Basketball Terminal

Chapter 98 Acting Skills
Stevens started paying attention to Levi after the Nets' game against the Mavericks, and Levi's amazing defensive performance greatly interested Stevens. After carefully analyzing the game film, Stevens' evaluation of Levi was that he was amazed by his anticipation and synchronized defensive ability, completely shutting down Doncic, who relies on skill and rhythm. He said Levi was the first person in the league, and even the world, to do so.

Secondly, this player plays with an incredibly Smart, unbelievable Smart style. Whether on offense or defense, he always strives for the optimal solution, playing like a seasoned veteran who has been in the professional league for many years, far more like a seasoned pro. Stevens loves players like this, it's a pity he didn't discover him from the G League in time.

I do have a Smart by my side, but unfortunately he's not that Smart, which can be a headache sometimes.

While trying to gather more information about Levi, Stevens was surprised to find that his number was the same as Levi's: zero. His high school and college careers were completely blank, as if he had appeared out of nowhere. This gave Stevens deep suspicion. As a seasoned basketball coach, Stevens knew that the modern basketball selection system was a zero-sum game; talented people were almost never buried or wasted, unless they ruined their own careers or were simply unlucky.

It's rare to see someone like Li Wei suddenly emerge, establish himself in just a few games, and dominate the league's top scorers. Stevens doesn't believe in miracles; to him, basketball is the accumulation of countless days and nights, every second counts, and behind every overnight success lies countless hours of hard work. But where are the traces of Li Wei's growth? Stevens can't see them, and he's puzzled.

In the previous game, Levi scored 23 points again, and the media was flooded with news about him. He won a car, and he won it for his mother. The media showered him with praise, even the notoriously critical Boston sports reporter praised him as "the biggest surprise in the current NBA environment." It was indeed a surprise, but Stevens saw it more as astonishment. He never indulged in praise, but rather sought to see the essence through the superficiality.

What is the essence of the matter? Was Li Wei a product of packaging? Probably not; there's no need to package a Chinese-American player. In the current environment, due to the Morey incident and the virus, Sino-US relations have reached a freezing point. Nets owner Joe Tsai has faced media criticism for including Chinese New Year elements at the Barclays Center, which is rare in the past.

Therefore, Li Wei is definitely capable.

His true strengths will likely only be revealed on the court. With four minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Celtics led the Nets by 10 points. After a dead ball situation, Stevens signaled for substitute Marcus Smart to enter the game. He glanced at the Nets' bench, and sure enough, Levi had taken off his sports jacket, preparing to replace DeAndre Jordan.

Stevens pulled Smart aside and instructed him: "Keep an eye on number 0. When you're on offense, try to challenge him and make things difficult for him."

Smart nodded to indicate he understood. Before the game, the coach had emphasized the Nets' number 0, a currently hot player in the league, the mysterious "Eastern Magician" who had shut down Doncic—there was plenty of hype surrounding him. The Celtics, as a veteran team in the league, have always enjoyed suppressing emerging rookies and new powerhouses. Whether it's players, media, or fans, they all exude a "you've had your fun, now you're in my hands, let's show you what's what" attitude.

They once had that ability, then fell into a long period of decline, gradually recovered, and in recent years they have revived, becoming a force to be reckoned with. Although not the team's best player, Smart's personality has always made him the locker room leader, and on the court he is the vanguard and the leader, playing a similar role to Levi on the Nets, only he has much more seniority.

In both the 19 and 20 seasons, Smart was a member of the All-Defensive First Team, and his defense has always been highly regarded. In this game, Smart had just returned from injury and came off the bench. The coach gave him a task: to battle against a rising star and get back into form.

Smart was very satisfied with the task and was full of confidence. Although Li Wei was an inside player, the line between inside and outside players is actually very blurred now. Smart is a heavy guard, 190 cm tall and weighing 100 kg, 10 catties heavier than Zhou Qi when he first entered the league. In his view, testing Li Wei and teaching him a lesson would be the perfect way to mark his comeback.

On the other side, Li Wei came off the bench to replace DeAndre Jordan. The Nets were now trailing, and their defense was malfunctioning again. His teammates were visibly lax, hesitant to move their legs against the Celtics' varied tactics, frequently giving away opportunities with short passes. After entering the game, Li Wei told his teammates to switch to man-to-man defense from a 3-2 lead, which Harden seemed reluctant to accept. At 3-2, Li Wei could better cover for Harden; with man-to-man defense, he often had to rely on himself.

"Hey, keep an eye on things for me." Harden came over and patted Li Wei, reminding the tank.

"I know, I know, just don't make any more mistakes! The coach has already scolded you."

"I'll pass the ball to you."

"Making a couple of mistakes now and then is normal, after all, opportunities are fleeting." Harden grinned, and the two struck another tacit deal. Li Wei was about to get back into the game when he turned around and bumped into someone, startling him.

"Holy crap, who is it that's so close to me!" Li Wei looked up and saw it was Marcus Smart, who had just been substituted into the game for the Celtics. This guy had quietly come up from behind and was leaning against Li Wei's back, with his hand on Li Wei's waist.

Li Wei thought to himself, "Are you fucking crazy? Why are you pressing against my back?" He gently pushed Smart to keep their distance. But the moment he touched Smart, his hand felt like it had a thousand pounds of force. Smart stumbled backward, his arms flailing, nearly knocked over by Li Wei's "immense strength." Smart immediately complained to the referee, saying that Li Wei had fouled him by pushing.

The referee hesitated for a moment, then gave Li Wei a whistle, calling an offensive foul on the Nets and giving possession to the Celtics.

Li Wei was completely dumbfounded. "Damn, has my domineering aura reached this level? A gentle push and someone's flying over a meter away, unable to stand? I'm not a Tai Chi master!" He immediately realized that Smart was putting on an act, taking advantage of Li Wei's lack of rhythm after entering the game to draw an offensive foul.

This Smart is indeed aggressive on defense, and he has a lot of skill and passion, but his acting is just too exaggerated. His frequent flopping and deception during the game might gain him a temporary advantage, but it's ultimately not the right way, and the referees know that.

Frustrated, Li Wei argued briefly with the referee, applying some pressure, before returning to the game. During the Celtics' offense, Smart dribbled through the middle into the paint after a screen. Li Wei anticipated Smart's dribbling path, positioned himself accordingly, and collided with him. At the moment of impact, both fell backward, but this time Li Wei was feigning, while Smart was genuinely falling.

Li Wei's chest, reinforced with Armament Haki, was as hard as an iron plate. When Smart bumped into it, he felt a stinging sensation in his nose, his vision went black, and he even saw stars. Normally, when you bump into someone, their body is soft, providing cushioning. Why is this so hard?
He fell to the ground with a thud, and the referee blew his whistle, calling an offensive foul on Smart. Time for time, the referee realized Smart had definitely been faking it; he's a repeat offender. The foul on Li Wei was a mistake, so now Li Wei gets one back, and they're even. This is a common practice in the NBA—referees make mistakes and try to get a redress.

Li Wei had no objections, scrambled to his feet, clapped his hands, and went to the baseline to serve. But Smart lay on the ground, unable to get up; the impact had truly knocked him unconscious. The referee, however, came over and said, "Hey, stop pretending, get up."

His teammates, who surrounded him, also thought Smart was faking it. "You bumped into someone, how come you're lying on the ground unable to get up?" Smart was inwardly fuming. "I'm not faking it, I really was knocked unconscious, I was seeing stars!" From the moment he sat up until his teammates helped him up, no one believed he wasn't acting, that it was real. Even Stevens was yelling from the sidelines, "Defend Marcus, don't waste time!"

When Smart turned his attention back to Levi on the defensive end, he felt a little uneasy and asked, "What's that in your chest?"

"Fake breasts".

"..."

"I am serious."

"Then you'd better focus on defense, buddy!"

(End of this chapter)