basketball never sleeps

Chapter 349 100

The silence at TD Garden came unusually early tonight.

While it's not unacceptable to be down 1-8 at the start of a game or for a star player to shoot 4-for-4, it's not unacceptable either.

With its long history and 16 championship banners, Celtics fans have witnessed too many miracles and regrets, and ordinary things can hardly shake their love and dedication to the team.

But when you connect a player's four-for-four start with Rudy Murray, one of the biggest "miracles" in the NBA in recent years, anyone who can remain calm can be considered a "casual fan" just there for the spectacle.

Less than three minutes into the game, the Celtics players who had just come on the court hadn't even broken a sweat yet, but Rivers, who had called a timeout, already had beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Let's leave it at that for now. Everyone, adjust your mindset. Our defense is fine, we just need to be more focused and aggressive."

"The most crucial point is that we need to switch and help on defense faster, keep moving, move faster, and move more aggressively!"

"It's not that scary. He just happened to be there. Don't let him frighten you."

"I believe you can do it, you're all great, come on guys, let's have some fun!"

Rivers had no time to make any tactical adjustments during the 20-second timeout, and could only give the players a breather while hoping that the timeout would interrupt Mo Wen's shooting touch.

"Coach, should we do something to Mo... like double-team him?" Harden, watching Mo Wen score easily one after another, wished he could take off his practice clothes and go up there himself, but his body wouldn't allow it.

“No, impossible. I understand how you feel, KG, but do you know what double-teaming Mo means?” Rivers shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"Double-teaming Mo means giving up the game. If you were still on the court, we might be able to try double-teaming Mo with your strong help defense and rotations, but now that you're injured, neither Leon Powell nor Kendrick can do it, so... sigh."

If Mo Wen's 88 points last season could be seen as an isolated event resulting from a series of extremely lucky coincidences, then Kobe's previous 85 points demonstrate that these top-tier scoring performances can replicate such miracles when the player is in excellent form.

If Moriarty were to pull such a stunt at TD Garden, the Celtics' pride in their "past glory" would likely get him fired before the press conference even begins.

However, as the coach of the Big Three and a former best coach, he cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater and give up on the game just because of a possible tragic outcome.

The timeout ended, and both teams returned to the court.

Pierce, who was preparing to unleash all his energy to tear into Mo Wen, saw a calm, detached smile on Mo Wen's face that disgusted him and was never associated with the Black community.

"You're the only one watching me now, so you guys are still going to defend me one-on-one, right?" Mo Wen's tone was as if he were chatting with a friend.

Pierce sensed the disdain in his voice, clenched his fist, but said nothing.

Before any results are achieved, anything said is superfluous.

As long as he gets to defend against the next... no, as long as Mo Wen misses even one shot, he'll show Mo Wen what it means to—

Woof woof woof woof!

In the Celtics' possession, Carter used Perkins' screen to create a half-step open look, took a big step into the three-point line and shot, finally giving the Celtics their first field goal of the day.

Turning around, before Mo Wen could even receive the ball, he was met with Pierce's tight defense... or more accurately, his close defense.

Pierce used almost his entire understanding of defense, wrapping his arms around Pierce's arms, chest to chest, while his lower body was like that of a clumsy and playful ballroom dancer, with fragmented footwork and occasional stomping on Pierce's feet.

only……

Mo Wen had no intention of engaging in hand-to-hand combat. He twisted his body, pushed and pulled with his arms, and with a thrust of his buttocks, he shook off Pierce's superficial entanglement.

When Pierce closed in again, Mo Wen first steadily received Ray Allen's pass with one hand, and with his other arm slightly bent, he lightly touched the ball with his elbow in a position where the referee card could not see.

Pierce staggered, and a line of narration seemed to appear in the void—the effect was outstanding!

Seeing Pierce out of position, Carter had no choice but to immediately fill in as instructed by the coach.

Mo Wen didn't force a shot. He strode up to Carter, dribbled to a sudden stop, stole the ball, and then pushed it with his backhand towards the open Gay.

Gay completed the shooting drill without much pressure.

11:3

"Cheer up, guys, I don't want to be kicked out after only half a game today." Mo Wen clapped his hands, and anyone who didn't know better would think he was celebrating with his SuperSonic teammates.

Pierce was furious when he heard this. All he got was a little advantage from the elbow.

You just wait! (His voice cracks with tears)

So in the next round, he used his elbow to actively demand the ball and go one-on-one with Gay.

This offensive choice shows that he is still quite clear-headed.

He couldn't afford to be sober; he had once dreamed of wandering the world with a sword...

Then, on a whim (due to lust), he exchanged it for 11 dollars.

He used his shoulder and buttocks to block Gay's position, received Rondo's pass, and then slowly moved inside to attack.

Gay's talent and the experience and skills honed by Mo Wen are barely enough for him to deal with LeBron James, but he's not good at guarding Pierce, who has slightly less talent but more experience in back-to-the-basket play.

Mo Wen felt that Pierce had exceeded the time limit with his back to the goal, but the referee did not seem inclined to call it.

Pierce pushed his way to his sweet spot, used a slight shoulder fake to deceive Gay's center of gravity, and smoothly flipped over and shot in the opposite direction.

Swish!

"Don't think you're so great just because you scored a few goals. Win the game before you bark like a dog!"

Pierce retreated while pounding his chest and shouting in Mo Wen's direction.

Before Mo Wen and Supersonic could react, Carter's toes had already started digging into the ground uncontrollably.

Mo Wen only scored a few goals, but you only scored the one you just scored!

While retreating on defense, Pierce, anticipating that Mo Wen would likely return to a one-on-one situation, instinctively signaled to use his special ability to set a trap for Mo Wen, hoping for a "righteous gang-up."

But first he realized that Harden was injured and couldn't coordinate with him, and then he realized that he had returned to defense too quickly and had actually left Mo Wen in the logo area.

"Don't listen to the empty words, don't listen to the empty words!" Zhang Weiping's reaction in the CCTV commentary room was remarkably swift.

If he dared to say that under a different subject, the audience's reaction would most likely be, "Wei Ping has gone mad."

But now...

Reasonable!

No further explanation is needed; a streak of light flashed across the court and landed cleanly in the net.

Mo Wen scored 11 points.

Rivers gritted his teeth and scratched his chest.

The league should introduce rules to prohibit shots from being taken outside the shooting zone!

This is not just about basketball, it's about the planet itself.

Whose house has aliens visiting?

Rivers wavered; perhaps he really should have listened to Harden and double-teamed him.

In fact, Rivers didn't need to call a timeout to make adjustments; the Celtics players on the court had already unconsciously double-teamed Morey.

Mo Wen's desire to conquer wasn't that strong. Even when the Celtics double-teamed him, he was willing to use his attractiveness to assist his teammates. And so, the scenario Rivers had anticipated unfolded.

The Celtics' double-teaming and blocking seemed to be part of the Supersonics' tactical play, exposing one open player after another to the Supersonics' firepower.

In other words, the Supersonics' shooting touch was just average, and they failed to capitalize on several open shots, which prevented the game from becoming garbage time right from the start.

However, the gap between the two teams inevitably widened to double digits in the 8th minute of the first quarter.

After Mo Wen broke into the paint and scored a 2+1 against Perkins' defense, he didn't intend to play the full game. He scored 14 points and gave the team a 13-point lead before going to the bench to rest.

"Mo Wen has been in good form today, making all six of his field goal attempts and one free throw so far. However, he hasn't been able to keep up with his offensive drive. If he had passed the ball less and taken a couple more shots, he would have 20 points by now."

Inside the commentary room, Coach Zhang said with some regret.

Old Hill was also somewhat surprised. It had become an open secret among the SuperSonics that when Mo Wen was in a good shooting streak, he would take more shots and make more attempts.

Why today...?

Oh, it must be because the playoffs are coming up soon, and they want to give young players more opportunities to train.

Although Hill also adhered to the old-school coaching philosophy that role players should do role player work.

However, he also has to admit that when Mo Wen often passes the ball out to Gay and Millsap to practice ball handling, it is not a waste of ball possession.

When there are three or four three-point shooters on the perimeter, double-teaming becomes ineffective.

When there are three or four ball handlers on the perimeter, switching defense becomes a poison pill.

He was also worried that without Milicic, a strong inside player, the playoffs would be too weak to rely solely on the two outside stars.

But now it seems that Mo Wen was already planning ahead?

Meanwhile, in the stands not far from the supersonic stadium, a princess, who was completely covered up, proudly puffed out her chest, which was covered in hickeys, beneath her clothes.

She felt the Celtics should really award her a city hero badge; if she hadn't sacrificed herself to exhaust Mo Wen's energy last night, the home crowd would have suffered terribly.

Thinking about how she fainted twice last night and was woken up by being slapped in the face with a baton, she squeezed her legs together and sighed at how much her city had sacrificed.

Actually, Mo Wen hadn't thought that much about it; his physical strength was sufficient.

And taking time off to rest is simply because... it's a habit.

Once his skills improved, Mo Wen no longer had the concept of wasting his touch.

His field goal percentage this year is close to 60%. Excluding three-pointers, his two-point jump shot percentage is comparable to Shaq's in the paint.

To be honest, hitting ten shots in a row within a row is practically his daily routine.

The probability of him appearing in the regular season alone might be slightly smaller, but he also has daily dungeons.

Of course, if a reporter asks, the answer is naturally that as the team leader, his responsibility is to help his teammates grow, providing them with opportunities to train is his obligation, and helping others get rich is his goal...

Back on the field, the SuperSonics players did not disappoint Mo Wen's high expectations, bringing back the cheers of the home fans.

When Guy saw Tony, who had come on as a substitute and was a head shorter than him, he confidently asked for the ball for a one-on-one game.

If we only consider the data on paper, this is a fairly ideal alignment.

But Tony Allen quickly proved his ability on the defensive end.

In terms of pure technical ability, Tony Allen is naturally inferior to Mo Wen, who has both superior talent and technical skills and a better model.

But Tony Allen was much more serious in his matchup than Morton, and Gay was caught off guard for a while.

After having two shots blocked, Gay got a bit flustered, and in his frustration, he forgot all the techniques and awareness he had learned before.

After observing the ball for two seconds, Gay suddenly bent down, lowered his center of gravity, and began dribbling wildly, his body swaying back and forth, his shoulders bouncing along with the ball...

His feet remained firmly planted in place.

Mo Wen blinked; the more he looked at that gesture, the more familiar it seemed.

At first, Tony tried to adjust his weight by taking a couple of small steps, but then he just stopped moving.

Guy, on the other hand, got into character. In his frantic shoulder shaking, he seemed to realize that he had indeed tricked the other person into shifting their center of gravity.

He himself has also lost some control over his body.

After he started moving, his shoulders and legs inexplicably bent in the same direction, and the basketball hit his feet and bounced away.

"Out of bounds!"

The referee blew his whistle and raised his hand to signal.

Guy's face turned red, and he almost ground his back teeth to powder.

By the end of the first quarter, the Celtics had narrowed the gap to 8 points.

The SuperSonics team didn't mean to blame him, but they still teased Gay about how he managed to dribble with his legs bent and even dribble the ball up to his leg.

"I watched too many LeBron videos before, and I just used it subconsciously just now..." Gay tried to explain.

Although Mo Wen wanted to speak up for his good friend, after recalling Guy's actions, he realized that Guy didn't seem to be lying...

In the second quarter, the SuperSonics' bench failed to make an impact as usual, and the referees deliberately widened the line, resulting in a good exchange of blacksmithing skills between the two sides.

Mo Wen returned to the court after a timeout in the fourth minute of the second quarter, and Pierce and Carter, who had played the full minutes in the first quarter, also had to return.

"Oh, we see that the Supersonics have finally made a substitution. Mo Wen is finally back. I wonder if he can continue his hot streak from the first quarter."

"The Celtics opted for a switch instead of a double team. Are they testing Morven's shooting touch?... The ball went in! Morven's hot streak is back! Look how clean that is! Hey, the most logical way to play right now is to get the ball to Morven at all costs!"

"Just look at Mo Wen's stance and you'll know what a standard triple threat looks like... He just throws it, and then, it goes in!"

"The point difference between the two teams has widened to 15 points. I think we need to cheer for the Celtics. If it's garbage time, Mo Wen probably won't play."

"Carter's three-pointer... went in. This is his second three-pointer this quarter, but I'm not surprised. Moke is using the same defense he uses against LeBron. Oh no, I mean, he's guarding against him."

In the second quarter, he scored another 14 points.

However, the atmosphere among the home fans became increasingly tense.

Because Mo Wen hasn't conceded a goal yet.

100% hit rate.

28 points at halftime. (End of Chapter)