Chapter 144: Enraging Carter

The game began, and Vince Carter—nicknamed “Half-Man, Half-Amazing”—was matched up against He Xinghui.

Carter was a player who inspired a certain amount of regret. He had entered the league already close to his peak, ranking fourth in the league in scoring during his second season, while also winning the Slam Dunk Contest and leading the All-Star voting.

His list of honors was practically endless.

With a starting point like that, even LeBron James could not compare. Only the current He Xinghui had enjoyed a slightly better one.

Unfortunately, over the next few seasons, Carter’s improvement became far less noticeable.

“Vince, why aren’t you wearing headphones?” He Xinghui asked.

“Why should I wear headphones?” Carter shot back.

“Because you need them.”

“I don’t need them.” Carter replied with absolute confidence. He had heard plenty of trash talk and never thought it particularly powerful.

Besides, as a rising superstar, he had his pride.

Even if someone dominated him on the court, he would never do something as humiliating as putting on headphones.

The Nets went on offense. Kidd patiently orchestrated the play, and eventually the ball found Richard Jefferson, who scored.

Jefferson was a very capable player at this stage of his career, nearly a twenty-points-per-game scorer. Along with Kidd and Carter, he was known as one of the Nets’ Big Three.

When He Xinghui saw Jefferson score, he taunted Carter. “You could have stayed in Toronto as the man in charge, but instead you ran off to New Jersey to become the third option. I really don’t understand what goes on in your head.”

“...”

Carter desperately wanted to say that he was one of the Nets’ Big Three, not some third-rate sidekick.

But even that explanation felt humiliating. The fact remained that he had lost his position as the team’s leader, and there was no way to argue around it.

“I only care about winning a championship. I came to the Nets to help them win one.”

Carter did not pretend not to hear him. That would only make it seem as if he had no answer.

The pursuit of a championship had indeed been one of the reasons he left Toronto.

Canada’s taxes were higher than those in the United States, so players were generally reluctant to join the Raptors. It was difficult to assemble a competitive championship roster in Toronto.

“Oh? But before you arrived in New Jersey, they had already reached the Finals in consecutive years. Then you came along, and suddenly the team was fighting just to make the playoffs. Did you come here to help the Nets lose their chance at a championship?”

He Xinghui burst out laughing.

There was a certain amount of sophistry in that statement. The actual situation required a more nuanced analysis.

The Nets’ failure to reach the Finals after Carter arrived had more to do with Kidd’s injuries and declining form, as well as the rise of the Pistons.

But fans did not think that deeply. They preferred simple, obvious conclusions.

Without Carter, the Nets reached the Finals.

With Carter, they could not.

Whoever arrived in the second scenario was bound to look bad.

Carter was obviously no clueless pretend-fan. He knew that the Nets’ failure to reach the Finals was not his fault.

Yet precisely because of that, he felt even more unjustly blamed.

The problem was that he could not explain himself. He could not throw the blame onto Kidd or his teammates.

Carter felt wronged, but there was nothing he could say.

“Shut up. Your Clippers are a terrible team too.”

Carter was beginning to lose his temper.

In the broadcast booth, Barkley was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. “Carter just said he didn’t need headphones, but it looks like he might need them after all.”

“Maybe Carter is already regretting leaving Toronto,” Smith added, driving the knife in a little deeper.

Fortunately, Carter could not hear him.

The Clippers went on offense, and Brand attacked Kostas inside.

Kostas was an interior player who excelled on offense but struggled on defense. Though he had the height of a center, his light frame made him poor at protecting the rim, leaving him better suited to playing power forward.

Even so, Brand simply muscled him aside.

With an easy jumper, Brand put two points on the board for the Clippers.

“Yes, the Clippers used to be a terrible team,” He Xinghui said shamelessly, “but ever since I joined, we’ve become a Western powerhouse. The Nets, meanwhile, gained you and went from being a Finals team to merely a playoff team.”

He Xinghui brazenly proclaimed himself a powerhouse and compared himself directly with Carter.

According to his logic, he was the savior of his team, while Carter was its curse.

And this was not an opinion held by He Xinghui alone.

Some Nets fans had never been satisfied with Carter’s performances.

Otherwise, when Carter was eventually traded, there would surely have been at least a few Nets supporters objecting.

This time, Carter chose to keep quiet and advanced with the team.

“Must be nice remembering all those fast breaks,” He Xinghui continued to needle him. “Too bad you can’t run them in New Jersey anymore.”

Back in Toronto, Carter had often found opportunities to leak out in transition.

But after Kidd’s injury, the Nets had slowed down and shifted toward a half-court style, relying on defense and limiting opponents’ scoring to win games.

That system was not especially friendly to Carter.

Once he got moving in transition, his attacking power was tremendous.

The Nets settled into their half-court offense, and Kidd began distributing the ball.

Once again, Jefferson found an opening, and the ball was delivered to him.

Jefferson took the shot, but missed.

The Nets retreated quickly, leaving the Clippers no chance to launch a fast break.

The Clippers likewise settled into a half-court possession. He Xinghui raised a hand for the ball and went one-on-one against Carter.

Once again, he caught Carter off guard with a step-back and drilled a three-pointer.

“Wow, how come you still haven’t had a chance to shoot?” He Xinghui asked. “Can’t you raise your hand for the ball like I do? If you don’t even get that kind of treatment, can you really call yourself a star?”

“Shut up. The game isn’t only two minutes long,” Carter replied.

“Three to nothing. Three to nothing. Three to nothing,” He Xinghui chanted.

“...”

Carter finally raised a hand for the ball. Seeing that, Barkley bluntly remarked that Carter had already been affected by the trash talk.

In front of their televisions, He Xinghui’s fans burst into laughter. They loved watching his opponents suffer under the relentless barrage.

On the court, Carter chose to drive. His first step was exceptionally quick.

However, He Xinghui had studied Carter’s drives and knew that he favored going to his right.

So this time, He Xinghui took a gamble and shifted right early.

If he stopped Carter, excellent. If he guessed wrong, it hardly mattered.

The team did not demand much from him defensively yet, and he had plenty of room for mistakes.

This time, luck was on He Xinghui’s side. Carter could not get past him.

But Carter had already developed his outside shot by this point.

With no good driving lane available, he simply pulled up for a three-pointer.

Unfortunately, it missed.

“Hmm. I think I understand why the Nets can’t reach the Finals,” He Xinghui said.

“Get lost. The winner is the one who laughs last. This is only a few possessions,” Carter angrily retorted. He hated He Xinghui’s habit of declaring victory or defeat based on a single play.

His rebuttal was unnecessary. How could He Xinghui not understand such a basic principle? He was merely pretending otherwise to keep the trash talk going.

He Xinghui smiled. “You’re thinking too much, Vince. At most, you’ll be crying at the end.”

“Heh. Anyone can brag. Do it first, then talk.”

“Three to nothing. Three to nothing. Three to nothing.”

He Xinghui switched into repeat mode.

“...”

Carter swore to himself that he would not only win the game, but also destroy the infuriating man standing before him.

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