Chapter 144: Chapter 144: The Founder of the "Flat Earth" Theory
In the evening, the players from the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns were warming up before the game.
The Cavaliers were ranked second to last in the Eastern Conference, and although the season was only halfway through, everyone knew that the Cavaliers had no chance of making the playoffs. Facing the league-leading Suns, almost no one believed the Cavaliers could beat the Suns.
However, the Cavaliers had a player who was highly regarded by experts: Kyrie Irving!
Although Irving was only a second-year player, his dribbling was extremely flashy. In this year's All-Star voting, he narrowly lost to Rajon Rondo, otherwise, he would have been the Eastern Conference All-Star starter.
During the warm-up, most players were doing simple shooting drills.
Only Irving was doing various crossovers, behind-the-back passes, and layups, showing off his skills with flashy moves! Perhaps this was Irving's way of warming up... Just in terms of dribbling, Irving was a unique presence in the league.
"Thud!"
However, as Irving was doing a crossover, a basketball rolled over and passed through Irving's legs, hitting the exact spot where Irving's ball was about to land, sending Irving's ball flying.
"Who?"
Irving turned around and saw Wade Dong smiling at him. He knew it was Wade Dong's prank and smiled back, "Hello, Brother Dong."
"Idol~"
Wade Dong walked over and put his arm around Irving's shoulder, whispering, "Let me tell you a secret, actually... the Earth is flat."
"Ah?!"
Irving was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up with excitement, "You think so too? I've known this for a long time!"
"Mm-hmm~"
Wade Dong nodded in agreement, "We are the pioneers. Those scientists who say the Earth is round are talking nonsense."
Hearing this, Irving felt like he had found a kindred spirit and started chatting with Wade Dong until the fans started entering the arena. Irving finally let go of Wade Dong, but they exchanged contact information.
"Hehe~"
Wade Dong still couldn't keep up with Irving's thought process. He was a fake pioneer, while Irving was the real one.
...
Cavaliers starting lineup: Irving, Thompson, Varejao, Alonzo, Waiters.
Suns starting lineup: Wade Dong, Nash, Middleton, Gortat, Bynum.
"Beep!!!"
With the referee's whistle, the game officially began.
Bynum won the jump ball, and Nash dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. He set a pick-and-roll with Gortat and passed the ball to Middleton, who easily scored a layup.
However, the Cavaliers' offense was not as smooth. Among the starting lineup, only Irving's offensive ability stood out, so the one defending Irving was Wade Dong!
Irving's dribbling was flashy, but that didn't mean he had a lot of fancy moves. On the contrary, Irving's dribbling was not only flashy but also practical. Unfortunately, every step Irving took was seen through by Wade Dong.
Because Wade Dong also possessed Irving's dribbling skill package!
Irving's first offensive attempt was blocked by Wade Dong... The US Airways Center immediately erupted in cheers.
Although he was a second-year player, Irving was undoubtedly the star of the Cavaliers. Irving's first offensive attempt was blocked by Wade Dong, which greatly boosted the home team's morale.
It was the Suns' turn to attack. Wade Dong asked for the ball from Nash as soon as he crossed the half-court line.
"Idol, here's a little gift for you~"
Facing Irving's defense, Wade Dong did a series of crossovers, creating a rhythm difference to shake off Irving, then drove to the basket. As he jumped for the layup, Thompson also came over to block Wade Dong, but Wade Dong had a brief hang time in the air. Just as Thompson started to descend, Wade Dong made a reverse layup.
4:0!!!
The Suns took an early lead.
Irving was stunned. Wade Dong had used his own moves to shake him off! Moreover, Wade Dong's dribbling was clearly more proficient than his.
After scoring, Wade Dong also smiled at Irving, "Idol, learn from this. It will be very helpful for your future development."
Irving, "???"
Wade Dong already had the momentum to become the league's top player. Why would he call him an idol?
Tonight, Wade Dong's offensive desire was very strong, perhaps because Li Jiajia was also sitting courtside watching the game.
On the second possession, Wade Dong used a double behind-the-back move to shake off Irving, then made multiple quick changes of direction to drive to the Cavaliers' basket and score a layup.
One against five!!!
Wade Dong scored this basket by shaking off five Cavaliers players, truly a one-man show.
On the third possession, Wade Dong did a series of crossovers followed by a step-back jumper and scored!
On the fourth possession...
On the fifth possession...
Irving felt like crying. He wanted to tell the referee, "Wade Dong is using all my moves!"
But just like how no one else in the league could defend Irving, Irving couldn't defend Wade Dong either.
The first quarter ended.
37:19!!!
The Suns led the Cavaliers by 18 points.
Wade Dong scored 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting, exactly the number of points the Suns led by, and he did it all using Irving's moves.
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
The cheers in the US Airways Center grew louder and louder. No one had ever seen a player like Wade Dong.
In previous games, Wade Dong had also scored using similar moves, but it was only when Wade Dong and Irving were on the court together that the fans realized these moves originated from Irving.
But to say that Wade Dong was imitating Irving was also incorrect, because Wade Dong's dribbling was even smoother.
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like Irving was imitating Wade Dong!
Continuous crossovers!
Back-and-forth crossovers followed by a body feint!
Double behind-the-back move!
These were all Irving's signature moves, but when Wade Dong used them, the fans realized that it was actually Irving imitating Wade Dong!
By halftime, the Suns were leading the Cavaliers by 27 points.
The game had already entered garbage time.
So during the halftime break, Ginobili didn't bother much with tactical arrangements. He just reminded Wade Dong to tone it down a bit and not play so happily.
The second half began.
The Cavaliers were very familiar with Irving's moves. When Wade Dong used Irving's moves to score, the Cavaliers players thought they could defend him.
But they overlooked a very important point: Wade Dong was taller and faster than Irving!
So with 5 minutes left in the third quarter, the Suns substituted their starting lineup, and the rest of the game was garbage time.
"Beep!!!"
With the referee's whistle, the game ended.
112:87!!!
The Suns blew out the Cavaliers at home.
Game stats:
Wade Dong: 41 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks.
Nash: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.
Irving: 27 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks.
Wade Dong gave the second-year player and founder of the "Flat Earth" theory, Kyrie Irving, a good lesson.
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