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Chapter 180 I play more like Kobe (5000 words, my cervical spine feels better today)
Entering the new January, the Warriors' first opponent is the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This season, James is having an MVP-level performance in his contract year - averaging 30.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game for the Cavaliers.

Young James is confident that he has mastered the trick of playing the role of a ball-handler on the court.

But Qin Yue, who had returned from injury
It was like a mountain pressing down on his head, and no matter what achievements he made, it would always be above him.

Qin Yue is a James with better skills and taller stature - this is the most common comment James has heard about him and Qin Yue in recent years.

No matter how he tries to catch up, as long as people mention that year's finals and the two Sino-US confrontations at the Beijing Olympics, he will naturally be inferior to Qin Yue.

And
The scariest thing is that James knows that everything people are saying is true.

After several years of fighting, Qin Yue had already left an indelible psychological shadow in James' heart.

At the Beijing Olympics, James used almost all his strength to defend Qin Yue.

But Qin Yue, who seemed to be assisted by God in the international arena, scored 55 points and 58 points respectively over his head.

In past encounters, James took every match seriously, but Qin Yue led the Warriors to easily tie the Cavaliers every time.

James believes that if it weren't for Qin Yue, he might have reached the peak season of his career.

However.
As long as there is Qin Yue for comparison, as long as he cannot defeat Qin Yue, James can only use the excuse that he still needs to grow.

James doesn't know when this difficult period of catching up will end.

Maybe
It simply has no end.

In short, James doesn't want to keep chasing like this.

Although on the surface, James has publicly stated many times this season that he would prioritize staying in Cleveland this summer.

But privately, James, who knew that only overtaking on the curve could help him catch up with Qin Yue, had already quietly cast his deep gaze towards those teams with more hope.

It was true that the Knight and Gilbert were willing to spend money on the young king.

But isn’t it true that Cleveland has long had difficulty recruiting true superstars?

If the Cavaliers can't help him catch up with Qin Yue, then James can only change to a team that can help him overtake on the curve.

Oakland, Oracle Arena.

James is about to face Qin Yue for the eleventh time in his career (including playoffs).

James, who had lost all ten games in the past, took the initiative to find Qin Yue before the game started and chatted with him for a while.

The two men's conversation was mainly about the upcoming labor-management negotiations in February.

At that time, many super stars of the league including Kobe, Qin Yue, James and Paul will be present.

This is a labor-management negotiation with great importance.

However, during the chat, Qin Yue noticed that James was obviously trying to distance himself from the matter.

"We are the younger generation, and we should listen more to the opinions and views of Kobe and other seniors who participated in the 1998 labor-management negotiations."

"When the time comes, we should try to speak as little as possible, because the more we speak, the more mistakes we make."

"Patrick Ewing is an example. It was what he said back then that caused no fans to stand on our side now."

Qin Yue knew very well that although James would unfortunately become a star wrath in front of him every time.
But in today's league, he is still one of the top five active players.

But what Qin Yue never expected was that in the following labor-management negotiations, James, one of the top five stars in the league, actually just wanted to be a bystander.

He didn't want to betray the players' union in this labor-management negotiation.

He also doesn't want to offend management and fans by saying the wrong thing.

Is this reasonable?

This makes sense.

Because historically, this is what James did during this labor-management negotiation.

It wasn't until 2015, when the players' union and management resumed labor-management negotiations, that James, upon learning that the NBA had signed a sky-high broadcasting agreement, hardened his attitude.

after all
Compared with the current labor-management negotiations, in the future labor-management negotiations, anyone with a discerning eye knows that in the face of huge interests, all the differences between labor and management are no longer differences.

Simply put, James never fights a battle without confidence or a chance of winning.

Qin Yue would not blame James for his actions.

However, at the end of this casual chat, Qin Yue still reminded James: "Brown, this time we can only overcome the difficulties together if we unite."

Qin Yue knew very well that compared with his predecessors, the most important reason why the players' union had been unable to defeat the management since 1983 was the lack of unity among the players.

Unlike their predecessors who were not afraid of wearing shoes even though they were barefoot, the younger generations with increasing incomes will always form a large number of compromisers for various reasons.

Therefore, every time the management resorts to the ultimate trick of shutting down the game, the players' union will only hold out for a few months at most and then raise the white flag to the management.

Before the All-Star Weekend arrives, Qin Yue plans to seek advice from Oscar Robertson, who had obtained many benefits for countless players in the past, and use this to find a way to win this off-court war.

After all, if possible, Qin Yue really doesn't want the NBA to be shut down.

Because once the future 11/12 season becomes a shortened season, it means that even if Qin Yue can lead the Warriors to win the championship that season, Qin Yue can only win an asterisk championship.

On the court, the casual chat ended, and the battle between the Cavaliers, the first team in the Eastern Conference, and the Warriors, the first team in the league, officially began.

This season, Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown has further upgraded his zone defense, which is his specialty.

This piece of black bread that is gradually getting the hang of things will always disrupt the rhythm of the offense by constantly switching between zone defense and man-to-man defense.

Zone defense is certainly afraid of three-pointers.

But in the future, until the small ball era, the proportion of zone defense used will still be astonishing, precisely because in every game, the shooting feel of the offensive team is extremely random.

Black Bread increased the Cavaliers' variety in using zone defense, which allowed them to gradually form a stable mode of bullying in the regular season.

As long as the opponent cannot pass the Cavaliers' double-team defense in the game, James will immediately rush around the court to continuously expand the Cavaliers' lead.

However, since the Cavaliers are facing the Warriors this night.
Naturally, the Cavaliers must first find a way to suppress the Warriors commander who has always disregarded double team defense.

As Qin Yue's Star Fury, James, with the blessing of "Qin Yue's Law", frequently had high-intensity physical contact with Qin Yue from the first round of the game.

Different from those defenders who adopted the sinking and retreating defense to deal with Qin Yue.

James, who was confident that he could keep up with Qin Yue, was not only more proactive in defense in this game, but also made Qin Yue gradually feel that James seemed to want to prove something.

Qin Yue admitted that it was James’s full-strength defense that successfully triggered his serious mode.

So, on the right side of the court, after testing James with a shuffling step, Qin Yue suddenly sped up, and at the moment of forcing James aside, he rushed into the Cavaliers' restricted area like a high-speed tank.

The next second, Qin Yue, with Big Z in front and James behind, used his historical-level finishing touch to force the ball into the basket.

Moreover, this is an AND-ONE that the referee must blow the whistle for Qin Yue even if he doesn't want to!

"Good defense, Brown." Qin Yue turned his head and praised James from the bottom of his heart, "You were just a little bit away from defending me."

However, Qin Yue's praise, when heard by James, was like naked sarcasm.

Qin Yue didn’t guess wrong.

James really wanted to prove something in this game.

But what he wanted to prove was not that he had touched the corner of Qin Yue's clothes.

Instead, he wanted to tell those teams that had a better chance of ending Qin Yue's dominance that in today's league, he was the player who could compete with Qin Yue.

Qin Yue made the free throw.

Coming back, the Cavaliers attacked.

James, who was playing smarter, used a 2-3 pick-and-roll to get Bell to his side, and then he violently chased Bell away from the left side of the court. Brown's defense was a little slow, and James made a reverse layup.

Then, the Warriors attacked, and Qin Yue, who took the initiative to ask for the ball, turned quickly and teased James, whose defensive skills and habits still needed to be honed.

With a simple dribble between the legs, Qin Yue caused James, who had jumped too hard, to lose his balance.

Swish!
整个首节比赛，专注度远超以往的秦岳，总计9投6中，其中三分球2投1中，罚球4罚4中，单节砍下17分5篮板3助攻1封盖1抢断。

Randy Mims, who was standing in the back row of the Cavaliers' bench and felt that Qin Yue was always extra serious when playing against James, spoke up for James: "Fortunately, Brown no longer considers him a brother. His behavior is clearly intended to embarrass Brown!"

Is Qin Yue really embarrassing James on purpose?
The answer is obviously no.

Because since the birth of "Qin Yue's Law", in order to preserve his strength in the regular season, Qin Yue will only turn on the serious mode when he meets opponents that interest him.

For example, Garnett, who has always been respected by Qin Yue.

In fact, in that Christmas game against the Supersonics, if you had replaced someone else to defend Shen Tui, Qin Yue might not have been so crazy.

However, because the player defending Shen was Garnett, Qin Yue wanted to shoot through his defense.

Tonight, Qin Yue gave James full respect.

But, how could he have imagined that his respect would be regarded as a humiliation by Mims?
Has it become a sin to give your all in a basketball game?
In the second quarter, Qin Yue returned to the court and his firepower remained the same.

Although thanks to the "Qin Yue Rule", James gave Qin Yue sufficient physical confrontation on the court, but during the period of recuperation, Qin Yue, whose back-to-the-basket skills greatly improved, was always able to use his footwork and rhythm to create a new shooting angle.

On TNT, after Qin Yue finished with a perfect back-to-back slam dunk and a backwards turn in front of James, Barkley, who immediately recalled many unpleasant memories, said: "I think I am no longer a fan of the Messiah."

Hearing this, Barkley's old partner Smith laughed and said, "Why do you say that, Charles?"

Barkley said with great grievance: "Because his back-to-the-basket play always reminds me of that damned boiled egg!"

As we all know, an excellent translation will always make the original meaning of the English expression more in line with the Chinese usage.

Therefore, even if Barkley's original sentence was not "that damn boiled egg", based on his inner voice at the time, this was indeed what he wanted to express most.

In Barkley's eyes, every time Qin Yue completed a back-to-the-basket move on the court, it was like stabbing a thorn in his heart.

Barkley didn't understand why Qin Yue had to learn that disgusting boiled egg when there were so many seniors in the league who were good at post-up play.

What I don’t understand even more is why he learned better and more like Kobe than he did.

"My post-up play looks great, isn't it, Brown?" On the court, after turning around and hitting the ball in front of James again, Qin Yue deliberately boasted, "Watch more videos of Michael. It will be very helpful for you to improve your post-up skills."

Seeing this, James, knowing that Qin Yue wanted to preach to him in a "brotherly" way again, did not make any response. He just turned around silently to receive the ball and dribbled it across half court.

This was undoubtedly a night that made James feel once again that Qin Yue was his perfect replacement.

If it were not for Qin Yue, James would have felt that he could have even secured second place in the current league.
Then every time in front of Qin Yue, James would feel like he was just a high school student who couldn't play basketball.

Moreover, every time James exerted his full strength against Qin Yue on the court, he would feel more and more the unfathomable dominance of Qin Yue.

There is no doubt that every additional bit of frustration will make James more determined that he can only defeat Qin Yue by leaving Cleveland and finding more helpers.

In the second half of the game, Qin Yue, who was reserved, focused his main attention on the assist-washing business that Nash hated so much.

However, Cleveland's chosen son inevitably became the wrath of Qin Yue in the Cavaliers' first game of the new year, and then turned on the autistic mode.

The final score was 97 to 121.

全场比赛，詹姆斯18投8中，其中三分球6投2中，罚球10罚6中，总计砍下24分8篮板8助攻。

And what about Qin Yue?

三节提前打卡下班的秦岳，总计砍下了48分14篮板15助攻4封盖2抢断。

After the game, when asked by reporters why it was so easy to score against James, Qin Yue retorted: "Brown's defense is outstanding. He was a defensive first-team player in the NBA last season. Although I can always score high points in front of him, you can't question his defense just because he can't defend me."

However, regarding Qin Yue's defense of James, Mims said: "Brown, listen to what he said! What does it mean that 'you can't question his defense just because he can't defend me'? You know, Brown, he desperately speaks for you, and his purpose is just to use you as a defensive player to pave the way for his powerful offense. In his heart, you are a stepping stone!"

"Randy, I know everything you said."

Since he regarded Qin Yue as a superficial brother, James rarely broke down because of Qin Yue.

James knows very well
The reason why he still wants to maintain this superficial relationship with Qin Yue is simply that he needs to continue to expand the Chinese market.

The real reason why James was autistic that night was that he had no way to deal with Qin Yue.

"Mim, do you think there is such a thing as inferior and superior in this world?" James frowned and said in frustration, "I feel like even if I work hard for another hundred years, I'll still be inferior to him."

James felt he needed to see a psychiatrist.

Because Qin Yue has become his inner demon in every sense.

……

In January of the new year, the Warriors, who had been winning games in a row, had their winning streak unexpectedly ended by the Bobcats in Charlotte.

This was a rare game where the entire Warriors team couldn't find their shooting touch.

Except Curry.

In Charlotte, the unsociable successor to the Warriors' No. 30 jersey scored 31 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists alone under the watchful eyes of his hometown folks.

In Qin Yue's previous life, Dell Curry was deeply loved by local fans in Charlotte during his time with the Charlotte Hornets. Therefore, historically, every time Curry played in Charlotte, it was no different from playing at home.

Fans here have watched Curry grow up since he wore open-crotch pants.

If Qin Yue remembered correctly, Curry once said in the future that if he really had to leave the Warriors one day, the team he most wanted to play for would be the Charlotte Hornets, which had inherited the history and name of the original Hornets from the New Orleans Pelicans at that time.

"I grew up in Charlotte, and playing here is bound to be a different experience." After the game, Curry said in an interview, "It's a pity that we didn't win this night."

In addition, Jordan, who was particularly happy because the Bobcats defeated the Warriors unexpectedly, also took the initiative to walk to the court after the game and chatted with Qin Yue for a while.

just
When Jordan, who was already a capitalist, talked about labor-management negotiations and said in person, "You have earned enough, it's time to make concessions."
Qin Yue smiled and said, "But my idol Michael Jordan once said that if a team cannot make money, the team owner should replace it with someone who knows how to run a business better."

At this moment, Jordan, who was hit by the boomerang, suddenly blushed.

It's obvious that as Jordan wears suits for longer and longer, his mindset has changed to that of a true capitalist.

"Michael, you were also a player back then, negotiating with those bastards in suits who you regarded as heartless and ruthless." Qin Yue continued to throw a boomerang at Jordan, "If you were unwilling to compromise back then, then we will never compromise now."

Qin Yue fully understands the old GOAT’s position.

But if the old GOAT wants to personally shatter his image in the minds of the new generation of players and use this to help himself become the only GOAT in everyone's mind in the future, Qin Yue will not refuse.

Jordan didn’t expect Qin Yue’s attitude to be so tough.

He never expected that his white moonlight back then would stab him with a boomerang.

So, the chat ended in a bad mood.

Qin Yue knew that the capitalist Jordan had only lost his GOAT position as a player, while he himself had lost a "high-quality" idol. After this night, he was forced to be prepared to cut ties with Jordan at any time.

In February, Qin Yue led the team to visit Los Angeles again. Although he had always been at odds with Kobe, their common position as players meant that they needed to take this opportunity to discuss the upcoming labor-management negotiations.

"We can't give in." Kobe said to Qin Yue in the tone of an experienced person, "If we give in, the capital will be more aggressive."

Hearing this, Qin Yue, feeling happy, said, "Kobe, have you noticed that my back-to-the-basket play has improved rapidly recently?"

"uh-huh?"

"To be honest, even though you and I have a lot to settle, I did learn my post-up play from watching your videos."

"."

……

PS: The 5000-word chapter is here. My cervical spine feels a little better today. I will try to resume writing two chapters tomorrow!

(End of this chapter)