Chapter 583: Fan Xi's Joy, He Imagined It

Madison Garden Arena is brimming with passion tonight, probably because everyone who steps inside has paid a steep price for it… How could a couple of shouted, immersive cheers not be worth the ticket price?

When Fan Xi entered, the entire arena was echoing "mv! mv! mv!"

Almost everyone used the loudest voice in history to welcome Fan Xi, welcoming this super basketball hero who lifted the Knicks from the mire back to the summit.

New Yorkers are proud; as the world's largest city, they believe they should be number one in every respect. Yet for a long time the Knicks broke their hearts, even becoming a punchline for casual conversation. Many New York fans dislike discussing basketball outside, especially with those damned Los Angeles fans.

But now it's different—Jie Ke has arrived.

In the regular season he already proved he has the strength to claim the top spot in history; he and the Knicks repeatedly became the focus. By the playoffs, everyone originally thought the Knicks were mostly just a supporting act this season, and the first‑round upset had already fulfilled its purpose.

Who would have thought that in the second round, under Fan Xi's leadership, the Knicks would continue to create miracles, actually bringing down the formidable Chicago Bulls.

Now they have already secured two road victories in Miami.

This is a miracle, a surprise that Knicks fans never saw coming.

It should be noted that since Le Bu Lang Zhang Si joined the Heat, Miami has firmly controlled the Eastern, winning the Eastern championship three years in a row, and their dominance is unshakable.

Before the series, people thought it impossible for Fan Xi to defeat the Bulls using the Knicks' lineup.

Now, the person kicked to the edge of a cliff is James.

If the Knicks truly beat the Heat, many commentators believe the Knicks will become an unstoppable champion. Because the two Western teams have little Finals experience, and they did not perform well in the regular season against the Knicks and Fan Xi.

Now, all the pressure falls on James.

When he steps onto the court, Knicks fans also unleash a frenzy of boos at him.

At this moment, Knicks fans hope James and his Heat lose quickly.

They will not give James any friendly looks.

The current situation is worlds apart from a year ago.

Back then, the Knicks stared longingly at James, even cautiously flattering him, hoping he would one day come to Madison Garden Arena to give the Knicks a hand.

But now, with Jie Ke, who still thinks of LeBron?

"Tonight is not a favorable situation for Le Bu Lang Zhang Si; he must face many things he does not want to face. For example, if he loses the game, the Knicks take the lead. He will have reached an irrecoverable point; all circumstances prove that no one has ever managed a comeback when trailing in the Eastern Finals," Er Yuehanxun said on TV before the game began.

This is the mainstream view of TNT and the basketball commentary circle: if James descends like a deity and snatches a win in this game, the series remains uncertain. But if James fails, the Knicks reaching a match point could likely sweep the Heat in one fell swoop.

Then, this sweep will deliver a devastating blow to the Three Giants.

Their peak coalition will be treated as a joke, a futile joke.

James' career will be redefined; he will shift from a super‑historic star expected to dominate the league to an ordinary historic star. The gap between the two is huge.

Moreover, given James' background, he may need to seek a psychologist's help to accept such a change.

However, when James appeared on TV tonight, he was very calm; as usual he tossed magnesium powder on the sideline, high‑fived each teammate, and gathered together to shout slogans.

He shows no sign of anything abnormal, except that Wei De is not by his side.

Miami losing Wei De is a disadvantage for the Heat cited in many pre‑game predictions; worth mentioning, Qiao Yuehanxun's condition has recovered well, and he is expected to contribute in Game Four.

The media believes the Knicks and Heat's strengths are inversely related here, which benefits the Knicks' chance of victory.

Beep!

The whistle blows, the game begins.

Tonight's Knicks starting lineup is relatively conservative: Fan Xi, JR Smith, Bariani, Stadd Meyer, Tyson Chandler.

The Heat's starting lineup is: Caimos, Ray Allen, James, Bosh, Kanbi.

Chandler beat Kanbi in the jump ball; Fan Xi received the ball and pushed forward, encountering Caimos' tangled defense beyond the three‑point line.

Fan Xi and Stadd Meyer execute a pick‑and‑roll.

Fan Xi passed to Stadd Meyer at the free‑throw line; Stadd Meyer released a jump shot, and at that instant James surged forward, leapt to block, his fierce momentum nearly swatted Stadd Meyer's shot away.

Even without achieving that effect, it distorted Stadd Meyer's shooting form, causing the ball's arc to be very high.

Bang!

The ball hits the front rim and bounces high.

Kanbi quickly pins Chandler.

Bosh darts forward to grab the rebound.

This is their classic coordination for the back‑court rebound.

But just as Bosh is about to secure the ball, a gust of wind rushes past him; Fan Xi slides through the air like a pale‑blue lightning, snatches the ball above Bosh's fingertips, and forcefully slams it into the hoop… Boom!

A dunk scores.

The arena erupts.

Although the first offensive attempt stumbled, with Stadd Meyer failing to make the shot, Fan Xi made up for it. Using his front‑court rebounding sense and dunk, he perfectly capped the Knicks' opening attack.

It's a good omen.

Fan Xi likes this omen.

The over twenty‑thousand fans at Madison Garden Arena also like it; they all believe this wonderful start will let the team defeat the Heat in one surge and then sweep them out of the tournament.

"You don't need to fear, Amare," Fan Xi told Stadd Meyer while defending, saying, "He can't block you; as long as you're resolute enough, he'll draw a foul."

Fan Xi hopes to give Stadd Meyer some confidence.

Stadd Meyer has just been crowned the league's scoring king, yet now he remains the most vulnerable

time; because of consecutive major injuries his physical quality no longer gives him the confidence of his younger days, he fears something bad happening. So his actions are more conservative, including his regular shooting.

This is a mental fragility. Every player develops it after a major injury.

Thus, Fan Xi only encourages him and has never criticized him.

Back to the other side for another battle.

Le Bu Lang Zhang Si easily tears through the defense from the wing; Bariani cannot mount effective defense against James, whose fierce drive into the paint culminates in a Stop-and-Go Jump Shot to complete the attack.

His touch is very smooth, indicating a huge threat.

Fan Xi exchanged a glance with Lari Brown on the sideline; he worries about the massive killing power James forms on the wing.

James completed the ultimate evolution in the previous game; theoretically, he has entered the same realm as Fan Xi, Jordan… His influence on the game is extremely strong.

Now Wade is absent, Fan Xi worries that James will, like his former self, drive the whole Miami offense by leading with points.

James has this ability, and he has a ready-made assignment to copy.

Larry Brown had Prince warm up on the sidelines, hoping Prince would go in for a stint. Although Bariani could provide a strong dragging effect on offense, his restriction of James on defense was very slight.

Looking back, Fan Xi orchestrated the overall offense, he and Tyson Chandler ran a pick-and-roll, passed to JR Smith, Smith cut into the paint for a sneak attack, and scored a layup.

The Knicks played with very tactical planning, just like the previous Bulls.

But now the Heat are playing like the previous Knicks.

They launched an offense with James as a strong scoring threat, James entered an unstoppable mode.

He is just copying Fan Xi's homework.

Looking at the current league, only he can copy Fan Xi's homework, because only they are at the same level in the whole league.

Kenney Smith played five minutes in the first quarter, then he said: 'Why do I feel tonight's LeBron James is like a bigger Jack? What's the difference between his play and Jack's previous play?'

'The difference is that he is 2.03 meters tall, or even higher.' Magician Johnson sat smiling on the commentator's bench, he said: 'LeBron James is smart; he knows when to do what. Dwyane Wade's injury is not entirely a bad thing for him. He can finally act without restraint, go all out. He finally obtained the vast expanse like Jie Ke Fan.'

'But didn't he get the same in Cleveland before?' Kenney Smith complained.

'No, it's different now. LeBron is a player of another level. In terms of strength and his influence on the game, he and Jack are of the same tier.' Magician Johnson said.

The game continued.

James tonight released his power to the fullest; with his lead, the Heat matched the Knicks evenly.

The Heat changed their way of playing. If before they were parallel release, now they are series release.

On the contrary, tonight the Knicks played somewhat in parallel.

Fan Xi actively formed synergy with teammates, basing it on overall tactics, not on individual ability as the team's driving force.

The first quarter ended.

The score of both sides was:.

The two teams tied.

Fan Xi only had points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks in the first quarter; compared to his usual monument-like stats, it was quite ordinary.

James, however, got points, assists, rebounds, blocks in the first quarter; he is the Heat's tactic, all of the Heat's offense is started by him, and most of it is finished by him.

He displayed the ability to dominate the game, letting the world know that Fan Xi hasn't pulled far ahead; they remain superstars of the same tier.

"LeBron, are you sure you can defeat me using my way?"

When Fan Xi left the court in the first quarter, he specifically sought out James to chat.

James replied: 'When I defeat you, you won't say this is your way anymore.'

Fan Xi smiled, showing eight teeth, and said: 'If you think that way, you will lose this game. There's a Chinese saying: Those who learn from me survive; those who imitate me die.'

"I hope you understand."

This is Fan Xi's sincere advice.

James was half-believing, half-doubting; he remained skeptical of anything Fan Xi said on the court. In his mind, Fan Xi was the world's most cunning fox, every word a trap.

After talking with James, Fan Xi returned to the bench.

To be honest, he was a bit anxious, not as optimistic as he claimed.

James's ability is very strong, and compared to Fan Xi he also has his own advantages; of course Fan Xi also has his advantages.

But they have both reached this level.

James went all out; he can definitely affect the game's outcome.

He is not just some random cat or dog lashing out in anger.

Larry Brown arranged the player lineup according to the original plan: Steve Nash, Fan Xi, Josh Smith, Kevin Garnett, Aldridge.

And when the second quarter whistle blew, the Heat also had a surprising winning move.

After the previous game ended, JR Smith criticized Spoelstra's level as insufficient.

Now Spoelstra put on a peculiar lineup: LeBron James, Shawn Battier, Haslem, Chris Bosh, Chris Andersen.

A five-forward lineup.

Many years ago, the Heat's godfather Pat Riley once predicted that the future NBA court would be dominated by five forwards around 2.03 meters tall.

Now the Heat's overall height has surpassed that.

"This is 'when poor, then change.' The Heat dare to make such a big change; I take off my hat to them, Spoelstra indeed has some guts."

Magician Johnson praised on TV: 'I increasingly feel the current Heat resemble the style when Fan Xi led the team. Could it be that they also believe only magic can defeat magic?'

The magician said thus.

Meanwhile, Kenney Smith quickly said: 'This tactic was invented by Jack; how could he possibly lack a solution? The Heat wanting to use Jack's weapons to take down Jack is basically a pipe dream.'

Barkley disagreed, saying: 'Why not? Jack is very strong, but his teammates aren't necessarily strong.'

Barkley's words resonated with Michael Jordan in front of the TV.

They rarely agree on basketball matters; their only basketball consensus exists in the animated film *Space Jam*.

But this time, Michael Jordan thinks the Heat have a great chance.

Because Fan Xi is indeed strong, but his teammates may not be that strong. Fan Xi has the ability to understand changes; his teammates may not.

Indeed, when LeBron James brought the ball to the frontcourt, before the Knicks finished switching defenses, James had already crushed Nash's defense, like a powerful pickup truck overturning a go-kart.

James entered the paint; Garnett rushed over to help defend, so he passed the ball to Bosh, who, through Haslem's screen, got an open shot… swish!

Made it.

This style of play is very effective.

James's mouth curled into a smile.

He looked toward Fan Xi, feeling Fan Xi's happiness.