score maniac

Chapter 38: Vanishing from the Court!

“All four of you get on the court, and then do everything you can to set up Gu!” As soon as the old coach issued that command, everyone on the Kings’ bench was completely stunned. W-what…?! The four players on the court are supposed to do everything they can to set up Gu Yu?! I didn’t hear that right, did I?! “Wait, Coach…” The first to speak up was Cousins. The Sacramento “Big Baby” furrowed his brow, placed a hand on Gu Yu’s shoulder, and stared intently at the veteran coach: “Gu is my brother. It’s not that I don’t trust his abilities, but the thing is—if the four of us are on the court, shouldn’t we be running our offense around him, no matter what?” “What the hell are you talking about??” Gu Yu immediately rolled his eyes at him. “I’m just telling it like it is!” Cousins was close with Gu Yu, so he didn’t hold back, saying with a straight face, “Jeter is great at facilitating the offense, Whiteside can grab rebounds and create second-chance opportunities, Kasbi can cut to the basket and shoot, and I can post up inside. With this lineup, there’s no question we should be running the offense through the paint!” “You’re right about that, but let’s look at it from a different angle.” Westphal had, of course, anticipated that someone would bring this up, so he smiled slightly and said, “Earlier, when Terrick was on the court, he could’ve run a pick-and-roll with you on the weak side—did you get the ball?” “I…” Cousins was stumped by that question and didn’t know how to respond for a moment. After all, Evans was still standing not far away! “You see, on my team, all players are equal,” the veteran coach explained patiently. “Since you all let Terrick take his isolation plays whenever he wanted, why can’t you work together now that Gu wants to be the go-to guy?” That seemed… impossible to argue with! The players exchanged glances. The veteran coach was right—why was it that when Evans went one-on-one, no one had anything to say, and no matter how unhappy they felt inside, they had to swallow their frustration and put up with it? Now that the head coach had decided to make Gu Yu the tactical focal point, why did everyone still have reservations? To put it bluntly, it all comes down to prejudice against Gu Yu’s skills and status! “Coach, what do you mean by that…” “Anyway, it’s settled. Six minutes.” Before a clearly displeased Evans could finish speaking, Westphal flashed a “666” gesture with his right hand and laughed, “For the next six minutes, let’s try running our offense with Gu at the center. Don’t worry about winning or losing—that’s my headache. Just give it your all on every offensive and defensive possession. Go!” After a brief intermission, the veteran coach waved his hand, and the Kings’ rookie F4, along with sharpshooter Kasbi, got up and headed toward the court. “Gu.” Just as Gu Yu, with a look of absolute confidence on his face, was about to set out to conquer the world, the veteran coach called out to him: “Do you know how a shooter becomes the team’s core?” “Shooting!” Gu Yu answered without hesitation. “Exactly!” Westphal nodded with a smile. “But you also have to pay attention to technique. You said you started watching basketball in ’98, so you must have seen the Pacers’ games around the turn of the century, right?” “Of course I did. If they hadn’t been fighting so much, they would’ve won a championship ages ago!” Gu Yu declared with righteous conviction. “Ahem, and you’re the one to say that…” The old coach’s face darkened as he cleared his throat. “Think back to how Reggie Miller played. He was also a shooter with average physical abilities. How did he become the tactical core of the team? Find your sweet spot, make good use of screens, take bold shots when you have the chance, and don’t hold back.” “…Do I really need you to tell me that? We’ve already practiced those plays!” Gu Yu smiled brightly, gave the head coach a thumbs-up, and turned to jog onto the court. “Coach, you…” Watching Gu Yu run onto the court looking as if he’d already won the game, Evans couldn’t hold back any longer. He stormed over to the veteran coach and shouted angrily, “That piece of trash—what gives him the right to be the team’s leader??” “Huh?” Westphal—who, for some reason, had been taking a hands-off approach with Evans until now—suddenly seemed to have a change of heart, as if he, too, had been influenced by Gu Yu. He turned and shot Evans a puzzled glance, asking, “Didn’t you go back to the locker room?” “You…!! Damn it!” Evans was livid. He stomped his foot hard and turned to storm off the court. “Gu…” As the game resumed on the court, Westphal remained composed, his hands resting lightly on his knees. He muttered to himself, “The stage has been set for you. Now, prove to me that you have what it takes—so I can feel completely confident about keeping you on the team…!” “Beep-beep—!” The referee blew his whistle, signaling the start of the fourth quarter. The lineups both teams fielded left everyone feeling a bit underwhelmed. “Time to really put the rookies through their paces…” Standing next to Xiao Yu, a reporter shook his head and said, “The Kings have put all four of their rookies on the court, and the Bucks are playing nothing but bench players. Looks like this game is a foregone conclusion!” Is that so? Xiao Yu looked toward the court and, to his surprise, spotted Sun Yue—the Chinese player who had just left the Wizards—in the Bucks’ lineup. In addition, the Bucks’ swingman, Delon Washington, was a scoring machine, while center Larry Sanders showed potential to become a defensive anchor. The lineup looked decent enough, but they were indeed all bench players. However… “Offense! The Kings inbounded the ball, and before Gu Yu had even touched it, he was already shouting at the top of his lungs—a sight that made people chuckle, while also sparking a bit more anticipation in Xiao Yu’s heart. “With that much confidence, you’re definitely not just here to make up the numbers…!” Jeter dribbled the ball steadily up the court. He paused at the top of the key and scanned the court—the Kings’ offensive play had already begun. Cousins’ post-up under the basket was a familiar routine, and Kasbi was already in position at the left corner, setting up the strong-side triangle. And on the weak side… “Gu…!” Just as everyone’s attention was focused on Cousins, Whiteside let out a low shout and set a screen right where he stood. “Great screen!” Gu Yu took off running, circling the baseline straight toward the strong side. Deron Washington, the defender assigned to him, lost his focus for a split second and was left in the dust as Gu Yu slipped past him. “Whoosh—!” At the same time, Jeter sent a pass from the high post, and the ball soared straight into the paint. The moment Cousins caught it, Kasbi began running from the corner toward the top of the key. Quick rotation! In an instant, with Cousins as the pivot, all the Kings players rotated rapidly, like a revolving lantern. Jeter ran to the weak-side corner, Whiteside cut out to create space in the paint, and Kasbi moved to the top of the key—an opportunity for Cousins to post up! Double-team! Sun Yue, with his sharp basketball IQ, knew a teammate would come to help defend Jeter’s side, so he immediately turned and ran toward the paint, reaching out to slam the ball out of Cousins’ hands. “Huh…?!” Just as Sun Yue was about to make contact with the ball, he realized something—something was very wrong. “Where’s ‘Hairstyle Guy’…???” When Cousins raised the ball, narrowly avoiding Sun Yue’s steal, everyone sensed that something was off. Gu Yu had vanished from the court. A new week, and the journey continues!