The longest river

Chapter 126 The Postman Doesn't Work on Weekends

Yang Shuai's massive physique was like a giant net covering his head, making it difficult for Stockton to even control the ball, let alone pass it.

If it were Iverson, he could break through this defense with his speed, but Stockton, whose speed and explosiveness are both average, obviously couldn't do that.

However, once absolute speed is lost, the advantage of size in one-on-one situations becomes infinitely amplified.

Bird also felt a sudden inspiration.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Yang Shuai was even better at defending Jordan than before.

"Snapped!"

Stockton's ball was eventually stolen by Yang Shuai.

There was an uproar at the scene.

This was the first time they had ever seen Stockton subjected to such a one-on-one challenge, resulting in a turnover.

Stockton tried to steal the ball back, but just then he felt a gust of wind.

That was Yang Shuai's elbow.

If it were an ordinary person, they might have been caught off guard and hit, but he was a master of small tricks and managed to dodge by stepping aside.

By the time he dodged and stood still and tried to steal the ball, Yang Shuai had already made a fast break and left him behind.

Yang Shuai's real purpose in swinging his elbow was to force him back.

But he couldn't possibly not dodge; in other words, the moment Yang Shuai swung his elbow, he was already unable to regain possession of the ball.

Amidst the tremendous commotion of the fans at the stadium, Cleveland's fast-break prodigy appeared on the high plateau of Salt Lake City.

"Oh!"

Yang Shuai's signature tomahawk dunk slammed the ball into the basket, helping the Pacers take the lead.

Right after completing the dunk, Yang Shuai turned around and shouted towards the Jazz bench:
Hey! Where are your All-Star players?

They used the same trash talk on the Jazz, word for word.

Incidentally, he also garnered a large number of points from the Jazz's bench.

The scene was also very lively.

After Ma Long uttered that provocative trash talk, Yang Shuai's presence on the court instantly became overwhelming.

For a fleeting moment, they even wondered, "Why would Ma Long provoke Yang Shuai if he had nothing to do with it?"

This idea struck them as incredible.

Because before this, they had only done it with Jordan.

Yang Shuai was substituted off the court to rest after 7 minutes in the first quarter.

Then, after about 10 minutes, he was substituted back onto the field.

Although Yang Shuai's mismatch defense against Stockton was very effective, Bird did not disrupt his lineup because of it.

When Yang Shuai returned, the two teams were tied at 20, but by the end of the first quarter, the Pacers had taken a 26-20 lead.

Yang Shuai scored 6 points with a combination of inside and outside shots.

Bird's judgment proved to be absolutely correct.

From the very start of the match, both teams were locked in a fierce defensive battle. This style of play quickly depletes physical strength, and as the game progressed, the offensive efficiency of both sides inevitably declined.

Even if Yang Shuai were kept on the court, the point difference wouldn't change much.

In comparison, Yang Shuai's "off-peak travel" strategy was much more efficient at scoring points.

When the camera focused on Sloan at the end of the first quarter, the experienced coach had a furrowed brow.

Bird's unsportsmanlike fighting style made the older player careless and unable to dodge.

At the start of the second quarter, Sloan also adjusted his lineup, bringing Hornacek into the game earlier.

Hornacek is the Jazz's second-leading scorer, and Sloan's decision to "travel off-peak" was forced upon him by Bird.

However, in addition to bringing on Hornacek, the Jazz also began to double-team Young.

In the very first round, Yang Shuai was surrounded by three people.

He certainly had a good time blasting the Jazz bench earlier, but that also really fueled the hatred of the Jazz's reserves.

While the Jazz's bench players may lack the talent of the Bulls' bench players, their defensive aggression is by no means inferior.

But just after being surrounded, Yang Shuai actually made a beautiful pass, putting the ball directly into the hands of Jermaine O'Neal under the basket.

After receiving the ball, Jermaine O'Neal immediately scored with a powerful two-handed dunk.

Yang Shuai's pass surprised Bird.

He didn't even notice that Yang Shuai had made such a significant improvement in his passing in less than a month.

Sloan was also surprised, and had a bit of a headache.

In addition to showing improvement in passing, Yang Shuai also stuck to Hornacek on the defensive end.

Although it was an "off-peak trip," Yang Shuai didn't come up to rack up points; he wanted to help the Pacers establish a lead during this stretch.

In fact, he succeeded.

Hornacek said that if Stockton couldn't handle the defensive treatment, he wouldn't be able to either.

Seeing problems on both offense and defense, Sloan had only one last option left: he substituted Hornacek and brought Malone on early.

When Ma Long came on, his eyes were fixed on Yang Shuai.

Yang Shuai's tactics in the first quarter completely demoralized him, and he was seething with frustration.

However, seeing Ma Long take the court, Yang Shuai was also eager to try.

He had to provide excellent service to every potential number one player. On his first possession, Malone drove to the basket and hooked a layup after a low-post isolation against Antonio Davis.

Don't be fooled by this guy's muscular physique; he's a true technical power forward now.

After scoring, Ma Long smiled and looked at Yang Shuai, his eyes full of provocation.

"Traveling during off-peak hours" isn't actually a very clever tactic, because if necessary, he can play the entire game!

However, he couldn't laugh anymore when he turned around, because Yang Shuai directly signaled Davis to block him, and then he was outmatched by Davis.

Yang Shuai is going to give Ma Long military training!

The story of how he gave O'Neal a brutal military training session made the news.

Malone's expression instantly turned serious; he didn't want to end up like O'Neal.

However, whether you want to or not is one thing, and whether you can or not is another.

After his teammates spread out, Yang Shuai quickly broke through, closing the distance with Ma Long and then executing a crossover dribble, successfully shaking off Ma Long in one fell swoop.

Although Malone wasn't as bulky as O'Neal, his lateral movement speed was inevitably slower after he developed a muscular physique.

Of course, Malone has strong explosive power. If you give him time to adjust, he can easily return to his defensive position.

Yang Shuai simply wouldn't give him a chance.

After shaking off Malone's defense, Yang Shuai sprinted towards the basket.

Because of his previous beautiful pass, the Jazz players were now hesitant about whether to help defend him.

With that moment of hesitation, Yang Shuai had already charged to the basket...

"Oh!"

It was another spectacular two-handed dunk.

The scene was in an uproar.

This is Yang Shuai's third dunk at the Meda Center tonight!

And right after landing from the dunk, Yang Shuai turned to look at the gloomy-faced Ma Long, and said with a smile the most memorable thing he remembered about Ma Long:

"Don't postmen work on weekends?"

"Negative energy from Karl Malone +999".

Although Malone is a bit lower in caliber than Jordan, his "emotional stability" is undeniable!

Malone was stunned for a moment, then his mentality collapsed.

However, he did not make any move and has already been called for a technical foul. If he is called for another one, he will be ejected from the game.

Seeing Ma Long's chest heaving violently as he could only suppress his emotions, Yang Shuai felt extremely pleased.

Turning back, Malone continued his low-post one-on-one play.

However, this time Yang Shuai sneaked up behind Malone and, just like when he stole the ball from O'Neal, suddenly snatched it from Malone's hands.

However, just as Yang Shuai controlled the ball and turned to launch a fast attack, he felt a sudden gust of wind coming from behind him.

He instinctively turned his head to the side, but still felt a heavy blow to the part of his trapezius muscle that connects to his neck.

It felt like being struck hard with a hammer, causing him to fall uncontrollably to the ground.

Jermaine O'Neal immediately charged towards Malone.

Next up were the other Pacers players on the court.

The match was already highly charged, and now the situation completely spiraled out of control, with players from both sides getting into a chaotic brawl.

Malone initially had the upper hand in a one-on-one situation against Jermaine O'Neal, but with the addition of Dale Davis, he fell behind in a two-on-one situation and even took a punch from O'Neal in the chaos.

It took quite a while before the referee separated the two teams.

It was only then that everyone noticed that Bird, who was supposed to be controlling the team, had also rushed onto the court at some point.

However, he did not join the brawl; instead, he used his body to protect Yang Shuai, who was lying on the ground.

Once the conflict subsided, Yang Shuai was helped to the bench by Bird and Miller.

He was not seriously injured, only experiencing a brief period of unconsciousness.

The large screen at the scene then showed a replay of the ball that had just been hit.

Enraged by the steal, Malone swung his elbow directly at the back of Yang Shuai's head.

If Yang Shuai hadn't dodged, that elbow strike might have sent him straight to the hospital.

Yang Shuai looked up and his face darkened when he saw the replay.

Because of Paul's reminder, he was always on guard, especially against Malone, since those points showed that Malone was an impulsive person.

However, Ma Long's attack just now was a sneak attack from behind, and no matter how careful he was, he couldn't possibly have eyes in the back of his head.

It could even be said that his ability to dodge a fatal blow was due to his own wariness.

Although he was ultimately unharmed, Yang Shuai is someone who never suffers a loss, and he will definitely find a chance to get revenge.

Malone is not Starks, and his muscular physique is not just for show. O'Neal didn't gain the upper hand in their head-on collision.

So there are only two ways to get revenge on him: either gang up on him or use something else.

But this is a basketball game, and neither gang fights nor grabbing benches are allowed.

But at that moment, Yang Shuai's gaze suddenly landed on the technical table.

A picture flashed into his mind, the protagonist of which was the long-haired man he had seen at the previous draft and had even considered having Bird draft him.

(End of this chapter)