Chapter 147: One Man's Counterattack

Before the game, Fan Xi met Mark Cuban again.

Cuban no longer had the high spirits he had when they met last time. He was haggard, and the three consecutive losses brought him great pressure. As the owner of the team, he had almost done his best within his ability, and the current result was not what he could hope for.

Therefore, when he saw Fan Xi, he didn't even repeat the old-fashioned topic, just said a simple greeting, and hurried to the other side.

This was likely the last game of the Dallas Mavericks this season.

Fan Xi could see this worry from the expressions of the Dallas home staff.

On the contrary.

What Fan Xi saw on the faces of the Lakers players was excitement and joy, and everyone couldn't wait to end this series.

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

Fan Xi's feel tonight was very good. He almost didn't miss any open jump shots outside the three-point line during the warm-up stage.

This made him feel good, and he began to perform his slightly clumsy dribbling jump shots. Swish! Swish! Swish!

The feel was actually very good.

Fan Xi's mood suddenly opened up.

He was not a superstitious person, but he knew that basketball was a wonderful thing. When you have confidence, when you have a good start, it is easy to have a wonderful night.

"Must shoot more tonight."

Fan Xi thought so in his heart.

The Lakers coaching staff had no strict restrictions on the number of shots by several star players, but what had been shown in the past few games was that Kobe had unlimited shooting rights, Bynum's number of shots exceeded Gasol's, and Gasol's number of shots was about the same as Fan Xi's.

Next were Deng Liwei and Odom, and Barnes and Fisher were still behind.

"I think I can score 30 points and get 20 rebounds tonight..."

On the way back to the locker room, Fan Xi heard Bynum bragging to a camera.

This was Bynum's shooting team, and they had been following Bynum since the last game.

Bynum's brokerage team had been exerting force during this period. With Yao Ming's retirement, Orlando's Magic Howard and head coach Stan Van Gundy having a rift, and data declining, the position of the league's number one center was becoming more and more attractive to Bynum.

Bynum also wanted to jump into the category of superstars by relying on this year's playoffs, although he might only be touching the edge of a superstar now.

Fan Xi entered the locker room, and Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, and other veterans were talking.

Kobe said with spit flying: "We are getting closer and closer to the dynasty. Tonight is the last challenge. Kill the Mavericks, and the next is a smooth road..."

For NBA players, a three-peat is the greatest honor of their career, because only a three-peat can be called a dynasty. There are very few teams in the NBA that can build a dynasty.

Except for the Boston Celtics in the ancient period.

In the past twenty years, only the Chicago Bulls have built two dynasties, and the Lakers have built a dynasty under the super performance of the OK combination.

Since Kobe's group formed the existing system in 2007, they experienced a miserable defeat in the 2008 Finals, then won the championship in 2009 and 2010, and now it is 2011, and they are only one step away from the dynasty.

Therefore, their belief is extremely strong.

Seeing Fan Xi come in, Kobe specially pulled Fan Xi over. "Jack is our greatest new force, and he is our greatest help in building a dynasty."

Everyone agreed very much.

Fan Xi just smiled.

He wanted to help the team win the championship this season very much. Although he wouldn't be the most dazzling person after the team won the dynasty, and the benefits wouldn't be the biggest. However, walking onto the court, Fan Xi wanted to win.

If the Lakers win the three-peat this season, the person who benefits the most is Kobe, followed by Gasol.

Kobe's historical status will rise rapidly with the establishment of this dynasty.

Although Kobe was regarded as the league's number one star five or six years ago, his historical status has been difficult to enter the top ten in NBA history until now.

And if he successfully wins the championship, wins the third Finals MVP, gets six championship rings like Michael Jordan, and leads the team to complete a dynasty.

Then, his historical status can reach the seventh or eighth in the league, surpassing Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan.

Beep!

The whistle sounded as scheduled at the Dallas home court.

Phil Jackson used Bynum, Gasol, Deng Liwei, Kobe, and Fan Xi to play at the same time tonight.

This lineup is very luxurious.

The Mavericks' starting lineup is: Tyson Chandler, Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Stevenson, Jason Kidd.

Slap!

Chandler won the jump ball against the Lakers.

Jason Kidd threw a long pass, and Shawn Marion rushed to the frontcourt like lightning. He stole the Lakers' back door. Deng Liwei chased from behind, half a beat slow, and Shawn Marion completed the finish with a reverse layup.

The Mavericks' enthusiasm was raised to an incredible level.

Fan Xi realized something was wrong.

When he received the serve from Deng Liwei, he told Deng Liwei to be more focused.

When Fan Xi arrived at the frontcourt, he habitually passed the basketball to Kobe.

Kobe made a one-on-one gesture, and the players spread out one after another.

He made Stevenson suffer with his skilled pace, but when entering the paint, he appeared in a coordination error with Bynum again... Bynum obviously went to the wrong offensive position, causing Kobe to stop and shoot, which was interfered with by Tyson Chandler.

Bang!

The basketball hit the iron.

Fan Xi rushed into the paint, trying to grab the rebound.

But he was pushed away directly by Nowitzki. Nowitzki pounced on it like a hungry wolf, relying on his height and body advantage to hit Fan Xi to the side in the air, and grabbed the basketball with both hands.

Immediately, he passed it to Kidd who was rushing fast.

Kidd ran all the way, and he stopped outside the three-point line to shoot... Swish!

Three-pointer made.

The Mavericks created a climax at the start, leading 5:0.

The Mavericks showed surging fighting will tonight.

Fan Xi cautiously suppressed the rhythm. He walked slowly from the backcourt to the frontcourt. He suppressed the rhythm and signaled the players to calm down.

The more this time, the more you can't be led by the nose by the opponent.

However, Fan Xi could calm down.

But his teammates couldn't do it.

When Fan Xi passed the ball to Bynum, Bynum was eager for success. After he turned around and dunked, he didn't pass the basketball back to Fan Xi or other teammates. He shot in the double-team... Slap!

The basketball was slapped out of bounds by Tyson Chandler.

The entire Lakers were filled with an eager emotion.

"Every Lakers player wants to build personal honor too much, and every Lakers player is too eager to kill the Mavericks."

Kenny Smith, as a bystander, commented on TV.

He was right.

Every Laker seemed to have accelerated their rate.

Bynum was like this, Gasol was like this, Deng Liwei was like this, and even Kobe was like this.

Fan Xi felt that he was in a different rhythm. He tried his best to try to cool down the players, use a serious attitude and patient cooperation to defeat the opponent.

However, Bynum and Kobe still didn't cooperate with each other.

Phil Jackson subbed Bynum off the court after playing for three minutes in the first quarter.

This had some effect, and the Lakers' offensive efficiency improved.

However, it was still a pattern of being suppressed by the Mavericks.

After the first quarter, the Lakers trailed by 6 points.

In the second quarter, Kobe rested for half a quarter.

Fan Xi and Bynum supported the Lakers, because during this time the Mavericks let Nowitzki rest in rotation, and the Lakers chased back some points.

At halftime, the Lakers trailed 49:54 by 5 points.

However, Nowitzki rested for half a quarter.

Fan Xi realized that things were big.

The Mavericks dared to let Nowitzki rest on the bench for so long. They were both gambling and building extremely strong self-confidence, showing their certainty of winning this game.

In the past three games, Nowitzki almost played the whole game. Every time he reached the critical moment, he would appear to have physical exhaustion. This was an important reason why the Lakers could win so easily.

But tonight, they dared to let Nowitzki rest in the first half, and the Mavericks also stood firm.

This kind of arrangement of relaxation and tension made Fan Xi more and more worried.

Therefore, after he returned to the locker room.

He immediately lay on the chair to rest and ingested food in large mouthfuls.

He wanted to keep enough energy for the critical moment in the second half.

And when Fan Xi was preparing for the fierce battle in the second half, a conflict broke out in the Lakers locker room.

When Phil Jackson was reviewing the first half, he criticized Bynum for not setting a screen for Kobe.

At this time, Kobe also reminded him: "Even Shaquille O'Neal would cooperate with the perimeter back then."

Bynum exploded, and he roared loudly: "I'm not Shaquille O'Neal."

Then, he also said to Kobe: "You have already got enough opportunities. When you are not on the court, I am the one who chased back the points."

This made Kobe furious.

The two stared at each other and were about to fight.

If Lamar Odom hadn't pulled them apart.

Fan Xi looked at them helplessly.

This was not the first time they had such a "fierce dispute."

The second half of the game started.

Phil Jackson noticed that Fan Xi was adjusting his physical fitness, so he didn't let Fan Xi play. Fan Xi's physical reserve was not particularly abundant, and the physical trainer also suggested to the Zen Master not to let Fan Xi play more than 25 minutes in a playoff-level confrontation. Exceeding this time would greatly increase the risk of injury.

However, the Lakers couldn't do without Fan Xi now. In the past four games, Fan Xi's average playing time was as high as 33.8 minutes.

Almost on par with Kobe Bryant's playing time.

Fan Xi sat on the bench.

At first, the Lakers played reasonably well.

Because the Lakers sent the lineup that won the championship last season.

However, as the Mavericks subbed Nowitzki and Kidd onto the court at the same time, the Lakers immediately couldn't handle it.

Nowitzki's feel was explosive tonight, and his scoring was like taking things out of a bag.

Kobe's feel tonight was not good. So far, his shooting percentage hadn't reached 35%.

The Lakers' main scorer tonight was Pau Gasol, who had already scored 21 points tonight.

However, since the beginning of the second half, the Mavericks quickly adjusted their defense against Gasol. Shawn Marion constantly double-teamed, and the tough pressing made Gasol very uncomfortable.

So, he kept hitting iron.

Gasol had never solved a core problem. When he faced the opponent's extremely tough and even slightly dirty defense, he was very fragile.

In a smooth game, Gasol could even play the style of a superstar.

In a normal game, Gasol could also have a superstar's performance.

And once he entered a headwind game, once the opponent played a rough, barbaric, and dirty defense against him, he was a black hole, an A Dou who couldn't be helped.

The Lakers lost to the Celtics in 2008 because he was stifled by Garnett.

Gasol and Nowitzki were affectionately called European soft eggs by the American media for a long time.

Now, Nowitzki was killing more and more fiercely, and although Gasol followed the strong man, he still hadn't changed the things in his bones.

The third quarter reached the fifth minute.

The Mavericks expanded the point gap to double digits.

At this time, Phil Jackson subbed in Bynum, replacing Gasol.

When he went on the court, the Zen Master reminded him in a serious tone: "If you can't cooperate well with Kobe, you will lose the great situation you have now."

This was a threat.

Phil Jackson could tolerate friction between players, but he couldn't tolerate players still being stubborn and fighting internally at critical moments.

After Bynum went on the court, he was no longer willful.

He set a screen for Kobe.

However, Kobe still didn't find his feel.

And when Kobe passed the basketball to Bynum, Bynum also failed to open the situation.

Both of them fell into a state of misfire.

"Let me play."

Fan Xi asked to fight Phil Jackson when there were 5 minutes left in the third quarter.

Phil Jackson agreed, he let Fan Xi replace Derek Fisher, and let Matt Barnes go up together, replacing Deng Liwei.

Beep!

The whistle sounded.

The game continued, Fan Xi received the serve from Matt Barnes in the frontcourt and walked to the frontcourt.

"We need a failure now, only failure can wake them up." Phil Jackson said to Lao Wente.

Lao Wente didn't understand why he subbed in Fan Xi at this time.

"Also, it's not bad for the club to sell one more ticket."

Phil Jackson was actually prepared to lose this game.

"However, I feel you underestimated Jack's desire to win." Lao Wente shook his head.

"Do you think Jack can change the current situation?" Phil Jackson asked suspiciously.

Now, the Lakers can be described as a mess.

Kobe was slow to find his feel, Bynum was severely restricted in the paint, and they had no connection with each other, and the players were all restless.

How to play?

Even if Jack is a god, he can't transform the souls of his teammates.

Phil Jackson is a great strategist. He doesn't care about the gains and losses of one city or one pool. He wants the victory of the entire battle and to maximize the benefits.

"I always feel that Jack will take his own actions."

Lao Wente said so.

Before he finished speaking, Fan Xi, who slowly arrived at the frontcourt, suddenly jumped up and shot outside the three-point line without any warning... Jason Kidd, who was defending him, was caught off guard.

And the basketball drew a beautiful arc... Swish!

It fell into the net accurately.

Three-pointer made.

Still 11 points behind.

Fan Xi launched a one-man counterattack!

... ===== CHAPTER 148 =====