Chapter 576: Can still continue to lure

Garnett can certainly afford the golden basketball shoes.

He is still the highest-paid player in NBA history; before the new labor agreement takes effect, no one can shake his position.

According to his resurgent form this year, he is very likely to get another mid-level contract. His performance in the playoffs, especially against the Bulls, and against the Heat in the first game… his tank still has oil, and it's lubricating oil.

The Knicks won the first game, and he deserves the credit; without him containing Ke Li Si Bo Shen, without him roaming the paint, the Knicks' defense would collapse.

So Fan Xi hopes Garnett will continue to perform in the next game; he promises that if Garnett helps him win the championship, he will give Garnett a permanent ticket to the Clippers.

Although it has no material value compared to pure gold basketball shoes.

But it carries another layer of meaning.

Fan Xi hopes to be long‑term good friends with him.

Before this, Fan Xi and Garnett had some knots in their hearts; now they are all untied.

…

In this game, CCTV's broadcast team came to the scene; Fan Xi accepted an interview before the game. The CCTV host asked him whether he had confidence to win this game and create a miracle.

Fan Xi said… I will strive not to let the nation's fans down.

Fan Xi, in front of the homeland media, always speaks frankly without beating around the bush.

But this does not mean he will speak frankly in front of Anne Hathaway.

Although in the US, no woman would righteously ask a man for a red envelope. But this does not prevent Anne Hathaway from coming over to ask Fan Xi to empty his magazine.

Anne Hathaway's remark is… Megan Fox has it, I want it too.

Fan Xi can only say, there's no such thing; I haven't emptied it.

Their tug‑of‑war took place in the hotel; Fan Xi squeezed out an hour from his busy schedule.

The main point is a quick battle, quick decision.

This left his spirit more fulfilled; he returned to the Meihangzhongxin Sports Arena in a stronger posture.

…

The Meihangzhongxin Sports Arena also unfurled the slogan 'back‑to‑the‑wall battle'; the Heat's marketing team not only placed cheer‑support T‑shirts on every seat, but also gave out a red headband.

As the game was about to start, the nationwide broadcast swept over the stands; the whole venue was a sea of red and white, a magnificent sight.

When over twenty thousand people in the venue shouted the slogan in unison, the momentum was even more grand.

Ordinary teams seeing such a scene would probably feel weak‑kneed.

But although the Knicks are teased as an old‑timers club, what are the characteristics of an old‑timers club?

Rich in experience.

They've seen every big scene; this home‑court aura won't make them nervous, and they're no raw rookies.

When Anne Hathaway stood up as Fan Xi entered the court, she blew him a kiss in full view of everyone. Fan Xi responded with a reaction that made the TV audience scream; he reached out, snatched her blown kiss from the air, and tucked it into his heart.

This display of affection left the whole venue utterly unprepared.

"Hey, when did Anne Hathaway become a Fan Xi fan girl?" Charles Barkley screamed on TV; he had once claimed Hathaway was his only goddess, and he had stood up to defend her when she was teased all over the net, but now Hathaway actually blew a kiss to Fan Xi.

"Good heavens, why is this happening?" Barkley couldn't believe it; he shouted loudly, saying: "I can't forgive my eyes; they need to be washed, they need to have their memories altered."

Kenny beside him comforted him: "Charles, you should have known by now that Hollywood starlets never slip through the net. Just like LeBron, he has never defeated Fan Xi in any battle for first place."

Bill Walton sitting beside him chuckled.

Bill Walton is a legendary star who often appears on the commentator's bench. He is a superstar of an earlier generation than Barkley, active in the seventies and eighties. Of course, because of his glass‑man attribute, his activity level is not high either.

But he has won a championship; he is an NBA big star.

Chinese fans are familiar with him, mostly because he once gave pointers to rookie Yao Ming when he just entered the league.

Moreover, he is the father of Lakers player Luke Walton.

When he worked as a commentator at ESN, he didn't like Fan Xi. At that time Fan Xi was a Los Angeles player, while he had once played for the Celtics.

But now he often expresses his fondness for Fan Xi.

Moreover, he has long emphasized that Fan Xi is the league's number one.

"Charles, with your dignity, even if you stand before Hathaway and eloquently express your love, she will not favor you at all. You should focus your attention on the game."

Bill Walton said.

As he was speaking, the game officially began.

The Miami Heat adjusted their lineup tonight: Qianmosi, Wei De, James, Ke Li Si Bo Shen, Martin.

They swapped their jersey numbers.

The Knicks also changed their starting lineup.

Fan Xi, Hamilton, Prince, Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler.

The Knicks swapped in the Pistons' veteran Larry Brown at the two‑three positions, hoping to boost defense; although these two are past their prime, their output remains stable when they have ample stamina at the start.

Beep!

The whistle blew.

Tyson Chandler won the jump ball against Martin.

The game began.

The Heat adopted man‑to‑man defense, indeed following James's suggestion: they wanted to wear down the opponent and fight a war of attrition.

The man guarding Fan Xi was Wade.

Qianmosi was deemed unable to pose a defensive threat to Fan Xi.

Actually, Wade couldn't either.

Wade's defense was very active, but his peak has passed.

Although he is of a generation, he is almost the oldest. Furthermore, he has suffered serious injuries; his knee tormented him since college. Now, his meniscus has been deemed by doctors to be almost gone.

He will undoubtedly become the first retiree of the Super Platinum Generation.

But he hopes to win another championship before retiring.

Although four years ago, his wish was to win five consecutive championships and dominate the nb.

He believed that the overlap of his and James's peaks would make the entire league grovel at his feet. But unfortunately, a flash of lightning at Staples that season gave rise to Super Fan Xi.

So far they haven't won any, and now even the Eastern championship is in jeopardy.

Fan Xi got past James and drove inside one step.

Then he stepped back and chose a three-pointer for his first shot.

Because he felt great, although he didn't fire photon bullets in the hotel, that exhilaration still lingered in his cerebral cortex.

Swish!

Sure enough, the three-pointer swished through the net.

Fan Xi's touch kicked in earlier than ever.

「You're done for!!! 」

Garnett shouted loudly from the sidelines, he was very excited, he made faces at the Heat players, he taunted the opponents.

Afterwards, James followed the set rhythm, he drove into the paint, drew defense then passed to Bosh, who followed up and scored a layup.

「The Knicks cannot rely on Stoudemire for defense, keeping him in position is harder than getting him to eat three burgers in one bite. 」

Barkley gave a scathing satire on TV.

He seemed to want to vent the excitement of Hathaway's flying kiss onto every commentator.

He seemed off.

After changing sides, Fan Xi still was one-on-one with Wei De at the top of the arc.

When Fan Xi was dribbling, he was careful, but when Stoudemire came up, he subconsciously lost focus a bit.

Fan Xi seized it, jumped up and launched a three-pointer with a quick one-stage jump shot.

Swish!

Hit.

Second three-pointer.

And it was a completely different way.

Fan Xi's touch was fully on.

JR Smith joined Garnett's lineup, the two of them together made faces at the Heat players and shouted in unison: "「You're done for! 」"

They are experts at psyche warfare; the two of them are worth more than ten thousand troops.

The head referee reminded them to pay attention, but they didn't.

Fan Xi's two three-pointers indeed brought enormous pressure to the Meihangzhongxin qiuguan; they must face this. They all clearly know how terrifying it is when Fan Xi's touch is on.

They still remember Fan Xi's merciless slaughter in the final game of last season's finals.

These painful memories made the arena's atmosphere gloomy.

Likewise, the Heat players also bore tremendous pressure.

But James withstood the pressure, he strictly executed the set tactic, he got past Prince's defense, he drove into the paint, collided with Tyson Chandler and scored.

Back and forth.

Both sides entered a tug-of-war.

Because Fan Xi's touch beyond the three-point line, the Heat's defense was pulled out a lot, giving Prince and Hamilton many opportunities.

They are outstanding system players; their mid-range work is trustworthy.

So, although Miami under James's leadership put up perfect offense and defense, they still failed to take the lead in the first quarter.

And the Knicks have been using this lineup all along.

Even though the Heat kept draining Tyson Chandler's stamina, Fan Xi appeared confident about this slightly older defensive stalwart. Or perhaps he was confident about something else.

「Miami is implementing an average exploitation principle, they invest heavy defense on the Knicks' other players. This is a good defensive approach. These Knicks players cannot withstand a war of attrition, like Prince and Hamilton, they will definitely not play going forward. 」

During the halftime break, Earl Johnson said this on TV.

「But so what? 」

Kenny Smith said dismissively: "「You should say that Prince and Hamilton actually made it through the first quarter and didn't let the team fall behind. 」"

First quarter, the two teams' score was:

Tied.

Returning to the bench, Fan Xi's face was somewhat solemn.

On one hand he didn't expect Hamilton and Prince to play so well; on the other hand he didn't expect the Heat to be so all-out on both offense and defense.

Do they not worry about their stamina, or have they already prepared to battle us seven games?

Fan Xi asked Tyson Chandler: "「How do you feel? 」"

Tyson Chandler honestly replied: "「A bit tired. 」"

Then Fan Xi turned his gaze to Kevin Garnett.

Garnett immediately puffed out his chest, a posture ready to fight at any moment.

But Fan Xi just smiled at him and said: "「Let's take another risk. Ben, your Pistons brothers have performed so well; in the second quarter you don't plan to do anything, and I heard that in Cleveland you didn't get respect, so you don't want to show off. 」"

Ben Wallace quickly took off his coat, saying no problem.

Larry Brown also chuckled; the Knicks' second-quarter lineup is: Fan Xi, Barriani, Smith, Stoudemire, Ben Wallace.

The Knicks again prepared a brand-new lineup for the second quarter.

Everyone is used to it.

In any game Fan Xi participates in, lineup changes are faster than a playlist.

Fan Xi is someone who can adapt to any tactic and command any tactic.

Fighting him, you must be mentally prepared.

Spoelstra believes this is an opportunity; he tells James to let James adapt on the fly.

Wei De has already left the court to rest; Xiaoen Badi'er and Ray Allen follow James onto the court, and Bosh and Camby are also there.

James decides to appropriately increase his speed; he knows Ben Wallace is no longer the all-around speed-and-power super defensive center he once was. Back when he was in Cleveland, he was already getting on in years.

James brings the ball to the frontcourt; he has Camby come out to set a screen for him.

Then he launches an inward drive; when Ben Wallace comes over to help defend, he boldly makes a low-center-of-gravity change-of-direction breakthrough.

But what he didn't expect was… he got past him.

But the basketball was slapped away by Ben Wallace.

This is simply unbelievable.

Ben Wallace actually stole the ball from James straight on, and the whole arena erupted.

The four people on the TNT commentary desk also all held their own heads.

They shouted, 'Wang Defa!'

Kenny says: 'My goodness, this is definitely one of the best shots of the night; Ben Wallace actually stole the ball from James. LeBron, this is too embarrassing—he's facing a man who has retired once.'

Originally, Ben Wallace appearing on the Eastern Conference finals stage already shocked many people; yet in the very first possession, he actually stole the ball from James.

Fan Xi gets the ball, Fan Xi launches an attack, and it is Xiaoen Badi'er who is defending Fan Xi.

Fan Xi feints a shot at the top of the arc, quickly passes the ball to the cutting corner player Bariyani, who is wide open at this moment; he shoots quickly… swish!

Three-pointer made.

The Miami Heat got off to a bad start.

The opening first possession was already controlled by the Knicks.

And what weighs on James's mind is that Ben Wallace actually said to him: 'Mr. James, all encounters are reunions after a long separation. Long time no see, LeBron!'

Ben Wallace's face bore a smile.

But James did not feel friendliness.

He quickly turned back to half-court, having adjusted his breathing before receiving the ball.

He knows he must stay calm, not lose his head, not act on impulse.

So he continues to play tactically, he patiently works the play, and he does not, because of the steal, become angry and rush to regain face.

Such a James is the most dangerous.

Because he is the commander, a commander must never act on impulse.

He enters the paint from the wing; when facing Ben Wallace's help defense again, he passes to Martin, who dunks.

Ben Wallace cannot turn in time; his lack of agility is a big problem.

Larry Brown gestures from the sideline, hoping to substitute Ben Wallace; Ben Wallace's tactical ability has completely fallen short of high-level competition.

That steal just now was an accident.

This defense is the true level.

Fan Xi shook his head; Fan Xi thinks he can continue to lure the Heat a bit more.

He is confident!