Chapter 153

Fan Xi received uncontrollable cheers from the whole audience when he entered the court. Tonight, the cheers he received at the Staples Center exceeded Kobe Bryant's for the first time.

After the phenomenal Western Conference Semifinals, Fan Xi's status in the hearts of Los Angeles fans soared. In addition, Fan Xi is too good at making things happen off the court.

Taylor Swift's flying kick and the hot sales of the Fan-x-one have kept Fan Xi's discussion level piling up, making him a figure on the cusp of the storm in the true sense.

Watching Fan Xi become a hot basketball superstar in Los Angeles, at least two people in the Thunder lineup showed envy and yearned for it.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden are both Californians. From the day they started playing basketball, they had fantasized about wearing a Lakers jersey in their minds.

At this time, it is hard for them not to have the thoughts of "a great man should be like this" and "he can be replaced."

This feels like Liu Bang and Xiang Yu seeing Qin Shi Huang.

But the NBA is not Chinese history.

Fan Xi has not yet reached the status of sweeping the six kingdoms.

In terms of pure strength, Fan Xi and Westbrook are about the same, slightly better than James Harden. If it's a one-on-one, Fan Xi can't beat either of them.

This is why Charles Barkley said sourly on television: "I'm very happy. We finally have a Beckham-like figure in the NBA. I originally thought it was impossible for idol players to appear on the basketball court."

"Who said there are no idol players? Isn't Tracy McGrady one? His fans are always talking about his 'most beautiful calves'." Kenny Smith retorted: "It's just that compared to calves, what Fan Xi has now is a handsome face and invincible charm."

Kenny Smith often likes to 'insult' McGrady, probably because as a Rockets legend, he once had high hopes for Tracy McGrady, but the result was a mess.

Barkley didn't answer.

The game started soon.

The Thunder's starting lineup is: Kendrick Perkins, Ibaka, Kevin Durant, Sefolosha, Russell Westbrook.

This Thunder lineup is not only full of talent, but the defensive intensity is also very high. Perkins is a defensive center dug from the Celtics by the Thunder last summer, Ibaka is a power forward with extremely tough defense, and Sefolosha is a tough 3D player.

Westbrook and Kevin Durant both have their own specialties on the defensive end.

The Lakers' starting lineup is: Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Mike Dunleavy, Kobe Bryant, Fan Xi.

The Lakers' experience advantage is obvious, their immediate combat power also has an advantage, and they are more comprehensive and balanced.

This is also the reason why most commentators before the game thought the Lakers would easily eliminate the Thunder.

Compared to the tough and tenacious Dallas Mavericks, the Thunder team is too immature.

The game started.

Bynum jumped up and defeated Kendrick Perkins.

Bynum and Perkins are old rivals; he faced Perkins head-on in the Finals last year. However, Bynum's performance in the Finals last season wasn't that eye-catching, but it was enough to trade off with Perkins. This season, Bynum has made some progress.

And after Perkins left the Celtics' lineup, his combat power has been declining, although his data has improved compared to when he was with the Celtics.

Fan Xi received the basketball tapped over from Bynum's hand.

Immediately, he also heard Bynum's voice: "Jack, my Hollywood model trip is up to you."

Fan Xi shook his head with some annoyance.

Then, he held the ball to the front court, Kobe Bryant pulled out for a one-on-one, posting up Sefolosha, and Fan Xi passed the ball steadily.

Kobe used a nimble post-up probe to deceive the defensive stalwart, then immediately stopped for a jump shot... Swish!

Clean and neat.

Kobe's energy on the scoring end is too amazing.

What makes him different from the new generation of stars is that he is experienced; he has accumulated a lot of experience in brutal battles. The more difficult the defense, the less his offensive efficiency will decline.

Kobe took the lead, verifying that his touch was good tonight.

Turning back.

Russell Westbrook didn't hand the ball to the 'boss' to handle like Fan Xi did. He tilted his head and crouched, rushing towards Fan Xi's left side like a cheetah. Fan Xi hurriedly turned to defend... but was a beat slow.

This kind of talent-based point guard is like this; there is nothing strange about their technical style, but they are just hard to defend. Once they capture a glimmer of space, they are as sharp as a white horse passing a crack.

Fan Xi chased Westbrook into the paint. Westbrook wasn't afraid at all facing Gasol's help defense. He jumped up directly, like a rocket launching, and slammed it towards the basket directly over Gasol.

Gasol is a hesitant person.

Watching Westbrook charge forward fiercely, he subconsciously dodged a bit, and then stretched out his hand... it was already useless.

Hesitation leads to defeat!

Westbrook slammed the basketball into the basket over Gasol's head... Boom!

The Los Angeles basket was roaring from his smash.

After landing, he clenched his fists and roared.

Excited to the extreme.

Westbrook is a very emotional player.

However, soon, he couldn't be excited anymore.

The Lakers have too many ways to deal with these emotional young stars.

Fan Xi brought the ball quietly to the front court, summoned Bynum to come up for a pick-and-roll, and quickly killed into the paint. His speed is not slower than Westbrook's, and his explosive power is not worse than Westbrook's. It's just that there is a slight gap in hidden talents like agility and flexibility.

But Fan Xi is not as arrogant and unrestrained as Westbrook.

He is like a spirit snake coming out of a hole, stopping suddenly in the paint, his left hand making a bluffing move, like a poisonous snake sticking out its tongue.

The Thunder's defense was mobilized into the paint on a large scale by him.

Who knew, he flicked his backhand, and the basketball arrived at the left corner.

Dunleavy received the ball and jumped up to shoot easily... Swish!

Three-pointer hit.

Fan Xi doesn't care about the gains and losses of a single city or pool. Although his court vision is not as wide as Kidd's, his passing technique is not as seasoned as Nash's, and his timing control is not as precise as Paul's.

However, he is decisive, and he has a plan in his head.

And he is willing to pass the ball.

That's enough.

Many young point guards, although they have strong scoring ability and fierce impact, have weak passing awareness and no assist planning.

For example, Westbrook, he usually only knows what the next step is when he starts playing.

Dunleavy's three-pointer gave the Lakers the lead.

Subsequently, Kevin Durant got the ball, he played one-on-one against Dunleavy and scored easily.

Kevin Durant is the hardest scorer to defend in the league today. At a young age, he has already won two scoring titles. Many people say he has a chance to break Jordan's record.

In fact, he himself said that it was just a matter of whether he wanted to or not.

Kevin Durant's scoring was quickly covered. Kobe played one-on-one on the strong side, Fan Xi roamed on the weak side. After Kobe attracted the double-team, he passed to Fan Xi, and Fan Xi quickly distributed to the paint, and Gasol scored with a layup.

Enjoying the silkiness.

Smooth as flowing water.

Kenny Smith said on television: "This year's Lakers are much stronger than last year. With Jack, their attack no longer relies on Kobe's one-on-one and Gasol's connection. They finally have another strong point."

"Regardless of whether the Miami Heat or the younger Chicago Bulls come out of the East, I think this year's champion is very likely to be the Lakers."

Smith was already discussing the ownership of the championship.

This shows how clear the direction of this game and the entire series is.

In fact, it is so.

From the moment the first three-pointer hit, the Lakers always maintained the lead and kept expanding it.

Although the Thunder, relying on young talent, could always make eye-catching shots.

For example, Westbrook's dunk over someone after rushing in, or a layup after a pump fake under a triple-team. And Kevin Durant's fast-break stop-and-go three-pointer after a block, and a floater over the center's head after passing the defense in one step...

However, these cannot change a fact: they can only make highlights, but cannot connect these highlights into a line to form a brilliant galaxy.

The Lakers always control the overall rhythm and keep expanding the lead.

Although Fan Xi rested for about 10 minutes from the second half of the second quarter to the first half of the third quarter, the Lakers still relied on Kobe's tenacious scoring to stabilize the situation. When Fan Xi returned, he immediately started to harvest the situation.

In the end, the Lakers won 118:108.

They won the first game of the Western Conference Finals without a fight.

In this game, the Thunder's Kevin Durant scored 32 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Russell Westbrook scored 28 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block.

The twin stars combined for 60 points. The media can boldly use "Twin Stars Shine in Los Angeles" as a headline. Their personal performance is impeccable, although Westbrook's shooting percentage was a bit poor. However, as young stars, it is already very worthy of boasting.

After all, many famous superstars hadn't even touched the floor of the second round of the playoffs at their age.

In contrast, the Lakers' scoring was relatively scattered.

The highest-scoring player was Kobe Bryant, who only had 27 points, plus 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Andrew Bynum had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Pau Gasol had 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

Lamar Odom had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Dunleavy had 13 points and 2 rebounds.

Fan Xi had 15 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block.

Very balanced.

But this kind of balance is very fatal to the opponent, which can be seen from the frowning expression of Thunder head coach Scott Brooks.

According to the situation in the first game of the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder can only hope that the Lakers play lazily in a certain game, while the Thunder are determined to forge ahead, and several supernovas perform above their level, in order to steal one or two games.

Expecting to defeat the Lakers on the front battlefield is no less than a pipe dream!

"You can announce now that the Western Conference champion is the Los Angeles Lakers."

Kenny Smith couldn't wait to certify before the game ended.

At this time, even Charles Barkley, who likes to contradict him the most, couldn't say anything else.

The fact is that it is developing in this direction.