Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 462 - 153: Nonsense Dream Team, Toy for Venting Anger (5,000-word - , please subscribe and vote for monthly tickets) _3
Maybe it was Carlisle’s remark after Game Five, "We just lost to Qin Yue," that successfully spurred the Warriors’ championship players.
Two days later, at Oracle Arena, the Warriors, with six players scoring in double figures, unleashed a downpour of three-pointers like rain after a long drought. This finally made Qin Yue, who had been holding down the fort alone, feel positive feedback from his teammates.
The final score was 107 to 119.
In Game Six, Qin Yue led the Warriors to defeat another match point of the Supersonics, scoring 30 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal.
Furthermore, as this Western Conference Semifinals went into a Game Seven showdown, the Warriors, who were originally on the edge of a cliff, quietly pulled the Supersonics into a situation where anyone could fall off the single-plank bridge.
The Game Seven between the Warriors and Supersonics took place at KeyArena.
After the tip-off, the word exhaustion was clearly written on Qin Yue’s face, as he seemed driven purely by willpower to fulfill the impossible tasks for the Warriors.
But in the final moments of the game...
The Supersonics’ "bull horn" took the chance and, under the leadership of Yao Ming and Garnett, won this Game Seven battle.
At the final buzzer, 90 to 94.
However...
Despite scoring 45 points for the Warriors in the game, Qin Yue’s expression at the moment the fourth-quarter buzzer sounded was not as painful as he had expected.
Supersonics players, including the main squad led by Ray Allen, were the first to step up and shake hands and hug Qin Yue.
ESPN conducted a post-game survey: "Is Messiah’s performance in this year’s Western Conference Semifinals with an average of 44.6 points, 13.6 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 3 blocks, and 1.3 steals per series game the greatest in NBA history?"
Indeed, failure can never be associated with greatness.
But having given his all, Qin Yue faced failure calmly, saying, "Obviously, the worst record of my career has now changed from a championship to a Western Conference Semifinal."
Additionally, Qin Yue wished Yao Ming and Garnett well, saying, "They are an excellent frontcourt pair, and I hope they can win the championship in the end."
However, compared to Qin Yue who could calmly accept failure...
When Qin Yue returned to the locker room after the interview, his teammates were all more unwilling to accept it compared to him.
During the playoffs, although he had some bright moments, Richardson knew...
He might have missed the most promising chance of his career to become a dynasty player.
This season, Murphy, who was troubled by injuries and playing off and on, was quietly saddened to tears at this moment.
Last summer, Old Hill chose to come to the Warriors to ride on Qin Yue’s coattails, now wishing only to retire with a championship ring, self-deprecatingly said, "Could it really be me affecting the team’s feng shui?"
Barnes, with limited ability, didn’t know if he would still be on the team after this season.
Deng Liwei, who repeatedly exposed problems on the defensive end, worried that his poor playoff performance could make him a trade chip for the Warriors in the summer.
The entire team, only Jack and Brown shared Qin Yue’s sentiment, believing they all had given their best in the games.
Due to winning constantly over the past two years, Qin Yue found himself at a loss at the moment, not knowing how to comfort his teammates. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
From various perspectives, this has been an extremely trying season.
Although Qin Yue had been angry with his teammates during the playoffs, he knew better than anyone why these championship pieces on the Warriors haven’t played well...
Mainly, the Warriors lacked two major pieces.
Whether it was Artest from before or Wallace who the team later traded for, the protection they provided on the wing was key when Dunleavy, Murphy formerly performed well, whether playing as a starter or a backup.
Loyal-hearted Barnes and Old Hill, who thought he affected the team’s feng shui, could not ensure the Warriors still had the defensive tenacity on the wing and backcourt that they used to have regardless of their efforts.
And Davis being out for the season further resulted in the Warriors missing a crucial second scoring option.
Qin Yue didn’t know if the team president Rovai, who was on leave, saw all this.
Unfortunately, even if Rovai realized belatedly how naive his previous idea that the Warriors could fill the gaps left by Artest and Davis with some cheap championship pieces was, facts were already set in stone this night.
Now, with this unpleasant season ending, the Warriors only have one path forward.
Not achieving a three-peat in his first three seasons is certainly regrettable.
But since giving his all could not change the outcome, Qin Yue had nothing more to say.
Of course...
Since throwing everything into this Western Conference Semifinals could not release Qin Yue’s anger in his chest...
He also prepared to completely crush the United States basketball’s redemption dream this summer.
On FIBA’s stage, having pushed past his original limits through this year’s playoffs, Qin Yue now possessed absolute confidence to destroy that Dream Team of his memories.
Before Duke’s famous coach Mike Shashevsky realizes it.
The United States men’s basketball team, trying to achieve redemption at the Beijing Olympic Games, will undoubtedly become Qin Yue’s perfect outlet.
In the game that will decide the fate of American basketball, Qin Yue will unleash all his accumulated anger over the past year on that Dream Team led by Kobe and James!
He intends to use an unprecedented myth to personally shatter the mental defense of American basketball and tell this era who truly is the greatest player in the basketball world today!
"Play well in the Finals, see you in Beijing."
After the game, hugging Yao Ming, Qin Yue said this.
Hearing that, Yao Ming awkwardly smiled and said, "We have to win the upcoming Western Conference Finals before we can play in the Finals."
"The Lakers aren’t your opponents, and the Gasol Brothers at this stage can’t handle you with Garnett by your side," Qin Yue said, "Although the world won’t admit it, this season, Garnett is the second-best power forward in the league after me."
Seeing this, Yao Ming said, "Garnett will definitely be happy with your evaluation."
Qin Yue knew well that Ray Allen, who always brought his A-game against Kobe, didn’t need to go 50-50 with Kobe on the court.
Because as long as he could shoot with that despair-inducing three-point percentage as in the historical 2008 Finals, the Supersonics could indirectly match up against Kobe.
Moreover, in this Western Conference Semifinal against the Supersonics, Qin Yue, who tortured Garnett, had no intention of looking down on Garnett.
Quite the opposite, Qin Yue was very confident...
Garnett had reached the pinnacle of his career state with his hunger for the championship.
Furthermore, it wasn’t just because the Supersonics defeated the Warriors that Qin Yue hoped Yao Ming could win a championship this year.
It was because Qin Yue hoped that Yao Ming, becoming a champion player, could have the same confidence to crush the American basketball redemption dream on his home turf.
What bullshit Dream Team?
In Qin Yue’s view, that’s just a toy destined for him to vent his anger!
...
PS: The 5,000-word Chapter delivered! Ah Qiao strives to finish the second update before 11 PM!
