players have forgotten the feeling of winning. They're probably thinking more about how to escape this endless losing streak. Besides...without Howard, the Magic are nothing but a toothless wild dog. We can play however we want!"
Yang Mo's last sentence was full of teasing and arrogance, but Stan Van Gundy, who had been organizing the words in his head for a long time, found that he had no way to refute it with words at all. Yang Mo really hit his weak spot this time.
"Just wait!" Stan Van Gundy could only say this harmless sentence in the end, then turned and walked towards the locker room.
After Stan Van Gundy left, the TNT commentator approached Yang Mo. He immediately asked her, "Super Yang, congratulations on your third win of this playoff round. Before the game, no one expected the Knicks to defend their home court, but you did. Is there anything you want to say to everyone right now, at this moment?"
"I don't have much to say. To me, this is just an expected victory. The Magic aren't scary at all, and we're not as weak as everyone thinks." Yang Mo said calmly to the camera, "We'll sweep the Magic on Friday night. I hope everyone brings a broom to Madison Square Garden. This is our gift to Nelson. He once said he'd give the Knicks a broom, and now we should prepare 20,000 for him to take back to Orlando."
Yang Mo's words were as arrogant and conceited as ever, and the reporters had clearly grown accustomed to them. Meanwhile, the New York City audience was incredibly excited by Yang Mo's words, going wild. They'd always found Yang Mo's arrogance annoying, but now, their hearts connected to her, they found her words incredibly moving and refreshing. This is how you should treat your enemies! Super Yang, could you be even more domineering?
"Oh, sweep, do you mean four to zero?" The reporter seemed to have caught a breaking news point and quickly investigated it in an attempt to trigger more news.
"What else? We're already up to 3-0, why not 4-0?" Yang Mo asked calmly.
"Alright." Seeing Yang Mo's question, the reporter quickly changed the subject. He was afraid Yang Mo would lose her temper and take her anger out on him. "In this game, you scored a super triple-double of 46 points, 15 assists, and 11 rebounds. This statistic broke the Knicks' team record and even the playoff record. What motivates you to achieve these stats so easily?"
"Of course it's the motivation to win," Yang Mo said slowly, his usual composure. "I don't think you should be surprised by my stats. From now on, you'll often see me get big triple-doubles. Next season, I might even be the scoring champion averaging a triple-double. You have to understand, I want to be the man who dominates the NBA. If I can't dominate the charts statistically, how can I conquer those eager and unconvinced players?"
"Um, okay." Seeing Yang Mo's last question was a rhetorical one, the reporter quickly changed the subject: "Tonight, five Hollywood superstars came to the sidelines to support you. They are the actresses with whom the public has previously speculated you may have had some kind of relationship. Do you think this was a conscious act?"
"I think anyone who believes that piece of news has a problem with their brain." Yang Mo answered simply and bluntly.
"Yang, I swear, I absolutely did not believe that information." The reporter quickly defended his brain. He didn't want to be seen as a person with a problem with his brain.
"I'm quite confident that your brain is healthy." Yang Mo smiled slightly and waved to the camera. "Okay, I have to go take a shower. Welcome everyone to continue watching TNT on Friday. As far as I know, a man with a sanitary napkin on his forehead will appear in the studio that evening. His avant-garde style will tell the world that he is a true fashion trendsetter! Go! Jeff!"
After Yang Mo finished speaking, she turned and walked away from the camera. Meanwhile, the studio connected to the live broadcast erupted in laughter, and the staff couldn't help but burst into laughter. They hadn't expected Yang Mo to give such a preview of their program at the end of the interview. It seemed this guy had quite a sense of humor!
Barkley, sitting at the studio desk, slammed his head with laughter and said excitedly, "I never thought Super Yang knew about my bet. How did he do it? He didn't have any signal to watch the show live?"
"You can watch TNT signals in the stadium, and our program is also available in the player tunnel, so when you make your bet, someone will definitely see it, and then it will reach Super Yang's ears. There is no technical difficulty at all." Collins tried to hold back a smile and answered as objectively as possible. He didn't want to use the wrong word and make Jeff Van Gundy, who was already livid, furious, and then walk away.
Collins was afraid of offending Jeff Van Gundy, but Mr. Charles Barkley wasn't. He deliberately teased Jeff Van Gundy's mood and said, "By the way, Jeff, can I ask which type of sanitary napkins you use? I think with your hair shape, you can use the extended night-use type. Of course, you can also use the side-winged type. The design on both sides will not only highlight the radiance of your head, but also hide your increasingly sparse eyebrows!"
Jeff Van Gundy clenched his teeth so tightly that they were chattering, which showed how angry he was.
Barkley was clearly not worried about Jeff Van Gundy's anger. Instead, he continued to exaggerate, "By the way, you can also use the girl series. I heard there's a product called 600 absorbent pillows. If you don't have trypophobia, you can refer to it!"
"Enough, Charles Barkley, human patience has its limits." Jeff Van Gundy slammed the table, stood up in great anger, and glared at Barkley fiercely. If his extremely angry eyes could spew out tangible anger, Barkley would have been burned to ashes long ago.
"So, you're not satisfied with my proposal?" Barkley ignored Jeff Van Gundy's anger and said with a smile, "Are you going to cheat? You don't plan to use sanitary napkins? You want to use girl pads? Don't do that. That thing looks too much like a fever-reducing patch. It will make the audience think your brain is burned out."
Charles Barkley's antics clearly infuriated Jeff Van Gundy even more. He pointed at Barkley's nose and yelled, "Charles, this feud between us isn't over. Just wait, one day you're going to get a double lesson."
"We'll talk about it when that day comes. But what you have to do now is to execute your bet in the next game , my Mr. Fashion Trendsetter!" Barkley shrugged his shoulders, not taking Jeff Van Gundy's warning seriously at all.
At this time, Van Gundy snorted angrily, then turned and walked out.
This was the second time he had walked out in anger. Apparently, TNT had experience with this. They very experiencedly gave Jeff Van Gundy a long shot, watching him walk away before returning the camera to Collins. Collins said calmly, "Well, everyone, that's it for tonight's basketball program. Welcome everyone to watch our game on Friday, the Knicks vs. the Orlando Magic at home. Good night, everyone!"
Collins calmly finished his finale, just as Yang Mo was entering the locker room. His teammates surrounded him and tossed him up repeatedly. Yang Mo had clearly not expected such enthusiasm. To him, this victory didn't seem worth the fuss; it was just a normal victory.
However, for the Knicks players, this was a victory against themselves, a vindication of their own. They nearly gave up in the first quarter, but Yang Mo reassured them and unleashed their inner courage, allowing them to rally and completely defeat the Magic. After this match, while their technical level didn't improve, their spirit was significantly elevated.
Yang Mo was left tossing around in their excitement for a while, but General Manager Isaiah Thomas finally came over to talk him down. Isaiah Thomas was already on edge, and he didn't want Yang Mo to get hurt again from such a dangerous move. He'd already lost three key players this series, and if he lost Super Yang, there was no point in playing the rest of the game; he could just surrender.
After pulling Yang Mo down, Isaiah Thomas excitedly pulled Yang Mo aside and said to Yang Mo excitedly, "Yang, Tyson Chandler has had his agent contact me after watching tonight's game and has agreed to the contract we offered."
"Tyson Chandler?" Yang Mo pondered for a moment. He was indeed one of the few good big men in the league, and a defensive player at that. His style of play was a good fit for Yang Mo. While not as good as Dwight's, it was still a very, very good addition. "Okay, if we get a chance, we'll sign him. He's worth tens of millions a year. But... he's not worth a long-term contract. Perhaps, in the future, we can get Dwight Howard. We don't need two defensive centers of the same type."
"Dwight Howard?" When Isaiah Thomas heard the name, his eyes lit up instantly. This was the player he had always dreamed of.
"Well, don't get too excited. His contract won't expire for another two years, and the Magic won't let him go for now. Sign Chandler to a three or four-year contract first."
"Okay, I'll do it right away." Isaiah Thomas nodded quickly, and then he said, "Also, the Suns' Amar'e Stoudemire has extended an olive branch to us."
"Stoudemire?" Yang Mo was instantly surprised when he heard the name! !
