Chapter 25: A good cat is one that catches mice.

After landing from his dunk, Kobe turned around, pointed a finger at Li Rui, and shouted with a toothy grin, "Great pass."

Kobe was thrilled. He knew Li Rui had understood his intention, and he loved playing with intelligent teammates.

Li Rui jogged over to Kobe and nodded. "I told you, passing to me is never a problem. Even if I don't have a shot, I'll just pass it right back to you."

Efficiency—that was the persona Li Rui was currently projecting.

On the sidelines, Phil Jackson clapped his hands, clearly satisfied with their synergy. This Lakers transition play had been excellent; Kobe and Li Rui had established a real connection on the court.

Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon exchanged glances, both feeling the pressure mounting.

The Bulls went on the attack again. Hinrich received the inbound pass and pushed the ball across half-court, feeding it to Ben Gordon on the right side. Gordon attempted to take Kobe one-on-one, but he was helpless; Kobe’s perimeter defense was in its prime, and no one could easily get past him.

So what if Ben Gordon averaged 21 points a game? It meant nothing. Kobe felt no pressure at all. After dribbling for eight seconds, Gordon passed the ball back to Hinrich.

The Bulls' perimeter offense was struggling, caught in the suffocating trap set by Li Rui and Kobe. Hinrich glanced at the shot clock—only ten seconds remained—and signaled a play.

Ben Wallace moved up to set a screen. This time, Li Rui anticipated the move and stepped around the screen early. When facing pick-and-rolls, it comes down to pushing, navigating, or colliding, but hustle is what matters most.

The first screen failed, so Hinrich dribbled behind his back to the left to adjust his footing. Wallace shifted his screen to follow.

*Thud!*

Li Rui was caught this time, blocked by the screen, and Hinrich seized the opportunity to drive.

"Damn it!" Li Rui cursed under his breath and hurried to recover.

Ben Wallace’s screen had a glaring flaw: he lacked an outside shot, and his ability to roll to the rim and finish was not strong enough to effectively support Hinrich. This allowed Li Rui to confidently leave him and double-team Hinrich with Andrew Bynum, who had switched over.

Bynum’s massive frame stood in the way, making it impossible for Hinrich to step through for a layup. Feeling the pressure from Li Rui behind him, Hinrich was forced to pass out to Luol Deng in the corner.

Deng caught the ball and launched a three-pointer, which was heavily contested.

*Clang!*

The ball slammed hard against the rim.

"Li, you grab it!" Bynum shouted, loyally boxing out Ben Wallace. Li Rui leaped up and secured the rebound.

Li Rui could see that Bynum was prioritizing body positioning every time a rebound was up for grabs to neutralize Wallace. He had to admit, the kid had incredible natural talent. If only "Andrew" could learn a thing or two from Steven Adams, his rebounding numbers would skyrocket.

Ben Wallace looked at Bynum with a sense of helplessness. With that height, mass, and solid interior awareness, it was hard to grab offensive rebounds against a guy like that.

It was the era of the young guns.

***

After receiving the ball, Li Rui was immediately met with Hinrich’s suffocating pressure. Neither Odom nor Kobe were in an optimal position to receive, and a pass risked a turnover.

Li Rui executed a behind-the-back dribble to regain his composure and passed the ball to Bynum, who was just starting to run forward.

Bynum stood in the backcourt, stunned, holding the ball. *Buddy, what are you doing? Are you expecting me to dribble the ball across half-court?*

Fortunately, Ben Wallace hadn't expected the pass either and had already begun to retreat, but seeing the situation, he quickly charged up to pressure Bynum. Bynum hurriedly passed the ball back to Li Rui. Li Rui dribbled twice, then quickly fired it back to Bynum while sprinting to shake off Hinrich. Bynum held the ball high and returned the pass.

The two players on the Lakers with the worst ball-handling skills barely managed to coordinate. They finally crossed the half-court line—it was nearly an eight-second violation, but they had brought the ball across.

Li Rui patted his chest. As soon as they crossed half-court, he immediately handed the ball to Kobe. Whoever wanted to dribble could take it; he didn't want the hot potato.

With a ball-handling rating of 55, Li Rui could usually bring the ball up against average defenders without much trouble, but Hinrich was turning up the intensity. After being outplayed by Li Rui repeatedly, how could he not ramp up the pressure to save face? He was an All-Defensive Second Team guard, after all. The fact that Li Rui had brought the ball up without turning it over was an achievement in itself.

Phil Jackson had been satisfied with Li Rui, but seeing that backcourt duo's clumsy transition made his heart skip a beat. He shouted from the sidelines, "F*ck, Li, Andrew, what are you two doing?"

Li Rui gestured to the coach, "We were coordinating our transition, Coach."

*Don't look at the process; look at the result.* No turnovers—it didn't matter how they got it across.

Jackson didn't want to waste time arguing. He turned to Daniel and said, "Increase his ball-handling training volume."

Daniel nodded with a smile and said, "OK."

Even though Li Rui’s handling was poor, Jackson didn't strip him of his point guard duties; instead, he planned to improve his fundamentals. It helped that Li Rui hadn't caused any major trouble and knew to limit his own touches because he recognized his own limitations.

It was a perfect match, as Kobe was a ball-dominant player anyway. If he had a point guard who insisted on holding the ball, Kobe wouldn't be happy.

Kobe stood at the top of the arc, surveying the floor. Li Rui continued to cut between the left corner and the 45-degree wing, while Odom and Walton spaced the floor on the right. Bynum was battling Wallace in the low post on the left. Bynum spun, shoved Wallace away, carved out space, and held up a hand for the ball.

Seeing Bynum’s height advantage, Kobe hesitated for a moment before lobbing the ball inside. In Kobe’s eyes, Bynum was a bit of a waste, squandering such great talent. Bynum was constantly on the receiving end of Kobe’s scolding.

Ben Wallace couldn't stop elite interior players one-on-one, but Bynum wasn't quite elite yet; his offensive game was still a bit raw.

***

After bumping twice, Bynum realized Wallace had a low center of gravity and couldn't be moved. Wallace reached in to swipe at the ball, and it slipped loose.

Bynum reacted quickly and regained control, immediately spotting Li Rui, who was closest to him, and firing a pass. Li Rui hadn't managed to find an opening yet, and Bynum’s pass put him in a tough spot, forcing him to face Hinrich’s defense immediately.

*Slap!*

Hinrich swiped at the ball again, but luckily, Li Rui managed to maintain control. After passing, Bynum had the presence of mind to come over and set a screen for Li Rui; otherwise, Li Rui would have had to force the shot through heavy coverage.

*Thud!*

Bynum blocked Hinrich, and Li Rui hurriedly dribbled to adjust his position toward the top of the key.

A small window of space appeared.

Ben Wallace didn't come out to help. Li Rui stepped into a three-pointer.

The hoop looked like an ocean.

Facing the sea, the flowers bloom.

It was a textbook shooting motion; the ball flicked off his fingertips, his follow-through soft and refined to adjust the angle. Relying on his intuition, Li Rui knew the shot was good the moment it left his hand.

Sure enough.

*Swish!*

The ball went straight through the net.

16 to 15.

"Whoa, nice job!" Daniel cheered, throwing a fist in the air, while Phil Jackson applauded from the sidelines.

The sequence between Li Rui and Bynum might have looked shaky, but the ball had gone in. Basketball was, after all, a game of putting the ball in the basket. No matter how ugly the dribbling or passing looked, a bucket was a good result.

After the shot, Li Rui mimicked a cocky celebration he had seen other stars perform, placing a finger to his lips to taunt the Chicago crowd.

"BOOOOO!!!"

The arena erupted in jeers. The gesture made the Bulls' bench players grit their teeth in frustration.

Li Rui felt that, just as Kobe had said before the game, the louder they booed, the more they feared you. Hearing the jeers, Li Rui smiled.

He realized just how strong he had become.

His confidence was growing with every possession.