Chapter 568

The hardware facilities of the Miami Meihangzhongxin qiuguan are top‑notch in the NBA, and the whole arena is very modern. In the distant shots filmed by the TNT channel, it looks like a brilliant pearl adorning the city, embellishing the entire Miami night.

In fact, over the past four years, the Heat have also been Miami's pride. Miami is a tourist city, its perfect climate attracting visitors from around the world. Besides the Heat, the city has no other sports club worth mentioning.

With Le Bu Lang Zhang Si joining in the summer, they formed the super Three Giants. The Heat have become the most watched team in the Eastern, giving fans a great sense of pride; people enjoy the Heat being the city's pride.

But for Heat fans, over the past four years, behind the glory lies a terrifying shadow that cannot be erased.

That is Fan Xi.

Over the past three years, the Heat have topped the Eastern each time, but each time Fan Xi has kicked them down on the Finals stage.

This year, this terrifying demon even crossed over to New York, leading a well‑known weak team to violently charge into the Eastern Finals, and it seems he doesn't even want to give the Heat an Eastern championship.

This makes Miami fans very angry and aggrieved.

But they do not lash out.

They endure.

Three consecutive years of defeat have taught them to hide their true emotions before the demon; they do not want to offend that terrifying demon. They have tried to see what consequences offending the demon would bring.

Although the media say Miami Heat's strength far surpasses that of the Knicks, the Heat need not be nervous.

But they still do not want to do that.

Because, over the past three years, the media have often said the same thing, claiming Miami Heat had victory in hand, but what was the result?

Once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of the well rope.

The Heat are no longer experiencing a snake bite for the first time.

They fear Jieke Fan more than anyone else.

When Fan Xi takes the court, the TNT camera pans around the interior of the Meihangzhongxin qiuguan, and over twenty thousand fans are wearing the Heat's white cheer attire. They look neat and mighty, like a group of warriors sleeping on their weapons, awaiting dawn.

However, when Fan Xi appears, the boos from the neat, uniform crowd of over twenty thousand fans are small and scattered.

Not as obvious as the boos for Si Ta De Mai Er.

This lets Ken Ni Shi Mi Si show off on TV: 'Did you see that? This is dominance. In today's league, besides Fan Xi, who else can make the Miami Meihangzhongxin qiuguan fall silent?'

Ba Ke Li did not respond to Shi Mi Si's words.

Tonight's special commentator is Mo Shu Shi Yue Han Sun.

Mo Shu Shi Yue Han Sun and Fan Xi have a long history. When Fan Xi first played for the Lakers, Mo Shu Shi Yue Han Sun did not particularly like him; he favored Bai Na Mu more. Moreover, he did not like Lakers fans comparing Fan Xi to him, thinking he was far stronger than Fan Xi and not on the same level. But after watching the Finals live, he came to greatly like and support Fan Xi.

However, Jean Bas sent Fan Xi away, and no matter how he tried to stop it, it was useless. At that time, his position was Lakers general manager.

Therefore, some people think he did it out of jealousy toward Fan Xi, because Fan Xi stole his spotlight, which is why he traded Fan Xi.

This left Mo Shu Shi Yue Han Sun unable to defend himself despite many attempts.

Later he resigned from his job with the Lakers and cleared out his Lakers shares.

Afterward, whenever he spoke of Fan Xi, he only had praise, and he never showed any dissatisfaction toward Fan Xi again.

He even said that Fan Xi is the Jordan of this era.

This is already the limit of what Mo Shu Shi Yue Han Sun can express. After all, for Michael Jordan's 'comeback,' he had earned meritorious service; when interviewed, he knelt on the ground and said: 'Please, Michael, come back.'

Then came Michael Jordan's triumphant return, and the legendary story of him winning another three‑peat dynasty.

"First, these people are basketball fans; second, they are Heat fans. Facing Jieke Fan, such an era‑defining superstar, it is normal for them not to boo." Mo Shu Shi Yue Han Sun said on TV.

Afterward, TNT commentator Er Yue Han Sun asked three analysts to predict tonight's game result.

Cha Er Si Ba Ke Li said he supports the Heat because this is the Heat's home court, and moreover the Heat Three Giants have no reason to let the Knicks take a win. He feels the Heat's strength exceeds the Knicks' by more than a little bit.

Ken Ni Shi Mi Si certainly supports the New York Knicks.

Ba Ke Li asked him, 'Why support the Knicks? The comparison of the two teams' lineups is now so obvious.'

Shi Mi Si said: 'Because Fan Xi is wearing a Knicks jersey, not a Heat jersey.'

That answer is quite blunt, and moreover idealistic.

However, in the bets concerning Fan Xi, Ken Ni Shi Mi Si has never come up empty.

Mo Shu Shi Yue Han Sun is a master of balancing both sides; on one hand he praises the Miami Heat as unprecedentedly strong, a historically level superpowerful team; on the other hand he says Jieke Fan means infinite possibilities, and Jieke Fan has the instinct to create miracles.

Most importantly, he reiterated his view: 'When Jie Ke was still a Lakers player, I saw him in person in the Finals against the Heat. At that time I discovered he is a born leader, a born assassin, a born warrior. His control of fighting spirit is unprecedented, and his knack for catching opponents' weak points is historically rare. And why do I call him a born warrior…'

"Because he has an extraordinary combat instinct. He not only excels at creating favorable conditions for himself, but once he seizes an opponent's loophole, he can make the opponent lose excessive blood in an instant. That's how the Heat lost to the Lakers back then."

"At that time, Jie Ke's strength was still far less than it is today."

"Of course, at that time James was also far weaker than today's James."

Mo Shu Shi Yue Han Sun said: 'So, what I want to express is that this is destined to be an unprecedented match. No matter the final result, you will see a splendid and varied showdown.'

Beep!

The whistle blew.

The game began.

The starting lineup for the Miami Heat is: De Hui En Wade, Lei A Lun, Le Bu Lang Zhang Si, Ke Li Si Bo Shen, Ma Ku Si Kan Bi.

They did not use Qian Mo Si as the starting point guard, because James, who has fully returned to the three position this season, is already the team's point forward.

The Heat naturally made this change in order to use Wade to guard Fan Xi.

The Knicks' starting lineup is: Fan Xi, Ba Li Ya Ni, Yue Shi Shi Mi Si, Kai Wen Jia Nei Te, Tai Sen Qian De Le.

Except for Fan Xi, everyone in this lineup is over 2.03 meters tall.

Moreover, there are shooters, slashers, movers, and helpers.

Strictly speaking, this is the Knicks' best half‑court lineup.

Players from both sides walk onto the court, and none are strangers to each other.

Kai Wen Jia Nei Te and Lei A Lun won a championship together in Boston, but later they parted on bad terms; to this day Kai Wen Jia Nei Te cannot forgive Lei A Lun for joining the Heat. Before the game started, he still spoke sarcastically: 'Maybe I'll get my second championship faster than some people, and the feeling of winning a championship without betraying my teammates is definitely great.'

But Lei A Lun obviously will not respond to Kai Wen Jia Nei Te's sarcasm.

Because their personalities are worlds apart: Lei A Lun is quiet, self‑disciplined, elegant, and gentlemanly; Kai Wen Jia Nei Te is purely a street‑rough type—while others sip coffee and play piano, he raps nie nie nie.

He can't even fill a pot with urine.

Furthermore, Baliany and Ke Li Si Bo Shen were once teammates with the Duolunduo team; back then Baliany assisted Ke Li Si Bo Shen, and their best achievement was making the playoffs. After that, there was nothing else.

Their relationship was still okay; they exchanged greetings.

Tyson Chandler also greeted Wade, James, and Ke Li Si Bo Shen; they were Olympic teammates.

Fan Xi also shook hands with James, exchanging a few pleasantries.

James said: "I watched your series against the Bulls; it was very good."

"I also watched your game against the Pacers; you hid your strength again."

Fan Xi smiled and patted James's shoulder.

Then the two teams began the jump ball.

Tyson Chandler is much younger than Marcus Camby; Camby entered the league in the year, he is the year.

Although they are both veterans, their years of experience differ.

Chandler passed the basketball to Fan Xi.

Fan Xi dribbled the ball past half court.

The Heat's defense was very tight; the over 20,000 fans on site also shouted in unison: "Defense! Defense! Defense!"

Fan Xi, at the top of the arc, faced the defense of his old opponent Wade; he made a probing change of direction, Wade was cautious and fully focused.

When Wade's weight shifted left, Fan Xi went the opposite way, following his weight to change direction left… indeed Wade just feinted… between the real and the fake, Fan Xi got him.

Fan Xi knows Wade well.

He got past the Flash, entered inside the three-point line; Ke Li Si Bo Shen moved laterally at the free-throw line trying to block, Fan Xi quickly passed the ball to Garnett.

Ke Li Si Bo Shen hurried to help Garnett.

But Fan Xi had already accelerated into the paint.

At the same time, James also shook off Josh Smith on the other side and charged into the paint.

As expected, Garnett lofted the ball toward the basket; Fan Xi and James almost simultaneously leapt in the paint.

But Fan Xi had a better position and grabbed the ball.

He glided in the air, avoided James's block, and passed the ball backhand to the trailing Smith.

Smith grabbed the ball, leapt up violently… Boom!

The whole play was airborne.

After James landed, there was a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

Fan Xi smiled and told him: "LeBron, being able to anticipate my intent is already impressive. But I can anticipate your anticipation! Just as I anticipated Wade's anticipation."

This is a classic trash talk line.

James's face was calm, but his heart was pounding.

He and Wade spent a lot of time studying Fan Xi; they both thought they knew him well enough.

But who would have thought that on the first play they'd get shut down… Fan Xi actually could anticipate their anticipation.

He was half-believing, half-doubting.

In fact, Fan Xi does not have that ability.

But Fan Xi has another ability.

Regarding Wade's defense, he uses a "go with the flow" approach; if Wade truly commits to defending left, he will smoothly spin away, his drives always leave ample room.

Dealing with James… to be honest, he almost had this brilliant pick-and-roll ruined by James.

But Fan Xi's in-game reaction ability is too strong, plus his gliding hang time is better than James's. Moreover, Josh Smith's follow-up was too timely and precise, so he completed this seemingly seamless setup.

If any link had faltered, this offense would have been destroyed by the James-Wei duo; Wade had already come up from behind to follow.

Fan Xi was breaking out in a cold sweat inside.

Yet he still had to talk trash down to James from above, to undermine his will.

Trash talk is also part of the game.

After switching sides, James went one-on-one against Smith.

Their builds are not too different, but James's technique, skill, and basketball IQ completely outclass Smith; not every explosively athletic three can become James, and James's athleticism is not just ordinary explosiveness.

James got past Josh Smith before Marcus Camby could set a screen, and despite Tyson Chandler's help defense, he took an awkward, ungainly Euro Step and scored a layup.

This is a classic example of James finishing a one-on-one wing play.

After switching sides again, Fan Xi still drove from the top of the arc into the paint, but this time he finished with a floater himself.

Afterwards, the Miami Heat executed a play: Wade and Ke Li Si Bo Shen set a screen, passed to Ray Allen, who used James's screen to score.

On the Knicks' side, Fan Xi continued to go one-on-one and score.

From the start, the two sides displayed completely different game dynamics.

The Heat are like a well-drilled unit, extremely cohesive and quick to get into rhythm.

The Knicks are just Fan Xi going one-on-one, using his individual ability to take on the entire Miami defense; occasionally they'll do some point-to-point coordination with teammates.

In terms of overall style, the Heat play more freely.

The Knicks play cautiously.

This matches the pre-game positioning of both teams.

The Heat are somewhat stronger; the Knicks are weaker and can only rely on Fan Xi, so they play conservatively.

The Heat aren't in a rush to build a lead; they keep the team running smoothly. Having faced Fan Xi for years, they know that once he finds a gap, he'll tear the opponent apart along it.

Thus, the first quarter score remained relatively tight.

The Heat team: leading points.

The Heat's scoring points are relatively balanced.

On the Knicks side, Fan Xi scored points and also had an assist, which is equivalent to all offense being created by him alone.

"If they keep playing like this, the Knicks will become more and more conservative, Jieke Fan will get an extremely high score, but his team will lose the game," said Charles Barkley.

Beside, Kenny Smith laughed and asked Barkley, "Are you watching Jie Ke play basketball for the first day? How could he possibly be a frog jumping into warm water, slowly boiled to death by the Heat?"

Magic Johnson also said, he doesn't believe the game will continue at this pace. He believes Fan Xi will definitely make a change, and he is convinced Fan Xi will make a radical change.

In his view, only by making the situation chaotic can the Knicks have a chance to win.

"Even I know this principle; doesn't Jieke Fan understand?"

Magic Johnson even made fun of himself.

He is the former all-time number one point guard; only Fan Xi could make him so self‑deprecating.

…