The Suns' second game was in Phoenix.

After the schedule was released, tickets for this game sold out immediately, and fans who couldn't get tickets were still struggling to get them even at higher prices.

This is the Phoenix debut for the national team...

Phoenix fans also watched Weiguo play in person, but at that time Weiguo was playing for the opposing team, and even though the fans liked Weiguo, they hoped the Suns would win.

Things are different now.

Wei Guo will represent the Suns in the game!

The thought of being able to watch 40 or 50 of Weiguo's matches live this season makes fans so excited they can't sleep, and even their girlfriends or boyfriends don't seem as appealing anymore.

What the fans didn't know was that the Suns had a short internal meeting the day before the game.

The topic of this meeting was enough to overturn the league... Wei Guo proposed an idea at the meeting: he wanted to be a substitute, and he would avoid playing as much as possible.

Wei Guo's parents came to Phoenix!

Moreover, they will accompany Weiguo throughout the entire season, and Weiguo wants to take this opportunity to spend more time with his parents.

But...

The league has never had such a precedent before.

I've never heard of any team or head coach making the MVP a substitute.

Not only his teammates, but even Gentry objected. Although Wei Guo explained the situation, Gentry also felt that it was right to spend time with his parents, but what did that have to do with playing as a starter or a substitute?

During the game... parents sit on the sidelines to watch their son perform well on the field, not to chat with him in the stands.

The Suns have a problem with their bench!

The Suns' fast-paced offense helped them win their first regular season game. This summer, the league introduced the "No Handcheck" rule, which means that no player can make any hand contact or interference with a player driving to the basket in front of the free-throw line; otherwise, it's considered a foul. This rule aims to make the game's offense flow more smoothly.

And this...

This is highly advantageous for teams that excel at long-range attacks.

But this doesn't mean the Suns are simple. In Gentry's opinion, the Suns' roster is not as good as last season's Nets.

Last season, the Nets' starting players included Hill, Mourning, Kenyon, and Stockton, but the bench also featured a host of talented players such as Tyronn Lue, Kiddles, Jefferson, and Collins.

On the other hand, the Suns' bench is really stretched thin.

If it weren't for the addition of Wei Guo and Cummings, the Suns might have made it to the playoffs this year, but they certainly wouldn't have gone very far.

certainly...

This shows that Gentry underestimated the Suns.

This high-scoring team is capable of ushering in a new era. They may never win the championship, but they are definitely pioneers.

Wei Guo wanted to be a substitute, but was opposed by everyone on the team, even the bench players. Cummings was wiggling his big butt on the bench when suddenly the bench leg broke and he fell, and then Cummings got injured!

After the team doctor examined Cummings, he was told that he would need at least a week to recover from the injury, but that's another story.

After the situation reached a stalemate.

Wei Guo gritted his teeth and said, "I'll be a substitute now, who's in favor and who's against it?!"

"Brother Wei... I think your idea is a bit... willful."

This was De Antony's reply to Wei Guo. He carefully chose his words, using "willful" rather than "naive".

actually...

Wei Guo wanted to be a substitute because he didn't want to focus on basketball.

He talked to Wei Dafa about spending this season with his parents, then playing for three more seasons, and retiring in 2008 when Wei Dafa was 60 years old. After leaving a legend in the league, he would go back to inherit his family business.

......

The Suns will host the Cavaliers in this game.

Mr. and Mrs. Wei arrived at the competition venue...

There were two chairs next to the Suns' bench, which looked similar to the audience seats, but they were specially prepared for Mr. and Mrs. Wei Dafa.

The players were warming up on the court when James saw Wei Dafa and jogged over, saying, "Grandpa, do you remember me?"

"Hey, isn't that LeBron?"

Wei Dafa stood up, gestured, and made a "tsk tsk tsk" sound, "You've grown so tall, kid?"

James and David Wei know each other!

At that time, he was still a high school student. He had lived in Wei's family home for a month and had met Wei Dafa many times. When the two chatted, Gentry also diligently acted as the translator.

James scratched his head. "Still not as tall as Wei Ge."

"You two are different."

Wei Dafa said casually, "The beef and milk your brother Wei eats are better than what you drink here, that's why I'm so big."

"Sir, you're right."

James waved his hand, "I'm going to warm up, I'm going to beat Wei Ge tonight!"

Watching James's retreating figure, Wei Dafa said, "He's a really nice young man, very polite... I heard he was the number one draft pick."

Wei Dafa is nearly two meters tall, and Wei Guo's mother is over 1.7 meters tall. This gene meant that Wei Guo would not be short, but Wei Guo growing to 2.16 meters was still beyond Wei Dafa's expectations.

The starting lineup was announced ten minutes before the start of the match.

Suns: Nash, Richardson, Johnson, Marbury, Stoudemire

Cavaliers: McGinnis, Newbell, James, Gooden, Ilgauskas

The audience erupted in uproar.

"Wei Guo didn't start?"

"Are you injured?"

Wasn't he just warming up?

"Is Wei Guo not playing tonight?"

"??????"

The audience's comments were all questions.

Wei Guo sat on the bench, with the eyes of more than 10,000 people focused on him, making him slightly uncomfortable. However, since he had decided to put basketball second, he had to accept this kind of attention.

and...

Wei Guo not starting doesn't mean he won't play.

Wei Guo has won almost every honor, except for one that he has never won: Sixth Man of the Year. Perhaps he can win it this season.

So what if I'm a substitute?

Aren't the real masters always the ones who make their appearance last?

James was full of doubts. He wanted to ask Wei Guo if he was feeling unwell, but the game was about to start, and seeing how relaxed the Suns players were, Wei Guo should be fine, right?

......

Wei Guo sat beside his parents.

"Mom, look at that big guy, his name is Ilgauskas, he's 2.21 meters tall... five centimeters taller than me, and he's really good at basketball, he can grab seven or eight rebounds in a game."

How many rebounds can you grab in a game?

"He only has seven or eight more rebounds than me...hehe, you don't get rebounds just because you're tall."

"Mom, look at that short guy again. His name is McGinnis. He plays point guard and can dish out five or six assists in a game."

How many assists do you get in a game?

"He only has five or six more than me, hehe, it's not like being short means you can pass the ball better."