"It’s just the regular season, there’s no need to be overly nervous. It’s something we’re bound to face, right? It’s no big deal."
"I hope so. I’m just afraid Kevin’s too childish."
"He might be a kid, but kids grow up and need to face setbacks."
For Garnett, encountering coaches like Kevin McHale and Philip Saunders early in his career was a stroke of luck.
They cared about Garnett’s growth, compensating for the things he missed by not attending college to some extent.
After the entrance ceremony at around seven in the evening, the game was about to start.
The Target Center in Minnesota was packed, and the opponent tonight was the Portland Trail Blazers. No one would want to miss Ah Gan’s game.
Especially since Gan Guoyang just scored 50 points against the strong defense of the New York Knicks. His popularity was soaring.
The love of basketball in Minneapolis didn’t begin with the establishment of the Timberwolves. The Lakers were originally born here and established the first dynasty.
Due to the climate, the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, and years later, during expansion, the Thousand Lake Country welcomed a new basketball team, with the Timberwolves becoming a symbol of the city.
After years of struggling at the bottom, in 1995, they acquired Kevin Garnett, and in 1996, Stephon Marbury, bringing notable progress to the Timberwolves this season.
In November’s matches, they achieved a record of 7 wins and 8 losses, still under 50%, but a significant improvement compared to last season.
Garnett has secured his starting position on the team, and together with Stephon Marbury, formed a young blend of inside and outside play, giving Minnesotan fans hope.
Hope is the most beautiful thing in this world, just like how a bright future always seems more enchanting and desirable than the reality.
The Trail Blazers’ hope is still sitting on the bench, but Kobe and Little O’Neal seem to be in great spirits, chatting and laughing before the game starts.
Seeing how happy they were, Bird said, "What are you so happy about? Have you fought for a starting position? Is that why you’re laughing? How can you even laugh?"
The two held back their smiles, but couldn’t help it. Bird glanced at them and said to Kobe, "You’ll be getting on the court earlier today to substitute for Riddle. Do your best."
Kobe nodded. He was already prepared.
Yesterday, Bird warned everyone not to be late in the morning, but Riddle ended up being late and missed the team’s training bus.
Riddle spent his previous years in Minnesota and was traded to the Trail Blazers this year. Returning to his old stomping grounds, he naturally went to hang out with old teammates and friends.
He went overboard, returning to the hotel the next morning, sleeping until noon, and missing the morning practice.
Bird was furious, and the repercussions were severe, directly suspending Riddle for the night and fining him.
This was Riddle’s first tardiness of the season, which was a miracle for him.
Despite his grievances over Bird’s punishment, seeing Ah Gan’s expression, he could only endure it.
This sort of thing was bound to happen eventually. The NBA isn’t like a tournament, where players are gathered in one place, finishing the matches within a month.
Everyone grits their teeth and endures the hardships for just a month.
The NBA is a job and a lifestyle.
Life here can be quite tough, especially for young people.
Eventually, Gan Guoyang vouched for Riddle, suggesting he shouldn’t be suspended if he was just being kept out of the starting lineup.
The agreement was for a suspension after three tardiness instances. Even though Riddle was markedly absent, it counts as a tardiness, and suspension should come after three instances.
Bird eventually compromised, taking away Riddle’s starting position but keeping him in the rotation.
He understood that sometimes players need space to make mistakes.
After Riddle was stripped of his starting position, Alon Magee was moved to the starting shooting guard spot.
AC Green maintained a pseudo-starting small forward position.
For Kobe, the chance to perform was greater tonight.
Of course, he was more concerned about Garnett’s performance, wondering if he remembered the "tomato".
Apart from basketball, Kobe had another strong talent, which was his language skills.
He grew up in Italy and could speak fluent Italian.
In addition to that, he could speak some English, German, French, and Chinese.
Occasionally within the team, he would speak some Chinese with Gan Guoyang, which Gan Guoyang greatly appreciated.
Sometimes Gan Guoyang would speak trash talk in Chinese, and Kobe would ask what it meant.
Swear words are the quickest thing to learn, no matter the language.
There’s a magic in swear words, hitting the heart of a language.
The thing Kobe remembered most vividly was Gan Guoyang often saying "tomato". He was curious what it meant.
Gan Guoyang told Kobe it wasn’t "tomato", but "his mother", a classic Chinese verbal swear word.
Kevin Garnett was unaware of this, as his attention was fully on the game.
Before the game started, he tried to make eye contact with Ah Gan, testing if he could overpower Ah Gan with his presence.
But Gan Guoyang completely ignored Garnett, his gaze plain as he stood in the center circle to start another jump ball against the opponent.
Currently, the Timberwolves’ strength was still relatively weak, and Gan Guoyang didn’t pay them much mind.
Moreover, he had recently scored 50 points against the Knicks, venting his anger with a win.