That dog Feng… ahem, Feng Shen was really like a husky tearing down the house tonight. There was no stopping him.

On the sidelines, on the Jazz's bench, old Hornacek discovered that the god in the sky seemed to have turned off his phone. The more devoutly he prayed on the sidelines in the first quarter, the more unstoppable Su Feng was on the court.

However...

You might not believe it if I told you.

Su Feng wasn't very satisfied with his performance in the first quarter tonight.

EnergySolutions Arena.

After the first quarter, Su Feng scored a total of 27 points and 4 rebounds for the Lakers, with 10 of 14 shots made, including 5 of 7 three-pointers and 2 of 2 free throws.

Admittedly, a shooting percentage of 10 of 14 was barely acceptable.

But when he thought of himself scoring 30+ points in a single quarter back in the day, and Klay and Love, who had also scored 30+ points in a single quarter in his memory...

Su Feng immediately felt a sense of loss that he was no longer at his peak.

"Unbelievable! How outrageous was I in the past to be able to score 30+ points in a single quarter?

And Klay and Love...

Are they playing in the same NBA as me?"

In this life, after personally experiencing the NBA, Su Feng truly felt how "sci-fi" those NBA historical records were.

So, whenever the world always regarded him as a god...

Su Feng, who had always been humble and cautious, only felt that his current power was not enough to block the path of these youngsters in the future.

Work hard, work hard, and work even harder!

Only through diligence can he complete the great task of driving a heavy truck to block the road!

In the second quarter, considering that Su Feng's shooting cost this night was far higher than the previous two games, Coach Lue decisively held back Su Feng, who was almost like a turtle moving house and couldn't hold back.

"Don't worry, we won't break this Jazz team so easily."

As a coach who was very good at helping players刷 (shua - pad) their stats on the court, Coach Lue knew that instead of letting Su Feng continue to刷 (shua - pad) inefficiently while expending a lot of energy to force shots in the first quarter, it was better to let him rest for a while.

Moreover, Su Feng had been doing high-intensity running and shooting in the last few games.

Therefore, even if Su Feng's physical fitness was extraordinary, in Coach Lue's opinion, he had to use it sparingly.

After all, sustainable depletion of resources would allow Su Feng to have enough physical strength to face the challenges ahead.

On the court, after "23+24" (Su Feng and Kobe) rested at the same time in the second quarter, the Lakers' lineup was Jordan Jr., Big Ben, Walton, Mo Jr., and Livingston.

The Jazz were Okur, Yi Jianlian, Moon, Gordon, and Price.

Originally, before the start of the second quarter, old Hornacek had suggested to Sloan to keep Williams, who was also in excellent form tonight and had scored 13 points in the first quarter, on the court.

However, looking at old Hornacek, Sloan smiled slightly and said, "I know what you're worried about, but I can bet you $10 that Su won't play in the early part of the second quarter tonight."

Old Hornacek shook his head repeatedly, feeling that his teacher might be truly confused.

Because ever since Su Feng entered his peak, even casual fans knew that "Su Feng doesn't rest in the second quarter" had become a must-use phrase for reporters when reporting on the game after the game.

But...

On the court, when he noticed that Su Feng really didn't play at the beginning of the second quarter...

Old Hornacek instantly petrified on the spot!

"Didn't you notice that Su's shot attempts in the last three games have exceeded 40?" Sloan asked, patting old Hornacek on the shoulder.

Old Hornacek nodded. "But isn't that because Su is in good form?"

Sloan sighed. "People say you're the smartest player in Jazz history, but why are you so stupid at this time?

This season's Lakers are not last season's Lakers.

Even if Su is really in such good form, the best way for the Lakers to win is to use him to mobilize his other teammates after he attracts double teams.

Also, counting this game against us, Su will undoubtedly have a high probability of exceeding 40 shot attempts tonight.

And 40 shot attempts in four consecutive games...

Haven't you realized what that means?"

Old Hornacek was momentarily stunned by Sloan's question.

"It means that the entire Lakers team is now trying to help Su break Wilt Chamberlain's record for the fewest games to reach 30,000 points!

Therefore, if I were the Lakers coach,

I would definitely arrange for him to rest first, given that Su's physical exertion in the first quarter tonight far exceeded that of the previous few games." Sloan continued, looking at old Hornacek.

Old Hornacek: "..."

Fewest games to reach 30,000 points?

"Teacher, are you saying... he plans to score more than 67 points in every game in the future?" Old Hornacek said with a look of surprise, pointing at Su Feng sitting on the Lakers' bench.

Sloan nodded. "Jeff, don't look at Su as an ordinary person.

Because he is already extraordinary.

Oh, right, when are you going to give me the $1,000 you just lost in our bet?"

Old Hornacek: "..."

Teacher! Wasn't the bet I made with you just now $10?

Are you really confused?

On the sidelines, turning to look at Abby, who was swinging her long legs while eating potato chips, old Sloan said meaningfully, "Abby, don't learn from your dad when you grow up. He's not trustworthy at all."

Old Hornacek: "..."

Alright!

Now old Hornacek didn't know whether Sloan was truly confused or deliberately using confusion to "投吸 (tou xi - exploit)" and deceive him, this 45-year-old young comrade.

On the court, the game continued.

The Lakers, who led the Jazz 38-37 in the first quarter, didn't slow down their pace because they took off "23+24".

According to the requirements of the "New Mad Scientist" Van Gundy, in the early part of the second quarter, you could even say that every player on the Lakers court was Harden.

Anyway, as long as the defense can be solved with "eyes"...

Then I'll lose if I use my hands!

Yi Jianlian and Gordon both had outstanding performances in the early part of this quarter.

The former bypassed Big Ben twice and transformed into "Space Yi" under the Lakers' basket.

The latter, on the other hand, hit three three-pointers in a row from the outside, reversing the score for the Jazz in one fell swoop.

In Su Feng's previous life, as the first man in the post-Jordan era to give the Windy City hope of rising...

Ben Gordon, who had been playing as the Bulls' super sub for many years, averaged around 20 points per game at the peak of his career.

Moreover, this guy also had a three-point shooting percentage of over 40% in his career.

In addition, because many of Gordon's three-pointers were dry pull-ups after one-on-one situations, even though he had never been selected to the All-Star team, his popularity and fame were even higher than some All-Star players at this time.

In this life, Gordon's career trajectory was destined to be rewritten by Sloan.

Because playing in the more militarized Jazz team, Sloan, who was cultivating Gordon as Hornacek's successor as a "death ray gun," would only arrange for Gordon to use his talent to突击 (tu ji - raid) for the Jazz when the tactics required it.

In this way, the risk of Gordon getting injured on the court was undoubtedly reduced a lot.

"Since your three-pointer is so accurate, why are you still so focused on突 (tu - break through) to the basket?"

Unlike many old-school coaches, Sloan was by no means an inflexible coach.

For example, in that century-old war between the Jazz and the Golden State bandits in Su Feng's memory,

Sloan, who had always been regarded as a stubborn faction, slapped the world in the face with a run-and-gun style of play.

Therefore, with Ben Gordon's actual height of at most 189 centimeters...

Even if he could突 (tu - break through) in with his talent, who could he scare with his less than 50% finishing rate under the basket?

In Su Feng's original timeline, although his height was limited, if Gordon could have changed his style of play earlier, then with his accurate shooting, he certainly wouldn't have faded out of the league so early.

Moreover, whether you look at Malone, Stockton, Hornacek, Russell...

Or the careers of Deron Williams, Kirilenko, Boozer, and others who suffered major injuries after leaving the Jazz in the future, it's not hard to find that, with a few exceptions, players who played under Sloan were generally relatively "long-lived."

Perhaps, in the eyes of some, Sloan's militarized management restricted the players' nature on the court.

But Sloan, who had eaten more salt than most people had eaten rice, wasn't also protecting these players' careers?

In Su Feng's previous life, the most direct example was Deron Williams, who began to let himself go after leaving the Jazz and used high-difficulty crossovers without restriction in games.

Admittedly,

In the first few dozen games after leaving the Jazz, Deron Williams proved that without Sloan's restrictions, he could easily and consistently score 20+ points on the court.

But after those few dozen games, the legend of "eating, sleeping, and beating Paul" was gone from the martial world.

In the NBA, a league where winners are kings and losers are bandits,

Jerry Sloan may never be able to wear a whole hand full of rings like Jackson in his lifetime, showing off his triangle offense to everyone he meets.

However, the Utah Jazz, the team with the lowest sense of presence in the NBA, under his leadership, in the Utah Plateau, with its unique style, has become a team that you can defeat but never break in the past 24 years.

In Su Feng's original timeline, Van Gundy's Rockets lost not unjustly at all.

Because Van Gundy, who hadn't yet seen himself clearly in the commentary booth at the time, didn't know...

Sloan understood the Rockets he coached far better than he did?

In the second quarter, with 7 minutes and 47 seconds remaining, the Lakers re-substituted "23+24".

In this quarter, after the Jazz cut off the connection between himself and Kobe through faster rotation and movement, Su Feng knew that old Sloan's intention was very clear tonight...

That is, you can score.

But you have to go one-on-one with our players.

"Teacher, do we really not need to double-team Su?" Old Hornacek asked on the sidelines, on the Jazz's bench.

Sloan shook his head. "Cutting off Su's connection with his teammates and limiting his off-ball movement is enough."

Hearing this, old Hornacek knew that Sloan's implication was that once the Jazz double-teamed Su Feng in the game, Su Feng could easily drive his other teammates.

Because in order to limit Su Feng's off-ball movement and cut off the connection between him and his teammates, at this moment, in addition to Kirilenko, who was substituted back onto the court at the same time as Su Feng, the other four Jazz players had to pay close attention to the movements of the Lakers' other players.

But...

Teacher, didn't you just tell me that Su wants to attack Chamberlain's record?

Therefore, in the face of the record, will Su really pass the ball?

Looking at old Hornacek, who was full of doubts, Sloan only used one sentence to solve his knot, "Do we only play the Lakers once this season?"

Yes.

In Su Feng's extremely good state, no coach or team can guarantee that Su Feng will not shoot them to death.

But what if it's in the playoffs?

In a seven-game series, if Su Feng is so 瘤 (liu - selfish with the ball) every game, can the Lakers really win against this Jazz team, whose bench can put together a starting lineup that is stronger than the Timberwolves and Rockets?

"Although Andrei doesn't speak English well, his personality is stronger than you think.

And I don't think we can't win the game, given that the Lakers are wholeheartedly trying to刷 (shua - pad) scores for Su tonight." Sloan continued, pointing to the scoreboard where the Jazz had reversed the score led by Gordon in the second quarter.

EnergySolutions Arena, Su Feng, who was in extremely good form tonight, was indeed constantly scoring.

However, with the Lakers' defense not existing, the Jazz were also scoring.

In fact, Sloan never thought about how to limit Su Feng from the beginning.

Because since that Jazz team couldn't管 (guan - control) the Bulls back then...

Then what more could be said about Su Feng, a plus version of Jordan?

On the court, after half a quarter, the Jazz, with everyone contributing, entered the second half with a 7-point lead.

The score between the two teams in the first half was 71-78.

Su Feng, who had瘋砍 (feng kan - madly scored) 45 points in the first quarter, only scored 18 points in the second quarter.

After the halftime break, in the third quarter, the Lakers closed the previous eye-defense mode under Su Feng and Kobe's "Fiery Eyes" and "Death Stare".

However, just as Van Gundy warned when he gave Coach Lue the full offense plan,

This unrestrained style of play will certainly attract more fans.

But at the same time, once the opponent's state and feel are raised by the Lakers in the game...

Then the Lakers will undoubtedly lose the stability of their previous games.

You can't have both fish and bear's paw since ancient times.

Especially in the long NBA season, no team can win every game.

It's a pity...

The view outside this Lakers' window is not azure blue.

There is no Westbrook in the sky either.

Perhaps, if he continues to刷 (shua - pad) so stubbornly, Su Feng may indeed刷 (shua - pad) 80+ again tonight.

However, Su Feng, who has always wanted to win games and have good stats, has never forgotten his original intention in playing basketball.

No matter how beautiful the stats are, what's the point if you can't win the game?

Su Feng experienced enough empty stats last season.

Moreover, if a game that could have been won is lost because he has to龟到底 (gui dao di - turtle to the end - be stubborn to the end),

Then Su Feng would probably be the first to not be able to forgive himself after the game.

EnergySolutions Arena.

Midway through the third quarter.

After the Lakers落位 (luo wei - set up) through the triangle offense and Kobe shot a beautiful fadeaway jumper, old Sloan couldn't help but sigh, "Sure enough, even if I had kicked Karl out, I should have found a way to trade for a high draft pick and select Su to Utah."

Old Hornacek: Teacher, if Malone heard your words, I'm afraid he would cry in the toilet!

"Well, even if I had to add you, I should have selected Su to Utah." Sloan said with a smile, turning to look at Hornacek.

Old Hornacek: "..."

Teacher!

Don't think that you can rely on your old age just because you're old now. We disciples wouldn't dare to jump up and beat you!

"However, teacher, is there any difference between Kobe scoring and Su scoring?" Old Hornacek asked, looking at Sloan.

"Essentially, they are both scoring.

But the meaning is completely different." Old Sloan sighed.

Completely different meaning?

Of course, it's different!

Because as Kobe began to score, the Lakers' other players no longer forcibly fed the ball to Su Feng, and at this moment, the Jazz's defensive system on the court immediately fell apart.

On the basketball court, no matter how strong a player's scoring ability is, it is impossible to score 27 points every quarter.

Especially given that Su Feng's shooting cost is getting higher and higher tonight.

However, it is not difficult for an excellent team to average 27 points per quarter.

In the NBA, you often see a player score 20 points in the first quarter and then only have 20+ points for the whole game.

However, would a team only have 20+ points for the whole game after scoring 20 points in the first quarter?

Why is basketball a team sport?

Because no matter how strong an individual is, it is impossible to compare efficiency with a team.

...

In the end, after chasing desperately from the middle of the third quarter all the way to the end of the fourth quarter, the Lakers were led by Dragic, who had been打酱油 (da jiang you - not contributing) all game, to reverse the score with a three-pointer.

At the last moment, Williams, who performed well in this game, failed to seize the opportunity.

With 8.4 seconds remaining before the end of the game, Su Feng, who protected the Lakers' backcourt rebound with his own true ability, secured the victory for the Lakers with his always steady free throws after Williams' game-winning three-pointer deviated from the rim.

In the whole game, the score between the two teams was 127-122.

Su Feng, who had瘋砍 (feng kan - madly scored) 45 points in the first half, only got 23 points in the second half.

Kobe played his first triple-double in the game after returning from injury, scoring a total of 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Lakers.

After the game, old Hornacek was devastated.

Because after the end-of-quarter timer went to zero, he personally saw Abby run into Su Feng's arms at that time.

Although in the United States, given the relationship between Su Feng and Abby, this degree of hug was not news...

But if old Sloan hadn't stopped him, old Hornacek would have most likely干 (gan - fought) Su Feng on the spot.

"Jeff, do you know what the biggest difference between me and your daughter and you is?" Sloan said with a smile, turning to look at old Hornacek.

Old Hornacek shook his head.

"That is, we are both Feng fans."

On the court, looking at Su Feng, who was walking towards the Jazz bench to shake hands and hug the Jazz players one by one, old Sloan immediately opened his arms and hugged Su Feng tightly.

Old Hornacek: "..."

"When I retire in the future, I will definitely ask the Jazz owner to retire your number 23 jersey." On the court, pinching the elbow that he had fantasized about for twelve years, old Sloan looked up at Su Feng and smiled.

Su Feng did not refuse old Sloan's kindness, "But if you continue to pinch like this, I may retire before you do."

Hearing this, old Sloan smiled and punched Su Feng in the chest, "With your solid body, how could this old guy like me make you retire with a casual pinch?"

Su Feng nodded with a smile, but just as he turned around to hug old Hornacek...

He clearly saw hostility in the other's eyes.

And...

When hugging, old Hornacek actually used all his strength, as if he couldn't wait to crush himself.

So, feeling that old Hornacek might have had some misunderstanding with him, Su Feng took the initiative to suggest, "I heard that Abby is a volleyball star at her school besides basketball.

Coincidentally, I know many excellent volleyball coaches, so if Abby needs it, I can recommend a few to her."

Old Hornacek: "..."

I hate to keep Abby far away from you...

How dare you still want to approach her in this way?

"I think this suggestion is very good."

However, before old Hornacek could refuse, Abby and Sloan raised their hands and feet to vote in favor.

Old Hornacek: "..."

No way.

Although the views of China and the United States are not consistent, as an old father whose daughter is just growing up...

Who hasn't worried about their daughter in the process of her growth?

However, old Hornacek really misunderstood Su Feng.

Because for him, who had watched Abby grow up since she was a child...

He just regarded Abby as the big niece next door.

That night, bidding farewell to the Utah Plateau, Su Feng and his teammates took a plane overnight to Phoenix.

And there...

In addition to the lovely Tracy waiting for him...

A long-planned shocking deal...

Also entered the final stage of negotiation details.

...

ps: The second update is here!