Chapter 368

Spoelstra sat in the spacious press conference venue. The room was packed with reporters, with long guns and short cannons aimed at him, most of whom were local reporters.

He was in pain inside; he had to tell these supporters how he had failed.

This would be a difficult explanation.

Because before this, everyone thought the Heat would easily win the Finals, and the Clippers had even lost three major rotation players. But now, the Heat hadn't even protected their two home games.

The Big Three were facing unprecedented questioning, and their path to the Grand Champion seemed to have collapsed, because next they had to face three away games in Los Angeles.

"We... we... we didn't limit Fan Xi, we missed too many free throws, our shooting percentage from the three-point line was far lower than the Clippers'... all of this is my fault; it's because I didn't work hard enough, and because I didn't have a deeper understanding of the Clippers."

Spoelstra told the media in very earnest language.

This was his opening statement; he knew what kind of storm would follow. But regardless, the battle wasn't over yet, and he could only take full responsibility for the game.

"The Clippers claim they suffered unfair officiating in this game. Their head coach Mike Brown claims this was a shameful game. How do you view their questioning?" an ESPN reporter stood up to ask him.

Spoelstra rubbed his temples and said: "That is not within my scope of work. I don't know, and I haven't looked into the situation mentioned."

"Do we have any new tactics to deal with the Clippers? The Clippers' three major rotation players will return to the court one after another; do you think we can still win this series? Or is it that we are destined to lose to Fan Xi for the second time?"

An angry Miami reporter stood up and asked aggressively.

Spoelstra was stunned for a moment.

He was just about to speak.

When he discovered Dwyane Wade walking out from backstage with a serious expression.

Originally, in the locker room, the Heat had discussed that Spoelstra would go out alone to handle tonight's post-game press conference. James had agreed; he didn't want to escalate things so as not to affect subsequent games.

However, no one expected that Wade would come anyway.

Wade was the Heat's most senior player, and he was also the team captain.

Although the team's core leader was James.

But at this time, he didn't want to lock himself in the locker room to reflect.

He felt he needed to give the fans an explanation.

"In the first game, we lost because we didn't understand the Clippers well enough. Fan Xi and Nowitzki hid their pick-and-roll tactics during the regular season, the playoffs, and even the Western Conference Finals. Fan Xi has transformed into a mature and seasoned elite pick-and-roll point guard; we weren't prepared."

"In the second game, our mentality was a bit relaxed. We came up empty from the three-point line in the second half, and we let Fan Xi hit too many lethal three-pointers. Furthermore, I think our intensity wasn't high enough in the final moments. Therefore, we lost two victories."

"These are all player reasons, and have little to do with tactics."

"Losing two victories at home, I am very frustrated and very sorry; we must apologize to the fans who support us."

"I promise, in any upcoming game, you won't see a relaxed Dwyane Wade. And you definitely won't see a Miami Heat that is easily dismantled by their opponent."

Wade gritted his teeth and told the media with absolute certainty.

Everyone saw his determined expression, and everyone saw the burning fighting spirit behind him.

Wade's stepping forward gave the reporters on the scene hope, and the despair of the Heat fans in front of their TVs also revived a little bit.

Although everyone knew that the momentum was no longer on the Heat's side.

The Clippers had turned from completely passive to completely active.

Fan Xi didn't attend the post-game press conference; he didn't have that habit, and he had no need to express himself. Mike Brown and Nowitzki went.

Nowitzki said at the press conference: "I finally won two Finals games at the American Airlines Arena, although it's similar to my experience in 2006. But I have Jack by my side."

The German superstar was full of sarcasm.

Mike Brown, sitting next to him, kept emphasizing the issue of the biased officiating.

This was obvious; even Miami reporters couldn't deny its existence. Miami did receive a lot of help, although they ultimately didn't achieve the result they wanted.

But the process was disgusting.

The media listed many unfair calls; it could be said that Miami lost both the game and their dignity that night.

The Clippers won thunderous applause.

And those basketball media had to start discussing a brand-new question: Is Fan Xi really the League's signature superstar, and is there a possibility he could replace LeBron James?

Listing Fan Xi as the League's number one player was an awkward thing for basketball experts; they had been picking on Fan Xi for a long time in the past, and Fan Xi also had many visible flaws.

However, the fact before them now was: Fan Xi was the person with the most commercial value in the NBA, although you might say his commercial value didn't come entirely from basketball.

Fan Xi was the rookie with the strongest honors in NBA history; he was a rookie Finals MVP, and now in his second season, he had entered the Finals again and beaten the League's number one player until he was crawling on the floor.

So, under these circumstances.

You couldn't help but discuss whether he was the League's number one player.

Even if there had never been such a precedent in history.

Fan Xi didn't look at the reports and discussions in the media; he was still immersed in the basketball world. He returned to the hotel and watched the game tape of the night as usual. His serious and earnest appearance was as if he had just experienced a failure instead of a victory.

For Fan Xi, as long as the battle wasn't over and the final verdict hadn't been reached, it was far from time to relax.

His temperament influenced the entire team.

Although everyone was very happy and very excited.

However, these old guys all restrained their joy. They didn't let themselves go, and although they weren't studying the game like Fan Xi, they all maintained a sense of awe.

Before lifting the Grand Champion trophy, no one should feel they are safe.

However, Kobe felt the Clippers were already safe.

He not only said on national live television that the Clippers were safe, but he also said so when accepting an interview. "I believe in Dwyane Wade; the Heat will definitely launch a fierce counterattack. Superstars aren't so easily beaten down. But at the same time, I also believe that Jack will ultimately withstand these fierce counterattacks; he won't let the victory slip through his fingers."

Kobe believed in Fan Xi very much.

The Lakers were even a bit unhappy.

Because the Clippers' official account had mocked the Lakers fans.

The moment they secured the second away victory, they retweeted the comments of Lakers fans from before the start of the Finals. A Lakers fan wrote at the time: "The Clippers can't wait to sell tickets for three home games; are they that short of money? Don't they know the Finals are decided by a 4-0 sweep?"

The Clippers official account reposted this comment and wrote: "Smart Mr. 'Lakers Grand Champion', this is our oversight."

At the same time, they also reposted another one: "Waiting to see the Clippers get eliminated 0-4 and sneakily earn money from their fans."

They quoted it: "Perhaps we really will earn money after two games, but the scene definitely won't be 'sneaky'. Thank you, Mr. 'Lifelong Purple and Gold'."

The Clippers' quote-retweet pulled the sarcasm to the max.

Lakers fans became the most frustrated people in the City of Angels. They were originally the biggest powerhouse in Los Angeles, and they were always superior in the fan market.

And before this, which Clippers fan didn't keep their tail between their legs? When people talked about basketball, the Clippers club's name was not only behind the Lakers and the UCLA Bruins, but also behind the WNBA's Sparks.

But now, Clippers fans were arrogant and triumphant. Their group was expanding crazily; not only were the die-hard fans of the past showing off, but those young girls who joined later and didn't understand basketball were also celebrating wildly on social platforms, even though they might not even understand the rules of basketball.

But this didn't stop them from shouting on social platforms: "Darkness shrouds the American Airlines Arena, Jack is the only light in the darkness, shattering the darkness with thunder! Long live Jack Fan, long live the Clippers, knock the Miami Big Three into the nightstand!!"

When social media, television media, and internet platforms were flooded by fanatical Clippers fans, the loss felt by Lakers fans was indescribable in words.

They now had to accept a terrifying fact: the Lakers were no longer the kings of Los Angeles basketball.

Moreover, they would be further and further away from the core stage.

The reason for this was Jeanie Buss letting Fan Xi go.

The most painful thing in the world is "having once possessed."

Jeanie Buss didn't know how many people had kindly greeted her.

When the Clippers returned to Los Angeles, it caused the airport to be paralyzed, as crazy fans swarmed over to pick them up. Many of them didn't even watch basketball before the Finals.

But now, they were die-hard fans.

This exceeded the expectations of all the Clippers players.

They had been anxious during the long flight to Miami, worrying that the video would have a devastating impact on Fan Xi.

But now, they saw crazy female fans waving all kinds of banners to welcome Fan Xi back.

"A blessing in disguise" couldn't even describe Fan Xi's audio-gate this time.

It was said that TMZ not only took down their audio webpage but was also privately contacting Taylor Swift's team, expressing a willingness to pay an astronomical figure to settle the matter privately.

This figure would reach one-third of the total amount Fan Xi spent to acquire the Clippers.

In the United States, there was no cap on the compensation amount for such lawsuits. Many lawyers were eyeing this sweet pastry.

The Clippers spent a lot of effort to escape from the crowd. When Fan Xi got on the bus, his clothes were even torn to shreds; the young girls in the US were too fierce.

Looking at the lipstick marks all over Fan Xi's body;

The teammates all tried hard to hold back their laughter.

In the end, Leonard, who was usually the least likely to smile, couldn't hold it in, and he let out a strange laugh: "Ahahahahaha!"

This intermittent laughter, like a Donald Duck being choked by the neck, made the whole bus boil over.

Fan Xi himself also laughed awkwardly.

"Jack, I think even peak Michael Jordan didn't have as much influence as you do now. I have never seen Michael Jordan cause such a sensation in Los Angeles."

Gilbert Arenas said.

Fan Xi shook his head awkwardly.

Before he could speak, Hamilton said: "Actually, if Michael wasn't a billionaire, probably not many women would like him. Even Madonna once looked down on him for never reaching Pippen's height. Madonna dated Pippen and Rodman, spectacularly, but she just didn't fancy Jordan."

Hamilton had been a teammate in Washington, and his mid-range jumper had been guided by Jordan.

Therefore, what he said was very authoritative.

This was probably the benefit of being an old hand; they could always tell many secrets from the ancient era.

Fan Xi wasn't very interested in Michael Jordan's charm, but now the brands were quite interested in him.

Two days before the recording-gate incident came out, Lu Yuan's pressure increased sharply, and his hair was falling out in handfuls.

But now, he suddenly became unprecedentedly relaxed.

Because he had received too many olive branches from brands, and many feminine products were looking for him to endorse them.

Including even women's lingerie, Victoria's Secret.

This was too ridiculous.

However, capital is the most sensitive; it will never go against money.

Fan Xi's commercial value had been raised to an unprecedented level.

He had changed from a basketball player into a fantasy object for women globally.

"Jack, you might not accept it when I say it. But the price Victoria's Secret is offering is too high. They also invited you to participate in the runway show. I think there's no loss in this; you should go once."

After picking up Fan Xi, Lu Yuan had been chattering endlessly, introducing some women's products to Fan Xi. Lipstick, cosmetics, luxury bags... and so on.

Fan Xi wasn't a person with no interest in money.

However, he felt it was all a bit ridiculous.

"Can I not earn this money?" Fan Xi asked Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan said: "No. A person shouldn't give up money because of so-called reserve. This is 3 million US dollars, after tax! Just an advertisement, just one runway show!"

"Do you know how many supermodels work hard to participate in a runway show..."

Lu Yuan played the emotional card.

"But I'm not a supermodel. I'm a basketball player!"

"Then do you know how many basketball players spend a lot of money to buy tickets to watch a runway show..." Lu Yuan became more and more excited as he spoke, almost running a red light.

Fan Xi stopped discussing this issue with him, and then he asked the most important question: "This matter of mine, it shouldn't affect me playing in the Olympics, right?"

"No," Lu Yuan said decisively: "You are the victim."

Right!

Right!

Fan Xi nodded repeatedly: "I am the victim, I am indeed the victim."

Subsequently, he looked up at his watch and said to Lu Yuan: "Take me to see another victim."

"Are we going to the recording studio?" Lu Yuan asked.

"Go to hell," Fan Xi cursed.

Hahahahaha.

The car was filled with a joyful atmosphere.