score maniac

Chapter 44: The Championship Game

“I really want to ask you…” Three days later, on the final day of the 2010–2011 NBA Summer League—the day of the championship game. “Have your parents ever taken you to see a doctor? A psychiatrist, I mean?” “Well… um…” Gu Yu sat in the locker room, holding his phone, feeling a touch of embarrassment. The Summer League format differs significantly from the regular season. While most rules are the same, in the Summer League, each player is allowed ten fouls per game. Furthermore, in terms of overall format, the Summer League is more akin to a tournament. The competition lasts only about a week, during which participating teams battle it out against one another, and a rough ranking is determined based on head-to-head records and other factors. After that comes the knockout stage—or, more accurately, the placement round. In other words, even though it doesn’t carry much significance, a champion team will emerge at the end of the Summer League. “You, you… Sigh…” On the other end of the line, Yu Chenyi really didn’t know what to say. Sitting in the press box and glancing around, she saw that almost everyone was waiting to see Gu Yu make a fool of himself. Many reporters were holding the Summer League’s box scores so far, snickering and gossiping about just how pathetic Gu Yu was. In the Kings’ second game, Gu Yu dominated the fourth quarter. After scoring repeatedly, his blood began to boil, and he let out a furious roar to the entire arena, shouting out his deepest desire. “I’m going to be the leading scorer! The greatest leading scorer in NBA history!” Those words instantly sent shockwaves through the community. From the media to the fans, everyone began to take notice of this second-round pick. Before that, Gu Yu’s biggest claim to fame had been landing a hard punch on Kahn on the day of the draft. Once the buzz died down, people gradually stopped paying attention to the future of this fringe rookie. Aside from a handful of Chinese fans, Gu Yu had all but “disappeared” from the mainstream American media. Even when he single-handedly led his team to a comeback victory against the Timberwolves in his very first game, people dismissed it as nothing more than “a fluke resulting from the extremely weak defensive intensity of the Summer League.” “I think he was just caught up in the heat of the moment and talking nonsense.” On television, nearly every commentator lambasted Gu Yu. One commentator’s remarks were particularly telling: “We’ve seen this too many times: players score a few points in lower-tier leagues against half-hearted defense, then think they’re the king of the world and about to dominate the entire league. That mindset boils down to one word—nouveau riche!” Labeled a “nouveau riche” in terms of mindset, Gu Yu instantly became a laughingstock across the United States—and indeed, the entire world. Gu Yu naturally refused to accept this, but the next three games dealt him a harsh reality check. Against the Suns, Gu Yu played 21 minutes, going 2-for-9 from the field and scoring just 4 points. For most of his time on the court, he was ineffective, constantly running up and down the court to no avail. The Suns’ targeted defense prevented him from even catching the ball; a single shove from a black player’s muscular frame was enough to knock him right out of bounds. A day later, against the Wizards, the “China Derby”—which the media, especially domestic outlets, had been hyping for days—never materialized. Yi Jianlian, who had just joined the Wizards, was not included on the active roster because he had already been in the league for three years. In that game, Gu Yu faced the Wizards’ newly acquired No. 1 draft pick, John Wall, and was completely obliterated by “Wall.” He had a disastrous 1-for-11 shooting performance, scoring just 2 points. Although Wall—clearly a point guard—was playing the shooting guard position, he still drove past Gu Yu so fiercely that Gu Yu didn’t even recognize his own mother. “Wall drives… ‘Hair Guy’ gets blown right past! Wall takes off… baaaaaaaaa!! Two-handed slam!!!” During the 19 minutes Gu Yu was on the court, scenes like this played out over and over again. Wall had the field all to himself; facing Gu Yu’s abysmal defense, he drove in and out seven times with ease, having a blast—with all sorts of… ahem, all sorts of dazzling drives into the paint to score. On the defensive end, the newly crowned No. 1 draft pick also gave Gu Yu a proper lesson. To counter the increasingly tight defense teams were applying to Gu Yu, Coach Westphal specifically designed numerous off-ball movement plays, aiming to create open shooting opportunities for him. However, even though Gu Yu’s cuts were on point and his teammates’ passes were right on target, Wall’s insanely powerful physique brutally pinned Gu Yu to the floor and ran roughshod over him. Blocks, steals, steals after physical contact, shot deflections, lightning-fast positioning, and lightning-fast fast breaks after grabbing the ball… Wall was like a Hall of Fame computer opponent in a basketball game with all stats maxed out—he left Gu Yu with absolutely no chance. “This is what happens when a college player takes on an elementary school kid, hahahahaha!” The media repeatedly aired footage of Gu Yu’s humiliating performance on various shows, accompanied by bursts of raucous laughter. Not only did they relentlessly mock Gu Yu, but it also left Yu Chenyi—who had always held the “exclusive interview rights” with him—in a very awkward position. “If you hadn’t performed so well yesterday, I would’ve called you yesterday!” “Ahem… um, um… I was still pretty cool yesterday, right?” Gu Yu laughed it off; he knew Little Yu wouldn’t really be mad at him. But the situation right now was really bad. He’d just lost his temper again and said those things to the reporters in the locker room. Next… “Sigh… Fine, but you still owe me money, after all~” Changing the subject, Yu Chenyi—kind-hearted as ever—gave a resigned smile into the phone: “Since you’ve already said it, just go for it! Success or failure—it’s all the same. This experience will definitely be useful to you!” “Mm-hmm, I know…” Gu Yu nodded, then suddenly furrowed her brow. “By the way, that reporter just told me that the player I’ll be matched up against today is also Chinese. He said the guy’s skill level is way beyond mine—he runs like the wind, has incredible basketball IQ, and is a well-rounded player. Do you know anything about him??” “Didn’t your coach tell you guys?” Xiao Yu asked in return. “He did, and he even showed us the scouting report.” Gu Yu picked up the scouting report in his hand and waved it around. “But what can you really tell from a single piece of paper?” “Didn’t you watch the footage?” “I fell asleep halfway through. I was planning to get up and finish watching it, but by the time I woke up, it was almost too late—I had to rush straight to the practice court.” Gu Yu scratched his head. “You, you…” Xiao Yu sighed, momentarily at a loss for words. She knew full well that the reason Gu Yu was so exhausted was because he’d performed poorly in the previous few games. He’d been beating himself up over it ever since, spending almost every waking hour practicing at the gym. Although Gu Yu had his share of issues, his determination was certainly commendable. “Listen up. Today you’re playing the Mavericks—it’s the championship game. The player you’ll be guarding hasn’t made it to the NBA yet, but his talent is widely recognized in college basketball. His name is Lin Shu…” “Gu! Come here! We’re going over the play!” “Huh? Oh, oh, oh, coming!” Just as Yu Chenyi was about to go over the materials she had in hand, Westphal was getting ready to explain the game plan in the locker room, so the conversation was cut short. “Xiao Yu, I…” “Go ahead, go ahead~ I’ll send the materials to your phone. Take a quick look when you have a moment and see if they’re helpful~” Xiao Yu smiled and waved, saying no more, then hung up the phone. “Finished your call?” Just as she put her phone away, a veteran reporter standing beside her turned her head with a teasing smile and asked, “Was that Hairstyle Guy?” “Yeah.” Xiao Yu nodded. “Any juicy details? Did he say anything else? Haha, saying something like that in a pre-game interview—I think he’s in for a world of trouble this time…” “…Just you wait and see!” Before the other person could finish, Xiao Yu immediately shot back, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff and staring at the field without saying another word. “Whoa…! After covering that hothead for so long, even our beautiful Yu has become a bit short-tempered! That’s a rare sight, haha!” The veteran reporter wasn’t in a hurry to retort; he leaned back in his chair, shaking his head and glancing at the court as he said, “I just wonder if you Chinese will still be able to laugh after this game, once ‘Hairstyle Guy’ gets cut. After all…” On one side of the court, a figure with black hair and yellow skin appeared, carrying a basketball as he walked onto the court. “After all, even among people of Asian descent, those who grew up in the U. S. from a young age are just different…!” Gu Yu vs. Jeremy Lin—the battle is about to begin…! Big Wei is about to catch up to Snail Shell’s single-season record for missed shots… lol…