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Chapter 248 Slam Dunk Against the Lakers (I've already disemboweled myself; I have no face to face my godfather readers today)
Some duels, no matter how many times they are staged, are destined to be timeless classics.

Lakers' offensive possession.

Paul brought the ball up the court and once again displayed an attacking desire far exceeding his usual level.

Using his left hand, Sam Goddard suddenly stopped and pulled up for a shot the instant he pierced Nash's defense.

The next second, Paul, who scored five points for the Lakers at the start of the game, even gave Qin Yue a playful wink as Qin Yue waited for him to block the shot inside.

That expression, that look, clearly said:
Did you not expect me to have predicted your prediction?

Compared to Kobe, who chose to mute his microphone because he knew he couldn't win an argument with Qin Yue, and the other players who were worried about angering Qin Yue and incurring his retaliation.

If you really want to ask
If we're talking about who's the best at messing with Qin Yue's mentality in the league right now, then that player has to be Chris Paul.

Paul's understanding of Qin Yue made him far more aware than Kobe of what would break Qin Yue's defense.

As for the price of angering Qin Yue?

Sorry, since joining the league...
Almost every time Paul faced off against Qin Yue, it was a love-hate relationship between the two.

So what's considered provoking or not provoking?
In Paul's view, if you lose a game of basketball and lose the argument, that's really frustrating.

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

Under Kobe's leadership, Qin Yue was relentlessly entangled by the Black Mamba from the moment he crossed half-court without the ball, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the frontcourt.

Same as the regular season.

The Lakers' purpose in assigning Kobe to guard Qin Yue during off-ball possession was not to limit his scoring, but simply to wear him down.

After all, no matter how strong Qin Yue's individual ability is, when faced with Kobe's unreasonable "elbow strike," Qin Yue still has to go through a wrestling match with Kobe before he can reach the Lakers' half of the court.

Although Qin Yueyuan's greater weight meant that Kobe would always suffer a crushing defeat in any grappling match with him.

However, as long as the Lakers can slow down Qin Yue's pace across half-court and force him to expend a lot of unnecessary energy during off-ball possession, their defensive strategy will have been largely successful.

On the sidelines, Warriors head coach Mike Malone couldn't help but yell at the referee, "Damn it! He kept pulling on Messiah's jersey, isn't that a foul?"

foul?

Kobe was simply using a double-team tactic against GOAT.

How can this be considered a foul?

In the NBA, the concept of defensive standards has always been a mystery.

Take this match for example.

Judging from just the first two possessions, the defensive standards allowed by the referees for both sides have clearly far exceeded the rules of basketball.

Especially the defensive measures taken against Qin Yue.

On the left wing, high up, he combined the ball and accelerated past Gasol.

He was first pulled and dragged by the opponent, and then encountered Gasol's "strongman lock" in the low position.

Then, use your left hand to flick the ball into the basket.

Even after Qin Yue turned to retreat and defend, the referee did not blow the whistle for him.

It's no exaggeration to say that if this attack had been played by Luka Doncic in the future, Doncic would likely have already staged the legendary "eighteen consecutive attacks" on the court.

But what about Qin Yue?

Over the years, Qin Yue has become accustomed to the extra attention that referees always give to defensive players on the field.

You can't play ball without a whistle.

If you can't play ball, just throw your hands up at the referee and beg for food.

If begging for food doesn't work, the team's veteran player will immediately "kneel down and propose" to the referee.

Unfortunately, this behavior is clearly not in line with Qin Yue's style.

It is even less in line with his status as the GOAT of the new era.

Even though Qin Yue hated the biased calls made by referees against defensive players on the field more than anyone else in the past two years.

But a GOAT should complain about the referee in the GOAT way.

For example, right now, he yelled "FUCK" at the referee while retreating on defense.

After criticizing the referee, Qin Yue felt much better.

As for those on the sidelines, can they only treat all of this as if nothing happened and acted like the referees?

So why did they have to give biased calls to the defensive players?
In the NBA, the privilege of verbally abusing referees at any time is a privilege that only Qin Yue possesses.

After all, after blatantly giving biased calls to the player responsible for defending the GOAT, the referees had to give Qin Yue a chance to vent his frustration.

Although Qin Yue's outbursts at the referee did not affect the referee's subsequent rulings.

But as the GOAT, while wearing that crown and enjoying the world's worship, Qin Yue must also accept that the world will hold him to the standards of the GOAT in every aspect.

If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight.

Those who only want to wear the crown but not bear its weight, even if they stay in the NBA until they are fifty, will only give people something to laugh about: "Why did he kneel down again?"

On the court, the Lakers had possession of the ball.

At the start of the game, Paul's strong offensive desire successfully drew Brown's help defense.

However, Marc Gasol, who was positioned in the Ghost position, had a sure-fire shot under the basket, but it was ruthlessly blocked by Qin Yue at the last moment.

At Oracle Arena, as Qin Yue, who had swatted away Marc Gasol's basketball dream, wagged his finger at the other side, the entire arena erupted in deafening cheers.

On TNT, watching Qin Yue wag his finger but not get a technical foul, O'Neal said, "The referees were too lenient with him. In the NBA, this is a move that no player except Dikembe Mutombo is allowed to make."

In the NBA, wagging your finger is indeed a move that only Mutombo can do.

However, Qin Yue was the exception.

Moreover, unlike Mutombo, who earned the privilege of performing this move through charity work off the court, Qin Yue was able to do this move simply because he had completely won over all the NBA referees over the past two years.

On the court, the Lakers still had possession of the ball.

Kobe, who was in charge of inbounding the ball from the baseline, lobbed it to Pau Gasol at the top of the key.

Seeing this, Pau Gasol did not hesitate to take a shot from the outside.

Unfortunately, Pau Gasol's determined three-point attempt bounced off the rim after circling it.

Brown secured the rebound and immediately looked up to find Qin Yue.

In the blink of an eye, a dark figure suddenly appeared, intercepted the pass, and then scored a layup off the backboard, giving the Lakers another two points.

The dark figure was none other than Chris Paul.

It has to be said that Paul was at his peak that night, both in terms of focus and individual performance.

The Warriors then launch their attack.

When Qin Yue and Nash initiated a 1-5 pick-and-roll, the basketball in Qin Yue's hands was almost intercepted by Paul.

However, compared to Brown, Qin Yue, who was extremely vigilant, kept a close eye on Paul's movements before passing the ball.

At the top of the arc, Qin Yue dodged Paul's attempt to steal the ball and slammed it into the paint. After assisting Brown for two points, Qin Yue also gave Paul a wink.

That expression, that look, clearly said:

You don't think you're the only one who can predict your buddy's predictions, do you?

On TNT, Barkley laughed and said, "Chris and Messiah are probably the opponents who know each other best in the league today."

The back-and-forth battle between Wake Forest's star duo provided the main attraction of the first quarter.

However, Qin Yue, who was both worried about his brother's hardship and his desire for his brother to drive a Land Rover, suggested to Malone during the official timeout in the first quarter: "Mike, we need to change our defense."

Upon hearing this, Malone, knowing that Paul was indeed playing too comfortably on the court, said, "I'll bring Jimmy in after this timeout." The official timeout ended, and the Warriors made their substitution.

With the defensively superior Butler on the field, Nash, who is better at offense, was substituted out.

On the Lakers' bench, watching the Warriors' new, point-guard-less lineup, even knowing that Qin Yue had already demonstrated his point guard abilities in past games, Mike Brown couldn't help but curse inwardly the moment Qin Yue personally carried the ball across half-court.
That damn pervert!
Paul's outstanding performance at the start of the game that night was not only due to his own hot streak, but also to the Warriors' strategy of having Wallace and Green guard Kobe and Klay respectively on the perimeter.

If Paul can't put up a high-efficiency offense against a 38-year-old Nash, then it just means that Paul is an unworthy player.

Now, with the Warriors changing their defense, they've brought in Butler, a tough defender whose size allows him to completely cover Paul.

The pressure my artillery faces on the offensive end has clearly increased significantly in an instant.

"Where did my all-powerful brother Chris Paul go?"

On the field, Qin Yue turned his gaze to Paul, who had been "missing" for several rounds, and suddenly asked.

Upon hearing this, Paul, who was practically itching to punch Qin Yue during the defensive retreat, said, "Don't get cocky, you guys haven't scored in several rounds either."

indeed.

Throughout his career, Butler's three-pointers have been Schrödinger's three-pointers.

In addition, Brown's mid-range and long-range shooting has always been inconsistent.

Wallace's three-pointers are only reliable from the right corner.

Therefore, it's impossible for the Warriors' offense to remain unaffected after they field their strongest defensive lineup.

However, the Warriors, who deliberately turned this game into a defensive battle, were not flustered at all.

Because at this moment, the Warriors' strongest defensive lineup is not their strongest lineup.

The Warriors deliberately slowed down the pace of the game in the latter part of the first quarter.

At this point, Lakers head coach Brown finally realized another purpose behind Malone's decision to change the Warriors' defensive strategy.

That's right, the Warriors are using their defense to wear down the Lakers' starting players' shooting touch and stamina, taking advantage of the defensive limits allowed by the referees in this game.

Furthermore, in this slow-paced positional warfare, the Warriors can effectively prevent Qin Yue's physical strength from depleting too quickly.

This Western Conference Finals.

It's not just the players on the field who know each other very well.

In fact, the two head coaches know each other very well.

After all, Malone was Brown's assistant coach before becoming the Warriors' head coach.

"Who says we only know how to attack?"

On the Warriors' bench, looking towards Brown in the other half of the court, Malone smiled and said, "Defense is the foundation that enabled us to win the championship in the past two seasons."

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 27-28.

The Lakers trailed by one point going into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Warriors fielded the league's strongest bench lineup, consisting of Ben Wallace, Antawn Jamison, Harrison Barnes, Stephen Curry, and Jack.

The Lakers, on the other hand, retained Klay Thompson and Pau Gasol to lead their bench players.

Although generally speaking
In the playoffs, teams will reduce their roster rotation to maintain the quality of their on-court lineup.

However, because this Warriors team has had so many seasoned champions, Malone always has an endless supply of cards to play, no matter who he faces.

However, among Ma Long's many cards, the only true trump card is still Qin Yue.

Take the first half of the second quarter of this game as an example. When the Warriors' star-studded bench faced off against the Lakers' mixed starting lineup, the Warriors did not actually display the dominance they had in the regular season during the rotation phase.

why?
Even the best second unit can't be as perfect as the starting lineup.

But for the Warriors, as long as their bench players can give Qin Yue enough rest time, then in Malone's view, his personnel rotation policy can be considered a success.

In the latter part of the second quarter, when Qin Yue returned to the court, the score was 41-41.

Super Sixth Man Stephen Curry was kept on the court by Malone to partner with Qin Yue.

The other three Warriors players on the court were Brown, Wallace, and Green.

Compared to their previous strongest defensive lineup, although the Warriors only added Curry, their offensive space has expanded many times over in actual games.

Oracle Arena, Warriors' offensive possession.

At the top of the key, Qin Yue had just finished a wall-breaking move with Curry, and the elementary school student who had drawn the defender away provided Qin Yue with a perfect opportunity to cut into the paint.

Seeing this, Qin Yue did not hesitate at all.

Turn and accelerate, then start with the ball.

Bang-dang——!
In the Lakers' paint, after landing from a dunk, Qin Yue looked at Marc Gasol, whom he had once again dunked on in the game, and smiled, "Good defense, Mark."

Upon hearing this, the extremely heartbroken Marc Gasol was absolutely certain that, in that instant, his idol was no longer Qin Yue.

Of course, if this game ends
Qin Yue was still willing to exchange jerseys with him, so in Marc Gasol's eyes, his idol could only be Qin Yue.

Back to the point, the Lakers had possession of the ball.

Unlike Nash.

If Uncle Nash's defense was like a Lay's potato chip bag, it was full of air.

After three seasons of honing his skills, Curry's nephew now possesses some defensive ability.

Even if it's not much.

But as long as Curry can slow down Paul's offensive pace, then Qin Yue and Brown will naturally have to foot the bill for him.

High position on the left wing.

As Paul relentlessly pushed Curry toward the Warriors' paint, the young Paul clearly didn't realize that he had unwittingly fallen into a trap woven by Qin Yue and Brown.

Why are there fewer and fewer traditional point guards like Chris Paul in the NBA in later generations?

Because on the field, once a point guard is double-teamed by the opponent in a corner, he really has no way to pass the ball.

A similar scene appeared in "Slam Dunk".

That is, no matter how good Miyagi Ryota's skills are, Sendoh Akira, who switched to point guard, can easily do what he has to work extremely hard to do.

In later generations, with the continuous innovation of basketball techniques and tactics, it is no surprise that more and more forwards began to participate in the team's offensive organization.

Rather, it is an inevitable trend in the development of basketball.

Paul's darkest moment has arrived in the Warriors' paint.

Under Brown's relentless pursuit, Paul, who had no choice but to risk a throw-up to avoid making a mistake, was ruthlessly intercepted by Qin Yue in the next second.

This was a mid-air hat-trick destined to go down in history!

On the court, the moment Qin Yue landed, he noticed that Curry had already stolen the fast break like his Akron brothers, and immediately threw the basketball towards the frontcourt.

LaVine of Golden State did not miss the opportunity.

Although to the audience, in the Lakers' halftime game where no one was guarding him, Curry's next move was just a barely passable dunk that even Shaq's grandmother could do.

But Curry's dunk successfully ignited the Warriors' bench.

"Stephen Curry dunked over the Lakers!"

On the sidelines, Ben Wallace was seen leading the way, waving a towel for Curry.

……

P.S.: I shamelessly claimed I'd reach 10,000 words, but today I'm so stuck I'm ashamed to face my readers. (Don't even mention it, I've already had a seppuku and am currently being resuscitated TnT)

(End of this chapter)