Basketball Terminal

Chapter 81 Spear
Li Wei returned to the bench and gulped down water. Luckily, Carlisle called a timeout; the continuous one-on-one offense and defense had taken a toll on his energy. Li Wei thought to himself, "Dongzi is really stubborn. If you had just called a screen and let him get a mismatch against DeAndre Jordan, I wouldn't have cared. I could have caught my breath."

If you insist on targeting me, I definitely won't let you succeed; I'll defend against it. I need to dominate the game in the first quarter to create an opportunity for a breakout performance later. Li Wei has limited stamina, so I need to strike first and seize the initiative.

Nash came over and praised Levi, saying, "Beautiful defense, very well done, Victor."

Li Wei replied, "Thanks to your guidance, Coach, my progress has been very obvious."

Nash was pleased, but then thought, "I didn't really give you any pointers." Levi thought, "You think you can give me pointers on defense? I figured it all out myself!" But saying nice things made Nash look good, and both of them were happy.

Head coach Nash is truly a good person. But good people rarely succeed as NBA coaches. It's not that all successful NBA coaches are bad people; those championship coaches each have their own characteristics and personalities. But they all have a ruthless side, are capable of manipulation, and can control people's hearts.

Nash really falls short in this aspect. Li Wei found that he often had to appease Nash, believing everything he was told. Rather than Nash managing the team, it was more like everyone was cooperating with Nash and trying their best to manage themselves. Fortunately, the team's record was excellent, and with everyone making do like this, they were able to keep going.

On the Mavericks' bench, Doncic stared blankly, not listening to a word Carlisle said. He kept replaying those three offensive and defensive plays in his mind; it was an impenetrable defense, every move was completely read, leaving no gaps.

Doncic can accept missing three shots; it's true that when you're having a bad shooting night. But this time, it wasn't just missing shots; he was blocked repeatedly and completely dominated in physical contests, something that had never happened before.

Doncic never allows his opponent to block him twice in a row during a game; he always finds a way to quickly break through the opponent's defense. If the opponent is fast, he slows down; if they are strong, he uses finesse; if they are aggressive, he makes good use of his body; if they have excellent physical attributes, he uses rhythm. There's always a strategy that suits you.

But this Victor is unpredictable; no matter what tactics you use, he changes his moves accordingly, seemingly able to anticipate your actions—that's the most terrifying thing. Doncic usually likes to exert himself in the first quarter, scoring a lot to establish a good offensive rhythm for the rest of the game, but he ran into a tough opponent with Levi, failing to score a single point.

The timeout ended, and Doncic didn't listen to a word Carlisle said, his mind preoccupied with how to deal with Levi. Carlisle, seeing Doncic lost in thought, knew he was stuck in a one-on-one situation with Levi and reminded him, "Use tactics, screens, and your teammates. Going it alone isn't necessarily the right approach."

Carlisle spoke tactfully, not yelling at him, "Stop fucking trying to play one-on-one, you've already been blocked three times." Carlisle is a very strong-willed coach with a strong desire to control the team. Players who are too opinionated and individualistic often don't get along well with Carlisle. Moreover, as he gets older, Carlisle finds it increasingly difficult to control his temper.

DeAndre Jordan knows this best. During the 2018-2019 season, when he played for the Mavericks, after a poor performance in a game, Rick Carlisle lashed out at the players in the hotel, yelling, "I used to trust you, but now it's all over." At that time, the season had just begun, and Luka Doncic had only played four games.

The reason for the outburst was that Doncic's performance in crucial moments was subpar, while Jordan was playing passive defense, deliberately avoiding the opponent's inside attacks for fear of being dunked on. His perfunctory defense had already begun from that point on.

Ultimately, Carlisle compromised. Doncic was too popular with the fans, his talent was exceptional, and the players weren't on his side. Carlisle was forced to apologize to the players in tears. This severely damaged his authority and dignity, and from then on, a rift formed between Carlisle and Doncic, making it difficult for them to remain close.

So, Doncic didn't take Carlisle's words to heart. He knew how to play; he didn't need the coach to teach him. Utilizing pick-and-rolls, using tactics, drawing fouls—didn't I know all that? The question now was whether he could actually beat him one-on-one.

Doncic was stuck on this point, refusing to believe it. However, he hadn't completely lost his composure yet. After the timeout ended and he returned to the court, he fulfilled his duties as a point guard, running pick-and-rolls with Porzingis, while the Nets continued to switch on defense.

Doncic made a through pass to Porzingis, who was cutting down to the paint. Bruce Brown was guarding him one-on-one, but Brown couldn't even reach him properly. Brown could only watch helplessly as he raised his hands but couldn't reach Porzingis's head.

Porzingis missed his shot, but the referee called a foul on Brown for headbutting him. Brown was upset, saying, "I didn't even move, how could I be fouled?" The referee explained that he had violated the cylinder. Brown shook his head, thinking, "Why don't you call it indecent assault?"

Porzingis made both free throws, bringing the Mavericks closer. In the remainder of the game, Doncic suppressed his desire to isolate, focusing instead on observing Levi's defensive patterns, including his footwork and hand movements, in search of his next isolation opportunity.

The Nets' scoring primarily came from Harden's ball-handling offense, where he drove to the basket, drew fouls, made free throws, and then scored on fast breaks. His three-point shooting was off tonight. With Irving out, the team lacked offensive firepower, so Harden increased his driving to the basket.

Li Wei constantly set screens for Harden on the perimeter, then passed the ball inside to Bruce Brown, who drove to the basket and drew a foul on Porzingis, making one of two free throws. After intense one-on-one offense and defense, the two teams entered a relatively stable back-and-forth phase. The Mavericks' offense was more efficient; Doncic focused on playmaking, effectively utilizing Porzingis's height advantage, making their play more organized and varied. The Nets, on the other hand, were very predictable, with every possession starting with Harden, lacking variety and pressure distribution.

Fortunately, Levi's excellent rim protection and decent playmaking ability allowed the Nets to maintain a lead of around 5 points. At this moment, Josh Richardson received a pass at the top of the arc and quickly launched a three-pointer, which Harris tipped over.

Richardson hit a three-pointer, fell to the ground, and the referee called a foul on Harris for hitting his hand, awarding him a free throw (3+1). He made the free throw, and the Mavericks narrowed the gap to 1 point in one possession, cutting the deficit to 4.

The Nets' defense is faltering. Li Wei is trying to guard the basket while also marking Dongzi; he's doing the work of two people at once. Everyone else is out of sorts. Harden is strolling around, Jordan is strolling around, and Harris, you might as well just stroll around. If you had just strolled around, you would have only conceded a three-pointer.

Only Levi and Bruce Brown were truly fully committed to defense; Levi was already a short center, and there was an even shorter player next to him. On offense, when the Nets' offensive efficiency dropped and they couldn't put enough pressure on their opponents, they faced more counterattacks from the Mavericks.

Offense and defense are never isolated; a strong offense reduces defensive pressure, and vice versa. Even without Durant, the triangle offense is incomplete, but the two stars still shine. Losing Irving further crumbles the offense, making defense exceptionally difficult as well.

Li Wei's strength lies in defending positional play, particularly against players like Dongzi who stop and try to outmaneuver you. However, once the team gets moving and running, his advantage in anticipation diminishes. NBA players possess far superior athleticism and speed compared to G League players. Nowadays, teams spread out in all four directions during fast breaks, making it impossible for even a superhuman to cover everything.

With the Nets leading by only one point on their offensive possession, Harden still had the ball. Levi set a screen at the top of the key, and Porzingis came over to help defend Harden. Harden then passed the ball to Levi with a bounce pass. With an open shot in front of him, Levi wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by. He drove hard to the basket, shoving aside Kleber's help defense, and scored a layup, drawing a foul on Kleber in the process.

Kleber fell to the ground, his chest throbbing with pain. Why did that guy's headbutt hurt so much? Did he have metal in his arm? After getting up, he complained to the referee, "That guy used his elbow." The referee shook his head and said, "No, I saw it clearly, it was normal physical contact."

Li Wei used only his enhanced left shoulder and arm to knock Kleber down. He made the free throw, adding another 3 points, bringing his first quarter total to 6 points and 7 rebounds. Then, Doncic received the ball on the baseline, and Li Wei knew immediately that this guy was going to try another one-on-one!
Goodness, he'd been holding back for ages, and had worn Levi down for quite a while, before Doncic launched another challenge. Levi pushed aside Bruce Brown, who was trying to guard him, and gestured for him to go to the wing; he'd take care of this guy.

Doncic thought to himself, "Perfect timing." After a few adjustments, Doncic felt warm up, his body in peak condition after running back and forth. He was confident he could easily score one-on-one. Everyone spread out, and the more than six hundred fans in the stands stood up to watch the game.

With a little over three minutes left in the first quarter, the score was 25-21, with the Nets leading by four points.

Doncic, like a wild beast crouching in the grass, crouches low, lowers his center of gravity, dribbles the ball, keeps his eyes fixed on the front, adjusts his breathing, and prepares to launch a deadly attack. Most defenders are like prey in his eyes, because the initiative always lies with the attacker.

But Li Wei was an exception. He was very tired at this point. He had started and played for nine consecutive minutes, battling with Doncic and participating on both offense and defense. He was already showing signs of fatigue and needed to rest for a while.

However, he vaguely sensed that the surroundings were slowing down again, and that feeling returned. Gan Lin felt cold; was he about to faint? Thankfully, he wasn't. He saw Doncic's silhouette, about to launch his attack—the simplest right-side acceleration breakthrough, using physical contact to create space.

I won't give you that chance! The instant Doncic was about to serve, Li Wei's left hand shot out like a spear! In his eyes, Doncic was the prey, not the other way around! The spear struck the ball squarely, knocking it from Doncic's hands.

The two then scrambled for the ball, and Dongzi got impatient, managing three blocks and a steal – was he being treated like a kid? But Li Wei seized the initiative, stealing the ball first and then throwing it to Bruce Brown. Brown immediately took possession and launched a fast break – his third such run of the game.

Doncic struggled to his feet and looked at Levi, asking, "Fuck, how do you do that? You always manage to steal the ball from me?"

Li Wei glanced at Dongzi and said, "Because you're too slow."

(End of this chapter)