Chapter 1 Of Course, Su Feng Wasn't Made of Iron

In the past two years, after gradually increasing his weight to over 100 kilograms, coupled with needing to shoulder more responsibilities on both ends of the court, Su Feng was actually gritting his teeth and persevering most of the time.

It was just that, because of the "poker face" attribute he had developed in his early years, others always mistakenly thought that he didn't feel fatigue.

However...

It was just that Bird didn't know how "tired" Su Feng really was...

Otherwise, Bird would have rushed onto the court to discuss the Dao with him.

Because in the second quarter, Su Feng, leading the bench players, didn't look even remotely "fatigued."

Apart from still being conscientious on the defensive end, on the offensive end, this guy actually made 3 of 5 shots...

With that kind of touch, you tell Bird that Su Feng was "tired"?

Ha...

Bird wouldn't believe it even if he was beaten to death!

You had to know that in basketball, it was common sense that a player's touch would decline as their stamina decreased.

But after integrating "Jordan's fadeaway"...

Su Feng, who had obtained the exclusive skill "Demon King Descends," would actually find his touch getting hotter and hotter when he was in a "tired state."

Of course, as long as it wasn't a fantasy basketball or some Shuangwen novel, then no matter how good Su Feng's touch was, it still depended on his own performance in the game.

After all, a person who could guarantee that every shot would go in simply couldn't exist in reality.

But...

In basketball, generally speaking, most teams' second unit's scoring ability couldn't compare with their starting lineup.

Therefore, in the second quarter, with Su Feng still "vigorous," just as Bird had thought, the Pacers, who had hidden Schrempf and Mullin in their second unit, not only failed to catch up with the score but were instead gradually left further and further behind by the Raptors.

Because as long as Su Feng's offense continued, his threat level would remain constant.

And in that case, in addition to needing to deal with Su Feng in the second unit, the Pacers had relatively less energy to devote to dealing with the Raptors' other players.

Simply put, if Su Feng's overall ability was given a concrete value, then even if he only had an overall rating of 86 to 88 right now, because of his specialized attributes, you had to treat him as a player with a rating of 95 or higher.

And in this shortened season, with everyone generally not in good condition, Su Feng, who had turned on his full serious mode in the playoffs, had a performance on the court that, in Bird's view, was no less than Jordan's back in the day.

Maybe he still had many areas to improve.

But if you looked at it from another angle.

Su Feng was already so difficult to deal with now...

If he improved further...

Hiss————!

That picture was too beautiful, so beautiful that Bird didn't dare to think about it.

On the court, in the second quarter, McGrady, Smith, and Old Curry all benefited from Su Feng's excellent performance.

In the regular season, Joe Smith averaged 10.5 points and 5.4 rebounds, which, statistically speaking, was only average.

But considering his playing time and offensive efficiency, as well as the Raptors' strong team aura...

Even his vampire agent, Fegan, now believed that Smith's decision to play for the Raptors for a year on a minimum salary before seeking a big contract was absolutely correct.

As for Old Curry, who had chosen to retire with the Raptors...

Perhaps the only thing that was giving Old Curry a headache now was how he should correct the beliefs of the two little Currys in his future Raptors career.

This season, heaven only knew how much heartache Old Curry felt every time he hit a three-pointer with a 49.6% shooting percentage, averaging 2.1 three-pointers per game, and saw the two little Currys on the sidelines giving him disgusted looks...

……

During halftime, looking at the score of 44 to 61, Bird had made up his mind.

If the Raptors still didn't show any weaknesses in the third quarter, then he, Bird, planned to call it quits for this game.

For Bird, who had previously reviewed the Raptors' playoff series against the Knicks, he was very clear that it was impossible to defeat this Raptors team without a certain amount of luck.

Because if the Raptors didn't make mistakes, it was really difficult for the Pacers to find an opportunity to turn the game around.

Of course, even though there was a gap in hard power between the Pacers and the Raptors, the word "give up" had long been deleted from Bird's dictionary.

After all, even if they lost both of the first two road games, the Pacers still had two home games when they returned to Indiana.

In Su Feng's previous life, many casual fans always thought that the stronger team would definitely win when watching games, but in reality, in addition to the players' own competitive state, home-court advantage was also a very important factor in basketball games.

Air Canada Centre.

In the third quarter, when he saw the serious expressions on the Raptors' players' faces, although he had fantasized in his heart that Miller could stand up and save the world, in fact, Bird had already gotten the answer to this game at that moment.

What a joke...

For iron-blooded point-getters like Su Feng and Jordan, when their team was ahead, they couldn't wait to beat their opponents to death in one go.

What was a "gangster"?

A "gangster" was the kind of desperado who never gave the villains a chance to say another word, directly hacking them to death and scattering their ashes.

Before the start of this Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 1, those "anti-Raptors" who had hoped that Bird could lead the Pacers to replicate their 2-0 regular-season record against the Raptors...

Were thus greeted by a dark day.

In the end, 94 to 114, the Raptors smoothly took Game 1 of this series with a dominant victory of over 100 points.

Throughout the game, Su Feng scored 30 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block, and 2 assists, a well-rounded stat line.

And Jordan, who had been coasting for half the game and only started exerting himself in the third quarter, contributed 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.

The Raptors' excellent bench performance was a key factor in their victory in this game.

McGrady, who had been frantically scoring under Su Feng's wing, scored a new playoff career-high of 23 points.

Old Curry, who wanted to prove to his two sons that three-pointers were cooler than dunks, scored 12 points, making 4 of 5 three-pointers.

In addition, Joe Smith also contributed 14 points and 5 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Carter, who had contributed a super cool dunk in the first quarter, only scored 9 points.

After the game, holding Stephen in his left arm and Seth in his right, Old Curry directly used Carter as a negative example to educate his two sons tonight.

However, what broke Old Curry's heart was that before he could finish speaking, Stephen Curry opened his mouth and said to him, "Dad, can you ask Uncle Vince for a few more autographs for me?"

Okay, if Stephen Curry was just asking Old Curry for Carter's autograph, that would have been fine, but who would have thought that this unlucky kid would add another sentence after saying that:

"Dad, if it's too difficult, then forget it, after all, Uncle Vince is a big star now."

Old Curry: "???"

What did that mean?

Did it mean that he looked down on his old man,嫌弃嫌弃 that his old man didn't have much status on the team?

Tui!

Your father is a dignified...

A former Hornets legend, would a rookie refuse to give him an autograph?

Cough, Old Curry probably wouldn't believe it if he said it, if Old Curry wanted an autograph from Su Feng, then the difficulty would only be average.

But Carter's autograph...

That would really depend on Carter's mood at the time...

……

Old Curry's autograph-seeking journey will be put aside for now.

On the 18th, after a day of rest, the second game between the Raptors and the Pacers continued at the Air Canada Centre.

In the second game between the two teams, Bird changed his thinking.

In the starting lineup, he put Schrempf and Mullin in to increase the team's offensive firepower in the starting lineup.

As a result, Bird's change in the first quarter had a miraculous effect.

Because Mullin, Jackson, Rose, and Miller all had three-point range, the Raptors could only adopt man-to-man defense.

And in this way, Ben's weakness was also exposed to the Pacers.

As the Raptors' "space fortress," Ben was strong in his help defense ability and defensive coverage, but when he encountered opponents who occupied an absolute height advantage, Ben's true height was his most fatal weakness.

And even though Schrempf, who was over 220 centimeters tall, wasn't the kind of low-post killer, he could also use his skilled and well-rounded offensive skills to win this matchup.

It was just a pity that the 32-year-old Schrempf had limited stamina.

And Bird couldn't borrow O'Neal from the Lakers, so similar to the first game...

In the second quarter, led by Su Feng, the Raptors' second unit once again overwhelmed the Pacers.

In the third quarter, Bird, unwilling to give up, kept switching players, and taking advantage of the Raptors' decline in form, the Pacers really recovered a lot of points under Bird's dispatch.

However, in the fourth quarter, with Su Feng and Jordan stepping up to take over the game one after another, if Bird's mood at the time was translated into internet slang, it would be roughly as follows:

It meant that Laozi's operations were fierce as a tiger, but when he looked at the record, it was 0 wins and 5 losses?

Even with the blessing of "Demon King Descends," Su Feng couldn't be as good as he was in Game 1 every game.

But tonight, after the Raptors' second layer of insurance was also activated, the truly terrifying side of this Raptors team was revealed to the world.

Relying on desperate defense and various small-action harassments, maybe Su Feng would be cold for a while, but with Jordan also opening up his offensive account, how much more difficult would it be to target both of them at the same time?

This season, in addition to having Su Feng helping him "regain his form," Jordan also rested for more than half a month in the regular season, so after entering the playoffs, this Jordan's kidneys are still in good shape...

In the end, 91 to 103, the Raptors won another game, leading the Pacers with a score of 2 to 0.

And next, this series would move to Indiana.

For Bird, who knew the difference in hard power between the two teams, he was very clear that the Pacers had now been pushed to the edge of the cliff.

Because if they couldn't grasp the only possible turning point for the Pacers in this series...

That was, their home-court advantage.

Then Bird could announce that he would be giving the players a vacation early.

But what made Bird feel desperate was...

What if the Raptors were in such good condition in Indiana as well, then where would the Pacers' chances of winning come from?

……

As a top student in the coaching world, facing the century-old problem of the Raptors, Bird's hairline has clearly receded a lot in the past two days.

And on the 20th, just as the entire Raptors team was heading to Indiana to prepare for Game 3 against the Pacers on the 21st, the NBA officially announced the regular-season awards for the 98/99 season, which could be described as causing a thousand ripples.

First of all, as predicted by the media before, Davis successfully won this year's Coach of the Year award.

From finishing last the previous season to finishing first in the league this season, Davis's award was without suspense.

And from being a rookie coach back then to being a famous coach of this generation, in an interview, Davis also "humbly" attributed the credit to the players and luck.

"You also know that I've always been very lucky.

After all, before I coached the 76ers, the 76ers were the bottom team at the time.

And when I coached the Raptors, the Raptors were also the object of everyone's ridicule.

So, I don't think I'm that great, because no matter who comes to coach this Raptors team, they can achieve the same results as me."

Without exaggeration, Davis's Yin-Yu level is definitely up to a professional standard. (Yin-Yu = sarcasm, wordplay)

Because his words weren't humility at all...

His words were clearly a hardcore response to those experts who thought that even a dog could win on the Raptors' coaching bench.

Well, since you all think I'm a scrub, then why didn't you come to coach the Raptors before?

You all say that this Raptors team is full of talent, but why didn't you discover it before?

This season, even with Jordan's joining, people didn't expect this Raptors team to play so well at the beginning of the season, so after Davis's interview was released, those who had previously mocked Davis felt their faces hurt...

And in addition to Davis showing his Yin-Yu level on the 20th, Carter, who won the Rookie of the Year award, also carried forward his 特里特气 (Te Li Te Qi = unique and quirky personality)...

Because statistically speaking, Pierce's stats were better, so many people thought that Carter was able to win the Rookie of the Year because he had been following Jordan and Su Feng, gaining more exposure than Pierce.

"Paul is indeed very good, so now the question is, is the Nets' resurrection game on the 32nd of this month, or on the 33rd?"

Carter said to the reporters with a smile on his face while holding the Rookie of the Year trophy.

In fact, even without Su Feng and Jordan, unless Stern's brain was caught in the door, it was impossible for him to give the Rookie of the Year to Pierce.

Because Carter's style of play was just that captivating.

In Su Feng's previous life, around 2000, Carter's popularity was unmatched, because for fans who were tired of defensive battles, Carter's explosive dunks were simply a breath of fresh air in a mudslide.

And in this life, with Stern determined to support the Raptors, Pierce, who didn't even make the playoffs, simply didn't have the capital to compete with Carter.

Undoubtedly, the 20th was definitely the Raptors' "harvest day."

In order to reward the Raptors for their outstanding contributions to the NBA, this time, even Stern rarely got on the balance beam.

After working hard on the bench for a season, McGrady won the Sixth Man of the Year award for the 98/99 season.

In Su Feng's previous life, the Sixth Man of the Year award for this season would originally have been won by Armstrong of the Magic.

And at that time, Armstrong's stats were similar to McGrady's now.

However, in this life, with the Magic not even making the playoffs, McGrady's award was also well deserved.

Now, he, Toronto Tracy, is also a man with a title!

Please call him:

————"The Universe's Number One Sixth Man"!

In addition, Nash won the Most Improved Player award for the 98/99 season.

Mr. 91 has improved significantly this season, even with the premise that a lot of his ball possession has been taken away by a certain sewer boss, he can still average 9.1 assists per game, plus his fancy passing style, now, the world calls him:

————"The White Magic".

However...

Compared to the awards of Davis, Carter, McGrady, and Nash, what was even more shocking was yet to come.

Honestly, Su Feng really didn't expect Stern to play so hard this time.

However, comparing it with his previous life's 98/99 season, Su Feng roughly understood why Stern would play so hard this time...

So, now it's time to call Kobe and tell him about his new title.

98/99 season, NBA Defensive Player of the Year:

————Su Feng.

98/99 season, NBA Regular Season MVP:

————Su Feng.

Following Michael Jordan, an outside player who simultaneously swept the Regular Season MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season.

The NBA's first international player to win the Regular Season MVP award.

The youngest Regular Season MVP in NBA history.

The youngest Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history.

The youngest player in NBA history to simultaneously sweep these two honors.

It had to be said that being born early was sometimes a very remarkable thing.

The 21-year-old Su Feng thus made the headlines of major sports newspapers in North America on the 20th.

On the other side, in Los Angeles...

Kobe was very wisely changing his phone.

Logically speaking, Kobe was definitely not afraid of Su Feng calling him, so he changed his phone.

Because as Su Feng's best friend, he, Kobe, couldn't wait to "congratulate" Su Feng.

It was just that this old phone had been used for more than two years, so it was time to change it.

Pa—!

Okay, this new phone that Kobe bought didn't "live" for too long either.

Because after Wang Zhizhi told Kobe's new phone number to Su Feng, Kobe's new phone was directly smashed by Kobe...

……

ps: Alas, classic -200.

ps2: On the 20th, continue!