basketball never sleeps

Chapter 290 Don’t listen, you are a lucky star!
"Keep your mind calm and don't add too many adjectives to the game, such as the playoffs, the Western Conference Finals, and national live broadcast. Kang Muang, this is just a basketball game. Run to the position you should run to and do what you should do. That's all..."

The person who was speaking was Payton. He was talking to a few youngsters whose performance was not very stable on the bench. Although his words were not very meaningful, they were quite useful in the current environment.

Players who can enter the NBA have all experienced the test of being in the spotlight, but the amount of experience is really not much.

Even though the NCAA's Big Three has attracted more attention, in a one-game-deciding system, even if you win all the way to the championship, it's only six games.

With the pressure of the NBA playoffs increasing, it is not uncommon for players to lose their temper and perform poorly, so comfort and encouragement are particularly important.

Mo Wen watched from the side, and did not stand among his teammates and give a passionate and childish speech like a traditional movie protagonist.

He played too many games in the dungeon and to some extent, he had lost the sense of empathy with the recruits. This was not arrogance, but just the numbness brought about by the experience of playing tens of thousands of games.

If he were to speak, it would probably turn out to be a kind of heart-wrenching joke similar to that of a Chinese TV drama screenwriter imagining how poor people are so poor that they spend several thousand yuan a month on renting a house.

He only needs to give them a thumbs up when they perform well, and pat them on the butt when they don't.

After returning in the second quarter, the Warriors continued their aggressive and fierce style of play, with everyone giving their all to tear apart their opponents on both offense and defense.

However, new recruits such as Gay, Tyson, and Millsap have also recovered. Their shooting touch is still strong, but on the defensive end, they are also learning on the spot and fighting with the Warriors players.

Even Greg Smith on the bench was shaking the towel with great vigor.

Comparing passion and vitality? The average age of the Sonics players is less than 24!
In the first half of the second quarter, the score difference between the two sides was very close. In the second half, it became a Chinese shooting show. Yao Ming and Mo Wen fired at each other from the outside, responding to the ball one after another. From the beginning of both sides shooting in open space, Yao Ming shot against the opposition, and Mo Wen drifted three-pointers...

Although it lacks the impact of fist-to-flesh combat, the gorgeous beauty of this technical confrontation is equally charming, especially in today's era.

However, the score gap still did not widen.

In front of the TV, Coach Lao K's brows were twisted together. After the Chinese team won the World Championships, he knew that the Chinese team would be a strong opponent in the 08 Olympics.

Now it seems that he is still conservative.

The Olympics is also a decisive game. If these two guys get into good form, there's no need to go head-to-head with the Dream Team. We can kill them with our shots.

One has unbeatable skills and cannot be defended against by others, and the other is too skilled to be interfered with. How can we defend against them?
Instead of defense, switch to offense?
But if you think about the composition of the draftees, it seems that Reed is the only serious three-point shooter.

Arenas is good at three-point shooting, but he had a falling out with Colangelo during last year's World Championships and withdrew from the selection.

It is said that being the head coach of a dream team will bring about happy troubles, but at this moment, Old K felt the troubles but did not see where the happiness was.

In the second half, Yao Ming came on for 5 minutes before going off to rest. His time was saved for the fourth quarter. The Warriors also used the historical fast break and chaos tactics to try to take advantage of the situation.

But the Supersonics replaced Gay at guard and let Millsap play small forward. With this arrangement, the average height of the Supersonics was 5 cm higher than that of the Warriors who let Biedrins play center.

There is more than one level difference between the two sides in terms of rebounding and interior protection.

8 minutes into the third quarter, Gay wanted to show off in a fast break but accidentally missed the dunk. Later, Millsap picked up the rebound, turned around and shot the ball but missed again, until Milicic rushed in and finally made the tip-in.

During the period, no Warriors player established effective frontal defense, and three people recorded high stats on just one ball.

"They are all bad boys with a gangster mentality, but this Warriors team is really incomparable to the Pistons team when Mo Wen was there. Although Ben Ben of the Pistons had a bad shot, he was a master at rebounding. If he couldn't score, he could grab the rebounds himself. Now look at the Warriors' play. When Yao Ming left the court, he couldn't even protect his own backcourt rebounds. What else can he protect? Ouch!"

Coach Zhang clenched his fist in hatred, while fans on the forum had already begun to criticize the parents of the Warriors players in the camera.

This goal was a moderate blow to the Warriors players, but it was a huge blow to the morale of the Warriors fans...

When Mo Wen saw this scene, an idea that was particularly suitable for the Warriors suddenly popped up in his mind - Long Zhen C.

Just considering Rondo's shooting, it is highly likely that Nelson Sr. will not be interested in him.

At the end of the third quarter, Matt Barnes' shot went into timeout, and the Supersonics entered the final quarter with an 11-point lead.

On the bench, Jackson clapped his hands vigorously to encourage his teammates. Although they were far behind and Jackson himself had 5 fouls, they still saw hope of winning.

Mo Wen had only rested for 5 minutes beforehand and was still in the confrontation. It was difficult for him to continue to maintain the high level of performance in the first three quarters.

Kobe also went through this path in the last round. Although Kobe has the title of "King of the Final Quarter", if you increase the intensity of the confrontation to the maximum in the first three quarters, he will still fail in the final quarter.

In addition, Ray Allen's condition today was also average, which gave them the confidence to turn the tables.

Entering the fourth quarter, the situation on the field was just as they expected. Mo Wen reduced his personal attack and began to direct his teammates.

After Yao Ming came on the court in the second minute, the Warriors began to chase points.

But catching up was not as easy as they expected.

Even with Yao Ming's physical strength, his offensive efficiency could only maintain a normal level after the final quarter. Mo Wen, who had already scored 40 points, only needed to demonstrate his organizational skills to allow the Supersonics to continue moving forward.

After all, Mo Wen is not Stockton. Even if he is not the main attacker, as long as he takes a defensive stance, he will have to call his friends to double-team him.

The Warriors have many swingmen who can consume Mo Wen, but not many players who can defend Mo Wen. The Wu Sheng who can really defend him head-on was fouled out before Yao Ming returned to the court. The rest, such as Pietrus, Barnes, and Jason Richardson, are just roles that collect tolls - they are given muscle confrontation, consumption, and then see how Mo Wen feels.

The Warriors had a good three-point shooting touch in the final quarter. The Supersonics focused on guarding the bottom corner, and with the help of Beard and Pietrus's shots, they made three three-pointers from the top of the arc.

But Ray Allen, who had only scored 9 points before, also stood up. He made 4 of 2 three-pointers, broke through for a layup and caused a hand foul. He made both free throws and scored 8 points, forcibly dragging himself out of the meeting room.

"Keep passing the ball to me. I haven't accepted an on-court interview in a long time." Ray Allen shouted loudly at Mo Wen.

Mo Wen raised his eyebrows and pointed to the bottom corner with his backhand.

If he hadn't seen Ray Allen stomping his feet from time to time, he would have believed it.

He had no doubt that if Ray Allen continued to work so hard, he might really have to use crutches like Fan Wei.

3 minutes left, 8 points difference, well, it's time to "pick peaches".

With full playing time and confrontation, Mo Wen did not have much physical strength left, but he still saved his strength for the end. In fact, the strength he saved was enough for him to take over the game earlier, but Ray Allen broke out, so he was happy to rest more.

But when the critical moment comes, Mo Wen will not leave his fate to others.

Milicic was called for a pick-and-roll at the top of the arc, and Harrington slid out sideways without hesitation to delay the opponent, while Mo Wen made a quick stop and dunk while breaking through with a crossover step, pretending to step back and shoot.

Harrington had no choice but to move forward, while Jason Richardson, who was defending Mo Wen, didn't care about Milicic who cut inside and rushed over.

When Mo Wen pushed the ball through again, the two defenders with their center of gravity leaning forward could only watch Mo Wen leave.

Under the basket, Yao Ming kept adjusting and moving his ankle, nervously waiting for Mo Wen's challenge. Unexpectedly, Mo Wen grabbed the ball and threw it behind his back.

Here we go again, the classic no-look behind-the-back pass by the No. 1 point guard?
Oops!

Yao Ming noticed that Milicic had completely let go, and his alarm bells rang. Without caring about Mo Wen, he turned around and stepped forward to face Milicic.

But after Yao Ming took a difficult step forward, Milicic was still in the process of catching the ball, but Mo Wen had already reached a position parallel to him.

Where's the ball?

Mo Wen strode to the basket, holding the ball without stopping, and jumped into the sky, showing his powerful waist and abdominal strength.

180° turn and one-handed back buckle.

At this moment, in his vision, he had already dunked across the entire court.

"It was an incredible fake pass and dunk. Yao was completely fooled by Mo's fake move. Even the camera seemed to shake. Mo completed another great deception!" the commentator on the sidelines shouted loudly.

"This is Mo Wen. You can believe everything he says and does. You can believe everything about him - as long as he doesn't have the basketball!"

"I think what Pistons coach Saunders said before is very correct. If you want to defend him, don't worry about whether he passes the ball or not. It's like doing Olympic math problems. If you are not smart enough, then you only choose one option on the entire test paper, and the correct rate is much higher than reading the questions before answering them.

Yao Ming pouted helplessly at Mo Wen, and Mo Wen spread his hands to him. Not forcing the challenge to dunk over Yao Ming was his last kindness.

The Warriors kicked off quickly and prepared for the final fight.

Facing Mo Wen's pressure, Byron Davis glanced around and saw that his teammates were being defended. He had to slow down, lower his center of gravity, and take three steps and twist his hips to pass the field with difficulty.

After Yao Ming crossed half court, he received the ball and helped Byron Davis to get out of trouble. He did not continue to hold the ball on the outside, but instead passed the ball to Monta Ellis and squeezed inside.

Tyson, who had his 5th foul, pushed forward but was still pushed to the basket.

Tyson Chandler's model is large, but he is not a heavy center. He weighed only 107 kg when he was a rookie, and now he only weighs... 106 kg. Yes, it's lighter.

One counter-intuitive thing is that except for the two years before Tyson's retirement, his weight was lighter than that of rookie James (111 kg), even during his peak period.

But even after the confrontation, Yao Ming was not at ease. After all, he learned a lot from playing with Tyson and Mo Wen for a season.

When Yao Ming got into position and started asking for the ball, Monta Ellis seized the opportunity to play against a bigger opponent and shot one step past Milicic.

The shot missed, and Ray Allen stumbled to grab the rebound and passed it to Mo Wen.

The Warriors players split into two groups, chasing Mo Wen and rushing back to the basket in an attempt to prevent other Supersonics players from rushing to the basket.

Mo Wen didn't rush to shoot this time. After passing half court, he continued to dribble the ball behind his back. While protecting the ball, he used two pauses to get around the blockade of Byron Davis and Ellis.

While moving, he directed his teammates to run to the bottom corner to distract Harrington's attention under the basket, and then he shot again from the free throw line.

Yao Ming came back and made Tyson's sixth foul with his footwork, and he made both free throws. But there were only 6 seconds left and the score difference was still 2 points.

Theoretically, there are still 11 Miller moments/4 Miller moments/3 McGrady moments/2 Carter moments.

We have both time and points difference, now all we need is a hero.

Turning around, Mo Wen calmly passed the ball under the double-team, then ran without the ball to face Byron Davis, received the ball with one step inside the three-point line, put on a classic back-to-back stance, and pushed Byron Davis two steps, then turned around and made a smooth jump shot before the double-team arrived.

Hit again!

Yao Ming did not pursue the 2-point shot again. He received the ball outside the three-point line and shot. Francisco, who came on as a substitute, failed to defend in time, so Yao Ming scored. The 9-point difference still remained suspenseful.

But on the other hand, after spending 10 seconds on the outside, Mo Wen stopped at mid-range. The Warriors double-teamed him quickly this time, but Mo Wen passed the ball to Tyson who cut in.

Tyson's height of 216cm and wingspan of 221cm allow him to put the ball into the empty basket even in tight situations.

Turning around, Yao Ming missed another three-pointer, Harrington fell to the ground and threw the ball out, Ellis made a three-pointer and missed again, but the rebound was controlled by Mo Wen.

There are 40 seconds left on the clock.

But the moment Mo Wen got the ball, everyone realized that it was over.

After fighting throughout the entire game, the Warriors players successfully ran out Mo Wen's wet lining and outer clothes, ran out Mo Wen's wet, cartoon-like hair, and ran out Mo Wen's heavy breathing.

But he couldn't escape from Mo Wen's palm.

The camera gave a close-up of Mo Wen. Although Mo Wen did not have any special expression, everyone who saw this handsome face felt the domineering aura revealed in it.

Especially that look as calm as water, even Seattle fans couldn't help but tremble in their hearts after seeing it.

There was no contempt or arrogance in them, but everyone who saw could tell that these were a pair of eyes from a ruler.

The more I watched Kobe in the game, the more familiar he seemed to me.

The black-marinated eggs of the past?

No, that was the self in his dreams.

He seemed to understand something again.

Yes, being eliminated is not only the fault of his teammates, he is not strong enough, he is not strong enough!

119:110
莫闻上场43分钟，34投18中，三分12中7，罚球7中6，以49分9篮板11助攻的数据继续着他的统治。

After the game, a reporter interviewed Nelson whether he admitted his failure in offensive basketball.

"We didn't lose. The Sonics played great defense, but we still scored 110 points. How can this be considered a loss? The Sonics were able to win only because they had a monster who made 7 three-pointers in a single game and almost got a 50-point triple-double under double-teaming!"

"If you have watched the game, you will know that my players did not slack off on defense. They have done their best, but no one can stop him. When a player can become the scoring leader while winning the assists title, it means that he can no longer be defended. The Spurs' defense is the best in the league. Did they defend Mo Wen? Where are they now?"

“We have found ways to come close to matching his offense, and the real competition will begin on the road.”

Old Nelson is still being stubborn, even though he knows that the series is already too far away, the referee was very biased towards the Warriors today, and the other players of the Supersonics were also in average condition. They still couldn't escape the fate of being suppressed, which is very telling.

But George Karl persisted for three games before he felt relieved. He had to try to win two games.

……

In the East, the Cavaliers' Big Five did not feel "green" after losing Game 1, because the Cavaliers had already felt green when they lost to the Pacers in the first round.

Everyone believes in the adjustment ability of the Big Five and also believes in James' adaptability.

It's just that ESPN is a bit confused. On the homepage of their website, they put Mo Wen's smile after the victory and James's gloomy face while sitting on the bench during garbage time together.

The title of the picture is "Are you still solving the questions I asked?"

Billups even called Mo Wen to complain about this.

It is obvious that Mo Wen was just the sixth man in the Pistons back then, but now with Mo Wen's success and Nike's marketing, more and more people attribute the Pistons' success to Mo Wen.

Lao Liu stole the glory of his brothers!

Mo Wen had nothing to say about this, and he had clarified it, but everyone thought it was traditional Chinese modesty.

Don’t listen, you are a lucky star!
On the night of the Cavaliers game, the Supersonics also stayed in a hotel booked in Oakland.

After finishing the daily video class, the group did not leave the rented conference room, but connected the projector to the TV and started to study the opponents for the finals together while eating.

"Who do you think will win over there?" Payton asked Xiang Mo Wen.

After G2, the New York Times media did ask Mo Wen about his views on the Eastern Conference Finals. He had acquaintances on both sides, so Mo Wen simply used civil servant rhetoric to talk about the advantages of both sides and dealt with the matter.

But his real opinion...

"It has to be LeBron. He is easier to play against. No, the Cavaliers' overall lineup is obviously stronger!"

Mo Wen mumbled something, but everyone present heard it clearly and burst into laughter.

Although the league has been marketing the CP of Mo Wen and A Zhan as "lifelong enemies", among the fan community, the restrained relationship between Mo Wen and A Zhan has become a famous meme in the NBA.

After all, one is the top pick and the other is the last pick. They have faced each other dozens of times in various occasions in their careers, and the top pick, who should be stronger, has never won. They are like a son and a father, and the league has been shouting that the two are evenly matched...

(A Zhan: We won the China-US training match, thank you!)
"To be honest, the Cavaliers should finish the game within five games." Mo Wen smiled unconsciously, but still spoke based on the facts.

Due to the deviation of history and the wonderful life in this time and space, Mo Wen's memory of many things in the original time and space has gradually become blurred.

But he can still clearly remember that James successfully defeated the Pistons this year, and it was proven once and for all (the Pistons disintegrated). Since then, the Pistons have never posed a threat to James again.

As for Deng’s “promise of the future” later on, those were just some minor hardships, not worth mentioning or even a sneer at.

Think about it, James has always been able to overcome mountains with a group of CBA teammates. Even if the Cavaliers have problems now, they are just happy troubles.

Because of Mo Wen, the Pistons have gained a few more scraps and David Lee, but David Lee cannot replace Ben Wallace's role.

In the absence of any loss of key players on either side, strength is destiny.

Before the game started, the TV played a Nike advertisement as usual...well, Mo Wen's.

Maybe some Black Lives Matter activists are not happy about this being aired before James’ Eastern Conference Finals, but Nike has already spent 2 million in real money on the endorsement contract, so who cares about you.

When the Nike and Mo Wen "winner" logos flashed, and then A-Zhan's face appeared on the screen, this time it was Mo Wen's turn to feel a little disgusted.

Before he could think about it, accompanied by TNT's familiar commentary, both sides on the field started the jump ball.

After the game started, it was clear that the Cavaliers had made a lot of adjustments after the loss in the previous game. James's dribbling breakthroughs were more resolute, with more fast breaks, pick-and-rolls around James, and more targeted defense...

The Cavaliers established a lead after the first two rounds and maintained the lead until halftime.

However, all the Sonics players watching the game felt something was wrong.

"With the referee being so helpful, how come the Cavaliers are only leading by 5 points?" Gay asked curiously.

Mo Wen shook his head. If the historical A-Jam had raised the level of his teammates to a certain extent this year, the current A-Jam has played up the disadvantages of being a ball-holding core - making his teammates mediocre.

Last year's Cavaliers were actually very good. James and Reed had the majority of the ball possession. Big Z would score two in the paint when stable points were needed, and the others would share the ball depending on their status.

But Bibby has an annual salary of tens of millions, and Webber was cut after having an annual salary of tens of millions. Both of them need stable ball possession.

As a result, after the ball was sorted out, everyone was unhappy.

The core problem is that James can't play without the ball, but now is not the time to solve the problem.

The simplest solution is to stagger the playing times and not have several players on the court at the same time, but Mike Brown relies too much on James' organization and Reed's shooting, and the two often play full time and cannot be staggered.

Not to mention Bibby's 10 million annual salary and Webber's arrogance do not allow the two to be substitutes...

In the third quarter, James wanted to rest for a while, but the Pistons, who had been suppressed by the whistle, began to develop a feel for their shots and became more accurate. A small climax of 14:2 suddenly ended.

The veteran referee Bavetta, who was in charge of the whistle, didn't know how to whistle, and could only keep making trouble for the Pistons on the defensive end, forcing the Cavaliers players to find their touch at the free throw line.

However, entering the final quarter, the Cavaliers players were so used to taking free throws that they couldn't even take regular shots.

The Pistons resolutely retreated and the Cavaliers resolutely shot. After a game of chess, the 15-point difference turned the Quicken Loans Arena into a library again.

And on the big screen above, Azhan's familiar confusion appeared again.

"It seems like the Cavaliers will be solved in five games."

"We're not going to play against the Pistons in the finals, are we?" Payton looked at Mo Wen's mouth and faintly smelled a fishy smell of milk.

"No, because we are not sure whether we will play in the finals." Mo Wen decisively fired a shot at his own side.

(End of this chapter)