Chapter 291

Hamilton's sigh doesn't affect the continuation of the game.

Just as he cannot stop the rolling tide of history.

Fan Xi's damage off-ball is significant; he is very much like his college teammate, Stephen Curry. Although Stephen Curry is a point guard, his off-ball gravity is even greater than when he has the ball.

This season, after Stephen Curry switched to the Fan-x brand, he has improved rapidly. Although no one has listed him as a superstar of the new generation yet, when people discuss point guards, they also include him in the top seven list.

Paul, Fan Xi, Parker, Westbrook, Rose, Wall, Curry... that's about it.

After Fan Xi returns to the off-ball role, the Spurs' offense is no longer effective.

Nowitzki sits in deep thought in front of the TV; he feels the Clippers have infinite possibilities and can run many types of tactics. Especially after Stephen Nash returns and he joins as well.

The current Clippers roster is incomplete; their second-string point guard Nash is sitting on the bench in a suit, their top three-point shooter Dunleavy is also packing his clothes ready to fly to Dallas, and there's Griffin.

If these three were all there, even just one, the Clippers would play much more easily.

At the end of the first half, the Clippers trail by 5 points, 57:62.

Then the third quarter begins, and the Spurs still hold the initiative on the offensive end.

The score increases slowly.

Nowitzki's agent is already preparing to head to the airport; according to the arrangements, he will arrive in Los Angeles overnight, take the team physical tomorrow, and fly with the team to the away game as early as tomorrow night.

The NBA is a very efficient league, especially mid-season trades; often the moment the trade is announced, the player must hurry to another city.

NBA players' salaries are too high; for someone like Nowitzki, one game's salary is a top-tier corporate executive's annual salary.

Which team can afford to delay?

Nowitzki turns off the TV with 3 minutes left in the third quarter; at this time, the Clippers are trailing by exactly 10 points, and the Spurs' Big Three plus "Fat" Diaw and Danny Green are playing their fast-paced offense to the fullest.

However, the moment Nowitzki turns off the TV, Mike Brown makes a brand-new decision on the screen.

He puts DeAndre Jordan, Leonard, Butler, Hamilton, and Fan Xi on the court together.

But the person holding the ball becomes Leonard.

Leonard plays the point forward.

Fan Xi suddenly pulls out to near the low post, and Leonard passes the ball in.

Then, he quickly wanders to the weak side, and Butler is also hovering near the free-throw line, DeAndre Jordan is in the paint, and Hamilton is outside the three-point line.

Fan Xi posts up Tony Parker; Parker never dreamed of this.

The French sports car was once the point guard with the most points and highest shooting percentage in the paint in the league, but he never dreamed that one day he would be "schooled" by a point guard in the paint.

He simply cannot resist Fan Xi's post-up.

Fan Xi quickly turns him away and puts the ball into the basket with one hand.

The Spurs simply cannot defend it.

Changing sides to fight again, the Clippers' defensive speed is much faster than the Spurs'... Duncan is old after all; he cannot run all over the court and still maintain high speed in the final quarter.

Bang!

Under the Clippers' man-to-man defensive strategy, Green misses, and the rebound is taken by DeAndre Jordan.

He passes to Butler, and Butler dribbles unhurriedly.

Fan Xi still goes to the edge of the paint to ask for position; this time Popovich sends Green to defend.

Green has some advantages in height and weight.

His individual defensive ability is also quite prominent.

However, he is also a bit unsure of Fan Xi's ever-changing footwork.

Moreover, Fan Xi is not in a hurry to attack. When he sees Butler has a mismatch advantage over Tony Parker, he immediately passes the ball over; Butler bumps past the sports car, drives straight into the paint, and finishes with a one-handed dunk.

The Clippers form a strange triangle.

The fans sitting in Staples Center instantly have a strong sense of déjà vu: isn't this the Lakers' triangle offense?

Yes.

Inherited from the same source.

Fan Xi is, after all, the Zen Master's beloved disciple.

The Suns were defeated by the Lakers' triangle offense in the playoffs, resolutely dismantled their run-and-gun, sent away Marion, Stoudemire, and Diaw one after another, and traded for O'Neal and other traditional centers whose days were numbered, wanting to fight the Lakers again, but they couldn't even make the playoffs.

Now the Spurs have picked up the Suns' old set, although it has its own style.

But the triangle offense used by the Clippers also has its own style.

Who has ever seen a point guard posting up near the paint?

Fan Xi's strong play solves the Clippers' weak interior offensive problem, while giving two unstable rookie forwards easy shooting opportunities; Hamilton's involvement on the perimeter is also crucial.

The Spurs are being targeted.

Even Popovich, that old, cunning fox, didn't expect this; he didn't expect the Clippers to think of a way to restrain him in less than a single game.

Mike Brown has really improved.

At the end of the third quarter, the Clippers narrow the gap to 6 points.

Then in the fourth quarter, the Clippers continue to adopt this style of play, the score keeps narrowing, and at the seventh minute, the Clippers complete the comeback.

Then, Popovich stops playing.

This is Popovich.

He is too good at playing dirty.

He clearly had an idea in his heart for how to deal with this Clippers lineup, but he just doesn't use it. He is very cunning; he has never taken regular-season records seriously.

When he shamelessly pulls Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili directly, Fan Xi and the Clippers players suddenly have a feeling of punching cotton; they even want to beg Popovich to hurry up and put the starters back in so they can have a final showdown.

But Popovich refuses.

He is just playing mind games.

Fan Xi gloomily dunks twice, one reverse-arch axe dunk, one windmill.

Dunking to the cheers of the arena MVP.

Dunking to the point where Liu Yifei on the sidelines stands up and shouts: "I love you, Fan Xi."

This is a very brave and straightforward confession.

They have been inseparable for these three days, and their feelings have warmed up very quickly.

Interestingly, the other three "Duke Girls" haven't contacted Fan Xi since they went to the bar to party on Christmas Eve, other than transferring money to him; they all went to get busy with work... for female stars, the grander the holiday, the greater the workload.

In a sense, this is the benefit of dating female stars, especially popular ones; they don't have time to check up on you.

However, Fan Xi vaguely has an indescribable intuition; he always feels they must be plotting something. The three of them gathering together couldn't just be to go to a bar and sing "California Dreamin'."

Fan Xi's California dream has been realized anyway.

When he leaves the court, he winks at Liu Yifei, a standard handsome guy wink.

This action is precisely captured by the camera.

Here in the United States, the TV audience doesn't think much of it.

But when the domestic audience sees this scene, they are all stunned. In the summer, many people were spreading rumors about the interaction between Fan Xi and Liu Yifei.

Now, when they see Liu Yifei appear at the game site for the second time in a row, and Fan Xi even winks at Liu Yifei.

What does this mean?

"The prodigal son has returned? After being betrayed by the American Duke Girls, Fan Xi decided to return to the side of a Chinese girl, from now on to be well-behaved, and achieve a 'Condor Heroes' romance?"

Even the TV commentators can't help but gossip on a serious platform.

Such discussions keep the ratings at a very high peak.

It also allows many gossip fans to let their imaginations run wild.

Although Chinese gossip fans are not as crazy as Korean entertainment fans, everyone still hopes in their hearts that Fan Xi will return to the right path and not get too close to foreign female stars from Hollywood.

After all, "the fat water doesn't flow into foreign fields."

…

Nowitzki takes a look at his phone before preparing to board the plane; when he finds that the Clippers actually beat the Spurs by 11 points, he is completely stunned.

He thinks he misread it.

He originally had a "savior-like" sentiment about this joining; he believed that his going to Los Angeles could solve all the problems the Clippers encountered in this game.

However, the Clippers actually won?

Then what can I change when I go?

How did they win?

He reads a detailed analysis by a basketball expert, and when he sees Fan Xi going to the low post to post up, he smiles.

The triangle offense is indeed a panacea for "insufficient ball-movement ability"; the triangle offense doesn't pursue absolute openness, it at most pursues mismatches. In essence, the triangle offense is a tactic that allows the attacker to better perform isolation.

It emphasizes 1vs1.

This is why every time the Zen Master won a championship, he won it with the league's number one player; Jordan and Pippen, these two historical superstars, achieved the first three-peat; Kobe and O'Neal, these two historical superstars, achieved the second three-peat. Later, Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, Odom, Fan Xi, and others achieved the third three-peat.

Pat Riley once mocked Phil Jackson, saying he was just an ordinary coach without Jordan, but the fact is that if an ordinary coach coached Jordan, it would also be difficult for Jordan to become the God of Basketball.

"Jack and I can also play the triangle offense; there are truly too many things we can play."

Dirk Nowitzki says very excitedly to his wife, hugging her back: "I feel my career has ushered in a truly bright moment; I am about to fight side-by-side with my old friend Stephen Nash, and I am also about to fight alongside a young superstar. The Clippers have too much young talent and too much old experience."

"This time, I am really going to realize my basketball dream."

Nowitzki is very excited.

His wife reminds him: "Don't forget, there are still strong teams in the East like Miami, the Celtics, and the Bulls. Also don't forget that Los Angeles has another super strong team, a super galaxy battleship with the most league-number-one players. And San Antonio, Oklahoma City Thunder..., they are all not to be underestimated."

"I know. But I feel unprecedentedly wonderful," Nowitzki says: "I feel like I'm back to my 20s, when I just entered the league; I feel like I can beat anyone."

"Go for it, Dirk, I'm always proud of you. But I hope you don't put too much pressure on yourself; it will make you unable to breathe," his beautiful and virtuous wife comforts him.

Then, they see the figure of Mark Cuban.

This sentimental and loyal boss came to see off his favorite player, even though it is already late at night in Dallas.

"Dirk, did you watch the game? The Clippers won another important victory; they have infinite possibilities. You just need to bring your experience, and they will immediately become a stable super strong team. You will have the strength to compete with the Lakers and Heat. I hope you seize this opportunity, Dirk."

Mark Cuban hugs Nowitzki, he says very emotionally.

Nowitzki is also very excited, he says: "Wait for me to come back; I will return with two championships."

Nowitzki's contract has two years left.

Mark Cuban says: "This will always be your home, Dirk."

…