Basketball Terminal

Chapter 42 Loss
The second half continued with intense competition between the two teams. After their strong momentum at the end of the second quarter was interrupted by the halftime whistle, the Nets had to find their rhythm again.

The Bees shifted their offensive focus from Kyrie in the paint to Kobe Simmons on the perimeter. Simmons is a relatively experienced point guard who has played in the NBA and G League since 2017; he is a tall, slender, rhythmic shooting guard.

Standing at 1.95 meters tall, he has a significant advantage among point guards, with long arms and legs and a relatively slender build. While his speed and explosiveness are only average for his position, his excellent outside shooting touch and superb dribbling and shooting rhythm allow him to frequently unleash long-range three-pointers.

After the start of the second half, he took advantage of fake screens and the Nets' lax defense to launch consecutive three-pointers, hitting two of them and widening the gap between the two sides.

If the defense closes in, he can use his excellent dribbling rhythm to attack the paint, use a behind-the-back fake pass to lay up, confuse the defender, show off a Rajon Rondo-style layup, and score two points.

The Long Island Nets' three-point shooting remained sluggish, seemingly having cooled off after the 15-minute halftime break. Faced with this situation, Brett made another adjustment, this time focusing on defense.

Levi began to switch on defense, moving from center to power forward after Brett moved him there, allowing backup center Tarik Owens to play center. Owens, at 2.09 meters tall, is the tallest player on the Long Island Nets.

Owens was originally a player for the Phoenix Suns, having played a few games in the NBA, before being assigned to the Northern Arizona Suns in the G League. Later, because the Northern Arizona Suns didn't participate in this bubble tournament, Owens was without a team. The Long Island Nets, lacking a tall center, managed to acquire him in exchange.

So this was Irving's first time playing for the Long Island Nets, and he only practiced with the Nets players once. As the tallest player, he can protect the paint, but his weakness is his thinness. At 2.09 meters tall, he weighs only 93 kilograms, more than ten kilograms lighter than Levi, resulting in a serious lack of physical strength.

After moving to the power forward position, Li Wei continued to primarily guard Vernon Kyrie Jr., otherwise the 250+ pound Kyrie could have easily crushed Owens. However, Brett instructed Li Wei to actively extend his defense, keep an eye on Kobe Simmons, and switch on him when necessary.

Brett is now getting more and more comfortable using Levi's. He finds Levi's to be a great all-purpose glue, and he can use the BBK reading pen to point to whatever he doesn't understand.

Brett noticed this in the second game: Levi's defense against smaller players was extremely effective, even more so than against interior players. This is because Levi's height is a disadvantage in the paint, often forcing him to resort to unorthodox tactics. Once he's overwhelmed by Levi's superior height under the basket, he's helpless.

It's a different story when facing smaller players. He has a clear height advantage, and at the same time, he's just as good at footwork and agility. Sometimes he even suspects that Levi's reaction time and speed are better than many 180cm players. That's all talent.

This adjustment worked very well. When Levi switched to defend Kobe Simmons, Simmons tried to pass the ball inside, but Levi intercepted it and launched a counterattack! Levi dribbled the ball across half-court and dunked it, once again sounding the horn for the Long Island Nets' comeback.

Kobe Simmons attempted another step-back three-pointer, but was easily neutralized by the switched defender, Levi, who blocked his shot. The ball fell to the ground, and his teammate got possession, creating another fast break opportunity.

This time, Li Wei didn't try to score himself. He passed the ball to Jamal Martin on the wing. Martin received the ball, adjusted his position, and took a three-pointer. It finally went in! His first three-pointer of the day.

After scoring, the two high-fived. When Martin first joined the team, he was the star player, but he ended up losing to Levi in ​​a one-on-one duel. From that moment on, Martin knew that Levi was a formidable opponent, and now he was completely convinced.

Actually, Li Wei didn't use his abilities very well at first. He could predict his opponent's movements, but his nervous system couldn't keep up. Later, in the no-point challenge, he both built up popularity and made money, and used these matches to train his nerves so that he could react immediately after seeing the afterimage of the movement.

Most of the players who came to challenge him at the time were perimeter shooters, and given that Levi retained the agility of his 174cm height, he naturally found it easy to defend smaller players. Kobe Simmons quickly became hesitant to challenge Levi's defense, no longer making penetrating passes, and no longer taking careless shots, becoming more cautious. The Hornets' offense quickly stalled, and the Long Island Nets regained the advantage.

This time, the Nets didn't give the Bees another chance to restart. Their three-point shooting became increasingly fierce, with Martin, Okobo, and Scott hitting consecutive three-pointers. Once one side gets going in the G League, it's like a pack of wolves tearing each other apart—extremely fast-paced, with three-pointers flying like the wind, and the point difference widening quickly.

Furthermore, while the Nets lack interior height, their overall height isn't bad, with many wing players around 2 meters tall. Clearly, Long Island's roster construction took their parent team, Brooklyn, into account. Once they dominate offensively, their defense tightens, combining a 3-2 zone defense with man-to-man defense, making it very difficult for opponents to play in half-court sets.

A surge in the fourth quarter gave the Long Island Nets a 14-point lead, which they maintained until the end of the game. The Nets defeated the Hornets 111-103, securing their third consecutive G League victory. Li Wei's performance of 16 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals doesn't fully capture his impact.

Returning to the locker room exhausted and sweaty, Brett gave a debriefing, praising the team's performance tonight and their remarkable resilience in adversity. Trailing by a large margin, they rallied to tie, then fell behind again, tied again, and finally took the lead to secure the victory. This demonstrates that they possess the qualities of a strong team: the ability to perform well from behind and to adjust promptly when their form dips.

"And I think all of this is thanks to Victor. His performance turned the tide and energized everyone on the court. He was the star of the night. Although his scoring wasn't the highest, he truly played a leadership role and led the whole team. Let's give him a round of applause!"

Brett led the applause for Levi. Brett presented Levi with a specially made chain as a reward for being the best player of the match. Brett stated that he would give out such chains after every match as a form of encouragement.

Wearing the somewhat simple gold chain, Li Wei basked in the applause, feeling deeply moved. What was once a stranger, a cold and infighting team had, in just over twenty days, gradually forged a bond of unity through training, matches, and living together.

Brett's leadership undoubtedly played a significant role. He was fair and impartial, treating everyone equally, giving opportunities to those who played well and providing meticulous guidance to those who didn't. While this resulted in a lack of authority and control, it also earned him the players' respect and fostered a positive team atmosphere.

Thinking of the text message from Nash, Li Wei knew that his time with this team wouldn't be long. Everyone who came here was thinking of leaving, but now that it's time to go, there's a sense of reluctance. But if you really had to stay, you definitely wouldn't want to. Reality and emotion intertwined, creating a complex and nuanced feeling.

On the way back to the hotel, Brett said to Levi, "Get ready to go back to New York. They've already chosen you."

Li Wei was somewhat surprised. Brett already knew? He hadn't even called Nash yet. Then he thought, Brett is the head coach of the Long Island Nets, Nash must have informed him.

“I understand. Thank you, Coach Brett.”

"Don't thank me yet. I'm telling you to prepare, not to guarantee you'll go back. The roster is full right now, you'll have to beat one of your competitors. So... good luck and keep working hard."

“I know I will succeed; I told you I’m a genius.”

"Fuck you, you jerk," Brett cursed, then sighed and muttered, "I might lose my best player."

(End of this chapter)