The Regular Season Opens

No contract was signed immediately. Although Moon's performance was somewhat satisfactory, Chen Xi didn't want to make a decision based on just one person's words. After all, he was the client now!

The main thing was that he had already signed a guaranteed contract, and it was unlikely he'd get any endorsements in the short term, so his need for an agent wasn't that urgent. There was no rush.

As the old saying goes, it takes time to know a person's heart.

Tsk, if only he could find a beautiful female agent...

On October 27th, the Thunder played an away game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Arriving early at the Wells Fargo Center, the Thunder team actively began their warm-ups.

The 76ers were not a strong team, and everyone hoped to start the regular season with a big win.

On September 30th, the 76ers announced that 2016's number one pick, Ben Simmons, had sprained his ankle during practice. X-rays and MRI results showed that Simmons had a fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot, with no return date set.

In recent seasons, the 76ers had fallen into a strange cycle of rookies frequently getting injured. In 2013, the 76ers acquired the sixth overall pick of that year's draft, Nerlens Noel, through a trade, but Noel missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury. In 2014, the 76ers selected Joel Embiid with the third overall pick in the first round, but Embiid missed two consecutive seasons due to injury. In 2015, the 76ers selected Jahlil Okafor with the third overall pick in the first round, but Okafor's season ended early due to a right knee injury. And this year, the 76ers' rookie "nightmare" fell upon Simmons. A metatarsal fracture is a very common sports injury, usually requiring 6 to 8 weeks for full recovery, which meant Simmons would definitely miss the season opener.

The injury-plagued 76ers' only hope now was Joel Embiid, who was playing in his first regular season, hoping he could live up to the team's expectations.

As the game was about to start, both teams' starting lineups took the court.

Thunder starting lineup:

Russell Westbrook

Victor Oladipo

Steven Adams

Domantas Sabonis

Andre Roberson

76ers starting lineup:

Joel Embiid

Robert Covington

Gerald Henderson

Dario Šarić

Sergio Rodríguez

Neither team could laugh at the other. The Thunder's lineup was also somewhat unsightly. The entire starting five had no shooters, with only Oladipo counting as half of one. Andre Roberson, in particular, had the advantage of excellent defense, but his only weakness was that he could only defend. His offensive level was completely below NBA standards. (Anyone who watched that Thunder team knows how painful Roberson's offense was. He was the type to travel even dribbling without pressure, and his layups were incredibly rough. He mostly relied on fast breaks or cuts for dunks. Of course, with hindsight, Sabonis and Oladipo were still fierce, but at this point, they were far from it.)

In the 2016 league, fielding a lineup of five players who refused to shoot was undoubtedly going against the grain. The team's spacing was atrocious, making it hard to believe that this same team had made it to the Western Conference Finals last season, pushing the 73-win, red-hot Warriors to a 3-1 deficit.

With the referee's whistle, the game officially began.

The Thunder fell into a scoring drought from the start. Facing the 76ers, who had poor defensive discipline, Westbrook tried to open the game by organizing and connecting with his teammates. But consecutive missed opportunities made Coach Donovan on the sidelines frown.

Instead, the 76ers took advantage and scored two fast-break points, leading 5-0.

At this point, Westbrook clearly couldn't hold back anymore. He stepped up for an isolation play at the top of the arc, blew past Rodríguez in one step, and hit a mid-range pull-up jumper, finally getting the team's score off that ugly zero.

But obviously, that wasn't enough to quench their thirst. The team's offense was still clogged, and no one could score except Westbrook.

Without shooting or perimeter tactics, the Thunder relied solely on Westbrook's isolation plays and a lot of screens and cuts to the rim. Unfortunately, today's starters couldn't even maintain their finishing efficiency at the basket.

After Embiid hit a turnaround jumper from the free-throw line, the score became 2-10.

When Westbrook's drive to the basket was swatted away by Embiid, Coach Donovan finally couldn't take it anymore and called a timeout.

"Chris, get ready to go in."

Donovan called Chen Xi's name, signaling him to replace Oladipo.

"Wait, Steven, set a screen for Chris on the baseline. Make sure he has enough space to shoot after running to the corner..."

Donovan wasn't stupid. Why not use a shooter when you have one? Having one more spacing option on the court would create another opportunity for Westbrook under the basket. Unlike now, where at least three of the five opponents were always waiting in the paint, ready to block anyone from the Thunder who came in.

"Whoa! Look what we have here? A Yellow race person."

Hubie Brown exclaimed from the commentary booth as he watched Chen Xi, wearing the Thunder's number 3 jersey, step onto the court.

"I had no idea Oklahoma had signed an Asian player, and they're putting him in the rotation this early. Is he their secret weapon?"

His teasing tone humorously expressed his distrust of this Asian player.

"Oh, let me see, he's a Chinese American, this year's 56th pick." Hubie Brown studied the materials in his hand.

"A shooter. It seems Donovan has realized his team's problem and hopes to improve their spacing. Let's wish him luck."

Without time to mind the commentary booth's teasing, Chen Xi, finally playing in a regular season game as a substitute, was full of excitement. He had just received a notification from the system, meaning he had completed another achievement. Although the reward was only a measly 1 Free Attribute Point, every little bit counts.

"System, add it to my on-ball defense."

[Received. Addition complete.]

Save it? No way! He could never be a hoarder!

Chen Xi looked at his attributes and grinned.

[Chen Xi:

Physical Talent: Height 196; Wingspan 208; Weight 88kg

Attribute Panel: Mid-Range 76; Three-Point 100; Free Throw 81; Dribbling 55; Passing 60; Driving 45 On-Ball Defense 71; Help Defense 55; Rebounding 45 Strength 48; Speed 58; Stamina 62 Block 30; Steal 40; Layup 45 Physique: 70

[Badges: Catch and Shoot (Silver), Quick Draw (Silver), Corner Three Specialist (Bronze), Off-Ball Pest (Silver), Death Coil (Bronze)]

[Evaluation: Other than three-pointers, you're useless at everything. Your goal is to become Novak?]

Aside from the system's stat boosts, the recent heavy training had also slightly improved several of Chen Xi's numbers.

"What are you grinning about? Focus, the game's starting." Westbrook walked past him and slapped Chen Xi on the butt.

"Smiling because I'm one step closer to a Ferrari!" Chen Xi replied with a laugh, then jogged to his position.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching the author—maybe it just changed its name!