Chapter 128: Magic Johnson's Passing Skill Package

It was said that after the Olympics, James practiced his three-pointers for a month.

Now, his three-pointers were even better than before.

Moreover, the US men's basketball team suffered greatly from Wade Dong's three-pointers during the Olympics. Signing Allen was a way to fight fire with fire.

Regardless of the media's rankings of the championship favorites, the Heat still considered the Suns their biggest rival in the new season.

...

This game attracted a lot of attention.

Everyone knew that the Heat were determined to seek revenge.

From the offseason, it was clear that James and Wade were working hard, as seen from their Twitter updates.

On the other hand, Wade Dong didn't have Twitter and didn't post updates on social media. The only news related to the Suns was that Wade Dong treated Coach Gentry, Nash, and others to hotpot in China.

One side was training hard, the other was enjoying hotpot.

The Heat's determination for revenge was evident!

After all, the Big Three were formed to win the championship. Losing to the Mavericks in the first year and to the Suns in the second year, if they couldn't win the championship this year, the Big Three would likely disband.

Before the game, Wade walked over to chat with Wade Dong, "I haven't seen any updates from you during the offseason. What have you been doing?"

"Eating and drinking," Wade Dong replied, pinching his stomach and smiling at Wade, "I've been lying on the couch watching TV every day. Look, I've even gained some belly fat."

"Haha... I can't see it," Wade laughed.

After a few jokes, Wade went to the court to warm up.

Wade Dong did slack off a bit after the Olympics, which was evident from his attribute panel. His speed dropped by two points, his jumping ability by six points, and his shooting by one point... Overall, Wade Dong's attributes dropped by more than ten points.

Before the new season started, Wade Dong spent more than ten talent points to restore his attributes to full.

Playing basketball is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you'll fall behind. The ancients were right!

...

In the broadcast room, Yu Jia and Coach Zhang were doing pre-game analysis.

Yu Jia, "Coach Zhang, what do you think about this game?"

Coach Zhang, "The Heat have strengthened their lineup with the addition of Allen, giving them another scoring option. The Suns have made significant changes to their lineup this season and still need to gel. It's hard to predict who will win this game."

Yu Jia, "If the Heat can find a way to limit Wade Dong, they have a chance to win."

Coach Zhang, "Scoring 37 points in a quarter, and 90 points in the Olympic final, it's easy to limit ordinary players, but limiting a god is difficult."

...

"Beep!!!"

As the referee's whistle blew, the game began.

Heat starting lineup: James, Wade, Chalmers, Allen, Bosh.

Suns starting lineup: Wade Dong, Nash, Dudley, Gortat, Bynum.

Bynum and Bosh jumped for the tip-off, and Bynum tipped the ball to Nash.

The Heat's lineup had stronger offensive capabilities than last season, and their defense was not weak either. At the start of the game, the Heat were full of energy and forced a turnover from the Suns.

On the transition, James shot a three-pointer from just inside the three-point line.

"Swish!!!"

The three-pointer went in.

This shot was beautiful, but unfortunately, it was in the Suns' arena. If it were in the Heat's home court, James would have received a thunderous applause.

"Not bad~"

Wade Dong blinked.

Although one shot doesn't prove much, starting with a three-pointer showed that James had confidence in his three-point shooting.

If James's three-pointers started falling, that would be scary!

"Play at our own pace, don't be affected," Wade Dong encouraged his teammates as they ran.

"Got it, Brother Dong!"

On the Suns' offense, Nash made a bounce pass to Wade Dong.

Seeing Wade Dong driving to the basket, James and Bosh quickly collapsed to defend, jumping to block Wade Dong's layup.

"Bynum..."

Wade Dong caught a glimpse of Bynum standing at the three-point line, ready to catch the ball.

He switched hands in mid-air and then... the ball disappeared from Wade Dong's hands.

...

Coach Zhang, "Oh wow, how did he pass that ball?!"

Yu Jia, "A mid-air switch and pass, that move is rare. Only someone with Wade Dong's physical talent could pull it off."

...

"Hmm?!"

Even Bynum didn't expect to receive the ball so comfortably at the three-point line!

Just as Wade Dong landed, Bynum shot a three-pointer!

"Swish!!!"

The ball went through the net.

The arena immediately erupted with the DJ's excited voice, "Three-pointer!!!"

"Yes!!!"

Bynum made an "OK" gesture to the crowd as he ran back on defense, indicating he had just made a three-pointer.

This was why Bynum chose the Suns. Only Wade Dong and Coach Gentry allowed him to shoot three-pointers from the perimeter. In other teams, this style of play would be criticized by the coach for wasting talent, and he would be benched.

3:3!!!

Bynum's three-pointer amazed the fans with Wade Dong's pass, switching hands in mid-air and accurately delivering the ball to Bynum at the three-point line!

This pass was definitely a candidate for the top ten assists of the year!

"Feels good~"

Wade Dong muttered to himself. The pass was a moment of inspiration.

However, inspired by this pass, Wade Dong exchanged for a skill package: Magic Johnson's Passing Skill Package!

He had plenty of talent points now, and exchanging for a skill package in one game wasn't too costly. Besides, he wouldn't use the "Lucky Potion" continuously like in the Olympics.

The Olympics were about national glory!

In these regular-season games, even if the score was close, unless it was a game-winning shot, Wade Dong didn't plan to use the "Lucky Potion" again. A hundred talent points per game was too costly.

Five minutes into the first quarter.

11:19!!!

The Suns were down by eight points, and Coach Gentry called a timeout.

Falling behind by eight points at the start was due to the Heat's strong offense and the Suns' issues on both offense and defense.

"Wade Dong, you bring the score back, and we'll work on team chemistry," Coach Gentry instructed. His strategy was for Wade Dong to bring the score back... The reason the Suns were behind was that Nash and Wade Dong were too unselfish, passing the ball to their teammates whenever they had a chance.

Out of the Suns' 11 points, Bynum had 5, Dudley had 2, and Gortat had 4, while Wade Dong and Nash had no points.

With the team's two strongest scorers not contributing, it was natural for the score to be behind.

"Got it!"

Wade Dong nodded.

He had just exchanged for the Magic Johnson's Passing Skill Package, so he was a bit obsessed with passing.

After the timeout, Coach Gentry kept Nash on the bench and brought in Tucker!