Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 74 Negative Eleven
Xu Ling's explosive performance in the first quarter gave the team an advantage, with the Grizzlies leading the Nets 28-19.

Entering the second quarter, Xu Ling went to the bench for a rest. The Grizzlies fielded their second unit led by Milicic, Mike Miller, and Rudy Gay, while the Nets countered with Jason Kidd leading Richard Jefferson.

Without Xu Ling's defensive pressure, Jefferson quickly regained his form, dominating both outside shooting and dribbling drives. If Milicic hadn't provided timely help defense, Jefferson's sheer power would have been enough to tear apart the entire defense.

In contrast, Rudy Gay, despite his outstanding talent, has almost no defensive awareness and only thinks about regaining face by dribbling and attacking one-on-one on offense.

However, once the game becomes a half-court offense, Gay's old problem is exposed again—he has the physical attributes and speed of McGrady, but is limited by his poor ball-handling coordination. Against defensive stalwarts like Jefferson, he struggles to even create shooting space, and his shot selection is often extremely poor.

Such inefficient and selfish one-on-one plays not only fail to score points, but also continuously damage the team's overall offense.

Within minutes, the Grizzlies' 9-point lead was eroded to just 4. Mark Jaffaroni had to call an emergency timeout and hastily bring Xu Ling back in.

As soon as Xu Ling entered the game, he quickly stabilized the situation. He first made a precise assist to Milicic for a one-on-one score inside, and then tried to direct the rotation on the defensive end. However, Gay once again failed to guard Vince Carter, and Kidd, like a hacker who keenly spotted a system vulnerability, relentlessly attacked this weakness, passing the ball to Carter time and time again.

Carter drove to the basket without hesitation and dunked for the score.

In the transition from offense to defense, Xu Ling received the ball on the perimeter and was immediately double-teamed by the Nets. Instead of forcing a shot, he astutely spotted Rudy Gay, who was left open, and delivered a quick, precise cross-court pass to him.

However, Gay, who was wide open, took a three-pointer, but the ball hit the back of the rim, bounced off the rim, and went out of bounds.

Before Xu Ling could say anything, Guy was the first to defend himself: "I'm not a robot, I can't possibly hit the target every time I'm in an open position!"

In the next possession, Xu Ling responded quickly. On the defensive end, he stuck to Jefferson, who had just found his rhythm, and disrupted his offensive rhythm completely with his aggressive footwork and accurate anticipation.

Jefferson was forced to take a difficult fadeaway jump shot, but the ball bounced off the rim.

Milicic secured the rebound and immediately found Xu Ling. Xu Ling received the ball and quickly advanced, but facing the Nets' established defense, he didn't force a one-on-one attack. Instead, he calmly passed the ball to Jarius Jackson, ran to the frontcourt, and entered the left low post, while Milicic moved to the other side.

Vince Carter was the one responsible for defending Xu Ling in the low post.

Carter was completely unprepared for Xu Ling's decision to call for the ball in the low post, and even more surprised by his decisive action after receiving the ball—he turned and took a step back for a jump shot, the ball arcing cleanly and hitting the backboard with pinpoint accuracy.

As one of the "Big Four" shooting guards of the early 21st century, Vince Carter's popularity at his peak was undeniable, but he was always controversial for having more fame than ability. Simply because he was a more entertaining dunker than Jordan, Toronto enthusiasts naively believed they had welcomed their "second Jordan." Even though Carter repeatedly emphasized that he wasn't the next Jordan, when he couldn't lead the team further and injuries began to plague him, he still became the scapegoat for all the losses.

Carter experienced similar difficulties to Pau Gasol during his time with the Grizzlies. But undeniably, it was his presence that allowed the Raptors to truly establish themselves in Toronto. Now over thirty, the world no longer holds unrealistic expectations of him, and he has shed his youthful arrogance, simply continuing towards his looming goal while watching generations of newcomers enter the league.

Not long ago, the Nets played against the SuperSonics. Carter spoke highly of Kevin Durant, believing he has enormous potential but is still in a period of rapid growth. Xu Ling, on the other hand, gave him a completely different feeling.

Despite being the same age as Durant, Xu Ling is clearly superior in terms of composure, technical maturity, and control of the game. Consider everything this kid has been through recently; how many rookies can maintain focus amidst such turmoil?

Carter never believed those outrageous rumors; he only believed what he saw. Beneath Xu Ling's almost expressionless face, a storm was clearly brewing. And unfortunately, the Nets were at the eye of that storm tonight.

Carter knew all too well what that power was. When he was as young as Xu Ling, he had also caught that storm, scoring 50 points in a single playoff game.

So he sincerely said to the young man walking past him, "Good shot."

Xu Ling paused—this was the most heartwarming sentence he had heard in the past few days.

“There are even better ones.”

Xu Ling responded, his tone calm yet resolute.

The match then devolved into a chaotic back-and-forth battle.

Kidd always managed to spot the Grizzlies' defensive weaknesses amidst the crowd, delivering the game-winning pass, or precisely targeting Rudy Gay when tactics failed. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, almost entirely relied on Xu Ling, who dominated every offensive possession.

The Nets have been escalating their defensive strategy against Xu Ling: as soon as he has the ball, a double team is formed instantly; once he starts to drive, help defense is immediately in place.

However, Xu Ling tonight may have truly entered the "Zone" state that Kobe described in the documentary. He could clearly sense the surging power within him and completely control it; and his opponent's movements seemed to be slowed down in his eyes.

So, even facing a barrage of attacks, he remained fearless—taking decisive shots when the opportunity arose and calmly passing the ball when necessary. However, after a series of back-and-forth exchanges, possession changed hands again. The game seemed to be gradually shifting in favor of the Nets—the Grizzlies' offense relied too heavily on Xu Ling, while the Nets, under Kidd's composed organization, maintained a well-organized offense, consistently finding the most opportune moments for shots.

Marc Jafaroni stood on the sidelines, his brow furrowed.

He keenly observed a cruel truth.

At this stage, Rudy Gay's presence is almost a huge burden for Xu Ling. He has no reliable defense, his outside shooting is extremely inconsistent, and he is a typical ball-handling black hole—once the ball gets into his hands, don't expect it to be passed out again.

To some extent, this is precisely the root cause of the SSOL system's complete failure with the Grizzlies: it requires selfless sharing and quick decision-making, while Gay's playing style goes against the grain.

Then, a bold idea began to sprout in Jaffaroni's mind.

At halftime, the Grizzlies held a narrow 3-point lead over the Nets, 59-56.

It's obvious to anyone with a discerning eye that their offense relies too heavily on star players' isolation plays, lacking the fluidity of teamwork seen in the Nets, and their defense is riddled with holes. If they can't develop a consistent second scoring option and concentrate all the offensive pressure on one player, the team will undoubtedly struggle in the second half.

Head coach Marc Jaffaroni walked toward the locker room with a heavy heart, pondering how to adjust his mindset, but little did he expect that someone else would be more impatient than him.

"4 out of 12 shots, plus-minus -11?" Xu Ling looked at the statistics in his hand and said incredulously, "Rudy, are you sure you're an NBA player? I don't want to focus on your shooting percentage because you'll definitely say 'Nobody can shoot 100%.' Okay, let's just say you had a bad night, although I don't think I've ever seen you have a good night either."

Xu Ling raised his eyes and stared intently at his opponent: "But we were leading by 9 points in the first quarter and by 3 points at halftime, and you actually managed to put up a plus-minus of -11? This means that even if you sat on the bench for the whole game, things wouldn't be any worse than they are now!"

Guy gritted his teeth and remained silent. He knew Xu Ling was after him, and that he had indeed left incriminating evidence against him.

At this moment, Kyle Lowry whispered, "Um... Rudy wasn't on the court when we got going in the first quarter."

Why isn't he here?

Lowry was speechless. Could he say it was because Gay had been scolded by him in the first quarter and had to hide in the locker room?
“Forget it,” Xu Ling sneered. “I just suddenly thought of a possibility—could it be that we were able to play so smoothly precisely because he wasn’t there? Because after he came back in the second quarter, we not only let him catch up by 6 points, but our rhythm was also completely disrupted.”

This sentence became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Guy jumped to his feet, his face contorted with rage: "Fine! You think I'm a burden to you? You think you'll be stronger without me? Then don't fucking put me on the field!"

Xu Ling looked at him as if examining dead meat on a chopping board: "What did you say?"

"If you think I'm in your way, then have the coach take me off! Kick me out of the starting lineup and don't let me play anymore! I want to see what kind of bullshit 'team basketball' you can play without me, this 'cancer'!"

Before Xu Ling could respond, a loud voice suddenly came from the locker room door: "I agree!"

Marc Jaffaroni strode in, his expression as serious as a fair referee: "Eli, I disagree with your assessment of Rudy. He's not a problem with the team; he's an extremely, extremely, extremely good player!"

“But since the conflict between you is irreconcilable, and I will not tolerate the locker room continuing to split—if you insist that Rudy is the so-called 'cancer,' then I will remove him from the starting lineup in the second half. Let basketball answer everything, and let the game result prove your point!”

“Let me make this clear, Eli, if it turns out you’re wrong, you’ll have to apologize to Rudy in public.”

Xu Ling was slightly taken aback. Although this was exactly the result he wanted, why did he feel that Yafaroni seemed more eager to make this happen than he was?
“I’m fine.” Xu Ling looked at Guy. “What about you?”

Guy sat in the corner, his face seemingly angry, but a twisted sense of pleasure welled up inside him.

He'd finally waited for this moment. Without him anchoring the small forward position, watch how this group crumbles under the onslaught of Kidd and Jefferson. Xu Ling's 25 points in the first half were indeed dazzling, but so what? The Nets are no weak team; once the opponent launches a full-scale attack, the so-called genius will eventually be exposed.

He could almost picture Xu Ling struggling and missing shots in the second half, with Jaffaroni having to humbly ask him to come back and salvage the game.

Thinking of this scene, he could hardly suppress the cold smile on his lips.

“Fine!” Gay practically yelled in response. “We’ll do it your way! Let’s see how far this self-important Chinese guy can take his team basketball!”

(End of this chapter)