Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 280 Your End, My Beginning

Unstoppable!

On April 4, they easily defeated the Pacers.

On April 4, the Spurs were defeated in three quarters.

On April 4, the game against the Jazz was decided until the last minute. Chen Fang back-passed Derrick Favors and made a crucial turnaround shot, taking away the victory from the Jazz's home court with a 6-point advantage.

On April 4, the Clippers faced the Nuggets, scoring 8 to 81 in the first half and winning 74 to 136 at the end of the game. At the end of the game, the Clippers sent the Nuggets out of the playoffs.

Murray's image squatting on the ground and crying became a hot topic across the United States.

In this picture, there is a blurry person in the background, and that person is Jokic. His gaze is directed towards Chen Fang who is about to leave the field.

A few years later, when the Nuggets rose and started the most suspenseful confrontation with the Clippers in the Western Conference, this picture became the classic picture of choice for excerpts.

On April 4, the Clippers welcomed the Pelicans at home. This time, Chen scored 10 points on Jrue Holiday and led the team to complete revenge.

On April 4, in the Los Angeles derby, Chen Fang played for 12 minutes and sat on the bench for most of the time, watching the Clippers, who had completed their running-in, easily beat the Lakers.

When the final whistle sounded, Paul took the initiative to come to the Clippers' bench, hugged Rivers and wished the Clippers a smooth playoff run, and then unexpectedly talked to Chen Fang.

This was the first time Paul expressed kindness and respect, and Chen Fang naturally reciprocated with the attitude of a junior.

"This is the right deal. I see hope for the Clippers' rise in you. Congratulations." Paul said and turned to leave. Although the stadium was crowded with people coming and going, his back looked so lonely.

This was Chen Fang's feeling. After a moment of emotion, the smile returned to his face.

In the 17-18 season, at the end of the regular season, the Clippers, led by Chen Fang, ended with a seven-game winning streak.

As the second pick in the draft, Chen Fang's performance in his rookie season was comparable to that of legendary superstars like Duncan and Johnson, which made people full of imagination about his future.

There was no doubt about the best rookie award, and with such a terrible schedule, the Clippers were able to win seven games in a row, miraculously ranking third in the Western Conference and trampling the Trail Blazers under their feet, which made the expert reporters throughout the league feel incredible.

"He's one of the best players, even in the league." A-Smith publicly praised Chen Fang in his column.

In the latest issue of "NBA Insider", Shaq and Barkley, who rarely agree on the same point of view, believe that the Clippers' use of Paul to acquire Chen Fang is a legendary operation that will go down in the league's trading history, comparable to trading Divac for No. 13 rookie Kobe.

Great show Wesley!
Yang Yi commented that he thought it would be difficult for anyone to make this move, and only Wesley dared to bet like this and win big.

There is a dazzling array of season statistics, some of which even All-Star players cannot reach. The second place in plus-minus value alone is enough to embarrass many Mesozoic era players.

"A Chinese boy with a super brain and a super body!" Skip, the No. 1 LeBron hater, publicly praised him, and added: "Some people can never do it in their lifetime. Maybe he is a superstar, but I'm sorry, he has nothing in many core aspects of basketball."

The impact of his speech was so great that James fans suddenly found their direction after Kobe retired.

Even in the country, there is a group of people acting sneakily around Chen Fang's base.

"Just wait and see. Sooner or later, he will break his leg. Just based on his physique, hehe."

Such vicious remarks always pop up suddenly in a peaceful atmosphere and make you sick.

Chen Fang was not clear, but that did not prevent him from being awake.

"We have to prepare well for the playoffs. Apart from that, we have no interest at all," Chen Fang told reporters openly.

"Don't disturb us during this period. We need to review the situation carefully and fill in the gaps." Rivers also said this to the outside world.

Looking back at the entire season, this year seems like spring has arrived, everything is flourishing, and the heroes are all showing their youthful spirit to compete for the championship.

The Rockets' reversal of the Warriors in the opening game kicked off their extraordinary 2017-18 season.

Under Harden's leadership, the Rockets won 65 games, the best record in team history, and took the lead in breaking out of the brutal competition in the Western Conference, surpassing the defending champion Warriors and the Raptors, who also set a record in team history, to ascend to the top spot in the league.

The 76ers' five-year accumulation of talent finally got a brilliant release this season.

The "double emperor" combination of Embiid and Simmons has brought a revival to Philadelphia basketball. This team has amazing offensive talent, and what's more terrifying is that they can be the third most efficient in the league on the defensive end.

The Bucks and Celtics in the East are waking up. They are surrounding the Cavaliers, eyeing them covetously, with the ambition of swallowing James up.

The Yangtze River has stopped flowing, and each team is trying to dominate its own side. The Warriors' strength has led to a trend of reinforcement sweeping the entire league. The arms race among the strong teams has made the East and West like a volcano and a sea of ​​hot soup this season, and the outcome will not be known until the last moment.

Before the start of the regular season, the Celtics and the Cavaliers were the most popular candidates for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, but the Raptors completed a comeback and surpassed the Celtics, while the 76ers came from behind and made a violent breakthrough, pushing the Cavaliers to fourth in the Eastern Conference with a winning streak at the end of the regular season.

The bottom half of the Eastern Conference's top eight teams were in a fierce fight with each other, with the ranking changing almost every day. At the end of the penultimate day of the regular season, there was only one win difference between sixth and eighth. The ranking was not finally determined until the final day of the regular season.

In the West, the peak showdown between the Rockets and the Warriors became the theme.

Harden has evolved into a super complete form, leading the team alone to face the Warriors Big Three, but he did not lose.

Behind the two teams, the Trail Blazers, Jazz, Pelicans, and Thunder also showed their ferocious faces, ready to overthrow the dynasty and establish a new king at any time.

Among these disputes, the Clippers are the most dazzling one.

The 19-year-old Chen Fang, the sole core of the team, ranks third in the Western Conference. The team's strength on paper is worthless, which further highlights the value of the Chinese.

Everyone knows that as long as they wait for the Clippers to make a move during the offseason, they can take off at any time.

Dragon spacecraft!
This is already the new nickname for the Clippers.

The exciting Warring States Period also brought about a booming basketball market. Since the start of this season, NBA ratings and attendance rates have also begun to rise.

本赛季联盟30支球队有19支上座率超过90%，14支达到99%或以上，其中9支球队上座率百分百。

The Eastern Conference's top four teams, the Raptors, Celtics, 76ers and Cavaliers, all had sold out tickets, while the Western Conference's Warriors and Thunder were also hard to get tickets for. The Rockets also had an attendance rate of 99.2%, and the Trail Blazers had an attendance rate of 99.7%.

The Clippers' attendance was 100% in the final stage.

All of this came as a surprise to the league, which makes this playoffs particularly important.

How to put a perfect end has become a headache.

The teams that make it to the playoffs will naturally not be willing to accept defeat. Theoretically, no one is sure to win, and the tragic win-loss relationship in the regular season makes everyone afraid.

The entire Clippers team is fully committed to the upcoming playoffs.

The Western Conference rankings are as follows: Rockets, Warriors, Clippers, Trail Blazers, Thunder, Jazz, Pelicans, and Spurs.

The Clippers have home-court advantage against the Utah Jazz.

"The Jazz didn't look very strong, but we didn't get any advantage in the regular season."

"At its core, the Jazz have a complete defensive system."

"Gobert, Favors and Ingles form an inside and outside double defense. Gobert won the best defensive player. His rim protection and movement are the biggest threat to us."

"Under his system, the Jazz have established a tough defense. We must first solve their offense to have a chance to win."

"As for offense, well, the ability of rookie Mitchell is here. His scoring method and advancement ability will become a big problem for us."

After saying so much, Rivers took a sip of water. He looked at Chen Fang, who was taking notes and looked more like a student, and continued, "We need to use more outside shots to open up the situation. Breaking through will become an incorrect option."

"Be prepared for a tough battle. Compared to other opponents, the Jazz are not a better option. Their tenacity is far beyond our imagination."

After the end, the assistant coaches left one after another, but Chen Fang was still writing on the paper. Rivers waited patiently for him to finish before asking, "What are you thinking about?"

Chen Fang did not answer immediately, but thought for a while and said, "I have an immature idea."

"The Jazz's offense is not good. Instead of thinking about how to break his offense, it is better to get ready and play offense and defense transition with him." Rivers smiled when he heard this. He did not refute, but made a gesture to continue.

"We will definitely be at a disadvantage in a positional battle. It's impossible for me to shoot from outside all the time. I think they have few scoring points. As long as Mitchell is blocked, the others will not be able to provide enough firepower."

"What if the other party thinks the same way about us?" Rivers' words stunned Chen Fang.

"Do we have strong firepower?" Rivers continued: "We are about the same as the Jazz. In addition, they have a sound system. In the game, they may not be the one with the advantage."

"What we need to think about is not to fight it and win the game, because if we do that, it will be just like the regular season and will not significantly help our growth."

"You need to abandon any thoughts of avoidance and use your strongest point to break the opponent's strongest point."

Feeling Rivers' serious and passionate emotions, Chen Fang was a little dazed, and then he heard the coach continue to say: "If you want to truly grow and establish a strong spiritual will for yourself, then it is the best opponent."

"Choose the right person, and the result won't matter."

"Because the process has become precious, the series with the Jazz will be the best helper for you to leap into the top tier of the league."

Although a little confused, it did not prevent Chen Fang from accepting it. He found that he was missing a lot when it came to the core spirit of basketball.

My cognition and thinking seem to be not very high, which causes me to always look at problems differently from others?

With this thought in mind, Chen Fang returned home.

Today is the 14th, and there is only one day left until the first playoffs.

After returning home, Chen Fang wanted to watch variety shows to relax, but Wu Zi felt that something was wrong with him. He was not as relaxed as before and was always moving around.

"Nervous?" she asked.

"No!" Chen Fang replied without hesitation, and then immediately said guiltily: "A little bit."

"Is it like before the exam?"

"Almost. I think by this time tomorrow, I'll be playing in the playoffs." Chen Fang couldn't explain the discomfort he felt. It wasn't fear, but inexplicable panic.

He wanted to call someone again, but the moment he took out the phone, he gave up the idea.

If you seek help for everything, it will not help your own growth.

Just as Chen Fang was getting annoyed, the phone rang.

It's Kobe.

After the call was connected, Chen Fang stood up as soon as he heard the first sentence.

Then he ran to the door and saw through the glass an SUV parked outside the yard.

"I'm going out for a while, maybe I'll be back soon. If you're not back by eleven, you can go to bed first."

After giving the instructions, Chen Fang calmed himself down, opened the door and walked out.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Chen Fang was somewhat helpless: "Tomorrow is the playoffs, what do you want to do?"

Kobe didn't answer, but stepped on the accelerator. The Escalade let out a dull roar and burst out with powerful power.

Neither of them spoke during the entire process, only Gouye's music was bouncing passionately.

Chen Fang didn't know, but he didn't want to ask. He just had to wait patiently to find out what kind of gourd Kobe wanted to sell.

格里菲斯天文台，每天晚上7:00-9:30，天文台会开放4台巨型望远镜中的1-2台给游客免费使用。

When Kobe and Chen Fang arrived here on the shuttle bus and stood on the top of the mountain overlooking the entire night view of Los Angeles, their inner irritability was immediately swept away.

The vast world composed of the sky and the sea of stars comes into view at a glance.

"When I'm under a lot of pressure, I'll come here, sometimes late at night, stay here quietly for a while, and then go to the gym for training." Kobe's voice sounded from behind.

"I've been thinking a lot here, but weirdly enough, it has nothing to do with basketball."

"But every time I leave here, my pursuit of basketball becomes clearer."

"Do you want to see Mars?" Kobe pointed to the astronomical telescope not far away.

"Maybe later. I think I like to see that place more now." Chen Fang pointed at the entire city.

"I like it, too. I used to be an iconic figure in this city. When people talk about Los Angeles, they think of the Lakers, and then they think of me immediately."

"Isn't it?" Kobe asked Chen Fang.

"Yes, that's amazing." Chen Fang could only shrug.

“Imagine it’s you now.”

Chen Fang's head was shocked, and he immediately realized why Kobe brought him here.

Looking back at the city, Chen Fang gradually felt a surge of heroic feelings in his heart.

"Tomorrow is the first step for you to be accepted by this city. Forget about the regular season, our stage is the playoffs."

"To prove myself, to conquer, and to please the people of this city one battle at a time."

"Will you come if you lose the game?" Chen Fang suddenly asked.

Kobe shook his head: "No."

"why?"

Kobe looked at Chen Fang strangely: "If you treat Los Angeles as a city, you will become its slave."

“But when you come here, you see it in its entirety and you treat it as a person.”

"Either conquer it or harm it."

“When you have this perspective, you will naturally not lack courage.”

"If you lose, it means you have hurt it. If you want to apologize, you should go to the stadium and win it back, instead of coming in front of it and begging for its forgiveness."

Chen Fang understood everything. He turned around and looked at the dazzling city.

Los Angeles!
"One day, you will conquer cities in the alliance one by one, until when you appear, the cities will welcome you warmly, and when you leave, every city will cry."

Kobe came to Chen Fang and stood side by side with him. He looked at the sea of lights under the night sky with deep affection.

"I haven't been here for a few years, but it hasn't changed, and neither have I."

"I have changed after hearing what you said."

"Thank you, Kobe. These are the most precious words in my life." Chen Fang said solemnly.

"Los Angeles will be my starting point and my end point. One day, I will bring someone I recognize here and tell him these words."

Kobe smiled and hugged Chen Fang.

"Come on, kid, enjoy your first playoff game in your life!"

(End of this chapter)