dmims Chapter 8 Philadelphia Welcomes You
Chapter 8 Philadelphia Welcomes You
2008年11月1日，晚7:00。
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Vachovia Center Stadium.
Philadelphia, a city renowned for its "brotherly love," has a more fitting nickname among sports fans—"Purgatory." Its fans are known for their extreme fervor and harshness; they've booed Santa Claus and even thrown batteries at opposing players.
Tonight, their target was clear: that arrogant yellow-skinned kid who had been so domineering in New York recently.
When the Knicks' player tunnel doors opened, and the DJ shouted "Li-Xiang-Bei" in a tone as if introducing a wanted criminal, he was greeted by a unified, deafening chorus of boos.
"BOOOOOOO——!!"
"New York trash!"
"Go back to Hollywood and act, you softie!"
Li Xiangbei ran at the front of the group, his expression still indifferent, as if he were wearing a pair of earplugs to block out noise.
"Ding!"
Suddenly, a metallic object flew down from the front row of the stands, grazed Li Xiangbei's sneakers, and hit the floor with a crisp sound.
It was a 25-cent coin.
Gallinari, standing behind him, was startled and nervously looked around. David Lee also frowned; this was blatant personal attack. The referee was about to blow his whistle to warn the fans.
However, Li Xiangbei waved his hand, indicating that the referee did not need to intervene.
He bent down and picked up the coin.
Under the watchful eyes of 20,000 people, he neither angrily threw it back nor handed it to the security personnel.
He walked to the first row on the sidelines, in front of the middle-aged white fan who had just tossed a coin and whose face was now flushed.
Li Xiangbei held up a coin, blew on it, and then made a perfectly standard "coin-tossing and wishing" gesture, as if he were at a wishing well.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, he accurately tossed the coin back into the beer mug in the fan's hand.
"Thump."
Hops splashed up.
"Keep it for the bus home, buddy." Li Xiangbei's voice came through the microphone on the sidelines clearly. "You'll really need it after we lose tonight."
The entire room fell silent for a second.
Then--
"Fxxk You!!"
"Kill him!!"
The shouts of anger instantly rose eight octaves, and the entire stadium seemed about to explode.
But amidst this raging roar, the eyes of the young players on the Knicks' bench, who had initially been somewhat intimidated by the away game atmosphere, changed.
Looking at the figure of number 8 standing alone in the eye of the storm, they suddenly felt that the originally terrifying hissing didn't seem so scary anymore.
"Even if the sky falls, he'll hold it up." David Lee clenched his fist, and this was the sentiment of the entire team at that moment.
……
Game start.
The Philadelphia 76ers are not a weak team. While they lack a superstar, they possess one of the toughest defensive systems in the league, as well as the versatile Andre Iguodala, nicknamed "Little AI."
"Defense! Defense!"
76ers head coach Maurice Cheeks was yelling from the sidelines.
Five minutes into the first quarter, the score was 10-8, with the 76ers leading.
This is a hand-to-hand combat.
Li Xiangbei quickly realized that something was wrong with tonight's script.
As soon as he crossed halfway, Iguodala would loom over him like a black spider web. And behind him, a wing player would be ready to provide cover at any moment.
"Box-1" tactic!
This is a tactic typically used to counter top stars like Kobe and LeBron – four players form a zone defense while one player closely guards the star player.
"Damn it, do they think so highly of me?" Li Xiangbei cursed under his breath.
He tried to use cover to force his way out.
But under Iguodala's terrifying long arms and top-notch physical confrontation, even with the support of his iron knee, Li Xiangbei still felt like he was carrying a heavy burden every time he jumped.
"when!"
"when!"
Apart from the two "guaranteed" Logo Shots used at the start of the game, Li Xiangbei missed all three of his subsequent regular shots.
"This is the NBA's welcoming ceremony, Lee!" the Philadelphia commentator shouted gleefully. "You beat Wade in New York because Wade didn't want to play defense. But tonight, you've got Andre Iguodala! If all you can do is shoot, the Knicks are going to get ripped apart tonight!"
Halftime is over.
Knicks 42: 50 76ers.
Li Xiangbei only scored 8 points in the first half but committed 3 turnovers. Iguodala haunted him like a ghost, making it difficult for him to even breathe.
The atmosphere in the locker room was somewhat tense. Everyone was watching Li Xiangbei; if their key player was locked down, how could they win the game?
……
Section 3.
Li Xiangbei returned to the field. He glanced at Iguodala, who was making a throat-slitting gesture at him not far away, and took a deep breath.
Going head-on against Iguodala? Only a fool would do that.
On the system panel, stamina is still at full.
"Andre, you defended really well," Li Xiangbei said suddenly to Iguodala while dribbling the ball. "But...aren't you tired?"
Iguodala was taken aback.
The next second, Li Xiangbei passed the ball to David Lee in the high position, and then began his crazy off-ball movement.
From the baseline to the corner, bypass the cover and rush towards the top of the arc, then run back to the baseline, and then rush to the other side...
Li Xiangbei is like a wind-up rabbit with a perpetual motion machine.
Iguodala had no choice but to keep up with him. Even though he was a physical monster, his breathing began to become heavy in the face of this kind of full-court shuttle run that didn't even make any tactical sense.
More importantly, Li Xiangbei's tireless running completely disrupted the 76ers' defensive formation.
Because they had to defend his three-pointers, the 76ers' help defenders had to keep a close eye on him, which created a huge vacuum in the paint.
"David! Cut!"
The moment Li Xiangbei scouted out to the three-point line, he attracted the attention of two defenders.
But he didn't force his way out like he had before.
He flicked his wrist in mid-air, and the basketball, like a scalpel, pierced through the crowd and went straight to the basket.
David Lee catches the ball, but there's no one in front of him.
"boom!"
A powerful two-handed dunk!
"Great pass!!" David Lee shouted excitedly, pointing at Li Xiangbei after landing.
Next round.
Li Xiangbei sprinted again, shifting the defensive focus to the left side. Then, he suddenly made a wide pass, delivering the ball to Wilson Chandler, who was left unmarked at the right corner.
Chandler receives the ball, adjusts, and shoots.
"brush!"
Three point hit!
55:56. The score difference instantly narrowed to 1 point.
76ers head coach Cheeks's expression changed on the sidelines. He realized that the New York kid had changed; he was no longer fixated on individual isolation plays, but had become a formidable playmaker.
For the Knicks' young players, this feeling is fantastic.
When Marbury was in charge, he would dribble the ball for 20 seconds and then pass the blame to you at the last moment.
Now?
As long as you're willing to run, as long as you find an open space, Li Xiangbei will pass the ball to you immediately. It's a pass filled with trust and warmth, like meat being fed to your mouth.
"Following Boss Li means you'll get to eat meat!"
This became a consensus among all Knicks players.
……
The final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter.
Knicks 90: 90 76ers.
Li Xiangbei controlled the final attack with the ball. By this time, he had already scored 18 points and had 11 assists.
Iguodala was drenched in sweat, but he still stared intently at Li Xiangbei. The entire audience stood up; this was the decisive moment, and they believed Li Xiangbei would choose to end it all himself.
After all, he's the man who made the game-winning shot.
Li Xiangbei pressed the time limit, starting the engine in the last 8 seconds.
Change direction, break through.
Iguodala pressed close, giving him no space.
Li Xiangbei suddenly stopped and made a shooting motion.
"Don't even think about it!" Iguodala leaped high to block the shot.
Louis Williams, who was on the flank, also rushed over.
This is a trap!
Li Xiangbei did not throw the ball in the air, but instead flicked it backward with his wrist in a very subtle way.
A sham transfer of the true teachings!
The ball flew to Jamal Crawford near the free-throw line.
That was Crawford's perfect dessert spot, and there was no one within three meters of him.
Crawford receives the ball, jumps calmly, and shoots.
"brush!"
92:90.
Only 0.8 seconds left.
After landing, Iguodala looked back in despair as the basketball went through the net. He had defended Li Xiangbei's shot, but he hadn't defended his mind.
The 76ers made a mistake on their final inbound pass. Game over!
"We won! Two consecutive away wins!"
The Knicks' bench erupted in cheers.
Li Xiangbei didn't celebrate with the same swagger as last time. The instant the whistle blew, he walked over to Crawford, who had just hit the game-winning shot, pulled him up, and gave him a hard chest bump.
"That was a fucking hard shot, Jamal."
Crawford, a seasoned veteran of the league, looked at the sweaty young man before him with a flicker of emotion in his eyes. He had given up the best chance to steal the spotlight.
"You delivered the message well, Lee," Crawford said sincerely.
The team's young players spontaneously surrounded Li Xiangbei, escorting him towards the players' tunnel.
The Philadelphia fans in the stands were still grumbling, but their voices had noticeably quieted down. The fan who had tossed the coin earlier looked at his beer mug, then at the scoreboard, and fell silent, his face grim.
And at this moment, it was broadcast on television.
Far away in New York, Stephon Marbury was sitting in his living room at home, watching the television screen, holding the remote control in his hand, his face pale.
He saw more than just a victory.
What he saw was David Lee's excited eyes, Crawford's convincing hug, and the group of underlings who used to fawn over him now surrounding the yellow-skinned kid as if they were surrounding their new boss.
Marbury knew that his era was completely over.
Post-match press conference.
Reporter: "Li, you only scored 18 points tonight, but you had 12 assists. Some people say Iguodala shut you down. What do you think?"
Li Xiangbei took a sip of water and smiled at the camera:
"Preventing them from dying? No. I just feel that as a leader, sometimes it's more important to make sure your teammates are well-fed than to overeat yourself."