Chapter 638: Asking in advance, can he surpass Jordan?

The timeout ended.

The basketball was passed directly to Le Bu Lang Zhang Si.

James controlled the pace, he did not raise the offensive tempo. As Fan Xi had guessed, he was killing time.

Fan Xi stood in front of him.

He stared intently at James, waiting for his move.

This was a top-tier showdown.

Not only was Fan Xi fully focused, but the over twenty thousand fans in the arena also raised their attention to the highest; this was the final move of the two historic swordsmen in the peak showdown.

Who would land the killing blow?

"Can Jie Ke defend against this Le Bu Lang Zhang Si shot?"

Qiao Jin nuo a in front of the TV asked Rosa.

In his mind, James was a demon, an unstoppable force. In the just-concluded Eastern finals, James used his unmatched personal power to tear through the entire Bulls defense. Qiao Jin nuo a, as the Bulls' last line of defense, knew all too well how strong James was.

"Jie Ke has never lost to Le Bu Lang Zhang Si. Le Bu Lang Zhang Si faces greater mental pressure." Derek Rose said: "In a duel of experts, mindset is crucial."

As they spoke, Giannis Antetokounmpo suddenly surged from the side, charging straight at James.

This little monster had long limbs and astonishing athleticism.

As he came at him with claws bared, James unconsciously diverted his attention.

At the same moment, Fan Xi surged forward; James instinctively moved the ball behind his back, intending to block Fan Xi, but discovered Fan Xi hadn't come for a steal at all.

The Greek little monster that had come lunging also retreated.

It felt like a dream.

But three seconds had passed.

James was now sideways, unable to see the countdown.

This was exactly the effect Fan Xi wanted.

James steeled himself, launched a fast break, and charged at Fan Xi's flank like a thunderbolt.

Fan Xi quickly retreated and began close-quarters moves.

James took two steps forward, then stopped abruptly.

Next, he made an unimaginable move, completing a direction change, his body sharply switching from right to left.

James could, while moving at high speed, make such a swift turn with his massive frame, showing how much he has honed his body in recent years.

He is indeed one of the hardest-working players in the league today, and also one of those who prioritize physical training the most.

After James shifted laterally, he suddenly halted, then quickly retreated… Fan Xi hurried to pursue… but was a step late, or rather James had dragged out an extra half-step.

Afterwards, James shot… Fan Xi leapt up to block.

Still fell short by a hair.

If not for that extra half-step, Fan Xi's defensive coverage would have been better, although it still wouldn't have been a block.

Swish!

The shot went in.

James scored with 11 seconds left in the game… two points.

That extra step still landed on the three-point line.

Kuaisuan did not call a timeout.

The basketball was quickly passed to Fan Xi.

Fan Xi dribbled toward the frontcourt, James shadowing him step for step in tight defense.

He dared not let up at all.

The situation now: Kuaisuan only needs to hit a three-pointer to win.

He must stop Fan Xi's final attack.

Fan Xi never stopped, racing with incredible speed to the three-point line.

Then he slightly paused his steps, eating up time.

When only seven seconds remained, he suddenly drove inward.

James hadn't expected it, thinking Fan Xi was going for a three.

He hurriedly moved inward.

But Fan Xi stopped abruptly, stepped back, and James quickly closed in.

At that moment, Fan Xi made an unimaginable move, passing the ball to Lun Na De at the top of the three-point arc.

Then he sprinted to outside the arc, Lun Na De handed the ball back to Fan Xi in a quick hand-off, and then he blocked James's pursuit.

Fan Xi released quickly… the ball left his hand, flying over Lun Na De's head as the whistle blew.

No one expected Fan Xi to make such a play at the last moment… in everyone's view, it was an unnecessary gilding of the lily.

But Fan Xi did it anyway.

And his tactical intent succeeded.

After a second or so… swish!

The ball swished through the net.

His strategic goal was also achieved.

The Staples Center erupted instantly, a wave of cheers: MVP! MVP! MVP!

Neat and uniform, the cheers surged like a tide!

Fan Xi once again clinched the game against James.

Just as he had done countless times before, in the crucial moment he sealed James's fate with a single blow.

James seemed to have sufficient experience; he was very calm, walking familiarly toward the player tunnel.

The MVP cheers from the whole arena had no effect on him. Although he knows that besides the Kuaisuan fans screaming for Fan Xi's clutch shot, there is also the mocking media giving their MVP votes to him.

But James's mindset is now very peaceful.

After losing many times, one naturally consoles oneself.

Furthermore, he didn't feel that this game was played poorly; being able to push Fan Xi to the final second on the Kuaisuan home court is itself a success.

Moreover, if his final shot hadn't stepped on the line, it would be overtime now.

The outcome of overtime is still unknown.

James is very satisfied with his performance tonight.

In the player tunnel he also told his teammates this: amid the arena's cheers, he told his teammates in a firm voice, 'Lift your heads. We haven't lost the game; we have already seen the limit of the Kuaisuan team tonight. What comes next is our continual improvement and their continual decline!'

James is full of revolutionary romantic sentiment.

He grows braver with each setback.

…

Fan Xi received the fans' worship on the court; he is Los Angeles' greatest basketball hero, he is the Staples Center's greatest guardian. Moreover, letting the Kuaisuan become the orthodox of this arena, he made the Lakers team stand to the side.

When Fan Xi rushed onto the technical bench.

The arena fans shouted in unison: 'Fan! Fan! Fan!'

No player has ever made the Kuaisuan fans worship so fervently, be so convinced, and feel such pride!

Fan Xi has already become their irreplaceable basketball totem.

"This is a tough game."

Fan Xi told TNT's sideline reporter in a subsequent interview: "The Heat are stronger than in previous years, Le Bu Lang Zhang Si is stronger than in previous years. But they have encountered someone stronger than me, and also the Kuaisuan. I can tell you that in every upcoming game, we will be stronger than tonight."

Fan Xi said: "Our young players are growing too fast in such a game. I am proud of our young players."

"Moreover, I don't like the media saying I alone am taking on the Miami four giants. I want to tell you that the Kuaisuan also has a gathering of superstars; we are not weaker than them at any position. If we compare superstars, we have more than they do."

Fan Xi said: "Perhaps you now think my words are biased, but time will prove everything."

Fan Xi spoke with earnest conviction.

He strongly believes in his players.

Spoelstra also said this after the game.

Although he is the Heat's head coach, when talking about this game he said: "I envy the Kuaisuan players' talent—Jokić, Leonard, Antetokounmpo…they are all naturally gifted beings."

"So, this round of the series will be very tough to play. Such clutch moments tonight will continue to happen; I believe the Heat will laugh last, whether it's a six-game battle or a seven-game showdown."

Spoelstra said this seriously.

He appeared full of confidence.

Wade also appeared full of confidence; at the press conference he said, "I don't feel we lost the game, nor do I feel we will lose confidence because of it. On the contrary, we are gaining confidence, we are quickly gathering greater strength—see you at the second game."

Both sides believe the situation will further escalate, and both sides have strong confidence in themselves.

For fans and media, this is an extremely exciting existence.

Especially for the media, the livelier this game is, the more topics it generates.

It seems as if, after this game ends, the media's favorite topic is the one-point difference between the Kuaisuan and the Heat, and the one-point difference between Fan Xi and James.

They clearly calculated that Fan Xi and James differ in strength by one point.

Besides Fan Xi and James, the other Kuaisuan players' strength equals that of the other Miami players.

This is as simple as a math problem gets, because all the variables have been controlled.

…

After the game ended, Fan Xi remained busy; as his children grew, he inevitably had to attend family activities, even during the finals period.

Being a father to one son did not exhaust Fan Xi, but being a father to five sons suddenly increased the difficulty greatly.

Fan Xi sometimes also wants to consult James, asking how he had two sons while maintaining high-intensity training without distraction.

In this matter, even the black mamba couldn't achieve it.

Since he gave birth to Jiékèsùn, his thoughts have been scattered. Perhaps it's because he so wanted a son; finally getting his wish feels wonderful.

Kobe Bryant brought his son to watch the second game of the Kuaisuan versus Heat showdown.

Jiékèsùn Bryant also participated in the Kuaisuan team's warm-up before the game, wearing Fan Xi's jersey. Although the game officially began, Kobe forcibly ordered him to take off Fan Xi's jersey and put on the Lakers' number 24.

This is a matter of principle; Kobe Bryant is very rigorous.

As the Lakers' franchise player, how could he let his own son wear a Kuaisuan jersey and appear at the Kuaisuan finals?

The second game was just a replay of the first.

Both sides fought extremely closely; from the first quarter to the fourth, the scores were interlocking and alternatingly increasing.

Moreover, they also reached the clutch stage.

But this time, James finally won.

At the crucial moment he assisted Wade to hit a three-pointer.

Then Fan Xi seemed to have gotten James's script; his buzzer-beater stepped on the three-point line.

The ball went in, but the score still differed by one point.

The Heat got the away victory they wished for.

This is of great significance to the Heat; Spoelstra was even moved to tears, embracing James on the sideline. They finally won an important game.

The media also gave them extensive hype.

ESPN almost directly awarded 'Thus we include: English' to James.

James was also quite excited.

When accepting the sideline reporter's interview, he kept repeating: "Yes, we won, we won, we won!"

He fulfilled the promise he made at Miami Airport, and he truly took an away win.

He and his teammates played to the utmost in this game.

ESPN's media prediction: if this trend continues, the Los Angeles Kuaisuan can at most win one more game; the Miami Heat will eliminate the Kuaisuan with a 4-2 total score.

Even if the Kuaisuan have a chance to make the total score 3-3, in the Game 7 showdown, the Miami Heat will still come out on top.

This is ESPN's consistent stance.

Other media are actually much the same.

The Heat this season are really too strong; they even swept the Kuaisuan in the regular season, and these are their advantages.

Howard's addition fills their last shortcoming, and everyone has sufficient reason to believe they will come out on top.

"If the Miami Heat win the championship, Le Bu Lang Zhang Si will surpass Jieke Fan to become the league's first person, which is beyond doubt. Because he is both the regular-season MVP and a First Team All-Defense selection, and he also won a championship of great value, I dare say he will definitely become the Finals MVP."

After the game, McBlin said with conviction: "This one championship can outweigh Jieke Fan's four championships."

"One championship surpasses Jieke, two championships surpass Jordan!"

This is McBlin's appraisal.

This statement sounds especially harsh, but in the United States, surprisingly many media and fans agree with it.

There's no way; they have really been driven to desperation by Fan Xi, and can only openly act like scoundrels.

Fan Xi's unprecedented three-team four-peat is considered by them inferior to Jordan's two three-peats, because Jordan has more championships.

Now, James hasn't even won a championship yet, but they are already eager to claim that one championship surpasses Jieke.

This is too double-standard.

Famously double-standard.

Fan Xi paid no heed to these rumors; after the game he even went to accept media interviews. Facing the concerned Los Angeles Media, he smiled: "What's the big deal? We lost a home game, we'll just go to Miami and take back a home win. We've already prepared for a long battle, and our young guys are fully confident about it."

Fan Xi is full of optimism. He also praised James's performance as shaking ancient and modern, the most perfect James show he has ever seen.

As for his self-evaluation, he humbly said: "I can only give myself 60 points, barely passing. If I finally hit a three-pointer, dragging the game into overtime, perhaps I would give myself a perfect score."

Then, Fan Xi talked about his historical standing.

Now the media generally rank him second in history; although this is only his fifth season, it cannot be helped. Besides Jordan, Fan Xi can steadily overwhelm any other historical great star.

"Historical standing has never been set in stone. Now, I only want to ask everyone one question: if I win a personal five-peat this season, can I surpass Michael Jordan?"

Fan Xi asked a blunt question.

He threw the question to the media and to the fans.

Although everyone now thinks the Kuaisuan are at a disadvantage.

But what if?

What if I win a five-peat, can I surpass Jordan!!

This is a heads-up; don't say I didn't warn you.

…