Chapter 411: If You Still Have a Brain

Fan Xi's dunk not only physically conquered Anthony Davis, but also spiritually conquered the billions of fans and viewers worldwide.

Anthony Davis is too immature; the young man fantasizes about beating the whole world, yet forgets he hasn't had a single day of professional training, and his frame isn't strong enough to contend with the charging Fan Xi.

Fan Xi may not look like a huge player, but his explosiveness and strength are definitely among the league's best. If James charging forward is like a tank with full horsepower, Fan Xi is like an off‑road vehicle slamming into a wall.

The Dream Team's bench was silenced by Fan Xi.

Anthony Davis's departure left the Dream Team with only two proper frontcourt players, Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler.

"He shouldn't offend Jie Ke."

Kevin Durant returned to the bench and relayed the news to the teammates. He said, "This young guy has no idea how grudging Jieke Fan can be…"

Coach Old K stopped Durant from continuing, calling it a show of bravado.

He said calmly, "Strictly speaking, that's an offensive foul. Jieke Fan isn't as terrifying as imagined; it's Anthony who's too young."

Then he added, "Zhongguo's lineup has been almost exhausted; they're at the end of their strength. So the third quarter is when we'll widen the gap completely, and there's no reason to let them keep any suspense for the fourth quarter."

"It should have been a clean, one‑sided slaughter from the start."

"As superstars, being compared on the same level as Zhongguo is what a shame?"

Coach Old K delivered a highly passionate speech.

In his view, once the Dream Team's superstars are provoked into excitement, Zhongguo will be a walk‑over.

He guaranteed, based on his reputation of a lifetime in basketball, that Zhongguo is certainly not a Dream Team opponent; from any angle, Zhongguo should not and cannot be a threat to the Dream Team.

However, James, Paul, and Wei De all have hidden concerns.

They don't trust theory, even though Coach Old K's reputation is huge; he can earn a ten‑million‑dollar salary in the NCAA.

But Fan Xi can never be measured by theory; he's already broken too many conventions.

Therefore, they decided to be cautious, cautious, and cautious.

In this respect, their thinking aligns surprisingly with Spain's Pau Gasol.

All have taken a loss to Fan Xi in the NBA.

However, what they don't know is that Fan Xi is sitting on Zhongguo's bench, worried.

His teammates are excited and cheering because he dunked Anthony Davis straight out of the game.

But Fan Xi has realized the harsh fact: even with twelve players, Zhongguo's total stamina may still be less than that of five Dream Team players.

When the Dream Team raises the intensity and pace, the national team's stamina drops at an astonishing rate.

This relates to genetics, regular training, and the intensity of domestic competitions.

This is not something that can be solved in one night.

We've only played half a game so far, but it looks like there aren't many players who can stay fully fit for the rest.

Mike Brown and Bilupusi whispered beside Fan Xi, asking what lineup he should use next and what suggestions he has.

Obviously, they are also worried.

Although they are Americans, now serving as Zhongguo's coaches, they are also doing their utmost to find the Dream Team's weaknesses.

They advocate attacking the interior.

However, Zhongguo's acknowledged strongest players Yao Ming and Wang Zhiji are already winded, and keeping them on the court only raises injury risk. Zhang Zhaoxu's height and wingspan can provide some paint defense, but he's now been battered by the Dream Team and his jumping ability is poor.

The remaining proper frontcourt players are Yi Jianlian and Han Dejun.

We can't keep playing a run‑and‑gun, can we?

A run‑and‑gun also needs rebounds.

Wang Zhiji has played in the NBA; his English is decent. He said, "I can still play; I know where my limits are. Just as Yao Ming said, I'm ready to end my career today."

He said it calmly, as if discussing a trivial matter.

Yet it shocked Mike Brown and Bilupusi greatly; one is a hard‑nosed defensive coach, the other a former Pistons MVP, and they rarely see a player willing to sacrifice an entire career for a single game, and do so with such composure.

They began to deeply realize that these Chinese players, who never shout heroics in the locker room, hold an extremely lofty belief at their core; they may not express it, but are always ready to devote their entire career at a moment's notice.

This forced them to consider a more terrifying question: can Zhongguo truly defeat the Dream Team?

These two American coaches first entertained the thought.

Fan Xi turned down Wang Zhiji, for the same reason he turned down Yao Ming. Yao Ming is having a domestic Chinese medicine practitioner massage his feet, and he even received some acupuncture earlier... Acupuncture isn't mysterious to the two American coaches; many NBA teams have adopted it.

In Mike Brown's memoir, twenty years later, when recalling this scene he said: "From Yao Ming and Wang Zhiji downwards, every Zhongguo player maintains a martyr‑like spirit I can't comprehend; I was terrified."

Finally, on Fan Xi's suggestion, Zhongguo used Han Dejun and Yi Jianlian as a frontcourt pair.

The perimeter players became Zhou Peng, Guo Ailun, and Fan Xi.

That sounds less like an organized lineup and more like picking the five players with the best stamina.

Beep!

The whistle blows, and the game continues.

The Dream Team switched to a brand‑new lineup: Chris Paul, Iguodala, Le Bu Lang Zhang Si, Carmelo Anthony, and Tyson Chandler started the second half.

They only tweaked the opening starters, inserting defensive player Iguodala into the rotation to help Paul handle Fan Xi.

"You play point guard later; I'll play off‑ball."

When Fan Xi entered the game, he suddenly said to Guo Ailun.

Guo Ailun was startled, his face visibly tense: "I'm handling the ball, guarding Paul?"

"Are you scared?" Fan Xi asked, "You have no confidence in all that training?"

"I'm not good at passing," Guo Ailun told Fan Xi honestly, "When I play, I only have the hoop."

"Learn. If you want to get into the NBA, you must pass. I'll move to receive you," Fan Xi told him.

"I..." Guo Ailun hesitated, and Fan Xi stared him down.

Fan Xi hopes this guy can take on the big role, but it's also the only option left.

Chris Paul dribbled the ball from afar; when he saw Fan Xi roaming to the other end and a stranger youngster running toward him, his face showed humiliation and fury.

He thinks Fan Xi is deliberately playing with his mindset.

So, he kept his head down and drove straight in; at this moment Chris Paul's penetration was almost a tier below his prime, yet it was still not something Guo Ailun could stop… Guo Ailun's defensive habits are poor; he seems never to have been taught to use slide steps to limit an opponent's footwork. He always watches the opponent's upper body, and even likes to use upper‑body contact to suppress the opponent.

This is a foolish method; it wouldn't work on any NBA guard.

Chris Paul's change‑of‑direction drive becomes a matter of course, slicing through Guo Ailun's defense as easily as eating a piece of chocolate cake.

However, when Paul entered the free‑throw line and was about to execute a Stop‑and‑Go Jump Shot, Fan Xi rushed in to contest.

Paul briefly slowed his rhythm, drawing Fan Xi's balance off, then skillfully passed the ball to Iguodala.

Iguodala shot from an open spot… Boom!

It surprisingly missed.

Tyson Chandler, poised under the basket, immediately sprang to test; he had already seen that the defending fat man was clumsy, so he quickly circled around Han Dejun, leapt up, and Han Dejun failed to hold his lower body.

He takes a twisted pleasure in tormenting high schoolers.

He tipped the ball out of the paint, intending to feed it directly to Anthony.

But just as he released it, Fan Xi surged in, leapt, and snatched the ball.

Coach Lao K on the sideline shook his head regretfully; it had been a relaxed and perfect second‑chance attack, and the play fully demonstrated the Dream Team's superiority over the Zhongguo team. But… two unexpected factors compounded. Who could have guessed Iguodala would miss an open shot, or that Tyson Chandler would tip the ball out instead of finishing with a layup?

Fan Xi thought of it.

That's why he assigned Guo Ailun to guard Paul and matched Han Dejun against Chandler.

He was betting on Iguodala's shooting percentage, knowing it would come at a cost.

He was also betting on Han Dejun's aggressiveness and his innate Lucky Charm aura; as long as Han Dejun held his lower body, even if Tyson Chandler jumped, he wouldn't dare to score a second‑chance basket because he lacked that ability.

Fan Xi grabbed the ball, broke quickly past half‑court, saw Paul relentless in pursuit, and passed directly to Guo Ailun.

Guo Ailun, ball in hand, immediately surged inside.

Iguodala hurried to catch up, but while Iguodala was chasing, Fan Xi also followed up from the other side.

And as Guo Ailun stepped into the free‑throw line, gathered the ball and took three steps, Fan Xi deliberately looped around. This slowed the opportunistic Iguodala by half a beat; Guo Ailun released the shot, but the instant the ball hit the backboard, the delayed Iguodala lunged and pressed the ball firmly against the board.

Ding!

The whistle blew, a deflection.

Counted as a basket, two points.

Coach Lao K on the sideline was angry, muttering: What a piece‑of‑shit luck.

Fan Xi told Guo Ailun, "Just remember one thing and you'll pass. You simply cannot score independently against NBA‑level defense; defenders are everywhere around and behind you."

"They can jump higher, run faster, and track the ball's trajectory better than you."

Fan Xi said to him, "You need to use some brain."

Guo Ailun nodded blankly.

A player's style is hard to change quickly, but now Guo Ailun is being propped on the beam; he has to adapt.

If he plays poorly.

He becomes the sinner.

…