Chapter 336

Fan Xi was not a prophet; before anything happened, he could only analyze the trend based on past experience.

But reality is not immutable.

In the fifth game, the Spurs defeated the Lakers.

Right at Staples Center, right under the Lakers' noses, right in the cheers of 20,000 Lakers fans.

Ginobili went crazy in the last 1 minute; he staged a magical moment; he first blocked Chris Paul's jump shot in the front court... at that time he let go of Kobe and rushed over to defend Paul; this was a gamble.

Ginobili, this eagle from the Pampas plateau, was the most gambling person in San Antonio; he often did things Popovich didn't agree with.

Popovich's mood also changed from "fuck you" to "fuck it."

Ginobili bet right; he plucked Paul's shot from the air, then sprinted to the front court; he again didn't listen to Popovich's instruction on the sidelines to slow down the rhythm, he directly shot a 3-pointer from a meter behind the 3-point line.

Kobe's hand even slapped his forearm.

However, Swish!

The ball went in.

Subsequently, he also hit the additional free throw.

This one offense and one defense turned the Spurs from a doomed situation to a tie with the Lakers.

At that time, the entire Spurs bench was boiling.

Subsequently, Kobe hit a mid-range jump shot.

Then, Ginobili drove deep into the paint; he attracted everyone's double-team, and while turning, he was stepped on his left foot, but he turned and made a pass; Duncan caught the ball at the arc of the 3-point line, and then Duncan hit this 3-pointer.

With 3.9 seconds left in the game.

The Spurs led the Lakers for the first time in the whole game.

Kobe didn't grasp the opportunity at the last moment, the ball bounced off the rim.

The Spurs won this victory in a way no one expected; this was a gambling-style victory.

After Fan Xi finished watching this game, his whole scalp was tingling.

Ginobili was simply god-like.

The NBA often has these god-like moments, so the NBA also has a saying: basketball is round, and anything can happen.

The Lakers lost the pivotal game; they were kicked to the edge of the cliff.

Kobe Bryant said viciously after the game: "We won't lose again. I swear!"

Kobe was very angry; according to media reports, he was furious in the locker room after the game; he scolded almost everyone. This included Paul; he questioned why Paul didn't give the ball to himself at the last moment.

In his view, Paul should have noticed Ginobili running over to help defend, and he was in an absolute open position.

Perhaps it was because Paul felt the Lakers were leading by 4 points at the time and it was already stable.

But he didn't expect Ginobili to chase back 4 points in one offense and defense.

Worthy of being the man who once led the team to defeat the Dream Team.

Fan Xi gave Ginobili the greatest respect.

Just for this game, he believed Ginobili was the MVP of the game.

Now, the pressure was all on the Lakers' side.

If the Lakers didn't even make it to the Western Conference Finals in the end, then all their investment this year would have gone down the drain, and the galaxy battleship they built by assembling so many super superstars would become a joke.

Fan Xi was in no mood to watch the Lakers' joke, but in his view, if San Antonio entered the Western Conference Finals, then the Clippers would be relatively easier.

Although the Clippers had beaten the Lakers three times in the regular season, the Lakers' combat power ceiling was higher than the Spurs', and the Lakers in the playoffs were not just a little bit stronger than in the regular season.

The Spurs being able to play like this against the Lakers was partly because they habitually slacked off in the regular season, partly because their players performed extraordinarily, and the most important aspect was because Popovich's tactical level was higher than D'Antoni's.

D'Antoni had never led a team to play such a high-level game; he was a regular-season coach, he was an offensive coach.

If Phil Jackson were in command, the Lakers would even have hope of advancing 4:1.

If the Lakers eventually reversed the win, this would also be the key to the Clippers' victory.

The sixth game returned to San Antonio.

The Spurs were ambitious; they wanted to achieve success in one go at home and complete the advancement.

This was their home court, and also their advantage point to achieve success in one battle; both time and place were on their side.

However, they met the Lakers who had cleared the fields.

The Lakers completely suppressed the rhythm; they clearly possessed the most luxurious super-star roster in the league, but they played even more blue-collar than blue-collar.

They suppressed the Spurs' rhythm, played even slower than the Spurs, calculating every ball.

Completely different from the noble temperament of the Lakers, it was a completely mud-legged playing style.

The game was not good to watch.

But the Spurs were crushed under fierce confrontation.

Their physical strength problem was very serious.

In the end, the Lakers pulled one back on the road. 77:71.

This game was the lowest score in recent years.

Dreaming back to the finals when the Spurs faced the Pistons back then.

Even Billups shook his head after watching; he said to Fan Xi: "This game was played too ugly."

This was something Fan Xi didn't expect.

However, the Lakers reforming to this extent was something Fan Xi didn't expect.

In the seventh game, they returned to Los Angeles.

This game was a rout for the Spurs.

The Spurs' physical defects were fully exposed in this game; Duncan's movements were visibly deformed, and Ginobili was even more breathless; the Spurs' aging was very serious.

Moreover, they were different from the Clippers; the Clippers only had many old veterans, but the starting lineup structure was very young, and Fan Xi had targeted drills in the regular season.

This was probably why Popovich, that old cunning guy, wanted to calculate the Clippers and Lakers, letting these two meet early in the playoffs, fighting to the death, so he could sit and reap the benefits.

Who knew that Fan Xi, who appeared halfway, acted more covertly than him, using his own strategy against him, directly sending them to fight in the Western Conference Semifinals.

93:79.

This was the score result of the seventh game.

Kobe fulfilled his promise; he didn't let the Lakers lose again in this series; they completed the advancement as if crossing a tribulation.

There were rumors after the game that Phil Jackson, who was living in Los Angeles recently, gave the Lakers ideas.

The media also photographed Jeanie Buss visiting her ex-boyfriend Phil Jackson.

The photos were conclusive evidence.

But everyone didn't quite believe that they rekindled their old love; after all, the Zen Master was already old, and his prostate had been removed.

Between adults, probably they talked about some interests.

Interestingly, while the Lakers were celebrating their victory, Popovich "fanned the flames" at the post-game press conference: "The result of this series was something I didn't expect; I lost because of my own arrogance, and my lack of observation of Jack."

"Hey, Jack. The result now is as you can see, if in this situation, you still can't defeat the Lakers, then... I will be very sad. Love, Gregg."

Popovich winked in front of the camera at the end.

This was a warm reminder from him to Fan Xi.

You could also say he was watching the fun and not afraid of the big trouble, lighting a surging flame for this year's most intense Los Angeles civil war.

If the Christmas battle was Fan Xi's successful revenge, the Clippers stood firm.

The New Year's Day battle was Fan Xi's reversal victory, the Clippers moved forward quickly.

The regular season's quasi-finale battle, Fan Xi's butcher knife appeared, the Clippers were faintly contending.

Then in the current Western Conference Finals, these two teams in Los Angeles would usher in a true life-and-death battle; this was the first time in history that these two teams appeared on the stage of the Western Conference Finals.

They would determine this year's king of the West.

At the same time, they would determine the future strength trend of Los Angeles.

Time Warner TV had already made it clear to the Clippers: if you take this series, we will sign a 20-year contract with you, and accept the offer Fan Xi previously proposed.

However, Fan Xi said: "The previous offer is already void."

Fan Xi already had a very clear prediction for the future basketball market in Los Angeles, no... it was a definite answer.

Clippers prosper, Lakers decline.

This final would be a true watershed.

Although Time Warner said that even if the Clippers failed, they would buy the Clippers' terrestrial channel broadcast rights; they wanted to bet separately.

However, Fan Xi was clearly the one with more confidence.

On the Lakers' side, after taking the victory in the Western Conference Semifinals, their confidence also rose to an unprecedented level.

Lakers vs. Clippers, there was no need for internal mobilization, because they had suffered too much in the regular season, they were thinking about revenge, wanting to sink Fan Xi and the Clippers, wanting to make them sink to the bottom of the sea forever, never to recover.

However, before the game, it had been calm.

No one on the Clippers' side stood up to speak, and the Lakers' side was also quiet.

Instead, the media had been creating an atmosphere of world war.

There was only one thing in California now: grab tickets!

Whether it was social celebrities, political and business tycoons, or socialite stars, tickets for Staples Center were hard to come by.

The ticket revenue of the two teams would reach an astronomical figure, and the tickets for the Western Conference Finals had already exceeded the ticket prices of 23 vs 24 last year.

The charm of the same-city Western Finals was so amazing.

The appeal and influence of Fan Xi and Kobe were so surging.

David Stern looked at such a lively scene, he wished that the Western Conference Finals were Clippers vs. Lakers every year.

Meanwhile, the heat of the Eastern Conference Finals was also the highest in years. The young Chosen One Derrick Rose led the team to compete against the Miami Big Three.

This year's regular season MVP was LeBron James.

However, there was some controversy.

If Rose hadn't missed so many games, he should have repeated. Because his performance in the second half of the season was too stunning; this season he averaged 26.9 points, 8.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 1.1 blocks.

However, even though he was so fierce.

He still didn't get the regular season MVP and the regular season first team.

For him, this had a bit of a tragic color.

It wasn't that he wasn't good enough, but that the opponents he faced were too powerful, and he was injured for half a season. Fan Xi was the first-team point guard. Fan Xi averaged 21.6 points, 11.8 assists, 6.9 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 1.9 steals in the regular season.

He was the league's assist leader. At the same time, he was also the league's best defensive team point guard.

He, James, and Howard were the players selected for the first team and first defensive team this year.

This year's first team was Fan Xi, Kobe, James, Durant, and Howard.

This year's first defensive team was Fan Xi, Tony Allen, James, Ibaka, and Howard.

Kobe, who had been selected for the first team and first defense for many consecutive years, missed the first defense this year; he and Paul were both selected for the second defense. And Chris Paul, who had dominated the best first team for many years, didn't even enter the best third team this year, because Fan Xi, Rose, and Westbrook covered the top three teams.

This made many Paul fans voice their dissatisfaction for Paul.

At the same time, many Kobe fans thought Fan Xi didn't deserve to enter the best defensive first team, and one of Kobe or Paul should have entered. This was the league's favoritism toward Fan Xi; Fan Xi was not a defensive player.

Every year's award selection would have a lot of sour words.

The so-called players don't shed tears easily, only because the time for awards hasn't arrived.

Fan Xi was also aggrieved.

"Is there really a better defensive player in the league than Leonard? Is there really a better best sixth man than Butler? Is there really any player in the league more suitable for the best sixth man than Kwame Brown and DeAndre Jordan?"

The Clippers were aggressive, even sending out the strongest mouthpiece Arenas to fight.

Arenas was deafening, as if not giving awards to Clippers players was bias.

Regarding Nowitzki not being selected for the best first team, he also had many complaints.

Overall, the Clippers system and the Lakers system still took many awards. Fan Xi was first team and first defense, Nowitzki was second team, Jordan was second defense. Leonard and Butler were both elected to the best rookie team.

On the Lakers' side, Howard was first team and first defense, Kobe was first team and second defense, Paul was second defense.

So, this was also why so many fans were looking forward to the Los Angeles civil war.

So many super superstars, so evenly matched, setting up a battle in the Western Conference Finals, how could people not look forward to it?

Lakers vs. Clippers became a hot spot in American society, even the most formal news couldn't help but intervene.

It truly gave the NBA a certain degree of Super Bowl feeling.

It is worth mentioning that Justin Bieber, the hottest idol, expressed his willingness to perform at halftime, the reason being he wanted to get a ticket.

But the Clippers and Lakers both politely declined.

Such a wonderful game doesn't need any halftime performance.

However, Justin certainly had his ways to buy front-row tickets, for example, spending 300,000 US dollars?

When a series becomes the focus of the whole society, then... it's hard not to be nervous.

Whether it was Clippers players or Lakers players.

Fan Xi specially invited the players to have dinner together the day before the game; they spent an afternoon very easily, no one talked about the game.

Because by this time, talking about the game had no special meaning.

Relax, take a hot shower, and then wait for the next day to arrive.

The battle has begun!

The basketball landscape of Los Angeles ushered in a brand new situation.

For the Clippers, this battle was particularly important; if they defeated the Lakers, they could take the first step toward surpassing the giant Lakers.

"We will win this series."

Before going to sleep last night, Fan Xi sent this message to all teammates, coaches, management, and all Clippers staff whose numbers he had.

This was a guarantee from the leader.

It would make people enter dreamland more calmly.