I fell in love with Toutiao and became the GOAT.

In just two weeks, the Warriors will host the Miami Heat.

This is a very important match for Lin Bei personally.

However, at present, Lin Bei has no chance of winning, whether considering the team's strength or his individual strength.

"We need at least one more effective headline, and even one might not be enough..."

Lin Bei shook his head, knowing full well that these things couldn't be rushed.

"Take your time, there will always be a chance."

The most prominent feature of a shortened season is its tight schedule.

Having just finished their opening game last night, the Warriors have another game tonight, this time against the Chicago Bulls who have traveled a long way.

This back-to-back home game schedule is a major characteristic of a shortened season.

Because of a game that evening, the team did not schedule a training session, and the players went about their own business.

After reviewing the schedule, Lin Bei lay down for a while before struggling to get up and went to the apartment's gym to do some strength training.

Although the system upgrade is very direct, Lin Bei cannot wait for the system upgrade.

"I also have to work hard, hanging meat, and daily practice."

Weight is important. Lin Bei is only a little over 105 kilograms now, which is enough for playing the two and three positions, but he is a little lacking when playing center.

Compared to his opponent in the last game, DeAndre Jordan weighed 120 kilograms, which is almost 15 kilograms more than Lin Bei, so the difference is quite large.

"Let's get him on the 120 line first, since he's going to play center."

To be honest, Lin Bei didn't really want to play center.

However, he discovered a talent: a rebounding instinct, which meant that in the early stages of his career, he could only develop in the paint.

Even if he doesn't play center, his most suitable position is power forward.

Now that he was already on this path, Lin Bei had no choice but to clench his fists and keep going.

Of course, Lin Bei felt that another important reason for hanging meat was to increase strength and prepare for a full-blown fight.

The saying goes, a time traveler who doesn't want to engage in free-fighting on the basketball court can't become a headline war god.

Clang, clang, Lin Bei gripped a barbell and began to deadlift with all his might.

His bench press results weren't actually outstanding, but that doesn't mean his strength was poor.

When Lin Bei tried out for the Warriors, Mike Malone made a judgment: "Your bench press performance is not good, which may be due to your wingspan being too long."

This claim is not without basis.

Dwight Howard's bench press record during the draft: only 7 reps in the 84kg weight class.

But his strength goes far beyond what he demonstrates in the bench press.

Lin Bei's situation is similar to Howard's; his excessively long wingspan also hinders his performance in the bench press.

But deadlifts have little to do with bench presses.

Lin Bei was deadlifting like crazy. There weren't many people in the apartment's gym, and one of the muscular men noticed the unusual Lin Bei.

He slowly approached, glanced at the counterweight of Lin Bei's barbell, and his pupils dilated slightly.

"200 kilograms? That's incredible! This guy's a genius..."

Lin Bei pulled the 200-kilogram counterweight four or five times in a row, and stopped when he saw that he still had some strength left.

After stopping, he glanced at the muscular man next to him, who was around 40 years old and had muscles that looked like they were about to burst. His arms were probably 50 or 60 centimeters thick.

Lin Bei immediately guessed that this person was probably a big shot in the bodybuilding world.

However, whether in his past life or this one, he avoids the bodybuilding world, which is always full of bad news.

"Hello there."

After thinking for a moment, Lin Bei still greeted them.

The muscular man replied and then got straight to the point: "I saw your deadlift. 200 kg deadlifts in a row isn't anything special, but considering your physique doesn't show much bodybuilding, I think you're a genius."

This was a compliment, and Lin Bei thanked him.

"By the way, have you taken any medication?"

Lin Bei was a little confused. Was he fast-forwarding to the medication? He shook his head: "No."

"Without medication, it's very difficult to quickly build up muscle. My suggestion is that you can use a small amount of steroids..."

The muscular man offered somewhat enthusiastic guidance, but Lin Bei hesitated.

Seeing his hesitation, the muscular man realized something: "Let me introduce myself, Lee Priest, known in the industry as 'Arm King'."

Lin Bei: "Sorry, I'm not involved in the bodybuilding industry, so..."

What he meant was that he wasn't involved in the bodybuilding scene, so he didn't know anything about "arm king," "chest king," or "trapezius king."

Lee Priest, however, thought that Lin Bei was using this as an excuse to refuse his guidance.

He then looked Lin Bei up and down and said, "I know, judging from your appearance, you must be a basketball player."

Lin Bei: "You have a really good eye for people."

"Many basketball players also use performance-enhancing drugs..."

Just as Lee Priest was about to make an introduction, Lin Bei immediately thought of someone: "LeBon?"

"Yes, LeBron, he's a typical example of someone who uses performance-enhancing drugs. Judging from his muscle mass, he's using quite a lot."

Lee Priest indirectly confirms this point.

Lin Bei frowned: "But steroids are banned in the NBA."

Lee Priest's gaze then became meaningful: "There's always a way to circumvent it."

Lin Bei understood immediately. He held out his hand: "Then Li, do you have WhatsApp or Line? Let's add each other as contact methods."

……

Lin Bei added Lee Priest on Line and they exchanged phone numbers.

He hadn't considered using medication to treat the flesh; he just sensed a major news story in this conversation.

Even if this big news has nothing to do with him, he can still use it to his advantage.

It's worth noting that LeBron started gaining significant weight after he joined the Heat.

After thinking about it for a while, Lin Bei came up with a very specific idea.

After saying goodbye to Lee Priest, whose intentions were unclear, Lin Bei ran next door to find Nate Robinson.

After knocking on the door for a while and receiving no answer, Lin Bei realized that this guy hadn't come home all night and probably wasn't coming back.

After thinking for a moment, he opened his phone and sent a message to Curry via Line: "Do you have time, Stephen? Before going to Oracle, turn onto Eighth Avenue and pick me up."

Curry quickly replied, "No problem, wait for me."

With three hours to go before the game, Lin Bei got into Curry's car in front of his house.

There was one other person in the car, so Lin Bei sat in the back.

I had barely sat down when Curry started introducing himself.

"Ayesha, this is the Lin I was talking about, the Lin who called me the future King of Three-Point Shots!"

"Oh, by the way, Lin, this is Ayesha, my wife."

Lin Bei certainly wouldn't fail to recognize Ayesha. In his previous life, this woman, who had been a dutiful wife and mother during Curry's prime, frequently appeared at gatherings of various feminist organizations after Curry's decline, talking about female power.

Lin Bei, who had traveled through time, was very familiar with this.

Although he wasn't particularly fond of Ayesha, who was known for her political correctness in later generations, Lin Bei still greeted her quite sincerely because she was Kushner's wife.

Then he brought up the topic of Curry being the king of three-pointers again.

"In my opinion, Stephen, you are indeed the king of three-pointers, but I defeated the king of three-pointers, so how does that count?"

Curry glared at him: "You won by cheating."

Lin Bei: "How am I cheating when it's the same rule?"

"That's just being a jerk, you're taller and stronger than me."

"Is a physical advantage no longer an advantage?"

"We're playing a three-point game, so we should keep it simple."

"How does adding physical contact make it less pure? You love playing such girly basketball so much, why don't you go to the WNBA?"

"you……"

Ayesha was very annoyed to hear the two men arguing like schoolchildren, but she couldn't show it.

All I could do was hold up my phone and plug my ears with two earphones.

Lin Bei glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that Ayesha seemed to be watching a video of a female lecturer.

"Holy crap, has this woman already developed feminist ideas? Poor Curry."

Although surprised, Lin Bei didn't meddle in other people's business.

He took the initiative to end the argument with Curry and steered the conversation toward tonight's game.

"Chicago Bulls, the team of the newly crowned regular season MVP Derrick Rose, we're probably in for a crushing defeat, plus another losing streak."

If Little Potato were here, he would pat Lin Bei on the shoulder and say, "Don't worry too much about winning or losing, Lin. That's something the team's star player should be thinking about."

Curry's reaction was different. He was silent for a moment, then said, "I think we have a chance in this game."

Lin Bei: "How so?"

Curry tilted his head: "Nothing special, just wait for my good news!"

……

In the Oracle Center parking lot, Curry parted ways with Ayesha, then walked alongside Lin Bei into the passageway surrounded by reporters and flashing lights.

This time, Lin Bei was finally no longer ignored.

ESPN's Marcus Thompson was impressed by Lin Bei. His eyes lit up when he saw Lin Bei, and he immediately asked:

"Lin, we meet again. You played well against DeAndre Jordan in the last game. This time your opponent is Joakim Noah. Are you feeling more pressure?"

Lin Bei raised his eyelids slightly; to be honest, he did feel even greater pressure.

These last two seasons have been Noah's peak, consistently achieving double-doubles and being a strong contender for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Compared to DeAndre Jordan, Joakim Noah is a higher-level opponent.

To say that there's not much pressure would be a lie.

But when facing reporters, he would lie: "No, to me, no opponent makes any difference."

Marcus Thompson pressed on, asking, "So, are you confident you can win this game?"

Before Lin Bei could speak, Curry squeezed in and said, "I'll answer that question for him. Of course, our goal for this game is to win."

In the locker room, Lin Bei saw Little Potato, whom he hadn't seen for a day.

This guy didn't seem tired at all after a night of partying; on the contrary, he looked radiant.

Lin Bei: Is this what a man is like after being nourished by love?

Even a one-night stand is still love.

Little Potato nudged Lin Bei with his elbow: "I forgot to ask you yesterday, you don't have a girlfriend, do you?"

Lin Bei: "Why do you ask that?"

"If you have a girlfriend, then I can't bring you to this kind of gathering next time. Just like that kid Stephen, family harmony is very important."

Lin Bei hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "There is one."

He lied again, his purpose being to prevent Little Potato from inviting him out to party again in the future.

To be honest, he wasn't interested in that kind of "one-on-one" approach.

Little Potato patted him again: "Not in the Bay Area?"

Lin Bei's non-existent girlfriend obviously couldn't be in the Bay Area, he nodded.

"That's alright then. Brandon's girlfriend isn't in the Bay Area either, so we've been bringing him along to our events..."

Brandon refers to Brandon Rush, the Warriors' backup small forward this season.

There's also a character called "登" (dēng), which sounds very dishonest.

Lin Bei didn't dwell on the topic any further. Looking at the excited Little Potato and Monta Ellis, he felt a bit more confident about the game against the Bulls.

"In the last game against the Clippers, the team looked lifeless, but after their nightclub outing, their performance changed. Could it be...?"

There's a reason why Harden loves going to nightclubs.

Mark Jackson appeared more than half an hour before the game was scheduled to begin.

Just like the opening game, he stood in the center of the locker room, tapped the tactics board, and announced the starting lineup for the game.

Lin Bei was still the starting center, and he no longer showed any emotional fluctuations.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Yudu, whose face was dark in the distance—Little Yudu, what do you have to compete with me?

Mark Jackson finished lining up the starting lineup, and the team was about to take the field in about ten minutes.

Although it was the second game of the season, Oracle Arena still arranged a small entrance ceremony for the team.

This time there was no distinction between starters and substitutes; the order of all players was shuffled. Whoever's name was called by the announcer would rush out of the player tunnel.

Lin Bei was still caught in the middle; the person in front of him was Dorell Wright.

This guy didn't play so-so in the last game, but he was a starter who had played all the way through last season, and when he rushed out, there was a burst of cheers at Oracle Arena.

Next, it was Lin Bei's turn.

He was still a little nervous, wondering if he had gained any fans after the last game.

"Next up, our center, from China, number 7, Lin Bei!"

The introduction was rather casual and lacked any real impact, but as Lin Bei rushed out, he was met with enthusiastic cheers.

"Lin Bei!"

"This is our starting center forward. Although we lost the last game, his performance was outstanding..."

Someone in the nearby stands was introducing Lin Bei, and someone else shouted out Lin Bei's name in perfect Chinese pronunciation.

Lin Bei glanced over and saw a group of Chinese faces, some of whom were even wearing Warriors jerseys with the number 7.

Come to think of it, this is the Bay Area, the area with the largest Chinese population in the United States.

The last Chinese player, Jeremy Lin, didn't get much playing time, but he still received support from Chinese fans in the Bay Area.

It's only natural that Lin Bei, a Chinese player who achieved a double-double in his debut, would receive support from Chinese fans in the Bay Area.

Amidst the loudest cheers at Oracle Arena, he waved towards the area where Chinese fans were gathered.

After a brief warm-up, Lin Bei stood in the center circle again, his gaze fixed on his opponent, who looked like a crazy Joakim Noah.

Compared to DeAndre Jordan, Joakim Noah doesn't look as physically imposing.

The messy, tousled hair and the dazed look in his eyes gave Lin Bei the impression that this person was heavily addicted.

"Judging by appearances alone, there might be an opportunity."