Basketball Terminal

Chapter 47: Ghostly Haunting
Li Wei had visited the Staples Center many years ago when he traveled to the United States and bought a ticket to watch a game as a fan. Statues of Lakers superstars—Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Baylor, and West—stand at the entrance of the arena, and championship banners commemorating the Lakers' glorious history hang inside.

Today, Li Wei entered the stadium from backstage as a player, entering the away game locker room. Two hours earlier, Como had delivered all the equipment, and everyone changed into their training jerseys before warming up on the field. The locker room was nice; although simply decorated, it was clean and tidy.

Just as Li Wei took off his coat, he saw Owen wandering around with a roll of hay, sweeping here and there. Li Wei asked, "What's this?" Owen didn't stop and said, "Sage, to clean up the dirt here."

"Is there...something dirty here? It looks quite clean to me."

Irving waved near Levi and looked at him: "A lot of the dirty things are invisible, like viruses, bad luck, and... evil spirits."

"I'm a good person."

Irving ignored Levi and continued wandering around with the sage. Then he left the locker room, lit the sage, and ran to the Staples Center court to "sterilize" it. Smoke swirled around the court, and Irving walked around like a shaman chanting incantations.

Levi looked at Durant, who shrugged and said, "Indian witchcraft, let it be."

Li Wei knows that many players are superstitious, including himself. He is now a staunch believer in feudal superstition, praying every day to the God who sent him to this world and to this body. NBA players' superstitions mainly focus on clothing and eating habits. For example, they wear their underwear inside out, must wear a certain lining during games, must wear two layers of socks, wear the same shorts they wore in college until they started playing professionally, and eat chicken feet before games, etc.

Because game performance is often unpredictable, especially shooting touch, you never know if the basket will be as big as the ocean or as thick as a rim. Even when you feel good, if you play terribly, players will blame it on not doing something right, like a ritual or a detail. Once they've done something in the past that made them perform exceptionally well, even if the two are completely unrelated, they'll continue doing it for psychological reasons.

While persistence doesn't guarantee good performance, neglecting it can easily lead to poor form. This is actually a way professional athletes cope with immense pressure, relying on external objects and rituals to alleviate mental burden.

However, Kyrie Irving's pre-game ritual of burning sage, a practice often associated with Native American shamans, still seemed far too unconventional among the many superstitions. Li Wei thought to himself, what's the difference between this and burning three incense sticks before a game, kneeling under the basket and praying to Mazu for blessings, or casting divination blocks in front of a portrait of Jordan in the locker room to consult with the legendary god Jordan?
Durant, hampered by a hamstring strain, was unable to warm up and sat on the sidelines, bouncing a basketball on the floor. The ball moved back and forth behind his legs, seemingly an extension of his body. Li Wei, practicing three-pointers, received a pass from the trainer and adjusted to the Staples Center rim; it remains to be seen whether he'll get a chance to shoot tonight.

Halfway through training, Durant waved to Levi, who came over and asked, "Hey Victor, we agreed to a one-on-one match."

"That's right, but with your leg like this, you're only fit for cockfighting."

"Can I find someone to replace me?"

"Is Nash okay?"

Durant shook his head with a smile and called out, "Kerry! Kyrie, come here for a second!"

Kyrie Irving was practicing layups with his trainer, who was using a large foam stick to interfere with his attempts. Hearing the call, Irving came over and asked what was wrong. Durant explained that he had made a promise with Levi to complete a no-point challenge. He was injured and didn't know when he would recover, so he asked Irving to fulfill the promise for him.

Irving touched his nose and said, "Bring a wager, or I won't play."

Kyrie Irving was extremely confident in his one-on-one ability. He once challenged Kobe Bryant for $50,000, when Irving was just a rookie. Kobe refused, telling him to "go home and ask your dad who you're talking to." This one-on-one match never materialized. Later, Kobe suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, forcing him to retire, and then tragically died in a helicopter crash.

“$1000, I’ll pay,” Durant said, his hands never stopping dribbling the ball.

"5000."

"5000 it is, keep it up, buddy."

"How do we play?" Irving asked Levi, his hands still dribbling the ball.

"No-points challenge, three balls, you attack, I defend, score one and you win."

Irving grinned, shook his head, and said, "That's so unfair, you're bound to lose. You win if you can stop one of me."

"Two." Li Wei wasn't greedy; three was too difficult, one was too few, and two was fair enough.

Irving looked at Levi. This kid was indeed interesting, possessing a unique charisma. Unlike the Asians Irving had encountered in the past, many of them lacked sparkle in his eyes. It wasn't because their eyes were small, but because they were timid, insecure, or appeared confident but actually looked strange, especially their smiles, which were affected and artificial. They seemed constantly in some kind of anxiety, so unnatural.

Li Wei, however, was very relaxed. Despite being a new addition to the team, he remained calm and composed, neither fawning over anyone nor putting on airs, as if he'd been with the team for quite some time. He's very close to Durant, and Irving knows that if he doesn't like someone, he'll simply ignore them. Now it seems the two have a good relationship, and Li Wei hasn't made any special attempt to flatter Irving. It's even unbelievable that staff members would offer to carry Li Wei's bag.

"OK, two it is, $5000 is at my fingertips."

Clearing the paint—a pre-game entertainment everyone enjoys—Steve Nash didn't stop it; he wanted to see just how good Levi was. One-on-one isn't everything, but it can reveal a lot. Players who are weak in one-on-one offense and defense are destined for a limited ceiling. Current American basketball fundamentals place great emphasis on individual one-on-one ability; without a foundation of individual skill, tactics and teamwork are castles in the air.

Li Wei took the ball from Irving and focused intently. Irving is arguably one of the best players in NBA history in terms of ball-handling skills; some would even rank him number one. Despite relatively average jumping ability, speed, and explosiveness, he has transformed himself into a high-scoring machine through exceptional ball-handling and dribbling skills.

Like an airplane with only second-rate engine thrust and no thrust vectoring nozzles, yet possessing first-rate dogfighting maneuverability through ingenious aerodynamic design and superb piloting skills, and its missiles are exceptionally accurate. Li Wei's eyes began to radiate dominance as he fixed his gaze on Irving, the world before him becoming blurry. He tossed the ball back to Irving, lowering his stance to prepare for defense. Li Wei didn't deliberately lower his center of gravity, because he didn't need to; for him, lowering his center of gravity would only restrict movement.

In Irving's view, Levi's defensive stance was full of flaws. With such a tall stature, why was he standing with his knees straight in a one-on-one situation? Was he just giving up and becoming a wooden stake? Irving dribbled between his legs very casually, and when he found the right moment, he was about to pull up for a three-pointer. He believed that there was no need to drive to the basket to deal with Levi.

However, the moment he jumped, Li Wei took a step forward, leaped high, and stretched out his arm to block Irving. Before Irving could even release the ball, his long arm was already there, and the shot was guaranteed to be blocked! Irving instinctively adjusted his shooting angle, raising the arc and releasing the ball earlier.

He dodged the block, but the ball's force and angle were off, and it didn't even touch the rim before falling to the ground.

"Damn, is he really that determined? I didn't expect that at all." Irving thought to himself, the way he rushed up to block the shot wasn't just fast, it was resolute.

Most defenders who get caught off guard by a sudden shot aren't slow, but rather unable to judge whether the ball handler is going to drive or shoot. Hesitation causes the body to sway back and forth, slowing down the final reaction; no matter how fast or explosive you are, it's useless. Li Wei's dive, however, was exceptionally decisive; he jumped and blocked the shot firmly. In a different game, Irving would have passed the ball.

"one."

Li Wei raised his index finger, reminding Irving that the next shot had been blocked.

The crowd on the sidelines started cheering, and Harden yelled, "Shave his head!" Durant stopped dribbling, took out his phone, and showed Udoka the no-score challenge video from Levi's personal account.

On the second play, Irving was much more focused. He lowered his center of gravity, observing Levi's defense like a hunting cat. The positioning was still seemingly ordinary, full of openings. Knees slightly bent, arms not fully extended. Irving realized that Levi must be very confident in his anticipation, hence maintaining the most possible defensive stance. "In that case," he thought, "let's see if you can anticipate my dribbling. After all, even I don't know how I'm going to dribble next."

At that moment, in Li Wei's eyes, the shadowy figures on Owen appeared, constantly shifting left, right, forward, and backward. Li Wei knew that Owen was about to begin his butterfly-like maneuvering, and Li Wei had to keep up with these shadowy figures; if he didn't, the opponent's attack trajectory would also change.

For example, your opponent fakes a dribble to the left, then to the right. You see through it, so you don't go left; you go straight to the right to block him. That won't work. If you don't follow, a skilled player will simply break through on the left and get past you completely. You must also feign a dribble to the left, but actually quickly move to the right, rendering his feint meaningless. Originally, he was deceiving you; now, you've deceived him.

Li Wei figured this out after a day of experimentation, using the test conducted by Ah Zhong. He spent another week mastering the basic technique. In two weeks, it became a conditioned reflex; he no longer stared blankly at his shadow, wondering where he should go.

But Irving's dazzling ball control was still a huge test for Levi. You had to be able to keep up physically. Fortunately, Levi was very agile and maintained a high center of gravity without deliberately lowering it. As a result, Irving suddenly realized that no matter how he dodged and weaved, he couldn't shake off Levi's close defense.

"My God, how did this guy manage to keep up with Kerry without being left behind?"

The first basket elicited cheers from the crowd, who assumed Li Wei's success was due to luck, his height and wingspan, and Irving's carelessness, which seemed normal. However, the second basket saw Irving take it seriously and unleash his signature move, completely changing the situation. Li Wei perfectly matched Irving's movements and effectively blocked his shot.

It was as if two sword masters were locked in combat. Irving kept drawing his sword; he was the fastest swordsman in the league, his blade slender and sharp, wounding and killing countless defenders. Meanwhile, Li Wei wielded a Chinese longsword, seemingly heavy and long, yet he used skillful and perfectly angled movements to repeatedly block Irving's sword tip with the blade itself, defending flawlessly.

The two fought for more than ten seconds, and Li Wei still had no opening. Irving was starting to panic. "Am I being haunted by a ghost?"
Actually, the best way to break through Li Wei's defense is either to rely on absolute strength—I don't care how accurate your prediction is, I'll just smash you through; or to rely on absolute explosive speed—even if your prediction is accurate, it's useless, you can't keep up; or to rely on absolute height—I'm just taller than you, you can't reach me.

Unfortunately, Kyrie Irving lacks all three. Strength and height are undeniable, and Irving is actually quite fast, but he doesn't rely on that explosive burst of speed; he chooses to rely on technique. Once he starts dribbling and loses his explosive acceleration, he truly gets bogged down in Levi's defensive quagmire.

Of course, Li Wei was also struggling, both mentally and physically. Most defenders, once marked by Li Wei, would either make a mistake or lose possession within a few seconds. Irving was truly one with the ball; Li Wei couldn't steal the ball and dared not be careless, for even the slightest carelessness would result in him being beaten.

Sure enough, after nearly 20 seconds of continuous battling, Li Wei momentarily lost focus, and Irving seized the opportunity to turn around, get past Li Wei, cross the baseline, and score with a reverse layup. He got the ball.

After scoring, Owen excitedly raised his arms and roared, seemingly having been truly captivated by the defense.

Irving thought his rapid changes of direction and turns, coupled with unparalleled ball control, would quickly shake off Levi, perhaps even giving him a disastrous ankle twist and a hard time. Little did he know, he was haunted by a ghost and nearly got entangled. It's only because Irving's dribbling ability is truly exceptional that he managed to hold onto the ball to protect it; otherwise, the player would have been forced to hold onto it, and a dead ball situation would have been disastrous.

Recalling the offensive and defensive play just now, Irving felt a chill run down his spine. After yelling, he turned around, bumped fists with Li Wei, and said, "That was great defense. Who taught you how to play defense?"

"You want to learn? I'll teach you."

"Shit, one goal left, let's decide the winner!"

Just as the two were about to go to war, Steve Nash called a halt, saying that warm-ups were over and everyone should go back to the locker room to rest and prepare for the evening's game. Nash had already seen Levi's defensive capabilities, and a 1-1 tie was the best outcome. A win for Irving would be meaningless, and a loss would leave a lingering resentment, which wouldn't be good for the locker room.

Everyone was disappointed. Irving said he wanted to finish the game, but Nash shook his head repeatedly and said, "Time's up, the Lakers need to use the court."

On the other side of the court, in the players' tunnel, the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers players entered the court to warm up. LeBron James was at the front, shaking hands and hugging Kyrie Irving at midcourt and exchanging a few pleasantries. Li Wei followed his teammates and staff, quickly tidied up, and returned to the locker room through the tunnel.

Li Wei glanced back at LeBron in the distance; this was his real target tonight, his chance to make a name for himself. Li Wei always seized opportunities with remarkable precision.

(End of this chapter)