Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 282: The Wheel of Alliance, Causes and Consequences
The Rockets defeated the Spurs without any bloodshed. The whole game was uneventful and suspenseful. Without Leonard, the Spurs didn't even have the ability to resist.

Harden's 44 points + 4 assists + 8 rebounds were a self-congratulation to him for winning the first regular season MVP in his life.

Curry missed the first game, but for the Pelicans, the Warriors are still a huge mountain they cannot overcome. Durant and Klay combined to score 64 points, making Davis look pale.

The Trail Blazers unexpectedly capsized. Facing the Thunder, Lillard and McCollum were both in a slump. Both of them made only 15 of 1 shots in the first half, which was a spectacle for the ages.

Paul George's performance of 31+6+8 is enough to prove that he is worthy of being the third pick in the MVP draft.

There were also many surprises in the East.

In the absence of Embiid, Simmons actually led the 76ers to defeat the Heat.

The Cavaliers played against the Pacers, and James' triple-double couldn't prevent the defeat, so his teammates started talking about the CBA again.

The Raptors easily beat the Wizards. The Trash Brothers were not trash at all. They scored 58 points together to defend their home-court advantage.

The young Celtics team showed their kingly qualities for the first time, hunting down a buck, and the third and first picks worked hand in hand to make a dish of stir-fried deer kidneys.

Because the Eastern and Western Conferences have different time schedules, when the first round of the playoffs is over, there is only one day left until the second round.

The interval between playoff games is three days, and both home and away games are scheduled at this time.

The first thing the Clippers have to do after defeating the Jazz is to set more tactics for Rose and give him enough playing time.

The coaching staff discovered a truth, that is, once Chen Fang is matched with a reliable point guard who has breakthrough, three-point shooting and organizational skills, Chen Fang's playing time will be able to reach 40+ or be sharply reduced to 30.

That is to say, if there is a trusted defender, Chen Fang can stay on the court for 40 minutes when playing without the ball, or he can rest for 5-8 minutes more during a certain period of time.

If Rose can maintain 70% of his form from the first game, many of the Clippers' troubles will disappear.

Wenger and Lawrence communicated the matter with Rivers as soon as possible.

"During the offseason, we must find a middle-aged defender for Chen Fang who doesn't occupy the ball, works hard, and has the ability to organize singles."

"If this defender can also defend, it is the most perfect match for the Chen Fang system."

"This defender can be a ball-holding type, but he can also be a supporting player."

"From Rose's explosion that helped us easily beat the Jazz, we can think of some more areas for improvement."

The three of them immediately thought of one person.

Okafor!
"We should activate Okafor. His skills under the basket can cause trouble for Gobert. If we can beat Gobert, the Jazz will be like a knight who took off his armor and got on the bed to us. We just need to stand by the bed and a fruit knife can pierce his heart." Wenger's words made Rivers frown.

People who wear glasses always give people a creepy feeling.

Frankly speaking, Rivers doesn't like Wenger, and he tells himself in his heart that once he has this idea, he will be close to leaving.

"In fact, I have a complete set of personal tactics for Okafor, and I believe Chen Fang can complete it."

Both of them nodded. Chen Fang was the support point of all tactics. His versatility could make any coach not worry about whether his tactics could be executed.

"Come on, consolidate our home advantage. If we can steal another game away from home, we'll have skipped the first round." As Wenger said this, he couldn't help but take another look at Rivers.

The latter nodded calmly but didn't say anything.

Are you going to talk about my 3-0 comeback again? You bitch!

On April 4, the whole team began to practice some tactics. In the playoffs, tactics become extremely important, especially new tactics, which can help the team win key rounds.

A difference of four or five points is often the most common difference between the two sides in the playoffs.

"Jalil, I need you to set an off-ball screen at 45 degrees, and then cut back to the penalty area. No matter if there is an opponent, once you get the ball, you must do two things."

On the court, Rivers explained to Okafor: "Attack the basket immediately and judge the success rate by yourself. If you are double-teamed and there are not enough opportunities, immediately look for an open cut or an open space in the bottom corner wing."

"I understand, coach." Okafor's mentality was bad because he didn't play in the first game, but he was pleasantly surprised today. The coach specially arranged tactics for him in the second game, which meant that he was not out of favor, but just needed to hide the tactics.

Then Rivers called Rose and Chen Fang.

"Two options, no matter who has the ball, after the opponent sets a pick-and-roll, go to the wing."

"Okafor will come in and do the second pick-and-roll, and then he'll pass the ball to him and then quickly find the open man in the corner on the wing."

"The other person will be at the top of the arc to engage the defense. Once Okafor's offense is blocked, the person at the top of the arc must immediately cut in."

Chen Fang thought for a moment and asked, "Let Okafor be the penalty area dealer?"

"Yes, that's what I mean. He has the ability."

"Okay, Droke and I will alternate between the top of the arc and the wing." Chen Fang understood.

Then Rivers made arrangements to contain Richaun, Harrell, and Jordan in the interior. These are the basic running operations for interior players, such as lifting, blocking in the short corner, pulling out to the bottom corner, etc.

Richaun and Harrell are both unable to pass the ball, Jordan's success rate is not high, and Okafor can only be said to be barely passing.

An irritated Rivers saw Zubac, who had returned to the team and was undergoing personal training to find his form.

"Let him come, I need to see how he can help," Rivers said to Bryan.

Soon, Zubac began to practice this tactic, which was very unexpected.

I didn't expect that Zubac was so accurate in his movement and positioning, and his passing speed was very fast, with a field of vision covering 270°.

So Rivers called the team doctor immediately.

"He's fine!" the team doctor said with certainty.

Not far away, Chen Fang happily bumped chests with Zubac.

"Seize this opportunity, you can't miss opportunities forever." He advised Zubac.

The 21-year-old Zubac nodded heavily. With a youthful face and a newly grown beard, he looked a bit like Zubac.

The afternoon training focused on individual training. Chen Fang was alone in a half court, holding the ball and shooting after the pick-and-roll. The problem he encountered recently was that the opponent was very aggressive in squeezing the screen. In the absence of an outstanding screener, the opponent would be at most half a body length slower and had half a second of interference time.

This invisibly increases the requirements for him to take action.

Kuzma acts as a sparring partner. Assuming the defense is switched in time, Kuzma's interference is the most threatening.

Chen Fang's hit rate is not high, of course this is just what he thinks. In the eyes of the coaching staff and teammates, seven out of ten is already terrifying.

"I must have more techniques to escape!" Chen Fang said to himself.

Then he tried to use a lateral pull-up shot followed by a half step-back. The advantage of this was that he had more space to shoot, but the disadvantage was that the height of his pull-up shot was reduced.

Therefore, Chen Fang began to use cushion shots to solve this problem. Cushion shots are faster and have a lower shooting point. When there is space, this is the more correct choice.

In one afternoon, the coaching staff watched Chen Fang improve his shooting percentage to eight out of ten. The improvement was ten percentage points, and the difficulty doubled the higher the score went.

"Incredible, he is a natural attacker. This kind of touch is unheard of." Brian was shocked.

"He has mastered so many offensive skills. There are four types of shooting power alone: two-stage, 1.5.1.0, 1.25, and ." The same is true for Rivers. Usually, it is difficult for a player to switch between more than two shooting power modes smoothly.

Once a player has this ability, it means that he can easily score both inside and outside the three-point line.

It wasn't until the middle and late stages of the season that Curry's mid-range shooting percentage with the ball caught up with his three-point shooting percentage with the ball.

If an attacker can take three types of shots from beyond the three-point line, he is already among the top players.

The pull-up jump shot is one type of force mode, the quick stop is another, and the catch-and-shoot shot is the third.

The first two mean that you are a pure hard-hitting forward-guard swingman, and the latter means that you are an excellent off-ball turret.

Looking across the league, each team has at most one or two players who can switch smoothly between having the ball and without the ball. To ensure the hit rate under high intensity, there are even fewer.

On this basis, he also has hard-core attacking means such as mid-range pull-up jump shots, face-up pull-ups, turnaround jump shots and difficult pull-up shots for breakthroughs. The league can count them on one hand.

Currently in active service, Durant, DeRozan, and Butler all have this skill.

It now seems that Chen Fang has entered this level.

In the past, the league's four recognized shooting guards each had their own strengths.

Kobe's versatility, McGrady's sharpness, Carter's height, and Iverson's speed.

"It's really a gift from generation to generation. The alliance is about to usher in a new pattern." Brian was filled with emotion as he watched Chen Fang hit the target repeatedly.

"Tatum and Mitchell of the Celtics will soon reach this level. Today's young people are really scary." Rivers also resonated.

"They are the chosen ones of heaven. Sooner or later, they will take over the positions of Durant and DeRozan and become the top forward-guard swingmen in the league!"

"But I believe that Chen Fang will become the best. His desire to win and self-discipline are boosters. His physical fitness and emotional intelligence can protect him from many accidents. Maybe in less than three years, we can see the birth of a super giant." "Don't be too optimistic. He still faces many challenges, including the pursuit of his peers, the suppression of the middle generation, the obstruction of the league's facade, and even the will of the league. Everything will make all these beautiful imaginations have twists and turns." Rivers understands what this league is like better.

"So, you can't leave!" Brian whispered.

Rivers was stunned for a moment, then laughed softly: "You figured it out? When?"

"Every time you go to a meeting with the top management and your expression is not good, I get worried."

"The Clippers gave me too much at the beginning, and now there is not much left. I feel unhappy." Rivers chuckled and patted Bryant on the shoulder: "Don't worry, at least I will still be here next year."

"How much power do you have in next year's draft?" After getting the answer, Brian's expression improved a little. He remembered something and asked.

"I'm just offering advice, I don't even have the authority to do that."

"What?" Brian screamed in horror, but he immediately realized that he had lost his composure and tried to hold it back.

"You are kidding me."

"Of course, as long as he passes this first round, Chen Fang will have a lot of say." Rivers looked at the stadium in the distance and saw Chen Fang, who was training tirelessly like a robot, and said sadly.

"There are always a few people in the league who have more power than the coach and can confront the owner face to face."

"Maybe the owner can trade them ruthlessly, but this kind of behavior of venting anger will only seem to cause the ridicule of other owners in the league."

"There is only one Jordan. Neither Kobe nor James can reach this level."

"Do you know why?" Rivers smiled. "Because Jordan has conquered the whole world, so he doesn't care what the boss wants to do. As long as he is willing, the owners of other teams in the league will immediately open their doors and welcome him in."

Brian suddenly had a question: "Do you think Kobe's voice is stronger in the Lakers, or James's in the Cavaliers?"

Rivers barely thought about it. He said, "James. Undoubtedly, Kobe is a more pure type. He pays more attention to the growth of the core and thinks that he needs to rely on himself first. So only when he loses and has an opportunity will he intimidate the management and make changes."

"From the beginning, James has made it clear that he needs to prepare for whatever I need. The Cavaliers' big purge in February this year is a good example. Of course, the result was positive. At one point, the Cavaliers rushed to the top of the Eastern Conference."

"They both have completely different perspectives, so in my opinion, for management, the one who cries must be better than the one who is withdrawn."

"Then who do you think Chen Fang is more like?" Brian asked openly.

Rivers laughed. He probably guessed what his partner was thinking, so he said, "Maybe Chen Fang will come up with a completely new pattern. He won't be as stubborn and old-fashioned as Kobe, who won't change his mind until he is exhausted, or even just keep insisting on it."

"But he won't show it like James did, letting everyone know what he's thinking. In fact, in my opinion, we'd rather be in touch with James than Kobe."

"Oh, I got tired of comparing the two of you a long time ago."

"There is no comparison. The paths they took are different. The path has changed since James formed the team. James will not waste his youth on a hopeless place. He needs his influence to grow in proportion to his age in the NBA and help him achieve the ultimate result of increasing wealth."

"James' purpose is very clear. The purpose of everything he does is very clear, and he will try his best to get more people to help him achieve his goal."

"That's why he's disliked by some people, including a lot of coaches and management."

Rivers may have thought a lot more clearly, he went on to say with some interest: "But at the same time, as a leader, if you clearly express your purpose, you will definitely attract people. After all, no one wants to be too tired. When the league's face publicly announced this kind of operation that would have been attacked by everyone before, the entire league landscape changed."

"In some ways, Kobe didn't change the league, but James did, and he's still changing it."

"This trend seems difficult to stop. Leading a team alone has become the most impossible thing. It's not because it's difficult, but when everyone else chooses to form a team to compete for the championship, your chances of getting a ring are infinitely zero."

"That's human nature. It's just that James took on the public opinion all by himself, so when Durant went to the Warriors, it wasn't so outrageous anymore."

"For fans, there will also be polarization. People's lives are no longer the same as before. You can't expect others to do the same except for those who come to watch the game in person. Digital media will selectively present the images they want to present to the target fans. Then, when the vast majority of fans only look at the data, all the stars in the league will follow suit."

"The league focuses more on offense than defense. The current league no longer requires super giants to be able to attack and defend at the same time, because the high frequency of attack and defense rounds is enough to completely consume your physical energy."

"With the invisible effect of choosing scoring data and defense, any fool would choose offense."

"As for defense, the team will train dedicated defenders and top defenders. The superstars only need to maximize the transition between offense and defense and use more three-pointers to resolve the battle in positional battles."

"There will be fewer and fewer pull-ups that break through a few people, and fewer dunks. Everything is moving towards an endless accumulation of data."

"This is the tone of the league for the next decade, I think."

Brian was silent for a long time. He said with difficulty: "This is a picture I am not familiar with, sir. You have described a terrible future."

"Don't worry, we have to survive and support our family. You will adapt, everyone will," Rivers comforted.

"It's heavy!" Brian sighed.

"Is it impossible to change it?" he asked without giving up.

Rivers shook his head: "I don't know either. Even Kobe will be forced to acquiesce to the management's operation of looking for giants to join. This is the wheel of the league's history, and it has been driven by James."

The two suddenly lost interest in talking and just watched Chen Fang shoot in silence.

"No one knows how high he can go!" Brian sighed.

"I don't know either, but no one can change it, not even Chen Fang. So don't even think about it." Rivers patted Bryan and walked away with his hands behind his back.

4 month 18 day.

The Clippers continued to face the Jazz at home. Rivers activated Zubac and the strategy of consuming Gobert worked. Snyder was once again played in the hands of the shrewd Rivers. Now if anyone tells him that Doug is a stupid dog, he will definitely tear that person to pieces.

Because he is stupider by comparison.

In the first quarter, Gobert was forced to leave the game due to three fouls.

The Jazz lost their inside barrier, and Chen Fang, Lou Williams, and Kuzma took turns to attack the inside, causing greater damage when attacking the basket.

Rose continued his performance from the previous game. At this moment, dragging his scarred knee, he used his experience and vision to become the Clippers' most trusted starting point guard.

Mitchell scored an amazing 41 points, but it didn't prevent the defeat.

Chen Fang's performance was average, with 21 points, 5 assists and 7 rebounds, which was a bit low-key.

But the Clippers' collective performance, with five players scoring in double digits and three players scoring in double digits in rebounds, happened under the sole leadership of Chen Fang.

Simply 2:0, leading the Jazz by two wins, they will come to Utah on the 21st. In the next two away games, as long as they win one, the Jazz's will to resist will completely collapse.

Therefore, the third game became a crucial one, also known as the battle of the little kings in the playoffs.

Mitchell was still unconvinced. He complained to reporters and swore: "The Clippers will not take a game away from the Jazz's home court. They can't defeat us by whistling."

Snyder had a gloomy expression at the post-match press conference and blasted the referee's decision-making standards.

"As we all know, Gobert is the best defender. To me, this kind of dirty operation of three fouls in five minutes is more like the ironclad evidence that the league and the Clippers have joined forces to get rid of the Jazz."

"I don't care about the fine, I want justice!"

The Jazz head coach's remarks immediately caused an uproar. Although the league responded quickly and fined Snyder $5, rumors about the league's support for rookie sensation Chen Fang became more and more widespread.

So after getting familiar with the venue and doing the routine warm-up, the reporter asked Chen Fang this question, and the latter refuted with even sharper words.

"To hell with it, this kind of paranoia should be treated in the hospital, not in the sports league."

"I have no intention of making excuses. None of the five fouls on Gobert were wrongly judged. It's just that the standard of the regular season mistakenly believed that this was correct."

"The Jazz are not strong enough to need more people to take down anyone. It is precisely this kind of arrogance that is the main reason why they are now trailing 0-2."

"Please accept the fact that the Clippers are better than the Jazz, and please accept the reality that I am better than Mitchell."

The perceptive reporter immediately extended the topic and asked Chen Fang how to prove it, but Chen Fang just smiled.

"41 points is his limit, that's just my warm-up!"

He turned around and left, leaving a group of reporters with shocked expressions.

Therefore, the third game between the Clippers and the Jazz on the road instantly became the focus of the league and was broadcast live across the United States.

Everyone knows that Chen Fang always keeps his word and fulfills his promises.

The spinach market is open, guess how many points the Chinese will get.

Chen Fang, who caused this wave, responded to Rivers' inquiry: "I did it on purpose. I need to establish my image. I welcome all those who are dissatisfied to weigh my ability."

"And I also want to know how strong I am at my best in the playoffs!"

"Just wait and see, I'm sharpening my knife!" Facing the domineering Chen Fang, Rivers was almost speechless.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that this kid might have a little chance of changing the alliance.

(End of this chapter)