The contract was not finalized immediately. Although he was fairly satisfied with Moon's performance, Chen Xi did not want to settle on a candidate based solely on one-sided claims. After all, he was the client now!
He had already signed a guaranteed contract, and it was unlikely that he would get any endorsements in the short term, so he did not have much need for an agent at the moment. Naturally, there was no need to hurry.
As the old saying went, time revealed a person's heart.
Tsk, it would be great if he could find a beautiful agent~~
On October 27, the Thunder faced the Philadelphia 76ers on the road.
The Thunder, who arrived at the Wells Fargo Center early, actively began warming up.
The 76ers were not a strong team, and everyone hoped to start the regular season with a big win.
On September 30, the 76ers announced that the 2016 Number One Pick, Ben Simmons, had twisted his ankle during practice. X-rays and an MRI showed that Simmons had fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, with no set timetable for his return.
Over the past few seasons, the 76ers had fallen into a vicious cycle of rookies suffering frequent injuries. In 2013, the 76ers had acquired Nerlens Noel, the sixth pick in that year's draft, 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 pick in the first round, but Embiid missed two straight seasons because of injuries. In 2015, the 76ers selected Jahlil Okafor with the third pick in the first round, but Okafor's season ended early because of a right knee injury. This year, the 76ers' rookie "nightmare" had descended upon Simmons. Metatarsal fractures were common sports injuries and usually required six to eight weeks for a full recovery. That meant Simmons was certain to miss the team's first game of the new season.
The injury-plagued 76ers now had only Joel Embiid to rely on. This was his first time playing in a regular-season game, and the team hoped he could perform at a level that matched their expectations.
As the game was about to begin, the starters for both sides took the court one by one.
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 had much room to mock the other. The Thunder's lineup was hardly easy on the eyes, either. Not one of the starters was a true shooter, with only Oladipo barely counting as half of one. Andre Roberson in particular excelled at defense, but that was all he could do. His offensive ability was nowhere near NBA standards. Anyone who had watched that Thunder team knew how painfully inept Roberson's offense was—he was the type who could travel even while dribbling uncontested. His layups were even rougher, and most of his points came from fast breaks or cuts for dunks. Of course, with hindsight, Little Sabonis and Odie would become quite formidable, but they were still a long way from that point.
In the 2016 League, putting out a five-man lineup that refused to shoot was undoubtedly going against the meta. The team's spacing was atrocious. It was hard to believe that this was the same team that had reached the Western Conference Finals the previous season and pushed the 73-win, red-hot Warriors into a 3–1 hole.
The referee's whistle sounded, and the game officially began.
The Thunder fell into a scoring drought from the opening tip. Against the defensively undisciplined 76ers, Westbrook tried to organize the offense and get his teammates involved at the start, but their inability to capitalize on repeated opportunities had Coach Donovan frowning deeply from the sideline.
The 76ers, on the other hand, took the chance to score twice in transition. Five to zero at the opening.
Westbrook was clearly unable to hold back any longer. He stepped up to isolate at the top of the key, blew past Rodriguez in one step, then sank a pull-up mid-range jumper, finally putting an end to the team's ugly goose egg.
But that clearly did not quench their thirst. The team's offense remained painfully stagnant, and no one besides Westbrook could score.
Without shooting or perimeter plays, the Thunder had nothing but Westbrook's isolations and a large number of screens, cuts, and drives to the rim. Unfortunately, even the several starters on the court today could not maintain their finishing efficiency around the basket.
After Embiid sank a turnaround jumper from the free-throw line, the score became 2–10.
When Embiid swatted away Westbrook's drive to the basket, Coach Donovan finally could not stand watching any longer and called a timeout.
"Chris, get ready to go in."
Donovan called Chen Xi's name, signaling that he would replace Oladipo shortly.
"Wait, Steven. Set a screen for Chris on the baseline and make sure he has enough room to shoot after he runs to the corner..."
Donovan was not an idiot. Why would he leave a shooter unused? Having one more Spacing Option on the floor would create another opportunity for Westbrook around the basket. Otherwise, as things stood, at least three of the opponents' five players could remain in the paint at any moment, waiting to swat away any Thunder player who came inside.
"Wow! What are we looking at here? A member of the Yellow race."
Hubie Brown, sitting in the commentary booth, exclaimed in surprise when he saw Chen Xi take the court in a Thunder No. 3 jersey.
"I had no idea Oklahoma had signed an Asian player, and they're putting him into the rotation this early. Is this their secret weapon?"
His teasing tone humorously conveyed his distrust of this Asian player.
"Oh, let me see. This is a Chinese American, the 56th Pick this year." Hubie Brown examined the information in his hands.
"A shooter. It seems Donovan has recognized the team's problem and hopes to improve their spacing a little. Let's wish him luck."
Chen Xi had no time to pay attention to the commentary booth's teasing. Finally entering a regular-season game as a substitute, he was brimming with excitement. He had just received a notification from the system, which meant he had completed another achievement. Although the reward was merely one pitiful Free Attribute Point, even a mosquito's leg was still meat.
"System, put it into perimeter defense."
[Received. Attribute allocation complete.]
Save them up? What a joke! He could not save even a single point! There was no way he would become a hoarder in this lifetime!
Chen Xi looked at his attributes and grinned.
[Chen Xi: Physical Talent: Height 196; Wingspan 208; Weight 88 kg Attribute Panel: Mid-range 76; Three-point 100; Free throw 81; Ball handling 55; Passing 60; Driving 45 On-ball defense 71; Help defense 55; Rebounding 45 Strength 48; Speed 58; Stamina 62 Blocking 30; Stealing 40; Layup 45 Constitution: 70] [Badges: Catch and Shoot (Silver), Quick Draw (Silver), Corner Three Specialist (Bronze), Off-Ball Pest (Silver), Death Coil (Bronze)] [Evaluation: Aside from three-point shooting, you are useless at everything. Is your goal to become Novak?]
Besides the system's attribute boost, his recent intensive training had also brought slight improvements to several of Chen Xi's stats.
"What are you grinning about? Focus. The game's started." Westbrook walked past him and slapped Chen Xi on the butt.
"I'm smiling because I'm one step closer to a Ferrari!" Chen Xi replied with a grin before running to his position.
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