Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 279 Wild West
As the 2017-18 regular season draws to a close, the battle for playoff spots in the Western Conference is intensifying, with the top teams fighting each other fiercely.

This year's Western Conference is shaping up to be the closest playoff race we've ever seen.

西部第3名开拓者队与第10名掘金队之间只有3个胜场差。而第5名爵士队与第8名之间只差半场比赛。

The Clippers have been up and down in the sixth place, fourth when they are doing well and ninth when they are doing badly.

The situation is confusing and even the best NBA experts dare not make any guarantees. The rankings are changing every day. There is even a phenomenon where teams not playing can rise in the rankings, while teams playing can drop in the rankings.

All strategies are useless. Now is the time to fight hard. There is no time for taking turns to rest or staggered travel.

You have to fight in every game.

Especially in a sub-tournament, it is treated as a knockout tournament.

Fortunately, except for the Clippers and Warriors, the rest of the Pacific Division are clearly hopeless, which is the only good news.

而快船和勇士本赛季的4场比赛打成了2:2，加上勇士和火箭胜场是一个已经60场，已经在接近60场。

Even so, the Clippers are not under much pressure. There are still seven games left in the regular season, and they are ranked fourth with 7 wins.

Above the Clippers are the Trail Blazers in third, the Thunder in fourth, the Jazz in sixth, the Pelicans in seventh, the Spurs in eighth, the Timberwolves in ninth, and the Nuggets in tenth.

The Trail Blazers have 44 wins and the Nuggets have 41 wins.

In the next seven games, the Clippers will face the Trail Blazers away, play the Pacers at home, challenge the Spurs and Jazz away, and welcome the Nuggets and Pelicans at home.

The last game against the Lakers ends the regular season.

Rivers won the Suns with difficulty. When asked by reporters how he prepared for the last seven games, he said frankly: "I have never seen such a tragic playoff in my coaching career. If we had predicted it in early March, maybe we would have been far ahead in the third place in the West."

"It's too late to regret. Now we just have to play one game at a time. This is the bloodiest half-moon race in the West. Wish us good luck."

Rivers sincerely repented. They did not expect it to turn out like this. At the beginning, they followed the plan and let Chen Fang travel during the off-peak hours to allow more players to participate in the game. But in mid-March, things became delicate.

The win-loss record and wins of each team began to close, and Rivers had a bad feeling, and then Chen Fang's attendance began to increase frequently.

But even so, the Clippers have not escaped from the vortex of the Western Conference and are now stuck in the quagmire.

The current situation is that if they lose one game, they will drop in ranking; if they lose two games in a row, they will fall out of the top eight in the Western Conference; and if they lose three games, they will miss the playoffs.

Among the final seven opponents, five are direct competitors.

Even Satan would not be so cruel as to arrange such a schedule.

The Clippers' current lineup is not optimistic either. Tony and Channing are both on the daily injury list, and Rose is the only player who can guarantee attendance despite his sub-health.

Jordan returned to the lineup in March, but Zubac was ruled out for the regular season due to a back injury.

Okafor and Richaun are the most sophisticated players in the February trade. The two provided high attendance, especially Richaun's role on the court, which greatly improved the Clippers' interior defense strength.

Averaging 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, he and Jordan form a no-fly zone in the restricted area, which can be called a playoff-level inside line.

Okafor's form has been up and down. His main problem is that he is not adaptable to the current tactical trend. Once the pace gets faster, he seems at a loss.

Kuzma hit the rookie wall, averaging 3 points per game in 11 games in March, completely falling out of double-digit scoring.

It’s just that Lou Williams has started to adapt to the Clippers. He averaged 17.4 points per game, which is a good example of what the best sixth man is.

But these are just branches. Without the main body, everything is meaningless.

Statistics show that when Chen Fang scores 25+ points, 8+ assists, and 5+ rebounds, the Clippers win 89% of the time. The only game they lost was on the 21st against the Timberwolves. Facing the attack of Butler, Wiggins, and Towns, the Clippers fell in the second half of the last quarter.

Even Chen Fang praised Butler's confrontation with him in the final stage as the key to victory.

The two sides took turns leading 7 times, and each time Butler caught up with him coldly. The entire fourth quarter was the ultimate showdown between Chen Fang and Butler.

It was precisely because of this loss that a very serious problem arose.

That is, once the Timberwolves have the same number of wins as the Clippers, they will be able to surpass the Clippers in the rankings.

The Trail Blazers are leading the Clippers with a 2:1 record, while the Jazz and Spurs are both trailing 1:2, but there is still hope of catching up.

Looking at the overall situation, the Clippers are in a state of panic. Losing one of the next five opponents will have a huge impact. It is no exaggeration to say that now is the time to deny the efforts of the entire season.

The Clippers' odds of making the playoffs have also been raised to 1:15.

Enormous pressure hangs over the Clippers.

Chen Fang was under the greatest pressure. It was already the final moment. The intensity of reporters' questions and encirclement was unprecedented. Topics on the media network were endless. Chen Fang finally felt what it meant to be under overwhelming pressure.

On March 3, the Clippers came to Portland to challenge the Trail Blazers, who were ranked third in the Western Conference.

Don’t think that this third place has any meaning. If the Trail Blazers lose, they will drop to fifth.

If the Clippers win, they will almost have one foot in the playoffs.

TNT will broadcast this game live across the United States, which shows the importance of this game.

The Trail Blazers started off slow but ended up strong this season. If their two top scorers had not been rested in the final stages, they wouldn't have ended up in this situation today.

And as one of the only three teams in the Western Conference that have defeated the Warriors twice, without the Trail Blazers, the Warriors are determined to compete with the Rockets for the first place in the Western Conference.

The Trail Blazers have always had a balanced offense and defense, averaging 105.6 points per game so far this season, and their offense ranks 16th in the league.

However, their defense is excellent, averaging 103.0 points allowed per game, ranking fifth in the league's defense - ahead of them are top defensive teams such as the Spurs, Jazz, Celtics, and Heat.

It can be seen that the Blazers' road to success this season is to play tough defense while finding ways to attack their opponents.

No team wants to face this kind of team.

Up to now, Chen Fang has begun to feel the playoffs, and the frequency of his referees, offense and defense has obviously improved.

So before the game, Chen Fang spoke cautiously, only expressing that it would be a tough battle, but he believed that the Clippers would have the last laugh.

Domestic media characterized this as the opening battle of the Clippers' three major battles.

Duan Ran wrote: As long as the Clippers beat the Trail Blazers, Pelicans, and Timberwolves, the whole situation will be turned around.

If the Clippers lose any of these games, the situation will become extremely dangerous.

The Clippers' starting lineup in this game: Rose, Chen Fang, Kuzma, Richaun, and Jordan Jr.

The Trail Blazers no longer rested their two shooters and faced the game with their full main lineup.

Mian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Evan Turner, Maurice Harkless, Nurkic.

It's a typical game of attacking from outside and defending from inside, and the Clippers' offense and defense all depend on Chen Fang.

This is also the problem of the Clippers, and it is something that needs to be actively changed during the offseason.

The Clippers' odds in this game are also higher than those of the Trail Blazers, and the outside world generally believes that the Clippers have a high probability of losing.

But Chen Fang didn't think so. With the support of many parties and analysis with the coaching staff, he found the fatal weakness of the Trail Blazers.

Pick and roll.

The Trail Blazers' offensive system is built on the double-gun firepower of Lillard and McCollum, and what makes these two guns stand up is the inside pick-and-roll of Morris and Nurkic.

In addition, the two guns can cover each other. With Turner's coordination, a high-post + wing pick-and-roll group can be built, allowing the two guns to continuously spray deadly bullets and shoot opponents.

Therefore, to play against the Trail Blazers, you must be good at breaking pick-and-rolls and delaying screens.

To this end, Rivers' core purpose in this game was to let faster players squeeze screens, switch defenses infinitely, and focus on suppressing the deterrence in high positions.

The Clippers can only rely on Chen Fang to score.

In this game, the Trail Blazers adopted the strategy of major teams in defending Chen Fang, leading defense + double-teaming, and attacking Chen Fang's breakthroughs with great intensity, forcing him to release the ball only through shooting or passing.

These were proven to limit aging to the greatest extent in the second half of the regular season.

But the Trail Blazers can't do all of this at all, because Turner is the one leading the defense and Lillard is the one double-teaming.

Chen Fang dribbled the ball across half court, and Turner followed from the side. The league has now conducted comprehensive research and targeted measures on Chen Fang's characteristics, and data show that the effect of frontal defense is lower than that of side defense.

The correct defensive strategy to limit Chen Fang is to follow from the side + double-team to defend the front.

Changing the order doubles the effect.

But the charm of basketball lies in the game between players.

Chen Fang's vision covered the entire half court. He saw Kuzma at the top of the arc and Richaun on the wing, while Rose, who was standing parallel to him in the high position, was always there to support him.

The four of them formed a diamond, and Rivers was still using the strong side of the diamond to build the Clippers' offensive system.

After a pause, Turner immediately moved closer, but the next second, he realized he had been deceived.

Turner's weakness is that he moves too slowly. Even though he can play from 1 to 3, he can't do well in any position.

Chen Fang caught a glimpse of Turner's figure rapidly enlarging in the corner of his eye, so he pushed off the ground to speed up and moved a body distance away.

The Trail Blazers quickly made up for the defense, with Turner behind them, and it was Morris, who is 206cm tall, who came up to block.

For a highly agile player like Chen Fang, double-teaming from front and back was almost useless. Chen Fang controlled the ball with his left hand, continuously pressing his hips and shaking his shoulders, without slowing down while moving. Morris had no way to stop him and let Chen Fang pass by his right side.

After getting rid of the two people, Chen Fang had already entered the penalty area. Nurkic, a slow center, was forced to move forward to block him, but Chen Fang approached straight ahead. Before the collision, he dodged with a big European step and then secretly passed the ball to Jordan who had rushed into the penalty area.

The latter scored the first point for the Clippers with a one-handed slam dunk.

This is Chen Fang’s strategy. The Trail Blazers’ overall defense is slow. They can beat the Warriors because the Warriors do not have a strong breakthrough player, so they can rely on overall defense to suppress them.

Then rely on dual guns to maintain firepower and fight against the Warriors.

The core of the Trail Blazers' problem is that they don't have an inside and outside defensive axis. When the two guns are firing fiercely, the problem is covered up. Once one of the two guns stops firing, they fall into the embarrassing situation of imbalance between offense and defense.

After playing for almost a season, Chen Fang has changed a lot of his previous playing mentality. He knows how to seize the flaws and hit hard, and make sure to force the opponent to change his shape in order to achieve the goal of losing sight of the big picture and completely collapse.

Lillard held the ball and moved around in the Morris pick-and-roll, but Rose followed him well with a squeeze screen, which made him fearful. He could only dribble the ball sideways and look for another opportunity.

In the end, he tried to single out Rose, stepped back to create shooting space, and missed the shot.

The rebound was taken by Chen Fang. He didn't wait for anyone and pushed forward from the middle.

This is also a change for Chen Fang, from waiting for rebounds to actively grabbing rebounds, in order to get the opportunity for offense and defense transition one second in advance and force the opponent to enter a high-tempo shuttle run.

At the same time, Rose and Kuzma will look for the sidelines on both sides to respond to Chen Fang's advancement. Jordan will follow behind him and make fast-forward changes at any time.

Chen Fang's advancement speed was very fast, and almost no one on the Trail Blazers could keep up with him. He actively sought confrontation. Chen Fang pushed McCollum into the Trail Blazers' restricted area, changed the advancement rhythm with a slow three-step, actively opened up space, lightly tossed the basketball, and scored his first point.

When Chen Fang used breakthroughs to gain an advantage in two rounds, the Trail Blazers subconsciously contracted their defense line, which was also Chen Fang's purpose. After holding the ball, he passed the ball in advance and broke through to help his teammates score.

The Trail Blazers were clearly not up to the task and viewed Chen Fang as a shooting scorer, with all of their strategies revolving around him.

This put us in a completely passive position in the first quarter.

"I can't believe this is the Trail Blazers, third in the Western Conference?" The commentator was amazed at the score, 34 to 21.

The Clippers led by 13 points in the first quarter. Chen Fang made a series of breakthroughs and passes, efficiently scoring 10 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.

Raised the Clippers' offense and defense to a flawless quality range, with all starters scoring.

Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts is very good at attacking pick-and-rolls, but he has a huge anachronistic problem in defending them.

He emphasized that big players should sink to protect the restricted area and increase the rebounding control rate. This idea also caused a fatal problem. The opponent's ball-handling players often get a lot of mid-range and long-range shooting space in the pick-and-roll.

As for this problem, the Clippers did not take action. Rivers would not give Terry any adjustment plan. In the second quarter, he did not make too many adjustments. He just replaced Kuzma, who was still performing poorly, with Thornwell and Lou Williams, and let Chen Fang move to the No. 3 position to play point forward.

The adjustment of position brought about changes in offense.

Chen Fang's ability to play without the ball has been recognized by the coaching staff as being at the top level without the ball, but his ball handling is even more powerful, which is an exceptional level. Therefore, in most cases of the game, Chen Fang rarely appears without the ball.

When Lou Wei has the ball and Sanwell acts as a swordsman for Chen Fang to set screens and break double teams, how many points Chen Fang can score depends on how many balls Lou Wei can pass to him.

But Lou Williams is an offense-oriented player. All his scoring relies on speed and rhythm. He rarely passes the ball after a breakthrough or a pull-out pass.

Obviously, Lou Williams' flaw restricted Chen Fang's scoring.

Throughout the second quarter, the Trail Blazers recovered and used their double guns to start chasing points.

In this quarter, Chen Fang hid in the background, and his scoring efficiency was reduced.

This is also Chen Fang's current competition strategy. He cannot take a rest and can only choose to save energy during the game.

Rivers arranged for Chen Fang to play without the ball in the second quarter for this reason.

Halftime ends, 58:51.

The 7-point advantage is satisfactory for the Clippers.

In the locker room, Rivers arranged the tactics for the third quarter. He wanted to defeat the Trail Blazers in one fell swoop in the third quarter. In terms of lineup, he only kept Richaun and Harrell as highly mobile inside players, and the other three were shooters.

Lou Williams and Kuzma both have shooting threats.

But it still depends on whether Chen Fang can break the situation.

"Is there anything to add?" Rivers asked Chen Fang.

"In the third quarter, we wanted to crush the Blazers' hopes of winning by attacking and defending with high rounds, taking a high number of shots, and cutting to the basket frequently."

"I will shoot or pass the ball at the top of the key depending on the situation. Everyone needs to have a heart to shoot."

"This is also the main theme of all our next games. Come on, anyone who can exist in this league can put the ball into the basket."

Under Chen Fang's command, all the Clippers players became excited. The closer it gets to the end, the more it means your value and importance.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Chen Fang held the ball and waited for a few seconds at the center circle logo. He saw Harrell coming forward for a pick-and-roll and started to act.

Turner, who was following, was indeed worried about Chen Fang's change of direction rhythm, but shouted for help. However, the teammates who came were delayed by Harrell. He had some hand movements and body movements. In FIBA, this is a mobile pick-and-roll, but in the NBA, it is called an illegal pick-and-roll.

But the difference between the two is the referee.

According to NBA rules, as long as there is no intentional pushing, the directional movement of players for a certain distance after physical contact will not be considered a mobile pick-and-roll.

This is also where NBA referees have the greatest freedom in whistling. The referees completely look at who is doing the pick-and-roll and who is being blocked to determine whether to call the call.

In the current league, the Cavaliers and Warriors are both making extensive use of this unspoken rule to conduct profitable offenses.

Especially for the Warriors, Green's illegal pick-and-roll is almost blatant.

Chen Fang used the change of rhythm to get rid of Turner on the side. Morris's replacement was interfered by Harrell and he did not get into position immediately, so he immediately took the ball and made the first three-pointer of the game.

At the end of the season, many statistical rankings have been revealed and the winners have been decided.

In the plus-minus efficiency list, Chen Fang ranked second, below Gordon and above Harden.

Because he did not play more than 58 games, his average data was not included in the list, but triple-doubles do not require this standard. Chen Fang's triple-double data is second only to Westbrook's 22 times.

And this is not the biggest prize.

There is one statistic that Chen Fang leads the entire league in.

Three points.

The league's three-point shooting percentage standard is 36%, and 31% when holding the ball.

Curry's three-point shooting percentage this season is 37.3% when he holds the ball, 44.8% when he catches the ball, and he averages 4.4 three-pointers per game.

But this season, Chen Fang holds the ball 39% of the time and takes 48-pointers 3.8% of the time, averaging times per game.

From this perspective, based on three-point shooting alone, Chen Fang has surpassed Curry and ranks first in the league, but Chen Fang's receiving data is too small and the league does not have income statistics.

All major teams have issued offensive reports on Chen Fang, among which the red warning is Chen Fang's three-point shooting after the pick-and-roll, which has the most terrifying hit rate in the league.

It’s just that right now the entire Clippers need Chen Fang to release the ball and allocate players. Most of the time, Chen Fang will not attack like this throughout the game, but only as a tactical means.

So, when Trail Blazers coach Terry saw Chen Fang start to play pick-and-roll shooting, he immediately blew the whistle to signal the players to change their defensive strategy.

But the problem lies here. Morris sinks too deep into the penalty area, and time does not allow him to get out. But if he replaces players, the strong Harrell or Richaun will tear the opponent apart again.

Throughout the third quarter, Chen Fang started a high-post attack from the top of the arc. When faced with double-teaming, he chose to break through to get rid of the pass and attack the basket directly.

The score was widening rapidly and the home fans began to boo in dissatisfaction, but this did not help the Trail Blazers.

In the previous life's playoffs, the team was swept by the weak Pelicans because Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry also made a fuss here. In the regular season, the two sides met three times and the Pelicans lost 3:1.

It can be seen that this was a cold-blooded operation that exposed the true intention. The Trail Blazers were swept and didn't understand what happened.

The Clippers didn't mind having Terry thank them afterwards; Rivers just wanted a win.

When the third quarter ended, the Clippers led by 93 points, 75 to 18, entering the fourth quarter, which sealed the defeat for the Trail Blazers.

Chen Fang, who has scored 24 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, has also brought his triple-double data this season to 19 times, and still maintains the hope of catching up with Westbrook's 22 times.

In the fourth quarter, Chen Fang sat on the bench to defend the team. He now needs a lot of rest time. In order to ensure a good competitive state, Chen Fang took the initiative to sleep in a separate room and stayed in the training center most of the time for physical therapy and rehabilitation.

How to reasonably and scientifically allocate one's physical strength and energy is a new knowledge point that Chen Fang needs to learn and master.

The buzzer sounded at the end of the game. Chen Fang did not play in the fourth quarter. The Clippers won and established an advantage in the ranking.

As the best player of the match, Chen Fang was interviewed. When the reporter asked him how to get out of the slump, he replied: "Always believe in yourself and your teammates. This is the best way."

"There are still six games left, and every one of them cannot be lost. I am fortunate to experience the bloody wild west, which I think is beneficial for both the Clippers and me."

When reporters asked if he was worried about falling out of the playoffs, or ranking seventh or eighth and having to face the Warriors and Rockets, Chen Fang smiled and shook his head.

He thought for a moment and answered with a serious expression: "There is only one way to the finals. If you escape, it means nothing."

“No matter who you face, it’s all a blessing to the brave. Feeling the process and savoring the result, in my opinion, is the only way to become a brave man.”

So, after defeating the Trail Blazers, Chen Fang's triple-double once again put pressure on the Western powers.

As the Spurs head coach Popovich will face the Clippers in the next round, he really appreciates Chen Fang's words.

"He's going to grow into someone that the league respects, and in time, that's going to happen."

So, when the reporter asked the old man about the comparison between Chen Fang and Leonard.

The old man's words also, in a way, responded to the irreconcilable rift between him and his beloved disciple.

“They are different types, but I appreciate Chen’s attitude in the game more.”

"The Spurs are going through the most difficult moment in their history, and we hope someone can step up and lead the team through the crisis."

Popovich's response also became a hot topic of discussion that day. When Leonard began to rest indefinitely and did not disclose the extent of his injury, it did have a huge impact on the team's reputation.

In contrast, after the team encountered problems, Chen Fang took the initiative to give up his rest and played in all the games, thus stabilizing the precarious ranking.

But soon, Chen Fang, who rarely updated his Twitter, posted a message that caused an uproar and made the game against the Spurs on April 4 interesting.

"As a player, you must first ensure your health, and help the team to the best of your ability. Silence does not mean you are guilty. Many truths often take time to interpret."

Chen Fang did not name anyone, but this was a blatant stand on Leonard's side, which made Leonard, who was under attack, feel warm.

He made an exception and left a thank you message on this tweet.

This wave of interaction triggered a new hot topic, and everyone was guessing why Chen Fang took the initiative to jump out.

In response to Lindsay's question, Chen Fang simply replied: "I just want to express that I have some ideas, too."

If a person is too honest, he will definitely be bullied. In the business world, being honest is synonymous with being stupid.

Chen Fang just wanted to remind the Clippers management that when I have worked hard to prove myself, please respond to me with equal respect.

Sure enough, the next day, Lawrence showed up. On the second day after returning to Los Angeles, Lawrence visited Chen Fang's home.

After going around in circles for a long time, Lawrence took out a thick stack of plans.

"This is the Clippers' main plan for next season. On behalf of Wenger and Mr. West, I want to show you the Clippers' grand blueprint for next season."

Looking at the ordinary cover of the plan, Chen Fang smiled.

"Thank you."

It's better to ask for the price at the right time than to spend the offseason in uncertainty.

After just a quick glance, Chen Fang was surprised.

"I have the right to choose my teammates."

"Based on your basketball IQ and past cases, management is willing to listen to your opinion on this right."

"Thank you." Chen Fang thanked him for the second time.

He extended his hand: "I believe this is the best choice for the Clippers."

"Thank you!" Lawrence looked at Chen Fang deeply. It was his turn to express his gratitude, but only he knew how bitter and helpless this sentence was.

After watching Lawrence drive away, Lindsay walked out of the house.

Raising the plan in his hand, Chen Fang said to Lin Chudi: "I hope this experience will provide you with more experience in helping clients gain benefits."

"Yes, I think I have realized it." Lindsay admired that the Chinese seized the best opportunity.

It's too much to ask for it in the playoffs, and there's no pressure during the offseason.

Now is the best time.

(End of this chapter)