Chapter 44: Mad Li Isn't Called That for Nothing! (Seeking Monthly Votes)

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After the game began, Wade and Kobe engaged in a scoring duel, each exploiting his own strengths to put points on the board.

Wade’s first step was incredibly quick, and his drives after using a screen were nearly impossible to stop. Even Kobe could not contain him.

Kobe, meanwhile, was an offensive jack-of-all-trades. He could initiate face-up attacks from the perimeter, but he could also post up and work from the low block.

His dazzling variety of isolation scoring techniques left defenders scrambling, and even the Heat’s double-teams were not always effective.

Li Rui, however, clearly felt that the Heat’s defense was targeting him.

Jason Williams was thin and frail, but he stayed glued to his man. Whenever a Lakers teammate set an off-ball screen for Li Rui, the Heat switched immediately, refusing to give him any space.

They also cut off the passing lanes from the other Lakers to Li Rui. It was experienced, physical defense, and more than three minutes into the game, Li Rui had yet to get a single shot off.

“Why does Li Rui seem so invisible?”

“Isn’t he averaging twenty-seven points a game? He can barely even get the ball. Kobe’s doing all the attacking.”

“The guy above probably hasn’t watched Li Rui play much. He’s always played this way. He’s a shooter—catch and shoot.”

“The Heat are defending with such intensity. The pressure is enormous. I don’t think Li Rui will even reach double figures tonight.”

“Pressure? What’s there to fear? They don’t call him ‘Mad Li’ for nothing. Just wait.”

Although Li Rui had made little impact on offense, he was limiting Jason Williams just as effectively on defense.

For the Heat, Shaquille O’Neal was gradually taking over. In the paint, he was fully displaying his advantages in size and weight. Andrew Bynum could not stop him and committed two fouls in succession within thirty seconds, forcing the Zen Master to replace him with Kwame Brown.

“The Lakers are under a lot of pressure at both ends.”

“We’re nearly four minutes into the game, and Li Rui still hasn’t had a chance to shoot.”

“Wade continues to defend Kobe one-on-one in the frontcourt. Kobe uses Kwame Brown’s screen to drive.”

“O’Neal and Wade trap Kobe together. Kobe gets the ball out.”

On the court, Kobe drove and kicked the ball to Li Rui beyond the three-point line at the top of the arc.

Li Rui had just shoved Jason Williams away with his forearm and used a change of direction to shake free, barely managing to catch the pass.

Jason Williams reacted quickly and closed in at once. But Li Rui had found his rhythm. Ignoring him, he rose immediately and fired a pull-up three.

Jason Williams did not dare to contest too aggressively, afraid of committing a three-point foul. He simply raised his hand to interfere.

That kind of contest, however, had little effect on Li Rui in his current form.

The basketball traced a streak of white light.

Swish!

It ripped through the net.

“Excellent. He got his first chance and made the most of it.”

“The guy above probably hasn’t watched Li Rui play much. This is exactly his style.”

“Beautiful shot.”

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“That’s what I’m talking about. His ability to capitalize on opportunities is unbelievable.”

Fans online quickly erupted with excitement.

On the sideline, the Zen Master applauded to encourage Li Rui. Although Li Rui had not received many chances to catch the ball, the coach understood perfectly well that Li Rui was relieving Kobe of a tremendous amount of defensive pressure. Otherwise, Kobe’s offense would not have been flowing so smoothly.

With Li Rui on the floor, the Heat could not commit themselves entirely to trapping Kobe.

On the next possession, Jason Williams faced Li Rui’s defense and put on a flashy sequence: a behind-the-back dribble, a gathering step toward the right side, and then a behind-the-back pass to O’Neal in the middle.

O’Neal thought the pass looked fancy and impressive, but he could not catch it.

Shaquille O’Neal was credited with another butterfingers turnover.

The ball went out of bounds. Lakers possession.

Jason Williams raised his hand apologetically, signaling that the mistake had been his.

If even O’Neal could not catch the ball, the pass had clearly been poor.

Grumbling, O’Neal ran back on defense.

Li Rui found it difficult to contain exceptionally quick guards, but Jason Williams was not that type of player. He relied on rhythm.

As luck would have it, those were exactly the kinds of players Li Rui liked defending most.

Combined with Kobe’s advice before the game, this allowed Li Rui to contain Jason Williams extremely well.

Jason Williams was a highlight-reel player, but his actual threat was not quite as great.

The Lakers attacked.

Lamar Odom dribbled the ball up. Wade was fronting Kobe halfway, making it impossible to get him the ball, so Odom passed to Li Rui on the left.

Li Rui did not rush with the ball. Instead, he surveyed both sides. Jason Williams quickly closed in, unwilling to give Li Rui even the slightest opening to shoot.

But Li Rui’s ball-handling had improved. He was no longer playing the kind of game seen in the previous two contests, when he could barely handle the ball at all.

By defending him this way, Jason Williams was actually giving Li Rui an opportunity to drive.

Li Rui put the ball on the floor to his left and blew past Jason Williams in a single step.

Dorell Wright came over to help. As Miami’s small forward, his rotation meant Walton was left open.

Li Rui’s read was crystal clear. He quickly swung the ball to Walton on the left wing.

Walton did have space when he caught it. If he had been Li Rui, he might have fired immediately, but Walton’s release was slightly slower, allowing Udonis Haslem to rotate over and close down his shooting lane.

Walton had no choice but to put the ball on the floor and look for a driving opportunity.

Jason Williams remained attached to Li Rui. Li Rui called Kwame Brown over.

Kwame Brown slipped into the gap and set a timely screen on Jason Williams.

At that point, O’Neal should have rotated over to help on Li Rui. But on this possession, O’Neal took the easy way out and stayed inside.

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That left Li Rui open again beyond the three-point line on the left.

“Li!”

“Here!”

Walton called out and quickly passed him the ball.

Li Rui caught it cleanly, let the ball rotate in his hands as he aligned the shot, and rose for the jumper.

It was textbook beauty.

The basketball flew like an arrow piercing the clouds.

Swish!

It tore through the net again!

“Beautiful.” Walton came over and high-fived Li Rui in celebration.

Walton was delighted. Having Li Rui finish possessions was incredibly useful. Whenever he could not find Kobe, he could simply give the ball to Li Rui, whose reliability was far greater than that of the other players.

“Incredible! Li Rui has hit back-to-back threes to put the Lakers ahead.”

“O’Neal should have rotated out on that play, but he didn’t, giving Li Rui an excellent opportunity.”

“And credit to Walton. He had a chance to shoot, but instead chose to pass it back to Li Rui. That was absolutely the right decision.”

Zhang Weiping spoke excitedly.

“Damn, damn! To everyone who was complaining that Li Rui wasn’t scoring, take a look.”

“Two threes in thirty seconds. That’s Li Rui’s explosive scoring power.”

“The Heat’s defensive pressure is ferocious. Li Rui barely even dribbles, but it doesn’t matter. If he isn’t handling the ball, the pressure on him drops dramatically.”

“Every time he catches the ball with any space, Li Rui can finish with a shot. With that kind of efficiency, why would you want him to handle the ball?”

Ding! Against the defending champions, he has knocked down two consecutive three-pointers. His shooting is terrifyingly accurate. Standing Dunk attribute +1.

Huh?

I scored two threes. Why did you increase my standing dunk?

Are you trying to turn me into Los Angeles Gordon?

Li Rui grumbled about the system’s random attribute assignments, then consoled himself with the thought that an upgrade was better than no upgrade.

“Well done.”

The Zen Master high-fived Li Rui as he passed by.

Seeing Li Rui knock down two consecutive threes, the Zen Master was extremely pleased.

To shoot so steadily under the intense defensive pressure of the defending champions was an excellent sign.