The longest river

Chapter 115 The Root of O'Neal's Negative Energy

Yang Shuai also attached great importance to this game against the Lakers.

However, the most important thing is not the outcome, after all, the season has just begun, and it's just a regular season game no matter who we play.

For him, points are more important.

Keep in mind that the Lakers have assembled the current number one player and the potential future number one player!

The game against the Lakers was a golden opportunity for him to rack up points.

Moreover, after playing against the 76ers, Yang Shuai realized that his one-on-one defensive ability still needs to be improved.

Even if there are understandable reasons, he failed to effectively limit rookie Iverson's performance in one-on-one situations, which is certainly not enough against the current Jordan.

As he said at the opening banquet, stopping Jordan is his primary goal right now.

The media also gave a lot of attention to the matchup between the Pacers and the Lakers.

Besides the conflict between Yang Shuai and O'Neal last season, there was also the duel between Yang Shuai and Kobe, two high school perimeter players.

The NBA is currently experiencing an unprecedented golden age for high school players, with the league now boasting four top high school players.

Among them, Kobe and Yang Shuai are both high school guards, and their matchup is the most interesting.

The two men, who were at the center of the publicity, were having a one-on-one match inside the Lakers' training facility.

The two played ten games in a row, and Yang Shuai won the first nine games, except for the last one.

In one-on-one situations, Yang Shuai was Kobe's nemesis.

On the defensive end, needless to say, his current one-on-one defensive ability still puts rookie Kobe Bryant, who plays at the same position, in a very strong position.

As for the offensive end, he also had a huge advantage. Apart from being a size bigger, Kobe had put all his points into offense, and his defense was like McGrady or Durant's – talented but not capable.

After their one-on-one match ended, the two chatted on the sidelines.

It was at this moment that Kobe was venting to him about his experience with the Lakers.

"I don't understand why they went to so much trouble to select me, but then don't give me a proper role."

Because of Brown, Yang Shuai was DNP several times when he first joined the Pacers. Even after finally making it into the starting lineup, his playing time was a rollercoaster.

However, Kobe Bryant only averaged a paltry 8 minutes of playing time per game on Harris's team.

Yes, it's the same as his jersey number.

If Brown's use of Young showed he had no intention of developing him, then Harris's use of Kobe clearly demonstrated a lack of trust.

Yang Shuai was quite moved when he heard Kobe say those words.

In a way, Kobe and he have very similar experiences.

From winning the AAU tournament to dominating current NBA players for publicity, to soaring in training camp rankings, and securing huge endorsement contracts, etc.

Those experiences can be attributed to Kobe imitating the path he took, but the draft was not decided according to Kobe's will.

Just as the Pacers have Reggie Miller, the Lakers also have Eddie Jones.

Moreover, during his rookie season, Yang Shuai had the opportunity to displace McGee, a player of the same type, through his defense. If he hadn't been playing against Brown, he could have even transitioned to the point guard position and competed for the starting point guard position.

But Kobe couldn't.

Besides Jones, the Lakers' other two starting perimeter players are Nick Van Exel and Cedric Ceballos.

They are all near All-Star caliber players in their prime, and are far superior to Kobe in every aspect.

There's only one way Kobe could want to start: the Lakers would trade one of their players, just like Garnett did back then.

However, judging from the current situation, there is no indication that the Lakers will do that, which is the root cause of Kobe's complaints.

Actually, it's not hard to explain the "abnormal" behavior of the Pacers and Lakers management, because no one would choose a high school student as an immediate asset.

However, neither Yang Shuai nor Kobe is the kind of person who can keep their temper in check.

Moreover, while a regular lottery pick is not cheap in the draft, it is not the number one pick like Allen Iverson's. For the team's management, it is just a moderate investment.

Of course, Yang Shuai only understood these things after experiencing them firsthand. Just like during the Summer League, even if he told Kobe something now, Kobe wouldn't listen.

"Ah Dou, it's still because you're too weak," Yang Shuai said, looking at Kobe.

Yang Shuai said so much to Kobe in the Summer League because Kobe idolized him, and he did it for Kobe's sake, right?
No, he doesn't have that kind of free time.

Since Kobe and Shaq went to the Lakers as he knew, Kobe will eventually become a superstar, regardless of what he says or not.

His goal was already set back when he played in the Sonny Hill league: to earn points from Kobe.

The goal of making Kobe grow quickly was to have him threaten O'Neal's position as soon as possible, so that O'Neal could use the conflict between the two to earn more points.

However, it seems that Kobe really didn't listen at all.

"I can beat everyone in the entire league one-on-one!"

Yang Shuai said Kobe was weak in order to motivate him to improve himself in a more direct way, but Kobe's answer was something he never expected.

However, perhaps remembering that he had just lost nine games to Yang Shuai, he immediately added, "I won against you in the end too."

Yang Shuai was so angry at Kobe that he laughed.

What I just said about playing three games turned into five games, then five games into seven games, and finally, if he hadn't really given up and thrown the game, Kobe wouldn't have had a chance to beat him!

But that's so Kobe. Getting Kobe to admit he's inferior to others is harder than killing him. "Come on, I don't believe I can't beat you into submission."

As Yang Shuai spoke, he stood up, determined not to hold back this time, even if it meant fighting until he vomited.

Yang Shuai returned to the hotel close to 1 a.m. after his one-on-one game with Kobe.

Kobe kept losing but refused to admit defeat. He only stopped when he was completely exhausted, saying things like, "We didn't decide the winner this time, but we'll definitely do it next time."

He was truly impressed by that guy; as expected, shamelessness knows no bounds.

He had just finished showering when he heard a knock on the door.

There was a knocking sound at the hotel room door in the middle of the night, which startled Yang Shuai.

He walked to the peephole and looked out, only to find it was Bird.

Why would Bird come looking for him in the middle of the night?

"Is it convenient to come in?" Bird didn't go in immediately when Yang Shuai opened the room, but instead glanced inside.

This is in Los Angeles, and it's the middle of the night. Finding a female companion for a four-wheel alignment is quite common.

Yang Shuai then remembered that because of Kobe, he had forgotten to ask Taylor to play the story of the human and the elf queen.

After Bird came in, Yang Shuai poured him a glass of water.

If I drink coffee in the middle of the night, I'm afraid I really won't be able to sleep.

After sitting down, Bird chatted for a few minutes before explaining his purpose.

Yang Shuai listened calmly at first, but as he listened, his expression darkened.

Bird was referring to something that happened tonight, specifically during the time when Yang Shuai and Kobe were playing one-on-one.

O'Neal appeared on a Fox Sports live program.

During the show, O'Neal was asked questions about Yang Shuai.

"Hansen Young has been playing very well this season. What are your thoughts on playing against him tomorrow night?"

Because it was a live broadcast, the production team did not inform O'Neal in advance what questions they would discuss, so O'Neal was taken aback when he was asked the questions.

After all, everyone knows that his relationship with Yang Shuai last season was more than just a simple disagreement.

Yang Shuai dunked over O'Neal and made O'Neal look ridiculous in a bullfighting style. He even said after the game that he would never do something like having dinner with O'Neal to make peace.

After a brief moment of surprise, O'Neal quickly regained his composure and expressed his attitude in his own unique way.

“I don’t care if his name is ‘Hansen Yang’ or ‘Ching Chong Yang’, I’ll make him pay.”

As he spoke, O'Neal frantically moved his mouth and waved his hands as if performing Chinese kung fu from Bruce Lee.

Clearly, he's preparing to teach Yang Shuai a lesson in tomorrow night's game.

Compared to "chink," the word "ching chong" is less familiar to most Americans because it is not an obviously racist term.

However, Yang Shuai is probably even more familiar with this word than with "chink," because in his previous life, he knew that many countries in the Middle East used this word to discriminate against Chinese people.

The word itself doesn't actually have any meaning; it's mainly used to imitate the comical quality of Chinese pronunciation.

Its origins can actually be traced back to the 19th century. When the United States was building railroads, Chinese workers were favored by capitalists because of their low wages, which had a strong impact on American workers. As a result, those people invented a term specifically to discriminate against Chinese workers.

After listening to Bird's explanation, Yang Shuai finally understood the answer to the question that had troubled him for a long time: why O'Neal had such a negative attitude towards him.

At the time, he thought it was because of the shoe contract that O'Neal was being petty.

However, the reality is that even though Reebok doesn't sell shoes for centers, they still launched a signature shoe for O'Neal early on. It was Reebok's first signature basketball shoe, and he was treated like Reebok's top star.

Therefore, that reason is far-fetched.

But now it's completely understandable, because O'Neal has a deep-seated prejudice against Chinese people. When he sees an Asian player getting such a big endorsement contract, how could he not feel disgusted or even nauseous?

"I'm talking to you about this because I hope you won't publicly respond with racist language. The team will help you resolve this matter."

Although Bird was not with the Pacers last season, he and Walsh naturally talked about some things from last season. In addition, through spending time together, he also gained a general understanding of Yang Shuai's personality.

"How is the team going to resolve this?" Yang Shuai suppressed his anger; he just wanted to run up to O'Neal and confront him.

“We will force Shaq to apologize and we will appeal to the league. Racial discrimination is absolutely unacceptable.”

Yang Shuai didn't say anything. Bird's suggestion was indeed the best way to handle the situation, but it was still unsatisfying.

"In any case, responding publicly with racial discrimination is not a good choice, because once you do that, public opinion will quickly turn in Shaq's favor."

Bird's next words were very realistic: society is not school, unlike when Luther criticized Yang Shuai and Yang Shuai criticized the other party back then, it is absolutely fair.

In the United States, Black people are the second largest ethnic group after white people, while Asians are a minority group, and even a small minority within that group.

When they do the same thing, the public support they receive is on completely different levels.

Only by standing on the moral high ground can Yang Shuai suppress O'Neal in terms of public opinion.

"As long as we don't respond publicly, it's fine, right?" Yang Shuai suddenly grasped the key point.

Bird paused for a moment, realizing what Yang Shuai was planning to do.

Instead of giving a direct answer, he made an analogy: "There are many small tricks on the NBA defense that are excellent defensive moves if they are not called by the referees."

(End of this chapter)