Super All-around Point Guard

After the Lakers won the battle at Tianwang Mountain, Xie Chen and the Lakers fans were extremely excited and posted online to express their joy.

"Congratulations to our lake for winning Tianwang Mountain! According to past historical statistics, as long as Xie Chen gets the match point in the series, he will definitely advance to the next round! Our lake has already locked in a spot in the Western Conference finals!"

"Thank you, please respect yourself! According to past history, as long as Xie Chen wins one victory in the playoffs, he will 100% advance to the next round!"

"Why don't you say that Xie Chen will definitely advance as long as he puts his feet on the floor of the playoff court? We all know that Xie Chen has not lost a playoff series yet. Are you bragging like this? Be careful!"

Xie Chen has not lost a playoff series since he entered the league. This is extremely terrible. Whether it is the great Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or James, they all tasted the bitter fruit of playoff defeat very early. , and Xie Chen never did it once. James' Cavaliers once had the best chance to do it, but unfortunately in the good situation of 3:0, Xie Chen was reversed.

If Xie Chen can retire with such a complete victory, it will be a perfect achievement that will be unattainable by future generations.

After watching the game, the players of the Warriors and Cavaliers were a little frustrated.

Curry frowned and said to himself: "Will we meet them again this year? This time is a bit earlier than the previous two years."

Durant is also gearing up and getting ready to play against the Lakers.

LeBron James is relatively relaxed compared to the Warriors players, because even if Xie Chen gets through the Spurs, there are still four Warriors giants waiting for Xie Chen. Against the Warriors, James does not have much confidence. From a certain point of view, To a certain extent, he hopes that the Lakers can advance, not the Warriors.

The Spurs players were very frustrated when they lost this game, especially Leonard. He almost exhausted all his energy, but he still lost in the end and allowed Xie Chen to score such a high score.

Popovich could see that Leonard was dissatisfied with himself. He rarely patted his disciple on the back of the head after the game and comforted him: "You did a good job. If it weren't for you, I would have taken it tonight." 80 points."

It was also the first time that Popovich knew how painful and helpless it was to face Xie Chen. In the past two seasons, he had been watching Xie Chen play against other teams and could not understand firsthand how terrible Xie Chen was. Now he is really facing Xie Chen. After facing each other, he really forced the strongest Xie Chen out, and Popovich realized that Xie Chen is really omnipotent. His versatility and desire for the championship are not comparable to ordinary superstars.

"This is a guy more terrifying than Michael Jordan." This was Popovich's evaluation of Xie Chen after the game.

At the press conference after the game, Xie Chen tried to remain humble and cautious about the next game. He did not dare to say that he had already half-stepped into the Western Conference finals. The Spurs are very difficult to deal with. Always be careful when racing.

At the same time, the Raptors returned to their home court and finally won another victory. The Raptors fans have always been enthusiastic and gave the Raptors players a lot of motivation. Kyle Lowry and DeRozan both scored 23+ points. , played a good role as a team leader and created open shooting opportunities for his teammates. Terrence Ross was also very efficient tonight. In fact, his shooting percentage this season is the best in his career. In the previous year, Valanciunas also grabbed 18 rebounds, which was also the key to the Raptors' victory.

The next day, when all the Lakers arrived in San Antonio to prepare for Game 6, the Warriors and Clippers also started a contest in Game 5. The Warriors had been leading the score and they had the opportunity to end the series at their home court. Yes, unexpectedly the Clippers suddenly launched a counterattack in the third quarter. Paul seemed unwilling to accept the outcome of not being able to touch the floor of the Western Conference Finals again. He and his teammates hit three-pointers one after another. By the fourth quarter, the Clippers were leading the Warriors. Well, in the end, the Warriors did not show a particularly strong desire to end the series, so they lost this game.

The score of the series between the Warriors and Clippers became 3:2.

On the Eastern side, in the game between the Cavaliers and the Hornets, the Cavaliers returned to their home court and were not polite. The Big Three all showed their strength, defeated the Hornets, and successfully advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals!

"Without Xie Chen in the Eastern Conference, James is really invincible! Even if the Cavaliers reach the Eastern Conference Finals, I don't think this situation will change."

"If James also goes to the Western Conference, I'm afraid there won't be much to watch in the Eastern Conference playoffs."

…

The night before the sixth game between the Lakers and the Spurs, Leonard stayed alone after all the players left and continued to practice in the training facility.

He was shooting from different positions. He looked very calm on the surface, but in fact he was very concerned about tomorrow's game, because tomorrow might be his last game of the season, and he didn't want to end the season yet.

The footsteps of another person soon sounded on the empty court. Leonard turned his head and looked, it was the old man with a white beard, Popovich, who he met every day.

"Coach." Leonard called Popovich, fearing that Popovich was coming to drive him back to sleep. He had done this before. Popovich was not a coach like Pat Riley. He doesn't exploit players.

Popovich rarely showed a kind and kind smile. He was dressed in casual clothes and was not as serious as when he usually wore a suit or sportswear. Popovich smiled and said: "I guess you won't be able to sleep. It just so happens that I will be here tonight." I can’t sleep either, so I’ll come over and talk to you.”

Leonard looked very shy in front of Popovich, completely unlike a player who had won the Finals MVP.

After the two sat down, Popovich said: "Kawhi, I can understand your mood. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Pau Gasol, they have all won more than one championship, and they will soon You are about to retire and leave this team. Their mood in competing in this playoffs is completely different from yours. At your age, you must be trying your best to prove yourself, especially when there are so many talented guys in the league. What do Lissie, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and LeBron do? There are too many players who will be ranked in the top 20 or top 10 in history. Do you want to be in this great world? Win the championship in this era so that people in the world can remember you, right?"

Leonard does think so. He knows that although Tony Parker and Gasol are teammates with them, their hearts are not connected. Their desire for the championship is much worse than Leonard's. More than that, only Aldridge is the same as Leonard, because Aldridge has not won a championship since coming to the Spurs.

Seeing that Leonard was still silent, Popovich continued: "After the last game, Tony Parker talked to me. He said that he saw you so disappointed after losing and felt very sorry for you. When you needed it most, When you need help, they are old and can't provide you with much help. I think Pau Gasol feels the same way, so don't blame them."

"How could it be, how could I blame them? They were once great players, but I was not lucky enough to meet them at their peak." Leonard said quickly. Although they lost on the court, these old players are indeed very good. Big reasons, but Leonard still respects them.

Popovich chatted for a few more words, then suddenly stood up, smiled, and said to himself: "Tim Duncan is quite comfortable. Now he doesn't have to face the trouble of the playoffs. It seems that I have to, too." Think about when it’s time to live a more relaxed life like him.”

Popovich said, walking towards the exit.

"Coach..." Looking at Popovich's old back, Leonard had mixed feelings for a moment.

The next day, the Spurs played at the AT\u0026T Center Arena.

The venue was still full. Compared with the last time the Lakers visited, this time the Lakers' visit made Spurs fans feel more oppressive. They knew that the Lakers were here to eliminate the Spurs and steal the promotion spot. The Spurs had been forced into a desperate situation and they had no way out. , if they lose this game at one point, their series this season will be over.

Before the series started, many people still laughed at Xie Chen's remarks about retiring from winning the championship this season. They believed that Xie Chen had no chance to defeat the Spurs, so how could he talk about winning the championship? But now, in just five games, Xie Chen has pushed his opponent into danger.

"Xie is really awesome. Before we played against the Lakers, I thought that Xie alone could not compete with the Spurs, but I didn't expect that it would be them who got the match point first..."

"It would be understandable if the Spurs did not perform well in the last game and lost the game, but the Spurs played very well in the last game, and Leonard also gave the best playoff performance of his career, but they still lost in the end. The ball allowed Xie to score so many points. I hope he won’t be so crazy tonight. As long as we can drag the game into a tiebreaker, we can still reverse it.”

Spurs fans all hope that the series can enter a tiebreaker. In this case, with the Spurs' stable team strength, they can still win this series. However, how could Xie Chen, who was only one step away from victory, allow it? Are your opponents catching up game after game?

For Xie Chen, he will play this sixth game as his seventh game!

After entering the court, Xie Chen looked full of energy and energy. He was already ready to play two games in a row.

"Tonight I will continue to play two Spurs in a row. I have done my homework for the Spurs every year. No matter which year I meet the legendary Spurs, I believe that winning the game and maintaining my ability will not be a problem. But I can't play against the Spurs tonight. It’s overtime, otherwise physical fitness will no longer be my advantage, but will become my weakness.”

When playing at home, Xie Chen's physical advantage becomes more evident in overtime, but it's different when it comes to away games. Xie Chen played two games in a row, even though many of his abilities don't require physical exertion on the court. Playing for such a long time will definitely make you tired. Continuously grabbing rebounds, shooting, and assisting will make people feel bored, and they will no longer be able to continue playing overtime.

However, the Spurs and other spectators did not know these things about Xie Chen. They all believed that the Spurs should never play overtime with the Lakers. Xie Chen was a physical monster and could do anything in overtime as in the first quarter.

Even Westbrook, who came to watch the game, said: "If the Spurs want to win this game, they must win it cleanly and establish an early lead. Don't ever have the chance to play overtime with the Lakers. Among the Spurs guys, Leonard is considered to have outstanding physical fitness. He worked hard for four whole quarters in the last game and failed in the second overtime. However, Xie's shooting rate is as high as ever, and his physical fitness is not affected. , not to mention the rest of the Spurs, the mistakes at critical moments were caused by a decline in physical fitness."

James Harden also nodded in approval: "Yes, Xie's physical fitness is terrible. Others will feel very tired when playing overtime, but when Xie comes here, he is very excited."

However, Hassan Whiteside had a different opinion, saying: "How come I remember a game last season? Xie's performance in overtime was not excitement, but really tired, and he also had passes and catches. mistakes."

Whiteside was obviously talking about Xie Chen when he was playing away games.

Last season, Xie Chen was on the same team as Carmelo Anthony, and the three of them looked at Anthony to wait for the answer. However, Anthony was chatting with the three of them while looking at his "eldest cousin" Jennifer Lawrence on the other side. After smiling and nodding, he casually replied: "Maybe Xie had a cold that day."

In Anthony's impression, although Xie Chen occasionally performed poorly, there were too few such times. What he remembered more was that he kept winning crazily.

Popovich also said to himself before the game: "You must not play overtime with them."

The game started soon. The Spurs wanted to strike first, and Xie Chen also wanted to take the lead early and end the series as soon as possible. The two teams refused to let anyone go, and the game was extremely fierce.

Just when Xie Chen missed two three-pointers, the Spurs took advantage of this opportunity and quickly expanded the score to 8 points!

"Oops, the Spurs are about to gain momentum. Once the Spurs lead by double digits, it will be difficult for the Lakers to win this game."

"The Spurs' attitude is very determined, that is, they must quickly defeat the Lakers and not play overtime with the Lakers."

The superstar spectators all understood Popovich's intentions.

Xie Chen knew that once the Spurs widened the point difference to double digits, the game would be passive, so he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to reduce the score, but Xie Chen was helplessly guarded. After passing the ball, his teammates still missed, and again Once the Spurs got the ball.

In this attack, the Spurs have a chance to expand the point difference to double digits. Once it does, it may be a key goal in the entire game.

Tony Parker holds the ball on the left side of the three-point line. Leonard of the Spurs pretends to step forward to set a screen. Parker immediately hands the ball to Leonard, switching to Luol Deng to defend Parker, and Xie Chen to defend Leonard. Leonard did not single out Xie Chen, but continued to transfer the ball to Danny Green on the right. Green still did not play by himself, and quickly transferred the ball to Aldridge in the right corner again. Aldridge pretended Hit from the back and turn around quickly.

"No." Xie Chen suddenly realized that the Spurs' offense was not on the right side, although they kept moving the ball to the right.

Xie Chen saw Parker rushing to the left corner quickly, and there was already an opening.