Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 449 - 149: An Invitation from Qin Yue, MVP Teaming Up with MVP?_2
On the team’s upcoming Eastern road trip...
The back-to-back schedule that the league meticulously arranged for the Warriors led them to consecutively lose in games against the Bulls and Wizards.
If losing to the Wizards could be seen as bowing out to a team vying for an Eastern playoff spot,
then losing to the Bulls was purely the Warriors being worn down by their grueling schedule.
Simply looking at the roster strength...
This Bulls team, comprised of players like Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Joakim Noah, Anderson Varejao, and others, isn’t weak.
However, the top pick favorite of 2008...
Is Derrick Rose, the ’Child of the Wind City,’ whom Adidas invested heavily in to counter the Nike Empire?
Even though, according to NCAA regulations, Rose had to wait until draft eligibility to officially sign with Adidas.
But just like Nike back then couldn’t wait for James and Qin Yue to be drafted before recruiting them, Adidas also couldn’t wait for three months later to promote Rose.
As the second-least probable top pick in NBA history...
In Qin Yue’s memory, historically, the Bulls would have a 1.7% chance to draw the top pick this year and use it to select Rose, who was born in Chicago.
Yes, the Bulls’ main task this season wasn’t even tanking.
They just needed to find a way to stay clear of the playoffs.
Because as long as they missed the playoffs, the league would find a way to fairly, justly, and openly deliver the top pick that would assure them of selecting the ’Wind City Rose’ to Chicago.
Qin Yue knew very well that the top pick of 2008 was an allocated spot no one could snatch from the Bulls.
Just like this year...
The Nike executives had already hinted multiple times that as long as he could lead the Warriors back to the upper half of the Western Conference, then Nike would utilize all its connections to secure the regular season MVP trophy for him.
Privately, Nike executive Lynn Merritt said to Qin Yue, "Given your current roster and the ongoing injuries, I think it’s going to be hard for you to defend the title.
But that MVP trophy is destined for you."
This season, Qin Yue has put up an astonishing stat line.
As of February, Qin Yue was averaging 36.8 points, 14.0 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 3.9 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game for the Warriors.
As everyone knows, once Nike’s quest for idol-making begins, it can never stop.
So even if Qin Yue couldn’t lead the Warriors to a three-peat this year, Nike would try its best to secure that MVP trophy that would elevate his historical standing.
However, Qin Yue didn’t agree with Merritt’s assessment: "The Warriors will definitely return to the upper half of the Western Conference by the end of the regular season, and our goal this season is still to defend our title."
Compared to the optimistic and confident Qin Yue, Merritt was realistic.
The season-ending injury to Davis, along with Wallace’s unexpected injury, had already irreversibly affected the Warriors’ overall prowess.
Moreover, in the fiercely competitive Western Conference, it’s impossible for Qin Yue to play like a celestial god every game.
Of course...
To avoid dampening Qin Yue’s high spirits since the New York night, Merritt finally said, "I believe you have the ability to achieve all this, after all, you are the Messiah of the Bay Area."
...
The Eastern eight games road-trip concluded.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for the tight and grueling "Suffocating March."
By this time every year, all teams have to face a denser schedule, and those teams aiming for higher playoff rankings hustle hard...
So, this is also the period every year when injury rates peak, and accidents are most likely to happen in the NBA.
By early February, the full-strength Los Angeles Lakers were now full of injuries.
Thus...
In the third regular season match-up at home against the Warriors in March...
With Lowry, Ellis, and Little Gasol all injured and sitting out, Phil Jackson was even forced to use Kobe as the point guard during the game.
Last summer, Sun Yue, who was selected by the Lakers in the draft, got 7 minutes of playtime in this game.
He finished 0-for-2, totaling 0 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 1 block, 0 steals, 2 fouls, and 1 turnover for the Lakers.
Even though, at the previous "Divine Selection Training Camp," Qin Yue had gone all out.
In the Lakers’ regular training, Kobe also cared a lot for Sun Yue.
But obviously...
Even with Qin Yue and Kobe teaming up to push him, they couldn’t save Sun’s rebellious heart.
Qin Yue understood that Sun Yue’s talent was so unique that even in later generations, he was a standout among Asian guard-forwards.
But his inexplicable lack of drive destined him to be unable to survive in the NBA.
That night, the two depleted teams played back and forth at the Staples Center.
Before the game, Qin Yue, once again reunited with that Asian girl who resembled Suzuki Aeri at the Japanese fried beef cutlet store "Kobe-Gyukatsu," once again eased the growing pressure on his shoulders with a delicious "Kobe Beef Cutlet."
This season, Malone, who always trusted Qin Yue, boldly encouraged him when he saw Qin’s good condition that night: "Whatever way you want to play, I support you. If you want to shoot fifty times, that’s even better."
Just like in Qin Yue’s memory, Malone was always the type of coach more anxious than the star player in the game.
In later generations, he often became furious when Jokic fell short by one or two stats to achieve a triple-double and scolded Jokic for his lack of attention to statistics, saying "Joker, did you not eat enough, or did you drink too much Coke?
