Chapter 660

Jimmy Jr is getting more and more fierce, both impressive and formidable!

If before people said he looked like Jordan as a joke, now Jordan really treats him like his own son, teaching him hand‑in‑hand.

Jimmy Jr's talent may not be as good as those top‑tier swing forwards, but he is tough and dares to fight; Jordan really likes this kind of... no matter how you criticize, you can't break it; his willpower is comparable to steel.

Under Jordan's brutal tutelage, Butler is becoming more and more ferocious, averaging 28.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks per game this season—can you say he has no trace of peak Jordan?

He literally brought the Hornets into the playoffs this year.

Besides him, the Hornets only have Kemba Walker with some reputation; the rest are nobodies.

Before the game started, Fan Xi and Butler caught up.

Seeing Jimmy Jr getting better and better, Fan Xi felt genuinely happy.

But at this moment, Jimmy Jr has a wish: 'Jie Ke, when can we gather the original few brothers again and win another championship?'

He's referring to Leonard and them.

But that really is somewhat difficult.

After all, Jimmy Jr is now on a supermax contract, Leonard is on a supermax contract… Kuameibulang and the others have retired, so how could they still play?

All we can say is that it's a beautiful wish.

After the game started, the Knicks showed no mercy and needed none; once they got going, they immediately surged forward like a frenzied offensive machine, vast and unstoppable.

The gap between the Hornets and the Knicks is not just slight.

Although Butler can put up some decent attacks.

But the Knicks firmly controlled the pace.

After the first quarter, the Knicks had already established a double‑digit lead.

Many basketball commentators say: nowadays only the top few NBA teams make games interesting, unlike before… when weak teams also had a chance to upset strong ones.

This probably is the significance of Le Bu Lang Zhang Si's 2010 decision.

Forming superteams has already become a trend.

The stronger superteams become, the weaker ordinary teams become.

To be frank, Fan Xi has been contributing to the league all these years… he neither formed a superstar‑laden superteam nor joined one himself.

Of course, Durant coming to join was an accident.

Since leaving the Lakers, Fan Xi has been doing nothing but fulfilling veterans' wishes and bringing in newcomers. Moreover, he has been exporting superstars to other teams—the Hornets became strong after acquiring Butler, and the Thunder became even more formidable after getting Leonard.

Next… the Greek little monster will also go find a good home.

As for Jokić, Fan Xi actually wants to keep him, because the team needs a good center.

The first game against the Hornets ended quickly, the Knicks won by 18 points, and the second half was basically just practice.

In the second game, the Knicks won by 22 points.

In the third game at the Hornets' home court in Charlotte, Fan Xi recorded a 51‑point triple‑double, and he paid tribute to Michael Jordan who was present.

Jordan's expression remained calm all evening that day, even though the Hornets lost by 23 points, he didn't get especially angry.

There's nothing to be done; getting angry wouldn't change anything.

Jimmy Jr has already done well; even if someone twenty years younger took his place on the court, they still couldn't win.

The Knicks have great talent, from the interior's Porziņģis, to Durant, to Fan Xi, to Dejounte Murray, and even to little Sabonis.

The suspense for the fourth game was even lower.

The Knicks basically just drank and sang while they crushed the Hornets.

"Jimmy played really well, Michael Jordan taught him many skills, I'm proud of his current achievements. Jimmy should make the All‑League team next season." Fan Xi started promoting Butler.

Stars playing in small markets, even if they are the team's main player, don't get much exposure. Whereas starters in big cities like New York and Los Angeles could have far more media resources and thus greater exposure.

After beating the Hornets, the Knicks returned home to sit back and watch the tigers fight.

The Wizards and the Raptors will compete for a chance that the Knicks swept.

This is Durant's original words on Twitter.

He now is completely unabashed about his arrogance.

But the media also dare not criticize him, after all, he'll bite anyone who offends him, and he'll bite to the death. He even hires private detectives.

A basketball commentator said Durant wouldn't even dare to face James, so Durant hired a private detective to catch the commentator cheating and sent the photos to the expert's wife.

Durant is becoming more and more unrestrained, yet his fame keeps rising.

The praise is simply overwhelming.

Shaquille O'Neal's daily job now is just to praise Durant: 'Ah Du is great!' As for why he's great, that's just because he's great!

Sometimes Fan Xi wonders, if he had teamed up with Durant a few years earlier, all the criticism he received those years could have been avoided.

In the end, the Raptors and the Wizards decided the outcome.

The Wizards won.

The Wizards are pretty fierce this year.

Besides John Wall and Beal's backcourt duo contributing consistently, Bogdanović, Goga Tat, Porter, and Morris are also in the best condition of their careers.

Fan Xi and John Wall also share a fair amount of fate.

Back when Fan Xi first entered the league, he and John Wall had quite a few disputes. At that time, who the hell would look up to this undrafted Fan Xi? Wall was the 2010 number one pick.

That year, Wall and the previous season's injured number one pick Griffin competed for Rookie of the Year, and Fan Xi burst onto the scene midway, at one point threatening them.

Wall didn't hold back in criticizing Fan Xi in the media.

Even though Fan Xi won Finals MVP with the Lakers, Wall still didn't think Fan Xi was better than him, and even said that if he were in Los Angeles, he would have done better than Fan Xi.

At that time, that view still had considerable support.

But now, time has proven everything.

Although John Wall received a max contract, he remains the Wizards' leader; this season he also led the Wizards to fourth place in the Eastern Conference regular season and into the second round.

But, who would still compare him to Fan Xi?

Anyone who redoes the 2010 draft would have Fan Xi as first place.

Even though he was an undrafted pick at the time.

Wall now also doesn't talk about matters concerning Fan Xi; they're already in two different circles. Fan Xi is undoubtedly the number one; John Wall now ranks around the top twenty among active league stars, sometimes making the All-Star team, sometimes not… because today's league, point guards are just too strong. Fan Xi, Curry, Rose, Westbrook, Irving, and Paul… who can Wall surpass?

That's also quite sad.

Living in such a golden age of point guards.

Before the game started, reporters caught John Wall and Fan Xi exchanging greetings; Fan Xi had long forgotten those past unpleasantries, after all, the waters flow east, and countless mountains have been passed.

The Wizards kicked off with a few nice plays.

But as Durant heated up on the wing, the Knicks' offensive machine kicked in, and the Wizards just threw down their arms and surrendered.

They couldn't withstand it.

This is pure offensive domination.

The Knicks here pushed Princeton to the extreme, every spectator in attendance got an eyeful.

Many say the Knicks' offensive firepower this year is historically number one.

Historically second is this year's Golden State Warriors.

The Knicks surged forward in the Eastern playoffs, while the Golden State Warriors sliced through the Western playoffs like cutting melons and vegetables.

They are charging toward the Finals at the same pace.

The Knicks eliminated the Washington Wizards in four games.

The Warriors also eliminated the Spurs in four games.

Looking at the caliber of opponents, the Spurs are unsurprisingly far stronger than the Wizards.

The Spurs ran into the Clippers last season, and this season they ran into the Warriors with the James-Curry combo—also unlucky.

The Chris Paul and Tim Duncan Wake Forest alumni combo also announced its end, because Tim Duncan is retiring. He made no big fuss; after being eliminated in the playoffs, he greeted reporters in jeans and a loose shirt, then left nonchalantly. To each his own.

That's been his consistent style.

He no longer needs to prove anything; he is the NBA's all-time greatest power forward.

What's harder now is Chris Paul; he's still at the tail end of his peak, and with his style he can maintain this condition for a long, long time. The Spurs gave him a supermax contract extension.

But if he signs this contract, his championship dream basically can't be realized.

If he doesn't sign, he'll never get a contract this high again.

This summer, he'll be tormented.

Worth mentioning: after the Warriors eliminated the Spurs, Duncan was photographed greeting James, and the reporters' recorder caught his words: "LeBron, the league is yours now. Go get that damn championship back, go!"

Ten years.

Duncan finally said those words again.

In the 2007 Finals, Duncan swept James, leaving that famous line: "The future is yours."

In the blink of an eye, it's now 2017. James has wandered his way to the West, fulfilling his destined revenge, he swept Duncan. Duncan told him: "Now it's yours."

This is like a perfect story scene.

James has finally arrived at his time; can he fulfill the Stone Buddha's verdict?

Another Western Conference semifinal is the Clippers versus the Thunder, and they're locked in battle.

Not only James and the Warriors care about this series; Fan Xi and Durant are also paying attention.

The Thunder are Durant's home team, the Clippers are Fan Xi's team. Moreover, Fan Xi's little brother is still with the Thunder.

This feeling… the palm and back of the hand are both flesh.

The Greek Little Monster has fully grown this year, showing tremendous control; in his matchups against Westbrook and Leonard he doesn't fall behind.

Jokić has also grown further; his partnership with Antetokounmpo is also very good.

Rubio has become a steady backcourt master; his stats may not shine, but they nourish silently.

The three of them, as the core, lead the Clippers forward through wind and waves.

They battled it out to Game Seven.

Ultimately the Clippers secured victory thanks to Jokić's clutch super three-pointer at the end.

They will advance to the Western Conference Finals to face off against the Warriors.

Meanwhile, the Knicks' Eastern Conference Finals opponent has already been determined.

The Bulls are still a bit stronger; they defeated the Cavaliers, and the Cavaliers' youngsters didn't push the team further.

So they are now facing a major backlash.

Cleveland fans began to complain and filed accusations against the management: why trade LeBron James, when LeBron could at least lead the team to the Finals?

But sometimes trades are just that impulsive—emotions run high, judgment falters, and it happens.

Once it happens, spilled water can't be gathered back.

James definitely won't return to Cleveland.

Even if he wins a championship, he won't go back.

He even sold his mansion in Cleveland's Bas Town that he built, moving his family to the Bay Area.

Fan Xi once again stands on the Eastern Conference Finals stage with Derrick Rose.

Last time, still last time.

Derrick Rose has always been Fan Xi's good friend.

Rose reached out to help Fan Xi when Fan Xi was at his lowest; at that time Rose was in his prime. Of course, Fan Xi also saved Rose's career. If it weren't for Fan Xi protecting Rose then, that sprain would have destroyed Rose's career.

Furthermore, after Rose got injured, Fan Xi sent him to Los Angeles for treatment, giving him all-around help, and also advised Rose to change his playing style; Rose thus began learning to slow down and to cushion his knees from that incident.

That's why he has maintained a high level of competitive form for all these years.

And for a long time, he was a strong contender for the league's third spot behind Fan Xi and Le Bu Lang Zhang Si.

Before Si Ti Fen Ku Li burst onto the scene, he and Du Lan Te were evenly matched.

Now, even those organizations that love rankings find it hard to place him and Du Lan Te in fourth place. Anyway, the top three are fixed: Fan Xi, James, Ku Li.

In the meantime, James Ha Deng had entered the league's top five, but was soon suppressed.

The Bulls came out strong in the first Eastern Conference finals game, Rosa charged forward, inflicting great damage on the Knicks' interior, and Xiao Sa Bo Ni Si already picked up three fouls in the first quarter.

Tuo Ni Pa Ke and Rosa's backcourt combination… is the strongest paint-area attacker in today's league.

Adding Xi Bo Du's years of strict construction of the defensive system, the Bulls gave the Knicks unprecedented defensive pressure.

But they ultimately still failed to take the victory.

Because Fan Xi and Du Lan Te began to exert their power.

If the Bulls' overall strength is 95 points, then the Knicks' overall strength is 99 points.

The Bulls can apply pressure to the Knicks, but it's still not enough to win.

The second game was almost the same script.

The Bulls once led by 9 points, but as Fan Xi and Du Lan Te exerted themselves, they drove the other players' offensive momentum; no matter how good Xi Bo Du's defensive system was, it couldn't stop it.

Pure strength domination.

After that, in Chicago, the Knicks won two more games.

They advanced to the finals with an aggregate score of 12:0.

But in the Western Conference, the Warriors' rhythm was disrupted.

They didn't win consecutive games.

They lost to the Kuaisuan in the third game.

Because the Kuaisuan used a twin-tower lineup.

Yue Ji Qi and Mili Xiqi were on the court simultaneously, and Mili Xiqi dominated Zhui Meng Ge Lin.

Xi La Xiao Guai Shou prevented James from making unrestricted drives.

Lu Bi Ao's restriction on Ku Li was also very good.

Most importantly, Yue Ji Qi got a triple-double; he is an unstoppable giant.

Moreover, JR Shi Mi Si exploded, scoring 27 points.

The Kuaisuan won by 13 points.

Breaking the Warriors' undefeated golden body.

And in the fourth game, once again they pushed the Warriors to the brink, still relying on Ku Li's highly controversial three-pointer buzzer-beater to complete the redemption.

…