Chapter 1 The North Wind Blows, Snowflakes Flutter

Although there is no snow in Seattle in May.

But when the shouts of "Refund! rnm!" echoed throughout the Seattle KeyArena...

At that moment, even without snow, a shivering Kevin Durant felt as if he were in the Arctic.

May 11th.

Down 0-2 in the series, the SuperSonics, on the brink of elimination, could only keep their Western Conference Semifinals series against the Lakers alive with a victory.

Because to this day...

In the long history of the NBA, no team had ever come back from a 0-3 deficit.

However...

Even though Durant took a rare 31 shots on the court that night...

The SuperSonics couldn't change the fact that they were about to be swept out of the playoffs for the second year in a row.

No!

31 shots...

Who are you trying to stab to death with a Tyrant Spear without a spearhead?

Compared to the previous two games, Durant, back in Seattle, not only fully confirmed Su Feng's assessment before the series began that he was now undefendable.

Moreover, Durant, who scored 44 points for the SuperSonics with 14 of 31 shots from the field, including three-pointers and free throws, also successfully joined the super giant camp that could score 40+ under Su Feng's defense.

But...

During the game, Durant still didn't shake the "invisible" impression he had given in this series.

Because as the SuperSonics' most consistent scorer on the court that night...

In the last six minutes of the fourth quarter, Durant only took two shots and scored zero points.

In addition, despite increasing his shot attempts in the game...

Most of Durant's offense was still the familiar and comforting "piecemeal" scoring.

In short...

From the most intuitive on-court performance...

You might even think that Russell Westbrook was the boss of this SuperSonics team in this game.

Because in addition to taking all seven of the SuperSonics' shots in the final moments...

Westbrook, who repeatedly earned free throw opportunities for the team on the court, even gave SuperSonics fans hope of a comeback in the final moments.

Unfortunately, because Westbrook made mistakes under Su Feng's defense in the last two possessions, giving the ball to the Lakers, the SuperSonics completely lost their chance to come back.

It was all because of Westbrook, for better or worse.

The final score of the game was 117 to 109.

For the Lakers, Su Feng once again scored a game-high 47 points.

In fact, in terms of efficiency...

Durant, who only used 31 shots to score 44 points that night, was basically on par with Su Feng, who used 33 shots to score 47 points.

However, because Su Feng's scoring was very concentrated, and 17 of those 47 points were scored in the last 7 minutes of the fourth quarter...

So, in terms of on-court performance, Durant and Su Feng were worlds apart.

And Durant shouldn't blame the fans for not understanding the game and just blindly criticizing him all day long.

Because if he hadn't been so Pippen-esque in this game...

Su Feng wouldn't have abandoned him with a look of disgust in the final moments, turning instead to Westbrook, who was far more Jordan-esque than Durant.

In his previous life, whether it was on the US national team or with the Warriors, it wasn't hard to see...

That Durant could only fully display his power on the court when his teammates were strong enough.

Including the 2010 World Championship in Turkey.

Although the overall strength of that US men's basketball team couldn't really be ranked in the Dream Team family...

But compared to other world powerhouses...

It was still an out-and-out galactic battleship.

In short...

Durant's personality meant from the start that it would be difficult for him to become a qualified leader.

On the contrary.

Seamlessly connecting with any system, he could not only become a super scorer under any system, but the stronger the system, the greater the role Durant could play in it.

Honestly.

If he could meet a good big brother, Durant could definitely win championships until his hands were soft.

And based on the fact that this guy didn't realize he was a superstar and not a role player until Draymond Green complained "We were already champions before you came"...

You don't even have to worry about Durant thinking about backstabbing you like most second-in-commands in this league who only want to usurp the throne.

After all...

What bad intentions could a "foreman" have who was caught red-handed by fans for watching adult movies and generously admitted that he was indeed into it?

"Your efficiency was a bit low in this game, Su Feng!" After the game, holding the stat sheet that Lakers assistant coach Walton handed him, "Old Man Kobe," who was massaging Su Feng with "no other intentions at all," said to Su Feng.

Hearing this...

Su Feng, who regretted not recording what Kobe had said to him earlier, couldn't hold back...

"Yes, I think so too." Looking at "Old Man Kobe," who still didn't forget to care about him after the game, Su Feng said with a well-behaved look.

Sigh!

Isn't it just choosing to be compliant in front of Kobe?

What's so embarrassing about that?

You should know that when he was receiving Kobe's coaching, Su Feng was much more shameless than he is now.

What is face?

Can that stuff be eaten?

Just like every man chooses to give way to the tiger in his house in the "head of the house" dispute...

Meaning...

Is the brotherhood between him, Su Feng, and Kobe...

Not even worth a mere Britney?

"One more game, and we'll be in the Western Conference Finals." Playing around, Kobe, who was massaging Su Feng in the visitor's locker room, suddenly said with a solemn expression.

Leading 3-0 in the series.

It can be said that it's only a matter of time before the Lakers advance to this year's Western Conference Finals.

And with the news that the Jazz had tied their series with the Warriors to 1-2 on the Utah Plateau on the night of the 11th...

Basically, without Su Feng and Kobe reminding them, the Lakers players knew what it would mean for the Lakers to kill this series directly in the fourth game against the SuperSonics.

No Game 5.

There can't be a Game 5.

Only by finishing the job in one fell swoop, ending this Western Conference Semifinals series in Seattle...

Could the Lakers take the lead in advancing to the NBA Finals!

One day later, on the night of the 13th.

Facing the SuperSonics, whose morale and fighting spirit were on the verge of collapse, but who had rallied again on the belief of fighting for honor...

Su Feng, who once again transformed into a "battering ram" for the Lakers, personally broke through the city gate of this "Emerald City"!

In the first quarter, Su Feng, who repeatedly scored in the paint, not only made the Seattle fans in attendance feel what despair was...

In return...

On the defensive end, he also doggedly stuck to Durant, who had played well in Game 3.

Eager to prove himself, Durant had made ample mental preparations before the fourth game between the two teams began.

But under Su Feng's relentless defense...

Compared to Jordan, Barkley, Malone, and others who had faced Su Feng on the court in the past...

He, who always wore tension, anxiety, and unease on his face, once again forgot that he was the only consistent scorer on this SuperSonics team.

Westbrook, who also had a good game in Game 3, was clearly lost in this game.

Because at this juncture in 2013, no point guard could repeatedly explode Rajon Rondo.

KeyArena.

With the SuperSonics trailing the Lakers by as many as 14 points in the first quarter, James Harden once again became the only hope for the entire village.

In addition, in order to increase the SuperSonics' second-unit offensive firepower, SuperSonics head coach Scott Brooks also kept Brandon Roy in the game at the beginning of the quarter.

However, after the first three games, because Harden had already been labeled by SuperSonics fans as "the one on the team who doesn't want to win the most" under Derek Fisher's meddling...

So, with his mentality severely disturbed, he, who was not Magneto yet, was clearly flustered after missing two consecutive shots and being greeted with boos from the crowd.

And although Roy showed the performance that he was once rated by ESPN as the league's best scoring guard at the beginning of this quarter...

Shaun Livingston, who had already mastered the "pull-up jumper" technique, used his scoring in the battlefield drawn for him by Chauncey Billups to counter Roy's wave of "flashbacks to the good old days."

In his previous life, as one of the Warriors' three-time championship-winning players in four years, Livingston not only had a field goal percentage of over 85% in the paint in the 16/17 and 17/18 playoffs, but his mid-range pull-up jumper percentage also reached an astonishing 50%!

It's not an exaggeration to say that at certain moments, Livingston was the offensive core of that Warriors team.

Regular season.

Because Su Feng and Kobe were too eye-catching, people didn't pay too much attention to the other players on this Lakers team.

And not until now...

Did people realize...

That Livingston, who had been playing the role of ball-handling tool man on the team for the past few years, had become the stabilizer of this Lakers' second unit!

In order to defend their last bit of dignity, Brooks brought back Durant, Westbrook, and Nick Collison with 10 minutes left in the quarter.

However, in the second quarter...

When Su Feng returned, the Lakers still held a 12-point lead.

At this point in the game.

Brooks had been completely outmatched by Tyronn Lue in terms of both tactics and personnel rotation.

And in the second half of the second quarter, watching Durant, who was always sneaking little shots in front of him, Su Feng also used a personal scoring spree of 11 consecutive points...

To personally teach Durant the correct way for a super scorer to score.

What's the point of evenly distributed scoring when it doesn't have the same lethality and deterrent effect as this kind of scoring in streaks?

On the court, Brooks, who was forced to call two timeouts in a row during Su Feng's personal scoring surge, didn't know how to lead the SuperSonics to achieve a reverse in this game.

During the timeout, the SuperSonics' coaches and players looked at each other...

Various pessimistic and negative emotions suddenly filled the entire team.

On the bench, besides Fisher constantly warning his teammates to strengthen their defense and to choose better, more reasonable offensive options, trying to prove his existence with these truisms that everyone knew...

Perhaps, at this moment...

The only one who was still hoping that these geniuses could suddenly get their act together...

Was Nick Collison, who was still encouraging Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Roy when the timeout ended.

It's a pity...

In this league full of supermen, Collison, even though he harbored beautiful aspirations for the future, couldn't turn the tide like those geniuses.

KeyArena.

The SuperSonics' defeat was already apparent!

After the SuperSonics' second timeout...

It was him, it was him, it was still him!

Danny Green from North Carolina used three consecutive three-pointers to extinguish the hopes of everyone in this arena!

At the end of the first half, 64 to 44.

NBA convention.

The visiting team is in front.

The home team is behind.

In the third quarter, the Lakers didn't trigger their passive ability to slack off after taking the lead.

Because on the same night, in another Western Conference Semifinals game that ended earlier, the news that the Warriors had captured the Utah Plateau and led the Jazz 3-1 was like Mount Everest, pressing down on the heads of all the Lakers players.

"Oh my god! Seth Curry!

It's Seth Curry again!"

"Yo yo yo, Rajon Rondo made this shot too!

Is this his first three-pointer in how many games?"

"Whoa, Bogdan Bogdanovic really dares to shoot, did you see that, Su Feng even rotated out, but he just wouldn't pass, he just had to do it himself!"

"Heh! Is Marc Gasol going to take a shot too?

Beautiful!"

As the team leader, after the whole team's touch had been activated, Su Feng decisively retreated behind the scenes with Kobe.

And at this time, even if Durant, whose touch had arrived late, scored 14 consecutive points on the court...

What was the use?

At the end of the third quarter, the difference between the two teams had reached 97 to 68.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, after resisting for three minutes without success, Brooks pulled all the SuperSonics' starters off the court early.

And as the SuperSonics fans in the arena left early one after another...

Durant, covered with a towel, not knowing what he was thinking;

Harden, staring blankly at the ceiling, his eyes wide like copper bells;

Westbrook, biting his lips back and forth, standing on the sidelines with his hands on his hips;

Roy, leaning back on the bench, covering his face with his hands, and occasionally peeking at the scoreboard through the gaps...

In this way...

They contributed a scene called "Swept Out of the Playoffs" for the fans for two consecutive years.

Perhaps not until this moment.

Could these talented young people believe that they would be swept out of the playoffs for two consecutive years by the Mavericks and the Lakers.

But compared to the unwillingness in their chests...

If they still can't realize...

That this era has no future.

Then next year, they still won't have a future.

KeyArena.

The final score of this Western Conference Semifinals Game 4 was finally set at 127 to 101.

After sweeping the SuperSonics with a score of 4 to 0, the Los Angeles Lakers became the first team in the East and West to secure a ticket to this year's Conference Finals.

On the court, when Su Feng's right hand, which was clearly a whole circle larger than Kobe's, clenched and bumped fists with Kobe's left hand...

In front of the TV, Lakers fans from all over the world felt the fiery killing intent in the eyes of these two.

Now.

At this moment.

For this Lakers team, the real test was just beginning.

Two days later, not letting the Lakers wait too long.

Back in Oracle Arena in Oakland, Yao Ming and his teammates said goodbye to his national teammate, Yi Jianlian.

The Jazz had tried their best.

Over the past few years, the Jazz, who were known for their bench firepower, had been suppressed in all aspects in this series against the Warriors.

Because comparing the starting scoring points, the Warriors were not only far above the Jazz.

Even comparing the bench scoring...

In this series, the Warriors averaged nearly 10 points more than the Jazz.

And for the vast number of Chinese fans...

This night, watching the awkward smile that Yao Ming always wore on his face.

They didn't know why...

Anyway, they just felt that Yao Ming was extremely hateful at this moment!

Just like they always felt that Su Feng was a big villain during the Yao-Feng showdown.

The highly anticipated Lakers and Warriors unexpectedly met in this year's Western Conference Finals.

And in New York, watching the buffs that this upcoming Western Conference Finals possessed...

Vaguely, David Stern felt that this year's Western Conference Finals might become the buzzer-beater of his NBA president's career.

Su Feng, Yao Ming.

The ultimate top streamers who have dominated the top two spots on the Forbes China Celebrity List for many years.

In recent years, the most watched group of matchups in the NBA's many "China Derbies."

Los Angeles' geriatric combination vs. the Akron brothers.

The two most talked about perimeter partnerships in NBA history.

Su Feng and LeBron James.

A legacy that has been hyped for nearly a decade.

And the various grievances between Su Feng, Kobe, the Lakers, and that group of Avengers on this Warriors team.

In Stern's view, this upcoming Western Conference Finals not only possessed all the necessary elements that would become classics in the future...

And, in terms of aesthetics...

This was also a series that had made countless fans impatient even before it had begun.

The battle for the Western Conference dominance in the 12/13 season would unfold between the Lakers and the Warriors.

In the East, in the "small dark battle" between the Heat and the Celtics, after experiencing seven rounds of battles, and accumulating a total of 15 players and coaches being ejected from this series...

The young Kawhi Leonard was unable to go further with the Boston three old men.

Because the Heat, with more players, successfully had the last laugh with their matching strategy.

On the other side, the Hawks eliminated the Nets with a score of 4 to 2.

Although in Game 5 between the two teams, Blake Griffin completed a death dunk over Pau Gasol in Atlanta.

But in this series, he was suppressed by Gasol on both offense and defense.

However, because of this dunk, the stereotype that Griffin exploded Gasol in this semifinals was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people...

So in this way, it also led to Dwight Howard, who couldn't get any advantage in front of Serge Ibaka...

Alone taking the blame for the Nets' loss after the game.

As we all know.

Ibaka had previously been labeled as a famous "softie" by Yi Jianlian and Su Feng.

So...

Howard, who couldn't even compare to Ibaka in terms of hardness...

His image in the minds of stars at this moment could be said to be both short and soft.

The battle for Eastern Conference dominance would unfold between the Hawks and the Heat.

And before the arrival of the Western Conference Finals, in addition to the results of the 12/13 season regular season awards that the NBA was about to announce...

Jeff Van Gundy's complaint after leading his team to Los Angeles also successfully made headlines in major sports newspapers and magazines in China and the United States.

"Can you believe that after winning 72 games in the regular season, you still don't have home court advantage in the playoffs?"

...

ps: Make a wish: Strive to ask for double monthly tickets at the end of the month, A Qiao can explode every day with her left hand suffering from ulnar nerve damage, and her thoughts flow like a spring!