score maniac

Chapter 31: points!

Not even halfway through the second quarter, and Gu Yu had already racked up 17 consecutive points on the court! “Holy crap…!!!” The fans in the arena went wild. This guy with the slicked-back hair—who, aside from landing a punch on Kahn, had hardly ever put on a spectacular performance on the court—was racking up 17 points in a row in the NBA Summer League as if he were slicing through butter! “Who the heck is this guy?? I remember when the Timberwolves drafted him, they got absolutely slammed—people said they must be out of their minds to pick an Asian shooter!” Many fans were utterly baffled. Everyone pulled out their phones to search online, eager to find out what made Gu Yu so special and why he’d suddenly burst onto the scene. “Great shot, Gu Yu!!” In the media section, Yu Chenyi was already going wild, pumping her fist in the air with an expression as if she’d just won the championship herself. The reporters sitting next to her looked completely baffled, unable to help but wonder if there was some special connection between Yu Chenyi and Gu Yu. “Well played…!” The happiest person, of course, was Kings head coach Westphal. In Westphal’s mind, even before the Summer League had begun, he already had a general idea of which players would stay and which would go. Before the regular season began, Westphal had a crystal-clear understanding of who to sign and who to let go—who could adapt to the Kings’ new lineup and who was completely useless, merely going through the motions. In his eyes, Gu Yu was one of those players who was just there to make a brief appearance—to entertain fans in the Far East, thousands of miles away—but was absolutely not someone the Kings would ever sign. Also on that list were Jeter and Whiteside. To be honest, among the Kings’ rookies this year, aside from Cousins, the veteran coach didn’t think highly of a single one. While Jeter had the ability to drive to the basket for quick scores and possessed mature skills that would allow him to adapt quickly to the game, and while Whiteside’s rebounding and blocking were still decent, Gu Yu was truly useless. It’s true that the Kings lack shooters, and it’s common knowledge among fans that they’re particularly short on shooting guards. But in the United States—the basketball capital of the world—finding an outside shooter isn’t exactly a challenge. Given Gu Yu’s physicality and perimeter ball-handling skills, it’s absolutely impossible for him to adapt to NBA-level competition; this is already a widely accepted consensus. Yet today, as if by a stroke of luck, the heavens bestowed an unexpected gift upon Westphal. “Press the advantage!” In the remainder of the game, the Timberwolves learned their lesson the hard way. Ellington never let his guard down again, staying completely focused on guarding Gu Yu. Gu Yu, who was already at a significant physical and technical disadvantage, was naturally unable to put on any impressive performances while being tightly guarded by an NBA rotation player. The “super skill” he’d just acquired—changing his shooting spot—was also gradually figured out by Ellington because it left him with only one offensive route. Although it was impossible to figure out exactly where Gu Yu felt most comfortable shooting, Ellington’s body took over for his brain and made the choice for him. His unwavering defense made it extremely difficult for Gu Yu to move; he couldn’t get the ball at all and was completely shut down for the next three minutes or so. However “BAM!!!” “Great play! What a play!!! De Marcus Cousins, two-handed dunk!!!” “Roar—!!!” With Gu Yu drawing all the attention, not only was Ellington completely neutralized on defense, but the rest of the Timberwolves also had to rush over to help defend whenever he approached the sweet spot he’d previously demonstrated. As it happened, Cousins’ sweet spot for attacks in the paint was also on the left side; when he moved to the right, he preferred jump shots. With Gu Yu drawing attention to the left mid-range area, the Timberwolves didn’t dare to double-team Cousins easily and could only watch helplessly as he ran riot in the paint. On the rare occasions they did double-team him, Cousins immediately passed to the weak side, where Tyreke Evans’ cuts and drives were incredibly sharp, creating a multi-dimensional offensive threat. Back and forth, the Kings steadily closed the gap. By the end of the second quarter, when Gu Yu was finally subbed out, the Kings had taken a 5-point lead. From that point on, the Timberwolves were never able to catch up. When the final buzzer sounded, the underdog Kings had defeated their fellow strugglers, the Timberwolves, securing their first Summer League victory. What piqued everyone’s interest, however, wasn’t so much the intensity or excitement of the game itself, but rather the comments made during the postgame interviews. “He’s just an average shooter. We’ve figured out his offensive tendencies. The next time we face him, he won’t score a single point!” Ellington seemed far from impressed by Gu Yu’s stellar performance. “Hahaha! A new era has dawned for the Kings! It’s about time the league started trembling!” Cousins, who finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds, was in high spirits and immediately made some bold claims, sparking quite a bit of discussion. “…I didn’t defend him well.” Wesley Johnson, the perimeter rookie on whom the Timberwolves had pinned high hopes, never saw the court again after being dominated by Gu Yu in the first quarter. When asked by reporters about Gu Yu’s performance, Johnson seemed quite downcast; he gave a brief reply and walked away. “Ellington? He’s just a chicken. The reason he didn’t score later was because I let him.” The biggest talking point, of course, was the outspoken Gu Yu, whose remark left reporters at a loss—not sure whether to publish such brazen comments. “What about Wesley Johnson? You were matched up against him for a while in the first quarter—that’s when you really got your shot going!” Yu Chenyi was also in the crowd of reporters. As she asked Gu Yu while stifling a smile, her eyes narrowed seductively, making Gu Yu’s heart flutter. “What? Wesley Johnson?” But Gu Yu wasn’t about to go easy on him: “Did he even play??” Unstoppable! After the game, nearly every media outlet went into great detail about Gu Yu’s incredible performance. After all, the Summer League rarely features big-name stars or major storylines. So the media was more than happy to find an Asian shooter who suddenly burst onto the scene and dominated a highly drafted rookie—especially one selected by his former team as a rising star. However, despite the abundance of praise, hardly anyone truly believed in Gu Yu. “Look, you’re all professional journalists. You’ve been in the sports media for so many years—you can’t possibly fail to see that this… what’s his name again? Oh, right, Gu… yes, Gu Yu. This Gu Yu clearly just had a lucky break after eating some dumplings!” David Kahn, the Timberwolves’ general manager, who was swarmed by the media after the game, had clearly done his homework. His response was flawless, and he said with his trademark sarcastic smile, “I understand you’re always looking for a big story, but there’s no way this guy is going to make any real waves!” His words were harsh, but he was absolutely right. The reporters nodded in agreement, using Kahn’s remarks to wrap up their stories—essentially giving fans a heads-up. Meanwhile, Gu Yu, who had been riding high, was facing a major crisis. When I wrote this chapter, Westbrook hadn’t said that line yet—there really was no intention to allude to anything, so please don’t read too much into it, okay~!