mountain top

Chapter 278 The GOAT, who has always had good luck, is a warrior who must make a decision.
Staples Center.

Qin Yue's decision to trust Paul backfired.

On the next possession after Livingston made both free throws, Paul pulled up for a three-pointer while dribbling, thanks to a screen from Gasol.

And then, Paul, in a defensive play, made a steal with a move reminiscent of Stockton's signature "chicken-and-egg" style, calmly dispossessing Livingston.

On the court, upon hearing Paul's steal made with a non-basketball move, the victim, Livingston, immediately started impersonating someone else.

Unfortunately, in the NBA, if simply shrugging your hands could change the referee's call...
In Qin Yue's memory, why would the great GOAT, who needs no further explanation, need to wear the purple and gold jersey and kneel before the referee in front of the Lakers' arch-rival, the Celtics, at the TD Garden?
In the Warriors' halftime, Paul stole the ball and drove to the basket for a layup.

Seeing this, Qin Yue, who felt his old face stinging from Paul's slap, immediately cursed, "This is definitely not the Chris I know!"

That's right.

If Paul had performed better in that game that determined whether the Devil's Team could win March Madness, why would Qin Yue have gone to such lengths to search for Paul, who had mysteriously disappeared on the court, after the game?
just
That night, Paul truly managed to stop himself from messing up in time.

On the court, led by Paul, with four minutes left in the final quarter, the Warriors trailed 88-95 on the scoreboard.

Then, as assistant coach Hollins expected.

The slacker coach who always clung to Qin Yue's coattails, sure enough, grabbed Qin Yue's leg when he called a timeout and said, "Now, we can only rely on you."

Ah.

Mike, is this what you call the difference between you and other coaches?

On the Warriors' bench, attention turned to Malone, who first held Qin Yue's hand affectionately and then patted Qin Yue's back gently. After the game restarted, Hollins couldn't help but complain, "Mike, do you know the difference between you and Phil Jackson?"

"Where?"

"The difference is that he only coached Michael and Shaq, while you coached the Messiah."

"."

According to Hollins, the Warriors' head coach position is likely the most deceptive position in the history of basketball.

Especially in this era when the Warriors have Qin Yue.

In a game, as the head coach of this team, all you need to know is who to give the ball to at crucial moments and who to send onto the field, and you can achieve success effortlessly.

After the timeout, Qin Yue returned to the court.

Meanwhile, Mike Brown, noticing that the Warriors had fielded their decisive lineup, took advantage of a dead ball situation to bring back the rest of the Lakers' starters.

On the court, it's the Warriors' offensive possession.

He dribbled into the penalty area.

Although Qin Yue was caught in a dilemma with the Gasol brothers on both sides, he was now surrounded by them.

But the next second, Qin Yue's series of footwork movements in the confined space demonstrated his absolute dominance in the paint.

This scene is familiar to both of TNT's star commentators, Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley.

Because in the 1990s, when Hakeem Olajuwon was at his peak, this beautiful low-step style was his signature move.

Qin Yueqiang made a successful save under the Lakers' basket.

At that moment, the Gasol brothers exchanged a glance and then both let out a long sigh.

That's just how Qin Yue is.

This is the current GOAT in the basketball world.

No matter how good your defense is, he will always find a way to put the ball in the basket.

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

Kobe's jump shot missed under strong pressure from Wallace.

In the Warriors' paint, Qin Yue, having accepted Kobe's gift, immediately dribbled and initiated a transition offense.

Immediately afterwards, in the Lakers' halftime, Qin Yue made an unstoppable leap.

Qin Yue's arrival at Staples Center once again brought the Lakers fans in the arena to a breaking point.

Of course, this does not include the rebellious Macaroni.

Because Uncle Qin's domineering dunk was seen by young Macaroni as a divine response to his prayer.

Upon seeing this, Lakers head coach Mike Brown immediately called a timeout at the scorer's table.

Meanwhile, on the Warriors' side, under Hollins's watchful gaze, Malone boasted in a tone that Hollins found utterly shameless: "My tactical adjustments have indeed had an immediate effect!"

It really worked immediately.

Despite the Warriors being in a disadvantageous position, Malone only sent Qin Yue onto the court.

But just like how players in later generations used "shield stab" to clear the Elden Ring, who dares to say that there was no sweat and effort put in by the players?

“Leon, you can’t just focus on me putting Messiah back on the pitch.”

On the sidelines, noticing Hollins trying to argue with him again, Malone said, "You can't see the effort and sweat I put in for this Warriors team."

"."

On the court, after the timeout, the Lakers have their offensive possession.

Pau Gasol, by using a pick-and-roll to draw Qin Yue away from the paint, perfectly demonstrated his role as a commander in the European paint.

In the low post, Kobe had just cut into the Warriors' heart of the court without the ball.

Pau Gasol then delivered a precise lob pass, giving Kobe a direct opportunity to attack the basket.

In the Warriors' paint, Kobe received the ball and made a layup in one smooth motion.

This season, Kobe, who has become increasingly aware that time waits for no one, can only be described as "very un-Kobe-like" in terms of both his personal playing style and the content of the game presented to the audience.

But in Qin Yue's eyes, this Kobe was stronger than ever before.

Because with this star-studded Lakers team, if Kobe plays like he used to, the Lakers are destined not to be able to fully unleash their potential.

It's like the legendary "Demon God Emperor Buddha Shark" lineup, which only sounds wonderful.

After all, once the game starts, with this lineup that has absolutely no space, who should stand in the corner to take penalties? And who should play the role of the primary ball handler on the court?
In basketball, teams with a lot of star players often need their star players to understand the necessity of making sacrifices.

Staples Center.

The Christmas Day game between the Warriors and the Lakers reached its climax in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter.

Marc Gasol overpowered Brown under the basket for a layup.

Qin Yue then turned the tables and scored against Pau Gasol in a one-on-one situation.

Klay Thompson hit a crucial three-pointer from the corner.

Ray Allen caught the ball and made a jump shot that went in.

On CCTV, Yu Jia couldn't help but remark, "This competition is truly a battle of titans, with one side finishing and the other taking the stage."

37 seconds left in the game.

Starting with a scissor step and having Sam Gold dribble past Wallace, Kobe Bryant hit a crucial shot for the Lakers amidst the eager anticipation of the entire arena of Lakers fans.

This beautiful fadeaway jumper changed the score to 109-112.

Upon seeing this, Warriors head coach Malone immediately called a timeout.

After the timeout, the Warriors, who had set up a two-point attack, were unable to pass the ball to Qin Yue immediately, so JR Smith had to receive the ball and pass it to Qin Yue.

Then, the unexpected happened. While holding the ball, JR's brain suddenly malfunctioned.

So, in a completely irrational move, JR chose to force his way in from half a meter away from the three-point line, which is utterly baffling.

This utterly absurd three-pointer slammed into the rim and bounced off the rim.

Fortunately, amidst the misfortune, Qin Yue managed to snatch an offensive rebound for his teammate JR from the crowd.

This attack disrupted the Warriors' tactical plan, as JR had already broken it.

Since Qin Yue had made a mistake and ended up in the wrong place, he naturally wanted to give JR another chance to prove himself.

On the outside, JR didn't miss this time.

After receiving the offensive rebound from Qin Yue, JR, who had just moments before been the target of Warriors fans' scathing criticism, transformed into a legendary hero for the Warriors.

A single thought can turn you into a devil.

A thought of an angel.

This is JR, who possesses both divine and demonic qualities.

Meanwhile, at the scorer's table, with the Warriors tying the score, the Lakers called their final timeout of the game.

After the timeout, Paul, who was responsible for running down the clock for the Lakers, passed the ball to Kobe with ten seconds left.

In the City of Angels, the true King of Los Angeles did not disappoint Lakers fans.

With 7 seconds left in the game, Kobe made another jump shot.

The scoreboard reads 112 to 114.

On TNT, a Barkley who felt he couldn't breathe said, "The Lakers are just 7 seconds away from knocking out the defending champions!"

O'Neal remarked, "Kobe tonight, with his two offensive plays in the final moments of the fourth quarter, made me fully understand what the Mamba Mentality is all about."

Mamba Mentality?

On the Lakers' bench, Markaroni, who was completely unimpressed by the so-called Mamba Mentality, opened his arms without hesitation the moment the Warriors inbounded the ball from the baseline.

God, respond to me with a decisive blow!

On the field, Qin Yue, who had successfully received a pass from his teammate, was of course unaware that Macaroni was making a devout prayer for him.

But at Staples Center, in the instant Qin Yue crossed the halfway line, Maccaroni firmly believed that God had heard his prayers.

Beyond the three-point line.

Qin Yue, who did not choose to score two points on his final possession, completed a pull-up jumper amidst deafening boos from the crowd.

In the Lakers' halftime game, this dramatic three-pointer bounced off the rim, prompting Lakers fans to cheer for victory prematurely.

But just as the timer reached zero, the basketball that bounced off the rim hit the rim three times before finally going into the net.

That night, luck was clearly on Qin Yue's side.

On the court, as the game-winning three-pointer that captivated millions of fans finally went in, Qin Yue rushed to Paul's side immediately and said, "Chris, you're right, I've always been lucky."

Then, he made a "goodnight" gesture to all the Lakers fans in the arena.

Qin Yue's dramatic game-winning shot against the Lakers not only added another debt to the accounts between the Lakers, Kobe, and himself, but also brought Los Angeles an extremely unpleasant Christmas Eve.

After the game, Lakers head coach Mike Brown, who believed the staff should have tightened the screws on the rim more, said, "Damn! We played a great game, but in the end we lost to luck!"

In response, Malone said, "Mike can't always attribute his failures to luck. For example, I never think my success is just good luck."

Of course, that's what they say.

In fact, Malone knew better than anyone just how close the Warriors were to winning this game.

Curry's absence didn't seem like a big deal at first glance, given that Qin Yue had already activated full-power mode.

However, Curry's absence has already greatly exacerbated the fatigue of all Warriors players, including Qin Yue, during the regular season.

Such a drain will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the Warriors' title defense this season.

When talking about the game-winning three-pointer that bounced three times on the rim before going through the net, Qin Yue joked, "That three-pointer was a bit mischievous. To be honest, I even wanted to kick it at the time, but luckily it eventually bounced into the net."

After a pause, Qin Yue added, "In addition, I must say that the Staples Center is indeed my lucky place. Every time I play here, I feel that my luck will be exceptionally good."

It's worth mentioning that Qin Yue left his shoes from the match with Macaroni after the game.

Seeing this, Pau Gasol, a fellow Qin fan, said enviously, "He's wearing limited edition Christmas sneakers tonight! I still haven't collected those shoes!"

The home team's locker room.

No one knows what Kobe was feeling at that moment.

But through a text message Macaroni sent him a day later, Qin Yue sensed Kobe's anger.

"My dear father told me that next year my allowance will only be one-third of what it is now."

Maccaroni, whose allowance had been drastically reduced by Kobe, said in extreme grievance, "What kind of father is this? Why can't I like other basketball stars?"

Qin Yue never expected that his little fan, Macaroni, would anger Kobe because of him.

In December, after the team returned to Oakland, Malone, who had just finished his short Christmas break, also found Qin Yue.

In Malone's view, the Warriors have reached a point where they must make a decision.

"We can't afford to be worn down by other teams in the regular season like we did in December," Malone told Qin Yue. "From now on, we need to selectively give up some games."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yue nodded and said, "Let's do it your way, Mike. You know I'm never the kind of player who only cares about himself."

Qin Yue was well aware that throughout December, the Warriors had suffered far more damage on the court than they could bear.

In the NBA, where there are 82 regular season games a year, this is also the main reason why no team can ever achieve a perfect record of 82 wins.

Therefore, Qin Yue's competitive spirit will drive him to win game after game for the Warriors, and he will not feel tired even if he wins until the end of the world.

However, the Warriors' primary objective is to achieve a four-peat this season, something no team has ever accomplished since the NBA began compiling complete statistics.

Qin Yue naturally had to put the regular season on hold for now.

However, while deciding to give a large number of rests to the Warriors' key players, excluding Qin Yue, starting from the new year.
To avoid Qin Yue's competitive spirit making him unhappy in the upcoming games, at the end of this casual chat with Qin Yue, Ma Long said, "While the other main players are resting, I will help you design more tactics to help you put up more impressive statistics."

Seeing this, Qin Yue, knowing that Ma Long was trying to bribe him with impressive data, immediately curled his lip.

Ask if you don't understand
Is he, a GOAT, the kind of person who would be unable to move forward because of impressive statistics?

Ok.

It really is.

After all, in the NBA, statistics are also a driving force for a player's efforts on the court.

"Mike, what new tactics are you going to devise for me?"

Qin Yue, whose expression changed instantly, asked with a look of curiosity.

"Let me explain the tactical adjustments in detail."

As the kind of person every coach in this era would want to assassinate, Ma Long has undoubtedly once again demonstrated through his actions why he is qualified to coach Qin Yue.

And New York, the NBA headquarters
While the retiring Stern was still struggling with how the league should promote a star player who could prevent Qin Yue from winning the regular season MVP for four consecutive years.
Little did the league commissioner, who was to officially hand over power after this season, know...
An "ancient data" document from Oakland is already on its way to the entire league.
……

P.S.: As expected, the Thunder crushed the Nuggets in Game 7 (to be honest, the gap between the Nuggets' starters and bench players was just too big). Also, although it seems unlikely, I don't know why, but I really want to see Towns and Randle meet in the Finals (that Towns-Randall trade should be considered a win-win situation now, right?).

(End of this chapter)