Chapter 25: Scared Out of His Wits

Chapter 37: Scared Out of Their Wits

But Kobe Bryant refused to admit that he and his team were underperforming due to pressure from reporters. He simply thought he was somewhat unlucky.

Kobe’s excuse was a classic one, though poorly executed. In the following days, both he and the Clippers seemed to be plagued by terrible luck.

The Clippers’ conditioning coach warned Vinny Del Negro that the players’ stamina was being depleted too quickly in a short span, making them highly susceptible to injuries.

But what could Del Negro do? It was the playoffs, and the Clippers had just lost a game. At such a critical moment, there was no time to experiment with new rotations.

So, the very next day, on April 30th, Del Negro put everyone on the court. Paul and Kobe both played heavy minutes. To sum up Del Negro’s employment strategy in one sentence would be entirely appropriate.

At the start of the second game, Paul displayed an intense desire to score. He took more shots than in the previous game, knowing full well the Clippers couldn’t afford another loss.

Yet Del Negro’s over-reliance on his starters eventually exacted a price. With 1:33 left in the third quarter, Kobe collided violently in midair with Yi Jianlian, who had just come off the bench. While everyone was worrying about Yi, Kobe twisted his knee and collapsed in pain. Yi could do nothing, but the White Mamba simply couldn’t stand back up.

Losing Kobe, Del Negro and the Clippers were like a one-armed man. Paul had to shoulder an enormous burden, reminiscent of his isolated days with the New Orleans Hornets.

However, Paul’s misery on the court didn’t last long. Not because the Clippers had an offensive surge, but because, eight minutes into the fourth quarter, he suffered another groin injury and had to exit early.

“This is a huge blow to the Clippers. They just lost Kobe Bryant. Now are they about to lose Paul as well? I hope neither injury is serious. Otherwise, this series will be over before it begins.”

In this situation, Kobe had no choice but to keep playing through the injury. But how much could he give without Paul alongside him?

With 19 seconds left in the game, Su Feng slipped past Kobe’s defense for a layup, successfully scoring and expanding the gap between both sides to nine points. With only 19 seconds and a nine-point deficit, not even a time machine could bring back Tracy McGrady’s 13 points in 35 seconds to close that gap.

From 98 to 89, the Clippers were forced to swallow a bitter pill at American Airlines Center. Before the series began, Del Negro had imagined the score could be 2-0, but in his vision, it was the Clippers—not the Cleveland Cavaliers—who should be leading after two games.

“Again, the Cleveland Cavaliers have stunned the world. Before the series began, about 70% of people thought the Clippers would advance. But now, the people of Los Angeles find themselves in real danger.”

As time passed, the temperature began to rise, but this year, Los Angeles’s fever didn’t come from the weather—it came from the fans.

This year, for the first time in ages, both LA teams had made the playoffs. Two consecutive series at the Staples Center had fans whipped into a frenzy.

When the Houston Rockets met the Grizzlies in the first round this year, advancing didn’t seem like a problem. The Los Angeles fans were supremely confident, yet the Clippers had just lost their third straight game!

“Before the game, the Clippers said Paul and Kobe wouldn’t play due to injuries. Now it looks like that was just a smokescreen from the fleet. Not only did Paul and Kobe play, but they each logged over forty minutes. Unfortunately, tonight you could say the Clippers dug their own grave!” William Adams shook his head in fascination. It was clear the Clippers held the advantage before the fourth quarter started. But now? Victory was within the Cavaliers’ grasp.

At first, the Clippers capitalized on Paul’s aggressive play, forcing the Cavaliers into a series of errors and opening the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run, leading 76-68. But in the final 8 minutes and 30 seconds, the Clippers scored only once in 8 minutes and 26 seconds, and their 8-point lead vanished quickly. The Cavaliers’ defense once again sealed the Clippers’ fate.

Not until 3.7 seconds before the end did the Clippers narrow the gap with a Butler three-pointer. But it was pointless. The Cavaliers had already secured the victory.

3-0. The series was not yet officially over, but this score was as good as a death sentence for the Clippers.

The Cavaliers won, and breaking through the first round turned out to be easier than they’d ever imagined.

“My efficiency was too low. Next game, I have to play better.” In the post-game interview, Paul, who had scored 10 points and notched 5 assists but committed 8 turnovers on 12 shots, was wracked with guilt.

Yet at the end of the bench, a faint smile played on Su Feng’s face. William Adams’s three-point assist was a mystery even to himself. But for him, this was always the most comfortable moment on the court.

Su Feng was glad to see William Adams stepping out of the shadows and playing so well against the Warriors. How could the Cavaliers hope to win a championship without William Adams’s strength?

The suspension was soon over, and the Warriors had made no real changes. In fact, Mark Jackson had no one left to change. Whether it was Spates or Draymond Green, the Warriors’ undersized frontcourt posed little threat to William Adams’s height. Carlisle wanted to see how Mark Jackson’s men would contain Nowitzki.

The Warriors’ first possession after coming on ended with a brick. Curry’s mid-range shot was contested by Su Feng, and again, it clanged off the rim. It was Curry’s second miss of the night. Su Feng’s tight defense allowed Curry no space at all. The Warriors seemed to have no room for a counterattack.

Carlisle watched the court, only to see that Mark Jackson’s plan was simply to have Jermaine O’Neal, at 2.11 meters, guard William Adams. O’Neal was much taller than David Lee, but guarding William Adams—guarding the German—was far easier said than done.

But when Nowitzki received the ball again, ready to attack, he realized things weren’t so simple. As soon as William Adams got the ball, David Lee immediately doubled him. Mark Jackson sent two defenders!

“A double-team! The defense is airtight—William Adams has no chance to shoot!”

Nowitzki could barely hang on to the ball under the close double-team. As he tried to pass it to Su Feng, David Lee stretched out and knocked it away, getting revenge for being stripped earlier.

“The Warriors’ tactics are working. William Adams seems flustered by the double-team. The Warriors are on the break! Curry passes to Klay Thompson. Tony Allen can’t keep up—Klay takes the three! Beautiful, it’s good! That’s Warriors basketball. Their performance beyond the arc is stunning! It seems after the break, the Warriors really slowed things down. O’Neal breathed a sigh of relief. If the Warriors were so easily beaten, all that boasting about the Bulls the other day would’ve been exposed as nonsense. Though, in reality, it was nonsense anyway.”

Even though William Adams faced constant double-teams, he remained the Cavaliers’ most crucial offensive engine. Carlisle signaled from the sideline—Adams was screened by David Lee and Shaquille O’Neal, preparing for another jump shot.

Su Feng knew it was time to take matters into his own hands.

William Adams Nowitzki dragged his weary steps back on defense. As Su Feng sprinted past him, arms wide, Adams was just crossing half-court. In his stride, you could see the traces of time—after all, in two months, he’d be thirty-six.

At thirty-six, he was a true veteran among pros. No matter how great a star, at thirty-six, their dominance inevitably wanes.

You might say William Adams’s averages this season matched his numbers from a decade ago. But stats don’t always reflect a player’s true dominance.

In 2011, playing at this level might have just delayed William Adams’s scoring. But today, in 2014, faced with such defensive pressure, Adams was at a loss.

Luckily, Carlisle didn’t have to worry too much. Because today’s Dallas Cavaliers didn’t need William Adams to dominate.

That responsibility usually fell to Su Feng.

Stephen Curry could swear on his health that he had never before encountered such ferocious defense. When Lillard once said, “I’ve never seen defense like this in my career,” after being guarded by Su Feng, Curry thought the rapper was exaggerating.

But now, in the playoffs, Su Feng was almost nowhere to be found on offense.

Desperate to shake the defense, Curry resorted to the “elevator doors” play.

But this time, as David Lee and O’Neal closed the doors, the referee’s whistle blew just in time.

Offensive foul, of course. With Mark Jackson’s “elevator doors” play becoming more common, the league could no longer ignore the obvious illegal screens. Occasionally, once or twice, the referees might turn a blind eye, but not when the outcome of every playoff game hung in the balance.

Now, the league cracked down on the elevator doors tactic. If Curry wanted to get rid of his defender today, he’d have to find another way.

The Cavaliers attacked again, Nowitzki still closely guarded by Lee and O’Neal.

In truth, the Cavaliers now belonged to Su Feng. Nowitzki often played a supporting role for him.

But never underestimate the German’s fighting spirit in the American Airlines Center! As long as he’s here, he’ll defend Dallas to the end.

Could the Warriors pull off a miracle upset against the Cavaliers? Only a true fool would believe that!

Nowitzki’s three-pointer stretched the lead to nine points early on. Mark Jackson was forced to call an early timeout; his players were completely overwhelmed by the Cavaliers’ relentless offense. If he let it go on, the Cavaliers could push the run to 11-0 or 12-0.

The spotlight shone on William Adams, who scored seven straight, looking like it was 2011 again, when nothing seemed impossible for him.

A few consecutive drives by William Adams seemed to make the Warriors forget that Nowitzki was only the Cavaliers’ second scoring option. After the primary scorer dunked in the first game, he’d “played dead” ever since.

Near the three-point line, Su Feng slowed down, as if surveying his teammates’ movements, as if preparing to pass.

Iguodala stepped out of the crowd—Su Feng glanced at the strong number 9, but then, without warning, suddenly accelerated!

“Hey!” Curry felt a gust of wind—Su Feng was gone. In a blink, Su Feng had vanished.

Because O’Neal and David Lee were tangled up with William Adams, the Warriors’ paint was left unguarded. This fleeting opportunity was all Su Feng needed—he was a bolt of lightning.

David Lee had just begun to move under the basket when Su Feng finished his tomahawk dunk. The force shook the rim so violently that it wouldn’t stop trembling. That’s the nature of Su Feng’s dunks—height and power, elegance and brutality in one.

After just two possessions, the Warriors’ defense was broken again. Guarding Nowitzki didn’t guarantee safety, because these Cavaliers were no longer William Adams’s team alone.

Four years into the league, he’d become a superstar. When the Cavaliers gambled on this kid with Caron Butler and draft picks, no one thought it would work.

Asian guard Ricky Rubio was three sizes smaller than the Spanish Ricky Rubio—he was seen as a liability. When the Cavaliers made the trade, everyone said the Cubans had lost their minds.

But now…

Curry kept searching for chances, but Su Feng refused to yield. Without any physical advantage, Curry found it impossible to drive past Su Feng, and if he wanted to shoot, there was no space for it.

In fact, when the Warriors were held to a 9-0 run, it wasn’t just William Adams’s offense that put them on the back foot—Su Feng’s defense was equally crucial. Earlier, Adams’s brilliance had drawn all the attention.

Only now, when the spotlight returned to the Cavaliers’ true star, did people realize how extraordinary his defense was.

Desperate, Curry swung the ball to Klay. But Klay, facing Tony Allen, found the pressure less than Curry did.

Ultimately, it was David Lee’s mid-range jumper that rescued the Warriors’ offense. But with only David Lee, could the Warriors really hold on?

The Warriors’ double-team on Adams was risky, but they dared not let anyone else guard Su Feng. If those two teamed up, the Warriors wouldn’t get a successful stop—they’d just open a new hole in their defense.

Su Feng’s playmaking was so dazzling, it was the main reason he’d been drafted third overall. His incredible passing ability meant that doubling him only padded his assist stats.

But with four seasons of experience, Su Feng’s scoring was nearly as good as his passing.

Curry tried to stick close, using relentless body contact to disrupt Su Feng’s dribble, but the ball seemed to be one with Su Feng, weaving effortlessly through his hands.

Su Feng safely delivered the ball to Iguodala, a rising force for the Cavaliers this season, making his presence felt on both ends of the floor.

With the ball passed, Su Feng cut hard without the ball, relentlessly seeking an opening.

Just as he stepped into the paint, the point guard suddenly stopped, spun, and darted out to the three-point line—a lightning-quick reversal, his off-ball movement as brilliant as his on-ball play.

His endless running and swift retreat brought to mind Richard Hamilton, the classic Pistons guard who never seemed to tire.

In the 2004 Finals between the Rockets and Pistons, even Kobe Bryant was tormented by Hamilton’s movement. In the 2011 Western Conference Finals, the top-ranked point guard also made the “Black Mamba” suffer dearly.