Basketball Terminal

Chapter 115 is very tough.
Despite his boasting and ideas, Li Wei was still quite nervous before the actual game. He was playing as the core player, with no Kyrie Irving, James Harden, or Kevin Durant in the starting lineup. Blake Griffin wasn't playing either; his teammates were DeAndre Jordan, Tobias Harris, Draymond Green, and Chris Chiozza.

Point guard Chris Chiozza is a fringe bench player for the Nets, having come up from the G League like Levi. He signed a two-way contract, which was later changed to a guaranteed contract. His listed height is 5'11", or 180 meters. But like many players who claim to be 1.80 meters, he's actually only around 178 meters.

He and Li Wei were originally the Nets' benchwarmer duo, one inside and one outside, relegated to the end of the bench. Unexpectedly, Li Wei, whose salary was lower than his, gradually rose to the starting lineup and is now a hot commodity in American basketball. Chiozza misses most games, only occasionally getting playing time during garbage time.

As a small guard, Chiozza's strengths are speed, agility, excellent ball-handling skills, and good playmaking. His biggest weakness is his poor shooting ability, a fatal flaw in today's NBA. This is why he has never been able to secure consistent playing time.

However, from another perspective, in this era, his poor shooting and short stature, yet the fact that he can secure a guaranteed contract in the NBA, speaks volumes about his strengths in certain areas. For instance, his playmaking ability: in just over 10 minutes of playing time per game, he averages 3.1 assists.

This season, he averages 10.1 assists per 36 minutes with a very low turnover rate, averaging less than one turnover per game, and only 2.5 turnovers per 36 minutes, resulting in an impressive assist-to-turnover ratio of 4. Of course, these figures are somewhat inflated. If his playing time increases, his assists will certainly fall below 10, and his turnovers will also increase, highlighting his significant shooting deficiencies.

But as a backup point guard, being able to avoid turnovers and contribute a few assists to help the team score is already a very high-quality bench player. Therefore, there's a reason why Chiozza has been able to find work consistently since being scouted by the Rockets in the 18-19 season.

Recently, Chiozza has received some opportunities. Against the Pelicans, he played in garbage time, playing aggressively alongside Li Wei and scoring 12 points, providing significant support for Li Wei's assists. In the previous game against the Lakers, he also got playing time, contributing a crucial three-pointer and two free throws, helping Li Wei achieve a dramatic comeback.

His performances in these two games brought him to the coaching staff's attention, and with Irving absent tonight, Cheozza got his first starting opportunity of the season. Levi set an example for Cheozza: in this team, seize your opportunities, and you can rise to the top. Cheozza doesn't aspire to play like Levi; he simply hopes to secure a relatively stable rotation position.

Before the game started, Li Wei and Chiozza were communicating and exchanging ideas. Good communication with the point guard is the foundation for a good offense in every game. If the point guard can't distribute the ball well, the first step of the offense will be problematic.

Li Wei, a former point guard himself, had no problem communicating with Cheoza. He told Cheoza to focus on strong-side and weak-side movement, and that he would provide more screens for him. Without a dominant, explosive scorer on the court, ball movement becomes crucial; playing like you have a superstar on the court would be a recipe for disaster.

“Aren’t you a star player? You should be the absolute strongest player on the court. If things get tough, I’ll pass the ball to you,” Chiozza said to Levi with a grin.

"What nonsense are you talking about! What do you mean by 'absolutely stronger'? Are you kidding me? Do you want me dead? My role is rebounding and getting some open looks. I don't rule out the Timberwolves' stupid coach asking them to double-team me, but they should be smart and leave me open."

In the last game against the Lakers, the Lakers surprisingly double-teamed Levi on defense, leaving him completely bewildered. "What's the point of double-teaming me?" he wondered. "Vogel must have lost his mind." Levi decisively passed the ball, assisting his teammate to score and completing the comeback.

Then Li Wei found Durant and said, "Kevin, can you come on earlier?"

"It's not something I can decide. The coaching staff still assigned me to play in the second quarter. Don't fall too far behind, guys, or it'll be hard to catch up."

"Fuck, your legs seem to be in great shape, you should play in the first quarter!"

"Go talk to Nash and tell him I think I can start."

"Me? Why aren't you going?"

"The coach isn't listening to you the most right now."

"Forget it. If he listened to me, he wouldn't be dissatisfied with me every day."

"Steve values ​​you, you know that, buddy."

Durant thought of Coach Brown again; he was always dissatisfied with himself, and dissatisfaction meant high demands and huge expectations. In the last game where they rallied to defeat the Lakers, Nash didn't play Durant and Irving at the end, and the two were understandably unhappy. But since the Nets ultimately won, and the Lakers were missing James and Davis, the two had nothing to say.

Tonight, Durant wants to see if Victor Lee can truly lead the team, and whether his comeback with the second unit was due to skill or luck. While Irving and Durant are both very strong, their ability to lead weaker teams has always been criticized. One couldn't beat the Grizzlies without Westbrook, and the other led the Cavaliers to three number one draft picks in four years. Their assassin-like playing styles mean they are better suited to raising the ceiling for strong teams, but their ability to carry weaker teams is relatively weak. After all, even if you score 40 points in a game, it doesn't guarantee a win in a game with over 100 points. And no matter how much you score, can you outscore Kobe Bryant in 05 and 06?
A versatile player like Harden, with strong playmaking abilities, efficient scoring methods, and intelligence, provides much stronger support. Having just joined the Rockets in the 12-13 season, he quickly integrated this group of scattered players, leading them to the playoffs and facilitating the transition from the Yao Ming era to the Harden era.

Correspondingly, Harden's ability to raise the ceiling in the playoffs is far inferior to that of Irving and Durant, because his intelligent playing style becomes ineffective in the playoffs. While the three players are indeed complementary in terms of their roles, the fact that they can't consistently play together is somewhat detrimental.

Replacing them was Li Wei, who stood on the court promptly at around 4 PM, just as the game was about to begin. The Timberwolves' starting lineup consisted of the two number one draft picks, Towns and Edwards, Daniels, Rubio, and Josh Okogie.

The Timberwolves have a very talented roster, but their record this season has been a mess. At the beginning of the season, they were coached by Ryan Saunders, the son of the late Sanders. As a result, they suffered a 7-game losing streak, followed by a 4-game losing streak and a 3-game losing streak. The continuous losses indicated that Ryan Saunders had lost control of the team. After a poor record of 7 wins and 24 losses, he resigned and was fired.

Replacing Sanders with Chris Finch, who rose through the ranks from the G League, was a coach who previously led the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to the G League championship in 2009. This experience propelled him from the G League to the NBA, where he became an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets.

After serving as an assistant coach for several teams, he was officially promoted to head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. It can be said that Finch is an undrafted player in the coaching profession, starting in the G League and finally realizing his dream of becoming an NBA head coach. This position is far fewer in number than NBA players, with only 30 available each year.

The game began with both sides playing rather awkwardly. The Timberwolves, who gained possession first, took a hasty three-pointer, missing and allowing DeAndre Jordan to grab the rebound. The Nets lacked an offensive spearhead, their fast breaks failed, and they resorted to half-court offense, during which Harris was stripped of the ball. The Timberwolves attempted a counter-attack, but the Nets retreated quickly, with Levi soon arriving at the basket to anchor the defense.

Towns quickly positioned himself in the paint, leaning against Levi in ​​the low post to receive the ball. Rubio, as an experienced point guard, immediately made a long pass to Towns in the paint. A chance to exploit a size advantage, Towns dribbled and tried to squeeze in! He squeezed, squeezed again, and still squeezed! Damn, he couldn't get past him!
Towns received the ball deep in the post and tried to post up, but he kept drifting further and further out. Finally, he turned and attempted a fadeaway jumper, almost falling over. The awkward shot naturally missed. Levi turned and grabbed the rebound, passing the ball to Chiozza, signaling him not to rush and to slow down and play a half-court game.

Towns complained to the referee, but the referee ignored him. "What do I care if you can't move him? A 7-foot center can't move a 2-meter forward, do you expect me to call a foul to help you?"

"Shit, this guy is really tough, I can't even touch him." Towns thought to himself. He had originally planned to start by hitting Li Wei to see what level the hottest Chinese kid was at. After one round, he knew he was really tough.

On offense, Levi came over to run a high pick-and-roll with Chiozza. After a solid screen at the left 45-degree angle, Levi stepped out laterally, and Chiozza made a bounce pass to him. Levi didn't shoot but immediately passed the ball to Harris at the right 45-degree angle. A good Harris is one who doesn't dribble.

Catch the ball and quickly launch a three-pointer, and it's in! The Nets' first basket of the game. Under Li Wei's direction, the Nets' second unit played a completely different game compared to the Nets with their Big Three or Big Two lineups. They passed the ball more, with more structure, and with more patience.

Conversely, the Timberwolves' half-court offense stalled when the ball reached another number one draft pick, Edwards. On the Timberwolves' second half-court possession, Edwards dribbled for over five seconds beyond the right three-point line, doing nothing but observing, unsure of his next move.

As the number one overall pick in the 2020 draft, Edwards was not initially highly regarded. It was a weak draft year, and the Timberwolves wanted to trade their pick for a more established star. However, no team was willing to take him because they lacked exciting new players. The Timberwolves had no choice but to select Edwards.

As it turns out, this top draft pick played quite well. He has excellent physical attributes, explosiveness, and speed, making him a great scorer. He also looks a bit like Jordan, so he has a promising future.

However, his ability to handle the ball in positional play is really poor. Once the pace of the game slows down, he doesn't know what to do when facing double teams or solid defensive formations.

After dribbling for ages, he finally had no choice but to pass the ball to Rubio, who quickly passed it back to him! Damn it! He could only dribble and drive inside, but Levi clung to him like a ghost. He tried to jump and pull up for a jump shot, but Levi seemed to have anticipated his move and blocked the shot with his hand.

Edwards reacted quickly, twisting his body in mid-air to pass the ball out. Daniels attempted a tough three-pointer from the corner, but missed, and DeAndre Jordan grabbed the rebound again. Jordan realized that following Reeves to pick up rebounds was incredibly satisfying, much easier than grabbing them himself.

The Nets launched a counterattack, and this time Chiozza didn't slow down. He dribbled skillfully, passing several players to drive to the basket, then made a bounce pass to Li Wei, who was cutting into the middle. Li Wei's arms were like iron clamps, locking the ball in place and deflecting Daniels and Rubio's attempts to steal it. Facing Towns' help defense, he jumped up and knocked Towns aside, slamming the ball into the basket!
Another dunk over a defender! Towns' legs went weak from the dunk, and he landed on his backside. The referee blew the whistle, calling a defensive foul on Towns, resulting in a 2+1 play and a free throw! The Nets' bench erupted in cheers. Kevin Durant started dancing again, and Harden, wearing a really ugly sweater, clapped for Levi.

Li Wei, standing at the free-throw line, took the opportunity to rest. He knew his superb form wouldn't last long; he would get tired.

(End of this chapter)