Chapter Fifty-Three: The Fearsome Warrior

A terrifying team of warriors? Handsome and composed, able to devise strategies with calm even as a mountain crumbles before them. They remain unfazed by great victories, treating them with serenity, and brush off crushing defeats with a simple smile. These words could not describe the current Warriors team any better. Within the squad, harmony reigns—whether they win or lose, no one is blamed. They face everything together, always with a smile. Such a team is truly formidable.

They decisively defeated the Heat, then marched into Los Angeles the next day and returned with heads held high. Their performance was indeed impressive and full of momentum.

After the game against the Clippers, Nelson began to seriously ponder the issues facing the team. The relentless intensity on the court, with nearly a hundred offensive drives and sprints each game, was taxing for the players. A single back-to-back nearly exhausted every member. While this might be manageable in the regular season, come playoffs, the relentless pace would make it difficult to go far.

Nelson was troubled. His rotation typically involved only seven or eight players, as was common across the league, but his own players were nearly collapsing from the workload. As the season wore on, their fatigue became ever more apparent. Nelson turned to Lin Fei for his thoughts. "Lin, do you think the intensity of our play is too high right now?"

Lin Fei looked at Nelson in surprise—why was this old man asking him such a question? Surely he knew the answer himself.

Nelson regarded Lin Fei calmly, but Lin Fei was at a loss for words. In truth, he also felt exhausted deep down. In terms of stamina, Lin Fei was certainly among the weakest in the league, save for a few veterans.

"A bit tired," Lin Fei admitted. "I know we can only win by running, but even Jobs and Aix are starting to feel it."

Saying it out loud was a relief for Lin Fei.

"Are you comfortable with a bench role?" Nelson asked.

"I don't mind!" In reality, ever since he scored sixty points in his first start, Lin Fei had wondered if he should be a starter. But he also knew that to win, it might be better to suppress his personal ambitions. This mindset was quite characteristic of someone from his homeland.

"I’m thinking of giving more players court time," Nelson said tentatively.

Lin Fei stared at Nelson in astonishment.

Nelson continued, "I feel I could try letting more players take the floor. Really, I think Smith has been performing brilliantly! On the court, he’s even more impressive than he is in practice!"

"Oh!" Nelson then drifted back to his own thoughts.

Lin Fei returned to his training.

Not long after, Nelson addressed all the players, "Today, we're having an intrasquad scrimmage—seven a side. I’ll be rotating players constantly. Remember, I intend to give every single one of you a chance to play—every one!" It was astonishing that a coach could say this so easily.

As the scrimmage went on, Nelson grew increasingly excited. It was true—each player’s abilities weren’t that far apart. At least on the NBA stage, every one of them deserved a chance. If you looked at their stats, their efficiency wasn’t all that different.

During the scrimmage, Lin Fei rarely showed off with spectacular long-range threes.

"Lin, do you have any secrets to your shooting? You’re so accurate!" Keynes asked.

"Heh, sure! I like playing with toy planes!"

"Toy planes? Hahaha!" Keynes and Aix burst out laughing.

"Seriously, though, I honestly don’t know. Back in college, I used to dribble and run long distances on the court every day, getting faster and faster. My shooting was always accurate—almost from the time I was born, or so it seemed. I couldn’t shoot from that far back then, but then I noticed others were also accurate, so I started trying from farther and farther away, and the more I tried, the farther I could shoot. Eventually, I started practicing from different spots—I even thought about shooting from the backcourt. But once I found that no one could guard me at half-court, I settled there. I used to have a very slow release, so if someone taller closed in, they could easily block me. Later, I tried to speed up my shot while dribbling. I learned a lot from Iverson—his pull-up after a crossover comes out so quickly. I used to want to imitate his form, but someone told me that as long as I used the form most comfortable for me, I’d shoot both faster and more accurately. So now I just do it my own way!" Lin Fei rattled off his story in one breath, feeling quite pleased.

"Sounds complicated! That’s not for me—I prefer Shaq’s style. If I’m within a step of the basket, I’ll shoot. There’s no point shooting from two steps out. But you say you were born with an accurate shot? Did your mother build a basketball court in her womb?" With that, everyone burst into laughter.

"Let’s try some half-court shots! Whoever loses tonight has to buy dinner!"

"Am I included?" Lin Fei piped up.

"Get lost! Just trying to freeload! No way—unless you hit ten long-range threes for us," Keynes shouted back.

"Do you think the coach really means it? That every player will get to play? There’s not that much time, unless every game goes to overtime. There just isn’t enough time for us all to get on the court," Claude asked, voicing a concern shared by many.

"Relax, don’t worry! We’re doing great. We’re already fourth in the West, you know? We’re ahead of the Thunder, Hornets, and Rockets," Jobs said, clearly proud of their record.

"We’re the fastest-paced team in the league. Our average running distance and shot attempts per game are much higher than other teams. If we manage things well, maybe every one of us really could get some playing time," Lin Fei explained.

Perhaps now you can finally understand.

Nelson could discuss playing time so easily with his players—a topic that has caused so many rifts between coaches and athletes. Yet here, there was no conflict, and the players themselves had no disputes among each other. The harmony among the Warriors was remarkable. Of heaven, earth, and people, harmony among people is the most important. Now, the Warriors have achieved it!

What comes next? Just wait for their opponents to curse in frustration when facing the Warriors.