Chapter Eight: A Lone Voice Amidst the Crowd

This time, the Clippers’ fast break didn’t result in a score, but Hexinghui’s contribution did not go unnoticed. In terms of statistical value, a steal is worth far more than a rebound or an assist.

The Heat went on offense, and Williams continued to target Hexinghui. He used an almost slow-motion drive, trying to shake Hexinghui with changes in pace and head for the basket. The move was elegant when executed well, but it required an element of surprise to succeed. Hexinghui, being quite familiar with "White Chocolate’s" style, wasn’t fooled and continued to hold his ground.

For once, Hexinghui didn’t suffer a strength disadvantage—he genuinely enjoyed the satisfaction of shutting down his opponent, the kind of pleasure that comes from a successful defense, not anything else.

Helpless, Williams had no choice but to pass to a teammate. The coach’s tactical setup was simply not working.

The ball found its way to Wade, who broke past Mobley and was about to reach the basket. Kaman had to rotate over to help, leaving O’Neal wide open under the rim for an emphatic dunk.

Basketball is a team game. Even if Hexinghui could lock down Williams, the Clippers still had plenty of weaknesses.

On offense, Hexinghui hesitated, wondering if he should keep running relentlessly and actively ask for the ball. With the starters on the court, it was usually Brand’s time to attack. Yet, Hexinghui decided to overstep his role just this once—his item card still had two minutes of effect left, and it would be such a waste not to use it.

He resolved to seize control for those two minutes before once again focusing on defense.

With his mind made up, Hexinghui moved energetically off the ball, but Wade clung to him tightly, refusing to give him any opportunity. In the end, he didn’t get the ball, but he still contributed by wearing down Wade’s defense.

Maggette missed his shot, but Brand crashed the boards, grabbing the offensive rebound and preparing for a put-back. O’Neal was already poised to block.

Still hustling on the perimeter, Hexinghui spotted his chance and shouted, “Over here!” Brand, realizing it was no easy feat to score under the basket against O’Neal—even a past-his-prime O’Neal—tossed the ball to Hexinghui.

Hexinghui caught it and launched immediately. Luck was on his side: another three-pointer.

Brand happily high-fived Hexinghui—it felt good to have a reliable teammate.

“This Clippers rookie is playing with great energy. The Heat should pay closer attention to him,” Brown commented.

The truth was, the Heat were already paying plenty of attention—they’d assigned Wade to guard him, what more could they do? Still, Wade had underestimated Hexinghui’s relentless hustle.

The Heat attacked again. Wade took Mobley off the dribble; Hexinghui stepped up to double-team. Wade quickly swung the ball to Williams, who, left wide open, drove to the rim, drew Kaman, and lobbed it to O’Neal.

Currently, Hexinghui’s one-on-one defense was at a B-level, but his help defense remained D-level. There’s a stark difference between the two; effective help defense requires precise timing. Commit too early, and you’ll abandon your own man; too late, and you won’t get there in time. Mastering this timing takes years of experience.

This play was on Hexinghui, but no one—on the court or the bench—blamed him. After all, he was still just a rookie.

Mistakes are common for rookies, and this one was the result of defensive eagerness—an attitude worth commending. Besides, had Hexinghui not helped, Mobley would have been beaten by Wade anyway. The result would have been much the same.

On the Clippers’ next possession, Wade stuck to Hexinghui like superglue.

“Dwyane, have you sunk to only daring to defend rookies now?” Hexinghui improvised, not sure what else to tease Wade about.

“Rookie, your trash talk is wasted on me,” Wade replied with disdain.

“Just shut up. Your cheeks are ugly enough when you’re quiet, and even uglier when you speak. You might scare the fans and damage the league’s image,” Hexinghui shot back.

“…” Wade was left speechless.

Back on offense, Wade took the ball, his pride stung by the exchange—he was determined to teach Hexinghui a lesson on the court.

“Come on, rookie, guard me!” Wade shouted.

“Oh? Are you afraid of Mobley now? So you’re picking on a rookie instead,” Hexinghui retorted. He wasn’t bothered by being called a rookie—everyone goes through that stage. Even Gary Payton, one of the Top 50 Greatest Players, had been schooled by Jordan as a rookie.

Afraid of Mobley?

Wade was infuriated. He was already a superstar in the league—how could he possibly be afraid of Mobley? Still, his decision to call out Hexinghui did make it seem like he was avoiding Mobley.

Calming himself, Wade attacked Mobley with force, determined to prove to the rookie that Dwyane Wade feared no one.

But as formidable as Wade’s drive was, it couldn’t succeed every time—otherwise, he’d be truly unstoppable. This time, Mobley had an inspired moment, staying with Wade step for step and forcing him to pass to Williams.

Any professional could see it was the right play, but to the casual fan, it looked like Wade was scared of Mobley.

Amid the chaos, Hexinghui shot Wade a meaningful smile.

Wade instantly understood, and his anger surged. He wanted nothing more than to rush over and grab Hexinghui by the ear to explain his decision.

Williams tried to attack Hexinghui again but couldn’t get past him. With the shot clock winding down, Williams threw up a desperate attempt—and missed.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Even when Wade handed you the weakest defender, you couldn’t score,” Hexinghui taunted.

“…”

Jason Williams swore it was the first time he’d ever seen someone boast about being “the weakest.” What was there to be proud of?

“Go match up with Mobley. Targeting the weakest just exposes your own incompetence. You’ll lose your big contract that way,” Hexinghui continued, ready to unleash a barrage of trash talk if he couldn’t improve his play.

On the sidelines, Riley frowned. He realized that the rookie wearing number 60 was getting into his team’s heads, stirring up their emotions—utterly outrageous. He glanced at Payton, considering sending the “King of Trash Talk” in to go toe-to-toe with Hexinghui.

Payton quickly turned away, pretending to chat with teammates—he was already sick of Hexinghui’s endless banter and had no desire to get into a war of words with such an energetic chatterbox.

By halftime, the Clippers led the Heat 55 to 49—an unexpected result. Hexinghui had played twelve minutes, shooting five-for-eight for 14 points, one rebound, one assist, and a steal. Judging by his scoring alone, he’d put up star-level numbers.

Brown couldn’t help himself, repeatedly insisting during the broadcast that this rookie deserved attention—real attention.

In the Heat’s locker room, Riley laid into his team.

“You played worse than garbage. You let a rookie drop fourteen points on your heads! You’re all seasoned veterans in this league—can’t you handle a rookie’s trash talk?”

Wade, Williams, Payton, Antoine, and the rest dared not utter a word—Riley was infamous for his temper.

“Now, tell me: do you have the confidence to teach that rookie a lesson in the second half?”

“Count on it. I won’t let him have it easy,” Wade responded.

In the visitors’ locker room, Brand and the others were laughing heartily, reminiscing about Hexinghui’s trash talk.

“Man, you’re a genius with trash talk. That line about the ‘glove’ having a hole was perfect,” Mobley said.

“My favorite was, ‘Is your salary based on your weight?’” Brand added.

“Antoine is losing his mind over there,” Maggette chimed in.

“Hey, Hexinghui, teach me a line to use on O’Neal,” Kaman pleaded—he’d been dominated physically by O’Neal and wanted to at least gain the upper hand verbally.

Hexinghui thought for a moment and replied, “You could try, ‘Shaquille, do you only like petite women because your package is too small?’”

Everyone burst out laughing. O’Neal’s preference for petite women was no secret and had been joked about in the media, but no one had ever roasted him as sharply as this.

Kaman was speechless—he suspected saying that to O’Neal would get him a serious beating.

Watching Hexinghui joke around with the starters, Jaroslav, this year’s twelfth pick in the lottery, felt rather disheartened. Fitting in with the team was important, and he knew he hadn’t done it well.

Meanwhile, benchwarmers like Selk and Walter looked on enviously—Hexinghui had gotten so many minutes in this game that he’d taken the precious few opportunities they usually received.