The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 283 Incitement
Teping wasn't fat when he was a child; on the contrary, before high school, his nicknames were "Stick" and "Bean Stalk".

Because he was tall and thin, he was often ridiculed and mocked by boys his age, and even bullied by them. At that time, instead of fighting back, he tried to stay alone as much as possible.

Before starting high school, a youth leader with the same name as him, Melvin Cunningham, persuaded him to play basketball, which changed Turpin's life, and he found himself on the basketball court.

By his senior year of high school, he was already a superstar center averaging 24 points and 15 rebounds per game. Before heading to the University of Kentucky, he spent a year at a preparatory school—a military academy in Virginia.

There, he not only played basketball but was also a drummer in a band. He participated in various activities, including some military training, with the aim of making himself look like a normal person.

He shared the common anxieties of tall giants—he didn't want to be seen as a freak, a stilt walker, or some strange cave-dwelling animal; he just wanted to be treated as a normal person.

Both on and off the field, Tepin is a gentle person. He loves to laugh, enjoys eating, has a lively personality, and is not hostile to most people, even his opponents on the field.

On the court, he tried his best to win, put the ball in the basket, grab rebounds, and do what the coach told him to do. He didn't think much about what basketball really meant to him.

He was very happy in Kentucky, with few worries. His only worry was that he would get hungry, and his coach wouldn't let him eat. He had to outsmart his coach just to get a bite of a hamburger.

But when he joined a professional team, the Clippers, everything changed, and it was nothing like he had imagined.

At first, it was all very glamorous and wonderful. She was chosen from a high position, shook hands with Stern, came to the City of Angels, and was highly anticipated.

The team boasts big-name stars like Bill Walton, Marquez Johnson, and Nixon, whom we used to only see in the news and on television.

Walton was a superstar center at UCLA and Portland, Nixon was a star guard for the Lakers, and Johnson was equally renowned, achieving great success in college basketball and the NBA.

Turpin felt that by being with them, they could form a strong team, play well, win games, and shine in Los Angeles.

But he soon realized he was terribly wrong. The Clippers were a terrible team; from the owner to the management to the employees, very few people truly loved basketball.

The team lacks a basketball culture. The coach and owner are indifferent to the players' condition, only caring that they can play normally. The owner only cares about making money.

The training grounds were a mess. They were in some random military base with no changing rooms, and we had to train very early in the morning to save money.

I take detours when flying so I can use coupons to save money; I always stay in the worst or even the most basic hotels, where hot water isn't guaranteed, all to save money.

The worst part isn't even that. In college, everyone's conditions weren't great, but everyone had a lot of fun playing basketball together.

The worst part is that they don't act like a team. Everyone just clocks in and out. The Clippers are like a company where everyone goes to their workstations to finish their workday and then leaves on time.

Outside of work, nobody cares about basketball, nobody cares about the team's wins and losses, and naturally nobody cares about a rookie's development or his weight.

Don Cheney is a good coach, and Walton, Nixon, and Johnson are good players, but in a bad overall atmosphere, everyone's individual efforts are ineffective because you can't get positive feedback, and the results of your efforts can't come together.

After a lackluster rookie season, Turpin found Los Angeles to be a wonderful place where no one could restrain him. If he was late for training or left early, the coach would say a few words, but not as strictly as the college coaches.

He had a lot of money and could eat hamburgers, donuts, and everything he liked to eat, especially high-calorie foods.

Because he didn't want to be called "stick" or "bean stick" when he was a child, he ate like crazy in an attempt to get fatter, and ended up being called "Dinner Bell Melvin".

When he returned to Kentucky during the offseason, college coach Joe Hall was shocked by his weight and warned him that if he didn't lose weight, the rookie contract he signed with the Clippers would be his last NBA contract.

Turpin tried to control his weight, but once he returned to Los Angeles and was no longer under Hall's supervision, his weight quickly rebounded.

Moreover, he felt that his increased weight made him stronger physically, which might be a good thing and help him compete in the NBA.

The NBA's rough and brutal court culture was also something Timmer couldn't adapt to; he didn't understand why playing basketball had to involve hurting the opponent in this way.

He was particularly shocked to see Forrest Gump throw down Lambiel and Jill Moore, and while he didn't understand it, he also felt a little envious.

He thought of the boys who had once mocked him as "sticks and bean stalks," and how satisfying it would be to meet them again and, like Forrest Gump, knock them to the ground.

But he only thought about it; he felt it wasn't worth it. It's just playing basketball; he'd just play until he couldn't anymore. Until that collision, he was traded to the Pistons, and a man named Bill Laimbeer appeared in his basketball career.

This notorious white slave owner began to supervise Turpin, making him lose weight, fight, and play ball properly—Turpin even suspected that Laimbeer was enjoying the pleasure of the slave owner whipping the black slave.

However, Turpin also felt happy. The Pistons were not the den of iniquity or a den of thugs that people had in mind. On the contrary, the off-court environment was very clean, everyone was very disciplined, and no one did drugs or committed crimes.

Daly was an excellent coach. He was good at getting along with players. He was always dressed in a suit and looked very stylish. He gave Tppin a lot of advice and worked with Lambiel to supervise Tppin's weight loss.

The team's leader is Isaiah Thomas, a Chicago native who always has a smile on his face and a deep mind, and he controls the team in his unique way.

He never raises his voice to order you around, but speaks to you softly, making you feel like he's discussing things with you. But if you don't listen or do as he says, he'll immediately turn on you and kick you out of the training facility and stadium.

This stark contrast often catches young players off guard. The next time you see him, you'll find yourself unconsciously nervous because you never know when the smile on his face will suddenly disappear.

On and off the court, Thomas also carries this contradictory feeling of being both an "angel and a devil." On one hand, he does charity work, handing money to strangers, and advocating for a "crime-free day" for the Detroit city government, resulting in almost no police calls in this high-crime city for a day—of course, these are all things that the Detroit propaganda department tells fans and reporters.

On the other hand, he is irritable and easily angered on the court. Despite his small stature, he has a big temper, makes a lot of small moves, and will punch his opponent in the back. And what he does best is incitement.

He wasn't a big man, so he had a hard time going up against the big guys on the opposing team. That's why he always stirred things up, both the opponents and his teammates, making the game tense, especially in some crucial matches.

At this moment, during halftime of the game against the Trail Blazers, the score was 67-60, with the Trail Blazers leading by 7 points.

In the Pistons' locker room, Thomas, who had been shoved by Porter at the end of the second quarter, had calmed down. He was neither furious nor did he vent his anger by swearing in the locker room.

He simply sat down next to Turpin and said softly, "Melvin, you need to do something in the second half. We can't just keep suppressing them like this, especially in terms of morale."

Turpin didn't quite understand what Thomas meant by "doing something" or who he was referring to, so he asked, "Does it mean...does it mean keeping an eye on Potter? Teaching him a lesson?"

Thomas smiled and said, "He's not qualified. I have no problem with him. He's not the key figure, but I am the key figure in Detroit."

"Key figure"—that made Teping understand; Thomas wanted him to take action against Gan Guoyang.

Tepin didn't dare refuse, but he also didn't dare to explicitly say, "I guarantee I'll kill Forrest Gump."

Tuppin was confident he'd be killed by Forrest Gump.

Thomas didn't elaborate; he simply patted Teppin on the shoulder, returned to his position, and listened to Daly's instructions for the second half's offense and defense.

Turpin was once again caught in a huge dilemma. On the one hand, like Laimbeer, he dared not; on the other hand, he dared not disobey Thomas, otherwise he would have a hard time with the Pistons.

This dilemma prevented Turpin from listening to Daly's tactical instructions; his mind was preoccupied with either attacking or being attacked—mainly being attacked.

The image of Gan Guoyang throwing Lambiel to the ground with a slam kept replaying in his mind, only now the protagonist was him, Melvin Tppin.

The halftime break ended quickly, and both teams' players returned to the field. Tepin started again in the second half.

Standing on the court near Gan Guoyang, Te Ping felt the absolute power of this body, with muscles sculpted like they were carved by a knife.

Tepin almost immediately dismissed the idea of ​​fighting this guy, because he might die, and it wasn't worth it.

But just as that thought sank into the abyss, a voice from within pulled him back: "Try it~ Try it, let those who look down on you feel your power, Melvin."

The voice was so faint it was almost nonexistent in the noisy, massive Silver Dome Stadium, yet it held Teping firmly in its grasp.

He really wanted to give it a try.

(End of this chapter)