Basketball Terminal

Chapter 105 Magic
That evening, at the Barclays Center, Li Yue finally managed to queue up and buy two tickets to the game, inviting Sulanki to watch the Brooklyn Nets vs. Charlotte Hornets match. The arena had over 1700 seats available that night, making ticket purchases no easy feat. Li Yue had been queuing for two weeks in advance, finally securing his eligibility to buy tickets, using his brother's salary to purchase high-platform tickets.

After passing through ticket checks and health screenings, Li Yue bought two more coffees and handed them to Su Lanqi. Su Lanqi took the coffees with one hand while constantly swiping on his phone and replying to messages with the other. Li Yue, somewhat annoyed, said, "Hey Su Lanqi, can't you stop for a moment?"

Su Lanqi shook his head slightly and said, "Capital never sleeps."

Li Yue rolled his eyes and muttered, "You're not a Wall Street tycoon. Everyone sells sneakers."

After replying, Su Lanqi looked at Li Yue and asked, "What are you muttering about?"

"It's nothing. This is our first date, after all. Don't keep talking about business."

“I have no choice. I don’t run a shop on the street with fixed working hours. Sometimes when business comes in, I have to respond promptly, otherwise I’ll miss the opportunity.”

Li Yue could only express his understanding. As a major sneaker broker in the New York area, Su Lanqi was indeed very busy and had many resources at her disposal. Neither the shoe buyers nor the sellers knew that the mysterious sneaker enthusiast with extraordinary connections online was an Indian girl under 20 years old.

The current inconvenience of travel and the enclosed environment of public places have made her an ideal candidate. She doesn't need to show her face; all transactions are completed online. Anyone who wants to buy shoes can find her with her guarantee of authenticity and access to various niche styles. Li Yue was once her supplier, but they later discovered they were classmates and thus transitioned from online to offline friends.

"What business deal are you negotiating lately? Is there anything I can help with?"

"Someone wants to buy your brother's sneakers."

"Really? But my brother doesn't have any brand endorsements yet."

"I want the ones your brother wore."

"Damn, I want the original flavor~ Do you want worn socks? How much?"

"Can it really be sold?"

"Why not? I'll try and ask him for a pair."

The match was about to begin, and the two prepared to enter the field. Li Yue leaned closer to Su Lanqi and quietly tried to take Su Lanqi's hand. Su Lanqi quickly shook him off, his face slightly flushed, and said, "What are you doing? I just came to watch the game with you."

Li Yue felt a little embarrassed, but then he remembered what his brother had told him: be bold and speak your mind. If a girl agrees to go on a date with you, just say you want to sleep with her. It's okay if she rejects you; it's better than wasting your time and not even getting a chance to touch her.

Of course, you should make a preliminary assessment. If you're not the other person's type and there's absolutely no chemistry, don't humiliate yourself; just have a polite meal and leave. In short, trust your intuition and then turn that intuition into action.

Taking a deep breath, Li Yue boldly said to Su Lanqi, "I... um, can I... kiss you today?!"

Saying "I want to fuck you" like Li Wei did was too difficult for Li Yue; he wasn't that thick-skinned, and the atmosphere wasn't right either. Hearing Li Yue say that, Su Lanqi's eyes darted around, at a loss for words, her heart pounding. She quickly calmed herself down and said, "Sure, but on one condition. If your brother wins the MVP award today, I...I'll kiss you."

"Really?"

"Well, really."

Li Yue was surprised that Su Lanji actually agreed. Although there were conditions, and the conditions were not low, it was still better than rejection. It meant that Su Lanji did not resist him. Her brother was right! After saying this, their relationship was like a window paper being broken. When Li Yue took Su Lanji's hand again, she no longer resisted.

Of course, whether the two can take things further depends on Li Wei. Li Yue silently prayed in his heart, "Brother, you'd better do your best tonight!"

At this moment, Li Wei was in a daze in the locker room. Listening to Nash's pre-game tactical instructions, his mind was buzzing. What was Nash saying? Why was he on his playbook, not only a starter but also responsible for orchestrating the offense from the perimeter? Wasn't that Harden's job? Had he become Harden? Had he time-traveled again?

Wait, it's April Fool's Day! Nash told me this morning that he wanted me to handle the ball, wasn't he joking? How could this guy take it seriously?! Not only him, everyone took it seriously. Why isn't anyone saying anything, offering any objections? Why isn't anyone jumping in to say, "Victor probably isn't up to the task; he should be given more time to develop!"

Hey, you with the mustache, aren't you the one with the most opinions? And Udoka, I can tell you're not very convinced by Nash's coaching. Why don't you object? And my loyal and united members, stand up and say something for me! Why am I being made a starter to orchestrate the offense? You've really made my life miserable!

Li Wei was internally rejecting the idea. He knew clearly that the foundation for his place on the Nets was to do his job well. But ball handling and orchestrating the offense carried immense pressure, far exceeding what screens and easy baskets could provide on defense. If he didn't perform well, making consecutive mistakes and losing possession, his performance on the court would be ruined.

However, Nash seemed determined to force things, and his rough-and-ready personnel management style remained unchanged. No one else objected, and Irving even chimed in, "I'll support Viktor well." Everyone laughed, as if they were all certain that Levi could handle the job.

"I'm not even this confident myself, where do you guys get your confidence from?" Li Wei has indeed been playing very consistently lately, passing, finishing plays, and defending—a true workaholic who gives his teammates a great sense of security. But these tasks are completely different from ball-handling and playmaking. Don't you guys know the difference?
But Li Wei had already agreed to Nash's request that morning, and the team's tactics were all planned out. Li Wei would start, with Bruce Brown, Irving, Harris, and Jordan forming the team. Li Wei would work with Irving to organize the team's offense and fill the gap left by Harden's absence.

Harden sat there like a complete idiot, grinning and staring at Li Wei, nodding and shaking his head as if waiting to see him make a fool of himself. Actually, he believed Li Wei would definitely have an outstanding performance; he wanted to see just how deep Li Wei's skills were. "Forget it, it's all just a makeshift team. We've already gotten this far, one more game won't make a difference. I'll just grit my teeth and play. Anyway, I'm a point guard by trade, it shouldn't be too difficult for me," Li Wei could only console himself. But he knew in his heart how vast the gap was between the professional leagues he had played in and the NBA.

The good news is that tonight's opponent is the Charlotte Hornets, a mid-to-lower-tier team with average perimeter defense, so the pressure in the laning phase won't be too great, which allows Li Wei to relax a bit.

Warm-ups finished, and the game started on time. Tonight, the Nets wore sky-blue retro jerseys, with a retro red "Nets" logo in the center of the court, making the entire arena bright and cheerful. The Hornets' starting lineup consisted of Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, PJ Washington, Devonte' Graham, and Bismack Biyombo.

The Hornets currently have a record of 23 wins and 23 losses, a 50/50 split, hovering on the edge of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Nash sees this as a good opportunity to test and develop Lee's ball-handling and playmaking abilities, against an opponent who is neither too strong nor too weak. This is Nash's style; when he had the Long Island Nets use a 3-2 zone defense plus man-to-man defense to experiment with defensive tactics, it was exactly what he wanted.

Furthermore, Nash's simplistic and brutal personnel strategies—such as playing Joe Harris at small forward, having Irving switch to guard the three, and having Harden play power forward—revealed the old-fashioned and rough side of his personality, showing no trace of his self-discipline and caution. If he hadn't been so focused on having Lee maintain the ball and orchestrate the offense, Harden would have faced the same fate, needing only ten days of rest before returning to play.

From this perspective, Li Wei actually saved Harden, because Harden's hamstring injury is not something that can be healed with just ten days of rest. Forcing him to play would only worsen the injury and could even affect the Nets' playoff run. The playoffs are the most important thing for the Nets.

The game began, and the Hornets gained possession and launched their first offensive attack. Defensively, Li Wei was quite confident, positioning himself on the right side and successfully disrupting Rozier's drive and layup attempt. Li Wei had anticipated Rozier's every move. The ball went short, and Li Wei firmly secured the rebound, initiating the transition.

Li Wei had just passed the ball to Irving, who took a couple of steps, when Irving passed it back to Li Wei, indicating that it was Li Wei's turn to dribble and organize the offense. As a loyal member of the "One Heart Club," Irving fully supported Li Wei's playmaking efforts on the court!

"Holy crap!" Li Wei got the ball and dribbled across half-court. NBA players react quickly; the Hornets' perimeter players saw Li Wei dribbling and immediately came over to interfere. Fortunately, Li Wei was prepared; he turned his back, stuck out his rear end, and blocked Biyombo's interference, successfully crossing half-court.

Li Wei wasn't stupid; he knew his ball-handling skills weren't good enough. To prevent being dispossessed, he used the safest method to protect the ball and get it past half-court first.

In the stands, Su Lanqi leaned against Li Yue and said, "Why is your brother dribbling so strange? He's facing away from you, and he's using his butt to push people forward?"

"Uh... me too..." Li Yue had seen his brother play basketball in the open field before. His dribbling was so smooth and flashy, better than many streetball players. How come he dribbled like that on the NBA court? Little did he know that even DeAndre Jordan was the king of flashballs on the street, but on the NBA court, dribbling even a little too much would be a crime.

"Hmm... Do you know the famous NBA star Magic Johnson?"

"I've heard of him, the best point guard, from the Lakers."

"That's right, I remember, that's how Magic Johnson dribbles! My brother is a player like Magic!"

Li Yue gave Li Wei a very reasonable explanation, and Li Wei chose to cross half-court and pass the ball to Irving, then went to set a screen for Irving. Irving attempted a three-pointer but missed, completing the Nets' first offensive possession. On the way back on defense, Irving asked Li Wei, "Victor, that's not how the play was arranged."

"Don't rush! Let me get a feel for it!"

"Okay, I'll give you more ball control and playmaking opportunities!"

"Thank you so much!"

Li Wei's little brain worked quickly. He suddenly realized that perhaps he should start by developing his Observation Haki.

The Hornets launched a fast break, with Devonte' Graham using his speed to drive to the basket, drawing a foul on Bruce Brown and making both free throws to score the first points. Both teams started the game with a relaxed and open offense, a style common in the modern NBA, where teams no longer play methodically in the low post but instead drive aggressively to get their players into a rhythm.

The Nets quickly crossed half-court, with Irving drawing the defense on the wing and passing to Levi at the top of the key. Levi received the ball with his back to the basket, seemingly about to set a handoff screen for Irving. The Hornets players had no idea that this guy was actually observing the every move of the players under the basket. His back was clearly to the basket.

Li Wei suddenly made a behind-the-back pass, flicking the ball towards the basket. Bruce Brown cut to the basket, caught the ball, and made an alley-oop layup for two points! The pass wasn't great; it was a bit off-target, but Brown adjusted in the air and, with no one guarding him, easily scored.

After the basket, Bruce Brown and Levi high-fived and shouted "Beautiful pass!" The Hornets players didn't quite understand the play. How did Levi pass it? There was no warning at all. They didn't even look. How did he know Brown was under the basket?

On the Nets' bench, Nash nodded repeatedly, confirming his suspicions that Victor indeed possessed strong offensive playmaking abilities. Meanwhile, Levi Khan had already come off the court. Thankfully, his Observation Haki had improved to the point where he could sense the players' movements without even looking; he could visualize them using only the back of his head. While he couldn't predict their actions, passing was fine as long as he could sense the players.

In the stands, Li Yue was very excited and said to Su Lanqi, "Did you see that? That's called a no-look pass! My brother is like Magic Johnson!" Su Lanqi nodded. The pass was indeed spectacular; even though she didn't watch basketball, she could feel it. She said, "I heard that Magic Johnson was a womanizer, which is why he got HIV."

Li Yue looked at Su Lanqi, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "I will wear a condom."

Su Lanqi was speechless. What did these two things have to do with each other? I just said it casually, why did you bring it up? But at that moment, the two of them couldn't help themselves and started kissing in the two seats that were separated by a partition. The promise that Li Wei would win the best player award was thrown to the wind.

(End of this chapter)