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Chapter 246 A Player Even Gods Can't Stop (First Update! Begging for Monthly Tickets!)
After a period of patient waiting, the Warriors' opponent in the Western Conference semifinals has finally been determined.

They will face the Grizzlies in the next round.

5 month 2 day.

The day before the Western Conference semifinals began, the NBA officially announced the list of awards for the 11/12 season.

Instead of defying public opinion, the league, both unexpectedly and unsurprisingly, awarded the highly anticipated regular season MVP to Qin Yue.

With this, Qin Yue officially achieved something that even Jordan failed to accomplish:
—Winner of MVP award for three consecutive years.

To prevent individual honors from being monopolized by a single player for too long, thus affecting the "equal distribution of the pie" policy implemented since Stern took office.

Starting with Larry Bird, the last player to achieve three consecutive regular season MVP awards, until Qin Yue's time travel, the NBA did not have a player achieve the feat of winning three consecutive MVP awards in nearly forty years.

But now, Qin Yue has broken the long-standing NBA regular season award rules.

Furthermore, Qin Yue, who had the support of the people, successfully won all the first-place votes.

"A well-deserved unanimous MVP! Greatness speaks for itself!" — ESPN headline
He was unanimously elected MVP for the second time in his career.

He was named MVP for the third consecutive time in his career for the first time.

He was named MVP for the fifth time in his career.

When 28-year-old Qin Yue officially tied Jordan in the number of regular season MVPs, it was clear that over the past two seasons, Qin Yue had gained a level of popularity comparable to Jordan's in his prime.

Now, Qin Yue gives the impression that his popularity is clearly surpassing that of Jordan.

"Michael Jordan won his first championship at the age of 29."

In a commentary on TNT comparing Qin Yue and Jordan to determine who is greater, Barkley said, "But what about Messiah? The individual and team honors he achieved in his 28th year are almost catching up with Michael's."

Age is undoubtedly Qin Yue's biggest advantage as the new GOAT.

This gives Qin Yue a huge space for people's imagination.

Moreover, the development of the internet has provided Qin Yue with more convenient channels for publicity.

In recent years, even those who don't watch basketball know that the NBA has produced an unprecedented superstar.

Among the many predecessors, Oscar Robertson, who has always been fond of Qin Yue, said when he was invited to attend Qin Yue's MVP award ceremony: "The league has finally done the right thing. They have set an example and role model for those who come after them."

Although some people do not agree with Robertson's statement that Qin Yue is a role model and exemplar.

For example, Shaquille O'Neal.

But in this era where you're considered to be ignorant of basketball if you don't praise Qin Yue, Shaquille O'Neal, who was once bullied by Qin Yue to the point of having to rely on "intelligent foot injury" to avoid confrontation with him in the twilight of his career, could only suppress his anger towards Qin Yue at this moment, no matter how much resentment he felt.

After all, Qin Yue's absolute strength was a factor.
O'Neal's claim that the other side lacked sportsmanship is utterly ridiculous.

If using trash talk to "humiliate" opponents on the basketball court is considered a lack of sportsmanship, then are there any players in the NBA who possess sportsmanship?

Oracle Arena.

At the awards ceremony that the Warriors had meticulously arranged for him, Qin Yue said, "Although I know very well that I am still the best player in the regular season this year, I still have to thank the judges who voted for me."

Then, Qin Yue said in a tone that suffocated the league's top management, "As for what my biggest wish is right now? Of course, it's to win the MVP again next year."

Will he win MVP again next year?

Can't you give other star players of the same era a chance to survive?

Without a doubt, granting Qin Yue a three-peat as MVP was the limit for Stern and the league.

So shortly after Qin Yue finished his acceptance speech, Stern immediately made a decision: next season, even if it meant pushing him too hard, the league would find a way to produce a star who could at least match Qin Yue in terms of individual statistics.

At this moment, Stern was not targeting Qin Yue.

However, while having Qin Yue as the main character, the NBA also needs a sufficient number of supporting characters to maintain the attention of this large-scale reality show.

After all, the NBA has never been just a competitive league.

As a commercial league, the NBA's popularity is destined to decline if it doesn't have enough superstars.

On the day the awards were presented, Stephen Curry of the Warriors was also named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year for the third consecutive year.

In addition, the Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Rookie of the Year awards this year were won by Marc Gasol, Paul George, and Kyrie Irving, respectively.

This season, Marc Gasol was able to beat Dwight Howard to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, mainly thanks to the defensive system that Mike Brown meticulously built for the Lakers after taking over as head coach.

As for that fan's opinion on who the real DPOY is?

Unfortunately.

The Qin Yue of today is no longer the Qin Yue of yesteryear.

Therefore, even if he had to resort to underhanded tactics, Stern would not give the DPOY award to Qin Yue.

In addition, the results of the 11/12 season's All-Tournament Team and All-Defensive Team selections are as follows:
All-NBA First Team: Dwight Howard, Qin Yue, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul.

Second Team All-NBA: Yao Ming, Durant, Anthony, Wade, Westbrook.

All-NBA Third Team: Marc Gasol, Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Roy, and Deron Williams.

All-Defensive First Team: Marc Gasol, Qin Yue, Andre Iguodala, Tony Allen, Chris Paul.

All-Defensive Second Team: Howard, Ibaka, Wallace, Kobe, Rondo.

With his growing dominance with the Knicks, LeBron James, who reclaimed his title, successfully beat his teammate Kevin Durant in this year's All-NBA First Team selection.

Due to the selection of the best lineup during this period, there were only two spots for the forward position.

Therefore, given that Qin Yue is bound to occupy a spot, the judges can only choose one of Durant and James to be included in the All-NBA First Team.

And since James is currently the leader of this Knicks team.
How could the judges possibly select his "Pippen" Durant for the All-NBA First Team?
5 month 3 day.

Riding the momentum of three consecutive MVPs
The Warriors, playing at home, easily won their first game against the Grizzlies, thanks to Qin Yue's outstanding performance, who was finally able to fully commit as the level of their opponents increased after entering the Western Conference semifinals.

Young Serge Ibaka had an incredibly painful night at Oracle Arena.

On the court, as Qin Yue used various feints in front of him, Ibaka couldn't understand why this new GOAT was so cunning.

“I’m only twenty-one,” Ibaka said to Qin Yue. “According to LeBron James, I’m still a kid. You can’t play me like this.”

Hearing this, Qin Yue, amused by Ibaka, laughed and said, "Then how do you want me to play?"

Ibaka said, "Can you be a little more direct?"

Qin Yue nodded: "No problem."

So, in the next Warriors offensive possession, Serge Ibaka, who could always overpower opponents with his physical gifts even in the NBA, was ruthlessly crushed by Qin Yue. There were no unnecessary moves.

Release the ball to start speeding up, then gather the ball to begin the start.

When Ibaka, who had been following Qin Yue, tried to jump up and block Qin Yue's shot.

A giant axe from the East fell on his head in an instant.

Bang-dang——!
"Are you satisfied now?" Qin Yue said to Ibaka after landing from the post-up.

Seeing this, a deeply aggrieved Ibaka said, "I'm not satisfied! Because I can't defend against you at all!"

What an interesting child.

At that moment, looking at the young Ibaka, Qin Yue suggested to him, "Serge, you can't just rely on your physical talent for defense."

Ibaka said, "Then can you teach me how to defend?"

Since entering the NBA, this was the first time Qin Yue had been asked by an opposing defender to teach him how to defend.

But as he grew older, Qin Yue also discovered...
Deep down, he seems to be a player who really enjoys teaching others how to play.

Therefore, when Ibaka asked him if he could teach him how to defend, Qin Yue nodded almost without hesitation, "Then you'd better learn carefully."

Ibaka asked in surprise, "You're really willing to teach me?"

Qin Yue said, "That's right, I plan to start teaching you right now."

Ibaka: "."

In the first game of the Western Conference semifinals, it's hard to say whether Ibaka grasped the essence of defense under Coach Qin's careful guidance, but this young player with immense potential was indeed left speechless by Coach Qin in this exhibition game.

The final score was 108 to 129.

After the game, Ibaka said dejectedly about Qin Yue, who scored 44 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals for the Warriors: "He is absolutely the most dominant player I have ever seen. You saw it too. In front of him, the only difference between me and a toy is that I am someone who can be frustrated and sad."

In fact, based on the head-to-head impression, Ibaka is the best player in the entire league this season when facing Qin Yue.

Because most defensive players could only barely match up against Qin Yue.

With a height similar to Qin Yue and physical and dynamic talents that resemble those of a mythical beast, Ibaka is one of the few centers in the league who can truly and effectively match up against Qin Yue.

Unfortunately.
The vastly different experiences between Qin Yue and Ibaka became a chasm that Ibaka was destined to be unable to overcome in the short term.

This is what Jeff Van Gundy said earlier.

Even if you can find a player who can effectively match up against Qin Yue, it will be very difficult to contain him.

After all, in the NBA, if you can defend against superstars by forming an effective matchup, then why are superstars called superstars?
Two days later, the Warriors and Grizzlies continued their Western Conference Semifinals Game 2 at Oracle Arena.

That night, the young Grizzlies gave the defending champions a lot of trouble.

On the court, Mike Conley, who can always go toe-to-toe with the opposing star guards, quietly racked up 24 points, 11 assists and 5 rebounds for the Grizzlies.

Rudy Gay also contributed to the Grizzlies' perimeter offense with an outstanding performance of 11 out of 18 shots in the battle against the Warriors' forwards and guards.

Tony Allen, who transferred from the Celtics to the Grizzlies, demonstrated on this night, through his tenacious defense, that what an unstoppable defense truly means to Stephen Curry, the Warriors' second-leading player.

When Curry is on fire, this baby-faced killer is fearless against any defense.

However, under the physical challenge from Coach Tony, Curry, who is at least two and a half years away from his peak, was unable to find his target throughout the entire game.

However, despite playing their best game since entering the playoffs, the Grizzlies still lost their second game against the Warriors 109-117.

Because in the face of Qin Yue's relentless changes in rhythm, Ibaka's defense was practically non-existent, if not completely at Qin Yue's mercy.

On TNT, O'Neal gritted his teeth and said, "That guy isn't that scary. Serge, you can't just let him get on like a bus."

Barkley seized the opportunity to tease O'Neal, saying, "Shaq, if the Messiah isn't that scary, then why did you always try to avoid a direct confrontation with him back then?"

In Qin Yue's previous life, whenever Barkley left him speechless, O'Neal only needed to take out his championship ring to shut him up.

But now it's different.

Because in this lifetime, O'Neal simply cannot hold back until he pulls out his championship ring, at which point he will be broken down by Barkley's blunt honesty.

At this moment, although O'Neal's original English meaning was not like that, his rebuttal to Barkley was roughly as follows: "What do you mean I always avoid direct confrontation with him, Charles? You're slandering me out of thin air."

To slander someone's innocence out of thin air?

In the TNT studio filled with laughter, looking at O'Neal who was still deceiving himself to this day, Barkley laughed and said, "Whatever makes you happy, Shaq."

They lead the series 2-0 against the Grizzlies.

Two days later, Qin Yue and the Warriors officially ended the suspense of this series at FedExCare, the Grizzlies' home arena.

Although the Grizzlies, back at home, used their home-court advantage to create considerable trouble for the Warriors with their high-intensity physical play.

However, in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, the Warriors secured the victory thanks to Qin Yue's 12 consecutive points.

These 12 points represent the 12 points that Qin Yue used to completely shatter Ibaka's Dao heart.

On the court, the Warriors' offensive possession.

Ibaka, who had called for his teammate Gay to come and help defend, thought he had already blocked the position.

But the next second, as Qin Yue magically created space by using two consecutive back-movements, Ibaka was instantly frozen in place as if he had been bewitched by Ahri.

Then, Qin Yue hit a pull-up jumper despite Guy's help defense.

Meanwhile, at FedExCare, Grizzlies fans in the arena were heard groans of despair.

Grizzlies fans who had witnessed firsthand how unstoppable Yao Ming was in the paint during the first round of the playoffs never expected that Qin Yue's unstoppable level was even far above his brother Yao.

"God says he can't wait to play in the Western Conference Finals." — San Francisco Chronicle

The final score was 118 to 111.

The Warriors won another game on the road, taking a 3-0 lead in the series against the Grizzlies.

After the match, when shaking hands with Sergi Ibaka, whom he got along very well with, Qin Yue took the initiative to encourage him, saying, "Sergi, you don't need to be so sad at all, because when I was 21, I also encountered a player that I couldn't defend no matter what."

Upon hearing this, Ibaka asked curiously, "Who is he?"

Without hesitation, Qin Yue replied, "Tim Duncan."

……

P.S.: There will be another chapter later tonight!
(End of this chapter)