Chapter 541: Stoudemire's Big Mouth
When the Knicks left Miami and went to the West to play away games, the airport was once again crowded with a large group of fans who came to see them off. To them, Super Yang will always be one of them, no matter which team's jersey he wears.
Yang Mo couldn't help but feel a little emotional as he left. He suddenly hoped not to meet the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. He didn't want to eliminate Miami, but if he did meet them, he had to be so cruel. This is the professional ethics of a professional player.
After the Knicks easily won their twelfth straight game, their record remained firmly in first place. At this point, some expert commentators were already speculating whether the Knicks could break the Chicago Bulls' 72-10 record. In the discussion, almost 60 to 70 percent of the audience believed it was possible.
However, Knicks fans are constantly trying to save their reputation. When asked this question by reporters, they answered very seriously: "Don't praise the Knicks too much. Our mission this year is to make the playoffs. We should leave breaking records to the Big Three teams. We really can't do it. Super Yang can't even score now. He just makes assists every day. It's so annoying. Stoudemire is even more abominable. 65% of his points are scored through dunks. Look, our two ace players have fallen to this level. How dare we break records!"
The more seriously this response is taken, the more ridiculous it becomes. What's wrong with Knicks fans? Are they all mortals who won't accept irony? If the Knicks' goal is to make the playoffs, then... how should the teams they've slaughtered reposition themselves? Are they begging for the No. 1 pick?
Meanwhile, the Knicks had already arrived in Los Angeles, facing the Los Angeles Clippers. Griffin, the Clippers' rookie of the year, or perhaps last year's rookie , displayed a brute physicality, often appearing at the top of top-five play lists. His physicality was reminiscent of the brute power forwards of Dwight Howard, Stoudemire, and Shawn Kemp.
Before the game started, Stoudemire arrogantly told the media: "I will teach that guy what the real art of dunking is."
Stoudemire's words were full of dominance, almost like a king's aura. But after speaking to the media, he lowered his stance and made a flattering request to Yang Mo: "Yang, can you please pass the ball to me more often? You know, I'm a face-saver, and I hate it when younger players surpass me."
Stadler is like a tiger outside, but like a cat in front of Yang Mo.
Yang Mo did not refuse Stoudemire's request and agreed after asking Stoudemire to agree to a condition. However, he did not tell Stoudemire what the condition was, because he had to save it for the critical moment.
Because Yang Mo agreed to Stoudemire's request, the Clippers' restricted area was completely overrun by the two men that night, transforming it into a flying squadron performance area. Chris Kaman tried to intervene, but he was powerless. As for the two young men, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin, Yang Mo's method of dealing with them was too simple: a simple fake move, followed by a whirlwind stunt, followed by an effortless dunk. They could only shed silent tears, their joys and sorrows unnoticed. I am a fucking dancer.
The two players' defensive touch was too sensitive, or the springs in their feet were too unruly. If they were fooled, they would fly everywhere, leaving sadness to themselves and leaving the penalty area to the opponent.
That night, Stoudemire dunked seventeen times, completely proving his dominance to Brook Griffin and proving he was the most brutal power forward in the league. He was quite proud of it. After the game, speaking to Los Angeles reporters , he couldn't help but boast, "Griffin is a good young man, but he still lacks experience. He should watch more of my video clips. If he wants to continue to improve, he can call me during the offseason, and I will selflessly give him some guidance."
But Griffin didn't appreciate it at all. Instead, he said, "If Super Yang was my teammate, I could dunk 20 times a game. Every time, Super Yang would think 90% of the way through before passing the ball to him. He just needs to jump. What's so difficult about that? Even my grandfather could dunk 17 times."
Griffin's constant complaints annoyed Stoudemire. He hadn't expected his juniors to be so rude.
"He doesn't understand basketball very well. If his grandfather could dunk 17 times in a game, would he have been the No. 1 pick in the NBA? Super Yang is great, but no one can deny my ability to run. Besides, at least I don't have butter hands." Stoudemire responded to Griffin's provocation before the game against the Lakers.
His words were like saying nothing. Anyone who'd watched the game knew what was going on. This guy, no matter where he moved, was always waiting in the paint for the ball. He ran the least of any Knicks player. He'd occasionally run pick-and-rolls when he was with the Suns, but now, he'd abandoned that routine.
Perhaps out of camaraderie between their teams, Pau Gasol, a Spaniard who rarely engages in verbal attacks, actually publicly criticized Stoudemire in the media: "I agree with Blake. Stoudemire's dunks are too exaggerated, and his scoring title is also too exaggerated. He's currently relying on Super Yang to pass the ball to him. If Super Yang loses him, his scoring will definitely drop significantly. He's a typical stat-gapper, and he can't be the league's best power forward."
Pau Gasol's outburst almost irritated Stoudemire. He went to Yang Mo again and said, "Yang, you must let me play more singles against the Lakers. I must prove to Pau Gasol that I can beat him even without your assists."
"Uh..." Faced with Stoudemire's confidence, Yang Mo finally managed to hold back from pouring cold water on him. While Pau Gasol might be a bit soft, he was still a sure-shot opponent against a power forward like Stoudemire. After all, Stoudemire's style of play was relatively simple, though his face-up isolation play was more dominant. "I'll try to pass you the ball more often."
"Okay, thank you. I must go on a killing spree!!" Stadler said viciously, gritting his teeth.
Yang Mo could only smile bitterly and shake his head. This guy is still too naive. It would be good to learn a lesson through some setbacks!
