Chapter 460 [What's the responsibility of playing?]
Yang Jian doesn't like to evaluate his opponents too much. Usually, his opponents evaluate him.
O'Neal said a lot during the interview and praised Yang Jian. At the same time, O'Neal also had a headache. He usually does not play against Yang Jian and needs his teammates on the outside to deal with Yang Jian. If he cannot guard the outside, he can only worry.
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It is unrealistic to expect O'Neal to defend the pick-and-roll and restrict Yang Jian. His body is destined to not be good at guarding the pick-and-roll. And he is unwilling to play pick-and-roll with his outside teammates, thinking that he is the most powerful at the basket and does not need to be pulled out.
Other Sonics players also had a lot of feelings, and today's press conference can be longer.
Because the Sonics have three days of rest and will not play against the underdog Mavericks away from home until the 24th.
Barkley was excited and said a lot. Although he just joined this season, he broke the winning streak and recorded it in the annals of history. Decades later, many fans will remember him. He is a member of the strongest team in history.
I would be satisfied if I could get this kind of evaluation at the end of my career.
Others also expressed that they are having a great time playing this season and are confident that they can continue their winning streak.
As soon as the news came out, Yang Jian's villa in Seattle became famous. Everyone knew that he and Russell were neighbors, but it was still very interesting that he described his house as a Feng Shui treasure.
If Yang Jian moves in the future, the price for selling the villa will be very high. But he will not sell it. When he buys it, he wants to get it right in one go. He likes his current home very much.
Yang Jian's ambition surprised everyone. Players must have dreamed of becoming the number one player in the league, but there has never been anyone like Yang Jian who dared to speak out.
Some celebrities feel that he is too arrogant and will definitely be slapped in the face in the future. Winning the championship is by no means easy.
Fans think Yang Jian is extremely cool. Other players are not so heroic. No one can compare with him in this regard.
Current players were interviewed and evaluated Yang Jian. Most of them praised him, but some also praised Payton and Barkley in a weird way, thinking that Yang Jian always wins because the Sonics' lineup is too strong.
Barkley's salary cut to join the SuperSonics has been questioned a lot, but Barkley no longer cares. He has seen through it. If he doesn't come to the SuperSonics, he will never win a championship in his life. Now he is still a little scared, but he is glad that he did not join the Rockets a year in advance.
, there is no chance of winning the championship at all.
On January 24, the SuperSonics narrowly defeated the Mavericks 111-107 on the road, achieving their 42nd consecutive victory.
The Mavericks had a very poor record, starting with 6 wins and 32 losses, and were last in the Western Conference. The SuperSonics won this game very thrillingly. Five members of the Mavericks team scored in double figures, and they led by 20 points at most.
Eric Strickland, who entered the NBA out of the draft, had the best performance of his career. He is 191cm tall and weighs 95kg. He is a "double guard" and his shooting percentage this season is an appallingly low 35.7%.
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Today, Strickland made 11 of 17 shots, 3 of 4 three-pointers, 5 of 5 free throws, and scored 30 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists. Normally, this person only shoots 29.4% from three-point range and takes 2.4 shots.
Payton was not willing to be beaten by such a role player and took more shots. He played 43 minutes and made 10 of 19 shots, 0 of 6 three-pointers, 20 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 turnovers.
Payton can imitate Yang Jian's style of play, but his shooting accuracy cannot be compared with Yang Jian. Yang Jian and Schrempf, who had a relatively high shooting percentage on the Sonics, were in foul trouble, and in the end both committed five fouls and were almost ejected.
The Mavericks' home whistle was obvious, and it was outrageous that Yang Jian was called for two collisions with the ball. He did not raise his elbow when he collided with Mavericks power forward Samaki Walker in a misplaced position, and the opponent was also unsteady on his feet.
The SuperSonics have won too many games in a row, and Yang Jian's speech was too arrogant. The league no longer wants them to continue their winning streak.
But the Mavericks were not qualified to defeat the SuperSonics, and their hard power was not enough. In the final quarter, Yang Jian, Barkley, and Schremf ensured the team's offensive firepower, and they went on a 13-0 run to catch up with the score.
In the last two minutes, Yang Jian hit two three-pointers in a counterattack and led the team to reverse the score, once again proving that he has a big heart. He still faced Mavericks starting shooting guard Hubert one meter outside the three-point line.
-Davis made a shot, allowing the opponent to become a backdrop.
On the 26th, the SuperSonics' long winning streak came to an end with an upset loss to the Kings on the road.
In this game, most of the SuperSonics players felt cold, and the Kings players desperately double-teamed Yang Jian.
Payton made 5 of 13 shots, Barkley made 3 of 14 shots, Schrempf made 1 of 11 shots, and Mason made 1 of 7 shots. The fans were extremely disappointed with their performance.
The Kings blossomed more, with 7 players on the team scoring in double figures.
Even so, the SuperSonics fought the Kings to the end. Sam Perkins made 7 of 15 shots, 1 of 4 three-pointers, 1 of 1 free throws, and scored 16 points and 8 rebounds, giving Yang Jian some support.
Yang Jian made 9 of 17 shots, 4 of 9 three-pointers, 8 of 8 free throws, and scored 30 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.
At 12.6 seconds, Kings center Alden Polynice grabbed a key offensive rebound and scored on a second attack, giving the Kings a 4-point lead at the last moment.
Yang Jian was double-teamed and unable to take a shot from the outside, so he passed the ball to Perkins. The veteran Perkins was used to taking shots from the bottom corner, and the 60-degree open three-pointer on the left side unfortunately missed the basket.
Mason failed to grab the offensive rebound and used foul tactics. Polynis made one of two free throws to help the team seal the victory. The final score was 106 to 111.
When the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, the Kings players were so excited that they rushed onto the field to celebrate as if they had won the championship. In fact, their record was 18 wins and 26 losses, and there was a high probability that they would not make it to the playoffs.
Now there was big news again. Reporters interviewed players from both sides.
The Kings players were very excited at the press conference. Mitch Richmond said: "I am very happy to beat Young and the Sonics once and be a part of the team that ended the Sonics' winning streak. We did not play well this season. We won
This game is a huge boost to the team’s morale.”
Richmond made 8 of 15 shots, 2 of 5 three-pointers, 6 of 7 free throws, and scored 24 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. His performance was quite eye-catching. But he humbly said that he was not Yang Jian's opponent.
"There is a gap in strength between Yang and I. Winning is the result of the hard work of the whole team. Yang's style of play gave me a lot of inspiration. I would constantly move around to find cover and cooperate with my teammates. We played a smooth offense."
Polynis lamented: "This will be one of the most unforgettable games in my career. I proved that I am not bad either."
Anyone who knows Polynice knows that he has resentment towards the Sonics, because Polynice was sent to the Sonics by the Bulls with a draft pick in exchange for Pippen. The two were incomparable in terms of strength, and Sonics fans didn't like it.
Polynis, he was soon traded away from the team.
Polynis proved himself on both offense and defense today. He made 6 of 9 shots, 5 of 7 free throws, and scored 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Kings players who perform well have many feelings. They are not famous and it is rare for them to miss the news.
SuperSonics players generally behaved calmly during interviews.
Yang Jian said: "Congratulations to the Kings, they performed very well today. If you lose, you lose, I don't care. If I lose at 39 or 40 consecutive wins, I will be very depressed. I can completely accept losing at 42 consecutive wins.
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He not only praised his opponent, but also praised himself.
Yes, the SuperSonics have won 42 consecutive games. They lost their first game halfway through the season. What's there to be depressed about?
The reporter asked: "What do you think is the reason for the defeat in this game?"
"It's because we didn't score as many points as our opponents. The Sonics are so strong, I won't analyze the reasons for the loss after the game, let alone who is responsible for the loss. No one is responsible for the loss, we just relax occasionally
. Losing six games this season will set a new record, and we can still lose five games."
The reporters all felt that Yang Jian's answer was very generous. He neither said it was his own responsibility nor blamed his teammates.
The Kings won the game today, but we were just having fun. What responsibility do we have for just having fun?
Yang Jian is not the kind of core who often says "I am the boss and should take responsibility" after losing, nor is he the kind of core with strong eyes that knocks on the table and the bench outside the court, but can't lead the team to win. He feels that losing a few games in the regular season is simply not possible.
It doesn't matter, as long as you can get the best record.
Faced with Yang Jian's statement, reporters didn't know what to ask anymore.