dognovel Chapter 26 The Bet Between O'Neal and Barkley
Chapter 26 The Bet Between O'Neal and Barkley
Phoenix, the largest city and capital of Arizona, is known as the Phoenix City.
Phoenix has many professional sports clubs, but the Phoenix Suns are undoubtedly the oldest and most popular.
However, the Suns suddenly found themselves in trouble.
A reporter revealed that Suns owner Robert Savo has severe racism and misogyny.
This caught the entire club somewhat off guard.
Fortunately, the game was not affected, and the 18000 seats at the Suns' home arena, Missy Airways Center, were completely full.
The Suns boast several star players, including Paul, Booker, Bridges, and Ayton, and many commentators and legends believed before the game that the outcome was not much of a surprise.
If there is any difference, it's how many points solar energy won.
There weren't many games today, so this game was broadcast live across the entire globe by TNT. Barkley and O'Neal, the old duo who both played for the Suns, naturally made an appearance in the broadcast once again.
“Look, Jenna’s here today.” Barkley spotted Jenna sitting courtside in a sexy, revealing outfit at a glance. “No wonder Booker posted a picture of himself with Jenna a few hours ago.”
"I always felt that Jenner didn't like Booker at all." O'Neal, that big mouth, really dared to say anything.
Barkley quickly interrupted his colleague, changing the subject, "The players have started warming up."
O'Neal seemed to realize he had said something inappropriate, so he quickly coughed awkwardly twice and said, "Charles, I bet a thousand dollars the Suns will win today."
Barkley almost spat on the fat guy. "Even a fool knows the Suns will win today."
"Do you know?" O'Neal asked doubtfully.
“Of course I know that.” Barkley realized something was wrong as soon as he finished speaking.
O'Neal was laughing so hard he was doubled over.
"How about this, let's bet a thousand dollars whether Wang Xiucheng will get the ball stolen today," Barkley said irritably.
Upon hearing this, O'Neal immediately perked up; he loved playing these kinds of games with Barkley.
"I specifically looked at Wang Xiucheng's stats. He rarely makes mistakes and has never lost the ball, which is unbelievable for a rookie." Barkley took out his phone and looked at it, seemingly having prepared for this all along.
"So, you, the gambling king Xiu Cheng, will get the ball stolen today?" O'Neal asked.
“No.” Barkley shook his head. “This time I choose to stand with the Chinese. I, the gambling king Xiu Cheng, will not lose possession in this game.”
O'Neal was somewhat surprised. After all, the Suns had a top-class guard like Paul, an energetic All-Star like Booker, and Bridges with his long arms and big hands. How could they not be able to steal a ball from Wang Xiucheng?
Before today's game, Silas stated in the press conference that he would give Wang Xiucheng more playing time, which means that he will face more starting players and has a higher probability of making mistakes.
We have to take this bet; it's like picking up free money.
Fearing Barkley might change his mind, O'Neal immediately said, "Then I'll bet on King Xiu Cheng in this game, he'll get the ball stolen."
Barkley added, "It was a steal, not a turnover."
"Understood, understood." O'Neal couldn't wait to take out his phone and post the bet with Barkley online.
The game started soon.
The Suns fielded a starting lineup of Paul, Booker, Ayton, Bridges, and Crowder, showing no intention of holding back.
The Rockets' lineup remains unchanged: Green, Porter Jr., Shen Jing, Wood, and Tate.
Wang Xiucheng, whom fans were looking forward to, did not start.
Wang Xiucheng, sitting in the audience, was biting his nails out of boredom.
I've been in the US for over four years, and while I haven't learned anything else, I have learned the habit of biting my nails.
Jenna sat in the front row, her large eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, fixed on Wang Xiucheng, never leaving his side.
If someone were to remove her sunglasses, they would notice that Jenner's eyes were already misty, as if they were about to burst open at any moment.
As for the game, she didn't care at all, and even when Booker deliberately walked past her several times, Jenner didn't react.
Her eyes were only for that man, the man she longed for but could not have, the man she dreamed of.
beep!
The referee blows the whistle.
Silas called a timeout.
Just four minutes into the game, the Suns were already leading 18-10 by eight points.
Paul already has 3 assists, and under his orchestration, the Suns have maintained control of the tempo, scoring on almost every possession.
"Pay attention to defense. Porter, take a break. Wang, you go up and play point guard. Be careful with the ball movement; the opponent might double-team you." Silas held up the clipboard and drew a few scribbles, which Wang Xiucheng couldn't understand at all.
The system then issued the competition task.
[Task 1: For every +1 in positive or negative value, you will be rewarded with 10 system points]
[Task 2: Achieve at least as many assists as Paul. Upon completion, you will be rewarded with 100 system points.]
[Task 3: For every assist you get compared to Paul, you will be awarded 100 system points upon completion.]
It seems I'll be playing the role of a pure point guard today. Wang Xiucheng instantly knew the role the system wanted him to play today.
Penguin Live Room.
"Wang Xiucheng is on the court. There are still 8 minutes left in the first quarter. Wang Xiucheng is on the court. Porter Jr. is off the court. I told you, he's a fake starter." Yang Yi, who had been sluggish, suddenly became tough at this moment.
Today's other guest, Ma Jian, is also full of anticipation: "Let's see how Xiao Wang performs. He's up against Paul, a rare learning opportunity."
"Wang Xiu received the ball, accelerated past Paul, very easily, but this play..."
Before Yang Yi could finish speaking, Wang Xiucheng's ball seemed to lose control and flew out.
The scene erupted in uproar, with even Barkley standing up in the live broadcast room.
He saw it clearly: Wang Xiucheng simply accelerated and changed direction, and he passed Paul, who was already 36 years old.
However, perhaps due to excessive speed, Wang Xiucheng's hand seemed to have lost its grip, and the basketball flew uncontrollably towards Booker's head.
The basketball was moving too fast. Booker instinctively reached out to grab it, but only touched the edge of the ball, causing it to deflect slightly.
Everyone thought it was a mistake; Wang Xiucheng had slipped.
But the next moment, a red figure appeared behind Booker, flashing out like a ghost, grabbing the ball with one hand, taking a step and jumping high, slamming the ball into the basket!
"Ah..." Jalen Green, who had just dunked, looked up at the dome and vented his frustration.
"This..." Paul put his hands on his hips, mentally rehearsing the trajectory of the basketball he had just played, and concluded that it was a coincidence.
Yes, it was a coincidence.
It must have been Wang Xiucheng who made a mistake, and then Booker touched the ball, which allowed Green, who was trying to set a screen for Wang Xiucheng, to receive the ball.
If any one of these events hadn't occurred, Green wouldn't have been able to receive the ball.
So this can only be an accident, a coincidence.
"pretty."
Green and Wang Xiucheng gave each other a hard high five, although Green also thought it was a mistake.
Monty stood on the sidelines, his brow furrowed.
This must have been an accident.
But what if not?
The thought suddenly popped into Monty's mind, startling him.
Because he didn't see the apology or relief that should have appeared on Wang Xiucheng's face after making a mistake.
In fact, Wang Xiucheng immediately pointed at Green, a triumphant expression after an assist, something Paul often does.
Hopefully, Monty was just overthinking things. He looked at Paul and felt much more at ease.
With Paul on the court, the game is always easy.
Barkley sat down as well, instinctively wiping the cold sweat from his bald head.
Luckily, the ball wasn't intercepted.
O'Neal chuckled, as if the thousand dollars were about to be his.
The game continued, with Paul controlling the ball. Paul, who was good at using his body, isolated Wang Xiucheng outside the cylinder, and then after a pick-and-roll with Ayton, passed the ball to Booker in the corner.
Booker jumped and shot before Green was even in position.
Bang!
The shot missed. Shen Jing blocked Ayton and grabbed the rebound. As soon as he looked up, he saw Wang Xiucheng reaching out for the ball.
However, Paul was positioned ahead of Wang Xiucheng, preventing Shen Jing from passing the ball.
Wang Xiucheng suddenly ran towards the frontcourt. With a speed far exceeding that of Paul, Wang Xiucheng almost instantly left Paul behind.
Shen Jing swung the basketball, sending it soaring into the air and heading towards the backcourt.
The ball was very fast, but Wang Xiucheng still caught it just before it went out of bounds.
However, Wang Xiucheng did not make any adjustments. He received the ball with his right hand and, like a Tai Chi ball, used the opponent's force against him, first deflecting the force off the ball, and then flicking it to send the basketball flying to the side.
Booker, who had quickly positioned himself, couldn't stop in time, and the basketball flew past the spot where he had just passed.
Booker could only reach out and try to interfere.
With a soft thud, Booker realized his fingers had touched the ball.
The ball will go out of bounds.
Booker immediately determined the result.
But then, the red figure reappeared.
It's Green again!
Green arrived in the backcourt, but he was already a step behind and didn't expect to receive the ball, so he slowed down a bit to prepare to inbound the ball.
However, Booker touched the ball, and the ball's direction strangely turned towards him.
Because he slowed down in advance, Green received the ball with both hands very naturally, took a step with the momentum, and then jumped up smoothly to release the shot.
At that moment, Green felt it was so natural, so inevitable!
Everything seemed perfect.
So much so that the moment he released the ball, Green was convinced it would go in.
So without even looking at the ball, Green turned around and ran back as soon as he landed.
Swish!
A beautiful, hollow sound filled the net!