in2ebook Chapter 31 McMalone: Wang Xiucheng, come to my bowl!
Chapter 31 McMalone: Wang Xiucheng, come to my bowl!
Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets will face the Rockets at home today, and tickets for the game sold out well in advance.
With the newly crowned MVP Jokic, the Nuggets are a formidable force, and their goal is naturally the NBA championship.
Denver has never won a championship, but they believe they are getting closer and closer to that trophy.
Because they have Jokic.
A fat guy that the entire league couldn't do anything about.
And the absolute support of the entire Denver fan base for the team.
TNT wasn't broadcasting the game today with O'Neal and Barkley, but they still posted the bet online before the game about whether Wang Xiucheng would get the ball stolen.
In the Penguin Live broadcast room, Wang Meng, Yang Yi, and Wang Shipeng are responsible for today's live broadcast commentary.
Tencent is paying more and more attention to Wang Xiucheng's matches, not only by having a high-caliber commentary team, but also by having the best female commentators. Today's female anchor is Xiaoqi.
Of course, the reason why Tencent dares to provide so many resources is because Wang Xiucheng's ability to make money has already begun to emerge.
Today, besides condoms, there was a model of a domestically produced electric car and a bottle of beverage on the host's stage in the live broadcast room, which are obviously new sponsors.
"Actually, I'm not very optimistic about the Rockets winning today, even though Murray can't play." Yang Yi is sharing his opinion. "The Denver Nuggets are clearly several levels above the Rockets. Just look at Jokic; the Rockets have no one who can match him."
"Of course, it's hard to say whether the Rockets themselves have enough fighting spirit."
Yang Yi was being very polite; what he meant was that the Rockets didn't want to win at all.
You can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep. If the Rockets don't want to win, there's nothing anyone can do.
"So let's focus more on Wang Xiucheng's performance." Wang Shipeng looked at the tablet in front of him, which seemed to have some data on it. "The Nuggets' overall assists are among the best in the league. It's not just the guards who can assist; Jokic often gets triple-doubles, which makes the opponents very worried."
"In addition, Denver is a high-altitude city, and strenuous exercise will definitely affect the players' physical strength. These young players on the Rockets, such as Green, Wang Xiucheng, and Shen Jing, are all here for the first time, and it is hard to say whether they can adapt."
"The competition has begun. Let's look forward to Wang Xiucheng's performance," Wang Meng reminded them at this moment.
At the Pepsi Center, the competition finally began.
Houston Rockets center Theis has returned from injury and will start at center. The rest of the team remains the same: Porter Jr., Green, Wood, and Tate.
Shen Jing, who had performed well in the last few games, was once again relegated to the bench.
Of course, there's also Wang Xiucheng.
The two didn't seem to care, and were talking about something on the bench. Shen Jing was amused by Wang Xiucheng and laughed heartily.
Christopher wanted to get involved from a distance, but he was too far away.
Several times he tried to switch places with Garuba, but Garuba glared at him and refused.
Before we knew it, there were 4 minutes left in the game, and it was time for substitutions.
The Nuggets led by 5 points, 22-17.
The Rockets kept Green on the court and fielded a lineup of Wang Xiucheng, Shen Jing, Christopher, and Martin.
Coach Mike Malone, who had been sitting unhurriedly on the sidelines, stood up and moved to a position near the scorer's table.
While preparing for the game against the Rockets yesterday, he received a report from the scouting department.
It was a belated scouting report, and the protagonist was Wang Xiucheng, who had just come on the field.
The article spoke highly of Wang Xiucheng, which Ma Long simply couldn't believe.
If an undrafted player is as good as the report says, why didn't your scouting department discover him? Isn't that a dereliction of duty on your part?
After scolding the head of the scouting department away, Coach Malone brought out the video of the Rockets vs. Lakers game to watch.
Then he called the person in charge back.
The final conclusion was that the team should try to trade for Wang Xiucheng.
While Wang Xiucheng has not yet been discovered by more people.
Just then, a cry of surprise came from the substitutes' bench behind me.
Coach Malone quickly looked over and saw Wang Xiucheng on the court, dribbling at high speed while changing pace to get past his opponent, practically pinning his teammate Austin Rivers to the floor.
Coach Malone then saw Wang Xiucheng pass the ball to Green outside the three-point line.
After receiving the ball, Green did not shoot immediately, but instead drove towards the basket.
But Jeff Green, guarding the basket, pulled Green's hand while he was dribbling.
The whistle blew, and Jeff Green committed a foul.
Malone didn't pay attention to Jalen Green's free throws, but instead looked at Wang Xiucheng, who was not far from him at the mid-line.
What a great speed!
Watching Wang Xiucheng's speed-changing dribbling on a computer screen is a completely different experience from watching him live.
Rivers is still not quite there yet, head down, seemingly lost in thought.
Something is wrong.
Coach Malone immediately called a timeout.
After exchanging high-fives with Green and the others, Wang Xiucheng returned to the bench.
Silas looked at Malone and shook his head helplessly. This was being far too cautious.
Wang Xiucheng took the water but didn't drink it right away. Instead, he said to Green next to him, "When you receive my pass, you can try to shoot a three-pointer. It's okay, if you miss, you miss. What's there to be afraid of?"
Jalen Green could have shot a three-pointer, but he chose to drive instead because he had already taken five shots and missed them all, including one airball.
Wang Xiucheng knew that Green's confidence was in jeopardy; at least in this game, Green probably wouldn't attempt another three-pointer.
Although Wang Xiucheng's passes to Green almost always went in during yesterday's training, it's still hard to predict what might affect a player's morale during a real game.
If Green doesn't shoot threes, then Wang Xiucheng's skill card that increases three-point shooting percentage will be useless.
The timeout ends and the game continues.
The Nuggets have substituted Austin Rivers.
It seems that Green isn't the only one with emotional issues.
Green made one of two free throws, and the Nuggets grabbed the rebound and went on offense.
But just past halfway, Martin seized the opportunity to steal the ball and passed it to Wang Xiucheng before running towards the frontcourt.
Wang Xiucheng accelerated at the start, picking up the pace of Campazzo who was defending him, but slowed down again after his next move.
Campazzo was much shorter than Wang Xiucheng, but his speed was incredibly fast, almost the same as Wang Xiucheng's. However, it was precisely because of this that when Wang Xiucheng slowed down, Campazzo had already rushed out.
Wang Xiucheng easily changed direction to get past half-court, set a screen with Shen Jing, and passed the ball to Martin on the other side.
Martin lowered his shoulder, jumped, and launched a three-pointer.
Swish!
The ball goes in.
Martin looked at his hand in disbelief. He was in really good form today, and he made a three-pointer on his first attempt.
Fortunately, the Rockets have more than one player who can shoot three-pointers, although their accuracy is not high, at least they dare to shoot.
Possession changed, and the Nuggets finally made a long two-pointer, but Wang Xiucheng in the backcourt made a Jokic-esque long pass to Green who was quickly making a run down the baseline.
Green jumped up and slammed home a dunk, scoring two points.
This allowed Green to vent his emotions.
The game went smoothly this time, and soon it came to the final 7 seconds, with the Rockets in possession.
When Wang Xiucheng received the ball, Campazzo dared not accelerate recklessly and could only send Wang Xiucheng to the frontcourt.
Wang Xiucheng didn't seem to be in a hurry. When there were only three seconds left, Wang Xiucheng suddenly took a step to the left, and Campazzo reflexively blocked to the left.
But Wang Xiucheng made a bounce pass at that moment, and the basketball was passed to Christopher behind him in the position that Campazzo had given up.
Christopher received the ball and pulled up for a long two-pointer.
Swish.
beep.
The sound of the ball going in and the whistle signaling the end of the first quarter sounded almost simultaneously.
The Rockets led 27-26 at the end of the first quarter.
Ma Long looked at Wang Xiucheng, his mouth practically watering.
It's so damn good!
He really wanted to grab a bowl and shout: "Come into the bowl!"
If the Nuggets had Wang Xiucheng, he would bet the team would win the championship within three years.
Although the Nuggets have Jamal Murray, a versatile point guard, Murray is too fragile, and it's hard to say whether he can return this year.
With Wang Xiucheng joining the team and complementing Murray, the team's strength will increase by at least half a level.
Seeing his players return to the bench, Malone took a deep breath and began to plan for the next quarter.
Jokic, wrapped in a towel, was looking at Wang Xiucheng in the distance, seemingly lost in thought.