Chapter 293: It's over, we've become substitutes now

Curry is playing the best season of his career. Although in the original history, Curry was affected by injuries this season and only played 26 games. But now, he is getting braver as he plays, and his average scoring has reached 23.6 points, ranking ninth in the league.

Probably because he put on the shoes custom-made for him by the Fan-x brand and received the strongest protection.

Currently, the Warriors' record is hovering between eighth and ninth in the Western Conference, and it is very likely to enter the playoffs.

This is a very proud thing for Mark Jackson, who has not been a head coach for long.

The Oakland audience gave great 'malice' to the arrival of the Clippers. Before the game even started, they were booing Nowitzki, and Fan Xi was scolded along with him.

Normally, most Bay Area residents are middle-to-high-class and have high quality.

But ever since they eliminated the Mavericks in the 07 'We Believe' upset, they have been relentlessly attacking Dirk, as if their bloodlines were suppressed, and they would call him a 'softie' at every turn.

Nowitzki seemed used to it.

Fan Xi was very angry. Before the game started, he loudly questioned a Chinese person in the third row in Chinese: "Why are you scolding me?"

This guy had been shouting 'flower-picking thief, flower-picking thief' at Fan Xi.

Fan Xi was very angry; he could understand Chinese.

This fan was stared at by Fan Xi. He was stunned at first, and then he actually retorted righteously: "Who told you to extend your magic claws to Liu Yifei, you playboy!"

American Chinese know Fan Xi's reputation in Hollywood too well. Their perception of Fan Xi and Liu Yifei's love is completely different from that in the country; after all, there is a filter across the Pacific Ocean.

In the United States, which entertainment channel isn't playing Fan Xi's gossip? Although Fan Xi's sudden emergence allowed Asian men, who were not popular in the marriage market, to get attention. But this person was clearly an exception; he was a crazy fan of the Fairy Sister.

Fan Xi stared at this guy; he really didn't know how to answer him.

So, he turned his head and muttered: Damn Warriors, just wait, I'm going to blow you up.

The anger was transferred.

Fan Xi raised his head and saw Nowitzki. Nowitzki's eyes were also full of the resentment of 'having a big fight'. His eyes were clearly saying: You scolded me before I joined the Clippers, and you still scold me after I joined the Clippers. Did I join for nothing?

Although Nowitzki hadn't had time to practice with the Clippers, he just held Mike Brown's tactical manual and read it a few times, and got some video materials from the video analyst.

But the German Tank's status in the world of basketball was there, so he was directly put into the starting lineup.

DeAndre Jordan, Nowitzki, Carter, Fan Xi, and Steve Nash appeared on the court.

Mike Brown put out this lineup for no other reason than to give Nowitzki as much familiarity as possible. Nash was a teammate with Nowitzki before, and Vince Carter was a rookie in the same year as him.

Of course, another meaning is... the Warriors' defense is mediocre, so use this lineup to let Nowitzki practice.

This game attracted the attention of TV stations. Originally, this was a very ordinary regular season game, but because it was Nowitzki's first game joining the Clippers, it was broadcast on TV, and a large number of viewers and a large number of NBA powerhouse players were piled up in front of the TV.

They really wanted to see the chemistry after Nowitzki joined the Clippers.

This would affect the entire pattern of the league, including Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and others who had just moved from Boston to Milwaukee.

They had just won a big victory at the TD Garden, and Howard had a strong presence in the paint, crushing the Boston restricted area.

The Lakers achieved an overwhelming victory.

It saved a lot of face for the Lakers and calmed the mood of many heartbroken fans.

However, with the addition of MVP Nowitzki to the Clippers, many Lakers fans' hearts were suspended again.

The Lakers players were the same; the Christmas battle left them with lingering fears.

"Will such a game not show anything?" Howard, the Beast, sat in the hotel conference room and asked Kobe.

Kobe glared at him, and he sat down quietly.

Beep!

The referee blew the whistle, and the game on the TV screen started.

DeAndre Jordan easily defeated David Lee.

The Warriors' starting lineup was: David Lee, Ekpe Udoh, Dorell Wright, Brandon Rush, Stephen Curry.

This was a small lineup.

Nash brought the ball to the front court. The handsome him hadn't cut his long hair yet, and he was indescribably dashing. Stephen Curry looked at Nash as if he were looking at his idol; since college, he had said he wanted to be a player like Nash.

Nash, under his admiring gaze, threw the basketball to Fan Xi; he was like a porter punching in for work.

Fan Xi broke through with the ball and simply handed it to Nowitzki, who was standing on the wing.

Nowitzki caught the ball and faked a shot, and Udoh was a bit unable to hold on.

This wasn't even a triple threat yet.

However, Nowitzki's subsequent shot... bang, clank.

He had been on a long journey from last night to tonight and hadn't rested well.

DeAndre Jordan didn't grab the rebound either. David Lee grabbed the rebound and passed it to Curry.

Curry ran wildly with the ball. Mark Jackson gave Curry great freedom this season.

This is why Curry suddenly pulled up and jumped just after rushing to a position two steps outside the three-point line... he found the feeling, even though neither the Clippers players nor the Warriors players were in a good position.

Swish!

When the basketball pierced the net.

Oracle Arena immediately boiled over. The Bay Area fans loved this young man who was keen on shooting three-pointers too much, and the enthusiasm for basketball in the entire community was rekindled because of Curry. Although this fire hadn't boiled to areas outside of Oakland.

But local fans firmly believed that Curry would definitely become famous and become a super big star.

"This is a tribute to you, Stephen. I love you." Curry's cute appearance, he even smiled very sweetly, like a silly sweet.

Nash was a bit speechless. He couldn't remember when he had shot so recklessly. He even questioned himself in his heart: Is this the image I have in the hearts of young people?

This was definitely a reckless shot.

Even if Nash was open-minded, he thought this ball was unreasonable.

"Is this Warriors guard juggling?" Chris Paul sat in the front row of the conference room. He and Kobe sat in the C position, and Howard sat on Kobe's right hand side... although the Lakers had many superstars, the hierarchy was clear. Kobe was the leader, Paul was second, Howard was third, Gasol was fourth, and then there were the pillars like Fisher.

Five Lakers players, four coaching staff members, and a team leader and video analyst sat in this conference room.

They represented the core circle of the Lakers.

Kobe raised his eyebrows. He had a deep impression of Stephen Curry. He knew this was Fan Xi's good friend, also signed by Fan Xi's friend, and also knew this guy was a second-generation basketball player. His father was a shooter before, but he was unknown and belonged to an NBA wanderer.

Similar to Kobe's father.

In NBA father-son combinations, if the father is very powerful, it is often impossible to produce any excellent son. If the father is mediocre, the son has a chance to become a star player.

The game on TV continued.

Stephen Nash and Nowitzki played a pick-and-roll. Although they hadn't worked together for many years, their cooperation still easily shattered the Warriors' defense.

Nash passed the ball to Nowitzki, and Nowitzki jumped again... bang!

The second shot missed.

He was still adapting.

Immediately, Curry hit another three-pointer.

It was still an unreasonable pull-up shot.

After Curry scored, he proudly raised his eyebrows at Fan Xi and said: "Jack, this is a dribble jump shot you will never learn in your life. Your force application is too stiff."

Fan Xi didn't argue with him. In essence, what Curry said was the truth. Fan Xi's 'one-stage jump shot' was indeed very different from Curry's.

Curry could ignore the defense and complete the shot in milliseconds, but Fan Xi couldn't.

Therefore, Fan Xi's current dribble offense still had to rely on the opponent's defensive intensity. If the defensive intensity didn't come up, he had no bottom in his heart.

Turning back.

The Clippers were still focusing on Nowitzki. The Clippers players acted like a hospitable host. When a guest came to visit, they couldn't wait to take out all the snacks and fruits at the bottom of the box.

This time it was Fan Xi breaking through. He killed into the basket and passed the ball to Nowitzki. Nowitzki followed into the restricted area for a layup and was stopped by David Lee's foul.

Stepping onto the free throw line, one of two free throws was made.

Finally broke the scoring drought.

Subsequently, under the Clippers' early double-team, Curry passed the ball quickly, and Dorell Wright hit a 3-pointer.

9:1 at the start.

"The Clippers are not good either."

Howard expressed his position again, saying: "A team as weak as the Warriors can suppress them, how can they still look like a super powerhouse team."

Kobe gave Howard a white look, and the happy beast became silent again.

Let the bullets fly for a while.

Kobe thought so in his heart. He knew Fan Xi and Nowitzki too well. They were both top powerhouses. How could two top powerhouses be suppressed by the Golden State Warriors?

However, five minutes passed, and the Warriors led by 11 points.

The first quarter passed, and the Warriors led by 15 points.

Kobe frowned. He saw the traditional Chinese virtue from the Clippers' first quarter game: modesty.

Fan Xi and Nowitzki, two foreigners, came to this land from thousands of miles away. They treated each other with respect and fulfilled each other.

But with such fulfillment, both sides were uncomfortable playing.

Nowitzki was the offensive core in the Mavericks. All tactics revolved around him, and all players ran according to his characteristics.

Fan Xi was the absolute core of the Clippers. He was the initiator of most tactics, and he could help his teammates become more efficient and concise.

Adding the two major cores together, it actually became a bit negative, and both sides didn't know how to play basketball.

What should we do?

Mike Brown thought of a good way. He let Fan Xi sit on the bench.

The second quarter started, Nash, Hamilton, Leonard, Nowitzki, and Kwame Brown went on the court.

Sure enough, Nowitzki recovered a lot.

His pick-and-roll with Nash was decent. When he pulled out, Leonard also got an easy single-player opportunity. Even Kwame Brown in the paint benefited because of Nowitzki's containment.

The Warriors' lead was visibly shrinking.

After the second quarter, the Clippers went from trailing by 15 points to trailing by only 6 points, recovering 9 points.

This made Kobe confused.

Could it be that Fan Xi and Nowitzki couldn't produce chemistry? It shouldn't be. Jack and I can produce chemistry, and can't produce it with Nowitzki?

Kobe was very sober and also very self-reflective.

The second half started quickly.

Nowitzki returned to the bench, Fan Xi took Vince Carter, Butler, Leonard, and DeAndre Jordan on the court, and they played small ball.

Attacking the Warriors, although the workload outside the three-point line was not as large as the Warriors, in other aspects, the Clippers were comprehensively crushed.

The Clippers controlled the basket, controlled the restricted area, controlled the breakthrough path, controlled the counterattack...

All data was far ahead.

The 6-point score was quickly wiped out, and a leading advantage was established.

After the third quarter, the Clippers overtook by 6 points.

At this time, the fans at Oracle Arena were much more silent. But they didn't leave the court, because their mentality was very good. After being rotten for so many years, they were used to their home team being taught a lesson. Watching the game, someone always has to lose, why can't it be the home team?

Bay Area people have high income, good psychological quality, and are open-minded.

This was quite boring. Fan Xi's favorite thing was to beat the home team fans who were clamoring to leave the court, which gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

Now, it was quite boring.

A dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water, what's the point.

Mike Brown also felt it was boring, so in the fourth quarter, he put Nowitzki and Fan Xi on together again.

This time, Fan Xi and Nowitzki also learned to be smart. Fan Xi no longer pursued interaction with Nowitzki, and Nowitzki didn't think about making the Clippers' mediocre basketball transition rhythm tacit and skilled as soon as he joined.

They started to pull out and play singles, just like an old couple who had been married for many years, sleeping in separate rooms.

With such separate rooms, the court formed two systems, and the internal friction was a bit large, but it couldn't stop the fierce firepower of these two superstars.

The Warriors couldn't resist.

Later, the Clippers simply stopped acting.

Fan Xi and Nowitzki calculated together, simply play the triangle offense.

Nowitzki pulled out to the strong side to play singles, and Fan Xi wandered on the weak side.

Don't play any cover, don't play any pick-and-roll, purely release their own abilities.

Yao was also pulled into the restricted area, and Nash and Vince Carter were matched on the outside.

Playing like this, the firepower instantly covered the entire Bay Area.

The playing style also inexplicably became gorgeous.

This group of 'shameless' fans at Oracle actually started shouting: MVP! MVP! MVP!

They actually cheered for Fan Xi.

Anyway, when superstars like Kobe, James, and Anthony came over, they shouted the same thing.

It doesn't matter who you shout for.

Watching the game, it's not shameful.

Kobe saw this scene in front of the TV, and his hands and feet went cold. He stretched his legs and shouted 'terrible'.

"It's over, we've become substitutes now."

Kobe was inexplicably depressed.

After Phil Jackson left, and the successive joining of Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, the Lakers played more and more pick-and-rolls, played more and more defensive counterattacks, and they looked less and less like a triangle offense team.

You know, the triangle offense brought six Grand Champion trophies to the Lakers.

But now, they are gradually giving it up.

The Clippers picked it up.

Is the City of Angels really going to change?

Is it really the so-called 'the sky is dead, the yellow sky should stand'?

... ===== CHAPTER 294 =====