basketball never sleeps

Chapter 288 Everyone has a bright future

The Supersonics didn't give old Nelson much time to think.

Byron Davis passed the ball to Richardson, who made a crossover breakthrough and attracted Gay's help defense before quickly passing the ball to Jackson who was in the half-open position in the bottom corner.

Jackson missed the three-pointer, Mo Wen flew to grab the rebound, then turned around and led the Supersonics to counterattack.

Several Warriors forwards returned to defense very quickly, entangled Milicic and Gay who were running in front and did not leave any chance. Ray Allen was also stalked and entangled by Byron Davis like a pervert, and it was difficult for him to catch the ball.

Only Jackson was gritting his teeth and sweating profusely. He had to face Mo Wen and Tyson alone at the back. He had no time to scold his teammates and could only bite the bullet and stretch out his arms to make himself look bigger.

But his block did not have a slowing effect on Tyson. Yao Ming, who was chasing from behind, was not slow, but he still could not catch up with Tyson, who was lighter and faster.

Faced with a beast-like center who was charging at high speed, the Warriors in the backcourt were helpless. You know, the American bison that dared to collide head-on with a train is now an endangered species.

In the blink of an eye, Mo Wen skillfully dribbled the ball behind his back to avoid Jackson's gambling steal. Instead of shooting in the open space in front of him, he threw the ball into the air in a very leisurely manner.

Tyson went straight into the basket and grabbed the ball effortlessly. His whole body curved like a recurve bow and slammed the ball into the basket with great force.

boom!
The audience cheered again.

The big screen in the KeyArena also played images of the plane taking off at the right time.

The ball was served from the backcourt again, and the Warriors' counterattack was unexpectedly blocked at the three-point line again. They couldn't find any opportunities for consecutive breakthroughs. The bearded man lobbed the ball to Yao Ming in the interior. After Yao Ming raised the ball to attract the defense, he passed it to Richardson in an open space.

Richardson's shot was short and the rebound collapsed. After a chaotic scramble, Mo Wen found the right opportunity to poke the ball away. Ray Allen picked up the ball and ran forward. Before Jackson could frantically return to defense halfway through the run, he passed the ball to Mo Wen who was running to the other side.

After receiving the ball, Mo Wen made almost no adjustments. He took a big leap forward without slowing down at all. At the same time, he stretched out his arms in the air and made a mid-range fingertip layup.

Jackson just ran along, completely unsure of how to interfere.

Bang...

The basketball hit the backboard and bounced into the basket.

9:2
"Oh, Mo Wen's shot was beautiful. He stretched his long arms forward and flicked his little hands to pick the ball in from such a distance. If it was someone else, with the same speed, the ball would definitely fly flat and out. But when Mo Wen did it, he was able to score. This is the ability of the unanimous MVP!"

Coach Zhang praised loudly in the studio.

"Tomato!" "Marefaq!" "Damn it!"

Looking at the score gap that widened at the beginning, a feeling of frustration spread in the hearts of the Warriors players.

At the moment, the performance of the two teams' players is completely not on the same level.

They also knew where the problem lay. In the last round, they played a full seven-game series with the Lakers and had no extra energy to study the Supersonics. Only a few video editors had the time to marvel at the strength of the Supersonics.

After winning the seventh game, they only had three days of rest. Nelson, who had successfully challenged cancer twice, knew how to enjoy life. Not only did he not stop the players from going to the bar to party after winning the game, he even went with them to drink a glass of wheat juice.

(The league also issued a ban on alcohol for Nelson this season - prohibiting head coaches from drinking during press interviews.)
Excluding rest and recovery training in the three days, the Warriors players only have one day left to prepare for the Western Conference Finals.

Such pre-war preparations were sloppy, but they were in line with the gang culture within their team.

Dayao had some complaints about this, but when he thought about his teammates on the court who were giving their all, he couldn't bring himself to criticize them.

Old Nelson had originally planned to have a hearty offensive battle with the Supersonics, but now his goal has only been half achieved - the Supersonics are having a hearty offensive battle.

Faced with this situation, the mad scientist's first reaction was not to remedy the situation in time, but to go completely crazy. He wanted to replace their successful four-guard lineup with Harrington as the center and fight with the Supersonics.

But looking at the two inside players of the Supersonics who are over 210cm tall, forget it, the time is not right yet.

In the next round, under the command of Baron Davis, Yao Ming moved inside.

Even though the Supersonics knew Yao Ming came in to attract defense, they had no choice but to fall for it.

After the bearded man failed in his attempt to break through Mo Wen, he passed the ball to Jackson, who just started shooting. Halfway through, he saw that his shooting opportunity was not good, so he passed the ball to Harrington in the corner.

Milicic was attracted by Yao Ming's request and Jackson's breakthrough in succession, and was unable to return to defense in time. He could only watch Harrington make slight adjustments after receiving the ball and shoot the ball smoothly and stutteringly.

Harrington's shooting has a strange rhythm. The basketball is lifted from the lower body to the chest very quickly, but it slows down when he raises his arm to shoot, which is the opposite of Tatum's later hip-up and butt-clamping shooting.

This kind of rhythm is definitely not a good habit for shooters who make a living by shooting, but this is 07, and as long as there is space in the interior, it is enough.

The Warriors barely kept up with the firepower after making a three-pointer.

It's just that the Warriors' outside shooting was relatively average today, and they made two more three-pointers afterwards, all of which were in vain. The long rebounds they generated became food for the Supersonics' fast break.

When the score difference widened to 10 points, old Nelson finally couldn't help but call a timeout, replacing Harrington, who was performing decently, with Biedrins, and unexpectedly played with twin towers.

To outsiders, this decision is almost incomprehensible. Biedrins' defense is better than Harrington's, he has excellent lateral movement and good jumping ability. It can be said that he does not look like a white center at all, but his physical fitness is judged by the inside standards.

In the final analysis, Biedrins is still a standard center, and like Yao Ming, he will also be called upon by pick-and-rolls.

In order to solve the problem of the big center being singled out in the team, we just put another center in to suffer with him?
Gangzi: I don’t watch old Nelson’s games because he is too kind!

In fact, old Nelson did not think about solving the problem of Yao Ming being frequently called out. He is not a defensive coach, so if he cannot defend him, he cannot defend him. Anyway, there is only Mo Wen in the league who can regularly call out Yao Ming, and calling out Yao Ming will not be effective in every round.

For the Warriors, the most important thing is offense. If they play small ball at the beginning, they will most likely be blown away by the two big men of the Supersonics. Then they can only play big ball and strengthen their position.

Even though the Warriors have twin towers in their lineup, once they get into the position, the twin towers will stay in the elbow area like two goalkeepers and will not actively push towards the inside.

Yao Ming may have become a pick-and-roll tool, but in fact, his ball possession has increased. The Warriors' frequent pick-and-rolls on the outside gave the two inside players a relatively open shooting environment. If the Warriors can't get a three-pointer, they will give the ball to Yao Ming.

A 2.26 anti-aircraft gun, an extremely stable lower body, and the use of inside dance steps, and the habit of leaning back to avoid confrontation... That's right, this is a mid-range numerical monster!
Yao Ming's mid-range and long-range shooting accuracy is naturally not as good as that of the inside line, but a stable 46% shooting accuracy is enough to provide the Warriors with stable offensive firepower, saving energy while also clearing the inside line. If the opponent gets too close, Yao Ming will use his excellent turning speed to go into the inside line and score directly.

For an inside player like this, he doesn't even need to be coated in breadcrumbs. Kobe next door is already crying with envy.

It’s a pity that they were facing a Supersonic team in excellent form.

This is also thanks to Mo Wen and Ray Allen. They didn't have a celebration party after the game but went to accompany their families. Under their leadership, their teammates not only had enough rest time, but also really rested.

Payton took a few fun-loving friends to the bar to celebrate, but they were recognized by the local bartender, who turned around and replaced all the drinks with milk.

Drink this, it’s strong!

As the SuperSonics entered the Western Conference Finals, the "bet of the century" became popular, and the whole of Seattle seemed to be caught up in a marketing carnival. Local fans hoped that the SuperSonics would win all the bets against the city, even though most of the money was paid out of their own taxes.
After the first quarter, the score between the two teams was 36:24.

Mo Wen's statistics were not impressive, he only scored 8 points, 5 assists and 1 steal. Just as he expected, the Warriors did not pay much attention to defense, but they did not dare to relax on him. Later, he called out Yao Ming, and the others would rather ignore their opponents and double-team him.

Feeling the threat of Mo Wen becoming a god, various American media have been praising other Supersonics players more and more recently, and even Gay is almost being hyped up as the next McGrady.

But the Warriors players all know who the real threat is.

When Ray Allen is on target, the commentator will praise him for playing like a superstar tonight. When Milicic is on target, the commentator will praise him as the contemporary Larry Bird. But when Mo Wen is on target, the commentator usually won’t say anything.

Because they need to find out which record Mo Wen broke.

Yao Ming scored a game-high 14 points for the Warriors, including a three-pointer. However, even though he increased his mid-range shots, Yao Ming's exhaustion was still visible after playing almost the entire first quarter.

After the timeout, the second quarter.

The Supersonics continued to maintain their main lineup and tried to widen the gap in one go.

After letting Yao Ming play for three minutes, the Warriors still used the bench tactics.

Pietrus, Barnes, and Monte Ellis, the three lead the team, Jackson plays power forward, and Harrington plays center.

A five-outfield lineup in which all five players can shoot three-pointers appeared so vividly in the era of melee.

"Here they come again, as expected, they come again, the Warriors' shooting team! Coach Nelson is indeed a Frankenstein, he still practices his crazy experiments even in the finals." In the TNT studio, Kerr's eyes were shining and he was very much looking forward to it.

Although Kerr was exposed to traditional basketball concepts after entering the league, both the Bulls' Zen Master and the Spurs' Popovich advocated defense first, but this did not prevent Kerr from appreciating their offensive experiments.

The Lakers thought they had figured out the fast break after eliminating the Suns in the first round, but the Warriors relied on this small ball strategy to beat them twice.

When the fast break rhythm starts, they run very fast.

Once they were in position, the five players stood outside, evenly distributed from the bottom corners on both sides to the top of the arc. There was no pick-and-roll, screen, or hand-off coordination, they just took turns to make three-threat breakthroughs.

Everyone has a three-pointer, and they can shoot if they dare to.

When the feel of the skill comes, it's really invincible, and anyone who sees it will frown.

Fighting with them is like playing roulette, life and death are in the hands of God, not me.

Seeing this, the Supersonics replaced Damien and Millsap. The two had been practicing for a season and had a hit rate of over 40% from the corner three-pointer, which was not bad at all.

Professionals who know the quality of both teams' lineups think that a three-point battle is inevitable.

Unexpectedly, it was Mo Wen's breakthrough that dominated this period of time.

In 7 minutes, Mo Wen didn't shoot a single three-pointer, but still managed to score 12 points through consecutive breakthroughs, and received countless shouts of "MVP" from the fans.

"No, how did the Warriors defend Mo? They were always broken through head-on. Are they really a Western Conference Finals team?" Barkley asked a soul-searching question.

People usually lament that Mo Wen is undefendable, which means that if he can only hit 60% of the shots, it is already fatal. However, the Warriors have been defending Mo Wen in this period, almost breaking through whenever he breaks through, and hitting the target every time.

Pietrus, Jackson and Monta Ellis, who took turns defending Mo Wen, seemed to have been paid. They were dribbled past in various ways and could not be said to have good coordination. There were two balls in the middle and Mo Wen lost his position in the front halfway through the change of direction.

So, did the Warriors players buy it or did Mo Wen open it?
After calling a timeout, old Nelson did not angrily blame the players, but asked them to stop trying to steal the ball from Mo Wen. He knew that except Yao Ming, all his disciples were emotional creatures, and passion and aggressiveness were exactly the style of this team, which he deliberately indulged and cultivated.

The Warriors are at the top of the steals list this season, averaging 9.1 steals per game. If we include the spoilers that are not counted in the statistics, they lead the league.

Their steals are just like James's sudden attacks, they often just do it when they feel the opportunity comes, without considering the defensive formation or anything.

Gambling steals are not enough to describe their aggressiveness, because they often dive for steals!
Most people would have some concerns or fear when encountering this kind of defense, and then be influenced by their momentum and forced to pass the ball or make mistakes.

But in Mo Wen's eyes, their defensive logic is a walking ATM.

In the past four years, Mo Wen's hard work every night has made basketball an external organ or a magic weapon. Unless he passes the ball, there is no such thing as a steal.

On the contrary, after the opponent became conservative, he took the initiative to use in-out dribbling in front of his body, actively luring the Warriors players to come over and steal the ball.

After being broken through continuously, Jackson and Pietrus became even more excited and even resorted to various illegal moves.

Fortunately, Mo Wen also knew a little bit of martial arts and managed to cope with it.

"Bro, tell me the truth, your compatriots used to be gangsters, they were even more evil than us blacks. I played seven games with Kobe, and I feel like I can play another 50. If this bastard goes all out, I feel like I may not be able to last a single game."

On the bench, Jackson looked at the calm Mo Wen with fear. If he hadn't left a bloody mark on Mo Wen's arm, he would have doubted whether Mo Wen was a real person.

Kobe and Malone are just for fun. If you want a real confrontation, you have to find Mo Wen.

Speaking of which, there were cases of Kobe's love of elbowing people during his rookie contract, but it was this year that really made Kobe labeled as an elbowing person and broke the circle.

More frequent elbow strikes, media follow-up reports, and two bans for elbow strikes seemed to give the label an official stamp of approval.

But many people overlooked a very important thing. The victims of the two elbow attacks that led to Kobe's suspension later came out to help Kobe explain that there was no subjective elbow attack and it was just an action triggered by normal confrontation.

In contrast, during the same period, Bowen was chased and scolded by the victim, but the league only issued a warning ticket. Some media also praised him for his tough defense and even voted him into the first team of defense (the defense team was voted by the media). It can be said that it is quite in line with the personality of the media.

Pay attention to the achievements of little people and dig deep into the problems of big stars.

On the court, the Warriors' little guys didn't perform as expected.

Maybe it was because they didn't get enough rest, maybe they were too excited about making it to the Finals for the first time, or maybe the fans in KeyArena were too noisy. Without the maximum intensity, the small ball lineup only shot 30%.

Although the Sonics players were also excited, with the blessing of home court and the wind in their favor, they quickly got into the game and further widened the score.

Before halftime, the score between the two teams had become 65:46.

The nearly 20-point difference at halftime seemed to indicate that the game had lost its suspense.

Yao Ming scratched his head on the sidelines. The tactical arrangement before the game had required him to bide his time in the first half and attack in the second half.

Can they catch up with this 20-point gap in the second half?

"It looks like this year's finals will really be the ultimate showdown between you and Mo." A simple-looking black man on the sofa touched A-Jan's arm.

"I hope he's the final opponent. He and I have a debt... two, three, four. Damn it, he owes me too much!"

A Zhan cursed, clenched his fists and waved them in the air.

"You can't lose this time. If you lose in the regular season, you lose, but if you lose in the finals, it will have a huge impact on you. The league has been hyping up that you two are lifelong enemies, but if you can't beat him even once..." Rich Paul said solemnly, holding his nose like Xiang Zuo.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" A Zhan shook his head confidently and put on airs. "The king's kingdom has been established. Now all you need to do is follow me to continue conquering and plundering for the crown."

The Eastern Conference Finals between the Cavaliers and the Pistons has not yet started, but James is extremely confident. The strongest Cavaliers in history cannot beat the Pistons who have been whittled down again and again.

joke!

As for Mo Wen, he admitted that he could not compare with him in personal ability, no, in one-on-one combat.

But basketball is a team sport, and the outcome of the game is determined by scores. As long as the Cavaliers beat the Supersonics, who can say that it was not him who beat Mo Wen?

He admitted that the Supersonics were also very good, but based on the experience of the previous three years, whoever won the Eastern Conference championship also won the championship.

The advantage is his!

It’s just that the room was a little quiet, and the other three people in the group of four looked at each other, and soon their attempts to hold back their laughter turned into bursts of laughter.

Finally, A Zhan couldn't hold back and joined in.

"OK, King James, at your service."

"You need to go to work now, Ni-ge!"

"LeBron, you shouldn't be in the NBA, you should be in Hollywood doing Morgan Freeman's stuff."

After the joke, Maverick, who was inserted into Nike, became serious.

"Prepare well. You must make a great comeback so that we can have a chance to negotiate an advanced contract with him. A Chinese can get 2 million, so I think you should also have a contract that matches your worth."

A Zhan nodded. If he could still remain rational about the championship honors that Mo Wen had won in the NBA before, then Mo Wen's endorsement renewal was enough to make him put aside his pride and be jealous.

It's not just a matter of the amount, but also the fame behind the amount. With fame, there will be more endorsements from big brands.

Although 2007 is only halfway through, two people have already secured their places in the top three in sports this year.

One is Mo Wen, and the other is the superstar from the next football team.

That person is not Messi or Ronaldo, nor is it the legendary Kaka, yes, it is Beckham.

He rejected Real Madrid's 2000 million offer and instead came to the football desert of North America with a fixed annual salary of 650 million US dollars.

However, in addition to the fixed annual salary, he also has a five-year equity contract valued at US$2.5 million.

To put it bluntly, from a business perspective, there is already a tragically thick barrier between A-Zhan and Mo Wen.

This time, Azhan nodded heavily and seriously.

If it was just a matter of basketball, he would at most grit his teeth, but when it comes to business empire and money, then he would be sworn enemies!
If Mo Wen did not have strong support from the Chinese government and the governor's support, he would have wanted to have a "high-end business war" with his friends.

Back at KeyArena, during the halftime break, Nelson and Jackson worked together in the visiting team's locker room.

One of them first asked "Are you men?" and the other one then gave a speech "We are men", which successfully awakened the Warriors players' desire to win.

The three-point team, the small ball style, the momentum returned after falling behind by 20 points, the referee who did not want the series to lose suspense and began to control the game, the three-point shooting feeling that turned bad times into good times, and a solid and reliable center...

The Warriors had almost all the elements for a comeback, just like the young boy's confession "magic circle" made with flowers and candles on the ground.

However, in this world, just because there is a process does not necessarily mean there will be corresponding results.

Yao Ming took on the role of the inside spearhead in the third quarter. Not only did he beat Tyson again, he also demonstrated his strength as the best center in active service.

The Warriors' other players also began to feel better, and their various three-pointers and fast breaks gave the home fans a feast for the eyes.

However, the Sonics players maintained their level in the first half.

Mo Wen, who scored 20 points in the first half, focused on practicing his bold words "I'm not interested in scoring" in the second half. He began to focus on organization and tried his best to create opportunities for his teammates.

Hill had talked to him before, hoping that he could do his best to build confidence for his teammates without affecting the outcome. Apart from him and Payton, there are few players on the team with experience in the divisional finals, and the tolerance of young players in the future is also a problem now.

Mo Wen thought it made sense and adopted it. After all, the stronger his teammates were, the stronger he would be.

If his teammates cannot attract defense, then he can only promote the Mamba spirit in double-teaming.

Old Nelson, who didn't care much about winning or losing a game, suddenly felt very depressed when he saw Mo Wen connecting the team in the second half.

Mo Wen, who has outstanding personal abilities, is at most the second Danzi. Although Danzi is scary, he will also lose.

But considering the leadership qualities and magnanimity that Mo Wen is showing now, unless Bennett blows up the Supersonics internally, he really doesn't know which team in the future can compete with a united Supersonics.

He really hoped that Mo Wen could be as obsessed with the temptation of being a scoring champion as Danzi. After all, a scoring champion cannot cultivate the next Milicic.

The Warriors and SuperSonics tied in the second half, but the 20-point difference in the first half was there and could not be avoided.

At the end of the game, Supersonics 120:108 Warriors.

Yao Ming scored a game-high 32 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks.

而莫闻则17投10中，三分8中4，罚球4中4，拿到了普普通通的28分16助攻8篮板4抢断。

Everyone has a bright future.

(End of this chapter)