Chapter 157: A Cruel Duel
The picture of Yiyang shooting the whistle ball is being replayed over and over again on the big screen at the scene, and no matter how many times this picture is played, the Mavericks fans who are still in their seats will always raise their arms excitedly.
It was not for nothing that the staff at the U.S. Route Center Arena repeated the image, not only to please the fans, but also to put pressure on the Trail Blazers players who were resting on the bench with this wonderful goal.
Brandon. Roy, probably the Trail Blazers player who cared the most about that shot, watched the replay over and over again, shaking his head over and over again. This once powerful figure in the alliance really couldn't believe that he would end up in this field now.
The picture of Yiyang scoring a whistle ball on the head of "Yellow Mamba" impacted Roy's already broken confidence again and again. So much so that what Coach McMillan had just laid out, Roy listened absent-mindedly.
The withered rose couldn't help but touch his knees, which had had their meniscus removed, and he was not reconciled, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Beep~~~~~"
The electronic beep brought Roy's mind back to the basketball court, and he saw Coach McMillan waving at him, only to realize that he was going to continue playing.
"The Yellow Mamba" stepped onto the pitch under the footage of several cameras, and although Roy's form has plummeted this season, he remains the darling of journalists and fans. The guy looked up, but saw Yiyang, who had just scored a whistle ball on his head, appeared at the same time as Kidd.
At this time, the Trail Blazers' lineup on the court is four starters plus Frenchman Batum, Wesley. Matthews was replaced. In other words, now Roy will play as the No. 2 position, and "Yellow Mamba" will be directly opposite Yiyang!
Roy isn't the kind of guy with a bad temper, and he doesn't hold a grudge because Yiyang scored a goal on his head. But this former owner of the City of Roses will not let his self-esteem be trampled on at will!
The timer on the rebound began to move, and the shouts of the fans lingered in Yiyang's ears again. Old Miller slowly attacked with the ball, Yiyang opened his arms, and the fierce battle continued to begin!
In the first quarter of the game, Roy didn't make a shot, and on the offensive end it was no different from transparent. Now in this lineup of the Trail Blazers, Carlisle's main task for Yiyang is to make up for the defense. Pay attention to Aldridge's position, and if he has the chance, Yiyang will complete the bag with Nowitzki to complete the bag of the big man No. 12.
As for Brandon. Roy, the most dangerous "viper" ever, Carlisle didn't do much for him. After all, Roy's poor form this season is out there, that's a reality.
When Roy ran to the frontcourt, Yiyang blocked the way of "Yellow Mamba" with his left hand. Despite this, Roy could see that the attention of the flower show in front of him was on Aldridge, and this was an opportunity!
Taking advantage of the moment Yiyang's eyes fell on Aldridge, Roy suddenly pulled out his legs and ran, trying to get a chance by running!
Yiyang didn't expect this guy to be so aggressive in the second quarter, and he tried to keep up, but Aldridge, who was on the way, suddenly turned sideways and set up an off-ball screen for Roy.
Huang Mamba went to the position of the middle distance of the 45° angle on the right, and Old Miller saw that Roy threw off Yiyang, and immediately pushed it with both hands.
The basketball jumped into Roy's hand quickly, and Roy did not stop after receiving the basketball, and immediately turned around and shot!
Yiyang arrived in time and reached out to interfere at the moment when Roy took up and shot. Although Roy's legs made it impossible for him to jump as high as he used to, the guy still shot with determination!
Roy's face has been completely sealed by Yiyang's palm, but this guy's shooting action has not been affected in any way, and it is still smooth.
The basketball flew past Yiyang's fingers and spun towards the basket. At that moment, Aldridge seemed to feel like he had seen the same Rose City Lord he had been.
"Brush!"
A crisp sound came from behind Yiyang, and this Tanhuaxiu turned his head to look, only to find that the nets were flooded with white waves.
"Resolute shot, Brandon. Roy! As soon as the second quarter of the game began, he returned Yiyang's goal! "Kenny. Smith shook his fist excitedly, who could not like the fighter who led the Trail Blazers to challenge the mighty in the first place?
"That's Roy's style, that's Brandon's basketball! This game has to watch Kenny, can Brandon Roy be completely resurrected under the stimulation of Yi? Even Barkley, who has always been unserious, is excited at this time, if Roy and Yiyang can play a head-to-head battle, then the game will definitely become quite exciting!
After the goal, Roy and the elder Miller gave a light high-five, and immediately retreated to the defense. Yiyang looked at No. 8, whose eyes became tenacious, and it seemed that he had one more trouble today.
Watching Roy's sudden threat, some basketball critics seem to have grasped the last straw. Whether Yiyang can continue to be trapped in the "wall" depends on Roy!
Although Yiyang really wants to score another goal in front of his former idol, this guy's style of play is destined for him to continue to fight with Roy without taking the ball.
This time, Kidd hit the ball into the hands of Yiyang, who was standing in the middle range, but Yiyang was just a transit station, connecting the Mavericks' outside and inside lines.
After receiving the basketball, Yiyang transferred the ball again and gave it to Nowitzki, the Mavericks' most threatening offensive point.
"The Devil" just got the ball, Marcus. Canby immediately wrapped it up. And Camby's position is very good, he didn't give Nowitzki a chance to pass the ball to the basket, because there is still a "boxing champion" standing there who can wreak havoc on the basket at any time.
Nowitzki had no space to make moves under the sandwich of the two longs, and if he wanted to pass the ball, he could only pass it to the outside.
Just when the Germans were at a loss, Yiyang suddenly jumped out and ran out of the gap to catch the ball.
Nowitzki didn't hesitate and played high, passing the ball between Camby's raised arms.
Seeing this, Roy tried to jump, hoping to cut off the pass. However, Yiyang still received the incoming ball firmly one step ahead of the "Yellow Mamba", and Roy could only hate that he didn't jump as high as he did back then.
After receiving the basketball at the mid-distance position on the left baseline, Yiyang did not be polite to Roy and went straight to the basket. Roy had just landed, and his legs were so mutilated that he didn't have time to start immediately.
In this way, Roy could only watch as Yiyang threw himself away and launched an attack towards the basket.
Marcus. Seeing this, Camby immediately dropped Dirk and jumped up to block it just as Yiyang was about to jump. However, Yiyang did not go directly to the basket, but ran under the basket, and when he slipped to the other side of the basket, he jumped up and made a rebound and won easily.
After Roy's tough shot, Yiyang stepped up to help the Mavericks score again when Nowitzki was cornered. The big battle between Roy and Yiyang has unwittingly whetted everyone's appetite.
By the time the Trail Blazers attacked again, Roy's enthusiasm was much higher than it was in the first quarter. After all, this guy now has confidence, and he has an opponent who is eager to beat.
When a person with a strong sense of self-esteem encounters those two factors, he will not give up easily.
Roy's aggressive run brought tears to the eyes of Trail Blazers fans watching the game in front of the television. They couldn't believe that the once omnipotent "Yellow Mamba" would also be resurrected one day.
Once again, Roy ran out of his way, and Miller Sr. was happy to help the "God-cursed child" get back into shape. But this time, when Roy turned around with the ball, he found that the Tanhuaxiu was spreading his arms and standing in front of him inch by inch! This time, "Yellow Mamba" didn't shake off Yiyang's run, because Yiyang's attention was always on the No. 8 in the black jersey.
"Damn it!" Roy's emotions that finally got excited were instantly poured cold water on Yiyang, so the Trailblazer No. 8 also lowered his center of gravity, held the ball and did a few three-threat moves, and he did not give up the singles!
Yiyang's eyes are unwavering, and he is also unwavering in his center of gravity. Yiyang wasn't fooled by Roy's three-threat move, and the guy's tight defense didn't seem humane to Trail Blazers fans at all.
This is indeed a bit unreasonable, even if Yiyang likes the No. 8 in front of him, he also hopes that this guy can get back to his pre-injury state. But when Yiyang is Roy's opponent, he can't be soft. Because it's a disservice to your teammates, to your team.
Seeing that this Tanhua show was not leaving, Roy simply took the ball directly and broke through. Yiyang's physical confrontation is not as good as Roy's, but Roy's two injured legs have also lost too much explosiveness.
"Huang Mamba" leaned on Yiyang and walked to the basket and went directly to the basket. But under the interference of Yiyang's raised arms, Roy's layup in the physical confrontation missed and unfortunately slid out of the basket.
The unwilling Roy gritted his teeth, hoping to grab the offensive rebound himself. He simply pushed down Yiyang, who was stuck in the position, and jumped violently, but all this did not escape the eyes of the referee.
When Roy grabbed the offensive rebound, the Trail Blazers fans were smiling. The whistle blew, Roy was fouled on the rebound, and the ball went to the Mavericks.
"!" Roy yelled unwillingly, he was not unwilling to Yiyang, but unwilling to his body. Now he can't even eat a defender like Yiyang who is not good at confrontation. His body no longer seems to be his own.
Yiyang's tough defense shattered the beautiful illusions of all Trail Blazers fans. That guy can't come back, and the owner of the Rose City may never come back.
Subsequently, Yiyang held the ball again against Roy. Without blocking and dismantling, Yiyang suddenly started and threw off half of Roy's body in one step.
Roy knew he had to keep the number one defender at bay, his brain was quick, but his legs couldn't move as fast. This guy's current traverse agility may not be much better than that of Miller Sr.
Watching Yiyang hit the basket again, Camby also made up for the defensive position in advance. Camby's defense also means that Nowitzki will no longer be trapped.
After bursting to the basket, Yiyang suddenly scored a point and distributed the ball to Nowitzki, who was in the middle distance position. The latter leaned on Aldridge to make a slow three-step layup and scored the ball steadily. In a one-on-one situation, Nowitzki was still able to eat Aldridge.
Only then did people realize that Roy's defense was as fragile as a piece of tissue paper for Yiyang. The wonderful duel between Roy and Yiyang is just a beautiful fantasy of the fans.
The cruel reality is that the current Roy has no way to confront Yiyang! His scarred legs are completely impossible to keep up with Yiyang, who is as fast as lightning. The era of "yellow mamba" has become a thing of the past.
After the next goal, Roy passed the ball to Aldridge after being entangled with Yiyang for a long time without any success in singles. Aldridge still hit a turnaround jumper despite Nowitzki's interference, and finally extended the score for the Trail Blazers.
After switching to the Mavericks to attack, Yiyang called a pick-and-roll, and Nowitzki went up to cover. With this block, Yiyang easily got rid of his former idol Roy, and then hit a pull-and-go jump shot in the mid-range position.
Yiyang's re-goal only gave the Mavericks a three-point lead, but it sent two important messages.
First, the second quarter of the game was not over before it was over, and it was already 10 points in Yiyang, which made those damn rookie wall theories self-defeating. Second, add the incomparably powerful Brandon. Roy is simply a defensive hole in front of Yiyang! If the Trail Blazers want to win, they must change someone to confront Yiyang.
So, Nate. Coach McMillan called a halt to the game and replaced Roy. The exciting showdown that people were looking forward to ended under Roy's embarrassed figure.
"Yellow Mamba" lowered his proud head, and the cruel reality made this No. 8 let go of his fists.