[Ding! Congratulations to the host for leading the team to victory over the Timberwolves. Reward: 1 Honor Point.]
While Ogawa Tetsuya was still warming up on the court, the system's notification chimed in his mind.
Hmm?
So even a preseason win grants Honor Points?
And leading the team to a single preseason victory already earns one point.
Then what about the regular season? The playoffs?
Especially the Finals—wouldn't the rewards be even greater?
Ogawa Tetsuya clicked his tongue in surprise, silently calculating.
His free throws were still terrible.
He needed to accumulate as many Honor Points as possible to fuse Yao Ming's free-throw skill.
Otherwise, once the regular season began, this weakness would be mercilessly magnified.
Back then, there was the infamous "Hack-a-Shaq."
Before long, there might very well be a "Hack-a-Tetsuya."
Ogawa Tetsuya had no intention of being put on the defensive.
He wanted to be the one crushing others—never the one being targeted.
The preseason matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets was broadcast nationwide across the U.S.
Matched up against Ogawa Tetsuya was the Nuggets' starting center—
The man nicknamed "the essence of human pork belly": Nikola Jokić.
They were the same height.
But Jokić outweighed him.
Especially that belly—along with the jiggling fat whenever he ran—made him look like a moving wall of flesh.
Last season, Jokić had performed exceptionally well and was officially established as Denver's new franchise cornerstone.
Beep!
The game began.
Jokić barely jumped for the opening tip—pure ground game.
Ogawa Tetsuya easily tapped the ball back to the Lakers' side.
Lonzo Ball brought the ball up.
Ogawa Tetsuya stepped up to the three-point line and set a screen, completely sealing off Jamal Murray.
Jokić rushed up to help.
Ogawa Tetsuya spun past the clumsy big man, accelerated, and rolled hard toward the rim.
Understanding instantly, Lonzo tossed the ball high toward the basket.
BOOM!
Ogawa Tetsuya exploded into the air and completed an effortless alley-oop slam.
Lakers (2) : (0) Nuggets!
"Beautiful! I'm absolutely in love with this Lakers big man!"
Charles Barkley shouted exaggeratedly, his signature loud mouth in full effect.
Sitting beside him, Shaquille O'Neal pretended to scoff.
"Charles, that just proves you haven't seen much of the world. That big man's name is Ogawa Tetsuya—and he's from Japan."
The crowd erupted in applause after the dunk.
On the Lakers' bench, players grabbed towels, jumping and waving wildly in celebration.
On the next possession, Will Barton drilled a three for Denver.
Seeing the opponent hit from outside, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball responded with back-to-back three-point attempts.
Clang!
Clang!
Back-to-back bricks.
Denver's perimeter shooting was hot tonight.
Jamal Murray knocked down another three.
Paul Millsap—steady as ever from midrange—added a smooth jumper.
Then Lonzo committed a turnover.
Denver pushed the fast break.
The score quickly became:
Lakers (2) : (10) Nuggets!
Less than two minutes into the game
The Lakers were already down 8 points.
Luke Walton couldn't sit still anymore and immediately called a timeout.
"With a dominant interior beast like Ogawa Tetsuya, why aren't Lonzo and Brandon feeding him the ball? What the hell are they doing?"
Barkley roared in frustration.
Both he and Shaq were firm believers in inside-out basketball.
Watching a player who had just dropped a massive near–triple-double struggle to touch the ball made them furious.
Shaq, calm and composed, explained:
"Lonzo and Brandon are top draft picks. Hart, Kuzma—those rookies too. They've got pride. They're not convinced by someone who suddenly appeared out of nowhere like Ogawa Tetsuya."
"They need to suffer a bit," Shaq added flatly,
"before they understand just how important Tetsuya is."
......
Meanwhile
10:16, First Quarter.
Play resumed.
After being chewed out by Walton, Lonzo Ball finally stopped obsessing over reckless long-range shots.
He dribbled to about a meter beyond the three-point line and raised his hand, signaling Ogawa Tetsuya to come up for a screen.
Ogawa Tetsuya stepped forward and set a perfect pick.
Jokić immediately chased out.
Lonzo passed the ball back to Ogawa Tetsuya.
Murray—who had been guarding Lonzo—instantly switched over to defend.
A mismatch.
Ogawa Tetsuya had Jamal Murray on his back.
At the same time, Lakers power forward Julius Randle retreated from the baseline to the right wing three-point line, dragging Millsap with him.
The message was crystal clear.
Clear the floor.
Let Ogawa Tetsuya go to work.
BAM!
Ogawa Tetsuya dribbled once and slammed his shoulder backward.
Murray stumbled back two full steps, looking like he was about to be sent flying.
But the guard recovered quickly, rushing back to brace against Ogawa Tetsuya's waist.
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
Like a bulldozer, Ogawa Tetsuya powered forward with each dribble, forcing his way into the paint.
Pure, crushing strength.
He was bullying Denver's smaller guard.
"Not good!"
Will Barton—who had been defending Ingram on the weak side—shouted and immediately abandoned his man, rushing over for the double team.
The moment Barton closed in—
Ogawa Tetsuya protected the ball, spun violently, and exploded upward straight off the ground.
BOOM!
The ball was smashed viciously through the hoop.
A merciless, overpowering finish.