The longest river

Chapter 111 The New and Old "Kings of Pretentiousness"

After the first day of training, McGee was completely devastated.

Yang Shuai's aggressive and trash-talking style of play was something he had only encountered once in a game when he faced Jordan.

But this is team training!
What's even more infuriating is that when he repeatedly cast pleading glances at Carlisle and even Bird on the sidelines, hoping they could stop Yang Shuai, neither of them reacted at all.

This situation continued for three days.

After the third day of training, he finally lost his temper completely.

As soon as he got back to the locker room, he rushed up to Yang Shuai and yelled, "What the hell do you want?!"

Yang Shuai was sitting there, about to wipe his sweat with a towel, when McGee suddenly came up and sprayed him with spittle.

He wiped his face with a towel and was about to stand up and teach McGee a lesson.

But at that moment, Jermaine O'Neal appeared like a flying wall, instantly blocking his path.

While NBA fights aren't directly correlated with size, there's still a need for a good match. Jermaine O'Neal was much bigger than JaVale McGee.

Moreover, judging from Yang Shuai's past experience with the Pacers, the younger you are, the less hesitant you are about fighting.

Especially someone like Jermaine O'Neal, who looks shy and introverted, you never know what he's capable of when he really gets angry.

However, Yang Shuai stood up and blocked O'Neal to the side, because he hadn't reached the point where he needed protection.

Did I sabotage you during the match? Or did I beat you up on the field?

Yang Shuai looked at McGee very seriously.

At this moment, some of his teammates also gathered around.

However, unlike last season, Schmitz, Scott, Best, Hoiberg, and others are now standing behind Yang.

Behind McGee were only Antonio Davis and Miller, who was blocking the way.

As for the remaining Walker and some of the team's new signings, they were all sitting in their seats and didn't move.

"What you did is no different from physically assaulting someone," McGee said, still furious.

"Is there a rule that you can't trash talk during team training?" Yang Shuai said calmly.

If trash talk wasn't allowed during team training, countless teams would have disbanded in this day and age.

Especially the Bulls.

James's classmate explained to him how Jordan bullied his teammates, and that all of that happened on the practice court.

"We're teammates, not opponents!" McGee felt that Yang Shuai was simply cheating; not everything had to be written in the rules!
"Oh, so now you're talking to me about your teammates?"

Yang Shuai was initially indifferent, but upon hearing this, his anger flared up instantly.

"When you guys were targeting me last season, why didn't you say I was your teammate? What, now that you've been trash-talked a bit, you're starting to talk about teamwork with me?"

"If you really can't stand it, you can yell back! Did I tell you not to yell? Are you mute?!"

……

"You!" Yang Shuai's string of trash talk made McGee blush.

Is he unwilling to argue? No, he simply can't win an argument!

Moreover, trash talk isn't something you can just spout whenever you want.

For example, if you block someone's shot and then criticize them, that's considered domineering.

You got criticized by someone, and then you went and started attacking them? That's just impotent rage.

McGee's mentality has been shattered these past few days because Yang Shuai has been criticizing him so harshly. Essentially, it's because he's been completely dominated by Yang Shuai on the court.

"What do you mean 'you'? If you're so capable, then fight back on the field. If you're not, then shut the hell up!"

"Cough! Cough!"

Miller coughed twice, then gestured for Yang Shuai and McGee to calm down.

Yang Shuai gave Miller face and sat back down.

Although McGee was furious and embarrassed by the rebuke, he didn't dare to disrespect Miller.

This brief conflict did not escalate into the full-blown brawl that followed.

It wasn't because Miller was there, but because McGee chickened out. If Miller hadn't come to his rescue, everyone would only remember how McGee was rendered speechless by Yang Shuai's rebuke.

But can we blame McGee?

The last person to go down with Yang Shuai was Johnson, who not only got beaten up but was also exiled to Canada.

Is Yang Shuai good at fighting?
In fact, that's it.

He hasn't specifically studied boxing or kickboxing, and he's far from being able to intimidate Ibaka into raising his hands just by standing in front of him.

But Yang Shuai is indeed good at fighting because he is decisive and knows what moves to use against different people. He doesn't even care about the consequences when it comes to fighting.

This kind of person is actually more intimidating than James Johnson, because a truly skilled fighter will not act rashly if they have reservations.

The storm eventually subsided, but it was clear to everyone that McGee had lost completely.

Or rather, it was clear to everyone on the training field that even though McGee was still selected for the All-Defensive Second Team last season, he couldn't stop Young's rise, and it was only a matter of time before he lost his starting position.

Time flies, and it's already the end of September. Training camps for various teams have come to an end, and the new year's media day has arrived.

During the photoshoot, Yang Shuai and Jermaine O'Neal took a photo together.

Jermaine O'Neal chose jersey number 7 for the Pacers, while Yang Shuai's number is 16, creating a strange connection between the two (1+6=7). After the official photos were taken, the main event was the media Q&A session.

Compared to last year, Yang Shuai appeared much more composed this time.

Even when he was sitting there, there were even more reporters in the audience than last year.

"Have you grown taller again?"

One reporter observed very closely and noticed that Yang Shuai had not only become stronger, but his entire physique had increased.

"Yes, I am now 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 meters) with my shoes on."

There's no point in hiding this; it's normal for high school students to grow taller after entering the league.

Considering that the original owner could grow tall even while scavenging for food, it means that he had the talent for height in his genes.

Of course, this is not a bad thing. In this day and age, to play small forward, you need to be at least 2 meters tall.

Or rather, his current height is just right, enough, and won't have any significant impact on his movement speed.

"We noticed that you won the MVP award at the Southern California Summer League, and you averaged 31 points per game. What aspects of your offensive skills did you improve this summer?"

Summer Leagues in this era generally don't receive much media attention, but if someone puts up a 30-foot-tall poster at the Summer League, it's hard to miss.

"No, our failure last season was because we couldn't contain Michael, so I improved my defense in the summer."

Yang Shuai has never lied in front of the media, because no matter how well a lie is told, it will eventually be exposed.

"Speaking of the Bulls, are you confident you can beat them in the new season?"

"Absolutely, one hundred percent."

Yang Shuai's assertive tone surprised the reporters in the audience; he didn't even leave himself any room for doubt.

I recognized him instantly – he was the guy who said he'd wear Reebok shoes on the podium at All-Star Weekend.

"So your goal for the new season is still the championship?"

The reporter's statement was a bit misleading, because he had also said last season that the Pacers' goal was the championship, but they ultimately failed to achieve it.

"Of course! That's our only goal."

However, Yang Shuai didn't care about any of that.

Of course, it's also clear that Yang Shuai is much more confident this year than last year.

Although on paper the Pacers' strength has actually decreased by losing their starting point guard, the changes in the coaching staff are the source of his confidence.

It's not just a matter of Bird using him more, but rather that in this era, perhaps only that style of play with spacing has a chance against the Bulls.

Furthermore, Sean Powell's article also revealed internal problems within the Bulls, suggesting that the Bulls' performance in the new season may not be as good as last season.

Besides Yang Shuai, there was another player on the Pacers who received a lot of attention at this year's media day.

It wasn't Miller, but Bird, who took over as the team's head coach.

The media hadn't interviewed Bird in public for years, so they were incredibly curious about him.

"Larry, you've been out of the public eye for so long, can you tell us what you've been up to?"

Fans are very interested in the private lives of star players, and the media naturally follow suit by reporting on these aspects.

"Racing, golf, fishing...and occasionally teaching the neighbor's kid how to shoot a three-pointer with his left hand."

Bird's answers up to that point were fairly normal, but that familiar feeling immediately came through in his last sentence.

"Oh, by the way, I also had a Larry Bird restaurant in Terri Hout, but I closed it two months ago."

"Is it because business is bad?" the reporter asked instinctively.

"No, it's incredibly popular. I've put all my trophies in the display case."

Why mention display cases? Because most people don't have that many trophies.

"Then why did you turn it off?" the reporter still didn't quite understand.

"I received a call two months ago, and the person on the other end told me they needed a championship, so I came here."

After Bird finished speaking, the reporters in the audience were in an uproar.

Many people, including Albert, put a lot of pressure on Bird at the time, but things proved that he was Bird, not someone else.

pressure?

That thing doesn't exist at all.

"just kidding."

However, at that moment, Bird contradicted himself.

Then, amidst the puzzled looks of the crowd, he smiled and said, "I'm just here to teach these kids how to beat Michael."

Well, now the scene has completely exploded.

This includes the Pacers players sitting behind Bird at that moment, and of course, Yang Shuai as well.

He had only heard of Bird's reputation as a "cool guy" before, and Bird's previous interactions with him had given him a friendly feeling, but now he truly felt that seeing was believing.

The most fundamental difference between showing off and just talking big is that only when a big promise is fulfilled can it be considered showing off, like Yang Shuai's promise to wear sneakers to the podium during the three-point contest.

Bird initially boasted, but after a series of twists and turns, he finally showed his true colors: he had defeated Jordan twice in the playoffs, both times by sweeps, and no one knew better than him how to beat Jordan.

(End of this chapter)