Chapter 152: Enhancing Strength

When William Henry Wall collapsed to the ground during the second quarter of the basketball game, the team doctor rushed to assist him into the athletes' tunnel. No one could have predicted that the Cleveland Cavaliers would hold a ten-point lead in a single stroke.

Clearly, the Brooks Club owner had not anticipated this either. The opposing side was merely a rookie, a novice who had been supplying ammunition around William Henry Wall. Yet it was precisely this Spaniard who plunged the Houston Rockets into the deepest trouble.

During the final three stretches of the fourth quarter, Robert Henry adjusted his lineup. He refrained from replacing Henry Will and Cardinal with Su Feng and Pietro. Evidently, the collegiate club owner intended to fortify his defense. What were you doing in those final three moments? The Cleveland Cavaliers were determined to preserve their victory!

The defensive caliber of the Cleveland Cavaliers was instantly elevated once Pietro stepped onto the court to play the power forward position. This development was undoubtedly detrimental to the offensively disarrayed Thunder.

Nevertheless, Su Feng did not lose his composure upon returning. His individual scoring ability on the offensive end compensated for Pietro's offensive shortcomings.

Su Feng's performance on the court remained stellar. As time elapsed, shot after shot found the bottom of the net, and Brock, who had been roaring along the sidelines, gradually calmed down. What were you doing as the basketball game drew to a close? The marshal merely sat on the bench, knowing he could not retreat from the basketball battle.

With twenty-six seconds remaining on the clock, Su Feng's proactive running infuriated Westbrook. As Su Feng dashed toward the right wing at a forty-five-degree angle, Robert Henry delivered a two-handed pass, feeding Su Feng's favorite shooting spot.

Yet, upon receiving the basketball, Su Feng chose not to attack immediately; instead, he gently touched the ball with one hand and quickly swung it outward.

The ball movement of the Cleveland Cavaliers was so rapid that the commentators could hardly keep pace. Following Su Feng's crisp pass, the basketball quickly swung to the weak side where Marion caught it in the mid-range and launched a jump shot. The basketball swished through the net, and the scoring margin stretched back to ten points. Marion recorded eighteen points in the basketball game, while Su Feng accumulated thirteen points by this juncture.

This marked the second consecutive basketball match in which Su Feng secured thirteen points. As the duration of the fierce battle lengthened, Su Feng's playmaking prowess excited everyone in attendance.

Looking up at the stands once more, many Houston Rockets fans, who had just exhausted themselves cheering for their club, began to exit the arena. The basketball battle had entirely lost its suspense.

Ultimately, the ten-point margin was maintained until the conclusion of the basketball battle. With a score of 103-93, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the energetic Oklahoma Houston Rockets by ten points despite playing without the injured William Henry Wall.

Once the basketball battle concluded, photographers hoisting their cameras swarmed past Westbrook one after another. No one sympathized with the vanquished, even if, prior to the battle, crowds would rush to interview you. But the moment you suffer defeat, your value evaporates.

Presently, the Cleveland Cavaliers were devoid of William Henry Wall. The sole target for these photographers was Su Feng.

"Such a chaotic scene; I must get going, man. I imagine the fans are quite eager to speak with the star show as well," Kobe Bryant muttered, watching Su Feng become surrounded by a cluster of photographers as he shifted his body after sitting up all night. At this juncture, he would simply have to make up for it.

Observing Su Feng's basketball statistics at this juncture, Kobe Bryant's partner William Adams Miller smiled. Twenty-one field goal attempts, thirteen makes, four assists, and two steals. Under Su Feng's leadership, the Cleveland Cavaliers secured a total of six field goals and two scoring plays. An athlete capable of altering the momentum of a basketball battle truly warranted a thorough conversation with Kobe Bryant.

As for Westbrook, he managed only five makes out of fifteen attempts, shooting a mere thirty-three percent and finishing with fifteen points. It appeared his revenge plot would have to be postponed once more.

Despite Su Feng's exceptional performance at this moment, he hurriedly dealt with the photographers and anxiously retreated into the athletes' corridor, making his way toward the locker room.

The victory of the basketball battle had already become history. Right now, Su Feng was far more concerned about William Adams Miller's injury. From both a professional and personal standpoint, Su Feng hoped William Adams Miller would not fall into any serious trouble.

Yet when Su Feng pushed open the locker room door, he discovered that Robert Henry was already gone. This man was even more anxious than Su Feng. He had departed for the hospital alone, leaving the post-game press conference in the hands of assistant club owner Stotts.

Noticing Su Feng dripping with sweat, Terry stepped forward, placed a hand on Su Feng's shoulder, and guided him toward his seat.

"Don't worry, man. We've all dealt with injuries. William Henry Wall isn't an ordinary human being; he'll be fine. The guy has probably sprained his ankle two hundred times. Don't worry about it."

Robert Henry's joke eased Su Feng's tension somewhat. The Cleveland Cavaliers had achieved a stellar start to the basketball battle, but they could not afford to see it buried by injuries.

Three hours later, Robert Henry finally led the players back to San Antonio via a chartered flight to rest for the night.

At this juncture, they were slated to play a back-to-back basketball battle at home against the San Antonio Spurs.

Aboard the aircraft, William Adams Miller also updated everyone regarding his injury status. Presently, the team medical staff would not permit him to play. He would undoubtedly continue to be absent for the upcoming basketball game. However, the exact severity of the injury would be determined once they returned to San Antonio to undergo an MRI scan.

While the ankle joint was merely sprained, the pain in his knee had yet to be diagnosed by the team doctors.

Regardless, the Cleveland Cavaliers had managed to retreat safely from the perilous Oklahoma City at this moment. Hopefully, fate would not play cruel tricks on the San Antonio-bound Cleveland Cavaliers this time.

Currently, the Cleveland Cavaliers resembled the airplane carrying them through pitch darkness, unaware of which direction they ought to fly.

San Antonio fans rejoiced over the news that the Cleveland Cavaliers had defeated the Houston Rockets by a ten-point margin. Yet a greater multitude remained silent amidst the fog.

William Adams Miller confirmed he would not suit up against the San Antonio Spurs, and his timeline for return remained uncertain.

"William Henry Wall is injured, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have encountered their greatest crisis of this basketball battle."

"The recovery timeline for William Henry Wall remains undetermined. The MRI results will be released this afternoon."

With William Adams Miller sidelined by injury, news of the Cleveland Cavaliers' victory was relegated to a tiny corner on the front pages. Physical health seemed far more poignant than a regular-season triumph.

After all, everyone understood the profound impact an athlete's injury could exert upon a club. Looking at those pioneering teams, the injury-plagued Rose squad had practically regressed directly into a rebuilding phase. Had it not been for William Adams Miller's sudden ascent, those pioneers might have completely decayed within the lottery zone. Witnessing the Houston Rockets, the injuries suffered by McGrady and Yao had effectively removed Houston from Western Conference contention.

Everyone harbored a dread of injuries. Even the most illustrious athletes could be destroyed by physical ailments. Yet this year, witnessing the San Antonio faithful yearn for a championship victory made it difficult to fathom. Naturally, they hoped none of these aspirations would be shattered by William Henry Wall's injury.

Nevertheless, for Robert Henry, the club's dilemmas extended far beyond William Henry Wall's physical setback. As the basketball campaign progressed deeper, a cascade of various problems followed closely behind.

Due to the back-to-back schedule, the Cleveland Cavaliers returned to San Antonio the morning following their victory against the Thunder, commenced training at noon, and proceeded to play another basketball game by evening.

Such high-intensity athletic living was scarcely bearable even for professional competitors. Consequently, distressing news struck the training court once more at midday.

Puerto Rican center Barea inadvertently sprained his lower back during tactical drills. Following an examination by the team medical staff, it was confirmed that a new name had to be added to the injury report.

Even though Edward Henry's playing time had progressively dwindled following Su Feng's arrival at the club, Robert Henry and Su Feng had consistently relied on him as the backup center from the onset of basketball matches. Yet, in the wake of William Henry Wall's injury, Robert Henry required every available athlete at his disposal. Edward Henry's absence undoubtedly delivered a severe blow to the team's depth.

Everything unfolded right in the middle of the regular season. While certain clubs might withstand the compensation of star players missing basketball games, teams akin to the Cleveland Cavaliers found themselves utterly incapable of assembling a complete lineup.

While the situation regarding William Adams Miller remained unresolved, Robert Henry's roster had already lost another general.

Top-tier league basketball matches would not halt simply because your club was plagued by injuries. Regardless of how thoroughly the Cleveland Cavaliers prepared, the stark reality was that the evening basketball game drew ever closer.

The mere thought of these troubles induced a throbbing headache in Robert Henry. After all, reality was no video game where certain factors could be overlooked. In actual competition, when an athlete sustained an injury, one could not simply reload a saved file to maintain the club's health throughout the entire campaign. Here, he possessed no capacity to reverse reality. All the Cleveland Cavaliers could do was press onward.

Henry Will observed Robert Henry's mental state and felt a pang of concern for his manager. The tall man appeared remarkably pale; while the athletes had replacements, the club owner was forced to endure the grueling entirety of the basketball campaign.

Amidst this chaotic flurry of events, the Cleveland Cavaliers' back-to-back basketball match against the Toronto Raptors inevitably arrived.

Thus far, the San Antonio-based squad had secured merely ten victories—fewer than half of the Cleveland Cavaliers' tally. Rebuilding the San Antonio squad clearly rendered them an unequivocally weak team.

At this juncture, the San Antonio side had endured three consecutive defeats and desperately yearned to wrest a victory from the unstable Cleveland Cavaliers. These exhausted calves lacked any notable excitement.

Once the basketball battle commenced, an glaringly obvious issue manifested: the Cleveland Cavaliers could not even locate a reliable scoring option!

Right from the start, the Cleveland Cavaliers dug a ten-point pit for themselves on their home court.

Fortunately, when Su Feng stepped into the role of the sixth man, the situation finally shifted. Yet the subpar form of his teammates rendered many of Su Feng's brilliant efforts entirely in vain.

Durant was utterly overshadowed by Su Feng and the Cleveland Cavaliers' successive scoring bursts. Did they wish to witness Su Feng's full might? At this moment, their eyes were wide open!

Lying in his hospital bed after completing his medical examinations, William Adams Miller stared at the television screen and smiled. Neither he nor Cuban had misjudged their man.

Although Su Feng launched furious lone attacks, he stood as a resolute warrior in the face of the bloodshot San Antonio squad.

Ultimately, Su Feng poured in a game-high eighteen points alongside eight assists. Yet those five San Antonio players, who collectively scored two field goals, managed to defeat the league's top visiting club.

Aside from Su Feng, Marion's twelve points represented the highest secondary output. As for the rest of the supporting cast, they appeared to be sleepwalking through the contest.

Eighty-four to seventy-six—the San Antonio squad captured the basketball battle with a remarkably low score. The Cleveland Cavaliers mustered a mere seventy-six points across four quarters, illustrating just how abysmal their offensive execution was at this juncture.

"Congratulations, man," Robert Henry politely stated as he shook hands with the visiting San Antonio club owner Jane Robert Henryiano after the final buzzer. Yet the expression etched across Robert Henry's face failed to convey any genuine sincerity in congratulating his counterpart.

Robert Henry glanced back once more at his demoralized athletes. Falling in defeat to the absolute basement-dwellers of the league dealt a crushing blow to team morale.

The Cleveland Cavaliers enjoyed scant breathing room within the league schedule, despite having dropped the contest. Did anyone expect someone to rush down to the basketball museum and utter inspiring platitudes to comfort bruised spirits? No, that was utterly impossible. There was simply no room for the club to engage in frivolous gestures amidst the densely packed league schedule. Only two themes existed here: death or survival.

On December 30th, the Cleveland Cavaliers were scheduled to play their final basketball match of the year 2010 on their home court. Yet encountering this particular opponent at such a juncture was terribly inopportune.

Naturally, this year, while Greg Oden had been compensated by basketball through persistent injuries, Brandon Roy had managed a handful of battles before being indefinitely sidelined once more due to chronic knee soreness. The Portland Houston Rockets constituted, at best, a second-tier club.

Yet, even so, the opponent possessed a hundred objectives aimed at stifling the pioneers. One must remember that the San Antonio-based Cleveland Cavaliers had never been heavyweights, and they were currently stripped of their star athletes.

However, reminiscing about past glories was utterly meaningless. The Houston Rockets remained a second-class outfit. Confronting the Houston Rockets without William Adams Miller, the Cleveland Cavaliers were deemed by the media to lack formidable strength, despite holding a significantly superior record to Houston at present.

Of course, the journalists' perspective was not entirely unreasonable. The Cleveland Cavaliers had triumphed in merely two out of five basketball matches played without William Adams Miller. Furthermore, during this stretch, the Cleveland Cavaliers even suffered defeats against the league-worst San Antonio team and a Milwaukee squad missing Brandon Jennings. Had they not encountered the Cavaliers in time to arrest their descent, the Cleveland Cavaliers might not have halted their skid quite so swiftly.

Battered by this series of thorny dilemmas, Robert Henry had recently transformed into a hot potato among the media pack.

"Losing William Henry Wall is genuinely difficult for us, but I believe the lads in this club will not be intimidated by such adversity. If you ask me about the outcome of tonight's basketball match, I am truly sorry. I genuinely do not know how the game will unfold. Forgive me; I cannot tell you."

Robert Henry shoved his way past the media throng and rapidly strode into the locker room. Originally, he had merely intended to retrieve his glasses left behind in his vehicle, only to be ambushed by journalists.

Upon slamming the locker room door shut, Robert Henry instantly felt a wave of serene quietude envelop his ears. Observing the athletes conscientiously preparing their gear, the collegiate head club owner felt a surge of gratification. When the entire world believed the Cleveland Cavaliers would continue their freefall, at least his players had not surrendered.

"Boss, everyone is ready."

At that moment, William Adams Miller donned a sharp suit and leaned on a cane as he approached Robert Henry. Although the German player could have rested comfortably at home while injured, he insisted on attending every home basketball battle. With William Henry Wall present on the bench, the Cleveland Cavaliers' athletes felt significantly more at ease.

"Well... tonight's basketball game won't be easy to play, Dirk."

Robert Henry made no effort to conceal his apprehension, despite his innermost yearning for victory. Yet top-flight competition was never a realm sustained by mere desire alone.

"Llama-cus?" William Adams Miller astutely guessed the source of Robert Henry's anxiety.

"Who else?" Robert Henry offered a bitter smile, adjusted his spectacles, and began sketching tactical diagrams upon the whiteboard.

William Adams Miller's absence likewise implied that the Cleveland Cavaliers possessed no single athlete capable of matching up against Edward Calleman.

At this juncture, both Oden and Roy were experiencing rapid declines in their careers. Edward Calleman, the top draft choice of 2006, had already established his signature style, generating immense anticipation throughout the Houston Rockets organization.

The Cleveland Cavaliers sank three perimeter shots—precisely the scenario Brooks dreaded most. Should the Cleveland Cavaliers find their rhythm from beyond the arc, it would prove exceedingly difficult for the Houston Rockets to make further headway. After all, the opponent boasted a passer capable of delivering ammunition at any given moment.

Witnessing his club fall increasingly behind, Durant desperately sought to launch a few perimeter shots of his own. Yet the basketball rattled against the rim repeatedly, stubbornly bouncing back out. While Durant excelled across all facets of the game at this moment, his conversion rate from outside the three-point arc left much to be desired. Factoring in this missed attempt, Durant had launched six shots from beyond the arc this evening, converting a mere two.

Su Feng refused to show any politeness this time around. Before receiving the basketball, he sliced like a bullet toward the most vulnerable spot of the Houston Rockets' defense.

Harden pursued him closely; just as Su Feng prepared to lay the ball up within the paint, Harden extended an arm in an attempt to swat the ball away. Yet Su Feng effortlessly cradled the basketball against his body, deftly evading the bearded player's unfriendly left hand, and softly dropped the ball through the hoop for a score.

"What remarkable efficiency! Whenever the Cleveland Cavaliers keep the ball in his hands, they always seem capable of scoring. Ten field goals already, and the margin has expanded to ten points! Club owner Brooks calls a timeout; even without William Henry Wall, the San Antonio-based Cleveland Cavaliers remain a formidable threat!"

Kobe Bryant gazed toward Su Feng with eyes brimming with admiration. If the Rockets had possessed such a center from the very beginning—or if the basketball world contained no shortage of such talents—how wonderful that would have been.

During this basketball battle, William Adams Miller had previously registered a career-high eight field goals in a single outing. Edward Calleman had poured in thirty-five points during their previous encounter, even when facing William Adams Miller. At this moment, with William Adams Miller sidelined by injury, goodness only knew how many points that fellow might accumulate.

If Robert Henry deployed Pietro alongside others in the frontcourt, Edward Calleman's footwork would allow him to effortlessly pierce the defensive shell. Alternatively, should Cardinal and Marion anchor the frontcourt, their height would suffer a severe mismatch.

Yet Robert Henry had no alternative options remaining—this precisely explained the root of Robert Henry's anxiety regarding the basketball match. Irritating as the media might be, they were forced to concede a stark truth: the Cleveland Cavaliers' current victories were truly precarious!

Conversely, within the auxiliary locker room of the Henry Will Center Arena, the Houston Rockets players traded fierce battle cries, eager for blood.

Having captured consecutive victories immediately following Roy's injury, the Houston Rockets undeniably derived immense confidence from those triumphs. William Adams Miller had certainly not forgotten how he had suffered defeat during their previous thirty-five-point outburst.

Once the basketball match concluded, William Adams Miller vowed to himself that he would reclaim a victory next time around. Now, the moment to exact redemption had arrived!

"Punch the ball into the interior, Edward Calleman! Remember what we drilled in practice. Right now, we must take down the San Antonio squad!" Nate McMillan waved his tactical marker, bellowing toward his players. At this moment, he bore no resemblance to a mere club owner, but rather a fierce general rallying his troops upon a battlefield.

For a pioneering franchise hovering anxiously on the periphery of the playoff picture, every single victory held monumental importance. Since the club was unwilling to undergo a complete rebuild, they would simply use victories to steer the Houston Rockets back onto the correct track!

"Roar!" The Houston Rockets players boisterously answered their club owner's demands. Though William Adams Miller typically maintained a quiet demeanor, his voice resonated loudest today. With the German star absent from the lineup, they intended to conquer this entire arena!

***

Out upon the hardwood court, the photographers had already established their array of "long-range cannons and short firearms," awaiting the warm-ups of both squads' athletes. Henry Will stood near the stanchion beneath the basket, staring down the athletes' tunnel, yet caught sight of no one.

"Mugger, why the rush? The basketball battle is still a long way off," a colleague remarked, nudging Henry Will as he stretched his neck.

Henry Will checked his wristwatch. Indeed, considerable time remained before tip-off. Athletes rarely commenced their warm-ups quite this early. For reasons unknown, Henry Will found himself far more nervous than the sports reporters.

After all, should this basketball match end in defeat, the Cleveland Cavaliers would shoulder an even heavier burden when facing opponents like the Houston Rockets and the Magic. Should they falter, another devastating losing streak loomed on the horizon.

One could safely argue that playing this basketball match well would establish the foundational tone for the remainder of the Cleveland Cavaliers' campaign. Consequently, the true significance of this contest far exceeded what many imagined.

Naturally, Henry Will harbored no desire to witness the Cleveland Cavaliers tumble into a prolonged skid. Ever since Su Feng joined the roster, countless Spanish fans had adopted the Cleveland Cavaliers as their primary team, and Henry Will was no exception. Who wished to watch their beloved club suffer defeat?

"A bit worried; the Cleveland Cavaliers currently occupy the fourth seed, yet that position feels terribly hollow. The Houston Rockets possess the strength to surge into the top four," Murakami inhaled deeply, attempting to relax his taut nerves.

"Nothing to fret over. The Cleveland Cavaliers secured the victory last time out," Henry Will's colleague dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand.