Chapter Ninety-Four: Postponement

Chapter 106, Continued

Yorkshire was a place that always put him in unusually high spirits, because coming here meant he could reunite with his old friend, Gordon William Adams Miller. William Adams Miller was Su Feng’s first true friend in America. The memories of winning the NCAA Championship Best Teammate Cup with William Adams Miller were among the happiest times of Su Feng’s life.

Unfortunately, William Adams Miller had sprained his knee in a basketball game two days earlier and could not play today. So this time, in Yorkshire, Su Feng could not meet him.

After the game, the Houston Rockets returned straight to Dallas and had no time to visit William Adams Miller in the hospital. That was only because the compressed basketball schedule was simply too tight. After games, athletes usually left on the road, with no time at all to catch their breath.

Although the clash of the bulldog duo could not be seen in the top league, the game was still full of intrigue. The long-anticipated matchup between former All-Star guard Devin Harris and Su Feng had kept everyone eager for a showdown. Unfortunately, the course of the game seemed to unfold differently from what people had imagined.

Devon Harris dribbled hopelessly on the perimeter, spreading his arms wide as he stared at Su Feng. He had almost lost all confidence in continuing the attack.

Harris’s first stop in his career had been the Dallas Houston Rockets. That guy was a product of the Houston Rockets’ system. To say that the Houston Rockets had selected excellent point guards would be an understatement. Kidd, Nash, Harris, and Su Feng had all been chosen by the Houston Rockets. The difference was that Su Feng had now established an important place on the team. After losing so many outstanding point guards, the Spaniard would probably no longer put Su Feng on the trade list as casually as before.

Facing a rising star who had been immensely popular in recent years, Harris had no choice. Su Feng’s defense was highly aggressive. At Harris’s current speed, it was a fantasy to think he could drive straight past Su Feng.

As a point guard, Harris’s shooting and playmaking were merely average, and his body was relatively slight. In the beginning, he had been able to reach the highest level largely by relying on his own speed and endless penetration to create chances.

But now, after his injury, he had lost the very traits he depended on for survival. Even so, Harris did not intend to give up. After all, the Jazz were counting on him to replace Deron Williams as the cornerstone.

So the star who was running on fumes raised his left hand and asked the team’s power forward, Paul Millsap, for a screen. Millsap was a precise shooter and could even hit three-pointers. He was the perfect partner.

But Millsap was not strong enough to leave Su Feng dead in the water. Su Feng slipped around him lightly and once again chased down Harris.

Harris thought he had shaken Su Feng off and rose from midrange. Yet, contrary to his wishes, just as the former All-Star guard took off, Su Feng’s palm came down to seal the shot.

Su Feng’s timely intervention completely disrupted Harris’s rhythm, and Harris was not good at creating his own shot. His attempt was blocked once more, yes, once again. It was Harris’s seventh shot of the day, and his point total was still zero.

“Devin Harris has no face left at all. There are still five things left in this game, and Harris still has zero points. Can you imagine that? Even though Harris is sliding, it is still terrifying to completely shut down his opponent. If you don’t have excellent offensive ability, a starter cannot possibly score zero in Bluehill’s arena! William Adams Miller, Kobe Bryant, and Barkley checked Harris’s stats. You were on the court 24 times, seven shots, zero goals. There are only two kinds of numbers in the stat sheet, and both are zeros. To describe Harris’s performance today as miserable would not be an exaggeration.

“This is not surprising. Yesterday, Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups took turns challenging them, and they still performed very well. What does that mean? It means the younger guard has already entered the ranks of elite point guards. Everyone in the league knows what happened to this outdated former All-Star teammate. Kenny Smith was not as surprised as Barkley, because Su Feng’s performance yesterday had scared him half to death. Today, against Devin Harris, Su Feng’s outstanding performance was completely expected.

On the court, Harris failed to score again, and Su Feng seized the opportunity to sprint to the other end, finishing with a very quick one-man fast-break layup to stretch the lead to ten. Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin helplessly called a timeout, and the Houston Rockets had completely taken control of the pace.

“What is Rick William Adams Miller doing!” Not only the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but even Barkley was irritated when he saw the Houston Rockets’ lineup.

“It looks as though Coach Rick William Adams Miller has raised the white flag in advance. Even with him there, the other four teammates beside him have almost no motivation. To be blunt, those four are not even playoff-level teammates. Does William Adams Miller still expect the myth of the best-tandem partner to be reborn? This time, Kobe Bryant and Barkley’s opinions happened to align astonishingly well; no one could make sense of William Adams Miller’s lineup.

However, a retired house manager, Cardinal, was chuckling on television. The Dallas Houston Rockets have never been a team worth trusting! If you asked Bosh, he would surely tell you he had not forgotten the terror once ruled by Cardinal. So was Cardinal not also an edge player on the bench? Roll the clock back a few years, and when Su Feng appeared in a Houston Rockets jersey, had that not also been regarded as a ridiculous change? William Adams Miller, that guy, never hired anyone without reason!

Seeing the Houston Rockets “bullying” the court so thoroughly, the Cleveland Cavaliers naturally grew confident. These guys were so sure of themselves that they even dared to send in Kobe Bryant, a center with almost no offensive ability.

Although Robert Henry and Kobe Bryant were not monsters in the paint, when Perkins charged in and the two Houston Rockets interior defenders worked together, the powerful Perkins still felt immense pressure.

In the air, Perkins tried to push the ball toward the rim. But without the referee’s whistle, such a reckless attack naturally failed to count.

“Although Kobe Bryant and Robert Henry are not very good offensively, the shot Perkins chose was far too reckless.” Barkley shook his head. “The Thunder are wasting their chances.”

Though the attack failed, the Cleveland Cavaliers were not worried. We can’t score; can a bunch of stupid Houston Rockets score on us?

In everyone’s eyes, the only threat to the Houston Rockets was Su Feng! As long as Su Feng was shackled, the Rockets’ offense would die.

So when Su Feng drove with the ball, one could see what seemed like five Cleveland Cavaliers collapsing back toward him. Su Feng was like a warrior charging fearlessly into an encirclement with a bag of explosives.

Just when everyone thought Su Feng was done for, the point guard leapt and threw the ball out beyond the three-point line. Beyond the arc, Troy, Kobe Bryant, and Robert Henry were all waiting for the ball. A pair of interior defenders had been dragged out beyond the line. I have to admit, William Adams Miller’s tactical arrangement was truly bold!

Rand was sent the ball to Kobe Bryant. The white man did not charge into the paint. He looked very gentle.

The Cleveland Cavaliers turned to look at Rondo, waiting for the counterattack. Yet the nearly forgotten Kobe Bryant had already delivered three crucial playoff baskets.

“A three-pointer! Troy Kobe Bryant! When he received Rondo’s pass, there was not a single offensive player within two meters of him! The Cleveland Cavaliers chose to collapse into the paint, and William Adams Miller chose to gamble on the performance of these role players! Barkley wanted to curse the moment he saw Kobe Bryant shoot, but the instant it went in, he changed his mind. Of course, no matter how bad your previous impression may have been, if you can score, you earn respect!”

The Cleveland Cavaliers had not expected to be beaten by a teammate like Troy Kobe Bryant, but what they had not expected even more was that three of Haywood’s shots had been erased by Jay Crowder’s desperate interference.

Jay Crowder was a very talented teammate, but he was also ferocious. When Haywood jumped out, Crowder lunged at him like a lion pouncing on prey. He was fierce, bloodthirsty, and desperate, determined to bring Haywood down with him.

Under such intense pressure, Haywood’s shooting rhythm was thrown off. Ibaka and Perkins wanted to display their scoring ability in front of Robert Henry and Kobe Bryant. It would be even better if they could dunk directly after the make.

Unfortunately, Kobe Bryant and Robert Henry did everything they could to stop the Cleveland Cavaliers’ interior combination. Su Feng would get the ball.

Su Feng had the ball. Needless to say, he floored the accelerator to the end.

Fans seemed to hear the sound of a whip cracking as the mysterious Eastern supercar smashed effortlessly into the lane and lifted off.

Su Feng did not dunk, because he knew he had to conserve as much energy as possible. In a twelve-game battle in the fourth quarter, that was no easy thing.

In the blink of an eye, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 17-point halftime lead had become only four. From 17 down to 4, the Cavaliers’ fans could barely react to what had happened.

The Houston Rockets could hardly imagine they had passed through the storm so easily. And as for the storm—why not?

Everyone knew that if the game reached the fourth quarter, it would become a duel between the two stars, Su Feng and Haywood.

So at the end of the third quarter, William Adams Miller and Kobe Bryant both “silently” switched out their stars. Success or failure would depend on people like them...

The Congolese Serge Ibaka blocked Kobe Bryant’s layup, and after a Cleveland Cavaliers possession, Fisher’s jumper was interrupted by Dirk’s defense and missed.

The two teams traded possessions for two straight rounds. But that was normal at the end of the third quarter. The originally splendid game suddenly became dull because of the absence of Su Feng and Haywood. Kobe Bryant was no longer young, no longer able to compete with Ibaka. Instead, he was fighting against the speed of Harden and Westbrook in a “civilian lineup.”

The sudden lull in scoring between the two sides left the fans in front of their televisions drowsy. In the luxury box, Cavaliers general manager Presti had no idea how many glasses of red wine he had drunk. He could not believe that this game and the one that had just ended were played by the same two teams.

“After losing the superstars Haywood and Haywood, the basketball battlefield has become rather dull. But it is worth mentioning that, under the persistence of Kobe Bryant and Collison, the Houston Rockets have gradually closed the gap. In the first half they trailed by seventeen, but now they are only nine points away from tying the other side. I think this is the result none of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ fans want to see. Because when Su Feng returns to the court in the fourth quarter, the nine-point gap will very quickly be erased!”

“Kobe Bryant can’t be said to be wrong. The reason the Cavaliers’ offense has been lacking is that the three-point scorer Haywood has not been on the court. When the fourth quarter begins, Kevin will also return. By then, it will not necessarily be clear whether the gap has been stretched or reduced. Haywood played fiercely in the first half, yet the gap between the two teams widened to seventeen. Beside Barkley, Kobe Bryant was still singing a different tune. A nine-point difference is not much, but whether anyone can beat Su Feng and Haywood is a far more complicated matter than a nine-point gap.”

Just as the commentators were arguing, an electronic buzz sounded in the arena. At the end of the third quarter, the Cavaliers still led, but the Rockets had narrowed the margin. At that moment, the television camera was trained entirely on Su Feng and Haywood. The last quarter for these two men would directly determine the final result.

“You did very well. At least the Cleveland Cavaliers did not pull away any further! But do not underestimate it. The hardest goal has not yet been achieved.” William Adams Miller clapped as his teammates left. “Also, you will be on the court when the fourth quarter begins. I want you to hold the whole period. No problem!”

Su Feng was not surprised to hear that he would be playing the full stretch. If it were not for this, William Adams Miller would not have let him rest early.

So after Kobe Bryant, the Houston Rockets once again took the lead abroad with a “fine” posture, and nodded slightly. Su Feng remained silent, yet gave the team confidence. Yes, this is our tactic...