The longest river

Chapter 33 Jordan? Still gotta criticize!

No, not only Jordan, but Pippen was there too, along with some other people Yang Shuai didn't recognize.

They are playing a practice match on the field.

Garnett and Yang Shuai remained silent; they quietly slipped into their seats and watched from a distance.

They became engrossed in watching it after only a short while.

In his past life, Yang Shuai probably didn't even watch many of Jordan's highlights, let alone watch him play.

This is all thanks to his LeBron James fan deskmate.

When someone keeps telling you how bad someone is, it's hard to be interested in that person, and you might even subconsciously resist anything related to them.

But now that Yang Shuai has seen Jordan play up close, he realizes just how terrible his old deskmate was.

Normally speaking, a player who hasn't had systematic training for over a year will inevitably have significant problems with his condition.

However, Jordan's level is clearly above everyone else right now.

His speed, movements, and even his instantaneous judgments and choices all give the impression of effortless mastery.

Yang Shuai has played so many matches since he transmigrated, but none of them have been as impressive as this practice match.

Garnett remained silent, but Yang Shuai could hear him swallowing.

They just stared at it blankly for an hour.

Until a security guard walked towards them.

Hey! You guys!

The shouts drew their attention away from the game.

Oops, we’ve been discovered!
Garnett was already thinking about how to make a run for it.

"Us?" Yang Shuai replied, mustering his courage.

"Yes, you guys, go over there." The security guard pointed to where Jordan and the others were.

Garnett and Yang Shuai exchanged a glance, and then immediately understood that this meant they were to play against Jordan.

"Did you bring your sneakers?" Garnett blurted out.

"Aren't we wearing sneakers?" Yang Shuai knew Garnett must be incredibly excited.

Garnett slapped his forehead and then called Yang Shuai to run quickly to the court.

Once he got closer, Yang Shuai finally looked away from the hard-boiled egg and began to examine Jordan closely.

Jordan's physique looks much bigger than in the highlights; his muscles look strong and powerful, and he has a pair of eye-catching, super-sized hands.

"They're still too young to play here, they're still high schoolers," Pippen said to Jordan, turning to him.

It seems that Jordan spotted them and called them over to play.

"Let them play," Jordan said, seemingly indifferent.

"You guard Scottie," he then ordered, pointing at Garnett.

"You'll be my opponent." Then he pointed at Yang Shuai.

After directing the matchups, the practice match continued.

Pippen immediately reached out for the ball, taking a probing step about a meter from the three-point line.

Garnett instinctively took a small step back, and then Pippen immediately launched a long-range three-pointer.

"Shh!"

The basketball goes hollow into the net.

This goal surprised not only Garnett, but also Yang Shuai.

The historical Pippen was not known for his offense, let alone such long-range three-pointers.

But judging from his shooting posture, he definitely didn't just make a lucky shot.

Yang Shuai suddenly recalled a scene from his past life where DeAndre Jordan dribbled between his legs on a basketball court.

For NBA players, they simply do what they do best on the court.

As for the rest, it's not that they can't do it, but that they're incapable of doing it.

Garnett reached out for the ball in the attacking third, wanting to return the pass.

But when he received the ball and started backing down his opponent, he realized that Pippen behind him hadn't moved an inch.

When he turned around, Pippen slashed the ball out of his hand.

Jordan hadn't played for over a year, but Pippen hadn't; at that time, Pippen was at his peak.

Pippen stole the ball and immediately launched a fast break.

Yang Shuai then closely followed Jordan on defense.

In a backcourt 1v2 situation, Pippen reached the free-throw line and passed the ball to Jordan.

Jordan barely made a move; he simply took a step and jumped.

Yang Shuai jumped at the same time as Jordan, keeping his eyes fixed on Jordan's hands to prevent him from making a layup.

In the highlights just now, he witnessed firsthand just how flexible Jordan was.

However, what he imagined did not happen. Jordan simply protected the ball and then contested it in the air.

Yang Shuai soon felt his body lose its balance.

With the improvement in his core strength and training with Di Francesco, he was very confident in his ability to fight.

But it seemed insufficient against Jordan.

Moreover, Jordan was still rising while he was falling.

He could only watch as Jordan scored with a low layup after contact right in front of him.

"I told you so." Pippen smiled at Jordan, thinking that it was too much of a rip-off for them to beat high schoolers.

Yang Shuai served from the backcourt, directly asking Garnett to serve to him.

Once they reached the frontcourt, he called out to Garnett, "Kevin, set a screen."

"Switch." Pippen called out without turning his head as Garnett moved up the screen on the right.

Jordan didn't respond, but he had already switched onto the defensive position in an instant.

The tacit understanding between the two bulls.

However, as soon as the switch was completed, Yang Shuai broke through from the left side.

This change caught even Jordan and Pippen off guard, and Garnett didn't even realize it. Yang Shuai never intended to set a pick-and-roll; he pulled a fast one.

Yang Shuai accelerated into the paint. Jordan was caught off guard by Garnett and couldn't get back on defense in time. However, Pippen made a great effort to help defend after getting around Garnett.

He was actually tricked by a high school student!

Yang Shuai noticed Pippen's arrival. He was preparing to make a layup, so he accelerated and jumped, slamming the ball into the basket with a two-handed gliding dunk before Pippen could arrive.

Jordan couldn't help but burst into laughter as he watched Pippen's failed block attempt.

When he turned around, Jordan reached out for the ball.

There were no fancy moves. After receiving the ball, Jordan would simply use the triple threat, then change direction, drive, pull up for a jump shot, and make the shot.

Jordan's speed was too fast, and his rhythm was too smooth; Yang Shuai had a hard time keeping up.

"Were you even playing serious defense?" Jordan started trash-talking after landing.

He would laugh at Pippen, but he would also stand up for Pippen.

When Yang Shuai arrived at the frontcourt, his teammates immediately passed the ball to him.

Those who are present at this event are all people recruited by Jordan's team, and their primary task is to serve Jordan.

Jordan specifically invited Yang Shuai and Garnett over, and they naturally wanted to make sure Jordan had a good time.

After receiving the ball, Yang Shuai continued to signal Garnett to set a screen.

This time, after Garnett set the screen, he immediately drove to the basket on the screen side with a crossover dribble.

As a high school student, Yang Shuai had a vivid memory of what he learned in his textbooks, and he had thoroughly mastered the art of deception.

Pippen didn't have time to shout this time, and Yang Shuai's choice was completely beyond his expectations.

After Yang Shuai broke through and pressured Pippen, he immediately opted for a step-back three-pointer!

Even for Pippen, by the time he realized what was happening and pounced, it was too late.

"Shh!"

Yang Shuai didn't hold back, sinking a three-pointer.

"Who was guarding me just now?" Yang Shuai asked Jordan.

When Yang Shuai said those words, the stadium suddenly fell silent.

Even Garnett looked incredulous.

Was Yang Shuai just trash-talking Jordan?!

Yang Shuai frowned.

He didn't think he did anything wrong. Who says Jordan is allowed to criticize others but others aren't allowed to criticize him back?

He frowned because the system notification sounded in his mind.

The number of points is related to the identity of the person being scored. In this era, no one in the basketball world has a higher status than Jordan.

Is there a bug in the system?
At that moment, Jordan suddenly laughed. He had forgotten how long it had been since anyone dared to trash talk at him.

Yang Shuai then realized that his trash talk had simply piqued Jordan's interest.

It seems we still need to find a way to increase our efforts.

Jordan continued to have the ball, but this time he did not choose to face up to attack, but instead opted for a back-to-the-basket isolation play.

When Yang Shuai faced Pierce one-on-one, Pierce used a lot of back-to-the-basket moves, a move that Yang Shuai was no stranger to.

However, he quickly realized the difference between Jordan's and Pierce's back-to-the-basket moves.

Jordan's post-up game was too strong; it wasn't something a guard should have, but rather like an inside player.

Yang Shuai had to lower his center of gravity in order to withstand his back-to-the-basket attacks.

It was at this moment that Jordan began to turn around.

Yang Shuai successfully predicted Jordan's forward turn, but the moment he shifted his weight, Jordan quickly followed up with a backward turn, pulling himself further towards the basket and creating distance between them.

Yang Shuai lunged forward again, but Jordan had already completed his shot with a fadeaway jumper.

"Shh!"

Yang Shuai ultimately failed to effectively interfere with the ball.

After landing, Jordan didn't say anything more. He simply turned around and made his signature celebration gesture towards the sidelines while retreating on defense: shrug and spread his hands.

This is showing off, and also a silent mockery of the defender.

Yang Shuai continues to have the ball in the attacking third.

Jordan lowered his center of gravity and adopted a posture that resembled that of a hunter.

Garnett moved up to continue the pick-and-roll, but Jordan slid past him on the first attempt.

You can clearly feel that Jordan's focus has increased.

However, Garnett's second attempt at a pick-and-roll successfully blocked Jordan.

As a big man, Garnett is not only fast, but also wide, which gives him excellent pick-and-roll ability.

Yang Shuai seized the opportunity to quickly pass the ball and run a pick-and-roll to the side.

This time, Pippen took precautions and rushed out.

But just as Pippen did that, Yang Shuai passed the ball directly to Garnett, who had just turned around.

Before Pippen could figure out what trick Yang Shuai was up to this time, Yang Shuai had already sped past him.

Upon seeing this, Garnett immediately threw the ball towards the basket.

Yang Shuai was lifted into the air by the ball.

"Oh!"

Amid Pippen and Jordan's astonished gazes, Yang Shuai and Garnett connected in mid-air!

Although their individual skills are not as good as the Bulls' twin stars, they have shown a high degree of teamwork from the AAU to the training camp.

After landing, Yang Shuai turned around and high-fived Garnett, then smiled and looked at Jordan.

"Hey! Michael, you guys are outdated!"

"Negative energy from Michael Jordan +1008".

The system notification finally rang in Yang Shuai's mind.

Right after the offensive and defensive transition, Jordan stuck out his tongue.

(End of this chapter)