Chapter 459: The Surprise Is That We Secretly Study Hard Behind Your Back

For La Li Brown, this is a tragedy.

He finds it hard to believe that this happened right before his eyes, which differs from what he expected; he thought the Lakers could easily handle Kuaisuan, just as they demonstrated in training.

But now, what he sees is a tangled mess.

He had expected Kuaisuan's role players to step up, but he didn't anticipate that after those guys stepped up, the Lakers players would be so listless.

La Li Brown stood up, set aside his pride, and before the game time reached the commercial break, he immediately called for a timeout; he must adjust.

When the Lakers players returned to the bench, they saw La Li Brown's angry roar; he pounded the tactics board, muttering that he had never seen such foolish defenders, then he demanded that every player devote full concentration to defense, confining opponents to a restricted area and preventing them from entering attack mode.

By the way, he substituted Luo En A Taise Te off the court and brought in Ma Te Ba En Si.

The Lakers have plenty of forwards he can use; he also has Jia Mi Sen available. However, Jia Mi Sen's defense worries him.

Beep!

The whistle sounds again, and the Lakers take the floor anew.

They begin to execute a tight offensive strategy, cutting in with close‑quarters grappling.

But Kuaisuan's defense is not lacking.

All of Kuaisuan's defenders, if they pretend not to see Nowitzki.

Bang!

Pau Gasol's shot missed the rim, Huo Wa De and Mili Xiqi scrambled together, their bodies like lovers in a passionate embrace, wildly tangled, and in the end neither secured the rebound.

Pau Gasol batted the ball out of the paint.

Fan Xi and Ke Bi both leapt forward simultaneously, Lun Na De extended his long arm in front of them to protect the rebound.

Then the ball went to Lu Bi Ao, who dribbled forward slowly toward the frontcourt.

At this point Fan Xi simply stopped reaching for the ball and turned to run into the paint, pulling Ke Bi's defense along. Ke Bi, chasing from behind, trash‑talked: "Jie Ke, if you don't take over the ball, your teammates can't take down the Lakers."

Swish!

Ke Bi kept talking as the ball swished through the net.

It was Nowitzki's make.

Lu Bi Ao and Mili Xiqi set a screen and drive into the paint; the opponent chased, and he passed back to Nowitzki, whose shot went in. At that moment, inside the paint, Fan Xi and Ke Bi ended up tangled together, still vying for the rebound.

Fan Xi's rebounding ability is decent.

That explains why Lu Bi Ao dares to set screens with Mili Xiqi, and why Nowitzki feels confident shooting from the perimeter.

La Li Brown rubbed his temples, realizing Kuaisuan is indeed hard to handle, nothing like the Lakers' F4 of old.

Back then the Lakers, though star‑filled, played rather rigidly.

Moreover, at that time Ke Bi and Ao Ni Er showed signs of independent play, and with Ka Er Ma Long and Jia Li Pei Dun not fully integrated, the Pistons succeeded that year.

But now, he faces a Kuaisuan where everyone moves like dragons, their style fluid, unimpeded by anything.

He feels a helplessness like cutting a knife through water.

Has my era truly passed?

La Li Brown has thought this more than once. He stood up to command the team to trap Kuaisuan, but Fan Xi kept moving without the ball, his runs reminding La Li Brown of his prized protégé Han Mi Er Dun… who, coincidentally, was sitting on Kuaisuan's bench at that moment. Another of his prized protégés, the Finals MVP Bilupusi, is even Kuaisuan's assistant coach.

La Li Brown realized he might have been infiltrated.

Kai Wen Du Lan Te's words have echoed in his mind more than once.

They stimulate him, they torment him.

But things haven't always been this bad.

In the latter half of the first quarter, the Lakers' superstars awoke.

First, Ke Bi hit consecutive high‑difficulty jump shots, then he sparked Chris Paul's actions, followed by Pau Gasol and Huo Wa De joining in. They performed excellently, narrowing the score gap.

They performed as well as they imagined.

Yet they still did not take the lead.

Moreover, on defense they never truly contained Kuaisuan, even though Fan Xi never deployed his secret weapon and barely attempted ball‑handling offense.

The first half ended quickly.

57–52 is the point differential between the two teams.

The Lakers scored 52 points, which is very good; in their past Western first rounds and Western semifinals, without exception, as long as they scored over 50 points in a half they secured the win.

But Kuaisuan scored 57 points, proving La Li Brown's iron‑clad defensive strategy completely failed. Previously, they would limit opponents to around 40 points.

"It looks like your defensive system is indeed a bit outdated."

De An Dong Ni said this to his partner on the way back to the locker room.

He has waited far too long for the moment to say this; he must make it clear that the damned old man coming over to steal his job is a foolish thing: La Li Brown should be tossed into the trash along with his rotten tactics. They reek of a foul old‑man odor.

La Li Brown, well‑read, gently shook his head and said in a calm voice, "Young man, you need more patience. That's why you can only win the regular season."

De An Dong Ni had no intention of continuing the debate with La Li Brown; he believed time would answer. He isn't worried about his next job, and he's certain this will be La Li Brown's final head‑coaching gig.

The era is changing.

De An Dong Ni even asserts that when Ya Dang Xiao Hua takes over next season, NBA changes will become even more aggressive, and the league will usher in an offensive frenzy.

Consider this your final revelry.

De An Dong Ni crossed his arms and walked into the locker room.

Fan Xi also entered the locker room at the same time, feeling relaxed. Yet in his relaxation there was a hint of melancholy. He had prepared for this game for a long time, and his One-stage jump shot never got a chance to shine. He didn't even need to run the ball; his teammates had already solved most of the problems.

In his view, the Lakers should be extremely, extremely, extremely hard to handle.

After all, this season is their last chance.

However, now he feels the Lakers are as soft and tasty as a mousse cake.

"Jie Ke, you've been studying the Lakers lately. In fact, we haven't given up this research all season."

Bilupusi gave them the answer in the locker room.

Fan Xi looked at his teammates, all smiling, their faces bearing a prank‑style grin.

"We know you really dislike the Lakers, so we had to do something for you. The Lakers' game tapes have pretty much accompanied us every night lately." Leonard also revealed the answer.

"Actually, my hammer‑scissors‑paper with DeAndre was a deliberate trick on you. We had planned it from the start. My starting lineup makes Dwight Howard even more uncomfortable." Mili Xiqi said.

"We know the Lakers' defensive system inside out; Durant at least has a point, Coach Brown really hasn't updated his tactical thinking." Hamilton said.

Fan Xi glanced around; it turned out everyone was working silently, waiting for the Lakers' arrival.

They knew the grudge between Fan Xi and the Lakers, and they used this method to help Fan Xi.

Fan Xi was deeply moved.

Fan Xi chuckled, then said: "Your efforts made me lose a chance to show off; you have no idea how many killer moves I've been practicing in private. Looking at it now, I can only use them against the Miami Heat or the Chicago Bulls."

The locker room was filled with laughter and cheer.

At the same time, the Lakers' locker room was filled with a grim, killing atmosphere.

They had many things they hadn't anticipated.

Previously they had focused their attention on Fan Xi, considering him their top opponent, after all the Lakers had been defeated by him last season.

So this season they made targeted reinforcements.

They hadn't completely overlooked the Clippers' role players, but they didn't expect these guys to be so formidable— they seemed completely renewed, and they always appeared in the Lakers' defensive gaps.

How strong is Leonard's one‑on‑one ability? To be frank, it's at an elite level, just a bit shy of All‑Star caliber.

How strong is Rubio's playmaking ability? Strong, but his offensive level is very poor.

How is Mili Xiqi's ability? He has strengths on both offense and defense, but also weaknesses; yet tonight he was waving his long sleeves in the paint, making Howard suffer greatly.

Nowitzki was originally thought to be past his peak, after all his regular‑season stats were only 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds, and though his postseason numbers rose slightly, his form had been up and down in the first two rounds. But tonight, playing against the Lakers, he inexplicably took off, mixing various strategies and delivering precise long‑range strikes.

This caused the Clippers to form a main line, and with Fan Xi's off‑ball movement stirring the defense.

"Otherwise, let's switch defenses—let Chris guard Jake, and I'll take the wing," Kobe suggested.

Larry Brown was not a coach who simply went along with others; his past clashes with Iverson stemmed from both insisting on their own views, and in the end Iverson still yielded to him.

But now, Larry Brown can only nod.

When a stubborn, academically‑inclined coach starts accepting the players' suggestions and readily makes changes,

then it can only mean one thing: he is beginning to lack confidence.

The authority he has built is shaking on the verge of collapse.

This is certainly not what Larry Brown hoped for.

Because everyone seated in this room is already in the same boat, and they don't want to be capsized at this moment.

Although Jean Bas did not appear in the arena, her palms were sweating in the office.

She was very afraid.

Fear surrounded her.

Although this is only the first game, and although it is the Clippers' home court, she worries that the first half is merely the beginning of a collapse.

Over these two seasons, she has already endured too many unexpected defeats, and she suffers a severe stress reaction.

…