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Chapter 215 The Path to Godhood: Enemies from All Around! (Second Update, Begging for Monthly Tickets!)

After easily defeating the SuperSonics on the road, the Warriors climbed to the top of the Western Conference standings in January as their key players regained their form.

This season, the Warriors' three main rivals in the West—the Mavericks, Lakers, and SuperSonics—have all chosen to conserve their strength during the regular season.

This makes the competition in the West far less intense than in the East this year.

Although it sounds incredible, this season's NBA does indeed give the impression of the East being stronger than the West.

Furthermore, the top teams in the Eastern Conference are still actively seeking to strengthen their rosters before the trade deadline.

After the painful lesson learned from the Christmas Day game, the Knicks have fully realized their weakness of a serious imbalance between offense and defense.

If this problem cannot be solved before the playoffs, then the Knicks' roster of three young stars and LeBron James, which can consistently dominate weaker teams in the regular season, are destined to go nowhere.

Ginobili's outstanding performance after recovering from injury prompted the Celtics to make the decision to trade Carter.

This summer, Al Horford will enter the final year of his contract.

In order to retain this promising young center, the Celtics must clear salary cap space ahead of schedule.

Now that the cost-effective Ginobili has proven he can replace Carter, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge must find a way to avoid the Celtics incurring excessive luxury tax penalties next season.

In addition, the Heat, led by Wade, Anthony and Bosh, are also eager to acquire a defensive stalwart who can match Qin Yue in the game through a trade after the initial adjustment period.

With the precedent of James being scored 101 points by Qin Yue stepping on his head, neither Melo nor Wade, who are well aware of Bosh's defensive abilities, wanted to see Bosh repeat James's mistake.

It has to be said that last year's Christmas Day game not only completely crushed James, but also gave all the teams aiming for the championship a severe "messiah phobia".

In mid-January, the Warriors visited Salt Lake City to challenge the Jazz.

That night, Qin Yue responded to Paul's challenge with an outstanding performance of 51 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists, and 4 blocks.

"I still prefer your old, rebellious self, Chris." After the game, looking at the dejected Paul, Qin Yue laughed, "Where did the Chris Paul who always had 'never give up' on his lips go?"

Faced with Qin Yue's post-game taunts, under normal circumstances, Paul would have given Qin Yue a few punches first, no matter what he said.

However, with Carlos Boozer, who has always been "loyal and courageous," committing the second backstabbing of his career last summer, the Jazz's fighting power has been greatly reduced in the new season. Now, Paul is in no mood to joke around with Qin Yue.
Boozer's betrayal was fatal for the Jazz.

Because Boozer had promised the Jazz front office early on that he would re-sign with the team, the more disappointed the Jazz front office felt last summer when Boozer finally decided to sign with the Pacers, the more disheartened they were by the fact that Cavaliers owner Gund had been deceived by Boozer back then.

"Will you stay with the Warriors until you retire?" Paul suddenly asked, looking up at Qin Yue.

Qin Yue nodded without hesitation and said, "For now, I think I will end my career in Auckland."

Although Qin Yue was never bound by that damned loyalty.

But having already developed a sense of belonging in Oakland, with the support of fans, teammates, management, and even the team owner, he simply couldn't find any reason to leave the Warriors.

However, looking at Paul in front of him, Qin Yue could tell that the other man clearly had the idea of ​​wanting to continue his professional career in a different environment.

“You’re my best brother. We’ve been fighting side by side since college, so there are some things I can only say to you.” Paul said after a few seconds of silence. “To be honest, I’ve already told Coach Jerry Sloan and the Jazz front office, hoping they’ll put me on the trading block.”

If Boozer keeps his word, then even if the Jazz are not as competitive as other teams, Paul will most likely stay until his current contract expires.

But now.
Boozer's departure not only made the Jazz management feel betrayed, but also forced Paul to seriously consider whether he needed to switch to a more competitive team to take his career to the next level.

"What did Coach Jerry Sloan and the Jazz management say to you?" Qin Yue asked curiously.

Paul replied, "The old man is happy that I can speak frankly to him, but he hopes I can finish this season and leave when the team finds a more suitable trade target in the summer."

What do you think?

"Since the old man has said so, I will definitely finish this season, but..."

"Just what?"

"Even now, I don't know if my decision to leave the Jazz was the right one."

Paul's current dilemma stems from Jerry Sloan's meticulous mentoring of him over the past few seasons.

Under Sloan's tactical system, Paul has averaged "20+10" superstar guard stats for three consecutive seasons.

Paul knew very well the affection Sloan had poured into him during his upbringing.

Therefore, when Paul finally made up his mind to leave, he became conflicted.

“I can’t help you with that,” Qin Yue said. “You know, Chris, I’ll most likely be playing for the Warriors until the end.”

Looking up at Qin Yue, Paul finally couldn't hold back and delivered a powerful punch, angrily saying, "You're all alone in the city, you're so high and mighty, you think you're so great!"

Qin Yue accepted Paul's powerful punch with a smile: "Chris, do you know what that guy Kwame often says to me?"

After a pause, Qin Yue added, "Kwame said that once you've made up your mind, just go for it. As for the result? As long as you give it your all, why worry about things that haven't happened yet?"

Originally
Paul simply wanted to share his feelings with Qin Yue, but to his surprise, he found the answer he was looking for from Kwame Brown.

"Your teammate is quite a character," Paul chuckled. "By the way, did you and Brown talk after that game?"

"No."

“Listen to me, Brown just can’t stand that you always humiliate him in games,” Paul said to Qin Yue, trying to play peacemaker. “But I know that Brown has completely misunderstood you, because you never hold back in games, and the more important the opponent is to you, the harder you will hit them on the court.”

“No need to explain for me, Chris,” Qin Yue said. “You know I never care what others think of me.”

“It seems you won’t forgive Brown anytime soon,” Paul sighed.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yue said, "You've got it backwards, Chris. It's him who won't forgive me."

Paul doesn't know if Qin Yue and James can ever go back to how they were before.

But at this moment, Paul had a premonition that the longer Qin Yue stayed on that damned throne like Jordan, the fewer friends he would have in the future, just like Jordan.

Because the price of becoming a god is inevitably facing enemies from all over the world. Paul, who knew Qin Yue's way of doing things well, was well aware that Qin Yue's outburst in that Christmas game wasn't even directed at James.

That's right. Even if the Warriors' opponent that night wasn't the Knicks, Paul believed that Qin Yue would have proven with a scoring performance that his previous poor form was never because he was shut down by Olson, but simply because he needed time to regain his form.

But now the question arises: when Qin Yue needs to prove himself again in the future, who will be the unfortunate victim?
And will that opponent feel "humiliated" by Qin Yue's all-out effort? Could this have resulted in Qin Yue inadvertently gaining another enemy?

Just like the Lakers and Kobe, who have been humiliated by Qin Yue countless times since he entered the league.

If they could, Lakers fans and Kobe would probably want to tear Qin Yue apart.

In Paul's eyes, from the moment Qin Yue stepped onto the steps to godhood, his path to godhood was destined to be lonely.

Any player who dares to challenge his divine throne can never be his friend.

Even Paul had a feeling that both he and Anthony would eventually stand on the opposite side of Qin Yue.

In late January, Qin Yue, who led the Warriors to victory in Los Angeles, scored 48 and 55 points respectively, under the gritted eyes of Clippers and Lakers fans.

Against the Clippers, Qin Yue failed to score 50 points. It wasn't that he went easy on Blake Griffin, who was officially starting his rookie season this year; it was just that Qin Yue only played the first three quarters for the Warriors in this game against the Clippers.

“I was like a high school student who couldn’t play basketball at all in front of him,” Griffin admitted after the game. “This game was like a slap in the face, a wake-up call for me.”

Just as Qin Yue remembered, Griffin's performance in his rookie season could only be described as explosive.

Blake Griffin, who averaged 21 points and 9 rebounds per game for the Clippers, completely won over Clippers fans in just half a season.

During the game, whether it was Griffin's breathtaking dunking performances or his talent on the court, he quickly became a favorite among Clippers fans.

However, when Griffin, who still needs to be refined, faces Qin Yue, who is at the peak of his career, things become very difficult.
Even with all his might, Griffin could not withstand Qin Yue's unpredictable personal attacks.

Fortunately, the young Griffin still has plenty of time to grow and evolve.

Moreover, as a member of the younger generation, Griffin's age means that, as long as he stays healthy, he can patiently wait for Qin Yue to grow old, just like Durant did.

This is a unique advantage that the league's new generation of players possess in terms of mentality.

This is also the source of why they always show the fearless spirit of a newborn calf when facing Qin Yue.

However, not all players in this league are young.

For example, a day later, Kobe had another score to settle with Qin Yue at Staples Center.

Last summer, the Lakers, who were forced to let go of Kyle Lowry, managed to retain Marc Gasol, but with Lamar Odom and Shane Battier both entering the final year of their contracts, the Lakers are facing a difficult situation.
Kobe, who only won one championship after leaving Shaq, has come to realize that the Lakers will become weaker and weaker in the coming years.

"When are you planning to settle the score with me?" After the game against the Lakers, looking at Kobe who was gritting his teeth, Qin Yue reminded him, "You can't expect to keep owing me money until you retire, can you?"

They didn't win the game, and they didn't trash talk Qin Yue either.

Kobe knew very well that he had once again suffered a crushing defeat in his match against Qin Yue.

Furthermore, it is foreseeable that as time goes on, it will become increasingly difficult for Kobe to change this situation.

Because right now, time has become Kobe's number one enemy.

In the NBA, no player can defy the passage of time.

Kobe's self-discipline and diligence could only slow down the passage of his peak years.

Kobe, with his extremely competitive spirit, could not possibly be content with the current situation.

So he could only push himself to work harder and harder every day, and patiently wait for Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak to turn things around again and prevent the Lakers from getting weaker through trades or the draft.

As February arrived, the NBA officially announced the starting lineup and reserves for the 2011 All-Star Weekend.

This year, the Warriors have a total of four players selected for the All-Star game.

Besides Qin Yue and Nash, who are leading in the voting for their respective positions, Wallace and Brown will participate in All-Star Weekend for the first time in their careers as substitutes.

"The judges have finally realized how important I am to All-Star Weekend!" said Brown, who was selected as an All-Star thanks to his outstanding performance of averaging 15 points and 9 rebounds for the Warriors since the beginning of the new year. "Without me, All-Star Weekend would be meaningless."

After saying that, Brown turned to Qin Yue and said, "You agree, right, my dear First Mate?"

Seeing this, Qin Yue laughed and said, "You're right, my king."

Like Brown, Wallace was equally excited to be selected to the All-Star team for the first time in his career.

However, unlike Brown, who earned his All-Star spot through sheer talent, ...
Wallace's All-Star selection this year is mainly thanks to Western Conference star forwards like Anthony, Stoudemire, and Boozer, who all chose to move to the Eastern Conference last summer.

This has directly resulted in the Western Conference All-Stars having a severe lack of star forwards to carry the team this year.

In contrast, considering that Wallace was a member of the All-Defensive First Team last season, the judges selected him as a reserve for the Western Conference All-Stars.

Nevertheless, Wallace was still excited for several days after being selected for the All-Star team.

And
Who dares to say that Wallace deserves some credit for the current situation where the East is stronger than the West?
Since they can't be selected for the All-Star game, they might as well beat those superstars who always occupy the All-Star spots.

"My time has finally come!" Wallace exclaimed excitedly. "My efforts have not been ignored! From now on, please call me the best small forward in the West!"

The second-best center in history.

The best small forward in the Western Conference.

In addition, there's Nash, who currently holds the title of the league's best point guard.

Is this why the Warriors are universally recognized as a super team?
That day, looking at the pair of "Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix" beside him, Qin Yue thought to himself.

……

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(End of this chapter)