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Chapter 209 Farewell My Concubine, at its best! (Second update across two days, begging for monthly votes!)

进入十二月中旬，比赛状态日渐回暖的秦岳已经将他的个人数据提升至了场均28.8分13.2篮板8.4助攻3.2封盖1.4抢断。

However, for Warriors fans who experienced last season firsthand, Qin Yue's recent performance still fails to satisfy them.

Just like Kobe in the 05/06 season, when he scored 40 points, you would just think that he was playing normally, but when he scored less than 40 points, you would think that he was playing abnormally.

In the eyes of Warriors fans, Qin Yue has not performed to his full potential, whether on offense or defense.

This caused Elizabeth Olsen, who had just become a "Qin Girl," to not want to attend any Warriors games until the Christmas Day games that year.

Although Olsen's two older sisters believe that as long as she can date Qin Yue, even negative publicity is still publicity.

But the young Olsen couldn't accept being booed by the entire stadium's fans all night.

Olsen had no idea what he had done wrong.

“I was just on a date with you,” Olson said, feeling wronged. “But in their eyes, I’m the enemy who has to be defeated because I’m the one who caused your poor performance in the new season.”

Qin Yue never expected that his followers would become so fanatical as he ascended to the throne.

Now, apart from a small number of Qin haters, the vast majority of his fans will not allow any fan to say a single bad word that damages his image.

Even if the other party is telling the truth, a large number of Qin Mis will refute him from various angles.

On those nights when he didn't perform well, Qin Yue's fans from all over the world would cheer for him, saying, "The warriors lost, but Qin Yue didn't."

Such fanaticism is undoubtedly extreme and irrational.

Moreover, it wasn't just the fans; even the American media, who always love a good show, joined in the commotion.

"After being photographed dating Elizabeth Olsen again, Messiah indeed only scored 25 points in the game the following day."

"Does Elizabeth Olsen have the potential to become the greatest defensive player in NBA history? In his last five games, Messiah has only recorded eight blocks in total, and his defensive energy on the court has clearly diminished!"

"In a recent ESPN poll about who the Warriors fans hate most in Hollywood, Elizabeth Olsen unsurprisingly topped the list!"

Qin Yue's supporters need an excuse to prove themselves.
As a deity, Qin Yue couldn't possibly have performed poorly. By shifting all the blame to Olson, they clearly forgot the objective laws of basketball.

Indeed, the long break after the World Championships is the main reason why Qin Yue needs more time to regain his form in the new season.

Because in the world of basketball, no player can immediately find their game form on the court after a long period of lack of high-intensity training.

Secondly, Qin Yue's decline in defensive influence this season is not related to his physical condition being affected by Olson.

However, under the new rules on passing and traveling, NBA players who benefit from LeBron James's success have found that they can use the new rules to steal layups and other actions that were previously not allowed, making it much more difficult for defenders to block or steal the ball.

In addition, under the new rules, the "dribbling and serving" behavior, which is often selectively ignored by referees, has made these NBA players seem to have become dribbling masters overnight.

When using hovering dribbling, a player can blatantly lift the ball and run. In this era without the Hand-Check rule, Qin Yue felt every night that he was playing against a group of rugby running backs.

In Qin Yue's view, the NBA's rule-changing approach, which protects players with weak fundamentals, has certainly reduced the difficulty for the offensive team to finish plays on the court.

However, if this continues, this officially sanctioned shortcut will inevitably cause the new generation of players to lose the motivation to hone their basic skills day after day like their predecessors.

On the eve of the Christmas Day game, looking at Olsen who was even on a date with him, afraid of being photographed by reporters, Qin Yue smiled and said, "I hope you can come to the game tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Olsen initially intended to refuse.

But under Qin Yue's sweet talk, Olsen ultimately couldn't resist Qin Yue's damn charm.

"Remember to dress up nicely," Qin Yue reminded Olsen.

"But I'm afraid that if I do that, they will..."

“You’re not dressing up for them,” Qin Yue said. “You’re just dressing up for someone you like.”

The next day.

The Warriors will face the Knicks in their annual Christmas Day game.

As a championship contender this season, the Knicks are currently in good form.

By placing his star player James Harden on the bench and thus staggering his playing time with the starters, Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni has temporarily resolved the team's ball distribution problem.

Although James and Westbrook proved their incompatibility on the court in just a few games, James, who was new to the team, chose to play off-ball and led the defense with great effort. As a result, the incompatible Knicks team still temporarily topped the Eastern Conference with a record of 24 wins and 6 losses before the Christmas Day game.

What? LeBron James can play off-ball and lead defense?

of course.

In Qin Yue's previous life, James's signature move was using his physical advantages to make direct cuts on the court.

In fact, James' off-ball ability is stronger than many of his detractors imagine.

As for defense, although you can still vaguely see those bad defensive habits that LeBron James developed in his youth until the later years of his career, putting aside these defensive habits, James's defense mainly depends on whether he wants to defend or not.

In this Knicks team with far more exposure than the Cavaliers, in order to maximize his goodwill after changing teams, James is currently at the stage of his career where he is most willing to play defense.

That night, James, who brought a strong and well-equipped Knicks team to Oakland and was eager to end his twelve-game losing streak against Qin Yue, even took the initiative to ask D'Antoni for the responsibility of guarding Qin Yue before the game.

"David's speed can't keep up with him." Before the game, James, who was exceptionally serious and responsible, said to D'Antoni, "Give him to me, I'll contain him."

No one understands better than James how difficult it is to contain Qin Yue.

But James, who was determined to win this game, knew better than anyone that if he could defeat that god, he, who was responsible for facing the god on the court, would surely be able to reap the biggest victory after the game.

Moreover, judging from Qin Yue's recent performance...
Even though his form has improved somewhat, his competitive level is far from returning to its peak.

Therefore, James, who knew that now was the time to step up, was undoubtedly determined to volunteer to defend Qin Yue one-on-one before the game started.

This greatly moved Durant, who regarded James as his second-in-command. "Brown, as long as you can limit Messiah's scoring to below 30 points, we will definitely win this game!" Seeing this, James just smiled slightly.

James knows very well that now is not the time for him, a newcomer, to take over the Knicks' leadership role.

Therefore, he would keep any words that were detrimental to unity to himself for the time being.

It's worth mentioning that before the game started, when a close-up shot showed Olsen, wearing a white dress and showing off her impressive cleavage, returning to the stadium to support Qin Yue, the entire Oracle Arena erupted in boos.

However.
Regardless of how much the home crowd likes Olsen, it won't affect Qin Yue becoming a "fan" of Olsen.

Before heading to the center of the court, Qin Yue looked at Olsen, who had been dating him under immense pressure for the past two months. He took the initiative to walk to the sidelines and gave her a treatment that no other "Qin Girl" had ever received.

The boos from Oracle Arena instantly transformed into deafening cheers with Qin Yue's passionate kiss.

Even after Qin Yue walked back onto the field, the young Olsen was still savoring that moment.

"Is this the legendary 'Farewell My Concubine'?"

Brown, who has a good relationship with Qin Yue and some knowledge of Chinese culture, laughed and said, "That scene will definitely be on the front page of major media outlets tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yue simply said, "'Farewell My Concubine' is not suitable for an occasion like tonight."

On the field, after this brief incident, the starting players from both teams immediately took their positions.

The Knicks' starting five are Mozgov, David Lee, James, Durant, and Westbrook.

The Warriors' starting five are Brown, Qin Yue, Wallace, Bell, and Nash.

This summer, unable to find a more suitable star center for the Knicks, Donnie Walsh had to re-sign David Lee and bring in Mozgov from Russia to fill the team's relatively weak center position.

Although he only played half a season with the Knicks before being traded to the Nuggets by Walsh, in this game, as one of the first teammates James recruited after arriving at the Knicks, Mozgov became the Knicks' starting center shortly after the start of the new season due to James's appreciation.

As it turns out, loyal warriors will receive their due rewards.

Mozgov earned a starting position with the Knicks by showing his loyalty to James.

After all, no matter how new James is, D'Antoni still has to find a way to balance the internal power distribution within the Knicks.

In the NBA, this is a complex subject.

Especially when a team has multiple superstars, if the coach cannot treat them all equally, even the most tactically skilled head coach may be dismissed the next day.

Qin Yue knew very well that mediating internal conflicts in the locker room had never been D'Antoni's forte.

The reason D'Antoni has been able to temporarily suppress the internal conflicts within the Knicks is simply because this team, whose strength on paper is arguably unmatched in history, is winning game after game.

In the opening tip-off, Brown, who was equally loyal to Qin Yue, easily defeated Mozgov, the Great White Bear.

This season, he was the only Warriors starter to show outstanding form at the beginning of the regular season.
In the summer, in order to develop his own "dream moves," Brown did not follow head coach Malone's instructions to indulge himself during the holidays.

This is because, in Brown's view, he only plays about twenty minutes a game in the regular season, so there is no risk of him getting sick from overwork.

So after he argued his case, Malone agreed to his decision to continue improving himself during the offseason.

On the first attack, seeing that Brown was in good spirits, Qin Yue did not rush to launch an attack. Instead, he lobbed the ball to Brown, giving him a one-on-one opportunity against Mozgov.

As a result, on the court, facing the 216cm tall Mozgov, Brown faked a move and then stole the ball, immediately giving his opponent a hard time.

Upon seeing this, Mozgov immediately signaled to referee Brown that he had walked.

But Brown, without batting an eye, said: "You uncultured Russian country bumpkin, this is my own 'Dream Dance Steps,' where does this talk of walking come from?"

Then, Brown turned to Qin Yue and said, "Was my footwork pretty good?"

Qin Yue nodded: "I think I should call you Hakime Brown from now on."

Brown seemed to really like the new nickname Qin Yue had given him.

Turning back, after blocking Westbrook's one-on-one drive that completely disregarded the team's formation, Brown yelled at him, "Hey kid, do you know you're challenging the paint guarded by Hakeem Brown, the second-greatest center in history?"

On the sidelines, on the Warriors' bench, Ben Wallace, who had shaved off his afro, looked puzzled and asked, "Has he always been this confident?"

Sitting next to the big man, Curry said without hesitation, "Kwame... no, Hakime has always been this confident."

On the court, it was the Warriors' turn to attack.

Facing James, who kept his arm draped over his own ball-handling hand, and seeing the opponent's determined gaze, Qin Yuexuan, who had originally intended to continue feeding the ball to his teammates, changed his mind.

Qin Yue greatly admired James' energetic defensive attitude tonight.

This immediately sparked in Qin Yue's mind, who always loved a challenge, the desire to destroy the opponent's team.

On the right high post, Qin Yue decisively released the ball and accelerated while simultaneously swatting away James's unruly little hand.

James' lateral slide is very fast.

However, after dribbling backward and accelerating again, Qin Yue managed to force his way past James' defense.

After two months of adjustments, James clearly underestimated Qin Yue's condition before this game.

Inside, facing Mozgov who was coming to help defend him and trying to scare him away by raising his hands, Qin Yue leaped up and slammed the basketball over Mozgov's head into the basket!

Bang-dang——!
On TNT, when the close-up shot focused on Olson on the sidelines again, Barkley laughed and said, "The Knicks need to be careful. Tonight, Messiah seems to be in his best form!"

……

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(End of this chapter)