Chapter 68

John Wall received the basketball from Wesli Johnson and headed straight to the frontcourt.

When Fan Xi was running off-ball, hoping to open up space and run a play, John Wall extended his finger to Stephen Curry at the top of the three-point arc, making a gesture for a one-on-one.

This action had a strong sense of provocation.

It caused a huge reaction in Staples Center; everyone was looking forward to seeing this tit-for-tat feeling. And everyone was thinking about how the top draft pick would hit back with an answer-ball.

Stephen Curry was not angered by this; he walked to John Wall's side with a relaxed smile.

John Wall, however, had entered a narrow mindset.

He actually wanted to retaliate with a three-pointer, which he was not good at.

After Wall shook off a bit of space with a crossover, he quickly jumped up to shoot... He jumped very high, and his form was very standard. However... Bang!

The basketball clanked off the rim.

When the basketball rebounded off the rim, Ibaka and Taj Gibson, the two defensive forwards, immediately moved to protect the defensive rebound, only to find Fan Xi flashing out from their side like an elf, leaping up, and snatching the basketball with astonishing verticality.

And he quickly made a pump fake upward; Ibaka and Taj Gibson were both fooled by this pump fake, and they jumped one after another.

Fan Xi turned his hand and fed it behind him.

Griffin was caught off guard when he received the basketball; he thought Fan Xi would fight independently like John Wall, but he didn't expect... he actually handed the offensive rebound to him.

While shocked, Griffin's body reacted quickly.

He exploded upward, his highly explosive body rising into the air with super-strong jumping ability. Ibaka jumped a second time, attempting to block, but it was too late!

He was pressed under Griffin, who had descended from the sky... Boom!

When Griffin slammed the basketball into the rim with both hands, Ibaka was suppressed beneath him.

An explosive sound erupted in Staples Center.

Los Angeles fans were cheering for Griffin's brutal, posterizing dunk.

Most importantly, this ball was passed to him by Fan Xi. This was a connection between the two local Los Angeles clubs.

Griffin landed amidst the cheers of the entire arena; he pounded his chest fiercely and let out a roar, venting his previous frustration and showing the world his explosive energy.

Fan Xi ignored him and ran straight back.

But shortly after, Griffin chased after him.

He had to admit that this pass was very comfortable and the timing was grasped perfectly, which led to him completing such a perfect poster dunk.

This dunk would definitely make it into tonight's top five plays, and it would definitely become one of the representative works of his career.

Therefore, his emotions were very complex.

"Your pass was great," Blake Griffin said as he caught up to Fan Xi. "But, I won't be particularly grateful to you."

Fan Xi raised his eyebrows and ignored him.

Kobe Bryant, sitting courtside, saw this scene, and his heart was deeply touched. Kevin Garnett, sitting next to him, said to him: "Congratulations, you've got the best helper. Look at how he controls people's hearts on the court. Among this year's rookies, he is clearly a player of a different level. I don't mean talent; I mean here."

Garnett pointed to his own head.

Kobe nodded with a smile. Fan Xi was indeed very smart.

You could say he was winning people over, but... if it were other young kids, how many would have this kind of awareness?

Look at the top draft pick John Wall; his talent might be stronger than Jack's, but he has been showing off his talent, and he won't get support.

The Second-Year Team's offensive was proceeding densely. Stephen Curry brought the ball to the frontcourt, passed it to James Harden, and then he himself ran quickly. Soon, he shook off John Wall through Ibaka's screen and arrived at the top of the three-point arc, where Harden passed the ball over.

Curry caught and shot... Swish!

Another three-pointer.

Curry was on a killing spree.

At the same time, Fan Xi reminded John Wall to stay calm and slow down the pace.

But John Wall ignored him and continued to sprint with the ball, intending to finish with high speed. But in fact, this style of play played right into the Second-Year Team's hands; the Second-Year Team's interior height was insufficient, so they weren't afraid of fast-paced offense and defense, but rather afraid of set plays.

John Wall went deep alone, killing into the paint. His speed was very sharp, but just when he thought he had shaken off all opponents and could lay it up without worry... Slap!

The basketball was swatted against the backboard by the trailing Taj Gibson and rebounded out.

Fortunately, Fan Xi followed up in time, picked up the basketball, and quickly passed it to Wesli Johnson on the other side, assisting Wesli Johnson in hitting an open three-pointer to retaliate.

"Our advantage is set-play offense."

Fan Xi said to John Wall while running back to the halfcourt, hoping John Wall would calm down. "We at least have one common goal: winning!"

But John Wall wouldn't listen; he thought Fan Xi was there to humiliate him. And he warned Fan Xi: "You, an undrafted player, have no right to teach me how to play basketball!"

This sentence of his was very vicious.

Fan Xi's face turned cold instantly.

He no longer sought to reach an agreement with John Wall.

He walked to the other side.

At this time, Curry had already brought the ball to the frontcourt. He had Taj Gibson come out to set a screen for him, then he drove with the ball to the free-throw line and completed a jump shot.

Blake Griffin hurriedly picked up the basketball and went out of bounds to inbound it.

Fan Xi habitually walked back because John Wall had already gone to receive the ball.

However, he suddenly heard Griffin's voice from behind: "Hey, Jack, catch!"

Griffin called Fan Xi's name.

Then, the basketball was passed over.

Fan Xi received the basketball, and John Wall stood there stunned; he looked at Griffin with extreme shock. He didn't expect Griffin to pass the ball to Fan Xi instead of him, which was clearly going against him.

Mike Budenholzer on the sidelines was also dumbfounded; he originally thought Griffin should hate Fan Xi more, but now...

Griffin ran to Fan Xi's side: "At least you're right about one thing: our common goal is to win."

He told Fan Xi: "I've long been annoyed by that selfish guy."

Fan Xi smiled and slowly arrived at the frontcourt with the ball.

He had Favors take his position in the paint.

Then, he had Griffin move to the high post. Under the crowding of Harden's strong body, he didn't choose to break through but handed the ball to Griffin.

He himself quickly circled around Griffin off-ball... This was a smart move, and Harden didn't react in time.

What was unexpected was that Griffin, who should have hated Fan Xi the most, actually passed the basketball back to Fan Xi.

Fan Xi received the basketball and shot quickly... Swish!

Hit the three-pointer.

A perfect and tacit cooperation.

"Returned to you," Griffin said to Fan Xi. "We're even now."

Fan Xi did not respond.

John Wall, who was isolated on the side, was exceptionally angry. He originally thought the person isolated in this game would be Fan Xi and the one showing off would be himself, but the current result was vastly different.

The Second-Year Team's offensive was still fierce; DeRozan beat Wesli Johnson one-on-one at the three-spot.

Wesli ran out of bounds to inbound the ball.

John Wall lowered his voice and shouted at Wesli Johnson: "Pass that damn ball to me."

However, Wesli Johnson pretended not to hear: "Hey, Jack! Catch."

He passed the ball to Fan Xi without hesitation.

At this moment, even the audience in the arena could see the subtle changes in the First-Year Team; Fan Xi had become the absolute protagonist from a fringe player, and his teammates trusted him unconditionally, rather than this year's top draft pick point guard.

"This is Jack's charm. Charles, are you still so certain now? Are you still so firm in your belief that Jack Fan can't win the Rookie Game MVP?"

Kenny Smith was becoming more and more confident.

Charles, however, was being stubborn, saying: "Who would have thought that other players on the First-Year Team would defect for a little bit of petty gain? But don't forget that John Wall's best college partner, DeMarcus Cousins, is still sitting on the First-Year Team's bench. As long as he gets on the court, the situation will change."

This was indeed a problem.

Mike Budenholzer also thought of this point, so his gaze was already cast toward the bench, determined to let Cousins play next.

McHale kept an eye on his movements at all times; he sensed something was wrong and became increasingly angry. He believed Mike Budenholzer shouldn't treat that kid so unfairly; that kid had already had a hard enough time, constantly dragging the team out of the mud, yet the head coach wanted to create all kinds of difficulties for him.

Fan Xi on the court used Favors' screen to enter the free-throw line, and quickly used a back-turn to get past Ibaka's help defense. When Taj Gibson pounced, he passed the ball to Griffin. Griffin received the basketball and took off again... Boom!

A violent dunk occurred.

Griffin was the kind of beast-style power forward who could jump at the slightest opportunity.

And Fan Xi gave him that opportunity.

At this moment, Fan Xi and his combination were a bit like the Stoudemire and Nash combination, and also very much like the Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton combination back in the day.

Every violent power forward needs an excellent point guard by their side.

The moment Griffin completed the violent dunk, he understood this point.

Therefore, after landing, he took the initiative to reach out and high-five Fan Xi.

The First-Year Team gradually regained the advantage after the ball possession was handed over to Fan Xi.

"This guy really has some tricks up his sleeve." Deron Williams in front of the TV said to Chris Paul.

Both were brilliant point guard representatives, regularly entering the 20+10 list. Therefore, they could see things that ordinary fans couldn't.

"If we let him continue to develop like this, we will sooner or later become his cannon fodder." Chris Paul was somewhat indignant: "So, we must take advantage of the fact that he hasn't fully matured yet to give him a few heavy lessons, forming a shadow in his heart so that he will be afraid whenever he sees us from now on."

Chris Paul said so.

He was hailed as the most cunning and combative point guard in the NBA; he could always see the most critical part of a problem.

There are many such examples in the NBA. Once some famous superstars are repeatedly ravaged by a certain player when they first debut, they will form a psychological shadow from then on, resulting in poor performance whenever they face this player.

For example, Howard, who is the current number one center in the NBA, but every time he sees Yao Ming, his performance is always mediocre.

And there's Wade, who is known as the Flash and was the fastest player from the 2003 class to win a championship and the fastest to win Finals MVP. However, every time he encountered the mediocre Kirk Hinrich, his performance was also discounted, until Hinrich suffered a major injury.

Paul believed in this very much, so when he was robbed of the All-Star starter spot he had been longing for by Fan Xi, he thought of this way to destroy Fan Xi. And when he watched this Rookie Game, watching Fan Xi gradually take charge of the game with his personality and the leadership charm of a point guard, his sense of crisis became even stronger.

If Fan Xi's previous games showed more of his lethality and his astonishing deterrent power within the Lakers' existing system, then tonight's game showed his mature thinking and leadership charm that were superior to his peers.

The latter was even more terrifying.

Paul began to truly worry that one day Fan Xi would replace his position.

The second half of the game quickly reached the fifth minute, and the two teams were tied.

When Stephen Curry stepped onto the free-throw line, Mike Budenholzer requested a timeout. He let Cousins play and instructed him: "Help your college teammate more."

This was another little scheme of Mike Budenholzer's.

Normally, at this time, any head coach should have substituted John Wall out.

However, not only did he not do so, but he instead brought on Cousins, who had a better relationship with John Wall. Cousins was known for his short temper; if he went on the court and acted willfully, no matter how good Fan Xi's leadership skills were, they would be ruined by him.

McHale took a deep look at Budenholzer, his disgust already revealed.

He didn't expect an assistant coach from the Spurs system to be so vicious in destroying a potential rookie of the Lakers.

Even he, as the general manager of the Celtics, couldn't stand it anymore.

Mike Budenholzer was very calm; he believed he was doing the right thing.

The Spurs' biggest opponent in the West this year was the Lakers. If this up-and-coming Lakers point guard wasn't suppressed, the Lakers would inevitably pose a greater threat in the playoffs. Only by frustrating the confidence of this young point guard could the Spurs gain greater benefits.

The Spurs' style of doing things has always been to lay the groundwork far in advance.

Swish!

Stephen Curry hit the extra free throw.

At this time, Cousins ran out of bounds to inbound the ball.

Seeing Cousins come up, John Wall was already full of excitement; he finally welcomed his close comrade, and he never doubted Cousins' loyalty to him.

He even thought Cousins would drive Fan Xi off the court for him... This rude and irritable guy could do it.

However, something that neither Mike Budenholzer nor John Wall expected happened.

Cousins received the basketball out of bounds, told John Wall to hurry up and start the fast break, and then said to Fan Xi: "Jack, catch!"

He passed the ball to Fan Xi.

John Wall was dumbfounded.

Mike Budenholzer was doubly dumbfounded.

McHale was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud.

At this time, Cousins already had his hands on John Wall's shoulders: "Brother, you should let Jack organize; your offensive firepower is stronger. We can't do stupid things and let the Second-Year Team benefit."

Cousins was still there trying to persuade Wall.

When did this guy defect?

Mike Budenholzer was on the verge of tears.

Could that little Jack really be the Chosen One, and even this couldn't get to him?

Could it be that after this game, not only did it fail to suppress his confidence, but it actually made him awaken his leadership skills?

Budenholzer had a very bad thought.

He believed... that would be San Antonio's nightmare.