basketball never sleeps

Chapter 248 You're a Genius
As soon as the second half came back, the Wizards players clearly felt the change in Mo Wen's momentum and playing style.

Every mature core has his own ball distribution that suits his own style of play. Some are used to holding the ball and directing teammates to run out of opportunities before passing the ball or finishing; some are used to holding the ball and playing first, and then passing it to teammates when there is no chance; some are used to watching teammates blindly play tactics, and then taking the ball themselves when they can't play it out...

Although Mo Wen has a lot of ideas, in order to make his teammates follow his thinking and rhythm, he does not do whatever he wants. There is a traceable path for the ball within a round.

Usually in positional warfare, Mo Wen would seek his own offense in the first 15 seconds while observing his teammates' opportunities after running tactics. If he was not particularly sure, he would pass the ball around. If his teammates were also unsure, they would come back in the last four or five seconds for Mo Wen to solve the problem.

But when he came back for the first ball, Mo Wen, facing Peterson's defense, moved half a body length away and took a step before shooting directly.

The display of aggression immediately reminded people of a blacksmith in high spirits mode.

Arenas licked his lips excitedly. This feeling... is it finally coming?
He observed more things. Milicic's positioning was very telling. In the normal tactics of the Supersonics, Milicic would either create space outside the three-point line or go to the elbow area to provide screens and assists.

But now it is moving towards the paint area near the baseline.

It was obvious that Mo Wen was about to start scoring mode, and he came over to grab the rebound early.

In the Wizards' turn, Arenas dribbled the ball forward and when he saw the figure in front of him, he couldn't help but become more excited.

"I thought you would be as reasonable as that guy from the Cavaliers."

Arenas didn't let James mess up his mentality and miss the key free throw and then the "012" buzzer-beater. At this time, Arenas still looked down on last season's MVP.

He believes that the best players should compete against each other in the game, so that their scores and data will be meaningful.

You only know how to attack the opponent's weaknesses and bully the weak ones. It is reasonable, but do you have the nerve to call yourself an emperor without conquering the opponent?

Mo Wen's mouth twitched, and he was too lazy to say anything to him. There was nothing wrong with being reasonable most of the time.

He really likes the way James is when he is reasonable. After all, as long as it is reasonable, it is within his control. Look at how many people who praised Thanos and James later found that it was reasonable.

In response to Mo Wen's previous shot, Arenas also stuck the ball in his hands.

Eddie Jordan on the sidelines covered his face helplessly when he saw this scene.

Brother, do you want to see the roster of last season's defensive first team?

If Eddie Jordan were a spectator, he would also like to watch this kind of one-on-one competition between stars, but his role is a coach.

No coach in the league would be happy to see his core player single out a single-defense player when there are other options.

Unless the core's name is Jordan.

Judging from Arenas' scoring performance last week, his average of 37 points per game is not inferior to Jordan's in those days, but in fact, with just a little analysis, you can know that he is far behind Jordan.

He averages 9 three-pointers per game and 10 free throws per game, which clearly violates the "three-pointer and free throw incompatibility law" and can basically be judged as being strongly supported by the league.

Arenas also knew Mo Wen's defensive level, so he decided to play it safe and use his best breakthrough technique to score this goal.

Dribbling between the legs, pulling horizontally left and right, and making various adjustments to the shoulder head and hip axis.

But a magical thing happened. Arenas heard the short and sharp friction sound between the sneakers and the floor caused by the standard defensive small steps, but Mo Wen in front of him was like a fixed-focus lens. The center of gravity of his upper body was not moved at all, and no ups and downs could be seen.

Unable to find any flaws, Arenas chose to step sideways and lower his center of gravity sharply, pull the ball and change hands, step forward and start, making a Marbury-style pass to Mo Wen's front foot.

Arenas has relatively broad shoulders, which is very suitable for this kind of diagonal change of direction. As long as his shoulders are stuck in position, it will be difficult to establish frontal defense.

But Mo Wen had foreseen this situation. When Arenas started to step down, he had already retracted his center of gravity and then slid to block it.

Arenas was not over yet after being forced to stop, Mo Wen's long arms and big hands also reached out.

In a panic, Arenas quickly turned his back to protect the ball, and then he suddenly had an idea to make a comeback and cause Mo Wen to foul.

But Mo Wen seemed to know everything. When Arenas turned around, he didn't find any confrontation that could be triggered. He only saw a big hand coming down from the side.

Snapped!
Arenas was a little distracted.

He has been blocked this season, but they all happened when he challenged the opponent's big man under the basket.

It had been so long since he was blocked in a one-on-one duel from the outside that he couldn't even remember.

Pushing the out-of-control basketball, Mo Wen strode towards the front court.

Throw the ball onto the backboard from outside the three-point line.

Two steps forward, Mo Wen received the pass from the rebound.

boom!
As a three-point king, it’s reasonable for me to be able to throw the ball and dunk by myself, right?

To be honest, dunking is really fun.

Why is it that Mo Wen, who is clearly already leading the league with his skills, still pays salaries to two trainers at home every day?

It’s just for Sese… Bah, it’s just for today!
The KeyArena was quiet for a second because of this shot, but then the audience was blown away from their seats.

This defense and attack are so ordinary, yet so explosive.

"Why? How dare Gilbert challenge Mo's defense? You can't forget Mo's dominance on the defensive end just because he has been widely praised on the offensive end this season! To be honest, whether in terms of physical strength or technology, I don't see any advantage of his offense over Mo."

Barkley shook his head in the studio, angrily complaining.

"The best way for him to fight against Mo is to shoot more three-pointers. Otherwise, he can play to the strengths of his teammates. There are only two people in the league who can break Mo's defense in frontal offense."

"Oh, who is it?" The figures of Kobe, Wade and James (crossed out) flashed through Kenny Smith's mind. There was no way those people could have an advantage over Mo Wen, right?
"Shaq and Yao." Barkley tilted his head, looking to see how you would refute him.

"Charles, you're a fucking genius!"

Back on the field.

Arenas, who had lost face, would not give in. He pushed forward with the ball again. After passing the Supersonics' logo area, he used a long three-pointer to get back some ground.

But Arenas did not see any surprise or frustration in Mo Wen's eyes. What was even more disgusting was that Mo Wen actually clapped for him twice.

Mo Wen knew that Arenas had developed the ability to shoot ultra-long three-pointers, and the term ultra-long three-pointers was associated with Arenas from the beginning.

Previously, a reporter filmed Arenas' daily training, which included training on ultra-long three-pointers.

But the ultra-long three-pointer in this era really can't kill people. The best Arenas can do is to shoot an open three-pointer with the same shooting percentage as James. If he makes the shot, just admire him.

Back to the Sonics' offense, the scene that gave Eddie Jordan a heart attack reappeared.

Arenas stood in front of Mo Wen for some reason, with his arms open and defending loudly with a serious look on his face.

Brother, do you want to see the list of last season's best team?

How do you, the biggest outside leak in the Wizards, get the courage to defend an outside superstar who is almost a predetermined MVP?

Mo Wen shot with his back to the basket, took two steps inside against Arenas, stepped to the free throw line, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Larry Hughes coming to help defend.

He turned around to adjust the angle, put his shoulder against Arenas, raised his other hand high, dribbled the ball and bent his wrist to send the ball in.

That high arc is sharper than a proper circle.

Swish!
"Ward shot... you're really good at it?" Arenas' eyes widened. It was fine that he could hook Hughes's shot under the basket in the first half, but he could hook it in from such a distance. How could I defend against him?
As we all know, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was blocked only a handful of times in his life, and the only one who could really make Kareem Abdul-Jabbar feel a little threatened was a talented freak like Zhang Dashuai who was almost unique in history.

He jumps up and raises his long arms to the top of the head, and the arc is generally high. If you want to block the shot without committing a foul, only those players who touch the top of the backboard can do it.

Mo Wen's height and wingspan are still much shorter than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's, but apart from those jumping men, no one can really interfere with his sky hook.

But when facing those jumping men, Mo Wen would not choose the hook shot, as it would be easier to make them foul.

After staying in the dungeon for a long time, Mo Wen felt that he was gradually evolving into Feng Qingyang, and conventional standard actions were a shackle for him.

When you have achieved a certain level of control over your body and perception, you can adjust your movements according to different situations.

The lack of muscle memory may result in a slight lack of accuracy in the shot, but considering the ability to avoid interference and surprise, it is actually very valuable.

Arenas turned around and didn't even think about it, and continued to ask his teammates to move away and challenge Mo Wen one-on-one.

He also wanted to show off his special skills, but his lobs and fadeaways under the basket had to go into the basket to show their talents. Thinking about the embarrassment of being defended when he broke through just now, he still felt a little nervous.

Shoot far after half court.

This time, Mo Wen extended his hand symbolically, and the shot unexpectedly turned into a long backboard.

Guy grabbed the rebound and passed it to Mo Wen, who then flew forward. Mo Wen did not continue playing one-on-one, but threw the ball into the sky.

Assists +1.

In the next three minutes, Arenas seemed to be crazy and never gave up trying to get back on track.

Mo Wen didn't bother to be polite with him and used all 18 martial arts.

Eddie Jordan wanted to call a timeout and start scolding Arenas, but when he saw Arenas' red eyes, he held back.

Although the Wizards also claim to have the Big Three, the only one who can really make the final decision and play a crucial role in the game is Arenas.

In this contest, Arenas can lose, but he cannot be defeated.

Mo Wen is the best player in active service. Losing to him once is no big deal. Instead, it will arouse Arenas' fighting spirit.

If the team loses because of him and it affects Arenas' confidence, the loss will be much greater than losing this game.

However, the other Wizards players on the court felt a little bit sorry when they saw Arenas being killed by Mo Wen one shot after another.

"Give me the ball, I can still fucking play!"

Larry Hughes was holding the ball and was thinking about whether to cool Arenas down and touch the ball at the same time, but he didn't expect that Arenas, who had just suppressed his emotions and played well with Mo Wen, suddenly exploded.

"If he can do it, I can do it too! I just don't believe it, Fake, give me the ball!"

Larry Hughes shrugged his shoulders and had to pass the ball when he saw Arenas was going to play tricks if he didn't get candy.

Boom... bang——

Boom boom boom...Shua~
Eddie Jordan on the sidelines called a timeout anyway.

First, it was almost over, and second, the third quarter wasn't even over yet and the score difference had already exceeded 24 points.

If Arenas continues to play like this, the other players will not be able to bear it.

Why does this scene look familiar?

"Are you okay, Gilbert?" Eddie Jordan did not blame Arenas, but patted him on the back.

"Coach, I don't understand how he did it." Arenas clenched his fists, his nails digging into the flesh of his palms, his eyes full of resentment.

"He beat me with a three-pointer last time. I practiced for 2 years and thought I was close to him. But today, he was like a god. I felt like he could beat me with just two fingers! I watched all the videos of Dunk over the years, but Dunk couldn't do it like him!"

Eddie Jordan opened his mouth and wanted to say, "I don't know either," but changed his mind when the words came to his lips.

"Having such a powerful opponent is not the reason for you and me to work hard to become stronger?"

Snapped!
After a pause, Arenas slapped his thigh.

"Coach, I got it!"

"Let me take over again. I want to continue testing Mo's abilities!"

Eddie Jordan's smile froze as he just started to smile, and he pointed to the score above his head to Arenas.

It's great to burn with a dream, but you also have to eat.

In the final quarter, the Supersonics, who held a 20-point lead, felt no pressure at all.

Mo Wen played for another two minutes, got two assists, and then chose to go off the court to rest. Old Hill finally had the opportunity to display his coaching talents, picking up the tactical board and explaining the tactics to the substitute lineup.

The effect was quite good. Even though the Wizards' starting lineup was not fully operational, they were able to recover 11 points in the end.

The game ended with a score of 121:130, and the Supersonics safely kept their home court.

莫闻砍下45分12助攻9篮板3抢断2盖帽3失误，继续趁着雷阿伦不在大刷特刷。

Milicic scored 22 points and 9 rebounds, Tyson had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Gay had 14 points and 4 rebounds. They all performed well and offset the impact of Ray Allen's absence.

On the Wizards side, Arenas had 35 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 turnovers in the whole game. He only scored 9 points in the second half and made 5 turnovers. He was completely beaten by Mo Wen in the front.

During the post-match interviews, reporters all asked about the most exciting third quarter without exception.

"Gilbert and I don't actually have any grudge against each other, and we often chat online. But before the game today, he mentioned that he wanted to prove that he had the ability to challenge me, and the result... Well, I admit that I kind of regret leaving the East." Mo Wen spread his hands helplessly.

"Lei's injury will definitely have an impact on us. It's not like I can be lazy with Lei around. You know, the best way for a man to maintain his beauty is to maintain a certain sense of mystery."

When asked about the controversy from Van Gaal, Hill was quite aggrieved.
"You all saw how good Mo is. I'm confused by your doubts. Have you seen Phil yelling at Michael Dunk on the sidelines? When coaching players of their level, what we coaches need to do is not to impose our own things on them, but to cooperate with them to bring out their talents."

"The coach's on-the-spot adjustments are for those mediocre players. He can pass the ball to the inside through three defensive players and tell his teammates what to do in which position. Moreover, he is only 22 years old. Do you think my vision is better than his or my reaction is faster than his?"

"The world of superheroes also needs police to maintain order. World peace depends on everyone's efforts, doesn't it?"

Old Hill is very single and almost wanted to say something like Mo Wen's annual salary is 1900 million while his annual salary is only 150 million.

He felt that Mo Wen was very perverted when he was practicing with Ray Allen in the team before, but today Arenas came and forced out an even more perverted Mo Wen.

Mo Wen has this level of ability, combined with his talent in organization, any coach who knows him well will not give blind orders or interfere with him.

Want to talk about the competition format and competition experience?
It’s true that Mo Wen only played for three years, but he won three championships in those three years. How can your experience compare with his 100% pure championship experience?
On the Wizards side, Arenas and Eddie Jordan seemed to have discussed it beforehand and praised Mo Wen's strength to the reporters in unison.

"There is no doubt that Mo Wen is the best player in the league," Eddie Jordan said helplessly. "I can't describe his excellence in words. My son can't even play games like this."

"I have no idea how to face him." Although Arenas was a little frustrated, there was still a gleam in his eyes.

"Before this game, I thought it was time for me to chase the MVP, but reality tells me that I still have a lot of room for improvement."

(End of this chapter)