Chapter Twenty-Four: Return Before the Great War

  Ariel and Ye Feng's hot romance news suppressed the rumors of homosexuality, the daughter of the Fast Ship team owner and a Lakers player, such a pairing is very thought-provoking, and is enthusiastically discussed among young men and women.

  Reporters interviewed Ye Feng's friends, USC students who often had parties at his home. When evaluating Ye Feng, everyone unanimously said that the two were a perfect match, couldn't be more suitable.

  In addition to the scandal, Ye Feng also gained a lot of attention for his outstanding performance in the first game of the NBDL.

  Two days later, Leaf played his second game for the Defenders against the Colorado 14ers. Leaf played a total of 41 minutes, scoring an impressive 28 points, 27 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals, leading the team to a 101-98 win. The 27 rebounds tied the NBDL single-game rebounding record, but the highlight of the game was that all his points came from field goals, shooting 10 for 20, with the other 8 points coming from free throws.

  In the third game against the Renault Big Horns, Ye Feng continued to shine. He scored 16 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks, leading his team to a 111-83 victory over their opponents. Due to the large lead, Ye Feng only played for 34 minutes in this game. After three games, he became more confident on offense.

  Diva's training plan indeed ignited Ye Feng's desire to attack, and the idea of "hugging thighs" also began to change. He started to feel that relying on others was not as good as relying on himself. "Hugging thighs" could not experience the thrill of controlling the game, lacking scoring ability is selfless, having the ability but not attacking is a soft egg, now he believes in his own scoring ability.

  One good game might be a coincidence, but three consecutive games of outstanding performance is strength. After consulting with Divac and Lavin, the Lakers' uniform group decided to call Ye Feng back ahead of schedule to participate in the away game against the Celtics two days later. Tomorrow, the Lakers will play an away game against the Jazz in Salt Lake City, followed by a back-to-back game against the Celtics.

  "Back-to-back" refers to a team playing away games on consecutive days in different cities! This format is an extreme test of the team's physical and mental strength!

  For the Lakers, this is a devilish schedule of consecutive encounters with strong teams. Salt Lake City is notorious for its devilish home court, and it's not easy to get out unscathed.

  The Celtics are harder to beat. This summer, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen formed a Big Three that was enough to change the league's landscape, despite being newly assembled with limited bench depth, but the Celtics were still considered the favorite to win it all this season. After the start of the new season, their defense has already left a deep impression on people, currently they have won 7 games in a row and are on a roll. Experts generally believe that the Lakers will find it very difficult to take away a victory from Boston. The Lakers had just lost 85-92 to the San Antonio Spurs, experts predict that the Lakers may suffer three consecutive losses, and their Western Conference ranking will fall out of the top four.

  This year, the Western Conference competition is extremely fierce. The Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks, Hornets, Rockets, Jazz and Suns are all within two wins of each other. If a team that is ranked high loses a game, they may drop several places in the rankings at once. The Lakers currently rank second in the West and have not stayed in the top three for so long since O'Neal left.

  The Lakers' good performance is not only due to Kobe and Odom's efforts, but also Bynum's progress. This season, his rebounds and points have increased, currently averaging 13 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, making him the team's third scoring point. However, the Lakers' biggest problem lies in their interior line, where the gap between their substitutes and main players is too large.

  Kwame Brown has already made a blooper. In the previous game where the Lakers lost to the Pistons, Kwame Brown made a big joke. Kobe was double-teamed, and Kwame Brown was unguarded under the basket, so Kobe passed the ball to him, but Brown didn't catch it, and the ball went out of bounds.

  When they paused, the players returned to the bench, Kwame Brown came over and said to Kobe: "I've got nobody on me."

  Kobe said: "Yeah, I know you will be open again, Kwame, because Rashid completely ignores you."

  Brown felt ignored and said: "If I'm not guarded again, don't pass me the ball."

  Kobe stood there dumbfounded. "Huh?"

  Brown repeated: "Don't pass the ball to me."

  "Why didn't you pass it to me?"

  "I'm nervous, if I get the ball they'll foul me and I won't make the free throws."

  Kobe almost went crazy. So, on the surface, the Lakers have three centers, but in fact, only Bynum is reliable.

  At the power forward position, only Odom is qualified. Turiaf has a strong fighting spirit, but his height and arm span are average, lacking in offensive skills, easy to foul on defense, can't play a big role.

  Brian Cook, for one. He's already been placed on the injured list after playing against the Spurs and won't play against the Jazz. He wasn't hurt, he was just that bad, bad enough to where the coaching staff couldn't take it anymore. This season he averaged 12 minutes per game, only scoring 2.3 points and grabbing 1.7 rebounds while shooting 19% from the field and 20% from three-point range. It's hard to imagine a worse stat line for an inside player.

  Kupchak also regretted re-signing Cook and quickly put him on the injured list, announcing that Cook had hurt his toe in practice and would be out for a long time. This was just an excuse for Cook's poor play, so they could trade him for someone useful at mid-season.

  In the eyes of the coaching staff, Ye Feng is still better than Kouk even if he has no experience.

  Being recalled at this time, Ye Feng was extremely excited. The Celtics are one of the earliest teams in the NBA, and their history is a history of championships, a history of stars. With 16 overall championships ranking first among all NBA teams, 8 consecutive championships unprecedented and unmatched, and more than 20 retired jerseys making it almost impossible for the Celtics to use any number. In recent years, the Celtics have been struggling in the playoffs with only Pierce's efforts. Now they finally rose again through trade.

  In his heart, this game was like a rehearsal for the Finals. The Celtics had advanced to the Finals and defeated the Lakers to win the championship. The only trouble was that he had to take a commercial flight to Boston to join the team, and wouldn't get to experience the Lakers' charter until the return trip.

  On the plane, Ye Feng sat by the window, listening to light blues music, closing his eyes and imagining how much playing time he could get in the game. He can already make high-position shots, and both bottom corners can score, the coaching staff must be aware of his progress, otherwise they would not let him take the plane to Boston for this game, if it's still just a few minutes, the coaching staff is purely sick.

  Ye Feng feels he has the greatest chance of being matched up against Garnett, and also possibly Pierce.

  Kevin Garnett, nicknamed "The Big Ticket", has been with the Timberwolves since entering the league and is the franchise's symbol. Over 12 years, Garnett has averaged 20+10+5 for six consecutive seasons, becoming the first player in NBA history to achieve this feat for six straight seasons. He was a three-time NBA rebounding champion and held the top spot on the Player Efficiency Rating (PER) charts for four consecutive years. He proved his worth with the Timberwolves and demonstrated his wolf-like loyalty. He owns numerous accolades, including the Most Valuable Player award in the regular season and an Olympic gold medal. His all-around skills on the court are exceptional, with passing ability even surpassing that of point guards, and his defensive prowess is intimidating. He is considered one of the greatest power forwards in history.

  However, Garnett was unable to bring a championship to the Timberwolves, and the best help the team management could give him were aging Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell. At 31 years old, he was traded to the Celtics for a chance at a championship, and now he is still one of the league's top players.

  Pierce is also a long-term lone hero, and his best helper is actually the big forward Walker who loves to shoot three-pointers. He has been underestimated throughout his career, and he is a player who has never been voted as an All-Star by fans but has been selected multiple times. He doesn't have Howard's strong muscles, nor does he have King James' fiery personality. He doesn't wear weird clothes like Iverson every day, nor does he have a cool hairstyle. He also doesn't live in a city full of movie stars with high exposure rates like Kobe. However, he has comprehensive skills, proficient breakthroughs, accurate mid-to-long-range shooting, and is familiar with back-to-the-basket and face-up attacks. Pierce's body is also top-notch, and one off-court incident can prove this point. When Pierce first entered the league, he was stabbed 11 times by a gang member, including one stab wound that reached 8 centimeters deep into his lung, just a few centimeters from his heart. An ordinary person would have been done for, but Pierce recovered in just 40 days, which is simply not human.

  After a few hours of flying, Ye Feng arrived in Boston, Massachusetts at noon and checked into the hotel designated by the team. His teammates would only arrive after playing the Jazz game that night, so he had nothing to do in the afternoon and went out for a stroll.

  Boston is a city filled with classical charm. The downtown area, lined with high-rise buildings, is dotted with many historic buildings that have been around for centuries, including the oldest fire station in North America, the oldest church, the first professional baseball field, the first courthouse, the first post office, and the oldest and most active fishing port. Additionally, it is also the birthplace of basketball, making Boston a perfect blend of old and modern.

  After strolling around the streets for a while, Ye Feng took a ride to Quincy Market, a place where all kinds of snacks gather, and also a popular tourist destination. The market is divided into north and south, with a row of bars, shops, and restaurants on both sides, and a narrow corridor in the middle lined with various desserts and delicacies from around the world. Ye Feng indulged his food cravings and spent a quiet and pleasant afternoon there, preparing to face the challenge ahead.

  What about Garnett and Pierce? Ye Feng knew he would likely be blown up, but if he could defend against these two superstars, even just a few times, it would be memorable!

  ;