Chapter 23: The Core of the Defender

  Ye Feng opened the game with three big hats, turning the basket into a no-fly zone. The morale of the defensive players was greatly boosted, and the offense also became more open. In the first quarter, the Defensive team led 37-19 by 18 points. He scored 6 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocks in the first quarter, including three frontcourt rebounds. He had to take on the task of blocking shots, protecting the backboard mainly completed by the center, this selfless play made the defensive team's interior defense as solid as gold.

  Most of the audience in the stands had already become fans of Ye Feng, and as soon as he left the court, the game seemed dull. A USC student laughed: "Neil, if football players can play basketball so fiercely, you might as well switch careers."

  "Can I jump that high? He's a monster." Neil had some doubts before, but now he thinks Ye Feng will definitely make it in the NBA.

  "How is he at playing American football?"

  Ni Er recalled the past and couldn't help but shudder. "That was too terrifying, bloody, perverted, absolutely not suitable for female fans to watch. At least when playing basketball, he wouldn't rush up and knock people down."

  Gabriella patted Neal quietly and smiled: "He's usually a good person, I've never seen him get angry, he's just too strong-willed, so he's very dedicated on the field."

  Niel's friend, British exchange student Barry laughed and said: "You think he has no flaws, gives you script suggestions, accompanies you to practice yoga, watches movies with you and discusses acting skills... actually, you like him, don't you?"

  Gabriella glared at Barry, who suddenly remembered that Ye Feng's real "girlfriend" was sitting right next to him and hastily shut up.

  Ellie saw Gabriella's embarrassed expression, thought it was very funny, and laughed: "It's okay, he said a lot about you. I know you guys practice yoga together, when he was young his dream was to be an actor, so he knows a lot about movies too. He also likes you, treats you like family, little sister. I won't get jealous."

  Gabriella's face was flushed, unsure of what to say. If Ye Feng saw her expression, he would definitely not be calm. But he didn't see it, and was currently on the substitute bench studying tactics with Divac.

  Dywane is still not satisfied with his offense. "Having the right to shoot, don't be afraid of missing shots, you must dare to attack."

  "Coach, I feel like I didn't have a good opportunity," Ye Feng asked. "After making three shots, they tightened up their defense against me. Should I force the attack?"

  Dywatts nodded. "Your position here is different from the Lakers, in the Lakers, the main attack has others, you just need to guarantee efficiency. But here, you are positioned as the core. Not touching the ball on offense is not what a core player should do, your offensive desire is not strong enough. I think you have the opportunity to become a star player, rather than just a role player, and while improving your skills, you also need to change your mindset!"

  After resting for six minutes, Ye Feng returned to the court. The coach no longer let him defend and intercept, but as the last line of defense inside, he was responsible for blocking shots and protecting the backboard. Divac thought that his defensive ability did not need to be tested further. Letting him practice protecting the backboard and blocking shots was to give the Lakers another option after their main center went down. Now the Lakers can only rely on Bynum, Mihm is injured and has no state, very unreliable, Kwame Brown is a famous "butter hand", always fumbling the ball, Jackson's evaluation of Brown's receiving ability is "I definitely won't let him hold my child." It can be seen how bad this water goods champion is.

  Under the coach's instructions, Ye Feng started to grab defensive rebounds crazily. With his excellent strength and positioning, as long as the ball bounced towards him, he would definitely get it. On offense, he also began to increase his shooting, hitting multiple hook shots in the low post. His feeling for hook shots was much better than his face-up jumpers.

  To counter Ye Feng, the opponent began to frequently send him to the free throw line. After practicing his high-post jump shot, Ye Feng's free throws also improved, making 9 out of 14 and missing only 5 shots, which was already a good performance for him.

  Won the backboard, and the situation was completely controlled by the defender, eventually winning 115-94 with a big score.

  Ye Feng played 42 minutes, scoring 20 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 9 blocks. He almost achieved a triple-double. The opposing team only had three dunks in the whole game, two of which were completed when Ye Feng was off the court, and the other one was after he went out to defend the baseline. In the first half, he blocked two people, and afterwards no one dared to try dunking in front of him again.

  Niu said that under Ye's defense, dunking would be a risk to one's life. If you want to dunk over him, you're basically dead.

  The game almost killed one, the name of that warrior is Justine Reed, small forward, played for Forest Wolves last season, averaging 8 minutes to get 2.6 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. He is 203CM tall and weighs 108KG, same as Ye Feng's official registration data. Relying on his excellent physical quality, Reed single-handedly took the ball after a mid-air cut and attempted to dunk Ye Feng, but was knocked down by Ye Feng together with the ball.

  The referee called a foul, and Reid left the court without completing his free throw. He fell heavily to the ground, almost breaking his waist. Black players are known for their bad tempers, and it's normal for them to push and shove each other during intense defensive plays, sometimes even leading to fights. But Ye Feng's vicious foul didn't cause any commotion, and none of the opposing team's players dared to touch him. Chinese martial arts movies are very popular in America, and seeing 1.7-meter-tall Li Lianjie and Cheng Long being so powerful, they couldn't imagine what it would be like if a 2-meter-tall Ye Feng were to unleash his Chinese kung fu skills - they didn't dare think about it, let alone experience it firsthand.

  At the end of the game, Ye Feng waved to the audience, enjoying the applause from the whole field. This fight was too cool!

  LaVine asked beside DiVincenzo: "Do you think he still needs to play in the NBDL?"

  "Let's play a few more games, although his strength is definitely NBA-level. Today he listened to my suggestion and only had one dunk, on the offensive end he didn't exert himself fully, if let him open up and attack the rim with dunks, make some empty cuts, he would definitely score more points. Now he already has attacking ability. I will suggest giving him more playing time, Odum can substitute him immediately, he can also replace Radmanovic as a small forward, although he can't shoot three-pointers, but can strengthen the defense of the third position, not using his defensive ability is purely a waste."

  Ye's defense has been recognized, otherwise Jackson wouldn't have sent him to defend in the crucial moment of the fourth quarter. He is a player who is strong on defense but weak on offense. Lavin looked at the game schedule and said: "Let him play three more NBDL games, the Lakers are about to go on a road trip, leaving tomorrow night, let him rush back to the team, it's hard to play a big role, why not stay here to shoot more, continue to build confidence, find the shooting feel and then go back, I think he will surprise people."

  Dyvatz also agrees.

  There was no press conference after the NBDL game, otherwise, a monster-level performance like Ye Feng would definitely be interviewed by reporters. He simply took a shower in the locker room and left the stadium, with only Aili waiting for him outside.

  Ye Feng walked forward and asked: "Where are Gabriella and the others? Have they all left?"

  "USC students have class tomorrow and are in a hurry to leave, Gabriele insists on walking with them, saying she doesn't want to disturb our two-person world." Ariel naturally wrapped her arm around Ye Feng's arm and said softly: "There are reporters..."

  Yefeng tilted his head and saw the person hiding in the shadows taking sneak shots, smiling: "Going home? Or going to eat a midnight snack?"

  "Let's go eat some midnight snacks. It seems I really underestimated you before, your athletic ability is better than I imagined, and you don't need my contract promise at all. After this season ends, the Lakers will have to think hard if they want to keep you, as long as you can get more playing time, you'll be able to prove yourself, and there will definitely be teams willing to give you a big contract."

  Such praise is what Yifeng Ye loves to hear the most, he hopes to return to the Lakers for regular season games as soon as possible. Although he can put up luxurious data here, it lacks a sense of accomplishment, and the NBA is his stage.

  Ellie nudged him. "Why aren't you talking? What are you thinking about? Speak up, I don't like guessing what others are thinking."

  Ye Feng smiled and said: "My idea is nothing more than how to play basketball well, there's nothing to guess."

  Airi let out a sigh, seemingly dissatisfied with this answer.

  Ye Feng thought of someone and continued: "There's one more thing that concerns you, you can consider it."

  "What's wrong?"

  "I'd like to recommend a player for the Clippers, CJ Watson, the point guard of the Venomous Snakes team. His ability is obviously stronger than other guards on the court, today he scored 26 points, his mid-range shot was very accurate, and his breakthrough was also good, his passing ability is slightly inferior, but it's still okay. If the Clippers want to strengthen their No. 1 position, they can consider giving him a short contract to try out. After Cassell retires, cultivating him as the first substitute is much better than using veteran Nate, who has no room for improvement and will retire at any time."

  "Airi was taken aback: "What's Watson's number? I didn't notice, today I just focused on watching you. If you can play this well in the NBA, that would be awesome."

  Yue Feng smiled and said: "Aren't you from the Clippers uniform group? You're really not qualified. Pay attention to Watson for me. If he plays up to standard in the Clippers, how will you thank me?"

  "If he really goes through with it, I'll give you a car." Ariel laughed: "Your car is really too broken down, it's like going back to the 80s."

  "Don't always think of using money to solve problems, okay? You should think about how to express your feelings in other ways. Like me, I don't have much money and won't give you anything valuable, but I can still help you." Ye Feng felt that if friendship was mixed with too many financial benefits, it would become tainted.

  Arriving at the parking lot, Aili let go of Ye Feng, opened the car door and smiled: "Get in, you did a good job today. I'll come to the next game too, then they will definitely believe our relationship."

  Ye Feng looked up at the sky and sighed. A beautiful, rich, and interesting girl, why would she be a lesbian?