Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 450 - 149: An Invitation from Qin Yue, MVP and MVP Joining Forces?_3
"Do you know that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and every statistic is the foundation for competing with other stars in the future?"
Ma Long likes his star players to put up more impressive numbers.
Because that also means success for him as the head coach.
However...
In his quest to extend his dominance in Los Angeles, Qin Yue was destined not to fulfill Ma Long’s wish of him taking fifty shots in this game.
On the court, Qin Yue, who was frequently double-teamed after pick and rolls, racked up a total of 18 assists that night.
With his help, Kwame Brown put up star center numbers of 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
But McRoberts, who replaced Murphy in this game, continued his disappointing rookie season performance.
This support-oriented big man, who spent last summer busy with weightlifting, has only a 39% field goal percentage and a 20% three-point shooting percentage this season.
McRoberts’ shooting touch, which can only be described as cold as ice, made it impossible for him to showcase his basketball IQ and playmaking ability on the court.
After all...
If everyone knows you can’t shoot accurately...
Then why not just leave you at the top of the arc like Green in later years and let you play by yourself?
Fortunately, Barnes, who is in the throes of a hot romance this year, found his shooting touch again.
In the fourth quarter battle between the Lakers and the Warriors, Barnes made 5 out of 7 shots, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, becoming Qin Yue’s second key contributor to conquering Los Angeles again.
Final score, 110 to 105.
After the game, looking at Kobe, who scored an empty 40 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists for the Lakers, Qin Yue laughed, "Kobe, do you know what the happiest thing in the world is?"
After pausing, Qin Yue added, "Of course, it’s to eat, sleep, and beat Kobe!"
On the court, every time Qin Yue visits Los Angeles, his main goal is to take down Kobe.
And off the court...
After a delightfully conquering Los Angeles once more, Qin Yue, who got someone to buy a Lakers No. 24 jersey, had that jersey worn by the very well-fated "Suzuki Aeri" with him that night.
However, after enjoying this delightful meal, Qin Yue’s mood couldn’t improve.
Because he knew very well that compared to the Warriors, the injury-riddled Lakers were only temporarily undermanned.
The next day.
The rookie McRoberts, who, during the offseason, didn’t heed Mike Malone’s advice and spent months weightlifting, causing his shooting touch to deteriorate, became Qin Yue’s target of bullying.
After throwing the team’s week-long hoarded smelly socks at McRoberts, Qin Yue said with a grim expression, "This is the punishment for your poor performance and your last warning."
"Josh, if you can’t see your position on the team clearly, you’d better roll out early."
Facing Qin Yue’s flagrant "bullying," McRoberts obviously didn’t dare openly confront this supreme presence within the Warriors.
But this bullying was just the beginning.
Because waste needs to do what waste is supposed to do.
So in the Warriors’ upcoming journey, McRoberts also had to undertake the team’s various errands, as well as carry bags and fetch shoes for all his teammates.
And this...
made McRoberts start to doubt whether Qin Yue was targeting him due to his college days playing for Duke.
Given the long-standing grudge between Wake Forest and Duke, it was not baseless for McRoberts to have such doubts.
However...
Hill, who was also a Duke alumnus, said to McRoberts, "Josh, the Messiah is not as narrow-minded as you think."
"If he really looked down on you because you were a Duke player, you would’ve been sent away by the Warriors long ago."
Hill was well aware that Qin Yue always cared about McRoberts’ growth.
It’s just that the Warriors’ unsatisfactory performance this season had quietly made Qin Yue start to align with the mindset of Michael Jordan back in the day.
On the court, where he had to fight for the team, Qin Yue couldn’t act like a caring older brother during practice and comfort those underperforming teammates.
Moreover, the type who’d rather suffer himself and not let his teammates suffer even a little...
In Qin Yue’s view, anyone who wants to play that role can do so; he wasn’t going to make himself suffer.
If McRoberts, after such a dismal performance, wasn’t willing to do what waste is supposed to do...
Then, in Qin Yue’s mind, this Warriors team, which always aimed for the championship, also wouldn’t have a place for him.
"If I wanted to be a do-gooder, I’d rather play house!"
After defeating the Lakers on the road.
The Warriors then rushed nonstop to Phoenix.
With the trade deadline approaching, Suns general manager Steve Kerr, who made trades for the sake of trading, successfully dismantled the championship-contending Suns into an ordinary strong team.
After trading Shawn Marion to the Dallas Mavericks for Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse, the Suns’ performance after the trade could only be described as being out of sync.
The most intuitive aspect was that after acquiring Howard and Stackhouse...
They had won only four games but lost as many as ten.
Kerr had originally thought Howard could strengthen the Suns’ deficiencies in ball-handling and attacking, but unexpectedly, D’Antoni’s tactical system turned out to rely so heavily on Marion.
On the court, without Marion’s extensive movement and diligent help defense, the Suns faced devastating blows on both offense and defense.
Additionally, the declining Stackhouse was no longer as brave as he used to be.
In Dallas, Stackhouse was accustomed to being a spot-up shooter, getting opportunities beside Nowitzki in games.
But in Phoenix...
He was not only inefficient playing off the bench with Barbosa but also often became an offensive terminator on the team.
However...
The trade master Kerr was clearly not about to take the blame for this extremely failed trade.
As a well-known Teflon character in later years...
Amid the Suns’ recent slump, Kerr promptly shifted all the blame to the team’s head coach, D’Antoni.
This once-renowned Suns team was just a step away from complete disintegration.
Because Kerr, seeking to dodge blame, had issued an ultimatum to D’Antoni:
As long as the Suns cannot make a breakthrough this season, D’Antoni would need to go as far as possible.
For Nash, a two-time regular season MVP, this undoubtedly marked the darkest moment since his return to Phoenix.
After the game, both Qin Yue and Nash, experiencing similar distress, complained about the "wisdom-extinguishing" team management.
The Warriors, due to President Lowell wanting to save money for the team owner...
Indirectly led to Artest’s self-destructive antics, and forced Davis, in a summer where he most needed rest, to further strain himself through high-intensity training, increasing his own injury risk, resulting in his season being over.
Meanwhile, the Suns, because of Kerr’s idiotic trade, had completely lost the chance to compete for the championship this season.
Qin Yue did not believe this Suns team, lost to their former system, could make it to the end in the playoffs.
Similarly, Nash, who didn’t believe the Suns still had a chance to win the championship, frowned and said, "Looks like I need to seriously consider my future this summer."
Hearing this, Qin Yue nodded and said, "Steve, don’t let that cursed loyalty ruin you."
Nash laughed and said, "Although it was the Suns who drafted me back then, I don’t owe this city anything."
"Steve, if you’re considering switching teams in the offseason... I strongly suggest you choose the Warriors," Qin Yue said. "You know I always admired you; in my mind, you’re unbelievably strong."
"Warriors fans once cursed me to never win a championship; are you sure you want to team up with a cursed player?" Nash, thinking Qin Yue was joking, said.
But the next second, Qin Yue said, "Then we can seize this opportunity to break the curse. Trust me, fans are the most genuine group in the world; if you choose to join the Warriors, they’ll definitely start singing your praises immediately."
Qin Yue’s serious expression made Nash fall silent.
Because after realizing the other wasn’t joking, Nash found...
In the future Warriors, there seemed to truly be a perfect space for him to shine. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
Brown, Qin Yue, Wallace, Richardson... combined with his passing, what a captivating scene it would be!
...
PS: Sorry, today I’m in a lot of pain from kidney stones, but Ah Qiao will persist and try to get the second update written by midnight tonight.
