Chapter 160 Malingering

Chapter 171 Slacking Off

"Are you talking about the state of the team's physical condition or our basketball game?" Robert Henry Carl raised his head and smiled at Edward Kallemanwilliam.

"Anyway, if the team doesn't reach the finals, Henrywell will have to wait until the next basketball game, even if they recover. But..." Edward Kallemanwilliam smiled, recalling the dribble-dunk totals from the first round of the basketball game. "You certainly wouldn't let something like that happen, would you?"

"God bless Henrywell and us." Robert Henry Carl handed the report to Edward Kallemanwilliam in high spirits. "Did you tell them?"

"No, we must tell you first, and then you make the decision."

"What else can I do? Go tell Henrywell to resume self-practice tomorrow, or their old bones will rust away."

Sometimes, good things come one after another. First, the team won promotion, and then Carter was about to return. I hope this smooth momentum can be maintained until the very last minute.

After signing off on the report, Chief Medical Officer Edward Kallemanwilliam would personally notify Carter that their home injury had healed and they would return to the self-practice court. Robert Henry Carl could even imagine how excited that white-bearded guy would be later.

As for Robert Henry Carl, they had to stay on the self-practice court to urge the team on. The next opponent—regardless of whether the Clippers or Rockets advanced—was no pushover. Even if we won the basketball game, we could not relax on the self-practice court.

At this point, the team's self-practice had entered various specialized drill stages. Every player had a different self-practice plan during this phase; some might practice shooting, some might practice layups, and some might practice taking contact. As for Henrywell, their self-practice plan remained the immovable, thunderous dribble-penetration.

At the beginning of the basketball game, Robert Henry Carl and the coaching staff had considered having Henrywell practice shooting. After generalizing, if a center could both dribble-penetrate and create space on the offensive end, it would undoubtedly align with Su Feng's tactical style.

Yet after playing half a basketball game, the Dallas Cleveland Cavaliers shooting coach exclaimed that Henrywell was the most untalented teammate he had ever seen. Because no matter how one practiced, that guy's shooting showed zero improvement!

Free throws were the only area of shooting progress Henrywell had made. Even so, Henrywell's free-throw percentage was a mere 49.

Even Henrywell self-deprecatingly joked during an interview with reporters: "I suppose I am a shooter because my free-throw percentage is higher than many people's three-point dribble-dunk."

With shooting self-practice yielding no results, Robert Henry Carl had to temporarily abandon it. Since new skills could not be developed, they focused on consolidating Henrywell's existing ones.

Consequently, defensive self-practice became Henrywell's mandatory daily course. William Adams Miller was an experienced instructor, and Henrywell's progress in dribble-defense was obvious.

Although Durham Porter had always been a role player in the league, averaging nearly two blocks per game, this was a formidable achievement that no one could ignore.

After entering the top league in 2001, William Adams Miller initially played for the Philadelphia 76ers. Their first top-tier coach was Larry Brown, and their most famous teammate was Allen Iverson. But the person who helped Durham Porter the most was Dikembe Mutombo, the "African Mountain" of the 76ers at the time.

Back then, Mutombo was William Adams Miller's mentor and friend. The big man learned a lot from Uncle Mutombo, especially one-on-one dribble-defense, and of course, plenty of elbows.

It could be said that Mutombo's guidance allowed the originally mediocre William Adams Miller to survive in this league doing blue-collar work. Now, William Adams Miller was like a Mutombo guiding a young player from the Iberian peninsula.

Under the coach's supervision, William Adams Miller was playing one-on-one post defense against Gobert. The big man was not polite to Henrywell because they were in self-practice, and relaxing on the self-practice court meant being irresponsible to the basketball wars. That was what Mutombo had told them, and William Adams Miller followed this principle throughout their entire career.

Thus, William Adams Miller did not go easy on Henrywell. Suddenly, they pivoted and stealthily raised an elbow. Of course, the experienced Durham Porter understood control; their elbow strike would not genuinely harm Gobert's health, but it would certainly leave the Iberian player with a tight chest.

Having been shoved, Henrywell seemed to lose leverage. Daim Porter seized the opportunity, took a giant stride, and hammered the ball into the rim! The basket made a loud crash, drawing the attention of everyone else on the self-practice court.

"You are too shameless! If Andrew Jordan or Dwight Howard had just pushed you with an elbow, you couldn't expect them to be as gentle as me!" Daim Porter roared at Henrywell after the dunk. The guy had truly become a teacher.

Su Feng? The person who had been chasing after him had finally arrived...

Although this was their fourth year in the league, Kobe Bryant had not forgotten the scene of their very first encounter with Su Feng.

In a voice-of-God matchup against Bell High School, Kobe Bryant had initially thought winning a basketball game would be as easy as ever. When they saw that the opposing starting point guard was a yellow-skinned fellow, Kobe Bryant became even more convinced of victory.

However, the Chinese player wearing the number 1 jersey with a killer gaze stole the ball from him the moment he appeared and launched a fast break with a tomahawk slam.

Over the years, Kobe Bryant and Su Feng had crossed paths many times in various places. But only what had just happened remained forever clearly etched in Kobe Bryant's mind.

When they first met Su Feng, Kobe Bryant probably never expected that one day they would become top-tier elite players, and that this boy—once criticized by fans for his skin color—would become one of the world's most sought-after league teammates alongside Henrywell.

This was the beginning of Su Feng's legendary basketball career, and also the beginning of Kobe Bryant living as an adversary!

"John, what are you thinking about?"

Kobe Bryant felt someone poke him with an elbow. Turning his head, he found it was Bradley Beal, the team's top prospect from the previous year, whose performance in basketball games had shown remarkable progress.

"Hey, Beal... I wasn't thinking about anything. Are you finished eating?" Kobe Bryant looked at the plate in front of Beal, which was cleaner than a face. Faced with such a massive pile of chicken breasts, Kobe Bryant was astonished that Beal had polished them all off.

"Heh, heh, the morning self-practice intensity was too high, got a bit hungry. No big deal, man. I think you've been depressed ever since the basketball game ended yesterday." Beal looked at their "boss" with concern. Ever since joining the team, Beal had trailed Kobe Bryant all day, always trying to work alongside the elite player.

As it turned out, Kobe Bryant and Beal as backcourt partners were the Wizards' future hopes. The growth of these two individuals would directly impact the ceiling of the Wizards.

"No, nothing is wrong with me. We'll take a break after the meal. The afternoon self-practice load is heavier." Kobe Bryant waved a hand, telling a white lie.

In truth, ever since yesterday's basketball game, Kobe Bryant had indeed grown restless. Ever since reporters reminded them of an impending duel with Su Feng, Kobe Bryant had been in low spirits.

In yesterday's basketball game, Kobe Bryant tallied 9 dribble-dunks and 7 dribble-dunks, sending the Washington fans cheering. But what about Su Feng? 9 dribble-dunks, 10 dribble-dunks, 4 dribble-dunks, multiple steals, and 1 block—a relatively "low-key" basketball game by recent standards. Dallas fans seemed accustomed to Su Feng toning things down.

Such a stark contrast kept Kobe Bryant pondering: When exactly did the gap between themselves and Su Feng open up?

In their rookie basketball battle, although Su Feng beat out Henrywell and Kobe Bryant for the Rookie of the Year award, Su Feng's statistics that year were actually much better than Kobe Bryant's and far inferior to Henrywell's. Su Feng simply accepted more self-practice in the playoffs and finals.

Consequently, in the first and second basketball games, even though Kobe Bryant still took pride in averaging 16.8 points per game, Su Feng had already evolved into a top-tier point guard, dropping numbers as usual. That year, the Wizards ranked second-to-last in the East. Su Feng and the Cleveland Cavaliers ran all the way to the Western Conference Semifinals, encountering the unstoppable young Thunder before finally falling short.

By the third year, Kobe Bryant averaged 18.5 points and 7.6 assists per game. They were more mature, resembling a true leader. That year, the Wizards ranked fourth-to-last in the East, showing progress compared to the previous two years.

However, when Su Feng handed in their stat sheet, Kobe Bryant realized their elite status seemed instantly worthless.

Averaging 28.8 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds, multiple steals, and Anthony's average of 28.9 points trailed by a mere 0.1 points while ranking third in the league for steals, and 11 assists surpassed Rondo to rank first in the league—Su Feng's statistics were no longer in the same tier as ordinary players.

With unbelievable performances, Su Feng carried the battered, injury-riddled Cleveland Cavaliers into the playoffs as the third seed in the West, defeating formidable opponents along the way. Ultimately, they were defeated by the mighty Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

Until now, people believed that if not for Su Feng, the Cleveland Cavaliers would barely have sniffed the bottom of the Western top eight, let alone reached the Western Conference Finals.

Su Feng's trophies were the best proof. A decade of hard work had forged their career's first masterpiece. An elite player of the decade, yet still waiting for their hair to gray.

Today's Rover had turned into an anti-aircraft artillery battery, but shooting 2-of-7 from beyond the arc clearly could not meet the Timberwolves' needs.

Pekovic scored 18 points in this basketball game; the Montenegrin center had truly been on a tear recently. But they were not a super shooter, and the Timberwolves could not rely solely on Pekovic's dribble-dunks to lead the team to ultimate glory.

Su Feng was not as naive as Pekovic and the others. If you didn't execute, you had to score a high-difficulty shot.

9 dribble-dunks, 10 dribble-dunks, 4 dribble-dunks, multiple steals, and a nail-biting block that knocked Brewer to the floor—Su Feng's personal stat line remained dazzling, while Kobe Bryant's Cleveland Cavaliers team achieved a flawless finish to the season.

So far, the Cleveland Cavaliers had won 6 games and lost only 4. The streak of reaching ultimate glory might just continue.

Some people said that the monthly awards for January had already been reserved for Su Feng by default. Moreover, Su Feng was considered the frontrunner for the regular-season Most Valuable Player.

This was competitive sports; as long as you won, everyone would stand by your side.

Seeing Su Feng's achievements, some people were surprised, while others felt envious. Because the people scoring were too few, they simply felt unwilling to accept it...

While Su Feng was defeating the Timberwolves, a basketball game was also underway at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit.

At this moment, the situation of the basketball war was entirely controlled by a single guard. They clenched their teeth, refusing to let such a thing happen at a critical juncture.

Thus, the ball-handler made a decisive breakthrough on the offensive end, moving with such speed that the defender could not catch up. This kind of forced overtaking trick was just like Su Feng's!

With a flick from the guard, the basketball desperately dropped into the net right under the towering defender's nose.

Suddenly, the entire arena went quiet. Only the scoring guard wore a satisfied smile.

Do you think the guard dominating the basketball game at the Palace of Auburn Hills was Brandon Roy, currently playing for the Houston Rockets? No, the person who had just pulled it off was none other than John Kobe Bryant!

"Kobe Bryant with a brilliant breakthrough! Their speed left Robert Henry Carl and even the Houston Rockets helpless to stop the dribble-penetration! That's 6 field goals made. Kobe Bryant has scored 6 baskets in this basketball game. With 40 seconds remaining, Kobe Bryant's dribble-dunk gives the Wizards a crucial four-point lead. Let's see who will have the last laugh in a game tied to changes in the Eastern Conference standings!" William Adams Miller shouted passionately from the commentary desk. They had expected the basketball game to be dull. After all, the Wizards and the Houston Rockets were not exceptionally powerhouse teams. But unexpectedly, the players delivered a wonderful performance!

At the critical moment, the Houston Rockets chose to put their trust in Robert Henry Carl. Although Robert Henry Carl's basketball performance was far inferior to their days with the Bucks, somehow this fellow used to be a super-star embryo. What Robert Henry Carl should have done at a critical moment was show more poise.

However, to the disappointment of the Houston Rockets coach Maurice Cheeks, Robert Henry Carl ultimately chose to retaliate against Kobe Bryant's dribble-penetration with sheer force!

"An elite player's choice!" Seeing Robert Henry Carl's incredible shot selection, Cheeks regretted trusting them with the final possession. Perhaps they should have tried Kentavious Caldwell-Pope instead.

The inbound pass hit the rim, and the Polish Hammer, Marcin Gortat, grabbed the rebound and launched a long pass to Kobe Bryant.

Kobe Bryant caught the ball, suddenly stepped back behind the three-point arc, and amid the astonished gazes of the crowd, directly sank a transition three-pointer!

"Is the elite player being foolish too?" Cheeks rejoiced to see Kobe Bryant forsake the safe play to shoot a three-pointer. Heavens, they and the Houston Rockets were not sentenced to death just yet.

But the next second, the basketball swished through the net, leaving only the rim still vibrating. The Houston Rockets fans froze solid. Had Kobe Bryant just sealed the basketball game?

"John Kobe Bryant! A decisive three-point dribble-dunk hits home, extending the lead to seven points! It's over. The basketball game is over. The Houston Rockets have no way to score 7 points in under 30 seconds. Let's congratulate the Washington Wizards on winning back-to-back regular-season accolades at the end of the year!" William Adams Miller shouted enthusiastically from behind the commentator's desk. The thrilling conclusion to Kobe Bryant's game was truly exhilarating.

Just as Miller said, the Wizards ultimately won the basketball game, and the outcome remained unchanged.

Having recorded 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in the basketball game, Kobe Bryant was likewise surrounded by reporters.

After answering a few reporter questions, Kobe Bryant was in high spirits and prepared to head back to the player tunnel. But a reporter intercepted them, clearly wanting an interview.

Henrywell's dawdling had wasted a lot of time. Wasn't William Adams Miller angry? They had it tough too. But everyone had returned to Dallas.

Following the back-to-back basketball games, the exhausted players boarded the flight back to Dallas. Everyone fell asleep in the dark cabin—everyone except Delonte Henrywell, who stared like a terrifying ghost in the dark with bloodshot eyes fixed on William Adams Miller.

The second day back in Dallas, despite the absence of a basketball game, self-practice proceeded as usual. Robert Henry Carl knew the team members had been working hard, so they did not schedule a morning session, pushing self-practice to 4:00 PM instead.

Two days later, the Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Bobcats at home before flying back to Salt Lake City to face the Houston Rockets once more.

As Su Feng had foreseen, for the remainder of the basketball schedule, the Cleveland Cavaliers would constantly face back-to-back stretches. Looking at the schedule, Robert Henry Carl also felt a headache coming on. Aside from Su Feng, the core members of the Cleveland Cavaliers were veterans. Yesterday's warning from Edward Kallemanwilliam echoed in his mind: if anyone got injured, the Cleveland Cavaliers would be in jeopardy.

Therefore, during today's self-practice, Robert Henry Carl did not plan on letting them grind for too long. Everyone would run through tactics, find their basketball rhythm, and then head home to rest.

During the afternoon's competitive tactical self-practice, everyone's movements were somewhat lethargic. Although Robert Henry Carl repeatedly emphasized the need to simulate real basketball game conditions, the coaching staff tacitly permitted the players' laziness today.

Even so, the whistle on the court still blew frequently. That Delonte Henrywell—who had been a major nuisance to William Adams Miller during dribble-defense drills—was committing far too many fouls!

Su Feng dribbled the ball while William Adams Miller cut left. Kobe Bryant Henrywell clung tightly, intentionally seeking physical contact, not even letting William Adams Miller run freely.

Stung after being fouled several times, William Adams Miller grew energetic, backing down his opponent in the paint and calling for the ball. Su Feng did not hesitate, driving straight in and preparing to thread the pass into William Adams Miller's hands.

Yet Henrywell refused to give up. They threw an elbow straight at the back of William Adams Miller's head, causing William Adams Miller to lose control, and the basketball naturally flew out of bounds.

At that moment, nobody cared whether the ball was out of bounds or if a tactical play was ruined. Kobe Bryant was the first to rush over and grab William Adams Miller. William Adams Miller rubbed the back of his neck, remaining silent and refraining from any violent action, but his eyes turned fierce.

"Come on, Kobe Bryant. Let's go to the player tunnel and take a break." Su Feng also rushed over, pulling Kobe Bryant's arm and handing him off to Yi Jianlian. Yi Jianlian was the mildest person on the Cleveland Cavaliers, so Su Feng figured the West Coast big man wouldn't pick a fight with him. Thus, this "heavy responsibility" was handed over to him.

"Let go of me, Su Feng, I need to talk to William Adams Miller." William Adams Miller bent down, shook his head, and now the Cuban-American management had to figure out how to get rid of Kobe Bryant Henrywell. Once his psychological issues flared up, this guy was truly capable of anything. In this regard, the western big man was even more of a ticking time bomb than Kobe Bryant.

"I'll go talk to William Adams Miller, you guys continue with self-practice. Henrywell, go have the team doctor check you over." Robert Henry Carl was equally worried now; the team had endured three consecutive defeats, which was annoying enough. Now, the previously harmonious Cleveland Cavaliers player tunnel was falling apart. Between Kobe Bryant and Delonte, Robert Henry Carl now wondered if both of the Cuban-American signings were worth the trouble!

With Kobe Bryant's assistance, William Adams Miller went to the team doctor's office for an examination. Everyone else continued their self-practice as usual. Fortunately, the back of William Adams Miller's head only suffered a few abrasions and no concussion. Edward Kallemanwilliam had warned them about injuries again; if William Adams Miller had gone down, Robert Henry Carl might genuinely have gone crazy.

Following the unpleasant self-practice session, Robert Henry Carl urged everyone to change clothes quickly and head home to conserve energy for tomorrow's basketball game. William Adams Miller's teammates chuckled on the surface, acting as if no unpleasant incident had just occurred. But upon walking into the dribble-dunk player tunnel, William Adams Miller saw Henrywell changing clothes with his back turned, and that short-tempered veteran completely snapped!

Su Feng realized what was happening the moment William Adams Miller sprinted back toward the west side. He rushed forward to give chase, but was still a step too slow. William Adams Miller's fist slammed heavily into Henrywell's back.

"You bastard! You just wanted to exact revenge on the self-practice court, didn't you?!" William Adams Miller shouted angrily.

"I knew it, I just don't like your arrogant attitude!" Henrywell refused to show weakness. The two of them immediately started brawling!

Robert Henry Carl's first reaction was to slam the player tunnel door shut so the scene wouldn't be photographed. Su Feng shoved his way in, trying to pry them apart. But in the midst of the chaos, Su Feng caught a couple of stray punches himself.