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Chapter 175: Forever Second, the Second Center in the League (5K, begging for monthly subscription)

As a veteran basketball commentator, A. Smith is very confident that the NBA is undergoing major changes not seen in a decade.

Qin Yue's performance since his comeback is deeply shocking this era.

To restrict him
The league even had to cooperate with each team to tailor the "Qin Yue Law" for him.

But even so, in Smith's opinion, Qin Yue's dominance on the field can only be described as unmatched.

Moreover, the Warriors' even more frenzied offense after welcoming back Qin Yue has profoundly influenced the current era.

Comparing the average number of possessions and three-point shots per game of each team in the league in recent years, Smith found that the current NBA games are getting faster every year, and the frequency of players firing from the outside is also increasing year by year.

In the 05/06 season, the league's teams averaged only 79 offensive possessions per game and only 16 three-point shots per game.

And what about this season?
Smith noted that after November's games, teams were averaging 89 possessions per game and more than 25 -point attempts per game.

Although as the season progresses, the average number of offensive possessions per game of teams in the league will definitely experience a technical adjustment.

But Smith, who comments on the game every day, is definitely one of the first people to feel that the pace of NBA games is quietly accelerating.

These may be the best few seasons in the NBA - after exchanging opinions with many colleagues, Smith is convinced of this.

In the view of Smith and his peers, the current NBA is not only highly confrontational, but also, compared to the era of defense for the sake of defense, even those teams that prefer a slow-paced positional battle can play a smooth offense in the game.

Smith is well aware that different rules have created the NBA we have today.

But the Warriors' success is the key to allowing each team to begin a gradual transformation.

Will the pace of NBA games be faster in the future?
Smith didn't know.

However, Smith believes that before the league further modifies the rules, 95 offensive possessions per game will probably be the current limit for NBA teams.

Because, with the tacit approval of David Stern, defense was not completely abandoned in this era.

Teams around the league are simply playing in a more offense-friendly playing environment.

Except Qin Yue.

Smith, who has commented on many Warriors games this season, knows better than anyone that since the advent of the Qin Yue Rule, the league's best player has been playing in a different environment every night.

However, it was Qin Yue's success that made Smith, a genuine Knicks fan, truly realize
Before the arrival of next summer, which is hailed as the summer with the most big fish in history, what kind of team have the Knicks accumulated?

If we say that the Warriors' success has accelerated the transformation of teams around the league.

Qin Yue's success made Smith see the extremely bright future of Kevin Durant.

Just as Qin Yue remembered, after the first two seasons of his career, the 21-year-old Durant had already stepped half a foot into the peak of his career.

十一月份，在秦岳以场均34分14篮板11助攻4封盖1抢断摘走西部月最佳的同时，杜兰特也以场均31分8篮板3助攻1封盖1抢断的优异表现，荣膺了东部月最佳球员。

In Smith's opinion, apart from not being as strong as Qin Yue at the age of 21, and not having the eye-catching defense that Qin Yue gave people back then,
Looking only at offense, Durant even does better than Qin Yue of the same age.

After all, Qin Yue was twenty-one years old in the first half of his rookie season, but he was actually twenty-two years old in the second half.

And what about Durant?
Durant just celebrated his 21st birthday in September this year.

This means that before he turns twenty-two, he will still have a full season to catch up with Qin Yue.

There is no doubt that Durant has become the dream capital of all Knicks fans.

Moreover, the Knicks, with Durant, under the careful planning of Donnie Walsh, will still be the most attractive team for the big fish that will enter the free agent market next summer.

In fact, since last season, with the exception of a few favored visiting players, Knicks fans have become visibly xenophobic.

That’s right, as the Knicks, who were originally a terrible team, became full of hope overnight, the New York fans changed their faces so quickly.

On December 12, when the league's best player led the Golden State Warriors to New York, all Knicks fans, including A. Smith, couldn't help but look forward to the game between the Knicks and the Warriors at home.

Before the start of this game, the Warriors topped the league with an impressive record of 15 wins and 1 loss.

But compared to the last time Qin Yue led the Warriors to visit New York, this time, the Knicks, who had an 11-5 record at the beginning, have moved up to fourth in the Eastern Conference under the leadership of Durant.

After three days of separation, you should look at each other with admiration.

Qin Yue never underestimated the Knicks, a team that had three future MVPs.

just
"'KD', do you like being second fiddle that much?"

Madison Square Garden.

Before the game, when Durant came over to chat with him, Qin Yue suddenly said.

At this moment, Durant didn't know why Qin Yue said this.

But as Durant's senior, Qin Yue reminded Durant: "Your big brother Shaquille O'Neal is not playing in this game? Aren't you waiting for him to lead you to become the dark horse this season?"

As we all know, ever since Qin Yue and his team swept him in the finals, O'Neal has always tried his best to avoid competing with Qin Yue on the court.

Therefore, how could O'Neal, who had already made up his mind to officially retire at the end of this season, be affected by Qin Yue's good mood for this retirement tour?
Unable to defeat Qin Yue, could O'Neal not just avoid the fight intelligently?

Shortly after Qin Yue led the Warriors to New York, he learned that O'Neal would miss the game against the Warriors due to a recurrence of his foot injury.

Qin Yue had nothing to say about this.

Although he had no interest in O'Neal, who averaged only 11 points and 7 rebounds per game this season, since O'Neal was so sensible that he just left when he saw him, why should Qin Yue make things difficult for this old senior who had enjoyed the reverse star whistle during his peak period?
However, as a person who has experienced this, Qin Yue did not understand why Durant would publicly say that this Knicks team was the Knicks led by O'Neal.

You have to know that in the NBA, even if you are the verbal boss, you must never give in easily.

Because in the NBA, where the culture of being the team boss is long-standing, if you give in, it is equivalent to giving others the opportunity to go further.

Perhaps, O'Neal has lost interest in competing with Durant for the leader of this Knicks team.

But Qin Yue had to teach Durant a lesson.

"Next year you will definitely bring in one or two superstars from the free agent market." Qin Yue taught Durant by example, "Do you want to be second to others for the rest of your life?"

Seeing this, Durant, who has been regarded as a savior by Knicks fans every day in his career, shook his head frantically and said: "I have never thought about being second to anyone."

Hearing this, Qin Yue, who felt that the young man was teachable, gave Durant some advice: "Then listen to me. No matter who joins the Knicks next year, you must make it clear in public that he is just recruited by the Knicks to assist you as your deputy."

Durant hesitated and said, "But if the Knicks recruit a star of LeBron James' level, would it be inappropriate for me to say this?"

Qin Yue did not deny this possibility, but for Durant's hesitation, Qin Yue said angrily: "Then you should be ready to be Brown's second for the rest of your life! Forever second!"

During the pre-match warm-up, after educating Durant, it is worth mentioning that Qin Yue also saw Westbrook performing various dunks in the next half of the court.

Under D'Antoni's coaching, Westbrook's role in this Knicks team is more like a pure assault team captain.

As for the real core of the organization, it is someone else.

Yes, although James Harden, selected by the Knicks in the draft, was not D'Antoni's favorite player, D'Antoni, who met Harden in advance, quickly became a die-hard fan of Harden.

Did Harden learn how to organize a team's offense in the future Rockets?
of course not.

In fact, Harden already had certain passing and controlling abilities when he played for the University of Arizona.

It was only during his time with the Rockets that Harden, who was given more ball possession, gradually unearthed his organizational talent.

Whether or not he has such talent is the key to whether Harden can develop corresponding organizational skills.

Because in the NBA, even if there is a lot of ball possession, not all players can grow into true organizational cores.

In addition, under D'Antoni's training, Harden, who was able to dominate the ball as a starting point guard in his rookie season, is also a strong contender for the Rookie of the Year award this season.

So far, Harden has averaged 13 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists per game, and all statistics are better than the same period in history. In short, although the growth environment is completely different, the Thunder's three youngsters in Qin Yue's memory have gradually grown up under the favorable soil provided by Knicks General Manager Walsh.

I have to say that this thing called luck does exist.

In Qin Yue's opinion, if there is no certain luck
How could the Thunder's big three, who reunited in the Knicks, happen to run into this bad Knicks team, the only window of opportunity that can provide a good growth environment for young players?

On the court, after warming up, players from both teams took their positions one after another.

O'Neal is absent due to injury, and the player who will partner with David Lee in the interior for the Knicks tonight becomes Jared Jeffries.

This is a defensive center who is 211 cm tall and weighs 110 kg, and is called the "ultimate defensive expert" by many American experts.

The reason why American experts gave Jeffries such an evaluation is that Jeffries is a player whose defensive efficiency ranks among the top ten this season and who is very good at causing opponents to commit offensive fouls in the game.

However, based on the past records of Qin Yue and Jeffries,
He knew very well that Jeffries was just an ordinary role player who was not fast enough and lacked enough strength to fight against real inside players.

of course
Compared to O'Neal, who couldn't catch up with Qin Yue even if he ran his legs off, Jeffries was indeed more suitable for this game.

Especially when neither Li nor Durant wanted to play against Qin Yue.

In the center of the court, after the jump ball, the Warriors have the ball.

Qin Yue followed his recent opening routine and pulled the trigger from the outside against Jeffries' retreating defense.

When——!
On the sidelines, Curry couldn't help but curl his lips when he saw Qin Yue missing this weak interference three-pointer again.

Why use it?

Since the introduction of the "Qin Yue Rule", all teams have been vying to use the NBA's three-point line as their amulet when facing Qin Yue. This season, Qin Yue's shooting environment from the outside can only be described as unprecedented.

However.
Even with the help of NBA teams, Qin Yue shot 39% of his three-pointers in November, but in Curry's eyes, this kind of weak interference three-pointer
As long as the opponent dares to let him shoot, he is fully confident that he can achieve a hit rate of nearly 50%.

In this moment, Curry is not exaggerating.

After all, during the same period in history, Curry had a three-point shooting percentage of nearly 44% in his rookie season.

Moreover, many of them are irrational shots against top opponents.

In the Knicks' penalty area, Lee worked very hard to protect the backcourt rebound for the Knicks.

As the temporary second-in-command of the Knicks, although Lee will most likely be put on the shelf by the Knicks next summer, this double-double machine is instead full of motivation to go all out in the game.

This Knicks team does have a bright future.

Next summer, with the contracts of many high-paid players on the team expiring, they will not only have sufficient salary space to recruit a superstar, but they can even conduct a sign-and-trade deal with Lee as the main body.

Coming back, Qin Yue, who decided to personally experience Durant's progress, took the initiative to choose to play against Durant.

Perhaps, Durant lacks temperament off the court.

But the moment he got the basketball, Qin Yue noticed that Durant immediately became a different person.

Did the Grim Reaper become the Grim Reaper overnight?
of course not.

In fact, as long as you have watched Durant's games in the 09/10 season and his performance in the World Championships in the summer of 10, you will find that Durant on the court already has the temperament of a killer.

However, his physical fitness limits Durant's critical damage in the game.

On the right side of the court, after confusing Qin Yue with a shuffling step, Durant immediately pulled up for the ball.

This is Durant's signature move and also Qin Yue's specialty.

However, when Qin Yue, who was on the defensive side, personally experienced this quick pull-up shot that was completed through the combination of man and ball, he found that even for him, it was difficult to defend against it in every round.

Swish!
Durant hit a very meaningful long two-point jumper shortly after the opening.

ESPN, A-Smith crazily called for Durant: "Ladies and gentlemen, we may be witnessing the beginning of a great competition. The savior 'KD' proved his scoring ability in front of the Messiah of the Bay Area!"

Ever since the sponsors behind Qin Yue started to deify him, Qin Yue's reputation has long made him, like Jordan's story back then, the object that many young players are eager to catch up with.

Among them, the fastest player is undoubtedly Durant.

Qin Yue took the initiative to ask for the ball during the Warriors' offensive rounds, and successfully switched Durant in front of him through a 3-4 pick-and-roll.

Although Qin Yue was very pleased with Durant's growth.

But how could Qin Yue, who always responded to the "ball", allow anyone to touch the corner of his clothes?
Facing Durant who also chose the retreat defense, Qin Yue took the initiative to use the change of direction in front of his body to shorten the distance between him and Durant, and at the moment he approached Durant, he suddenly turned around with the ball, and in the astonished eyes of Durant, he flew the ball into the basket.

Then, Qin Yue came back and gave Durant sufficient physical confrontation in the off-ball stage.

Qin Yue knew very well that Durant's pull-up shot was difficult to defend.

But he also knows how to reduce the success rate of this kind of pull-up shot.

During this attack, Harden, who had been partying every night in New York and had a pair of sleepy eyes at a young age, continued to look for Durant.

However, Qin Yue successfully predicted that after being physically confronted, Durant would choose to break through with the ball to improve his finishing efficiency.

So, Qin Yue deliberately let Durant go to his right hand and followed him all the way.

When the young Durant thought there was no obstacle in front of him and tried to jump up and perform a slam dunk, Qin Yue, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately took off into the air and swung the basketball in Durant's hand away in the sky.

Qin Yue used his experience to teach Durant a lesson.

But Westbrook, who happened to pick up the basketball, took the opportunity to rush into the Warriors' penalty area and scored two points by making a layup.

Westbrook has an innate sense of rebounding and second-chance basketball.

If Qin Yue remembered correctly, Westbrook averaged more than 2 offensive rebounds per game in his rookie season.

In just two possessions, the Knicks had already fully demonstrated their talent.

Qin Yue did not try to show off his courage and fight with the young man.

During the Warriors' reverse offensive round, he took the initiative to call on Nash to team up and perform the greatest two-man show in NBA history for the Knicks fans.

When Nash's shooting range helped Qin Yue to create space perfectly, Brown used his body as a wall near the free throw line at the right time, strode towards Qin Yue in the Knicks' restricted area, and immediately received the alley-oop pass from Nash.

Qin Yue stretched his body in the air very comfortably, and chopped the basketball into the Knicks' basket with an easy and comfortable tomahawk dunk.

This heart-warming collaboration even drew cheers from many Knicks fans at the scene.

Thanks to the hope that the Knicks' big three bring to New Yorkers, Knicks fans are indeed becoming more "xenophobic."

But this obviously does not include Qin Yue, who always regards Madison Square Garden as his home.

It's the Knicks' turn to attack.

Westbrook, who has always been straightforward, crushed Bell with his talent when holding the ball on the outside.

However, facing the Warriors' top draft picks, Westbrook, who has an orc body, clearly lacks respect for Qin Yue, who holds the Anduriel, and Brown, who holds the Lorrien longbow.

In the Warriors' penalty area, Brown and Qin Yue jumped almost at the same time and teamed up to capture Westbrook.

The block was ultimately credited to Qin Yue, who was one step ahead of Brown and fanned the ball out of bounds.

However, at the moment of landing, Brown angrily said to Westbrook who was lying on the floor: "Who gave you the courage to challenge the restricted area guarded by the second-best center in the league?"

……

PS: 5000-word chapter, begging for subscriptions and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)