Chapter 631

James suffered another setback in Cleveland, losing again to Fan Xi; he and his Miami Heat ultimately didn't create a miracle, they merely created their own team record, winning 75 games and losing 7.

But Fan Xi led the Kuaisuan to create a record again, the Kuaisuan only lost 6 games, refreshing the historical record it created.

The Kuaisuan, once a dilapidated Los Angeles team, instantly gained deep foundations; they are now a superpower that has twice left the 72‑win Bulls behind.

Moreover, this was also established by Fan Xi and a group of rookie contracts.

Saying this out loud, other teams would feel awful.

With the final game settled, the NBA regular season's various standings and honor lists were also released.

Los Angeles Kuaisuan tops the league, naturally first in the West; the West's second place is the San Antonio Spurs with 67 wins and 15 losses—a record that would have been league‑leading in previous years, but this year is just too competitive. West third is the Golden State Warriors, who surged in the final games, with 63 wins and 19 losses. West fourth is the Oklahoma City Thunder with 60 wins and 22 losses, and the Houston Rockets with 57 wins and 25 losses. Next come the Dallas Mavericks with 53 wins and 29 losses. The Memphis Grizzlies have 51 wins and 31 losses, and the Portland Trail Blazers have 50 wins and 32 losses.

This record is not just competitive—it's outright crazy.

The ninth‑place Pelicans earned 48 wins, missing the playoffs.

By contrast, the fifth‑place team in the East has only 47 wins.

In the East, the strong teams are at the top, while the middle begins to tank.

It's still the West that has deep foundations.

The East's standings are: Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Duolunduo Raptors, Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics.

Such a matchup leaves the West with some suspense, while the East is almost a foregone conclusion.

In personal honors, Fan Xi won the season scoring title with an unprecedented 40.7 points; after Chris Paul joined the Spurs, his assist numbers steadily rose, benefiting from Fan Xi being this season's primary scoring guard, so he reclaimed the assist crown with an average of 10.5 assists per game. The rebounding king is Xiao Qiudan, who remains fierce beside Nowitzki and Ge Lifen, averaging 14.7 rebounds to outmuscle rebound specialists like Huo Huade. The steals king is Lúnnàdé, averaging 2.9, earning the deadly epithet of the entanglement crown. The three‑point king is Sītífēn Kùlǐ…

It's worth noting that this season also had two players averaging a triple‑double.

One is Le Bu Lang Zhang Si.

One is Yuē jī qī.

James, although he has lost to Fan Xi every year for the past five years, his strength improves annually; previously his back‑to‑the‑basket moves couldn't even budge a small guard, now he possesses fairly strong finishing ability, although his posture remains unsightly.

But Americans also don't care much about aesthetics; they believe in brute force creating miracles, as long as the muscles are strong enough.

Yuē jī qī has over an eighty percent chance of winning Rookie of the Year; the remaining twenty percent goes to Zuǐ gē, while Weíjīnsī's stats are also eye‑catching, making him another NBA superstar prospect, and he even gave James a click in the regular season's final game. Full of drama.

Such as the All‑First, All‑Second, All‑Third teams and the All‑Defensive Team also came out in succession.

Fan Xi unanimously dominated the All‑Defensive Team and the All‑First Team.

If he also wins the regular‑season MVP, he will become this year's biggest winner of the regular season.

At the same time, the playoffs have already begun.

The Kuaisuan's first‑round opponent is the Portland Trail Blazers.

Portland has been rebuilding since the turn of the century, having tried Darius Miles, Zach Randolph, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden… and other exceptionally talented young people.

But they all failed. Either it was due to attitude problems—Zhākè Lánduófū and Mài'ěrsī at that time made Portland a place of foul air, and the media called it the Portland Prison Team.

Later, the good kids Luó yī and Ā'ěrdélìqí arrived, plus the so‑called once‑in‑fifty‑years super‑center Géléigé Àodēng… people originally thought they could make a breakthrough.

However, the result was a mess.

Luó yī got injured, Àodēng was written off.

They were left with the nickname 'Portland Vet Team'.

Now only Ā'ěrdélìqí remains fighting; he helps the young Lìlādé rebuild from the ruins and makes the playoffs again.

Lìlādé is a decent player; he respects Fan Xi, but in front of other stars he is arrogant and undisciplined, and after a buzzer‑beater he has an ostentatious celebration.

The first game was held at the Los Angeles Staples Center.

The Trail Blazers' starting lineup is: Màikēlēmǔ, Lìlādé, Bātǔmǔ, Ā'ěrdélìqí, Luóbīn Luòpèsī.

This lineup isn't weak; placed in the East it could also click‑click slaughter opponents, making it a breeze to reach the upper half.

But in the West they can only rank eighth, then they face a thorough thrashing from Fan Xi and the Kuaisuan.

The Clippers took charge from the tip‑off; the starting Yuē jī qī positioned outside, and with the first ball he opened the game with a three‑pointer.

Bùlǔkè Luòpèsī's twin brother Luóbīn Luòpèsī works hard, his defense is solid. But he thinks he can stop Yuē jī qī, and the difference is not just a little.

Lúbǐ'ào and Fan Xi also place decent limits on the Trail Blazers' backcourt duo; they can't freely unleash their shooting ability.

They are somewhat like a poor‑man's version of Kùlǐ and Tang Pu Sen. Of course, their impact driving into the paint is definitely stronger than that of Kùlǐ and Tang Pu Sen.

But these are useless against Fan Xi.

Fan Xi and Lúnnàdé, both All‑Defensive Team members, Lúbǐ'ào's defense is also up to par, and at power forward there is also the elite defender Huaiti Seda.

The Trail Blazers struggled.

They were very passive.

The first game ended. 108:98.

The Kuaisuan won without shedding blood.

They rotated lineups in practice.

The second game was also an easy win.

The Trail Blazers had no complaints about the loss; they were simply not strong enough.

The third game, at the Rose Garden Arena, the Portland Trail Blazers, relying on Ā'ěrdélìqí and Lìlādé's hot shooting, won back a game.

The whistle in this game was also seen as biased; whenever the Kuaisuan gained momentum, they would get foul trouble.

But after the game, looking at the free‑throw counts, the Kuaisuan actually attempted more free throws than the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers' fans also felt wronged.

In the fourth game, Fan Xi exploded offensively, giving the Trail Blazers no chance.

Back at home for the fifth game, it was even easier to knock the Trail Blazers out, giving them no breathing room.

The Kuaisuan advanced to the next round with a 4‑1 series win.

Their next opponent will be decided between the Rockets and the Thunder.

The Rockets and the Thunder can be considered a new‑generation rivalry; when the Thunder traded James Hādēng to the Rockets back then, they never imagined Hādēng would become this fierce, or that he would come back to cause them so much trouble.

On the night the Kuaisuan advanced, they completed the Pivotal Game, and the Rockets, holding home court, won the victory.

However, the Thunder then tied the sixth game, entering the seventh.

At this moment, something that made Fan Xi extremely disgusted happened.

Actually, during the third game of the first playoff round, Fan Xi had already sensed it.

Because the NBA's Rookie of the Year vote result was Jokić.

This was not surprising.

But the voting media all said that although Wiggins was also excellent, scored higher, and was the team's absolute core, Jokić's triple-double was too impressive, being the only rookie-season triple-double in NBA history.

Jokić lifted the Rookie of the Year trophy.

But the unexpected thing was… when these reporters cast their final votes, James received more first-place votes, making him the media-selected MVP of the 2014-2015 regular season.

This was a major upset.

James himself might not have expected it, because the prevailing sentiment at the time was: whoever won more regular-season games would get the regular-season MVP.

Fan Xi led the Kuaisuan to break the league's all-time regular-season win record, and also won the unprecedented 40+ scoring title.

In the end, he surprisingly did not win the regular-season MVP?

For a moment, media worldwide questioned… the fairness of this award.

Arenas publicly fired off.

""The media has destroyed the MVP's fairness and authority; it will no longer be that sacred trophy in people's hearts. LeBron is good, but I can't think of anything that could suppress Jie Ke.""

""If Jie Ke's skin were black, I think none of these problems would exist. Everyone would clearly and fairly call him the basketball god. But now….""

""Your bias toward LeBron will harm him. Anyone who receives an honor they don't deserve will invite disaster.""

Arenas, full of firepower: ""The league should step forward and give an explanation.""

But the league did not.

They claimed to accept the media's vote results, saying it was completely fair, just, and open, and that everyone has their own opinion.

This is really damn!

Fan Xi did not make any statements in the media.

He knows that these American media now want to prop James back up, with many backers pulling strings behind the scenes, including Nike… Nike is being defeated everywhere by Fan-X, although they hold shares in the Fan-X brand, after all it is Fan Xi's family business.

This year is considered the best chance for the Heat and James to win the championship, so they want James to take both the regular-season MVP and the Finals MVP.

This is their ideal situation.

Once James simultaneously wins the two most valuable MVPs of a single season, they even dare to use the media to hype him as the league's number one.

One championship surpasses all.

But will Fan Xi let them have their wish?

Fan Xi's silence is the most terrifying; everyone knows how strong his vengeful heart is on the court. When he feels wronged, he never swallows it, but instead pours scalding water on others' faces.

…

The Houston Rockets ended up laughing last, which was beyond everyone's expectation.

Everyone originally thought that Durant and Westbrook joining forces would easily take care of the third brother, but the Thunder still encountered injury problems, with Ibaka and Perkins' successive injuries giving the Rockets an opportunity.

But this opportunity is not so wonderful, because they have to face Fan Xi's Kuaisuan.

Last season, when Fan Xi was with the Knicks, he slaughtered the Rockets like that, and it's still fresh in memory.

Now, the script is being replayed.

The Rockets' strength is definitely not as strong as last season.

The Kuaisuan's strength is definitely stronger than last season's Knicks.

Such a comparison doesn't even need to control variables; everyone in the world knows what the result will be.

The Rockets cleanly lost two games in Los Angeles.

But in the third game, in Houston, they won one back. It's still the familiar whistle problem, of course, Harden and Gordon's superlative performances being the main cause.

But whenever the Kuaisuan started to catch up and gain momentum, they were whistled, preventing the Kuaisuan from forming a continuous scoring wave.

The Rockets rewrote the score to 1:2.

They saw a glimmer of hope.

But they were soon destroyed by the Kuaisuan in the fourth game, then returning to Los Angeles, where the Kuaisuan easily defeated the Rockets.

Still 4:1.

Gentleman sweep.

The Kuaisuan advanced to the Western Finals.

Their opponents were still battling: the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs.

After acquiring Paul this year, the Spurs became more experienced, and the Warriors also pushed their three-point tactic to the extreme.

The two teams went back and forth, falling into a stalemate.

However, Fan Xi had prepared to meet the Warriors.

Because the Warriors' stamina is better, dragging it out favors them more.

Now the situation is like this.

Fan Xi originally predicted that the two teams were also very likely to go to a Game Seven.

But Green's elbow struck just below the abdomen of the Stone Buddha, directly injuring Duncan, so he couldn't play in the second half of the sixth game.

The Warriors eliminated the Spurs in the sixth game, advancing to the Western Finals.

The smooth advancement of the Golden State Warriors led many media to start hype.

The Warriors are one of the few teams this season that have defeated the Kuaisuan, and their three-point offense can always pierce the Kuaisuan's defense.

Moreover, the Warriors' interior is not weak; Bogut, Green, and Pachulia are all players who make opponents feel fearful… they are the new-era Lambier.

No one wants to have their career ruined by an ordinary layup.

Most importantly, their perimeter and interior pairing is extremely excellent.

They also have an invisible privilege.

That is, when their interior players set screens for the perimeter players… the head referee sometimes overlooks their moving screens.

Imagine, Curry's shooting is already extremely formidable, his ability to hit shots in tight spaces is first in NBA history, adding moving screens, how to defend?

Fan Xi is also worried about this problem.

If we say the previous Heat and Blazers posed a threat value of at most 50, on a percentage scale.

Then the Warriors have reached at least 85.

Fan Xi is considering the possibility of failure.

"Western needs a new king, Jieke Fan has ruled the West for too many years, it's time to dethrone him." ESPN commentator Mai Ke Bu Lin said firmly on his TV show: "The Warriors are the ones who will overturn the Fan dynasty."

"I look forward to seeing the Warriors and Heat's peak showdown; I've lost desire for the fifth matchup between Jieke Fan and James." Another Bill Simmons also said that.

They are doing everything to create a feeling that the Warriors should win.

This season, North American sports media's siege against Fan Xi has reached an unprecedented level.

They don't want Fan Xi to continue advancing, because if Fan Xi keeps winning championships, he would truly become the greatest NBA player of all time.

This is something they cannot tolerate.

They are even more narrow-minded and protectionist than imagined.

……