basketball never sleeps

Chapter 318 There is only one Jordan in this world

"Mo is a role model and a goal for all young players. I'm very happy to compete against him in this league. It's frustrating to lose to him, but I've learned a lot from playing against him. I'm already looking forward to our next matchup..."

Because of Mo Wen's final trickery, young A-Du really wanted to transform into Hakimi, the steel-backed man, and breathe heavily at the press conference, but faced with the reporters' long guns and short cannons, he ultimately chose to succumb to reality.

There's no way around it. Although Mo Wen has only been in the league for five years, his four championships have already elevated his qualifications and status to a level that rookies can't even dream of.

Even his agent had previously warned him to treat Mo Wen with utmost respect.

I respect your legs!

He was genuinely impressed; Mo Wen's dominance in the fourth quarter truly showed him what real strength was.

But then I think about the moment Mo Wen took back his jersey.

Durant's initial respect and awe for Moriarty were completely burned away by shame and anger.

How can someone like that be the best active player?

It's all LeBron's fault!
As soon as he got home that night, A-Du put on a sullen face, locked himself in his room, and eagerly turned on his computer.

He's experiencing a lot of negative emotions right now, and continues to seek out people to confide in and comfort him.

While promoting the internationalization of the NBA, Stern also keenly recognized the role of the internet, and thus followed suit by opening a fan forum on the NBA's official website.

Durant didn't browse the NBA official website forum. Ever since Morven won the Grand Slam with his explosive stats last season, it has become Morven's fans' domain. Now the most discussed topic there is who is better, Morven or Jordan. He supports Jordan's side, but every time he is refuted by Morven's fans with stats and honors, leaving him speechless.

Thunder fan plaza.

This is a niche forum spontaneously created by Oklahoma City fans. Durant loves browsing this forum. Although there aren't many registered users, every fan there is talented. Even when the team is on a losing streak, they can always find something to praise and talk about. They are very eloquent, and Durant loves it.

Although he didn't play very well today, it was obvious to everyone that he was being targeted.

His lovely fans should be able to comfort him, right?
He opened a familiar website.

However, the few posts that were pushed to the top made his pupils shrink—

"Mob is just too overpowered; it feels like he could single-handedly take on the entire Thunder team!"

"Bennett was such an idiot, why didn't he just bring supersonic technology from the start? I love Mo so much!"

"I got Mo's autograph! Hahahaha!!!"

I feel like this year's MVP is still nowhere to be found, he's just too strong! Did you guys see his performance in the fourth quarter? It was insane!

Where did this come from? Is this still his happy little haven?
There are cows! There are cows!
Scrolling down further, he still didn't find what he was looking for, only one post that said, "KD seems to have hit the rookie wall?"

Fake!

He wanted to refute it, but the stark data left him with no room for argument.

So he could only open the NBA official website forum, randomly find a post discussing Mo Wen's historical status, and his slender fingers tapped loudly on the keyboard.

"Only losers who have never seen Michael Jordan play would think that Mo is better than Jordan. Jordan is the eternal basketball god, the GOAT, while Mo is at best an excellent player! I will never acknowledge him, never!"

……

After leaving San Antonio, the SuperSonics' next stop is Houston.

Manu Ginobili, acquired from the Spurs, naturally became the Rockets' core player on the perimeter, averaging 21 points per game. The "Little Shark" also enjoyed a comfortable 15+10 performance in the Rockets' relaxed environment.

Frustrated and disillusioned, Steve Francis was bought out and returned to Space City, ostensibly to "go home."

The Rockets have no shortage of star players, but they are still one of the worst teams in the league.

Owner Alexander was determined to tank, draft a high-draft player, and then quickly sell the team. Van Gundy resigned during the offseason when things weren't looking good. In the original timeline, Adelman, who took over as head coach this year, was even less interested in dealing with the mess that was the Rockets.

The Rockets' current head coach is some random nobody who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but he's very capable, especially when it comes to the race for the number one draft pick.

At the beginning of the season, he made a bold statement that he did not want to tank, and adopted the coaching style of Van Gaal, which involved expending a lot of energy on the main players in every game and losing every game with great passion. Alexander was quite satisfied with his work.

Daryl Morey, who succeeded as the team's general manager, is already considering a career change. His strength lies in identifying high-value players through data analysis, but high-value players usually require star players to provide support. In this era, without Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, the players he traded in the summer have all become worthless.

He already had very few connections in the NBA, a social circle with a poor track record in drafts and trades, which essentially ruined his future.

When Mo Wen entered the stadium and saw the deserted stadium, he almost thought that a financial crisis had broken out. The huge stadium was only 70% full.

I only found out from talking to Ginobili that this attendance was only because the newly crowned champions, the SuperSonics, were visiting. They had 50% attendance when they beat the bad teams before.

The middle class in the space city is just that pragmatic. They would still boo their own star player if he didn't play well in the original timeline, let alone this terrible team that's aiming for the top draft pick right now.

Because the Rockets had virtually no perimeter defense, Mo Wen delivered a game with an exceptionally high shooting percentage.

17投14中，三分5中4，罚球2中2，拿到了34分10助攻7篮板。

The SuperSonics made headlines again, but not because of Mo Wen's personal stats, but because they had another explosive start with a 10-game winning streak.

Commentators had been touting the SuperSonics' decline all summer, but surprisingly, the SuperSonics are still far ahead of the pack after the season started.

On November 19th, the highly anticipated Chinese derby will once again take place.

The Warriors also made a major trade this summer that essentially crippled themselves, sending their former star player and captain, Richardson, to the Bobcats for a first-round pick and some empty shells in exchange. This trade drew even more criticism than the SuperSonics letting Darko Milicic go.

The team has just made it to the Western Conference Finals, and then hastily let go of their core player for a bargain price seems rather irrational.

Moreover, Richardson is not a locker room bomb; he is an honest man with a loyal soul. Before Yao Ming joined the team, he even paid out of his own pocket to publish an article in the newspaper to apologize to local fans because the Warriors had not made the playoffs for years.

Industry insiders, however, expressed some understanding of the deal.

The Warriors are not lacking in forwards and shooting guards, with players like Stephen Jackson, Matt Barnes, Pietrus, and Monta Ellis. Among these competitors, Richardson did not have a particularly outstanding performance last season, but he had the highest annual salary.

Considering that the Warriors' salary expenditure has already far exceeded the luxury tax threshold, if they keep Richardson, they will have to pay a luxury tax equal to his salary, which means they will have to spend $2200 million for him. From a business perspective, the choice is obvious.

Indeed, the Warriors' record hasn't declined much since they returned in the summer; they currently have a 7-4 record, ranking fourth in the Western Conference.

The record wasn't great, mainly because Baron Davis has entered his annual "donut cycle" again—spinning donuts during the offseason and losing weight during the regular season.

Although Don Nelson was dissatisfied with the management's trades and repeatedly criticized them in the media, the trades had already been made, and he could only use this method to put on a show and unite the players.

Before the game, Mo Wen invited Yao Ming to dinner and noticed that Yao Ming had gained a lot of weight again.

"It's okay to be a little chubby, as long as I don't miss my shots. Our coaching staff also thinks I can be a bit heavier. That fat shark isn't good this year, so I can fill the vacancy he left. Besides, for the sake of the Olympics, I think it's better for me to be heavier. Last season's weight and playing style weren't suitable for the Olympics."

Yao Ming has a very open-minded attitude, or rather, the NBA doesn't hold much weight in his heart. He is well aware that while his wealth and social status today are inseparable from his own abilities and the resources of the NBA, they are even more due to the support of domestic fans.

He still remembers the excitement and emotion he felt when China won the bid to host the Olympics. He was only faking a smile on camera the day he was drafted by the NBA, but he was genuinely heartbroken when he learned of the successful bid.

"Back in 01, those veteran players on the national team should have retired by now. Let alone 08, they basically had no chance in 04. But after the news came back, hey, they all fought hard, the older ones fought even harder. You tell me, aren't they wicked? They all wanted to achieve good results before retiring and put pressure on us."

Mo Wen remained silent. He did feel the pressure of the Olympics. Even though the Dream Team was coming on strong and had a great momentum, it didn't change the fact that this year was the closest he had ever been to winning an Olympic championship.

His individual strength will definitely be stronger in 2012, but it is hard to say whether Yao Ming will suffer a major injury and have to retire like in the original timeline. After all, Yao Ming's bone problems have been confirmed and can only be postponed, but cannot be cured.

By then, Wang Zhizhi will definitely have retired, and the only players who are sure to be able to play again are him and Yi Jianlian.

Basketball is ultimately a team sport involving five people. On offense, he can take the ball and go it alone, but on defense, he can only contribute one-fifth of the team's strength.

"Take good care of your body and don't get injured. If you do get injured, heal quickly. After you win the Olympic gold medal, if you want an NBA championship, you can come to me. I'll take you there."

"Go to hell, you're still calling me 'brother'!"

Seeing Yao Ming and Baron Davis's "plump" physiques, Mo Wen thought today's game was a sure thing, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be a disaster.

Supersonic 115:118 Warriors.

With his final long-range three-pointer missing the jackpot, the SuperSonics' winning streak came to an end.

Despite Yao Ming's playful banter with Mo Wen before the game, he was actually quite frustrated by the Western Conference Finals loss. Coupled with his regained dominance through weight gain and the favorable treatment from the home referees, he fouled out Tyson Chandler before the third quarter was even over.

His weight wasn't suitable for running fast breaks with the team, but he went to learn a decent long pass from the recently retired Divac. And you know what? He really does look like the future chubby guy who loves drinking cola.

Yao Ming didn't shoot much from the outside today, but relied on attacking the inside to score 27 points and grab 11 rebounds.

With their interior defense exposed, the Warriors' forwards were also overwhelmed, either going for layups or drawing fouls. The SuperSonics, lacking the ferocity they displayed in last year's Western Conference Finals, were simply unstoppable.

Ray Allen had a poor shooting night, going 6-for-15 for only 15 points. In the third quarter, he went 0-for-5, leaving himself shaking his head in frustration.

莫闻在外线过拜伦戴维斯和抓大姚的挡拆一个抓一个准，三分投出8投5中超高命中率，全场打了40分钟20投13中，罚球5中5，砍下了全场最高的36分也无济于事。

He really missed the rookie Gasol, whom he had never met before. Tyson had lost a bit of weight. Although big centers were almost extinct in the league, he was really no match for them. The team's mid-term recruitment still had to focus on the inside.

Basketball experts who were pessimistic about the SuperSonics' chances of defending their title finally breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, the SuperSonics' victory over the Spurs, who had Duncan on their roster, was purely an accident due to Mo Wen's outburst. With this loss, they can continue to criticize the SuperSonics by focusing on their inside game.

The Supersonics' next opponent is also very excited about this.

"The SuperSonics are nothing special, and neither is Mo. The inside is the most important position in basketball. Jordan can win championships without a great inside player, but there is only one Jordan in this world."

Bodog tilted his head back, pointing his nostrils at the camera, and said arrogantly.

He thought he had the right to be arrogant. Although his personal statistics did not improve much this season, the Bobcats made history by breaking into the top four in the Eastern Conference.

Michael Jordan recently lost a key player, Adam Morrison, who suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during a preseason game after a collision with Luke Walton, ending his season prematurely. However, his injury is not a big deal, as the Bobcats have already assembled a highly competitive roster.

Bodog, Emeka Okafor, Gerald Wallace, Richardson, Felton.

In this timeline, Felton was originally with the Hawks, but the Hawks were focused on developing Roy D'Amour 2.0 and couldn't give him that much ball possession. Fortunately, the Bobcats didn't want to give up Lewis, whom they had previously acquired from the SuperSonics, so the two sides hit it off and made a win-win trade.

The Bobcats' starting lineup doesn't have any absolute strong points, but it excels in its balance. Everyone is above 80 level, and even though their head coach Sam Vincent is a bust who got the job by sucking up to Danny, it's enough for them to make waves in the Eastern Conference.

“You shouldn’t say that, Andrew. He has four championships, he’s the best perimeter player in the league, he…” Richardson, with a sense of ownership, muttered in the locker room.

"That's enough. He's just a player. He can lose too. Didn't he lose when he was on the court? I will... Emeka and I will take care of their inside game and lead the team to victory. That's it!"

Bodogt's tone was quite impatient. He felt that Richardson had been scared out of his wits by Mo Wen in last season's Western Conference Finals, which explained why the Warriors' management abandoned him.

If Yao Ming can do it, why can't he? They were both number one draft picks. Is he weaker than Yao Ming? Why is he always made to guard the basket and be a role player?

To be honest, he is very dissatisfied with his current status and ball possession on the team. This year is still the year of his contract. If he can dominate the SuperSonics' interior and beat the so-called best player in the league, he can rightfully ask the team for more ball possession and a maximum salary.
(End of this chapter)