Chapter 446: We Can't Keep Playing Like This

A Lun Aifeisen arrived at the Philadelphia home arena, and he enjoyed intense cheers before the game.

Aifeisen is not from Philadelphia, but his career has become deeply tied to the city; everyone regards him as the city's pride, even though he lacks impressive height and is a true undersized player in the NBA.

Fan Xi went to greet his idol.

Aifeisen showed rare enthusiasm toward Fan Xi; in fact, they had no prior relationship.

"You have done the thing I wanted most in my whole career; I have always wanted to break every record of Michael, but unfortunately I realized I couldn't, whereas you can, Jie Ke, don't mind what the media say. At most they'll bother you for two or three years, then they'll start praising you."

A Lun Aifeisen told Fan Xi, "No one understands the media better than I do."

Aifeisen's experience is a mirror; early in his career his unconventional style, some remarks deemed 'insufficiently respectful of Qiao Dan', plus his flamboyant behavior and a shady street past made him utterly unpopular with the media.

When the media lauded Ke Bi as the new generation Qiao Dan, A Lun Aifeisen clearly had better stats yet was labeled the source of chaos in Philadelphia.

He has almost never received respect.

Nevertheless, he earned respect through his own effort, and his once‑criticized style quickly became a fashion trend. One could say that in leading cultural export, the NBA has only Qiao Dan and Aifeisen in history.

Many people, even if they don't watch basketball, imitate Aifeisen's outfits; he played a crucial role in popularizing Black street culture.

If it weren't for his height, Aifeisen's rapid decline in the later stage of his career, he could have become the league's flagship star, because during Aifeisen's golden era, Ke Bi was still playing second fiddle to O'Neal.

Even though Ke Bi secured a three‑peat, at that time Aifeisen's popularity was slightly higher.

Among the four great shooting guards, Ke Bi had the strongest late surge and the longest peak.

If Ke Bi's label is obsessive and fighting spirit, Vince Carter's label is dunking, Tracy McGrady's label is talent and grace.

Then what is Aifeisen, who won four scoring titles, one regular‑season MVP, led a single‑core team to the Finals, and stands under 180 cm in true height?

Untamed!

"When you were still called the Miracle Child, I was already watching you. I have great confidence in you; you will be the new answer," Aifeisen gave Fan Xi his highest praise.

The compliment even brought tears to Fan Xi's eyes. As an Aifeisen fan, he knows exactly what it means. "Answer" is Aifeisen's nickname, also the thing he is most proud of and even has tattooed on his body, and now he bestows that title upon Fan Xi.

Beep!

The whistle sounded.

Compared with the pre‑game talk with Aifeisen, this match seemed insignificant.

Philadelphia is working hard for a playoff ticket.

Zhu Huo Ledi and Sai Di Si Yang are their twin backcourt cores, two excellent young guards.

They fought Kuaisuan with all their might, and Ai Wen Te Na and Ni Ke Yang are also relatively outstanding youngsters.

After losing Aifeisen in 2005, Philadelphia has been rebuilding; they have had both successful and failed cases, but judging from the current situation, they will continue rebuilding this way.

There is currently no hope of breaking back into the Finals.

Kuaisuan destroyed their fighting spirit in three quarters; the young squad showed a giving‑up attitude in the fourth, lacking the resolve to face Fan Xi head‑on and daring not to flash their fangs in desperation.

After the game, Ni Ke Yang even said, "No matter how we play, the result is the same. They will take the 75th win just as they will take the 76th win."

Ni Ke Yang's remarks drew criticism; the guy already shows the makings of a journeyman because he only attacks and dislikes defense.

And he even looks carefree.

After Kuaisuan pushed the regular‑season record to 75 wins, the media, besides mechanically issuing releases and watching the internet revel, didn't know what else to do.

Sa Te Men Tuo was Kuaisuan's final game of the 2012‑2013 season.

The sole significance of this game was to decide whether Kuaisuan's regular‑season record would settle at 75 or 76 wins.

In fact, whether 75 or 76, both are ceiling‑level, unbreakable super records.

With the final round of the regular season arriving, the Western and Eastern rankings are locked.

The Western rankings are: Kuaisuan, Lakers, Spurs, Thunder, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Warriors, Rockets.

Thunder originally sat third, but somehow they gave up in the latter half. Perhaps they wanted to reenact last season's Kuaisuan championship run, letting Lakers and Spurs battle fiercely while they take the toughest path?

Or maybe they bought the media's analysis, deeming Fan Xi and Kuaisuan merely decorative paper tigers. After all, they are one of the five teams that beat Kuaisuan in the regular season.

In contrast, the San Antonio Spurs are reluctant to face Kuaisuan, even though they were schemed against last season and fought Lakers to the bitter end, they still avoid Kuaisuan. That's why, even though they see Thunder tanking, as masters of tanking they remain unmoved.

The Eastern top eight have also been decided early.

Miami Heat is first, followed by Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks.

This ranking is basically unchanged from the season start.

This actually proves that NBA's polarization is worsening: the strong get stronger, the weak get weaker.

When Fan Xi and Kuaisuan arrived at Sa Te Men Tuo, the media had already begun discussing Kuaisuan's playoff matchup with the Rockets.

Although the media dislike Fan Xi and even more so Kuaisuan, they still think Kuaisuan will settle the Rockets in five games. Saying five games sounds like giving the Rockets a bit of respect.

Fan Xi dislikes this analysis.

His focus now is entirely on the Sa Te Men Tuo Kings.

The Kings aren't weak; in the Eastern Conference they could crack the top six.

This year Kuaisuan has already played the Kings three times; both are Pacific Division teams that meet three to four times each season, and Fan Xi's impression of the Kings is that they improve year after year.

Moreover, this team can at times exude the dignity of a strong squad.

Because their center Kao Xin Si has an emperor‑like presence, threatening on both ends, but… he is still like Duan Yu just learning the Six Pulse Divine Sword, easily swayed by emotions.

Their perimeter core is Tai Rui Ke Ai Wen Si… fans may not know the name, but tell you that in the 2009 class— the one featuring Curry, Harden, Griffin, Jennings and other stars— he was the 09‑10 season's Rookie of the Year.

His stats hovered around 20+5+5. Across NBA history, few have achieved that.

At the time, everyone thought the Kings had struck gold; Tai Rui Ke Ai Wen Si was essentially the next Le Bu Lang Zhang Si, a tank‑style point guard who could dominate with his hands.

However, in his second season, Tai Rui Ke Ai Wen Si peaked early then fell. This ties to the Kings' decade‑long mismanagement; they first traded for scorer Ai Er Suo Dun, then paired Ai Wen Si with You De Li, a dual‑skill guard, in the backcourt.

What kind of player is Ai Wen Si? He's a guard with strong penetration rhythm, soft finishing touch near the rim, excellent ball‑handling and playmaking— essentially a James Harden without three‑point shooting.

In his first season he paired with pure shooter Kevin Martin; with the ball he thrived.

He declined in the second season.

He plummeted in the third season, because he was shifted from guard to small forward as the Kings' second‑round pick Isaiah Thomas, a diminutive guard, emerged—a scoring machine who could light up the board immediately. The Kings wanted to mold him into a second Aifeisen.

Moreover, Evans's injuries kept recurring, his condition was also erratic, so by his fourth season he had become indistinguishable from everyone else.

This game, in fact, no one had cared about the result for a long time.

However, Kuaisuan ran into trouble in this game.

Before the game started, every Kuaisuan player thought the Kings, already shut out of the playoffs, would not fight back—at most they'd put on a show and then give in half‑heartedly.

Who would have guessed that as soon as the game began, Cousins would leap up and slap the basketball to a teammate.

Cousins is an emotionally unstable person; few know what goes on in his head.

Except when he sees Paul, everyone knows his mind is filled with profanity.

And now, when he sees Huaiti Seda, his mind is also full of profanity.

Huaiti Seda is thriving on Kuaisuan, which makes him uncomfortable. He used to be a bench player for the Kings, only coming in to mop up. But now he's riding high—he's secured a spot on Kuaisuan, landed ad endorsements, and even shot an MV with Rihanna.

On what grounds?

Cousins is envious; if he were on Kuaisuan, he'd be even more powerful. He even thinks that if he were on Kuaisuan, the team would now be on an 82‑game winning streak instead of being split into several short streaks with only 75 wins.

Cousins channels his envy, jealousy, and hatred toward Huaiti Seda into the game.

And tonight, Evans's condition is also excellent—perhaps because he sees fellow 2009 rookie Lu Bi'ao.

He comes up with the ball, drives through Lu Bi'ao's left lane, and when faced with former teammate Huaiti Seda's help defense, he powers forward, uses his agile left hand to slam the ball into the hoop, scoring the first basket.

After the score, Tyreek Evans feels great.

Then he goes to guard Fan Xi.

Evans is called the point‑guard version of James, which shows his physical attributes are outstanding. In reality, however, his explosiveness isn't as good as James's, nor is his speed.

But the only thing is, his lateral movement surpasses James's by a large margin.

Also, his wingspan is very long.

Fan Xi gets tangled up by him.

Moreover, Evans employs a Wade‑style defense, only guarding Fan Xi's Stop‑and‑Go Jump Shot and his outward passes.

As for Fan Xi's drive for a dunk, that's Cousins's and Tang Pu Sen's business.

Bang!

Fan Xi's first pass is stripped by Evans from behind.

Then Evans launches a long pass.

In the season's first start, Jimmer Fredette receives the ball beyond the Three‑Point Shot line, shoots… Swish! It goes in.

Fredette was the 10th pick in 2011.

He is the greatest Three‑Point Shooter in NCAA history; at 185 cm, he set numerous Three‑Point records and single‑handedly led Brigham Young University to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

It can be said his college résumé completely eclipses Stephen Curry's.

His draft prototype is also Curry.

However, after reaching the NBA his development stalled. He isn't tall, his shooting rhythm isn't as fast as Curry's, his ball‑handling can't match Curry's, and his thin frame can't pack on muscle. Consequently, after one season in Milwaukee he was traded to Sacramento.

On the Kings, he's basically just a water cooler.

In this game, probably because of the previous match, nobody had the mind to keep playing, so he was thrust into the starting lineup, joining Tyreek Evans, John Salmons, Tang Pu Sen, and Cousins.

In the second possession he records an assist and hits a Three‑Point Shot.

This Three‑Point Shot comes while on Kuaisuan, and he becomes immensely excited.

And Tyreek Evans is even more so.

He never dreamed he could strip Jie Ke Fan, especially since this game is deemed Kuaisuan's perfect finale; he is overjoyed.

The impulse inside him surges wildly.

He decides to create something in this game; he won't keep being so meek.

Two possessions later, the Kings' morale skyrockets.

Meanwhile, Kuaisuan is still "dreaming."

They still haven't rallied; they still think the Kings won't put up a fearless resistance.

That's probably why people often fall just before the finish line.

Lu Bi'ao drives past half‑court; facing the lone god's defense, he doesn't attack but passes to Fan Xi, who takes two steps forward and passes to the starting Butler.

Butler, facing Salmons's defense, takes a pull‑up… Bang!

The ball rims out.

Cousins roars and grabs the rebound.

Huaiti Seda couldn't stop his former teammate's performance; after all, Cousins's talent far exceeds his.

The Kings sprint ahead.

After Evans and Cousins set a pick‑and‑roll at the top of the arc and burst into the paint, Kuaisuan's reflexive collapsing defense lets the lone god and Salmons cross‑screen to free a guard, and Evans passes out.

The lone god catches and shoots… Swish!

The second Three‑Point Shot goes in.

8–0.

"Nice pass!"

When the lone god shouts at Evans, Fan Xi finally says: The Kings are serious.

Then we can't keep playing like this.

…