Chapter 47: This Boy Also Has the Potential to Become a Super Superstar!

Although Li Rui still had many flaws on the defensive end—such as being limited by his athletic traits, making it difficult for him to guard extremely fast guards, and lacking experience in defending mismatch situations in the paint—his overall defense remained serviceable.

If he were to face Dwyane Wade one-on-one or Shaquille O'Neal in a mismatch, Li Rui might not be able to stop them.

However, Li Rui's perimeter defense against three-pointers was excellent. He rarely lost his assignment and significantly bothered opposing shooters. Overall, as long as he was matched up properly, his defensive ability would not hold the Lakers back.

In mismatch situations, many players were more or less the same.

His containment of Jason Williams tonight was phenomenal, holding that guy to just 3 points so far.

White Chocolate felt numb all over after seeing Li Rui manage to block him even from that position.

He felt like Li Rui was going to drive him crazy tonight.

He couldn't score on offense, and his defense was being blown to pieces.

Where on earth did this damn rookie pop out from? He was ridiculously fierce.

White Chocolate was starting to understand why "Linsanity" had caused a global sensation.

On the offensive end for the Lakers, Bynum passed the ball to Kobe.

Kobe brought the ball up the court.

Although Li Rui's ball-handling ability had improved, he was still not used to receiving the ball and orchestrating the offense himself.

Whenever he could defer those ball-handling responsibilities to Kobe or Odom, he simply wouldn't call for the ball.

Fortunately, both Kobe and Odom loved having the ball in their hands, forming a perfect complement to one another.

Li Rui continued to run along the right side, but this time, no matter how he moved, Jason Williams stuck to him like glue.

"Defense!"

"Stick with him, Jason!"

"Don't let that kid hit another three-pointer!"

Heat fans near the baseline of the American Airlines Arena were cheering and screaming for Jason Williams.

Jason Williams was having a frustrating night, constantly being entangled by Li Rui.

Now, he was determined not to let Li Rui hit any more three-pointers.

"The Heat are tightly denying Li Rui on the perimeter."

"The Heat's defensive line is expanding outward. Let's see how the Lakers will execute this possession."

"Bynum comes out to set an off-ball screen for Li Rui. Li Rui cuts inside!"

"Odom throws a bounce pass to the cutting Li Rui."

On the court, faced with Li Rui's cut, O’Neal slacked off once again. His feet remained planted in place, offering no help defense as he watched Li Rui drive right through with the ball. Li Rui took two quick strides and soared in for a layup, putting the ball in the basket.

Li Rui contributed a brilliant cut to the basket.

After scoring, Li Rui shrugged at O'Neal, finding it hard to believe how easy that had been.

The Shark was clearly getting old.

Seeing such a layup leave the Shark entirely unfazed, the noise inside the American Airlines Arena quickly died down.

Many Heat fans were startled to realize that, aside from keeping an eye on the grudge between Kobe and O'Neal, this Li Crazy seemed to be an X-factor that could no longer be ignored.

"Great cut." Kobe walked over and high-fived Li Rui to celebrate.

A helper.

This was one of the rare times Kobe had felt the presence of a genuine helper on the floor since O'Neal's departure.

It felt truly comfortable.

He didn't have to carry everything on his own shoulders.

Li Rui's style of play made Kobe feel entirely at ease.

He didn't demand possessions, he could play defense, and he could score efficiently.

Ah, just like Ray Allen.

Kobe could only think of this template to project onto Li Rui.

In the past, the Lakers relied heavily on Kobe for offense, but Li Rui had appeared at just the right moment, sharing the scoring burden that Kobe couldn't possibly consume entirely, all without stealing Kobe's spotlight.

However, O'Neal became a bit more diligent over the next stretch of time, making Li Rui's cuts much less effective.

With 2 minutes and 23 seconds remaining in the half, Li Rui was substituted by the Zen Master after accumulating 13 points in the first half.

"666666"

"Brother Rui, are you a point guard or a shooting guard?"

"An effortless 13 points in the half against a powerhouse like the Heat. His scoring ability is truly fierce."

"This is the new generation of China's basketball king."

"I'm already imagining the wonderful scenario in national team games with Yao in the paint and Li Rui on the perimeter."

"With these minutes, Brother Rui has truly secured his footing on the Lakers. Awesome."

"In the Zen Master's tactical system, Li Rui is now a crucial piece."

Fans on the Hupu forum eagerly posted their excited comments.

As Kobe scored 7 points through drives and jumpers late in the second quarter, the Lakers successfully secured a 55-53 lead by halftime.

Inside the home locker room.

Pat Riley's roaring could be heard echoing for a full ten minutes.

Jason Williams's inability to organize the offense, O'Neal's coasting and laziness on defense whenever he got tired, and the Lakers' blazing hot perimeter shooting had directly plunged the Heat into a deficit on their home court.

Meanwhile, on the Lakers' side, the Zen Master continued to encourage Kobe to attack.

The baseline for the Lakers to win games remained Kobe, with Li Rui acting as his ultimate supporting cast.

The Zen Master was growing increasingly fond of this duo's synergy.

As for Smush Parker, he could go find somewhere cool to sit.

A pure waste of space.

As long as he had other options, the Zen Master had zero desire to use that guy.

The second half of the game began shortly after.

After a series of slick head fakes beyond the right three-point line, Kobe rose up and drained a pull-up three-pointer right in Dwyane Wade's face.

If Li Rui required an open look to maintain high efficiency, Kobe certainly didn't need one.

Shooting over defenders was just routine work for Kobe.

This was the ability to create something out of nothing.

Wade puffed out his cheeks on the court with a serious expression.

Wade had scored 20 points in the first half and played exceptionally well, but the team trailing in score prevented him from feeling happy.

Jason Williams brought the ball up to the front court and handed it to Wade.

Facing Kobe's defense, Wade attempted to initiate a pick-and-roll, but it failed this time as Kobe fought through the screen.

Unable to break through, Wade lofted a high pass into the paint to O'Neal.

O'Neal backed down Bynum and easily spun around for a hook shot, putting the ball in.

After a twenty-minute rest in the locker room, O'Neal's stamina had recovered slightly, and he was back to playing tough.

However, Jason Williams on the court was starting to panic, feeling that his performance today was absolute trash.

Not only could he not score on offense, but he couldn't stop anyone on defense either.

And just like that, Li Rui was coming at him again.

After Odom dribbled the ball up, noticing that Wade was fronting him slightly and Kobe couldn't get the pass, he decisively swung the ball to Li Rui outside the left three-point line.

Li Rui received the ball and executed a jab-step fake.

Jason Williams rushed out to contest, not daring to give Li Rui even a sliver of space.

However, Li Rui's ball-handling ability exceeded Jason Williams's anticipation. Li Rui dropped the ball to his right, lowered his center of gravity, and drove past him in a single step.

At this moment, Wade came over from the other side to provide help defense.

According to conventional logic, Wade's speed and physical contact were superior to Li Rui's, making it extremely difficult for Li Rui to finish this play.

Yet for some reason, the moment Li Rui saw Wade, he felt he was in a state of absolute flow. He was charging forward with full momentum, while Wade was not fully prepared defensively.

Li Rui continued driving toward Wade's right side. Wade quickly shifted his center of gravity to match, but Li Rui leaned into Wade and suddenly executed a sweeping left-handed spin move.

He glided right past Wade.

What!

What kind of move was that?

Even Wade was dumbfounded.

Didn't they say this guy couldn't attack off the dribble?

Why was his spin move so buttery smooth?

By the time Li Rui completed his spin, the Heat's interior defense had completely emptied out.

O'Neal was tied up wrestling with Bynum on the other side and unable to recover in time.

Pat Riley knew it was over.

In a flash, Li Rui gathered the ball and easily laid it softly into the basket near the rim.

This sequence of technical moves was as smooth and flowing as drifting clouds and flowing water.

Was this an hallucination?

Not only were the fans at the American Airlines Arena stunned, but even the Zen Master was frozen in place.

This was simply too exaggerated.

This was the first time the Zen Master had ever seen Li Rui execute such a ball-handling spin move into a layup during a game.

For many guards, it was a completely routine basketball move, but it was a rare sight coming from Li Rui.

Furthermore, Wade's defense was no ordinary guard's defense; just moments ago, his coverage had felt like a locked door.

"Dwyane, this spin move was probably faster than the speed you had during your first All-Star appearance. I can only give your defense a 1 out of 10!"

Li Rui couldn't help but talk trash to taunt Wade!

Wade's expression instantly darkened: "Rookie, you'll regret making me angry."

...

"A gorgeous spin."

"Hey, he actually got past Wade with that move."

"Li Rui is in great form tonight."

"Using his three-point threat to effortlessly find a driving lane once again."

"The Heat's defense simply cannot stop Li Rui."

"This bucket definitely deserves to be one of the top five plays of the day."

Zhang Weiping shouted excitedly.

Instructor Zhang had never imagined Li Rui would break down a defense like that using his own dribble drive.

Seeing Li Rui complete the spin-move blow-by left him immensely thrilled.

This kid truly had the potential to become a super-star!