Chapter 564

Miami Heat in Indiana were like entering a no-man's land; their offense and defense were like a meat grinder, in the frantic pace, the Pacers had no ability to resist at all.

James and Wei De's coordination was near perfect; Ray Allen stood beside them, further stretching the perimeter to the extreme, while Ke Li Si Bo Shen inside moved smoothly with his jump shot; the former center duo of Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin, in relay against Hibbert for the Heat, although their physical talent had slightly declined, they did not let the Heat's interior be breached.

Fan Xi watched the first half and clearly saw that the Heat were better than last year.

She said morning is the best time to get pregnant, because the body's pH level is optimal.

Fan Xi followed her theory, just as Anne Hathaway said that the time when the sun is about to set is best for getting pregnant… Fan Xi accepted it all.

He is a Party B who can't suffer anything; just follow Party A's intent to finish the construction.

At noon, Fan Xi watched the third game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Kuaisuan in the living room.

The Rockets eliminated the Dallas Mavericks, also one of Texas' top three, in the first round; as the regular-season first place, they advanced to the second round. Their opponent was the Los Angeles Kuaisuan, who were fourth in the regular season; the Kuaisuan defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, fifth in the regular season, 4-2, winning the city derby again.

The Kuaisuan have been recognized as Los Angeles' top team; their fan base is growing stronger, and fan activity has already surpassed that of the traditional powerhouse Los Angeles Lakers.

Because they have eliminated the Lakers for three consecutive seasons, and in the previous two seasons they also won the championship.

This season's Houston Rockets are a copy of last season's Los Angeles Lakers; two of the Houston Three Giants are from the Lakers' roster.

Before the semifinals began, people thought the regular-season first-place Rockets would easily eliminate the Kuaisuan.

In the first game, they indeed did so. The Three Giants all performed well, and they defeated the Kuaisuan 98-81.

In the second home game, they also won.

However, in this game, the shooting percentage of the offense-renowned Houston Three Giants was abysmal; they went cold. The final score was 83-81.

If Harden's final layup had been called for a traveling violation, they would have gone into overtime, and once in overtime, the Kuaisuan would surely win.

When Fan Xi turned on the TV, the Kuaisuan, back at their Staples Center home court, had already built an 8-point lead; this was the latter half of the second quarter.

The score was 42-34.

Rubio closely guarded Paul, Leonard death‑gripped Harden, Antetokounmpo and Mili Xiqi suppressed Howard… while Jordan Jr. was responsible for cleaning up the paint.

This lineup is a 'nightmare' for Western powerhouses; right from the start it's pure defense, giving old fans like Fan Xi the utmost enjoyment.

Fan Xi loves watching the Kuaisuan play this style; the whole team exudes a 'If I can't make my shots, neither can you' reckless spirit.

By comparison, the Rockets play somewhat loosely. Despite Chris Paul's all‑out effort to control the tempo, their style still feels unfocused.

This is D'Antoni's coaching style.

He is extreme offense.

Mike Brown this season has refined defense to the point of hand‑to‑hand combat.

This is the contest between the ultimate spear and the ultimate shield.

At this moment, Fan Xi couldn't help recalling what Denzel Washington told him the last time in Los Angeles. Denzel predicted that this year's Finals would be the Knicks versus the Kuaisuan.

Fan Xi seriously thought about it at the time, but then he didn't take it to heart.

But after watching this game, he felt it was not impossible.

If the Kuaisuan get past the Rockets, their Western Finals opponent will be chosen from the Spurs and the Thunder.

Whether it's the Spurs or the Thunder, the Kuaisuan have a certain chance.

And once the Kuaisuan reach the Finals, if the Knicks also make it, the scene would be unimaginably beautiful. To Fan Xi, it would be a win either way.

Fan Xi finished watching this 'boring' game.

The Kuaisuan defeated the Rockets 83-75.

When Fan Xi was about to eat, he heard James Harden's complaint on TV. He said: "I can't believe I just played a basketball game; I think it's bringing football rules onto the court. Nobody would enjoy watching this kind of game!"

Harden then went on to complain while lifting his jersey, revealing the claw marks on his body.

He said there wasn't a single good spot of flesh on his whole body.

Harden saying that, Fan Xi was not surprised.

Harden is not a player who likes confrontation, despite being strong. He has invented many bizarre moves; his arm‑hooking to draw fouls is practically a league menace.

Moreover, he is famous for the step‑back layup, the step‑back three, and face‑up post‑up one‑on‑one…

He is a scoring inventor.

Fan Xi never doubts that he will become the league's scoring champion.

But Fan Xi believes that if he continues down this road, he will surely not win a championship—unless the league's rules are drastically changed.

After turning off the TV, Fan Xi called the team's videographer, asking him to prepare this year's Heat video material for him and providing some of his opinions.

The editor will send the prepared footage to Fan Xi.

Every team has someone responsible for this; that's why the NBA is so professional. Every frame of action on the court, every tactical detail, will be dug up and studied by opponents.

Likewise, Fan Xi's video material will be repeatedly observed by opponents.

However, observing Fan Xi is of little use, because he is a changeable player; his tactics lack continuity and are random.

And the most important thing is, no one knows what Fan Xi's true strength is, and no one knows whether there are any new weapons hidden in his arsenal.

Even if Fan Xi scored 101 points in a single game, even if Fan Xi achieved an unprecedented super quintuple-double in a single game, people still believed he was hiding his strength. Because Fan Xi had 'suddenly erupted' in too many important games.

This is probably the reason the Heat are so unwilling to face Fan Xi in the Eastern Finals.

If they lose to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference, they won't be able to hold onto their Eastern championship.

…

The fourth game between the Knicks and the Bulls also arrived as scheduled.

This game was not much different from the third game, except that people saw Tai Lei Si Wu Fu Te's figure on the sidelines, as well as the Kardashian family.

Tai Lei had just finished her tour, she would have a vacation, she told Fan Xi on the phone that she would accompany him in his games over the coming period.

Jenna came with the Kardashian family this time.

In recent years, the Kardashian family has been very prosperous, their net worth has been skyrocketing, wealth continually rising. They are no longer the little lackeys who used to carry bags for Hilton.

Jenna will undoubtedly become the highest-earning person in the modeling industry this year; she has also launched her own beauty brand, she holds a pivotal fashion status on the internet, and her followers on social media top the celebrity rankings.

She is no longer the little girl who couldn't come up with much money when Fan Xi bought the Kuaisuan.

This is also why she recently wanted to buy shares in the Kuaisuan.

She even wanted to become the Kuaisuan's second-largest shareholder.

But Fan Xi told her it wasn't necessary. Given the Kuaisuan's current market value, the amount she'd have to spend is no small sum.

Just look at Kanye West grinning ear to ear to see how much he made on that investment; moreover, compared to other returns, this money is real cash, hard currency.

Recently, Kanye West and Fan Xi's collaboration in the fashion world has been harvesting leeks everywhere; his yeezy line for the Fan-x Brand is leading global fashion trends, and they've made a killing.

The Fan-x Brand is also about to announce its IPO; once it enters the Nasdaq, Fan Xi's wealth will grow exponentially. Now, more and more people acknowledge Fan-x as the world's second-largest sports fashion brand.

Fan Xi isn't particularly interested in these business matters, so Kanye West's pre-game chatter didn't excite him.

"Brother, I suggest you win five more championships before retiring—you're already a super‑rich guy with no rival in the NBA. Even Le Bu Lang Zhang Si trails you." Kanye West gave Fan Xi this advice very seriously.

Fan Xi smiled; he has no retirement plans.

Even though he knows he'd still have endless money if he retired, that's not what Fan Xi wants.

Fan Xi wants to erect a monument.

After completely defeating Jordan to become the number one basketball player, he wants to build his own basketball monument—one that no later comer would dare challenge or surpass.

This is Fan Xi's pursuit.

…

The fourth game is still being broadcast on ESPN; they still support the Bulls, still believe the Bulls will regain home-court advantage tonight and win the Pivotal Game when they return to Chicago.

Mai Ke Bu Lin and Jeff Van Gundy are practically blind.

They're like gamblers who've gone red‑eyed from losses, having lost three straight sure‑bets; now they're borrowing money to keep placing those bets, convinced they won't be this unlucky.

A double will eventually come.

The Bulls will surely win.

However, the game is not gambling.

The game has a luck component, but it's small.

Moreover, the person in the world best at grabbing luck on the court is not on the Bulls' side but standing opposite them.

At the opening tip, Tyson Chandler won the jump ball over Joakim Noah.

Fan Xi grabbed the rebound and flung a long pass to JR Smith coming downcourt; the debuting JR Smith opened the scoring with a stop‑and‑go jump shot.

JR Smith scored the team's first point.

Then he shouted, "I told you earlier, the Bulls are done for."

He was excited.

After that, he didn't score again.

Because he was over the top, he drew hatred and offended every Bulls player. In Chicago, he said he would at least bring back a win. After the game, he said he was already thinking about the next opponent.

As soon as the game started, he was there shouting things like "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Such a person will mock to the extreme.

Who could avoid targeting him?

The Bulls' players' anger toward him surged; they devoted more defensive energy to him than to containing Fan Xi.

What level is JR Smith at? Being targeted like that, where could he possibly escape?

He kept clanking shots.

But Larry Brown didn't bench him, and his teammates thought it was fine to keep him on the court.

Because he attracted the hate and defensive focus, everyone else could relax.

This is conservation of energy.

There's no such thing as peaceful times—it's just someone stirring up hatred.

Fan Xi felt the game was relatively easy for him tonight.

Fan Xi's relative ease meant the other teammates were also quite relaxed.

The Bulls tried a dynamic offensive strategy tonight, starting Deng Liwei to boost their shooting.

At first they played well, even leading by six points.

But after entering the second quarter, the Knicks gradually overtook the lead.

In the third quarter, both sides' strategies stalled.

In the fourth quarter, Fan Xi took over the game.

After missing six three‑pointers in the first three quarters, Fan Xi hit two in a row, his outside touch heated up, the court seemed to widen, and his drives became sharper because defenders had to slide out.

And when his drives became sharp, his passes turned even more 'untraceable,' so the Knicks scored from multiple spots.

Getting into the paint also became easier for Fan Xi.

This is the high‑impact integration of pass, cut, and shoot.

The Bulls lost.

They lost by five points.

Judging by the flow, the two sides traded blows, the play was intensely hot, and their abilities were roughly equal.

But Rosa and Thibodeau both clearly see that this five‑point gap is a hard‑to‑cross chasm.

Worth noting, Rosa scored 37 points tonight.

Fan Xi topped him by one point with 38, plus 16 assists, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Still a triple‑double.

The series score is now 3‑1.

The Pivotal Game that ESPN had hoped for won't happen.

The Knicks have clinched series point.

Madison Square Garden arena was extremely excited; they realized they finally had a chance to return to the Eastern Finals, the last time they played in the Eastern Finals they had to trace back to the Patrick Ewing era.

That was something from the last century. The 99-00 season.

That season, the Knicks first swept the Raptors 3-0 in the first round, then in the semifinals they defeated their rivals the Heat in a Game 7, after that they met the Pacers in the Eastern Finals, and ultimately lost to the Pacers led by Reggie Miller.

Since then, the Knicks have had no honor whatsoever; all that remains is a joke.

So Reggie Miller said on TV: "If this season the Knicks make it to the Finals and meet the Heat, then the fiercest rivalry of the 1990s will definitely push the Eastern Finals' ratings to unprecedented heights."

"It's worth mentioning that if the Heat make it to the Eastern Finals, the team they just defeated happens to be the Pacers. This is a cycle."

Reggie Miller said with feeling.

Just hearing these words already made Eastern fans wildly anticipate.

What a fateful cyclical battle!

Not only is it the cyclical fate of the last century, it is also the fateful showdown of the newest era between Fan Xi and the Three Giants.

…