NBA: The God of Basketball Begins with Precise Scoring

Chapter 13, Section 3: Check-in for the first victory, Li Xingchen exits the arena in glory!

There are 5 minutes and 58 seconds left in the first half of the game.

Li Xingchen played for ten minutes and had a spectacular stat line of 3-for-5 shooting, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. That's right, in the few minutes after Curry returned, although Li Xingchen didn't have many opportunities to shoot or score, he was able to devote more energy to the defensive end and even helped the team complete a steal!

In just the last ten minutes or so of the game, Li Xingchen's contribution on the court is almost on par with Wiggins, making him a core starter.

Even many sports commentators who truly understand football were quite surprised by this.

"Judging from Li Xingchen's current performance, he's definitely a starter-caliber player for a playoff team. The Warriors are practically using him as a substitute for prime Klay Thompson!"

"He's good at spot-up three-pointers, pick-and-rolls with two guards, and even on-ball pick-and-rolls. His perimeter defense is also very good. He's definitely a top-tier 3-and-D player!"

"Actually, Li Xingchen's basic skills have always been pretty good. His defense has never been bad when he's on the court. He always played very well in the G League. It's just that every time he returns to the regular season, he's not in good form and can't make shots. I feel that he mainly lacks confidence."

"Confidence is so important for a pitcher. It feels like his crazy five-three-pointer streak at the end of the last game really unlocked his potential. Now he seems completely at ease and full of confidence on the court, playing aggressively on defense, decisively on offense, and handling the ball with exceptional clarity. This is a major breakthrough!"

……

During the match, after the timeout, Li Xingchen was temporarily substituted.

Including the first quarter, he had already played for ten consecutive minutes, and his physical strength had clearly declined. The coach certainly wouldn't let him continue playing.

When he scored six points in a row, he was wondering to himself, "I'm scoring so fast, I've used up ten of my sixteen points in no time. Will this cause me to fall behind in the second half?"

However, after returning to the court after the last timeout, he realized that he had probably worried too much.

The opposing coach had clearly made targeted arrangements, investing more defensive resources in him and reducing his chances of getting a shot off.

At his current level, he certainly can't do what a superstar does, being able to score directly into the opponent's basket amidst a sea of ​​defenders, unless there's an extreme situation like the last game where he can control the score, which would be possible with the system's help.

However, this is not a big deal. The fact that he can make the opposing coach invest more defensive resources in him and create more offensive opportunities for his teammates by attracting the opponent's defense already demonstrates great offensive strategic value.

If he can maintain a high level of defense on this basis, then it's almost a certainty that he will be promoted to the team's starting lineup.

He's basically on the same team level as Wiggins and Thompson before his injury—a high-quality piece for a championship run.

Of course, the current sample size of matches is still too small, and it's unlikely that something like being promoted to the starting lineup will happen so quickly.

However, Li Xingchen was not worried. With his current condition, maintaining his level was not difficult, and he could even continue to improve.

As the game entered the final half of the first half, most of the starting players from both sides returned to the court.

However, the Warriors' regular starting lineup did not perform well in this game. This was mainly because with Gobert protecting the paint, the twin towers of Looney and Green had almost no opportunities to attack inside. Their outside shooting was also too congesting. In addition, besides Curry, Wiggins and Bazemore also had poor shooting touches today, so the Warriors' offense stagnated at one point.

Four minutes later, the score was 55-47. The Warriors still maintained their lead, but their advantage had been chipped away by their opponents.

During a dead ball situation, Cole substituted Li Xingchen back onto the field, replacing Rooney.

We still need to play a small-ball lineup!

As soon as Li Xingchen entered the game, the team's space was immediately improved, and he helped the team launch attacks in two consecutive rounds.

However, the Jazz's offensive touch has also been nurtured during this period, and they have been able to respond every time the Warriors score.

At halftime, the score was 60-51, with the Warriors entering the second half with a decent lead.

The live stream showed Li Xingchen's personal stats for the first half: 12:08 playing time, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3/5 field goal percentage, 2/3 three-point percentage, 2/2 free throw percentage, and a plus-minus of +10 – quite impressive stats.

In contrast, the Jazz's Sixth Man of the Year, Jordan Clarkson, also scored ten points in the first half, but in terms of overall efficiency and defensive performance, Li Xingchen was clearly superior.

Unsurprisingly, Curry led the Warriors in scoring, hitting 6 of 10 field goals and 4 of 6 three-pointers for an extremely efficient 18 points.

However, the fact that Li Xingchen, a high-quality spacing player who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, was able to score relatively easily today was also largely due to his ability to draw the defense away from him.

In the second half, Kerr made a decision that surprised many people: he promoted Li Xingchen to the starting lineup for the second half!

Fans in the domestic live broadcast rooms were very excited about this.

"No way, no way! Not only did he finish the first half, but he also started the second half! Is my Xingchen brother going to start the next game too?"

"Kerr truly deserves to be called the coach who dares to use the most players! Although he has often been criticized for using two-way players in the past, this time I can only say well done!"

"It's unlikely he'll be promoted to the starting lineup, as that involves his status within the team. However, against the Jazz, he might actually get a lot of playing time. After all, if they're playing a small-ball lineup, Rooney might be a pseudo-starter, and his actual playing time will probably be less than our Star Bro's..."

"Indeed, the main reason is that the Jazz don't have a big forward, and Gobert is quite vulnerable to being targeted by shooters. This lineup really suits A-Chen's style!"

……

Kerr's tactical change has indeed hit the Jazz where it hurts.

By using a small-ball lineup and multiple shooters to target Gobert, the Warriors' offense flowed smoothly and efficiently from start to finish.

On the other hand, the Jazz, with their star scorer Mitchell out, could barely keep up if the other players could maintain their shooting touch. But once their offense stalled, they collapsed like a flood breaking through a dam, and the score quickly widened.

After three quarters, the Warriors had a commanding lead of over twenty points, 94-72, almost recreating their "Warriors' Third Quarter Madness".

During the game, Li Xingchen also took advantage of a baseline cross screen with Curry, and when the opposing defense made a communication error and both of them chased after Curry, he completed a perfect layup and 2+1, which drew cheers from the bench.

In the final fourth quarter, before Curry had even returned to the court, Jazz coach Snyder, seeing that the score remained close, surrendered early with just a few minutes left in the game, pulling all the starters and replacing them with substitutes.

It's not that he's incompetent; the main problem is that the team is missing Mitchell, their key scorer. No matter how the coach arranges his lineup, it's like a skilled cook trying to cook without rice.

When the two sides made substitutions during garbage time, Li Xingchen felt incredibly honored—he usually only had the chance to be substituted on at this time, but today he was honorably off the field to rest.

He has truly transformed from a benchwarmer to a core rotation player.

And so, Li Xingchen, with the Golden State Warriors, won his first playoff game in his NBA career!