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Chapter 297 Trials and Trials (This chapter is from yesterday's update)
After Game 3 of the Finals, more and more fans online are predicting the Warriors will win the championship.

Why use "again" at this moment?
Before the Finals began, in an ESPN poll asking "Who do you think will win the championship?", the Warriors received a whopping 93% of the vote.

However, after the unexpected loss to the Knicks in Game 2, in a new round of voting initiated by ESPN, the number of people who favored the Knicks to win the championship dropped to 47%.

It has to be said that the essence of humanity is to jump around repeatedly.

However.
Unlike the fans outside who have already started lending money for the Warriors to win the championship.
After Game 3, the general consensus within the Warriors team was that the Warriors had narrowly escaped defeat in this recently concluded third game of the Finals.

Especially during the video analysis the next day, all the Warriors players were well aware that in this game where the Knicks fully demonstrated just how terrifying the refereeing at Madison Square Garden was, if it weren't for Qin Yue's unparalleled dominance, the Warriors would be trailing 1-2 in this Finals series.

Ray Allen, who joined the Warriors' championship team last summer, found that the Warriors' locker room, which was usually incredibly noisy, was now quieter than ever.

While patiently awaiting Game 4 of the Finals, every Warriors player displayed an unprecedented level of dedication.

“‘Great Qin’ cannot transform into God and save us every night.”

Kwame Brown later wrote in his memoir, "We all understood that after Game 3 that year, Game 4 would be the turning point of that Finals series."

"Therefore, we must try to do better on the field, because only in this way can we share the pressure that always weighs on 'Da Qin'."

As it turns out, the Warriors' championships over the past three years were not for nothing.

The championship not only gave these Warriors players absolute confidence, but their championship journey over the past three years also made them understand better than other teams how to adjust their mentality in the Finals.

6 month 15 day.

Game 4 of the Finals continued at Madison Square Garden.

Since the referee in charge of this game was Scott Foster, who is known for his excellent ability to control the game, Mike Malone specifically spoke with the Warriors' key players individually before the game started.

"Gerrard, how did training go today?"

"Not bad, Coach."

Upon hearing this, Ma Longxuan immediately mentioned Wallace's near loss of control in the previous game.

In response, Wallace laughed and said, "Coach, I'm not a three-year-old. Don't worry, even if that bastard Scott fouls me out in the first quarter, I won't do anything to harm the team."

Next, Malone approached Brown and Green.

"That's the NBA. I'm used to those damn biased calls."

Regarding Malone's advice to remain calm and rational, Brown said, "After all, everyone knows that the NBA has always feared my dominance on defense."

Well, it seems that Brown, who is always confident, doesn't need Malone's reminder at all.

As for Green?

“I will try to control my movements in the game,” Green said. “But if the Knicks think that the referees’ favoritism will make me back down on defense, then I think they will suffer a lot in this game.”

Compared to his first two seasons as the "phantom fifteenth man" on the Warriors roster.
Today, Green has grown into a top-tier defensive 3-and-D player with a mature mindset.

Finally, Malone found Curry and Qin Yue.

However, these are two players who obviously don't require much attention from Malone.

The former, having experienced the baptism of scoring 8 points in the previous finals game, has already realized that he still has many shortcomings at this stage.

"I will not treat this game as a game where I have to prove myself because I didn't perform well in the last game."

Curry told Malone, "But when it's time to shoot, I will definitely take the shot."

And what about Qin Yue?

Malone only chatted with Qin Yue for a couple of minutes before quickly turning around and walking toward assistant coach Hollins.

As a head coach with ample experience in leveraging the GOAT's strength, Malone is certain that tonight's GOAT is still in that "The Zone" state.

Therefore, before the match, Ma Long did not want to disturb Qin Yue, who was incredibly focused.

In the center of the field, after warming up, the starters from both teams stepped onto the court one after another.

Unlike the third battle.

Qin Yue's incredible performance in the third game has changed the opinion of the "New York Wizards," who had vowed to curse the GOAT for ten thousand years before the finals began.

Barkley laughed on TNT, "If I heard correctly, when Messiah came on stage just now, there were already fans chanting 'MVP' for him."

O'Neal said, "This is a manifestation of Messiah's dominance on the court. If you love basketball, you can't help but be captivated by him."

Smith quipped, "But Shaq, people in Los Angeles would never think that way."

O'Neal added, "Kenny, you know, if the people of Los Angeles really knew basketball, they wouldn't have been clamoring for the great Shaq to get out of here back then."

In this life, Shaquille O'Neal, who only wanted to reconcile with Kobe and refused to reconcile with the Lakers, also embarked on a path completely different from the one Qin Yue remembered.

However, whether O'Neal will still have the honor of having his jersey retired by the Lakers in the future is a huge question mark.

On the court, during the opening jump ball, Qin Yue won possession for the Warriors.

CCTV commentator Zhang Weiping, who noted the Warriors' decision to execute a double-tall screen-and-shoot tactic on the wings at the start of the game, said: "Curry only scored 8 points in the last game. Let's see if Curry can overcome the doubts about him from the outside world today."

Swish!
Near the top of the arc, Curry, having successfully used screens from Brown and Qin Yue to get around and receive the ball, drained a three-pointer.

In his previous life, Qin Yue was a player with both obvious strengths and weaknesses. Among Curry's many strengths, his ability to adjust himself was seriously underestimated for a long time.

But in fact, this is the key difference between Curry and other superstar guards of his generation.

Just like how Saint Seiya warriors are not defeated by the same moves.

Curry is also a player who rarely makes the same mistake twice.

Back to the Knicks' offensive possession.

Durant, whose mentality was blown by Qin Yue's comment "not as good as James" in the last game, also hit a pull-up three-pointer.

Wallace defended that ball very well.

However, Durant chose not to reason with Wallace and instead delivered a powerful, powerful blow to the opponent's head.

However, Durant was clearly still haunted by the memory of being called "James" after scoring.

On the court, while retreating on defense, Durant shouted fiercely at Qin Yue, "If you say again that I'm not as good as that piece of trash, then from now on, my idol will be Kobe."

Say something.

This is probably the least trash talk Qin Yue has ever heard since joining the league.

But at this moment, Qin Yue had to admit it.

This incredibly childish and trashy remark did indeed work on him.

After all, for Qin Yue, who remained a boy until his death...
The sentence he couldn't stand the most was, "Although you play basketball very well, my idol is still Kobe."

On the court, the Warriors have possession of the ball.

Curry gave the Warriors an early lead, and his constant running around the court even forced Iguodala to pull and drag him at one point.

At this moment, Iguodala's inner thoughts were roughly as follows:
Family members, who understands the feeling of being dragged into running a marathon when you're supposed to be playing basketball?

Perhaps only Kobe could truly understand Iguodala's situation.

From Hamilton to Ray Allen, and then to Curry, the idea of ​​running a marathon on the basketball court was practically a constant throughout Kobe's entire career. The relentless Curry, in this play, completely deprived Howard of protection from the wing.

Thus, the scene that Warriors fans loved most, known as "Qin Da eats, sleeps, and plays Warcraft," unfolded at Madison Square Garden.

If being utterly dominated by Yao Ming was a scene that even Dwight Howard could never forget in his previous life, it was something he would never forget until his retirement.

In this life, being brutally beaten by Qin Yue has become a daily occurrence for Howard.

On the field, they only met once.

Howard, like James, was kicked to death by Qin Yue on the roadside.

At this moment, the only difference between Howard and James is that, because Howard has good defensive habits, Qin Yue will exert more force to gain better acceleration space than when facing James.

Under the Knicks' basket, Love, who had made his help defense, accepted the judgment from the gods with a smile on his face.

However, Barkley of TNT still gave Love high praise: "Kevin's spirit of sacrifice is undoubtedly the key to the Knicks' transformation after LeBron left."

O'Neal nodded and said, "Yes, even if you can't stop Messiah, you have to find a way to increase his physical exertion in every attack."

Next, it was the Knicks' offensive possession.

Harden's troublesome tactic of deliberately drawing fouls by folding his arm around someone's shoulder is back again.

On the wing, Green, who was responsible for help defense, was first sandwiched by Harden, then kicked by Harden, and then called for a defensive foul by the referee.
To be honest, if Green hadn't been mentally prepared for this game, who wouldn't be angry?

On the sidelines, Ma Long, who had initially advised his teammates to stay calm, became the first to break down that night.

"That's a defensive foul? Hahahaha! That's a defensive foul?"

Malone felt like he was going crazy.

Because the moment Foster blew the whistle for Harden, Malone felt his intelligence had been severely insulted.

Fortunately, assistant coach Hollins grabbed Malone, who was trying to argue with Foster.

"Mike, calm down! We can't argue with the referee!"

"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?" Ma Long said angrily. "These bastards aren't even pretending anymore. They're blatantly biased!"

Hollins wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "Mike, believe me, every team that visits Madison Square Garden thinks the same way."

That's right, the Warriors aren't the only team targeted in the free-throw mecca this season.

Moreover, the Warriors are not the only team that desperately wants to beat Harden to a pulp.

After all, Harden in the current era is just that hated.

Harden made both free throws.

It's the Warriors' turn to attack.

Qin Yue's powerful mid-range pull-up jumper failed in a rare instance.

But Brown, who boasted before the game that the entire league feared him, grabbed the offensive rebound before Love could.

Because he had to be constantly on guard against Qin Yue alongside Howard.

Love's positioning choices on defense were clearly affected.

Unfortunately, the impact Qin Yue had on the competition will never be reflected in the statistics.

Just like someone's stealing a fast break, even if it fails, it only makes it seem like their own inside player's rebounding ability is extremely poor.

In the NBA, where data can dispel all doubts.

Who says that stats gained by sacrificing teammates and prioritizing oneself can't help an unworthy player climb the ladder to godhood?

In the frontcourt, Brown passed the ball to Qin Yue, who then passed it to Curry on the outside.

Swish!
CCTV's Zhang Weiping commented, "Wow, Curry is really different today."

Yu Jia chimed in, "A hero needs three helpers. Before the game started, Curry said in an interview that he would do his best to help Qin Yue create a better offensive environment."

On the sidelines, on the Knicks' bench, Curry's two consecutive baskets at the start of the game immediately made D'Antoni, who is not good at defense, break out in a cold sweat.

Even the most powerful king needs a queen to become a royal flush.

If Curry can maintain his hot hand that night, the Knicks' defense will undoubtedly be torn to shreds.

Fortunately, in the first quarter, the Knicks, who had no way to defend against the core duo of Qin and Li, displayed offensive firepower that matched the Warriors.

He initiated a double-direction maneuver in front of his body, attempting to dodge Wallace.

Although Durant was in the high post on the left wing, he was unable to completely shake off the Warriors' defensively strong forward.

However, Durant, with his long arms, swung them around in the air and drew a foul from Wallace.

In response, Wallace calmly explained to referee Foster: "I did not intentionally pull him; he actively enlarged the cylinder by swinging his arm."

However, Foster responded to Wallace's explanation by saying, "But the rules dictate that it was a foul on you."

Fuck the rules!

At that moment, Wallace thought to himself.

As a seasoned veteran, Wallace knew better than anyone that the NBA deliberately left a lot of room for manipulation in the rules precisely to make it easier for these damned law enforcement officers to rig the game.

Of course, even though he had cursed Foster and his family a thousand times in his heart, Wallace did not show any displeasure.

After all, in the free-throw mecca, if the Warriors want to beat the Knicks, the Warriors players must first and foremost stay calm.

Durant made both free throws.

The Warriors then launch their attack.

Wallace, who scored two points with a cut, deliberately used a bug to vent his frustration, saying, "Your off-ball defense is even worse than LeBron's."

At this moment, it was not Qin Yue who cast the "not as good as James" curse on Durant.

Therefore, Durant naturally could not keep his promise and choose Kobe as his idol.

So now comes the problem.

How will Durant respond to Wallace's comment that he's "not as good as LeBron"?

The answer is that after earning two more free throw opportunities by actively swinging his arm during the drive, Durant extremely rarely missed both free throws.

"What? You're paying homage to LeBron in free throws too?" Wallace sneered relentlessly.

"."

LeBron!
LeBron!
Can you guys please stop mentioning that good-for-nothing's name in front of me?

Without a doubt, this Finals series has become a test for Durant.

If he cannot escape the shadow of that name "James".
The efficiency with which Death wields his scythe on the field will inevitably be greatly affected.

……

PS: This chapter is yesterday's update. (Yesterday, because my friend Harry was so amazing, I, who was supposed to be sleeping, ended up sleeping soundly after staying up all night, so I couldn't ask for leave in time. I apologize for that, and I'll get back to writing.)
(End of this chapter)