Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 327 Who is the father?
Chen Fang considered himself a veteran, having experienced countless situations, but he had never felt such intense excitement as this time.

The media's relentless, bombarding coverage, from fan interviews to team developments, even a malfunctioning light at Staples Center, is seen as a result of behind-the-scenes manipulation.

The vast majority of these were Lakers players acting strangely, as if they were absolutely certain the Lakers would win, with all sorts of pre-game celebrations and other outrageous moves emerging.

Lakers fans also joined in the commotion. Some even rushed to make a large poster overnight featuring LeBron James stepping on the Clippers and carrying Chen Fang, parading around town and confidently telling the media that the Lakers would win by 30 points to avenge their previous crushing defeat.

Of course, Clippers fans were not to be outdone and launched a full-scale counterattack: you can make posters and cartoons, so can I.

So a cartoon depicting the Clippers being towed by a group of yellow jerseys spread rapidly. It was a replica of the "Barge Haulers on the Volga" illustration, with the caption: "Lakers' Love".

Upon seeing the title, Chen Fang knew it must have been written by a Chinese person.

Despite the intense activity outside, the Clippers' preparations have been remarkably calm.

They are still actively practicing how to face the Lakers' superstar lineup.

No need to guess, the Lakers' starting lineup will definitely be Rondo, Pope, James, Davis, and Howard.

Since joining the team in the summer, Rondo has mysteriously missed games against the Clippers, but this time he has played four games in perfect health.

The Clippers coaching staff has developed a game strategy after evaluating the Lakers' recent games.

They still double-teamed Davis, with Jaren Jr. on defense and Chen Fang coming to double-team him.

Howard's offensive threat has been greatly reduced; Zubac is enough.

As for James, the coaching staff still believes that the key is how well they can double-team Davis. If it doesn't work, James will take the opportunity to gain momentum and deal more damage.

If this works, James will spend more time invisible and will find it difficult to contribute when the score is close.

This isn't a sign of disrespect; it depends on how James plays.

First, James doesn't know how to pull up for a jump shot. Although he plays small forward, there are many small forward skills he hasn't mastered.

In terms of organization, he relied on both sudden bursts and top-of-the-line card dealing, and his control over the timing of his attacks was flawed.

His threat comes from transition offense, from driving to the basket with strong wing play, and occasionally from wide-open three-point attempts.

James's ability to handle the ball and score one-on-one is the least of his concerns. He relies more on his body to create space for layups or driving shots. As for efficiency, it depends on how lenient the referees are in their calls.

At the Clippers' home court, the officiating won't be too biased, since the owner is there.

But the coaching staff was not reassured, because on paper, their strength was absolutely overwhelming.

In fact, many media outlets have offered their interpretations of this point.

Apart from Jrue Holiday's $20 million salary, the Clippers don't have any other players with a $10 million salary.

The highest is Chen Wang, who had 740 million last year and 780 million this year.

With a total salary of just over $80 million, the Clippers have the lowest total salary in the league. Ahead of them is the Phoenix Suns, whose total salary is $1.04 million.

But the record doesn't lie. The Clippers are ranked first in the league, and their strength and salary cap make them a top-tier value team in the league, something any general manager would envy.

"A well-balanced team composition can better ensure the team's stability," commented league expert Aldo.

The reason why the Clippers coaching staff is worried is still because of Jaren.

Whether they can restrain Davis remains to be seen.

从开赛到现在，小贾伦稳定上场时间在28+，场均10.8分4.8篮板1.4个盖帽1.1个抢断。

This data isn't bad, but it's not good either.

Given Jaren's draft position, talent, and role in the team's tactics, this statistic is unacceptable.

Especially in rebounding, Jaren's rim protection suffers from a lack of focus, a soft approach to rebounding, and an inability to effectively pressure opponents in the paint.

In terms of scoring, most of their points come from easy baskets; they have some independent attacks, but very few points.

But he has enough potential in steals and blocks to make up for his shortcomings.

In terms of athleticism and physical condition, he is the best choice to defend Davis, but in terms of experience and physical strength, it is expected that he will be overwhelmed.

Therefore, the coaching staff placed their hopes on Harrell and Richon.

"We need to establish a better double-teaming mechanism, especially when the Lakers' offensive firepower is entirely focused on Davis. We need to change our lineup," Mazura said at the tactical meeting.

"Relying on Chen Fang for support is the right approach, but it's not strong enough and there will be some flaws."

“It’s possible that we’ll have Jaren play number 5 and Harrell and Richon play number 4, so that we can better utilize Davis’s offensive capabilities.”

"Let the power forward guard the Lakers' center and the center guard Davis. With this mutual support, our interior defense won't be exposed."

Rivers whispered something to Brian, then agreed with Mazura's suggestion.

Let's put the defense aside for now and talk about offense.

"The Lakers won't double-team Chen Wang," Mazura decisively reminded his coaching staff.

"Who will they double-team? The court can only have five players on the court. Should they use Howard? Or Davis? Rondo is an option, but his physical attributes mean he can't do much."

"King Chen only needs to deal with Pope!"

Seeing that everyone was still confused, Mazura smiled.

"James won't double-team; it's a matter of pride."

"Therefore, I believe that the probability of an offensive confrontation is greater than other outcomes."

This conclusion was also supported by the coaching staff. Many of Mazzula's arguments were very close to the truth, and the results proved his judgment.

"Then let's arrange it this way!" Rivers declared, having seen no problems, and then called out to Mazura before the meeting ended.

"You'll be the one to give the tactical briefing today."

Mazura paused for a moment, but nodded nonetheless. Before he could even feel happy, Rivers patted him on the shoulder and said, "I think we need to be bolder with our tactics. At certain stages, we should use more offense to widen the score gap."

Mazura fell into deep thought, his arrangements still taking Davis's threat into account.

"You need to understand, the Lakers right now don't have a leader," Rivers said, making a meaningful statement.

Mazura returned to her office alone, thought for a long time, and finally understood.

He slapped his thigh, then felt frustrated.

"I'm still a long way from being a head coach."

This was Rivers's advice to him: to be a head coach, you need to consider everything comprehensively.

Once the Lakers pull away, it's hard for them to stay in the game, which is why the last derby turned out to be a disaster.

The Clippers players are already warming up at Staples Center. Although it's their home court, they actually have no initiative here when facing the Lakers.

Putting everything else aside, they didn't even have as much time for the warm-up as the Lakers.

Chen Fang is doing shooting practice. He now spends more time on moving shots, which is his specialty. However, given his muscle-building progress, maintaining that skill will be difficult.

He hadn't felt that perfect shooting touch in a long time. Although his shooting percentage during warm-ups remained the same, the feeling was different.

It lacks lightness and freehand style.

Three sparring partners were serving him, while his other teammates were on the other half of the court, leaving him to enjoy his half all to himself.

This is also the treatment given to the core members of the organization.

After warming up, Chen Fang went straight back to the locker room to shower, then had a rehabilitation massage, and finally returned to the locker room to listen to the coaching staff's pre-game press conference. During this time, the media and fans began to enter the Staples Center one after another.

Three hours later, the place was packed with people and the center of attention.

Many Lakers fans flocked in, creating an interesting contrast between yellow and white. However, Ballmer was unhappy because there are restrictions on home and away fans buying tickets in the NBA, but this usually only applies to the playoffs.

For cross-city teams like the Lakers and Clippers, or the Nets and Knicks, restrictions will be imposed during the regular season.

However, fans have their own ways of dealing with this situation. Unless season tickets are properly implemented, it will be difficult to prevent such situations from happening again. For example, in the 24 Knicks playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks, playing away, received support from 7000 New York Knicks fans in person.

When it comes to extravagance, Knicks fans are the most extravagant, followed by Lakers fans.

But the Lakers' brand was built by Kobe, which is something James has always wanted to inherit.

They certainly have a knack for picking peaches.

And James succeeded.

Many people laugh at LeBron James for leaving to join a super team, but the actual gains he made were really worthwhile.

He recruited many fans of the Heat and the Lakers.

A star player's commercial value is based on their fans.

Chen Fang was well aware of these things. He had several considerations when choosing the Clippers, one of which was that he wanted to compete against LeBron James in the same city, which would make things more interesting.

When Chen Fang appeared, he remained unfazed by the thunderous cheers he received. However, James, who was the last player to appear in the away game, also received a considerable amount of cheers, which made Chen Fang feel somewhat annoyed.

Los Angeles has a long way to go.

Seeing his long-lost brother, Chen Fang didn't relax, and Rondo also remained expressionless. That's how old-school players are; once they're on the court, they don't joke around.

There had been a lot of pre-match preparations, so James naturally wouldn't give Chen Fang a friendly look. He walked to the scorer's table, which was empty except for a green plastic bottle placed there.

LeBron James has a pre-game gesture where he sprinkles magnesium powder, but it's actually rosin powder.

According to the NBA's official rulebook, the use of any additional substances that "give a competitive advantage to the game" is prohibited on the court.

However, according to the alliance memo, three categories are explicitly permitted: "rosin powder," "chalk or liquid chalk," and "hand cream (for hand care)."

Two of these three items serve the same purpose: to prevent slipping.

To put it bluntly, it's to prevent yourself from getting butterflies.

The NBA's official all-leather ball is supplied by Holvin Leather and manufactured by Wilson Sports Products. This ball can feel very slippery if the player's hand is not sufficiently moist to maintain tension with the leather surface.

Furthermore, rosin powder can be used on shoe soles, providing a remarkable anti-slip effect.

It's difficult to explain the pros and cons of rosin powder and hand cream in just a few words, but there is one way to distinguish them.

Newborns and middle-aged people prefer to use hand cream because it not only prevents slipping but also helps prevent cracked palms.

Older-school players prefer to use rosin powder.

So it's not just LeBron James who uses it; most players use it. It's just that James added a magnesium powder sprinkle motion, which made it his signature brand move.

This also shows that James really has something to offer when it comes to building his own brand.

Chen Fang doesn't have this habit; he takes great care of his hands, which gives him a natural psychological advantage when it comes to ball control.

The Lakers' starting lineup and coaching staff's predictions were accurate.

However, things have changed for the Clippers.

Jaren was assigned to center, and Harrell played power forward, but defensively, Harrell was assigned to guard Howard, while Jaren guarded Davis.

Davis was chosen for the jump ball, leaving Howard to stand behind; this is probably what it means to be past one's prime.

Jaren didn't win the contest, and Davis passed the ball to Rondo.

The Clippers quickly retreated and set up their defense. The Lakers' offense is slow to start. Although Walton's authority as head coach is limited and specific tactics can be changed by James on the court, it doesn't mean the main direction will deviate.

Because this also requires James's approval.

The Lakers' offensive and defensive strategy today can be summarized in one sentence.

Utilizing Davis's mismatch ability to create an advantage, James is responsible for offensive and defensive transitions and half-court setting.

In fact, when Davis came to the Lakers, the Lakers' offensive weakness was fundamentally solved. In terms of the tactical system, Davis also became a player who could play both offense and defense.

We need him on offense, and we need him on defense.

But this would weaken James's status.

How James can alleviate this awkward situation is simple: become the team's brain and firmly control the ball.

He initiates the offense, while on defense, he primarily uses his communication skills to direct and coordinate defensive efforts.

Privately, he launched a precise emotional offensive, making the 26-year-old Davis treat him like an older brother in every way, gradually turning him into a follower and henchman.

Let Davis take the difficult points, while James controls the scoring on fast breaks, open jump shots, layups, and free throws. James always manages to control his energy expenditure while putting up extremely good stats.

Therefore, Chen Fang was very clear about what role James played, so he would not hold back any tricks when facing James, no matter what aspect he was facing.

Rondo and Pope set a screen and passed the ball to James on the wing. James lobbed the ball into the paint, where Davis received it and backed down Jaren. On the second dribble, Chen Fang abandoned James and came back to double-team him.

Davis passed the ball out again, and Pope caught it and immediately shot a three-pointer, but the ball bounced off the rim.

This is Davis's role: a versatile player who can play inside and outside, pass and shoot.

Harrell grabbed the rebound, pushed Howard aside, and after gaining control of the ball, immediately passed it to Chen Fang who was coming over.

Chen Fang did not accelerate, but observed the Lakers' positioning and slowly dribbled the ball across half-court.

Just as Mazura had predicted, only Pope was in charge of the defense in the half of the court. Chen Fang did not hesitate at all. He first made a casual crossover, and then suddenly accelerated with a sprint. Pope left half a body distance behind, turned his hips and slid down to take a step back.

Unexpectedly, Chen Fang suddenly slammed the ball down, then reversed his stride and cut to the right. At the same time, he used body contact and his shoulder rotation to precisely find Pope's side balance point, breaking his opponent's balance in one strike, causing him to stagger backward and completely lose his ability to chase.

After taking down Pope, Chen Fang had a wide open area a few meters in front of him. He dribbled forward one step and came to a meter away from the top of the arc before raising his hand to shoot.

Maintain a shooting posture from the moment you release the ball, and only retract your hand and back away when you see the ball go in.

"Accelerate, pull back, change direction again, move forward, three-pointer, the ball goes in!" Ke Fan, as the commentator, did his best to shout and cheer with the fans in the arena.

There are usually two commentators. If there is only one, it is a live commentary, and they will also provide tactical and situational analysis. If the game is very important, they will also invite a distinguished guest to explain the behind-the-scenes stories of the players and the game.

There are only three people streaming on Tencent today.

Duan Ran, Ke Fan, and Su Qun, who was invited.

"If the Lakers only let Pope guard Chen Wang one-on-one, they're practically courting death!" Ke Fan laughed.

Duan Ran dared not say that. He said, "This may only be temporary."

At this stage in 2019, Su Qun had not yet been recruited by James' media. His outrageous remarks only came after he wrote "LeBron James: The King" in 22. He then joined the bandwagon. Upon hearing this, he chuckled and said, "The Lakers really don't have any options. They can't let LeBron double-team Chen Wang, can they? That's basically impossible."

As the three were chatting and laughing, the Lakers launched a quick possession. Rondo passed the ball to James after crossing half-court. James dribbled a few steps and then stopped. He saw Davis following up and passed the ball ahead of time.

Davis scored the Lakers' first points by putting the ball in the basket over Jaren.

Thus, the battle between Kuaihu and Huya began.

Pope also faced a match that almost ended his career.

Chen Fang's dribbling and movement abilities have always been considered to be among the best in the league. During acceleration, he can change speed and direction at any time. In addition, he has long legs and broad shoulders. When making moves, he uses shoulder rotation to actively seek contact. Only a few top defenders in the league can keep up with him.

Among these players, one was traded to Chen Fang's own team, which shows how deeply Chen Fang was interested in them.

Pope played for only three minutes and was passed by Chen four times, three of which resulted in points.

8 points!
King of the opening!
This is another new nickname for Chen Fang, which fans refer to because Chen Fang often scores wildly at the beginning of the game, giving the team an advantage.

Walton was forced to substitute Pope.

He switched to Caruso.

At this point, Caruso wasn't yet considered the Bald Mamba, because he had almost no tactical role. Caruso could only hope to earn more playing time through defense.

As soon as he entered the game, Caruso made a successful defensive play.

After Chen Fang received the ball via a pick-and-roll, he moved towards the far wing, but Caruso anticipated his move and bumped into him.

At the same time, Caruso's hand also cut into Chen Fang's ball, forcing Chen Fang to use a half-turn to regain control of the ball.

This obstacle allowed Chen Fang to pass the ball out.

This was indeed a very good defensive performance, showcasing Caruso's defensive strengths.

Chen Fang glanced at it a few more times. He knew, of course, that the Lakers had a few good assets in their treasury. Although he had already made some purchases, it didn't stop the Lakers from continuing to buy.

Caruso is undoubtedly the best among them.

Efficiency, enthusiasm, skill, and selflessness within the team are all qualities that Caruso possesses.

Although Caruso's physical stats are average, he is very strong in defensive anticipation, just like in that play.

However, Caruso is still very inexperienced in terms of both technique and experience, and is far from reaching the heights he will reach in the future.

Therefore, just because Chen Fang was able to suffer a setback once doesn't mean that this will always be the case.

For the Lakers, James orchestrated the offense, and Davis launched a fierce comeback. For the Clippers, Chen Fang rallied, enjoying a rare moment without double-teams.

Receiving the ball on the wing, Chen Fang first raised it high, then turned to avoid Caruso's interference. Instead of passing the ball, he used a dribble to move his opponent around. On the second time, he suddenly swayed left and right, took another dribble, and dribbled past Caruso in a smooth motion. Amid the gasps of the crowd, Chen Fang took a step forward and then suddenly stopped and pulled up for a jump shot. Caruso, who was still retreating behind him on the left, jumped and crashed into him head-on.

"Beep!" The referee's whistle blew immediately, and at that moment, the ball fell into the basket.

Chen Fang, who lost his balance after being hit, lay down on the ground. He didn't move, but waited for his teammates to come and pull him up.

Caruso knew the ruling was correct; he was frustrated but not discouraged.

Chen Wang is already one of the top attackers in the league; defending against him would be an impossible task.

Reaching the free-throw line, Chen Fang made the shot, bringing his personal score to 11 points.

"Currently, all of the Clippers' points are scored by Chen Wang, which is exaggerated, but also normal." Duan Ran analyzed: "If no one can stop him, Chen Wang will keep scoring. He is forcing the Lakers to make changes, and that is his power."

After a moment's thought, Wharton realized he had only one option.

Rondo was substituted out, and Pope came back in, bringing with him a mission.

Double-teaming.

When Pope was on the defensive line and Caruso double-teamed him, Chen Fang started playing off the ball, opting for a smarter strategy.

Reaching the elbow area forces both players to leave and cover other Clippers players. Because Chen Fang is positioned deep, he can observe the double-teamers' perspective, and he immediately moves once Caruso turns his back to him.

He might move to the wing or to the top of the key to set a screen for his teammate, then get the ball and create another one-on-one situation.

If Pope were to come up and double-team, he would pass the ball to the player cutting to the basket.

Therefore, the Clippers need a strong scoring option at the top of the key.

Sandwell.

This newly emerged outside ball handler.

This was his fifth start, at the small forward position.

Caruso and Pope double-teamed Chen Fang three times, forcing Chen Fang to pass the ball to Sandwell three times. Sandwell traded those three passes for four points and two free throws.

100% pass-to-point conversion rate.

Seeing Thornwell make both free throws, Davis, who was positioning himself in the paint to protect the rebound, was clearly frustrated.

He knew very well that if he couldn't defend, how many points could he score on offense?

So he looked at James, who was standing outside the three-point line, hands on hips, looking calm and collected.

James pretended not to see the look Davis was giving him. Today, he was facing the defense of Thornwell, who was not strong but not weak either.

He was thinking about how to bring his data to the passing grade in the first quarter.

James has his own data model, with a passing grade for a single quarter being 7-9 points. This way, he can guarantee 25+ points in a game. The reason he doesn't dare to estimate higher is because it depends on the score difference in the last quarter.

As we all know, James has three "no's".

First, they won't defend against the opponent's key player.

Secondly, they will not defend against smaller opponents who are fast and have a low center of gravity.

Third, he won't do too much help defense; he prefers the opponent to shoot rather than pass, so that there are more opportunities for transition offense.

Of course, James' defensive performance was also divided into several phases.

The Cavaliers 1.0: They can't defend, but they try to run around aimlessly.

The Heat are very good at defense. At their peak physical and mental condition, they are good at both offense and defense, and have made the All-Defensive First Team multiple times.

Cavaliers 2.0: Selective Defense. From this period onward, he never made the All-Defensive First Team again because he began to intentionally conserve his energy and devote all his energy to the offensive end.

When he played for the Lakers, James was too lazy to defend.

Because compared to defense, he needs to put all his energy into offense, so he can't take care of defense at all, in order to ensure that his stats don't decline.

The Clippers coaching staff made it very clear to the players about James' defensive attitude, so the Lakers always used zone defense to deal with him. Only zone defense can effectively offset James' lack of work on the defensive end, which is the disadvantage of his limited range of movement.

At the end of the first quarter, Chen Fang was very satisfied, and Clippers fans were also very happy.

The score says it all.

35:28.

It seems like nothing has changed. Even with the addition of Davis and Howard, the Lakers still haven't improved.

Chen Fang scored 18 points and had 4 assists in the first quarter.

This long-awaited burst of scoring efficiency brought great joy to the commentators.

"This must be the easiest quarter Chen Wang has played in the last two months. The Lakers put too little pressure on Chen Wang and couldn't contain him. Professor Su, what do you think the Lakers should do?" Duan Ran asked during a short break.

"The best way for the Lakers is to have James play the power forward position and bring in another forward, like the Warriors and Spurs, and maintain a three-team strategy. Offensively, James needs to have a stronger desire to score in half-court sets." Su Qun saw through this but didn't say it. Often, it's not that the commentators are stupid, but rather that they have too many concerns.

You can't exactly tell hundreds of millions of fans that James didn't participate in defense, which is why Chen Wang easily scored 18 points in a single quarter.

Ke Fan sneered, but he refrained from mocking him and obediently continued with his commentary.

In fact, Wharton did just that.

In the second quarter, he substituted the lackluster Howard with Beasley.

With Caruso, Pope, Beasley, and James in the backcourt, the Lakers have enough strength and height to face the Clippers.

In this quarter, the Clippers seemed to struggle, and their shooting percentage started to drop, which allowed James' team to take off in scoring.

James scored 6 points on consecutive fast breaks, especially the last one, which Samwellara couldn't stop and instead gave him a 2+1 play. James was very excited. He first looked up at the scoreboard to update his stats, and then shouted at the Clippers fans on the sidelines with his signature meme.

The Lakers calmly made the free throw, narrowing the gap to 3 points.

Rivers remained unmoved and proceeded with his plan, substituting Chen Wang for Brunson, Bridges, and Lou Williams.

Then, a minute later, Zubac and Richon replaced Jaren and Harrell.

This lineup lacks defensive strength but has considerable offensive capabilities.

After playing a quarter and a half, Rivers had gauged the Lakers' strength and wasn't worried at all.

Chen Fang was recovering his strength. In the second quarter, his offense was disrupted several times by Beasley. He didn't score much in this quarter, only 7 points, but he was already very satisfied with his 25 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds in the first half.

Like Rivers, he wasn't worried about what would happen to the Lakers.

James also made it clear to Walton that he wanted to stay on the court.

Wharton had no choice but to obey.

After all, Walton clearly knows who's in charge.

Davis is even more indispensable; in previous games, he played 35+ minutes and wouldn't be substituted until the last two minutes of the second quarter.

If both key players are available, then the only hope is to take the lead in the second quarter and establish an advantage for the second half.

In the final possession of the second quarter, James finally hit a wide-open three-pointer, which put them ahead of the score.

Many Lakers fans cheered immediately, which annoyed Ballmer, who was on duty, but Lawrence, who was with him, quickly offered an explanation.

"The ideal result is that the substitutes can hold their own against the Lakers' full starters for most of the quarter."

"In the second half, once the key players return, the point difference will widen rapidly."

After hearing the explanation, Ballmer felt a little better. He said to Lawrence, "We must recruit more strong players. Luxury tax is no object. I want to see a super team that dominates the opponent from start to finish."

"With our record, there's bound to be star players interested," Lawrence assured.

The Clippers have always dreamed of recruiting a superstar, but unfortunately, they lack fame and experience, and they don't consider any well-known superstars.

But things are different now. With Chen Wang on the team, the Clippers have the makings of a championship team. So Ballmer controlled his emotions and waited for the second half to begin.

As usual, Mazura made tactical arrangements in midfield.

"I don't think I need to waste my breath."

"To be honest, this level of intensity is not even half as strong as playing against the Warriors."

"In the third quarter, blast them to smithereens."

Mazura's unexpected words made the players laugh, and then everyone looked at Chen Fang, waiting for him to give his summary.

And so they heard what they wanted to hear.

"Tell the Lakers who their father is!"

"Whoa!" everyone exclaimed, and then, led by Chen Fang, they rushed out of the locker room.

At the start of the third quarter, Chen Fang showed everyone what irrationality, domineering, and cold-bloodedness truly mean.

Each of the three words evokes a vivid image.

He grabbed the rebound, accelerated forward, and saw that because he was too fast, not only did the Lakers not have time to retreat on defense, but only his teammate, Thornwell, had crossed half-court.

Chen Fang, who had already reached two meters outside the wing, ignored Pope who was right next to him, suddenly dribbled behind his back and made a sideways movement, causing Pope to rush past him, and then raised his hand to shoot a three-pointer.

It was so illogical that Pope didn't even realize it. So when he saw the ball go in, he heard Walton's roar in his ears. Pope, who was just over 26 years old and still a little over a month away from turning 26, suddenly felt very wronged.

You can’t blame me!
He shrugged to show his innocence, but was met with an angry glare from Wharton.

Davis responded with a backhand shot, stepping out of the paint to receive a pass from James on the outer arc. He launched a three-pointer from the top of the arc, a shot with a high arc, but it went in cleanly.

Walton felt slightly relieved, seeing that he was still leading by one point.

But Chen Fang came again. This time, facing the double-team of Caruso and Pope, he did not choose to pass the ball. Instead, he took a step and slipped through the gap between the players. Facing Davis, who came out to protect the rim, he once again showed his signature hang time. The two waited in the air for who would land first.

Chen Fang waited until his view was unobstructed and he could see the basket before reaching out and tipping the ball into the hoop.

There was no turning around, no elbowing, just pure airtime contest.

Davis landed and looked at Chen Fang with a very helpless expression, but Chen Fang turned his back on him and went to high-five his teammates.

"Impressive! That's how domineering you are when you have such good skills. You're directly competing in terms of hang time and jumping ability." Ke Fan praised, shaking his head and saying, "Even Davis couldn't do that."

James seemed a bit provoked. He tried to take on Thornwell one-on-one, but after being squeezed, he could only finish with a slalom shot. He landed but didn't hear the whistle, so James went straight to find the referee. Meanwhile, the game continued, and Jaren, who got the rebound, immediately passed it to Chen Fang.

Chen Fang received the ball almost at midcourt. He noticed that the Lakers were down a player, so he didn't opt ​​for a fast break, as if he was waiting for James.

A few seconds later, James returned to his own half of the court. As soon as his foot crossed the line, Chen Fang launched an attack.

A sharp change of direction, followed by another sharp pullback, just like KD's signature crossover. Pope was completely stunned, his left and right feet arguing and wrestling together, before he lost his balance and fell backward due to inertia.

The crowd erupted in the loudest gasps to date as 20,000 fans watched Pope slide backwards on the floor, and the perpetrator stopped dribbling.

Chen Fang stood there upright, watching Pope glide away. He looked around, as if hesitating whether to make a move, or as if he were provocatively asking: Why aren't you here yet?

Amidst the continued gasps of surprise, Chen Fang used a warm-up-style shooting jump to launch his shot.

After making that shot, the Clippers took a 5-point lead.

On his way back, Chen Wang passed by Ballmer and saw his boss jumping around excitedly. On a whim, he reached out and touched him.

The two quickly high-fived, and Chen Fang shouted, "This point is for the boss; I hope you like it, sir."

"Of course I love it, I love it so much!" Ballmer was overjoyed; he had rediscovered his original dream of buying the Clippers.

What he wanted was this kind of passionate interaction with the team's core players on the sidelines; it made him feel so involved.

This high-five between the boss and the leader became the best moment of the event.

Chen Fang, who was not about to give up, began to dribble the ball around and create scoring opportunities.

In the first five minutes of the third quarter, Chen Fanghao dominated possession of the ball, aiming to defeat the Lakers and instill fear in everyone who matched up against him.

Caruso was also trembling. He was broken through by Chen Fang again, and then he turned around and saw the back of the number 21 floating in the air.

The number was enormous and extremely glaring.

Chen switched hands in mid-air, luring Howard, who was protecting the rim, to reach out first, then switched to the other side and easily made a layup.

After landing, Chen Fang didn't provoke Howard, but instead faced the cameraman at the baseline.

"Who is the Lakers' father?" he asked.

The reporter sitting down was named Odyssey, a sports reporter for the Los Angeles Chronicle. He couldn't even believe what Chen Wang had said.
It wasn't until the person next to him repeated the sentence over and over that he realized he hadn't misheard.

Thank you for the generous gift!
Is it that wild?
That's a really explosive statement!

Odyssey felt his blood boiling.

With this basket, Chen Fang's score has reached 47 points, but he is not satisfied. He needs to give the Lakers an unforgettable day.

Upon reaching the elbow area, Chen Fang backs down Beasley, repeatedly feinting with his shoulder and deceiving him with head movements. This time, Beasley was fooled; he misjudged the situation and missed completely, only able to watch as Chen Fang turned and jumped into the air to make his move.

After scoring, Chen Fang grinned and smiled at Bisley.

"My back-to-the-basket game is alright, I guess."

“Very good!” Beasley replied, almost as if possessed.

Without saying anything more, Chen Fang continued to focus on scoring.

At the end of the third quarter, Chen Fang finally broke 50, reaching 52.

As the commentators groaned upon seeing the Clippers return to the bench, David, the Clippers' home commentator, was praying.

"I pray to Almighty God that Chen Wang will continue to play in the fourth quarter. We want to see a new milestone! Come on, let's break 60 while we're in the heat of the moment."

Rivers also asked, to which Chen Fang answered without hesitation.

Why not?

After only four minutes of rest, Chen Fang returned to the court in the fourth quarter.

This time, his appearance elicited cheers that practically lifted the roof off the Staples Center.

“A new record is within reach!” David stood up, tears welling in his eyes. He knew God had heard his prayers.

James scored 28 points. He barely rested and sat on the bench at the start of the fourth quarter. When he saw Chen Fang get up and take off his training jacket, he chose not to move.

Walton glanced at him, while James looked up at the scoreboard.

97:86.

So, Walton, understanding the situation, waved for Beasley to return to the court.

With seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the entire Lakers team celebrated Chen Wang's scoring record, reaching a glorious 60 points.

He pulled up for a three-pointer from the top of the arc and made the shot over Beasley.

"Brother, congratulations on becoming a part of history!" Chen Fang smiled.

Sensing that Chen Fang wasn't being sarcastic, Beasley sighed, shrugged, clapped his hands, and said, "Congratulations!"

"62 points, tonight is Chen Wang's career night!"

"Also, here's a little-known fact: LeBron James' highest single-game scoring record is 61 points, which was achieved on March 3, 2014, when he was playing for the Miami Heat against the Bobcats."

Ke Fan's words were extremely hurtful. Duan Ran glanced sideways, and Su Qun was dumbfounded. Neither of them expected Ke Fan to suddenly say such a thing.

Ke Fan, on the other hand, felt completely satisfied and exhilarated.

His dislike for James is nothing new.

"62 points, 11 assists, 12 rebounds, and 2 steals."

"I want to ask, who else in the league today?" On the other side, David didn't care and loudly ridiculed all the teams.

"Based on this one battle alone, the entire alliance must begin to understand that King Chen's strength is a fact that must be accepted."

Chen Fang didn't hear it, otherwise he would have jumped up and slapped David. He just wanted to put James down, but he didn't mean to offend the entire league.

Rivers looked at Chen Fang, who understood the meaning in his eyes, and Chen Fang nodded.

"Beep beep!" The beeping sound of requesting a replacement driver rang out.

With three minutes remaining in the match, Chen Fang was substituted.

The entire audience stood up and applauded. On the bench, all the teammates stood up. Chen Fang first hugged Rivers, then bumped shoulders with the coaching staff members one by one, and finally high-fived his teammates.

While everyone was cheering, a figure quietly got up from the Lakers' bench and, with the help of several assistant coaches, limped towards the player tunnel.

Davis, who had just been substituted, was bewildered to find that the leader of the bench was nowhere to be seen.

"LeBron had a bit of an injury and went back to the locker room early for a checkup," Walton told Davis sullenly.

“What a pity,” Davis sighed, but he soon understood.

Even without injuries, it would be difficult to win today.

He scored 32 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists, but unfortunately, even with the two of them combined, they still couldn't win the game.

"There's been progress. Last time, we suffered a crushing defeat here," Walton could only offer this consolation.

"Yeah!" Davis felt much better, which at least meant that coming to the Lakers had been helpful.

The final score was 118 to 112.

The score difference doesn't suggest a significant gap between the two teams, but the reporters and experts on site knew the truth perfectly well.

"I'm very disappointed." A Lakers reporter shook his head repeatedly, looking very frustrated.

"What are you disappointed about?" another person asked.

"You know."

"Haha!" The group of reporters burst into laughter, while the remaining Lakers reporter forced a bitter smile.

After the match, reporters surrounded Chen Fang as he prepared to leave.

Holding the match ball, Chen Fang calmly accepted the interview.

The reporter asked, "What is the basis for today's outbreak? We all want to know!"

"When facing the best players in the league, I always spontaneously give it my all," Chen Fang said half-jokingly.

"I feel like you could score even more points. Are you interested?"

No, at least not now.

"Not more, not less, just one point more than LeBron, is that a coincidence?"

"What? 61 points is James' highest score?" Chen Fang looked surprised, then quickly denied it: "Of course it's a coincidence."

"Compared to Kobe's 81 points, do you feel confident that you can break that record in the future?"

"No, I think it's impossible." Chen Fang shook his head.

As the interview drew to a close, the reporter asked the question that had been brewing for some time.

Can you comment on the Lakers' performance today?

"I didn't feel that deadly urgency when playing against the Warriors."

Just as Chen Fang was about to leave, Odyssey bravely held out the microphone: "Hello, this is the Los Angeles Chronicle. In the third quarter, I heard you say something at the baseline. Is that true?"

"What did you say?" Chen Fang was indeed confused.

"Who's the Lakers' daddy?" Odyssey asked through gritted teeth.

Upon hearing this, the other reporters erupted in uproar.

"Before I answer, can you tell me if you have an answer?" Chen Fang asked calmly.

"Have!"

With a smile in Chen Fang's eyes, Odyssey shouted out that word: "Clippers!"

"Thank you, that's my answer!" Chen Fang strode away.

I feel completely refreshed today!
Yes, I'm not pretending anymore. The Lakers and the Clippers are meant to be rivals.

We're not playing house with you; we're going to use victory to show Los Angeles, this city.

Who's the father!
(End of this chapter)