Champion, please stay!

Chapter 137, Section 135: The Turtle's Little Tricks
Yi Shui returned to the hotel once again with a Celtics team pendant.

He always looks forward to playing against the Celtics, but it's always been a grueling experience... However, this time was better than the preseason game and the game in the middle of last month. Although the physical battles left him sore, he enjoyed the game more. It's just a pity that they didn't win.

This is the second accessory belonging to that rich guy. Just looking at it increases my anger level by 1.

Yi Shui placed the pendant on the side of her suitcase, out of sight, out of mind.

I didn't want to read the news, but I opened my phone and browsed it anyway.

"Garnett locks down Brook with his toughness... tough guy Garnett, strangles the Knicks' run-and-gun offense... ESPN and the Los Angeles Times are praising Garnett's toughness again."

Previously, Yi Shui thought that the Los Angeles media and ESPN would definitely be the ones to criticize Garnett the most. After the playoffs last season, these two media outlets praised Garnett to the skies, saying that Garnett should have been the Finals MVP.

Rondo, Ray Allen, and Perkins are all highly regarded in both places.

The reason... he guessed it very quickly.

Like tonight, when he got 17 rebounds, the blame was all placed on Pierce, who was guarding him.

Who can blame them when Pierce was last season's Finals MVP? They've already started calling him the best player in the universe.

However, both media outlets praised Garnett's toughness... Yi Shui reviewed tonight's game.

Garnett is a very strong defender, exceptionally strong. When he's on the court, the Celtics' entire defense becomes a cohesive unit.

Yi Shui has played nearly 30 games, and no opponent can compare to the Celtics in this regard.

Garnett's mid-range interceptions and interference were particularly formidable; even the duo of James and a fully fit Ben Wallace couldn't match Garnett's individual skill.

Garnett's impact on offense was also better than the data suggests.

He has playmaking ability from any position inside the three-point line, and can even be used to assist in ball handling and inbounding the ball at the top of the arc. Moreover, he is the tallest player on the court, so his teammates can easily find him to pass the ball when they can't get open.

In the first half of the first quarter, the Celtics scored 19 points, and Yi Shui thought that the opponent was about to score 120+ points in a single game again.

For the middle two and a half quarters, he and Swift took turns battling Garnett relentlessly, which affected Garnett's performance after the break, and the Celtics only managed to score 58 points!
In the final quarter, Garnett adapted to that kind of defense, his playmaking improved, and the Celtics' scoring surged again, racking up 29 points in the quarter...

Yi Shui 'Future' has seen many people lamenting the Celtics' situation, saying that if Garnett hadn't suffered a major injury and his athleticism hadn't been impaired, the Celtics' Big Three would have been invincible in the playoffs for at least the first three years after they were formed... which is indeed very possible.

At his peak, Garnett didn't care about stats or his role on the team; his impact was simply too great.

But being strong, however strong, doesn't really have much to do with being tough.

In Yi Shui's memory, before last season's playoffs, there was never any news praising Garnett for being "tough." Garnett was usually praised for his versatility, shooting, and defense.

In the early 2000s, players like O'Neal, Duncan, Ben Wallace, and Mutombo were at their peak, so Garnett's playing style couldn't be praised as tough.

But after last season's playoffs, they became 'tougher'.

Since he was now involved with those two, Garnett had to be firm...

...

The Knicks left Boston early the next morning; from the coach to the players, no one wanted to stay.

Yi Shui had just checked into the hotel in Oklahoma City with the team when he received a call from Westbrook.

He's going to play Durant tomorrow, and it's generating a lot of buzz. I saw a lot of cameras filming him at the airport... Looks like Turtle (Durant's nickname) enjoys surfing the internet too.

The two met for lunch and chatted about the progress of their clothing brand.

Yi Shui had little interest in clothing design and operation; he only wanted to take a stake and receive dividends. Westbrook couldn't be happier with such a business partner.

As a fashion design enthusiast and a professional in the field, Westbrook is eager to make his brand a success.

Upon hearing that Yi Shui was going to train at the Ford Center that afternoon, Westbrook had an idea and offered to train with her, which Yi Shui accepted.

Yi Shui had already notified the team's trainer, and Westbrook also called the Thunder's training director at the dinner table.

When the two arrived at the Ford Center, their trainers were already prepared, and the two began warming up immediately.

After warming up, Westbrook said, "BIG, let's have a game!"

Yi Shui: "...Russell, you can't beat me in a one-on-one fight."

"I can't beat you in a one-on-one fight? I... cough cough," Westbrook almost exploded, but he held back, coughed twice, and continued, "I don't want to fight you one-on-one, I want to compete with you in training!"

"You can't beat me in training either; at most, you're better at ball control."

Westbrook wanted to jump up and smash this bastard's knees! He really shouldn't have had any personal dealings with this guy except for business!
Fortunately, he had a purpose this time. He suppressed his soaring blood pressure and gritted his teeth, saying, "Whether we win or not, we'll only know after the competition!"

Yi Shui saw through the other party's little scheme, but didn't care. She replied, "Alright then, but I need to practice my new technique first. Wait for me for an hour, and you can practice first."

Westbrook, curious, asked, "New technology? What new technology?"

"I played against McGrady on Christmas Day, and I thought his skills were very impressive. I want to learn from him."

"Oh... I saw Kevin is also learning McGrady's breakthroughs. He's been learning them since we played against each other last time. You might see him use them tomorrow." After saying that, Westbrook went to the side of the court to practice attacking the basket. He wasn't interested in McGrady's techniques; McGrady's arms and legs were too small.

However, he would still check on Yi Shui's training every now and then and found that Yi Shui and Durant trained differently.

It's not the kind of long-step breakthrough that Durant practices, but rather practicing strong jump shots or three-pointers with a step-back and the ball gathered, under the guidance of the trainer.

Sometimes I'll make a sudden burst of speed after a few shots, but not often.

An hour later, Yi Shuikai's three-point training card expired, so he called Westbrook to practice shooting fundamentals together.

Close-range jump shots, mid-range shots, and three-pointers—each zone lasted an hour. Yi Shui thought Westbrook wouldn't be able to keep going because he had almost never won in the full-load shooting 'duel' of 100 shots per group.

But this guy was very tenacious and managed to persevere.

Finally, the Yi River surrendered...

After having a nutritious meal at the Ford Center in the evening, Yi Shui said he wanted to do extra weightlifting, and Gui Gui followed suit. In the end, Yi Shui gave in again...

After putting the nearly exhausted Yi Shui into the car the Knicks had called, Westbrook's lips curled up as the car drove away.

Westbrook's perspective is different from Yi Shui's.

Today, he learned that Yi Shui was an extremely competitive person, just like him. After receiving his "challenge," he wanted to beat him and pushed himself to the limit. When he couldn't hold on any longer, he had no choice but to admit defeat.

However, he wasn't much better off.

He has better stamina than Yi Shui, but he hasn't practiced shooting much, so he just practices spot-up three-pointers as required by the team.

He basically only practices free throws in mid-range shooting. He has hardly practiced close-range jump shots since entering the NBA. At that distance, he might as well step into the paint and shoot against the defense.

Performing these uncommon exercises, and doing them at full capacity, set after set of 100 balls... If Yi Shui had persisted for two more sets during that 'weightlifting duel,' Westbrook would have been the one to give up.

But when he thought of how exhausted Yi Shui was, he felt it was all worth it!
It feels so good to make a silent contribution to the team!

He was so tired he didn't even want to drive, so he hitched a ride home with the team trainer...

...

On December 30th, the Knicks faced the Thunder on the road on their last game of 2008.

This match is attracting a lot of attention—Yi Shui vs. Durant!
Yi Shui, the strongest rookie of the new century, averages 27.4 points per game. After two consecutive 30+ point games against the Wizards and Rockets, he has soared to 27.9 points, only trailing the Celtics by 0.5 points.

The team's record is also outstanding, with 20 wins and 9 losses. The season is not even halfway through, and their win count is already close to that of last season.

Kevin Durant was one of the strongest rookies of the new century last season, averaging 20.3 points per game.

This season, the Thunder played 29 games with a very poor record of 7 wins and 22 losses, but this cannot be blamed on Durant. The Thunder should just put 'tanking' in parentheses in their team name.

The Thunder, whose interior defense was already weak, traded their top backup center, Joe Smith, the 95 number one draft pick, to the Cavaliers right after Christmas, in exchange for Donyell Marshall, who was no longer getting playing time.

The Thunder didn't lose out entirely. Joe Smith's contract expired in 10 years, and Donyell Marshall's contract was also expiring, saving them a year's mid-level exception salary... It just goes to show that the Cavaliers' owner was really willing to spend.

Despite the team's poor record, Durant's individual performance has made all teams except the Knicks who have acquired high draft picks in recent years envious!

He played 25 games, averaging 24.2 points per game!
Everyone knew Durant would make great progress in his second year, but his progress still exceeded expectations.

Moreover, his scoring is on an upward trend, and he is very likely to join the ranks of top scorers averaging 25 points per game in his second year!
The clash between two rising star scoring prodigies couldn't dampen the fans' enthusiasm, even with such a large gap in team strength.

Major media outlets had already reserved live streaming resources for this match after the opening game.

At 9 p.m., the Knicks and Thunder faced off at the Ford Center.

Knicks starting lineup: Curry, Q, Yi Shui, David Lee, Swift.

Thunder starting lineup: Westbrook, Desmond Mason, Durant, Krstic, Nick Collison.

After the Thunder fired Carlesimo and replaced him with Scott Brooks as head coach, Westbrook was immediately promoted to the starting point guard position.

Swift easily beat Nick Collison to win the jump ball, giving the Knicks the first possession.

Curry and Swift initiated a pick-and-roll offense, intending to drive and pass to Yi Shui who was running, but when he drove into the paint, he saw Nenad Krstic protecting the rim... He grabbed the ball, his hand trembled, and he made a floater.

When the Thunder were on offense, Durant called for the ball, wanting to go one-on-one against Yi Shui!

Westbrook passed the ball to Durant. Seeing Durant fake a move, Yi Shui pressed forward towards Durant. Durant twisted his waist and stepped out with his left foot, blocking the path...

Turtle: Enjoy the opportunity I've created for you, backpack brothers, crush the weak Emperor!

But something Westbrook didn't expect happened: Durant took a big stride and accelerated, and Yi Shui kept up steadily!
Durant drove into the paint and attempted a floater over Yi Shui's tight defense, but missed... He wasn't surprised; he wasn't very familiar with this move, and it was normal that he couldn't beat Yi Shui, who was faster and stronger than him.

But at least they weren't directly pressured or had their pieces stolen again!

Westbrook was getting flustered… ‘Wait, man, weren’t you exhausted last night? I’m still feeling weak, how come you’re acting like nothing happened?’

Turning around, Westbrook saw Yi Shui make a similar sideways twisting step to start his drive to the basket as Durant had just done... Instead of taking the agile approach, he directly shoved Durant aside, drove into the paint, grabbed the ball from the free-throw line, took three big steps, and floated it in... Westbrook was stunned!
He suddenly woke up with a start, and an unbelievable guess popped into his head—yesterday, it wasn't him who consumed Yi Shui, but Yi Shui that consumed him!
(End of this chapter)