Unlucky Joe Johnson

Seeing that Donald Sterling, that stingy old miser, said that, Elgin Baylor knew there was no hope.

At this moment, he regretted it. If he had known Li Chen was so outstanding, he would have brought Li Chen with him to jump ship to a team owner who pursued championships, instead of that damned miser Donald Sterling.

Domestic National Sports Television.

"Good morning, viewers! I'm Sun Zhengping, and beside me is my old partner, Zhang Weiping, Coach Zhang."

Zhang Weiping nodded.

Sun Zhengping continued, "Today we bring you a regular season game from the US Men's Professional Basketball League, where the Phoenix Suns are challenging the Los Angeles Clippers on the road."

"Li Chen's sudden rise this year has brought us hope domestically, proving that our country isn't lacking in basketball talent, but rather they are buried in the vast sea of people."

"I believe that if basketball can become popular in our country, I dare not say we'll have a certain standing in the world, but we can still dominate Asia."

Zhang Weiping nodded in agreement, then chimed in, "Old Sun, actually, our basketball has already dominated Asia. As long as Little Chen and Big Yao team up, no one can shake our position as the Asian overlords for the next decade or so."

Sun Zhengping's smile was a bit stiff, and he quickly changed the subject, "Coach Zhang, the game is about to start. Let's take a look at both teams' starting lineups."

The Clippers' starting lineup for this game is:

Andre Miller (Point Guard)

Li Chen (Shooting Guard)

Corey Maggette (Small Forward)

Elton Brand (Power Forward)

Wang Zhizhi (Center)

Wang Zhizhi has performed well in these past few games, and considering he's from the same hometown as Li Chen, he's been promoted to the starting position for evaluation.

The Phoenix Suns' starting lineup:

Marbury (Point Guard)

Joe Johnson (Shooting Guard)

Shawn Marion (Small Forward)

Stoudemire (Center)

Outlaw (Power Forward)

As they took the court, Li Chen said to Wang Zhizhi in Chinese, "Brother Zhizhi, keep it up, try to secure the starting position."

Wang Zhizhi nodded with some lack of confidence.

Li Chen felt sympathetic towards Michael Olowokandi, but such matters depended on individual effort and performance. To regain his starting position, Michael Olowokandi could only rely on himself.

At the same time, Li Chen glanced at his S-tier skill for today. He felt a bit helpless; the skill was somewhat humiliating. Li Chen felt it was too flashy and didn't align with his personality.

The two teams contested the tip-off, and Stoudemire tipped the ball to Marbury.

Marbury is a talented player, a star player with accurate shooting, excellent dribbling, and strong individual driving ability. However, what drew criticism was his tendency to play selfishly, earning him the nickname "Lone Wolf" from fans.

It's worth mentioning that after struggling to make it in the NBA, Marbury made a name for himself domestically, even obtaining citizenship. After retiring, he even became the head coach of a CBA team, becoming a somewhat famous figure in China.

He dribbled the ball with fluid motion, feinting a couple of times, and Andre Miller lost his footing. Marbury then drove straight into the paint, dodged Wang Zhizhi's block, and scored.

0-2, the Suns took the lead.

Andre Miller stood with his hands on his hips, shaking his head helplessly.

"Andre, don't worry about it, we'll get it back," Li Chen said, patting his shoulder with a smile.

Andre Miller nodded with a complex expression.

A moment later, Andre Miller passed the ball to Li Chen.

Li Chen's matchup today, Joe Johnson, stood in his way.

Li Chen dribbled the ball rhythmically, then suddenly shifted from stillness to motion, like a leopard suddenly pouncing.

Joe Johnson had watched the game footage of Li Chen's recent matches and was already wary of Li Chen. But when he faced Li Chen in person, he realized how explosive his first step was.

Seeing Li Chen forcefully break through Joe Johnson's defense, Marbury immediately came to help. At that moment, Li Chen suddenly stopped and passed the ball to the unguarded Andre Miller.

Andre Miller was surprised to receive the ball but immediately took a jump shot.

Swish! The ball went through the net cleanly, tying the score at 2-2.

Li Chen gave Andre Miller a thumbs-up.

Andre Miller gave Li Chen a deep look. You damn Eastern Kid, you're so annoying, making me feel all emotional. Andre Miller grumbled inwardly.

Marbury was very active in the first quarter. His strategy was: if he could drive to the basket, he would; whether he scored or not depended on fate. If he couldn't drive in, he would pass.

This approach was also the reason for the criticism he received.

At the end of the first quarter, with the help of the foreign player Marbury, the Clippers led by five points, ending the first quarter with a score of 25-20.

The second quarter began, and the Clippers attacked first.

Li Chen brought the ball upcourt, and Wang Zhizhi set a pick-and-roll screen for Li Chen.

After successfully getting past Joe Johnson, he drove into the paint.

At this moment, Stoudemire blocked Li Chen.

Li Chen knew this guy's defense wasn't great, so he directly went for a floater, banking it in.

The Clippers extended their lead to 27-20.

The Suns' offense.

Marbury seemed to have been reprimanded by the coach, curbing some of his lone wolf tendencies and starting to pass.

Joe Johnson held the ball with his back to the basket, trying to compress Li Chen's defense.

However, Li Chen drank Functional Drinks every day and persisted with high-intensity lower body training, making his stance very stable.

Joe Johnson found that he couldn't push Li Chen, and he was a bit bewildered. What was going on? Why couldn't he budge this kid?

"Fuck, I don't believe it," he thought, gathering all his strength and shoving forward fiercely.

This time he succeeded, and Li Chen staggered back a step.

Seeing this, Joe Johnson sneered, "Little guy, I still can't deal with you."

Just then, the referee's whistle blew.

The referee raised his hand to signal a charge on Joe Johnson.

Good heavens, Li Chen felt a bit of pity for this guy.

You have to know that the C-grade "Foul Baiting" skill only had a 20% activation rate, yet this guy managed to trigger it. His luck was truly something else.

Joe Johnson was unhappy with the referee's call, but the referee not only didn't change the call but also gave Joe Johnson a technical foul.

This scene made Li Chen thoughtful. He realized that after Foul Baiting was triggered, if anyone dared to question the call, the referee would unhesitatingly give a technical foul.

It was the same with Karl Malone's incident back then. Li Chen blinked, thinking he couldn't exploit this.

But then he shook his head. He wasn't James; he didn't want to rely on the referees. He wanted to conquer others through his own strength. Otherwise, he'd be like LeBron James, criticized despite his outstanding performance.

With that thought, he had already decided not to upgrade his Foul Baiting skill.

In the domestic broadcast room.

"Little Chen's physical strength is truly terrifying! I really don't know how he trained it," Sun Zhengping sighed sincerely.

Zhang Weiping nodded in agreement, saying, "With Little Chen's physical strength, he has already surpassed most Black NBA players."

Sun Zhengping's mouth twitched. He thought, Brother, we're commentators. We need to judge every player fairly. Is it good to praise Li Chen like this?