Chapter 652

Fan Xi isn't afraid, Durant isn't afraid.

All members of the Kuaisuan aren't afraid.

Durant even kept typing furiously on the keyboard: 'I really worry for Popovich; if they don't win a game, how will they end up? I'm a young man, full of vigor, saying some arrogant words and getting slapped in the face doesn't matter. But he's a legendary coach who's been famous for years; if he gets slapped, the whole of San Antonio loses face.'

Look!

Durant snatches the bamboo shoots!

Bashing and praising nonstop, taking on a seventy-something-year-old geezer—no martial virtue!

Popovich found it tricky; when the media passed these words to him, this usually cool-humored disguising hotheaded old man exploded on the spot: XX! XXX! XX!

He said three sentences; the first was profanity, the second was profanity, the third was still profanity.

The fourth thing he said was: 'Kevin is still young; he needs to know the NBA is vast, he has a long future ahead, there's no need to ruin future relations over a single remark.'

Popovich's words were clear: 'Leave some wiggle room as a person, Durant; whether you believe it or not, I'll find a chance to fuck you later.'

Durant does his own thing; he doesn't care.

Today we have wine, today we get drunk.

Tomorrow, if not drunk, still clinging to Fan Xi's thigh.

Anyway, he's already prepared the work arrangements for next season: wherever Fan Xi goes, I'll go too. Best if it's New York—you go to New York, and I'll sign a one-year contract there.

Win another championship, then go join the Warriors.

It's basically defecting.

Defect once, and you'll curse.

Defect twice, and you'll get used to it.

Defect a third time, hehe, I'm already a legend. I'm a superstar bringing two conference championship trophies, coming to guide your team. When you all haven't won a championship yet, I've already dominated both conferences—twice!

Needless to say, Durant's basketball skills have surged this year, and his IQ is also clicking upward.

Isn't this career plan as strong as James's live broadcast bringing talent to the South Coast?

Moreover, Durant is smart—he knows to eat bite by bite, not to overstep. James just overreached and pulled a muscle. He hasn't even made a single stroke of his eight characters, yet he claims he'll win more than three-four-five-six championships, getting hooked on championship loans; this isn't about loans anymore, it's about professionally pulling strings… can it hold?

James can only change his number now, returning to Cleveland to sort out his tangled affairs.

Durant, however, is pleased as punch and later rises above.

So, people, personal struggle is certainly important, but the tide of the times is also crucial.

The first game between the Kuaisuan and the Spurs began amid the trash talk of Durant and Popovich.

Before the game started, Durant went to greet Popovich, saying: 'Old man, don't get too worked up; it's bad for your health. Losing a game is just a blink of an eye; we'll be quick, there's hardly any pain, it's like a mosquito bite.'

'But don't resist; if you put up a fierce fight, we'll be slower to push the needle, and it'll hurt a lot.'

Needless to say, Durant's trash talk is… getting more and more sophisticated.

Popovich really wanted to hit Durant with a hammer; such a despicable person, he's never seen anyone like him before—even Rodman was easier to deal with.

The Spurs have only made minor tweaks this season; their roster is actually pretty good.

Besides having the Stone Buddha, who has been running continuously in San Antonio for nearly twenty years, the Stone Buddha's junior from Wake Forest, Chris Paul, plus signing LaMarcus Aldridge from Portland, David West, Russell Butler, and Andre Miller—all important additions; though they're veterans, Popovich always has the magic to make old players feel young again. Moreover, Boris Diaw, Kevin Martin, Danny Green, and Mills are also strong forces.

The first game of the Western Conference semifinals was held at the Los Angeles Staples Center.

Duncan has again undergone weight gain this year, his weight fluctuating between loss and gain. This is his 'sacrifice' for Paul.

But even if Duncan gained weight, he still looks slim compared to the Serbian heavies.

When young, Duncan's strength was formidable, his physique astonishing—he once bore the nickname 'flying devil'. Yet he rarely shows off his physical gifts, winning through solid, heavy fundamentals.

Nowadays, he's older; his physical condition has actually deteriorated a lot.

He's two years older than Kobe. Most of his contemporaries among the stars have already retired.

He can be considered a living fossil of today's league.

At the start of the game, Jokić won the tip-off against him.

Then he moved to the top of the three-point arc, Fan Xi passed him the ball, and he made a pass from the three-point line.

Duncan had to expand his defense, because his partner Aldridge is not a strong defender.

Jokić quickly passed the ball to the corner, where Fan Xi shook off his defender, received the ball, and calmly sank a three-pointer.

Fan Xi, who won the three-point title this season, leaves no one daring to overlook defending him.

Chris Paul doggedly pursued but couldn't stop Durant's cross-screen.

Durant and Fan Xi—one is the league's strongest regular-season scorer, the other the greatest burst scorer in history—and they set cross-screens for each other.

What kind of deadly logic is this?

Popovich could only spread his hands—what else could he do?

The Spurs retreated to half-court and adopted a set offense; after Chris Paul arrived, the Spurs' offensive logic became much smoother, and Paul finally found a team where he could maximize his impact, with teammates eager to cooperate fully.

He and Duncan set a pick-and-roll; he drove to the free-throw line, drawing a defensive switch and passing to Aldridge.

Aldridge caught the ball and shot—here comes Giannis Antetokounmpo… he leaps, unfurling his astonishing wingspan… Pap!

He blocked Aldridge's shot.

This scene looks utterly absurd.

Because the Greek monster plays at the two-guard spot—he's a shooting guard—but his height appears even greater than Aldridge's.

Meanwhile, the Clippers' three is Kevin Durant, four is Capela, five is Jokić.

With this height lineup, who wouldn't be confused?

On the Spurs' side, the two is Manu Ginobili, the three is Danny Green—whom Chinese fans affectionately call 'Zhang Tielin'.

He's called 'Tielin' because his shooting clanks off the rim a lot.

But if a role player gets a nickname, it shows he's well known and thus earns high expectations.

So his 'iron' is like Schrödinger's cat—sometimes it brings delight, sometimes despair.

This is why he can only be a minimum-salary role player.

Du Lan Te is a superstar.

Du Lan Te came to the frontcourt, Fan Xi drove two steps and passed to him. He shot and scored!

Very simple.

Like cutting melons and vegetables.

This isn't to say the Spurs are that weak.

If the Spurs hadn't rested their players in the second half of the season, they would have had a chance to challenge for second in the West.

Looking across the whole league, who the hell dares to mess with Sheng An Dong Ni Ao's Bo Bo Wei Qi?

Du Lan Te dares?

What else is Du Lan Te not daring to do? He even dares to publicly state on social media that he wants Si Jia Li's bathwater.

The game just proceeded like that.

The Spurs could execute some exquisite classic combinations, with Deng Ken, Bo Luo, Di Ao, Jin Nuo Bi Li explaining what high-IQ basketball is. A Er De Li Qi and Da Wei Wei Si Te are also smart players.

But what good is that?

The Clippers' tactics are so simple even a high school coach could draw them. The offensive initiator is either Yue Ji Qi passing from the top of the three-point arc, or Fan Xi driving with the ball.

But you can't stop it.

The Spurs can't either.

Even Bo Bo Wei Qi racking his brains can't stop it.

After the first quarter, the Clippers led by 7 points.

After the second quarter, the Clippers led by 19 points.

After the third quarter, the Clippers led by 25 points.

After the fourth quarter, the Clippers won by 21 points.

It can't be said to be a complete domination; one can only say the Spurs also had some highlights, but it meant nothing.

"I don't disrespect Popovich; I'm just stating the facts. If the facts also make him angry, then I can only say it's his problem, not mine."

Kai Wen Du Lan Te explained his Death Note.

He emphatically emphasized: "My nickname is the Grim Reaper; I don't write a Death Note. Do I have to shoot dynamic light waves on Twitter? biu! biubiu!"

Du Lan Te also felt wronged.

Over there, Bo Bo Wei Qi was very angry; after coaching for so many years, Du Lan Te is the first to mess with his mentality like this.

"This kid turned bad after joining the Clippers; he wasn't like this before. He used to be humble, cautious, and polite, but now he's become arrogant, rude, and ostentatious. This is wrong." Bo Bo Wei Qi switched to a stern yet kind-hearted mode.

But these actions couldn't change Du Lan Te.

…

The result of the second game was similar to the previous one; Deng Ken had a flare-up in this game, and this former superstar who once dominated the league with the shark scored 27 points and 22 rebounds.

But they still lost the game.

Because Si Pang Zi opposite him scored 18 points, 12 assists, 12 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 steals.

The times are different.

Deng Ken could still score with his precise bank shots, and still create threats with his battles in the paint… but, the green mountains cannot block it, after all, the eastward flow goes on.

The Clippers led a new style of play.

Moreover, the Clippers' talent is too strong.

Even their starting lineup dispersed, they could still form five playoff-caliber strong teams.

The third game came to San Antonio, as the Spurs tried to give Kuaisuan some resistance.

They took the lead briefly in the first quarter, but only maintained it for one and a half minutes; the joy of San Antonio quickly dissipated. Afterwards came endless emptiness, their fans as if entering sage mode, sitting quietly there, wanting to criticize everything they saw.

But it just wouldn't get hard.

Kuaisuan struck straight at the heart, taking three straight victories.

At this point, Popovich instead calmed down.

He could not help but accept this fact.

The fourth game, attendance at the AT&T Center was a bit lower. Everyone knew this was the Spurs' final game of the season.

But what could be done?

Kuaisuan eliminated the Spurs.

The Spurs, a superpowerful team that had dominated the NBA for nearly 20 years, finally collapsed in a crash.

Durant said: "I didn't even give it my all."

His pretended act was so full it was about to overflow.

After the game, Duncan said he was considering retirement, but he wouldn't do a season-long farewell tour like Kobe.

That's not his style.

Given Duncan's demeanor, perhaps he would walk into Popovich's office on a cool afternoon and tell him: I want to end my career.

As the greatest forward in NBA history, Duncan already has no regrets.

But for the Spurs, this will be their biggest regret.

Popovich harshly criticized the Clippers' conduct after the game: "I'm not opposed to superteams, but a team like the Clippers, which is already a defending super champion, adding another superstar, is a serious blow to the foundations of the NBA."

"We might as well just hand the championship trophy directly to them."

Popovich said in anger: "We should set a rule to limit the formation of such superteams. What I mean is, a team that wins the championship cannot acquire another supermax player in the following season."

Popovich's standing in the martial world is very high.

His words sparked a strong reaction, with many people echoing them.

After all, the Kuaisuan this year have provoked heaven and man alike; everyone was beaten by him so badly they couldn't fight back; Du Lan Te turned into a keyboard god, spamming people everywhere, offending not less than eight thousand, even if not ten thousand.

So when Bo Bo Wei Qi put forward this proposal, it immediately gained the approval of the vast majority of public opinion.

After all, saying that makes sense: a team that has already won a championship, yet still signs a super‑max player—what does that mean?

It means their salary cap is very healthy.

"But we used a super‑max player in the trade, Leonard for Du Lan Te. Even E Ke La He Ma had no objection—how dare you oppose us?" Ku Pu Qie Ke quickly rebutted Bo Bo Wei Qi.

He said, "It's just that some people can't beat us and try to drag us down. This is clearly a win‑win trade, yet some always claim we took advantage."

At this point, Du Lan Te also picked up the keyboard: "Only those who say such things want others to just hand the championship over to them."

"The league always has some people who rely on their seniority, boast about their experience, spout nonsense, and even fools echo them."

"It's clearly our own operations that have problems, yet we refuse to reflect. Why can Jie Ke build such a strong roster with empty hands, while those so‑called NBA‑master managers cannot? Are we just going to live off the 1997 number one pick forever?"

"Reflect more on yourself, envy others less. When people grow old, they should stay calm and peaceful."

Du Lan Te is sharp‑tongued; every sentence directly pokes Bo Bo Wei Qi's lung tube.

Bo Bo Wei Qi is said to have suffered a serious illness.

But at this point, the Thunder side instead gave positive feedback. The Thunder did not regret that trade; after Leonard joined, their strength did not weaken. On the contrary, it increased, though Wei Shao Ye and Du Lan Te still have some chemistry issues, but not with Leonard.

Leonard's old‑Jordan style of play suits Wei Shao Ye's taste; although Wei Shao Ye is prone to hot‑headed rushes, he doesn't like shooters. He prefers teammates who can hard‑tackle on defense.

Now they are drilling the Warriors.

They also won Heavenly King Mountain.

The Warriors team was restrained by them; Wei Shao and Leonard created strong interference against the Splash Brothers.

If the Warriors can't even get past this hurdle, they shouldn't hope to usher in any new era.

In fact, the switch to the new era isn't in their hands either.

Whose hands is it in, then?

Du Lan Te said: In the hands of the great, correct, bright, forever uplifting Jieke Fan.

…