The Brothers in Misfortune (Two-in-One)

Tim Grover thought to himself, "Just as the rumors say, this man is a good manager."

Li Chen had heard of Tim Grover before; he had heard of him from Jordan more than once.

Jordan spoke highly of this Eastern Kid, even saying that he was the most likely person to dominate the league.

Tim Grover was very surprised by Jordan's assessment at the time.

It's important to understand that there's an inherent, insurmountable barrier between Black and Yellow Race, and Jordan certainly knew that, yet he still said it.

So he asked Jordan the reason out of curiosity.

At that moment, Jordan pointed two fingers to his eyes and said that the kid had the same look in his eyes as him, a never-give-up look, a look even more intense than Kobe's.

Lost in thought, Tim Grover said, "Tell me, what exactly is his situation right now?"

A short while later, Bill Duffy recounted Li Chen's excessive training.

Upon hearing this, Tim Grover shouted, "Nonsense, utter nonsense!"

Upon hearing Tim Grover's words, Bill Duffy seemed to have found a kindred spirit and also gave Li Chen a good scolding.

Half an hour later, Tim Grover said, "I'll go back and think about the candidate, then I'll call you."

"Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Grover."

"It's nothing, no big deal."

After hanging up the phone, Bill Duffy felt relieved.

At Tim Grover's place, he thought to himself after hanging up the phone.

Now that Jordan has retired again, he needs to find something to do. Of course, he won't just become a trainer for any player; the players he trains must be those he has his eye on and who have potential.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up the phone.

A moment later, Michael Jordan's voice came through the phone, "Oh! Tim, I was just looking for you."

Tim Grover paused for a moment, then asked, "Michael, what do you want with me?"

"Well, I think I'm having a lucky day. Let's go to Atlantic City."

Tim Grover "..."

Tim Grover thought to himself, "You're kidding me! I lost hundreds of thousands last time I went to Las Vegas. Going with you would be like throwing money away. I'd never go with you."

Tim Grover thus politely declined Jordan's invitation.

This left Jordan somewhat disappointed, wondering who he could turn to if Tim Grover wouldn't go.

At this moment, Tim Grover suddenly asked, "Michael, do you think I could train that Eastern Kid Li Chen to your level?"

Jordan paused for a moment, then said, "No, no, no, Tim, there's only one Michael in the world. He's at most below me."

Tim Grover was speechless. You used to praise him to the skies, saying he could surpass you, but it turns out it was all a lie! This is definitely Michael's personality.

Then Jordan added, "But you won't be disappointed if you train that kid."

"Let's hope so!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Tim, what's with that tone? Don't you trust my judgment?" Jordan said, displeased.

"Hehe! Michael, don't overthink it, I didn't mean anything by it."

Jordan "..."

On May 12, the Lakers defeated the Spurs at home, taking a 3-1 lead in the Spurs.

This match was practically a free-throw contest, driving the fans almost crazy.

The Spurs attempted a total of 26 free throws, with Duncan accounting for 20 of them.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg. The Lakers' free throw shooting was even more terrifying. They attempted a whopping 45 free throws in this game, with Kobe taking 17 and O'Neal 23.

Good grief, the two teams combined had a whopping 71 free throws! With that, what kind of exciting game is this?

May 13th.

The Clippers have received good news: Andre Miller is back.

Alvin Gentry even made a point of playing an intra-squad practice match.

The first team consists of key players including Andre Miller, Corey Maggette, Elton Brand, Wang Zhizhi, Odom.

Li Chen then led a group of substitutes.

In the end, Li Chen naturally lost. Of course, Li Chen himself hardly took any shots; he mainly served as a distraction.

As soon as Li Chen got the ball, Elton Brand and Odom would double-team him relentlessly, like they were fighting a boss in a video game, they were really going all out.

That's fine; this is exactly the result Li Chen saw. After all, the substitutes performed well, which reduced his pressure.

However, what he couldn't accept was that the Clippers' bench was just too weak. They couldn't even make wide-open shots, and it wasn't just once or twice. For a moment, Li Chen had the urge to quit.

In the end, Li Chen's team was swept 60-89 by the main team.

During lunch, Li Chen noticed the system's notification sound.

[Note: System update complete.]

Upon hearing the system notification, Li Chen perked up and began to check what changes had occurred in the system.

One change was that the character panel now had five skill slots. After some research, Li Chen finally understood the purpose of these skill slots.

This skill slot can only hold 5 skills, meaning he can only use 5 skills per match.

This is bad news for Li Chen.

However, perhaps as compensation, the system optimized the unlocking process for items in the Functional Store.

In the future, the unlocking process will no longer use Legendary Achievement Points, but will instead use Personal Honor Points.

For example, if Li Chen wins the weekly best score, his progress in the character encyclopedia will increase by one point.

This greatly increases the speed at which Li Chen acquires Legendary Star Skill.

Overall, it's not bad; he can totally accept it.

At this moment, Odom saw Li Chen staring blankly, looking like a mental patient. He subconsciously waved his hand in front of Li Chen's face and asked, "Chen, hey! Are you alright? Don't scare us! We're sure to lose the game tonight without you."

Odom's voice was loud enough to draw the attention of the other players, including several assistant coaches.

Li Chen snapped out of his daze, brushed Odom's hand away, and said irritably, "Lamar, don't jinx it."

"Fuck, Chen, you have no idea how scary you were just now!"

As he spoke, Odom rolled his eyes, looking as if he were about to die.

"You just did that."

Seeing this, Li Chen's face turned green. He yelled, "Lamar, instead of wasting time being silly, can't you practice your damn shooting?"

The other players laughed at Li Chen's frantic state.

On May 13th, the Clippers defeated the Dallas Mavericks again at home in Game 4 of the series.

Neither team played well in this match.

The S-rank Skill that Li Chen randomly received in his first match after the system update was [Iron Wall and Bronze Barrier].

His skills equipped today are [Unrivaled], [Assist Master], [Miracle Shot], [Divine Shooter], and [Rebounding Monster].

The Clippers led the Mavericks 24-20 after the first quarter.

Li Chen didn't attack much in the first quarter, wanting his teammates to take more shots and get their touch back. As a result, Li Chen only scored 6 points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Clippers didn't start well and were once Mavericks.

At this critical moment, Li Chen demonstrated the responsibility of the team's core player, keeping the score close and preventing the Dallas Mavericks from extending their lead to double digits.

With five minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Clippers players began to find their rhythm one after another.

The Clippers ultimately led the Mavericks 28-17 by 11 points.

In the third quarter, the Mavericks launched a fierce counterattack.

What's baffling is that the Mavericks' counterattack wasn't initiated by their three key players: Nowitzki, Nash, and Finley.

The Mavericks' backup Galarbel, spearheaded a comeback, driving inside and shooting from the outside, sparking a 12-4 run that forced the Clippers to call a Clippers.

The Mavericks ultimately won the third quarter 26-18.

After three quarters, the Clippers led the Mavericks 70-67 by 3 points.

The fourth quarter is practically the Clippers' home court. And this game was no exception; once the fourth quarter began, the Clippers once again demonstrated their dominance in that quarter.

With Li Chen as the starting point, through excellent teamwork and Li Chen's outstanding performance, they took a 29-20 lead over the Mavericks by 9 points.

The Clippers' outstanding performance in the fourth quarter thrilled the fans.

Ultimately, the Clippers won the game 99-87.

Li Chen deserves much credit for this match; he always steps up at crucial moments.

His outstanding performance undoubtedly injected boundless motivation and confidence into the entire team, which is what makes him a true core player of the team.

In this match, the performances of the key players from both teams were unsatisfactory.

For the Dallas Mavericks, substitute Galarbel had an outstanding performance, playing 26 minutes, shooting 7-for-11, scoring 16 points, grabbing 6 rebounds, and making 2 of 2 free throws.

Finley played 39 minutes, shooting 7-for-18 for 16 points, including 1-for-6 from three-point range and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line.

Nowitzki played 36 minutes, shooting 4-for-14, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He was 0-for-1 from three-point range and 3-for-5 from the free-throw line.

Nowitzki's shooting in this game was really bad, so below par.

However, Nowitzki wasn't the worst performer. Nash seemed to have left his shooting bag at home throughout the game, playing 33 minutes and appearing completely lost.

3-for-12 shooting, 6 points, 6 assists, 0-for-3 from three-point range.

His performance today was comparable to that of Nowitzki, a true "Haier Brothers" moment.

It's worth mentioning that Van Exel was also defended so badly by Li Chen that he questioned his existence. He played for more than 30 minutes, made 2 of 11 shots, and only scored 5 points. His stats were so terrible that they brought tears to people's eyes!

The Clippers' scoring was relatively even, with key players like Odom, Elton Brand, and Corey Maggette scoring around 16 or 17 points each.

Li Chen's stats were surprisingly the highest in the entire game.

He played 45 minutes, shooting 8-for-19, scoring 23 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block, including 2-for-3 from three-point range and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Tim Grover also watched Li Chen's game.

He noticed from the first quarter that Li Chen was different from Jordan.

He lacked Jordan's aggressiveness; he was always clear-headed and lacked some of the passion. He didn't understand why Jordan said this Eastern Kid was most like him.

But when the team was in trouble in the second quarter and was suppressed by the Mavericks, he finally understood why Jordan said that this Eastern Kid was most like him.

Because they all have an inherently competitive and never-give-up attitude.

In the third quarter, he once again saw Li Chen carry the team forward, keeping the score within single digits and giving the team a chance to turn the tide.

If the second part is a coincidence, then a coincidence cannot happen twice in a row.

Therefore, he was certain that this Eastern Kid was indeed the same kind of person as Jordan.

If they are different...

Jordan was always aggressive, and both teammates and enemies feared him.

Li Chen, on the other hand, only reveals his true colors when the team is in crisis, delivering a fatal blow to the enemy.

Although Li Chen could not intimidate his opponents or make them feel fear and powerlessness.

Every loss has its gain. He is a qualified leader who will earn the respect of his teammates from the bottom of their hearts, and this extends beyond just basketball.

This is something Jordan can't compare to.

Tim Grover stroked his chin, thinking, "Perhaps this is the only time Michael has ever made the right choice!"

Thinking of this, Tim Grover couldn't help but laugh; the thought of Jordan's judgment made him want to laugh.

Perhaps he could train another Michael; the thought made Tim Grover tremble involuntarily.

He trembled with excitement at the thought that both God of Basketball had been in his hands.

Tim Grover couldn't help but grin. He might not be good at basketball himself, but he managed to train two God of Basketball.

At that moment, he made up his mind: he would become this Eastern Kid's trainer, he would become a god in the world of trainers.

Yes, I trained two God of Basketball, and no one will question Tim Grover's ability.

In the next two games, the Clippers and Lakers, two Los Angeles teams, were truly in the same boat.

They both lost their last two matches.

The Lakers suffered heavy defeats to the Spurs, losing 94-96 and 110-82 respectively.

The Clippers lost to the Mavericks 93-112 and 109-115 respectively.

In Game 5, the pivotal Game 5, Kobe played 48 minutes, shooting 15-for-31, scoring 36 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, dishing out 6 assists, including 5-for-11 from three-point range and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line.

Wow, Kobe fought hard without resting for a single minute, but in the end, he still couldn't eliminate the Spurs.

In the crucial game, Li Chen fought hard for 48 minutes, but Li Chen didn't have O'Neal to rely on.

However, in this match, he acquired the S-rank Skill [Divine Shooter], so he still has the ability to fight to the death.

In this game, Li Chen scored 46 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks, shooting 17-for-35 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Li Chen scored 46 points, but the Mavericks by a large margin.

Li Chen practically shut down the pass button during the game, but it wasn't enough to turn the tide.

In Game 6, Kobe scored only 20 points, O'Neal 31 points, and other Lakers players contributed very little.

The entire team combined for only 31 points; they were collectively invisible, watching Kobe O'Neal perform their duel on the court.

Therefore, the Lakers' loss to the Spurs was not unjustified at all.

On the Clippers' side, all other players averaged over 10 points, but they played terribly in the first and second quarters and couldn't turn the tide in the fourth.

In Game 6, Li Chen played 47 minutes, shooting 9-for-20, scoring 25 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal. He made 1 of 3 three-pointers and 6 of 6 free throws.

Meanwhile, seeing the Clippers suffer two consecutive losses, Tim Grover felt it was time for him to step in.

So he called Bill Duffy and told him his decision.

When Bill Duffy heard that Tim Grover wanted to personally train Li Chen, he was completely stunned.

It took him a while to come to his senses, and then he was excited. You see, getting Tim Grover to play in practice matches isn't something you can just do with money.

That's why he initially wanted Tim Grover to introduce him to a reliable trainer, rather than asking Tim Grover himself.

However, to his utter surprise, Tim Grover wanted to train Li Chen.

In the early hours of May 17th, both Li Chen and Kobe were silent. Both had lost their games, and neither of them had the will to compete.

So the two silently began a one-on-one duel, this time fighting exceptionally fiercely, completely regarding each other as the Spurs and Mavericks.