Basketball Terminal

Chapter 41 Genius
Li Wei's life in the competition zone continues. A week has passed since he moved in on February 4th. From the initial novelty and comfort, a sense of restlessness and unease has gradually begun to spread among the players.

Although the environment here is beautiful and the living conditions are good, spending long periods of time moving between a few places, staying in the same hotels, eating the same food, seeing the same people, and living such a collective life is a painful experience that American professional players have never had before.

The initial thought that "it doesn't seem like a big deal to work here for a month" quickly became naive and childish. People tend to overestimate their ability to tolerate a closed and monotonous environment.

Similar complaints arose during the NBA's Disney bubble games last year, but NBA players earn millions or tens of millions of dollars, are covered by numerous media reporters, their games are watched worldwide, and they receive a lot of fan feedback on social media. The final victory and championship are extremely prestigious, so everything is worth enduring.

In comparison, the G League is of a much lower standard. Apart from a few professionals, no one pays attention to the games, and even the number of participating teams has been reduced by half. The salaries in the G League are also not high, and the main motivation for players to persevere is the hope of being noticed by NBA teams.

Of course, for Li Wei, playing and living here is not a problem. He spent three years in a closed boarding school during high school. The life of playing and training in this park is simply paradise. He can do what he likes, get paid, eat and stay for free, and even have beautiful women accompany him to work out every day. If it weren't for his heart being set on the NBA, playing here for a month would be a wonderful life.

On February 13th, the Long Island Nets played their third game in the bubble tournament against the Linsborough Bees, a team affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets.

Li Wei faces another challenge at the center position, facing Vernon Carey Jr., the 32nd pick in the 2020 draft who was assigned to the Development League by the Hornets and is a 2.06-meter tall, 270-pound (122-kilogram) bulldozer in the paint.

In high school, Vernon Carey was a nationally renowned five-star high school player who participated in the 2019 McDonald's All-American Game. He was selected by the powerhouse Duke University and played for Coach K. He won the National Freshman Award in his freshman year and can be considered a potential superstar.

But such talent only reached the threshold of entering the NBA. He fell to the second round, 32nd pick in the draft. After playing a dozen or so games for the Hornets, he was sent down to the G League to hone his skills because he simply couldn't adapt to the intensity, speed, and tactical level of the NBA. Moreover, the Hornets are not a team good at developing young players.

Kyrie played very well in the first two games, especially in the second game where he scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, proving himself a formidable inside weapon. However, the Hornets lost both games because, aside from scoring and rebounding, Kyrie's defense and playmaking were lackluster. These characteristics limit him to being a scoring threat only in lower-level leagues.

Shortly after the game began, Vernon Carey used his physical and strength advantages to dominate the paint, forcing his way into the box, grabbing offensive rebounds, and driving to the basket to help the Hornets suppress the Nets. Meanwhile, the Nets were struggling from beyond the arc, missing their three-point attempts repeatedly, going 0-for-8 from beyond the arc in the first quarter.

In their first two games, the Long Island Nets took an early lead and dominated the rest of the game. Today's game was destined to start against them, falling behind by 11 points in the first quarter. Li Wei will need to use more strategy when facing a tall, strong, and powerful interior player like Kyrie. He was already at a disadvantage in the early confrontations.

Brett made a complete overhaul of the team's offense. During the break, he asked Levi, "Will you play high post play?" Levi said, "Of course, Coach, do you also think we should start by improving our offense?" Brett said, "Nonsense, do you need to tell me that? 0 for 8, you bunch of bastards."

In modern basketball, if your three-point shot isn't falling, your offense is largely useless. You absolutely must get your three-pointers going; even if you don't make them, keep shooting until you get a feel for it. At the same time, when your three-point shooting is off, your opponent will definitely collapse their defense, making it even more crucial to create space.

By the third game, the players' chemistry had improved significantly. In the second quarter, after a short rest, Li Wei returned to the court alongside Ebua and Shannon Scott. The Long Island Nets were already down by 15 points, and Martin, BJ Johnson, Okobo, and others were all shooting poorly, unable to break the deadlock.

After returning to the game, Levi and Shannon Scott began high pick-and-roll plays, repeatedly setting screens and facilitating passes at the top of the key and 45 degrees, with the ball always ending up in Levi's hands for distribution. Facing the swarm's high-pressure defense, Levi remained remarkably calm, consistently controlling the ball, avoiding the intense pressure, and making excellent passing choices.

Twice he made direct passes to Shannon Scott for layups, and after two wide passes, he stretched the Bees' defense to create opportunities for teammates to shoot and drive. He then scored once himself, and on another occasion, received the ball on the perimeter and drained a two-pointer. This series of plays helped the Long Island Nets go on a 12-2 run, quickly closing the gap and forcing the Bees to call a timeout. When Levi left the court, he was treated like the team's leader, with everyone coming over to give him high-fives.

Brett's timeouts and personnel decisions were very effective. He didn't rigidly insist on the players strengthening their defense when the team was behind (which is the first choice for many coaches when facing a deficit). Instead, he analyzed the situation on the court and realized that the team's problems in this game lay in their offense and some issues on the defensive end.

Li Wei's calm playmaking and penetrating passing became key to changing the game. Meanwhile, once the offense stabilized, the Long Island Nets, with their solid 3-2 zone defense, effectively contained the Hornets' offense in half-court sets.

"Well done, Victor, another step closer to the NBA," Brett praised Levi, though there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Brett knew from McCalil's call to inquire about Levi that the Brooklyn Nets had their eyes on him.

Li Wei smiled and said, "I'm a genius, you know."

Brett rolled his eyes at Levi, but then thought about it and realized the guy was indeed a genius. Just now, facing the Hornets' aggressive close defense, Levi remained completely calm, using subtle details to break through each defense. And no matter how the opponent defended, his eyes were never fixed on what was in front of him, but constantly glancing in the direction of others.

Many young players, when holding the ball on the perimeter, can only protect it when facing high-intensity defense; they can't do anything else. Their final actions, at best, ensure no turnovers and pass the ball out, but the offense remains unchanged, only wasting a few seconds of time.

Li Wei, however, was able to protect the ball while observing the opponent's defense and his teammates' positioning, delivering excellent passes that initiated the offense. He even managed to seize some opportunities to attack the basket directly and score, which was key to the Nets' rapid comeback.

After the timeout, the game resumed, and the Bees tried the same tactic again, attempting to open up the game by using Kyrie's inside bulldozing. However, Levi drew a charging foul, resulting in an offensive foul. Levi then assisted Shannon Scott to hit the Long Island Nets' first three-pointer of the game, finally ending the Nets' streak of missing consecutive three-pointers.

This game-changing three-pointer completely reversed the situation, but with little time remaining in the first half, the Nets' comeback was interrupted by the referee's whistle. 57-56, the Nets took a one-point lead over the Hornets, demonstrating their strong ability to come from behind.

Back in the locker room, everyone was ecstatic. Nothing is more exciting than coming from behind to turn the tide. Brett watched as the players grew closer and more in sync, thinking that if this lineup continued, the G League championship wouldn't be a distant dream.

The prerequisite is that the team must have Li Wei.

Meanwhile, Levi was chatting enthusiastically with Scott and Eboue. Shannon Scott had an outstanding first half thanks to Levi's support, scoring 10 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He also hoped that Levi would stay with the team, so that he could finish the season and easily secure a big contract overseas.

While drinking water, Li Wei noticed his phone vibrate in the locker. He took it out and glanced at it. Someone had sent him a text message: "This is Steve Nash. Call me after the game."

(End of this chapter)