Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 407 Shut up!

There are countless secrets about the Los Angeles derby.

These are often hidden in the gaps that are not mentioned in official press releases and post-match statistics, but are exposed in the internal conversations of the two teams and local reporters.

The "underground versions" circulating in the locker room can all be cross-verified by reporters covering the team in Los Angeles, but the league and the two teams' public relations departments never put them on the surface.

The most famous and widely circulated incident was the flag incident. Under the shared court, the Lakers' support staff had an advantage over their Clippers counterparts.

The day before the 2012-13 season opener, Clippers staff arrived five hours early in an attempt to cover all the Lakers championship banners around the Staples Center dome with black cloth.

Then the Lakers' support staff discovered the conflict, which was only resolved with the intervention of the league.

The "hot water curse" in the away team's locker room was another far-reaching incident.

Between 2015 and 2020, the Clippers tampered with the shower system in the visiting team's locker room at Staples Center (which is actually the room used by the team playing away) – the hot water boiler thermostat was lowered by 3-4°C, and Lakers players generally complained that the water was "fluctuating between hot and cold", with some even catching colds.

The most recent instance was during the season opener, when the Clippers tried to paint their home court floor "nautical blue," but Staples Center only had a 4-hour layover. The Clippers applied to enter the arena earlier, but the Lakers objected.

In the end, they had to add more players to avoid ruining the championship ring presentation ceremony. This incident also made the Clippers players furious in the opening game, and they beat up the Lakers to vent their anger.

And there's a new secret about the Lakers' home game against the Clippers on December 25th.

During the routine warm-up session before entering the arena, the Lakers' support staff prevented the Clippers from entering, claiming it was too early, even though they were only a few minutes early.

But the Lakers' support staff blocked the Clippers' group, shutting them all down in the player tunnel, raising their wrists and reading their watches.

Enraged, Chen Wang pushed aside the person who was leading the obstruction, and then Dillon, Thornwell, Jaren Jr. and other followers rushed forward, scattering the Lakers' support team.

The Lakers immediately called the police, claiming that they had been harmed by Chen Wang and demanding the arrest of Chen Fang and others.

The Clippers' legal team reacted quickly, and the two sides communicated for half an hour at the arena entrance before the Los Angeles police finally left.

This incident quickly became a hot topic, with Clippers and Lakers fans gathering at Staples Center Plaza, raising concerns among police who increased security forces several times over to maintain order.

This brought the Lakers-Clippers arena battle—the true concept of "home court"—to a climax.

Upon learning the news, Ballmer was furious and immediately accelerated the multi-party negotiations on the home stadium land that had been deadlocked for half a year, bringing forward the home stadium construction plan, which was scheduled to start in 21, by a year.

It's an open secret throughout the league that the Clippers have no say in Staples Center; the Lakers are always given priority in the schedule.

Moreover, the entrance to Staples Center is covered with statues of Lakers stars, and the arena is filled with Lakers championship banners.

When the Clippers play at home, they always go to great lengths to cover up all the Lakers' championship banners and retired jerseys.

At 8 p.m., the second game of the 19-20 season between the Clippers and Lakers took place as scheduled.

Because of the hot topic in the afternoon, the entire league is focused on the Lakers, whose recent record has soared and whose momentum is unstoppable.

With both of the Clippers' star players returning from injury, their goal is clearly to defeat the Lakers.

It's another epic clash of titans, how could the media and fans not be excited?

Butler glanced at Chen Fang not far away. Four hours after the conflict, Chen Fang's calmness was unsettling.

At first, Butler was clearly watching from the sidelines, but he didn't expect Chen Fang to suddenly rush out and use a shoulder push to directly knock through the wall of people formed by the Lakers' support staff.

This move startled many people, and those who reacted quickly followed immediately. By the time Butler realized what was happening, most of the people had already moved on.

This left Butler, who had always cultivated a tough-guy image, feeling incredibly frustrated. He finally realized that Chen Wang's leadership charisma was omnipresent on this team.

Especially when the police arrived, people like Richie Jen immediately stepped forward to take the blame for Chen Wang, not to mention the attitudes of others.

Although Rivers was furious outside, he didn't bring that emotion into the locker room. Instead, he spoke more humorously than usual, trying to calm the players down.

It's quite clear that as long as Prince Chen is alright, no one else will cause trouble.

So Rivers asked King Chen to come out alone and inquire about his situation.

"Don't worry, just play the game as usual. I won't let this get me in the wrong place at the top," Chen Fang reassured Rivers.

In fact, Chen Fang's true colors were revealed as soon as the competition started.

Not getting angry doesn't mean I didn't have murderous intent!

Zubac touched the ball first during the scramble for it, and Jalen took control of it. Chen Fang asked for the ball, so how could he refuse?

Chen Fang, who got the ball, crossed half-court first. Leonard had already come over, but Chen Fang accelerated with a step-back and left Leonard two body lengths behind.

Its speed was so fast that Leonard only saw a blur before his eyes.

Once he got going, there was no stopping. Chen Fang quickly reached full speed and, with Westbrook-like flair, drove straight into the Lakers' paint area.

Davis had just turned around when he saw a white shadow float overhead like a ghost. His scalp tingled, and his legs went weak, let alone jump.

"Snapped!"

"Who's firing!" David cried out in alarm!

The thunderous slam, like a thunderclap striking the ground, instantly swept away the noisy atmosphere of the Staples Center, replacing it with gasps of surprise.

This kind of dunk, which doesn't touch the rim and relies solely on dunking precision, is so stylish. Coupled with Chen Fang's celebratory gesture of blowing his hand after landing, it's as dazzling as the sun, making it impossible to look directly at him.

Both coaches tensed up. And you know what? Vogel was furious when he heard about the conflict.

This pre-match provocation of Chen Wang was incredibly foolish and did absolutely nothing to benefit him.

He was anxious before the game, and when he saw Chen Fang score his first point with a dunk, he knew something was wrong.

Rivers could only smile wryly. He was also afraid of Chen Wang losing his temper. Based on his understanding of Chen Fang, once this guy got angry, he was as terrifying as a demon god, and his destructive power increased exponentially.

He prefers Chen Fang's gentle playing style, which is wise and dignified.

But half a minute later, Rivers couldn't help but say to Mazura, "If there were a few games like this in a year, I would thank God!"

"The premise is that no one dares to provoke Prince Chen," Mazura replied seriously.

Eight seconds ago, Chen Fang faced a double-team from Leonard and Rondo. He pulled the ball back, then suddenly stepped forward and pushed straight to the center, weaving through the gap like a butterfly.

He took a step to the top of the arc, faced Davis's defense, crossed over and dribbled in the opposite direction to James's side, then moved both of them toward him, suddenly turned around, connected with a powerful shot and stepped back to the three-point line.

He leaped up and struck, the knife falling swiftly.

One man broke through the defense of four Lakers players, and the last move turned into a wide-open shot, which shows how realistic Chen Fang's series of crossovers and deceptions were.

This wasn't the end of it. On the Lakers' offensive possession, James cut in from the wing, using his signature "Dragon Eight Steps" technique to squeeze to the basket before shooting, only to have Chen Fang, who had been waiting for a long time, slap the basketball across his face.

The most disheartening thing is that the basketball bounced back and Chen Fang caught it. Chen Fang completely ignored James, who was lying on the ground clutching his face and crying out in pain, and single-handedly took control of the ball and initiated a transition.

The Lakers couldn't catch up with any of them and watched helplessly as Chen Fang ended the attack with another one-handed dunk.

"Snapped!"

"Chen Wang fired his second shot!"

"Chen Wang is on fire today! The Lakers are down 0-7! Perfect!" David cheered, laughing mockingly, "No matter how glorious the Lakers were in the past, sorry, now it belongs to the Clippers era, the Chen Wang era."

Vogel was having a quick conversation with his lead assistant coach, Jason Kidd.

Jason Kidd was the Lakers' second biggest move this summer after signing Kawhi Leonard. They brought him to the Lakers as their lead assistant coach after he had been fired by the Bucks for over a year.

The Lakers' management hopes to leverage Kidd's unique coaching style to help this star-studded Lakers team unleash even greater power.

Jason Kidd's coaching style can be summarized in one sentence: "A minimalist commander with a player's perspective."

He directly transplanted his "on-court brain" from his 19 years as a Hall of Fame point guard to the coaching bench, and then used the simplest instructions to make the team spin at high speed.

"Don't run the same tactics to death, just run to open spaces." Kidd often said this during training, which also highlighted his style—minimalist tactics + high degree of tactical freedom.

Kidd allows for a "culture of tolerance" among players; as long as it's reasonable, even if a player misses several shots in a row, Kidd won't substitute him.

His defensive philosophy is to create chaos first, then patch up the gaps. For example, a 2-3 fake zone defense allows two players in the high post to pretend to double-team, but actually force a passing angle. The weak-side forwards collapse in advance, creating a steal trap and launching a transition.

James was thrilled by Kidd's arrival and has repeatedly praised him in public as one of his favorite coaches.

At the same time, Kidd has a good temper. He is the elder brother in the locker room rather than a tyrant. This leadership of "giving the ball away" has reduced the restlessness and disputes in the Lakers' locker room in previous years.

It can be said that Kidd's addition made the Lakers a true powerhouse in the West, helping Vogel manage this super team.

Ultimately, Kidd's tactical theory is most vulnerable to players like Chen and Wang. He can only rely on Leonard to lock them down. If he uses multiple players to double-team, the Lakers can't match the Raptors' discipline in switching on defense.

Chen Fang, who had scored 7 consecutive points, seemed to have lost his anger and returned possession of the ball to Holiday, but this only made things more difficult for the Lakers.

Leonard can restrain Chen Wang and prevent him from doing whatever he wants, but who will take care of the others?
Butler's simple and unpretentious scoring style allows him to dominate from the point guard to the small forward position, and he might even be able to handle Davis.

Holiday's resurgence in scoring this season, averaging 2.6 three-pointers per game, has already made things difficult for the Lakers, not to mention the Clippers' unexpected rise of Porter Jr.

This rookie, whom the entire team couldn't find a matchup for, hit three three-pointers in the first half.

Even the fans can see the Clippers' hand, and the Lakers can't beat it.

Vogel is still trying; this time is different from the last, and he has prepared carefully.

By trading Caruso for Rondo and Beasley for Howard, the Lakers assembled a star-studded lineup of Davis, Beasley, James, Leonard, and Caruso.

Let Caruso guard Butler, let James guard Holiday, let Leonard shut down Chen Wang, let Beasley limit Porter Jr., and let Davis help out and switch on defense.

The ideal is beautiful, but the reality is cruel.

Rivers then took Zubac off the court, moved Jaren to the center position, and pulled him to the high post.

This forces Davis to follow, and Jaren now has a mid-to-long-range shot, so Davis has to come out to help.

The Lakers' interior defense was stretched thin, and Chen Fang and Butler began to relentlessly attack the basket.

The two players took turns driving to the basket, going on an 8-0 run, forcing Vogel to call a timeout and bring in McGee to strengthen the paint.

Vogel said to Kidd, particularly frustrated, "If we want to win, we either have to take James out or pray that he plays serious defense."

Kidd remained unfazed: "You know that's impossible, so let's pray our offense improves."

Vogel's complaints stemmed from the fact that no matter how he adjusted the defense, as long as James was on the court, the Lakers' defense could never be perfect; there was always a weak side. Every Clippers player would target the side James was defending, and Vogel himself recalled scoring more than eight times in James's defensive zone.

As soon as the first half ended, David cheered: "Look at this, is this what a so-called super team is like?"

62:50.

The Lakers are down by 12 points at home.

Most of the fans looked frustrated and confused. They thought they could crush the Clippers this time, but the outcome seemed to have changed.

Now all we can do is hope that the Lakers can get back on track in the locker room at halftime.

In fact, this is just wishful thinking.

Rivers devised an extremely ruthless tactical strategy today: Butler and Chen Wang would always be on the court at the same time, taking turns resting for six minutes at a time. In the first half of 24 minutes, they would be on the court together for more than 16 minutes.

This strategy was maintained in the second half, and with the help of other players, the Clippers maintained a high level of intensity throughout the game.

They say the Lakers have a lot of stars, so let's see who can withstand them.

"Playing against the Lakers is like playing in the playoffs," Rivers told his players.

As expected, the Lakers made adjustments in the second half, with James going to the bench and Pope coming on.

Leonard gained possession of the ball and began to show his power. He didn't take many shots in the first half, focusing more on defense.

He first positioned himself inside and successfully backed down Butler. Then, with the ball at the top of the arc, Davis set a screen for him, and after avoiding Butler's interference, he hit a three-pointer.

Staples Center erupted in cheers as the gap narrowed to 7 points.

He then stole the ball from Chen Fang's drive and scored a layup, drawing a foul in the process.

Rivers called a timeout, and Lakers fans started jumping around. Leonard scored 8 consecutive points, forcing the Clippers to call a timeout, which allowed them to vent their frustration from the first half.

Rivers made an adjustment, taking Porter Jr. out and bringing Bridges in, thus strengthening the perimeter defense.

The substitution was immediately effective, as Bridges replaced Chen Fang's defensive duties, allowing him to focus on covering and switching on defense across the board.

Leonard was constantly double-teamed, and even when he called for a double screen, it was ineffective due to his shooting ability.

On the other hand, with Bridges on the court, the Clippers gained another offensive option, repeatedly attacking the basket and drawing fouls, bringing the point difference back to 10 points.

Vogel felt helpless, realizing he still didn't have enough cards to play.

Kidd reassured them instead: "This is the defending champion. The championship-winning roster was not only not broken up, but it was also strengthened by Butler."

After three quarters, the Lakers were still trailing 90-78, down by 12 points.

Vogel allowed James to sit out one quarter because he told him he hoped James would challenge the Clippers in the fourth quarter.

He was convinced that if the Lakers could close the gap by substituting James, then letting James attack again might not be a bad idea.

Now they're in a bind, and can only watch as James returns to the court.

As soon as James returned, Rivers substituted Porter Jr., because with Porter Jr.'s height and release point, it would be difficult for James to interfere. Unless James closely guards him, he cannot limit Porter Jr.'s outside shots.

But is this possible?
James has never defended like that in his entire life.

As predicted, Porter Jr. took three shots and made two three-pointers, making Vogel grit his teeth in frustration.

He could only force James to switch onto other players, and distract Leonard and Davis to help defend.

Leonard was distracted, and Chen Fang started moving again.

"Snapped!"

"OMG, Chen Wang's third shot!" David shouted to God. This tomahawk dunk is definitely going to be a top five play. The Clippers' passing was too fast. When Chen Fang received the ball, Leonard hadn't even turned his hips and looked back when he saw Chen Fang drive in.

Once Chen Fang gets going, he's very difficult to deal with, unless he commits a foul.

But some people can't help but think that way. When Chen Fang broke through again and got up, James pushed him from the side.

Even after losing his balance in mid-air, Chen Fang was still able to use his powerful core to throw the ball off the backboard, and it rolled several times upon landing to dissipate the inertia.

The whistle had already blown, and Butler immediately grabbed James's chin and demanded, "Hey, aren't you planning on driving to the basket?"

James ignored Butler's threat, shrugged at the approaching referee with an innocent expression, and when the referee pointed at him, indicating that he had committed a pushing foul, he jumped up and roared, "Damn it, that's a wrong call, I didn't do anything."

Seeing that the referee remained unmoved, James turned to the referee and ran over, saying, "What kind of damn call is this? I didn't do anything. Is this still the Lakers' home court?"

"Calm down, LeBron," the referee said, then, seeing James still arguing, impatiently added, "How about we challenge the video replay?"

James immediately turned around, waved as if he hadn't heard, and made a gesture that indicated he would let it go this time.

Just when James thought the matter was over, he bumped into someone.

"I promise, if you dare to do that again, I'll break your outstretched hand!"

Chen Fang fiercely blocked James's path.

James was very surprised. He subconsciously took two steps back and turned to see why his teammates hadn't come over yet.

Seeing Davis and Caruso rush over, James immediately changed his expression. He angrily roared at Chen Fang, "You should be content with your current situation. I am someone you cannot offend. How dare you threaten me?"

"Go to hell with your existence! You're nothing in my eyes!"

The conflict between the two quickly drew the attention of both teams' players, and security and coaching staff began to intervene to break up the fight.

The two were blocked by the wall of players and could not push each other. James' voice grew louder. He roared, "You've been lucky for three years, and you got the championship by your teammates. What makes you so disrespectful to me?"

Chen was furious and almost broke free from Butler's embrace, so he could only yell in the direction of the voice: "Just wait to be torn to pieces by me, you hypocritical bastard!"

The conflict caused the game to be paused for eight minutes. The commentators were stunned for a long time. Yu Jia talked on and on, emphasizing that Chen Fang was almost injured, so he was very angry and somewhat stressed.

David, however, was fanning the flames: "That's right, that's it, tear those Lakers cowards to shreds."

"James has always liked to use despicable means to undermine his opponents, but he chose the wrong person. King Chen's temper won't tolerate him."

Mazura asked with concern, "Should we replace Prince Chen?"

"Of course not. Remember, if you become the head coach in the future, you must never do that."

"Especially when the fault is not ours, your substitutions will make the players lose confidence in you. Remember, it is better to bear the loss than to let the players down."

Rivers' words made Mazura realize something.

The game resumed, and when Chen Fang took the free throw, the Lakers fans in the stands continued to boo him.

But this didn't affect Chen Fang, who calmly made the free throw, bringing his score to 35.

Then Chen Fang raised his finger and gestured for people to shut up, pointing towards the stands where the boos were loudest.

This further enraged Lakers fans, who booed even louder.

Chen Fang was amused. If that's the case, then let's be even more ruthless.

"Snapped!"

"Chen Wang's fourth shot!"

David watched as Chen Fang dribbled past Leonard, then dove past Beasley to help defend, took a step in, and used his faster spring speed to overpower Davis protecting the rim, scoring with a left-handed dunk before Davis could block the shot.

Upon landing, Chen Fang celebrated by brushing the dust off his shoulders, walked out of the penalty area, and came to the byline. Facing the booing fans, he put his hand to his ear, indicating that they should be louder because he couldn't hear them clearly.

Chen Fang's arrogant celebration further enraged the fans, so the 18,000 Lakers fans present at Staples Center shouted loudly at Chen Fang.

“Shred coconut!”

"Chen Wang's three points!"

"Three points!"

"Still three points!"

"Fans watching the game, did you feel it? The boos at Staples Center have weakened to the point of being inaudible!"

He hit three consecutive three-pointers: one over Leonard, one in Davis's face, and one in front of Caruso.

Three pull-up jumpers completely extinguished the Lakers' hopes of catching up.

"46 points! Chen Wang's butcher's knife is stained with the Lakers' blood." Yu Jia was overjoyed. He loved Chen Fang's vengeful nature. He had just clashed with James and immediately swept through the enemy ranks like a whirlwind. He was too fierce.

Even Butler shook his head, marveling at how terrifying the enraged King Chen was.

With five minutes left in the game, the point difference had already reached 21 points.

Leonard was the first to be substituted, followed by James, Davis, and Vogel, who wisely surrendered.

Facing the completely silent Staples Center, Chen Fang was very satisfied and took the initiative to request a substitution. When he left the field, he even heard some fans who had turned against him applauding.

此役，陈放46分4助攻5篮板2封盖2抢断，带领快船赢下快湖二番战。

At the post-game press conference, when a reporter asked about the conflict, Chen Fang bluntly said, "I know James will definitely talk nonsense, so let me finish it off."

"During the game, whether it was intentional or unintentional, you should be clear about what you did afterwards."

"Playing innocent is not a man's job, and I will not respect such a person."

"The video replay clearly shows us what James did to me."

"He kept shouting for respect, and I really want to know, doesn't he know that doing this kind of thing won't earn him respect?"

“I don’t care about his past honors or his historical achievements. In my eyes, I only recognize one thing.”

At this point, Chen Fang paused, and in front of all the reporters, said, word by word, "Beat me, then talk to me about respect!"

"Otherwise, shut up!"

(End of this chapter)