The longest river

Chapter 136 Your first-round opponent actively chose you.

"This is his night."

At the post-game press conference, Trail Blazers head coach Carlesimo was asked about Yang Shuai's performance, and he expressed both helplessness and praise.

He tried every defensive tactic tonight but it didn't work, so he was truly defeated.

"He will become a superstar in the future."

And Sabonis, who also performed well tonight and is even a fellow rookie like Yang Shuai, used even more affirmative words.

Although he played in the NBA for a short time, he has already left his mark on the world stage and has a wealth of experience.

When Yang Shuai appeared at the Trail Blazers' press conference after it ended, it instantly caused a huge commotion.

"You scored 38 points in the game against the Heat more than a month ago, and you said you would score 40 points, but tonight you scored 51 points. How did you do that?"

Yang Shuai said he wanted to score 40 points, but ended up scoring 50 points, which was a huge show of bragging rights.

Yang Shuai scratched his head. This kind of question was actually not easy to answer, because theoretically he should be more modest, but that was not his personal style.

He turned and looked at Bird.

"Perhaps, as the coach said before, I got more shot attempts."

The boomerang made Bird smile, drawing laughter from the crowd.

"Your last three-pointer was the logo three-pointer from midcourt. Were you worried that you wouldn't make it? Because that was also a three-pointer that set a new record for you."

Yang Shuai then took the microphone away and turned to Bird with a surprised look: "I broke the record?"

Bird nodded and told him that he had broken Dennis Scott's record of 11 three-pointers in a single game, set last April.

Yang Shuai was even more surprised when he heard this. He had never noticed that someone in this era had actually made 11 three-pointers in a single game.

Perhaps three-pointers are not valued in this era, but there are still some top three-point shooters in this era.

"I didn't know I was going to break the record," Yang Shuai said honestly after picking up the microphone.

He doesn't have the habit of looking at statistics during matches.

Moreover, his teammates did not remind him during the game.

"If I had known, I might have chosen the safer approach."

His next words made the reporters laugh again.

Sincerity is always the most powerful weapon.

"Which makes you happier, scoring 51 points or breaking the three-point record? Or both?"

The reporter asked an easy question.

"No, what makes me happiest is that we won tonight's game."

For the Pacers, they need to improve their ranking, and they must win all their games on this Western road trip.

After the press conference ended, when Yang Shuai and his teammates were taking the bus back to the hotel, unsurprisingly, they were stuck in traffic again.

Yang Shuai was particularly impressed by the Portland fans. Last time, at least the rain stopped after the game, but now it's still pouring rain. Aren't those on the outside holding umbrellas afraid of getting wet?

He's met fans from all over the country, but this one is the most speechless to him.

However, this time he was sitting by the window, and after a while he felt something was wrong because the people outside were shouting something different.

He opened the window a crack and listened; it sounded like, "Hansen, we need you."

It's just... hard to comment.

Do you really think of him as the next Drexler?

Yang Shuai closed the window and put on his headphones.

Ignoring everything else, I only listen to Chinese songs.

When will Jay Chou finally debut?

The day after the Pacers and Trail Blazers game, media reports about Yang Shuai's 51 points and 12 three-pointers were everywhere.

Unlike before Yang Shuai's time, when the league encouraged offense, this is an era that emphasizes defense, and scoring 50 points is already a symbol of being a top scorer.

Moreover, Yang Shuai scored 50 points in a way that differed from the mainstream two-point scoring of this era; he primarily relied on three-pointers.

Therefore, it is clearly not appropriate to group him with three-point shooters like Dennis Scott, because Scott scored 35 points in the game last year when he made 11 three-pointers.

He primarily relies on three-pointers, but he also scores a significant number of two-pointers. Yang Shuai embodies the spirit of his HY1 advertisement: becoming the first version of himself.

It would be a waste of material for any media outlet not to report on such a story-driven and topical news.

Moreover, there isn't much news to report at the end of the season.

Even Ernie Johnson, in the latest episode of "NBA Insider," felt that Yang Shuai should be selected for this season's All-NBA Team.

This statement is somewhat exaggerated, but Yang Shuai's performance has certainly boosted his fame significantly.

The Pacers' road trip ended in Minnesota.

Garnett then pulled Yang Shuai to his home, and kept talking to him nonstop.

Of course, this is different from last year; he's excited about the playoffs right away. Thanks to the tanking situation in the West, the Timberwolves, despite only having around 30 wins, are miraculously ranked sixth in the West.

Being able to play in the playoffs means being able to further increase one's market value and accumulate more leverage for contract renewals this summer.

Then, and most importantly, Garnett told Yang Shuai the latest news he had received from his agent.

The league will most likely be shut down next summer!
From the initial possibility, to the next one to two years, to now being certain that it will be next summer.

The sense of urgency is growing stronger.

The season ended quickly, and a month passed in the blink of an eye, bringing the 1996-1997 regular season to a close.

In the Western Conference, the Jazz have the best record, with a 62-20 record.

The Jazz have broken their regular season record set two years ago.

However, they could have done better; they lost two of the three matches in which Malone was suspended.

The Rockets are ranked second with a record of 58 wins.

The Rockets can be said to be the most dramatic team this season.

At the beginning of the season, the Rockets achieved a record of 19 wins and 2 losses in the first 21 games, and once surpassed the Bulls to rank first in the league.

Barkley's performance was particularly outstanding, racking up a massive double-double of 20 points and 33 rebounds in his first game.

However, perhaps due to overexertion, Barkley subsequently suffered injuries to his left pelvis and left ankle, which ultimately caused him to miss 24 games (in addition to a 5-game suspension).

Drexler also suffered an injury, missing 21 games.

If it weren't for Hakeem Olajuwon as a core player, the Rockets might have fallen out of the top half of the standings.

The Lakers are ranked third with 57 wins.

In his first season with the Lakers, O'Neal averaged 26.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.9 blocks per game.

However, the increased weight also made him susceptible to injuries, causing him to miss 31 games this season.

After O'Neal's absence, Kobe seized the opportunity to earn himself a spot in the rotation.

In his rookie season, he averaged 18 minutes per game, scoring 9.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.

The SuperSonics are ranked fourth with a record of 56 wins.

It's worth mentioning that Garnett's Timberwolves team finished with a record of 40 wins and 42 losses, a winning percentage below 50%, yet they still managed to rank sixth in the Western Conference.

Even the Clippers, who finished eighth, ultimately had a record of 36 wins.

Yang Shuai's first impression after seeing these results was "a complete reversal of the Heavenly Gang".

You have to understand that ever since he started watching basketball in his previous life, the pattern of the West being stronger than the East has never changed, and "Eastern benefits" was something that fans often mentioned back then.

In contrast, the Eastern Conference is extremely competitive, and this year's playoffs are also very special for the Pacers.

The Bulls are currently at the top of the Eastern Conference standings and have the best record in the league. Although they haven't managed to win 70+ games in a row, their 68 wins are still a significant achievement.

Jordan also put up almost the same numbers as last season: 29.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.

The only area where performance was lacking was probably three-point shooting, where the percentage dropped from 42.7% last season to 37.4%, despite a similar number of attempts.

The Heat are second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 61 wins.

The Pacers were hampered by Schmitzer's injury, but they went on a winning streak at the end of the season after Schmitzer's return, ultimately finishing with a record of 60 wins and 22 losses.

Bird achieved 60 wins in his first season as head coach and increased the team's winning streak by 13 games, making him a strong contender for Coach of the Year.

杨帅在自己的个人第二个赛季里数据也有了不小提升，他出场74场，场均上场34.5分钟，得到18.7分5.6板2.8助攻2.3抢断1.5盖帽，三项命中率分别是46%/41.5%/88.6%。

His scoring is second only to Miller (20.5 points) on the Pacers, and he has maintained his scoring efficiency despite a significant increase in shot attempts. This is a better performance than just improved statistics, indicating that he has the potential to handle the ball and become a franchise player.

The Hawks and Pistons are ranked fourth and fifth with 57 and 56 wins respectively.

Then there's the Knicks, who are sixth with a record of 55 wins.

Then the Knicks are the most unpredictable team in the East.

One of their last two games was a crucial battle for position against the Hawks, but they chose to let that game go, and in the final game, they also opted to rest their key players.

If they had won those two games, they would have been fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Initially, the outside world speculated that the Knicks' choice was that they wanted to avoid the Bulls in the second round.

But when the season actually ended and Knicks star Patrick Ewing was asked if that was true, he directly denied it.

"No matter which round you're in, if you want to win the championship, Michael and the Bulls are opponents you have to beat."

When pressed on whether he had actively "chosen" the Pacers as his first-round opponent, he gave the most affirmative answer.

"When you fall down in one place, you can only move on to the next stage by getting up in that place."

Ewing's answer perfectly embodies the characteristics of players in this era.

If you defeat me, I will not only not want to run away, but I will also look for opportunities to win back in a head-on manner!

(End of this chapter)