basketball never sleeps

Chapter 259: Loyalty Is Offended

James steadied himself and turned his head to the side, pretending not to see Mo Wen's eyes full of doubt and disgust.

Reed, who was standing next to him, twitched his mouth uncontrollably and lowered his head, trying to pretend that he didn't know this man.

A-Jan also used this trick on him during private training, but he thought at the time that A-Jan was just using it to liven up the atmosphere and have fun.

You dare to use this rigid proficiency...Are you really not ashamed of yourself?
The big screen above the stadium gave a timely replay of what had just happened.

I saw James holding the ball in the pocket against Guy, then he shook his shoulders twice like a robot, grabbed the ball and swung his arms. After his elbow "rubbed" Guy, he deliberately made contact with Guy's arms with his arms.

Finally, with his lower body extremely stable, he seemed to be electrocuted and his feet lost balance for some strange reason, and he sprawled in the air to complete a crab jump shot.

After completing the set of movements, he stumbled and fell.

After helping Guy up, Mo Wen stood beside the referee and watched the entire slow replay with him.

It is difficult for Mo Wen to comment on this goal, but judging from the feedback from the fans in the audience, the show was very effective.

As for the referee, he rubbed his temples, the confusion and pain on his face looked like he had just been robbed.

Theoretically, his decision just now was justifiable, but from a practical point of view, he would most likely be included in the highlights video along with this goal, and then be remembered forever.

Ajax didn't look up. He had prepared himself mentally beforehand. As long as the referee didn't revoke his decision, he would win the ball.

At the current stage, his shooting threat is not great, but as long as this move can be effective, it can help him make up for his lack of mid-range and long-range offensive means and deterrence.

Amidst the boos, James stood at the free throw line.

"LeBron, did you know that there is a circus recently in the West Park not far from the KeyArena? The clowns there perform very well. You can go and see it when you have time." Mo Wen said as if he was chatting with A-Jan.

bang——

After missing the first free throw, A-Zhan ignored Mo Wen and said silently in his heart that his touch was just bad.

"I don't mean for you to apply for the job, but to watch their performances. I'm not talking about clowns... In fact, their monkey performances are more human than what you just did."

duang——

A-Jan's self-proclaimed rock-hard heart was undergoing a huge test at this moment. It was not known whether it was because of Mo Wen's trash talk or because of missing two consecutive free throws.

Within two seconds, James quickly found the reason for the two missed free throws.

Today the league replaced the new ball with the old ball.

In mid-December, the league was forced to promise under pressure that it would replace the artificial leather ball with the traditional old ball in the new year. Now that people are used to the new ball, they are a little unsure of the feel of the old ball. Is this normal?
There was a burst of laughter from the stands at the right time, and the audience had already forgiven Azhan.

Mo Wen tried hard not to laugh out loud. He had already decided to save today's video after the game. When Shaq retires, he can put it on the list of the top five embarrassing moments to make everyone laugh again.

Back on the offensive end, Mo Wen did not retaliate like he did when he encountered other fouls. Seeing how clumsy A-Jan was, he actually wished A-Jan would do it more often.

He asked Tyson to come out, and after the pick-and-roll, Mo Wen called out Big Z again. James was a little slow in squeezing out the screen, and Mo Wen seized the opportunity to make an easy shot.

After a three-pointer, the Supersonics' lead reached 7 points.

Mike Brown looked thoughtful on the sidelines as if he was thinking about how to break the deadlock, but the real smart man, and the real person in charge of the Cavaliers' defense, assistant coach Mike Malone, the father of the Lakers, was hugging his chest in a bad mood.

He had suggested before the game that Z's playing time be reduced today, so that the slightly faster Varejao could play more time, but Mike Brown was concerned about Z's status as an All-Star player, and LeBron was unwilling to do so. As a result, the Cavaliers' defense will always have an unsolvable loophole.

Countless facts have proved that facing a fast perimeter player with top-notch shooting and good at pick-and-roll, a traditional big center is a cash machine.

Unless the center is in his twenties and at the peak of his athletic ability, he won't be able to sit in the paint and interfere with players outside the three-point line at the same time even if he takes drugs.

In the Cavaliers' turn, James hesitated for a moment, dribbled for about ten seconds, and after breaking through twice, he finally chose to trust his teammates.

Reed, who has been in good form recently, faced the defense of big brother Ray Allen. He held the ball and posed a three-threat threat. He broke through with a tentative step and then immediately retreated with a three-pointer, responding quite toughly.

Reed is the most capable left-handed player in active scoring. Even if you know he can shoot with his left hand, you will still habitually misjudge when you subconsciously make defensive moves.

No one blamed Ray Allen, but looking at his expression, Mo Wen still chose to give him the weak side and the ball.

Ray Allen asked Milicic for a fake screen, shook Reed, pushed Reed away and made a layup.

Seeing that several star players on the field were in great form, James couldn't help but stand out again to enrich his own data column.

But he did not give up his "secret weapon". After all, if the free throw was missed, it was a problem with the free throw, and it had nothing to do with his "secret weapon".

However, this time he did not continue to look for Guy deliberately. Since the feasibility of the technology has been verified on Guy, the next step is to start with the real person.

But looking at Azhan's hesitant look as he tried to find a way in, Mo Wen knew that he had some evil thoughts again.

Since you want this, don't blame me.

Mo Wen originally saw an opportunity to steal the ball, but in order to help Azhan get back on the right track, Mo Wen decided to teach this little brother a lesson.

Milicic, who had been paying attention to the movements here, always felt that this scene was a little familiar. Then he thought of something. After looking at James with a little sympathy, he turned his toes to the inside and prepared to protect the rebound.

What we saw in the camera was that the two people, who were originally acting normally, suddenly opened up a half-step distance after two close-range confrontations.

A'zhan swung his arms forward with a fearless spirit, while Mo Wen, as if he had foreseen the future, put his hands behind his back, showing the demeanor of a master.

Maybe because he was not yet proficient in the technique, James had not yet mastered the key to turning fake into real, and he subconsciously threw the ball away with his long arms.

The ball was thrown directly into the hands of the linesman at the bottom line.

A-Zhan subconsciously spread his hands towards the referee, and Mo Wen also played the accordion like a wise guy.

The referee gritted his teeth. The previous goal could be explained as "the original flavor of the large intestine", but this goal clearly showed the original fillings of the large intestine.

Toot——

The referee called a foul - a technical foul on James.

But the referee still gave James a little face. He did not talk about James's clumsy foul-cheating, but instead signaled to James to spread his hands, which was a violation.

This time, not only Reed lowered his head, but the entire Cavaliers bench looked like they had a haircut on the back of their necks, becoming "shrimp-headed men."

The Supersonics were not polite to them. The Supersonics bench also lowered their heads, but not out of shame, but simply because they were laughing so hard that they bent over.

"If I were you, I would fire the trainer after the game." Mo Wen kindly reminded, "Also, you'd better find a better press PR, hahaha, sorry I really can't recognize him, hahahaha."

Young James is young James. Think about the future old James. His means of drawing fouls are so easy to come by that he can even create something out of nothing and reverse good or bad.

He turned his own foul into the opponent's foul, and turned his own fighting-level flagrant foul into an accomplice of both parties. He can be called the deputy GOAT of foul-drawing... How to say it, it's all thanks to Tatum!

Ajax bit his lip. He suddenly wanted to run back to the locker room to protest against the unfair decision of the referee.

But he also knew that the alliance had been promoting the battle between him and Mo Wen for a long time, and today was New Year's Day and it was broadcast live nationwide. If he just ran back like this, he would lose both face and dignity.

He was not surprised that Mo Wen could see that he was going to commit a foul, but he did not expect Mo Wen to be so ruthless and just put his hands behind his back.

He couldn't find a shot that looked plausible. "LeBron, you already have Michael (Reed), you can definitely try to learn from Pippen." Ray Allen, who recently had some thoughts on learning from Pippen, also suggested.

As soon as Ray Allen finished speaking, Mo Wen vaguely saw that James' face had darkened a little.

Good advice is off-putting.

After one round, James got the ball again and looked at his teammates who were hesitant to speak. He did not act stubbornly, but returned to his normal style of play, but the speed of the fast break was a little faster.

But the Supersonics recognized this point and were determined to limit his scoring.

This was also the strategy discussed by Mo Wen and Hill, the core of which was derived from Lao Ke's double-team contract year theory. They both believed that it was impossible for James to really not care about his personal data in a highly anticipated game.

Facts have proved that James really couldn't let go, especially after being stimulated by Ray Allen's words, James even ignored Reed's open ball requests twice.

Mike Brown called a timeout in the middle, but this time James did not ask Brown to improve his defense as usual, but asked how to make his offense more efficient.

"We are playing a playoff-level game now. We are always entangled in half-court offense and don't run at full speed and play our speed. Everyone runs too slow. Maybe the coach thinks so too, but you should tell us how to run faster."

James' tone was not polite, let alone respectful, but Mike Brown didn't intend to argue with him.

Mike Malone suddenly thought of his father two years ago. His father, Brandon Malone, took over Silas as the Cavaliers coach for two months two years ago, while he was still on the Knicks coaching staff.

The team reporter at the time recorded that James yelled at his father in the locker room, "Hurry up and fix the defensive problem!"

Afterwards, he asked his father why he indulged James so much, but his father's answer was that if he really indulged James, James would not scold him.

The team fell behind by 10 points during this period. In Mike Malone's opinion, this was due to James' more aggressive fast break.

Without playing efficiently, the defensive intensity was further reduced in order to push the fast break faster, which was definitely not a smart choice for the team.

but……

Mike Brown chose to remain silent, and Mike Malone chose to echo (remain silent).

In the next two minutes, the Supersonics missed two three-point opportunities in a row, allowing the Cavaliers to find the opportunity to launch two counterattacks and narrow the gap to 8 points.

During the halftime break, unlike the relatively chaotic discussion environment of the Cavaliers, Hill and other players calmed down and started talking about tactics with the tactical board in hand.

In order to maintain his image, Hill came up with a solution some time ago: unless there is a real need, he tries not to bring the tactical board with him during the game.

As long as the tactical board is not in his hands, those damn media can't say that Mo Wen stole his tactical board.

As the season progressed, the Sonics' tactics had basically been fixed, with the ball basically circulating around Mo Wen, Ray Allen and Milicic. If there were any adjustments, Mo Wen could also make the arrangements on the court.

In the second half, the two teams were in sync with each other and stepped up their defensive intensity, but the Cavaliers had a spoiler. Pavlovic made three of three shots in the corner, and the score difference that had been pulled to double digits by the Supersonics was reduced to only 2 points.

Thanks to the space he created, James got a rare chance to catch his breath and scored 7 points through dunks and free throws in the second half of the third quarter.

But the Sonics were in good shape. Although the Cavaliers later replaced the player with Varejao, which eliminated the obvious loophole in the power center position, the Sonics' luxurious lineup was not just about attacking weaknesses and tearing wounds.

Until the final quarter, the Supersonics still maintained a 4-point lead.

88: 84.

The scores of both teams seem to be very high, but considering that there are fast breaks and three-pointers, it is not so inconsistent.

In the final quarter, the Big Three of the Supersonics began to take over the game.

Mo Wen spent a lot of energy defending A-Jan today, and he did not try to be a hero.

Besides, his teammates are his wings, so how can they not be considered his strength?

But unfortunately, Big Z stood up again. Under difficult circumstances, he made two consecutive singles under the basket, and both times he caused Tyson to foul.

Tyson had already committed four fouls in the first three quarters in order to defend James, so the Supersonics had no choice but to accept the situation where their main center was sent off with six minutes left.

The Cavaliers players were excited about this, but the firepower of the Big Three was too stable. Although Francisco, who came off the bench, was a little sloppy on defense, except for fouls, his rim protection ability was not much weaker than Tyson's.

The difference between the two teams remained at 5 points.

Feeling the threat of being captured again, Azhan fought more and more impatiently.

莫闻今天拿了26分15助攻8篮板了，而他只有23分9篮板8助攻。

Although 23 points is not low, 14 of them were free throws.

The United States does not have the allusion of capturing Meng Huo seven times, but he knows that if he loses again, he will become an allusion!

But after playing fast breaks for most of the game, the Cavaliers' overall physical strength was a bit behind, and Reed's touch was no longer as hot and magical as it was in the first half.

Who else can he count on? He can only grit his teeth and charge forward again and again to fight for a glimmer of hope for the team and himself.

With 1 minute and 22 seconds left in the game, the Cavaliers were only trailing by 3 points.

But the ball belongs to the Sonics.

As long as they can defend this shot and score a three-pointer, they can tie the game.

If they can defend the next ball, they can drag the game into overtime. If there is a steal or something...

James didn't have time to think about it because Mo Wen had already come in front of him.

Mo Wen, who didn't like playing key balls, treated this ball as the key ball. He calmed his breath, looked at A Zhan in front of him and came up with an idea.

The basketball bounced back and forth between his legs following his steps.

Whenever Mo Wen bent his elbow occasionally, it would startle A Zhan.

At this moment, Mo Wen's every move was concerning his mind, and it was obvious that A-Zhan also knew that this ball was crucial.

But just as he was holding his heart and breathing, determined to defend the ball at all costs, suddenly the sound of the basketball falling to the ground disappeared!
A Zhan was shocked, this is one step outside the three-point line!

Wait, it’s already one step outside the three-point line?

Just like a sudden love, Mo Wen took a step to the side and then stood up straight.

Without time to think, A Zhan could only pounce on him.

Hey……

You fool!
The assisting hand blocked A-Jan's block, and the moment the two made contact, Mo Wen pushed the ball out.

boom!
The ball just reached the frame and missed, but it didn't matter.

beep-

In just that moment, James felt isolated from the whole world.

(End of this chapter)