basketball never sleeps

Chapter 249: Overcoming the tribulation? Celebrating the festival?
Listening to the highly anticipated Arenas shouting "I will definitely come back~" in front of the TV.

It seems that all the fans can do is to sigh at Mo Wen's strength. Starting as a substitute for the Pistons who could not play, in just four years, a Chinese boy who was considered mediocre in everyone's impression actually ascended to the most dazzling throne step by step.

Today is Larry Bird's 50th birthday. During the home game, other staff members prepared surprises for him. They played a clip of his career during halftime and gave him birthday wishes and a bunch of gifts.

Unfortunately, he did not receive the birthday present he wanted most...the team lost again at home.

After the game he had to force a smile to comfort the players, saying it was just a regular season game and no big deal.

O'Neal's recent absence due to injury is a good excuse, but no amount of excuses can eliminate the disappointment brought about by the poor record.

And the most annoying thing is that this disappointment is difficult to resolve through his efforts.

In order to improve the team's record, he has been very tired recently, and so has head coach Carlisle.

As the team's record declined, they could all feel that the team's morale was disappearing. It wasn't just that kind of short-lived confusion, it just disappeared.

Consecutive playoff losses, the Auburn Hills brawl, Artest's departure, Miller's retirement, O'Neal's frequent injuries in the past two years...

Even now, the Pacers players appear to be still tirelessly pursuing victory, but Larry Bird can sense that the team's ambition to win the championship has been worn away unknowingly.

This situation was a rather unfamiliar and severe challenge for Larry Bird.

During his playing days, he was always hungry for the championship every season until he retired. After becoming the head coach of the Pacers, he didn't have to worry about it because he had a fighter like Miller.

All the way to now, it cannot be said that O'Neal did not try his best to lead the team, but he is indeed not a leader with enough charisma.

There are problems with his personality and problems with his ability. In short, he can't carry the team on his own.

Seeing Mo Wen on TV, dazzled by the camera's flash, reminded him of Miller's persistence in the summer.

"That's Mo!"

Indeed, that was Mo.

Why did he give up in the first place?
Is the original configuration of the Supersonics really better than that of the Pacers? At least the Pacers were a strong team that was guaranteed to advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference before this.

Gay, who was selected by Mo Wen, is still a blue-collar player, and Millsap is still a substitute. In Bird's eyes, Mo Wen's interference in the draft is still a bit of nonsense.

But what’s the problem? Mo Wen led the Supersonics to play.

Bird also thought that after Mo Wen left the Heat, his statistics would explode like McGrady did, but he still underestimated Mo Wen.

After drinking a glass of red wine, he seemed to see a parallel world in a daze. In that world, Mo Wen came to Indiana to replicate the miracle he created in the Supersonics, and together with O'Neal Jr., he led the team through all the difficulties and stood on the highest stage.

I saw Indiana's first NBA championship flag being slowly raised by Mo Wen...

……

On December 12, the SuperSonics flew to Memphis to begin their Western Conference road trip.

Coach Fratello, who focused on defense in the Grizzlies' first two seasons, successfully switched to being a TNT commentator, and former assistant coach Tony Barron took over.

Although Tony Barron's name sounds like a player who doesn't understand offense, he is actually a very pure offensive coach.

After he took over the team, the Grizzlies' improvement on the offensive end was almost immediate. The team's average score per game soared from 94 points to 105 points, and the average score per game jumped from the bottom to the top ten.

But back on the defensive end, Tony Barron's arrangement relies almost entirely on the players' own qualities. Since the change of coach, the Grizzlies have lost an average of 111 points per game, which is really popular.

Even though the team became worse, Gasol was still very dedicated in playing every game and every offense and defense.

Djokovic, who is the same age as Yao Ming, has also entered a period of physical and technical maturity. In today's game, he almost dominated the Sonics' inside line on both offense and defense.

Milicic's offense and Tyson Chandler's defense were completely not enough in front of him. He seemed to play extra hard today in order to prove some rumor.

But unfortunately, the Grizzlies only have one Pau Gasol.

Mike Miller, Shane Battier who was not traded, and this year's rookie Lowry are all good role players, but they cannot support a team's main outside attack.

Like Paul Pierce, Gasol is also spending the peak of his career to accompany the team in a bad situation. Historically, if the Grizzlies management had not intended to put the core of the reconstruction on the outside, Gasol might not have been so discouraged and asked for a trade.

"Sorry, boss, we disappointed you tonight." After the game, Milicic did not feel the slightest joy of winning the game. He looked at Mo Wen a little anxiously.

Tyson next to him also half-lowered his head in embarrassment. His performance tonight was not as good as Milicic. He was fouled out by Djokovic with 6 fouls before he could even make it to garbage time.

"You two really played badly tonight." Mo Wen slapped them both on the back in frustration. "All those little tricks I taught you before were in vain. You didn't know how to use them. The Spaniards are called softies by the media. What are you now? I don't even dare to imagine how miserable you will be when you meet Shaq next time."

"If you know you're not good, then practice more. Don't apologize to me like a sissy. You're not playing for me. Everyone on a championship team is a champion. If you don't have this awareness, you will be replaced by someone with a more competitive spirit one day."

Mo Wen spoke earnestly, and the two of them seemed to have taken his words to heart, nodding their heads in agreement, their attitudes as sincere as students who had failed an exam and were making promises to the teacher.

However, Mo Wen also knew that as the team's performance had been steadily improving, it was hard to say how long the two would remember the lesson of tonight.

As a man, it is difficult to achieve real growth without profound enough lessons and terrifying enough crises.

So Mo Wen felt that he had to take some drastic measures.

……

"What did you say to them yesterday? Not only did you ask them to practice more at night, but you even asked them to come to me to review the video and customize a training plan?" Old Hill asked Mo Wen in surprise in private.

"Nothing." Mo Wen raised the corner of his mouth. "Just tell them that coach, you admire Paul (Gasol) very much, and you mentioned to the manager before that you want to change the change into whole money..."

Old Hill was stunned and couldn't help but smile bitterly. It seemed that this was the case. However, you are not threatening to sell them out, you are clearly selling me out.

"I remember you rejected my trade proposal. Why are you provoking them again?"

"Given their personalities, they need stimulation from time to time to have enough motivation. I don't want to be like Michael, whipping them all the time from behind, so I'll have to trouble the coach." Mo Wen's eyes lacked his usual gentleness and friendliness, and he spoke very realistically.

Mo Wen hates the kind of clichéd script where they see the problem but don't speak it out in advance to prevent or improve it, and only wait until they pay a price before engaging in deep reflection, working hard, and finally reaching the top and hugging each other.

His philosophy has always been that those who are good at fighting do not have great achievements.

He can be a good teammate and a good boss, but don't expect him to laugh and joke with you for the so-called friendship and turn a blind eye to problems. He is called a boss but is actually a nanny.

Jordan’s strength is inseparable from his hard training, and Mo Wen’s current level of strength is also inseparable from his training in dungeons and the gym.

If you want to enjoy the honor with him, you have to put in corresponding efforts.

Mo Wen didn't expect them to play the same role as his sister-in-law, but it was really unacceptable for them to be exposed so ugly like today.

Especially Milicic, Mo Wen really wanted to train him as the next sister-in-law, but the upper limit of this kid's willpower is only that of an All-Star. ...

The Sonics' winning streak at the start of a season finally stopped at 18.

The "ordinary team" Spurs interrupted the Supersonics' "miracle" at home with a mediocre Spurs-style game.

Deng Daidai took half a year to lose weight successfully. Although he was troubled by plantar fasciitis and could only do windmills in the same place, the recovery of his personal abilities was visible to the naked eye.

This year is the last peak of Deng's personal career. He is already 30 years old. Even if Popovich uses him cautiously in the future, he cannot avoid the gradual decline of his physical function.

The No. 21 rookie is a lie.

James, whose future was taken away, traded for Love for the No. 21 rookie, but in the end no one took up the challenge.

What makes Mo Wen happy is that Milicic and Tyson Chandler were not as blown up as they were against the Grizzlies.

Tyson was fouled out as usual, but three of his fouls were caused by Ginobili and Parker.

On the offensive end, the Supersonics did not lose to the Spurs. Even if Ray Allen was not there, Mo Wen relied on the "God's weapon" (mid-range shot) and Milicic to not lose to GDP.

But on the defensive end, the current Supersonics are still more than one level behind the Spurs.

It is not an exaggeration to say this, because the Spurs' defense is currently the best in the league.

Either Popovich still has some skills, the Pistons' defense is strong, that can be seen at a glance, and that defensive lineup is almost all-star, it can't be fake.

However, apart from Bowen, who is getting older but has not changed his original intention, and Duncan, the "Smiling Buddha", it is hard to say who in the Spurs lineup can give enough impression on the defensive end.

Their discipline is so good. After losing weight, Deng is more timely in defending fast breaks and rarely shows any flaws.

If Ray Allen was there, he might be able to disrupt the Spurs' formation with his off-ball running, but without a strong outside scoring point, it would be difficult for the Spurs' defense to break through.

Mo Wen tried to defeat the Spurs the same way Kobe did, but Popovich held back and watched Mo Wen score 56 points without arranging any double-teaming.

Coupled with Brent Barry's three-point explosion, he made 7 of 6 shots, and finally the Spurs won the game steadily.

But the reactions of both sides after the game were also very interesting.

The Spurs players didn't seem very excited, because they didn't beat the complete SuperSonics.

Even Popovich was worried that this incomplete victory would make the Spurs underestimate their opponents later on.

On the other hand, although the winning streak was ended, the Sonics players did not feel disappointed or regretful, but relieved instead.

As the Sonics' winning streak increased they could clearly feel that fans' expectations were increasing faster than their expectations were expanding.

Earlier they thought they were already inflated by the influence of their winning streak, but when they saw the praise from the media they still felt it was exaggerated.

I'm not that capable, but the feeling of being set up is like an ordinary person marrying a goddess wife. You don't want to lose her, but you also know that you are destined to lose her.

But the media still did not let the Supersonics go.

"After 18 consecutive wins at the start of the season, the Sonics are still great despite losing away games!"

"The Supersonics lost but remained calm, vowing to see you off at home!"

"The Spurs coach is grateful for the old friendship. Is there another reason for the Sonics' loss?"

After reading these reports, Mo Wen was really convinced. The word "great" is almost being abused by the media and turned into a derogatory term.

Who else claimed to meet at home? Mo Wen asked around but didn't see anyone pretending to be so.

Hey, wait, it seems like a reporter was trying to trick me before, turns out it was me, so it’s okay then.

"Who has any old relationship with him? He didn't even invite me to his retirement when David (Robinson) retired." Old Hill cursed at the unknown tabloid. He still had a lot of resentment towards Popovich.

The Spurs had discussed it well at the beginning and decided to start a game in order to compete for the No. 18 pick. Old Hill played very well, but only won 3 games in games. In the end, he was fired in order to explain to the fans.

The key point is that Popovich himself went up and started playing, and he became a clown used to appease public anger.

Look at Duncan's maturity. If he had been allowed to take on the responsibility back then and wait for Duncan to join the team, he might have become a championship coach two years earlier!
……

"Because of the three consecutive championships, everyone sees him through a filter. In fact, if you think about it a little bit, you will know who is better between Kobe and him."

In front of the camera, a slightly decadent man with earrings said in a disdainful tone.

The reporters around were like sharks that smelled blood. The league put the microphone in McGrady's mouth. It was not because they realized how inappropriate McGrady's words were and wanted to shut him up, but they just wanted to hear McGrady's "heartfelt words".

"When a talented player is selected in the second round, as long as he doesn't talk about loyalty, it's easy for him to succeed. I admit that he is very good, but do you really think his experience can't be replicated by others?"

"Look at his possession time before talking about the data. Anyone who has the opportunity to hold the ball for 30 minutes in a game will have good data."

"Don't ask him anymore, I will prove on the court that I am no worse than him!"

Maddie turned her head away, a flash of jealousy and resentment in her eyes.

In the hotel, Mo Wen was confused as he read the media reports.

No, what did I do to you?

He and McGrady didn't have much interaction, let alone being enemies, so he totally couldn't understand why McGrady suddenly went crazy and attacked him.

"Hahaha, I saw that what he said to you was quite polite. You didn't see how he scolded me. It was only after I left that I realized that he cared so much about me... I guess he has lost a lot recently, so he must feel uncomfortable seeing you winning all the time and being praised."

On the other end of the phone, Dayao explained to Mo Wen in a very casual manner.

Mo Wen was speechless. This might be the cause and effect. He influenced Yao Ming to leave the Rockets, so he deserved this disaster.

Just look at the Rockets' lineup, Alston, Luther Head, Lucas III...

If Battier had not been traded, the Rockets' best defender on the perimeter might still be McGrady himself.

Look at the Rockets' "elegant" inside line...

It’s hard to tell whether it’s a tribulation or a festival.

(End of this chapter)