The longest river

Chapter 70 Yang Shuai is such a thoughtful person!
In the transition, Miller hit a three-pointer, and the Pacers had extended their lead to double digits.

"Go for it, Jerry!"

"You're from North Carolina!"

At this point, spectators from the sidelines began to cheer on Stackhouse.

They bought tickets to see Stackhouse dominate, not to see Stackhouse get dominated.

Stackhouse was also jolted awake by the shout.

Yes, he's from North Carolina.

Yang Shuai, who is on the other side, is just a high school student from a small place like Cleveland!
Once he reached the attacking third, amidst the cheers of the fans, he once again reached out for the ball.

Unlike the previous round, he didn't choose to drive to the basket this time, but instead opted for a back-to-the-basket move.

He planned to use his physical advantage to overpower Yang Shuai.

However, once he started back-to-back punches, he quickly discovered that Yang Shuai's strength was greater than he had imagined.

Despite his weight advantage, he couldn't budge Yang Shuai.

Yang Shuai's previous maximum strength enhancement is beginning to take effect.

In addition to that, there's his technique for generating power.

He had faced Pierce, Garnett, and even Jordan one-on-one before, and had been beaten like this by them countless times. He was very experienced in how to defend against them and exert force.

Stackhouse, unable to back down his opponent, opted to turn and drive towards the basket.

However, Yang Shuai quickly shifted his focus and chased after Stackhouse.

Stackhouse drove to the basket but couldn't shake off Yang Shuai. Knowing that his shot would be easily blocked by Yang Shuai after being defended so badly, he suddenly stopped and leaned against Yang Shuai.

As a rookie, Stackhouse averaged 7.2 free throw attempts per game this season.

Being able to do this in the 90s shows that he has a great talent for drawing fouls, as McGee had been caught out by him many times before.

However, Yang Shuai is much more agile than McGee.

More importantly, after seeing Stackhouse use this move on the sidelines, he was always on guard when chasing him down.

So the moment Stackhouse moved closer, he had already dodged to the side.

Stackhouse didn't get close to anyone, and his entire body instantly lost its balance.

In order to avoid traveling, he had to throw the ball toward the basket in advance.

Just as Yang Shuai turned to the side, he saw a ball appear in front of him.

How can I describe that feeling?
It's like a hungry person suddenly seeing a huge, steaming steak in front of them.

"Snapped!"

He grabbed the ball with both hands.

The fans at the scene were all stunned, and some even reached out to cover their heads.

The scene before them completely broke them down.

Stackhouse can't even beat Yang Shuai, let alone dominate him!

Before they could calm down, Yang Shuai had already sprinted forward with the ball.

Then, amidst the gasps of the fans, Yang Shuai, with the ball in hand, somehow managed to outrun the crowd without the ball and unleash his signature fast-break tomahawk dunk.

The 76ers immediately called a timeout.

Just then, Yang Shuai opened his hand and placed it behind his ear, making a "listening" gesture.

His dad wasn't particularly interested in anything about Iverson, but he thought this celebration move was incredibly cool.

There was an uproar at the scene.

At this moment, it's obvious who has defeated whom.

In fact, given Stackhouse's ability, while he might not necessarily gain much advantage over Yang Shuai, he shouldn't have been so badly defeated.

The main reason is the huge information gap between him and Yang Shuai.

In Stackhouse's view, Yang Shuai is a product of Reebok's publicity and promotion.

In addition, given Yang Shuai's high school student status and limited experience in competitions, he had no prior knowledge of Yang Shuai.

If he really had an idea, even though the internet wasn't as developed in this era, he could still get some information through newspapers.

However, he didn't do that, which ultimately led him to fall into the trap set by Yang Shuai, turning the match into a one-on-one duel that Yang Shuai excelled at.

In contrast, Yang Shuai not only learned about Stackhouse's playing style from Rondo in advance, but also observed and confirmed it while on the bench.

This allows him to immediately launch targeted attacks once he enters the game.

After the timeout, Robertson and Miller were substituted off the court for a rest, but Yang Shuai was kept on the court.

Ultimately, the Pacers defeated the 76ers 106-76 on the road.

Yang Shuai played for 28 minutes in the game, setting a new season high in playing time.

His and Paul's earlier assessment was correct: improving his defense would allow him to get more playing time with this Pacers team.

Moreover, his performance on the offensive end tonight was also outstanding.

Throughout the game, he scored 23 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, setting a new career high in scoring.

Stackhouse, who was expected to dominate Yang Shuai before the game, had the worst game of his career under Yang Shuai's defense, scoring only 8 points on 3-of-14 shooting and committing 4 turnovers.

He tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead, and ended up doing all the work for Yang Shuai.

Thanks to his outstanding performance, Yang Shuai earned the opportunity to attend the post-match press conference. He was in a very good mood, not only because of his excellent performance, but also because Stackhouse contributed over 2000 points to him in this match.

Since the outcome of the match was not in much suspense, Yang Shuai naturally became the focus of the reporters' interviews.

Did you see the news before the game that Stackhouse was going to dominate you?

"Yes, I played in the Sonny Hill League here for two years when I was in high school. My friend showed me that newspaper."

"Was that what motivated you to deliver tonight's performance?"

"No, not at all, because I know he is no match for me."

Yang Shuai's answer stunned the reporter.

I wonder how Stackhouse would feel if he heard that.

"Is it because you once beat up Jim Jackson?"

The reporter's persistent questioning caught Yang Shuai off guard.

No, your thinking is really jumping around!

But upon closer reflection, this seems to be the most reasonable explanation.

Yang Shuai could only respond with a smile, just like before. He couldn't deny it, but he wouldn't admit it either.

However, the reporters in the audience seemed to have received confirmation of the story's authenticity from one of the main characters, and they all appeared very excited.

"If you were playing for the 76ers, could you put up better numbers than Stackhouse?"

The reporter then asked an interesting question: Yang Shuai dominated Stackhouse tonight. If he were on the 76ers, he might have a chance to compete with Damon Stoudemire for Rookie of the Year.

"No, I won't make that kind of assumption. In my eyes, if we can't win, no amount of good statistics matters."

When his playing time was on a rollercoaster, Yang Shuai had similar thoughts: if he could get more playing time on other teams, would his skills improve faster?

But just like when Billups asked him if he regretted not going to college, he quickly put that thought behind him.

Because whether he skipped college or joined the Pacers, these are things that have already happened.

If he continues to live in the world of "if," he'll truly become Tracy If McGrady.

Moreover, things are now moving in a positive direction.

After the press conference, Yang Shuai returned to the locker room.

The other team members had already gone back by now, but as soon as Yang Shuai entered the room, he saw someone sitting in his seat.

Kobe had a big smile on his face when he saw Yang Shuai appear.

"How did you get in?"

Yang Shuai looked on with curiosity.

NBA teams have explicit rules that even family members cannot freely enter the locker room.

"This (Philadelphia) is my territory," Kobe said, spreading his arms wide, adopting a self-assured posture.

Yang Shuai chuckled. "I'm afraid you only got the chance to get in here because of your dad, right?"
"What did you come in for?"

However, he was still curious; the game was over, and Kobe should have gone home.

"I plan to enter the NBA draft right after graduating from high school!" Kobe said excitedly.

"Mm." Yang Shuai nodded.

"Huh?" Kobe was bewildered by Yang Shuai's reaction. "Aren't you surprised at all?"

"Not surprising," Yang Shuai said, gesturing for Kobe to leave his seat.

"...Do you think I can be selected?" Kobe jumped aside.

“I think you can get into the lottery,” Yang Shuai said, sitting down.

"Really? You really think so?" Kobe became excited when he heard this.

Yang Shuai actually said he could become a lottery pick just like the other guy!

You should know that the reason he rushed over to play against Yang Shuai this summer was to verify this point, but in the end he was completely crushed by Yang Shuai and his confidence was severely shaken.

I never expected Yang Shuai to acknowledge him so readily!
Yang Shuai nodded without hesitation.

Anyway, he knew Kobe was the 13th pick, which led to the meme "When you don't know who to pick with the 13th pick, just pick a shooting guard".

Moreover, now that he's the first high school student to take the plunge and has done quite well, Kobe's draft position might be even higher than he knew.

Seeing Yang Shuai's confident attitude, Kobe instantly realized that his previous feeling was correct.

Although Yang Shuai is so annoying on the court, she is a very considerate person off the court.

"I will prove you right!"

Yang Shuai glanced at Kobe and noticed a glint in Kobe's eyes.

The feeling that things had deviated from what I expected was growing stronger.

Kobe probably really idolized him, right?
If that's the case, he might find it hard to bring himself to do it once the other person gets to the NBA.

No, no, no, he doesn't want to be anyone's idol. Whether it's Kobe, Stackhouse, or even Jordan, they all only have one identity in his eyes: tools for him to gain points.

Regardless, Kobe is confident that high school players can run for the draft, and entering the league earlier will always be beneficial for him.

Having experienced the Sonny Hill League, Kobe is now the number one player on the all-time points contribution leaderboard.

(End of this chapter)