Chapter 615: Championship puzzle

Halfway through the NBA season, the competition in the Western Conference had gotten fiercer. Based on the current standing, all of the teams, other than the team in last place, still had a chance to make it into the playoffs. This meant that 14 team were trying to make it into the top eight of the league. It seemed more intense than usual.

The Clippers, who had a seven-match winning streak, went to Oakland to challenge the the Golden States Warriors, who were currently first in the conference.

It was going to be a tough battle for both sides because both sides had strong lineups. Almost every position had a head-to-head showdown between superstars. The audience loved watching a showdown between superstars like this match was going to be.

Neither of the teams let the audience down. The game really went back and forth. There were all kinds of highly technical moves which made the match absolutely entertaining.

The game entered the fourth quarter. The score between both teams was still close. The Warriors only had a four-point lead. Coach Nicholas, however, who sat on the Warriors’ bench, frowned. He did not seem at all relaxed.

It was not the game that Nicholas had wanted!

In the first three quarters, both sides changed so quickly into an offense that they did not put much effort into defense. To Nicholas, it did not seem like much of a problem at the time. The Warriors’ offensive efficiency was among the league’s best. When it came to attacking, the Warriors feared no one.

The scoring efficiency of both teams was very high. With three quarters, both teams had already exceeded 100 points. To Nicholas, this was also not a problem. 100 points in three quarters meant an average of only 33 points per quarter. Based on the offensive efficiency of the Warriors, it just meant that they had to make a couple more three-pointers, that was it.

What worried Nicholas was that the game seemed to have become a game between superstars.

It was fine for the Clippers to play solely with superstars. After all, they were a team that initially only played with this strategy. The Warriors, however, had become like the Clippers. They were also solely relying on their superstars. This was not acceptable for Nicholas.

The Warriors had amassed a large number of star players. The real reason behind the strength of the Warriors, however, was not their star players, it was that they were able to perfectly integrate the star players into their tactical system. In the Warriors’ system, star players could exert their maximum potential and this magnified their personal characteristics. This led to the victory of the team.

In the NBA, some teams played only with their superstars and some teams played overall basketball. The Warriors merged both styles together. It could be said that the Warriors played “Superstar-Overall Basketball.”

In this match, however, the star players of the Warriors seemed to have completely given up on the integrity of their tactic. Their style of play was similar to the Clippers, so it became a superstar style of play. As the game progressed, the teamwork between players had gradually disappeared. The individual ability of each player guided the play instead.

It was common for something like this to happen. There were too many star players in both teams’ lineup. They were also the stars of two different generations. When the stars of these two generations clashed together, sparks were going to fly. The new generation of stars wanted to defeat the previous generation and the older generation wanted to teach the younglings a lesson. When players on both sides wanted to prove themselves, there was going to be more individual play. The game would naturally turn into a competition between individual strength.

When outstanding players clashed, single play was more likely. Tens of thousands of fans watched in the stadium. Millions of fans watched in front of their TV. The coaches and players of both teams also watched them. When the opponent made a field goal right in front of you, if you did not immediately answer with a basket of your own, then wouldn’t you be the loser?

That was NBA culture. As a star, you could miss a basket, but you couldn’t back down. If a player forced a one-on-one battle 100 times, the fans might not remember it. If the player were to back down once, he would forever be labeled a “sissy” by the fans.

The Warriors did not lack stars. They had an MVP and they also had a scoring king. They also had many players who had made it in “the season’s best-lineup” previously, and the number of players who had been all-star players was even higher. They won had multiple championships in recent years and attracted several big stars. Even if they had discarded their strategy, the Warriors still had enough capital to play superstar styled basketball against their opponents.

If they were going against another opponent and they used the superstar-style, the head coach would have felt fine because all the other teams were inferior to the Warriors. Nicholas did not mind his players being stubborn every once in a while.

The Clippers, however, were different. The Clippers were not inferior to the Warriors when it came to the quantity or the quality of their star players. If they played superstar basketball, the Warriors would not have the advantage in every position. This was a situation that Coach Nicholas had never encountered before.

In the point guard position, both players were good enough to be NBA MVPs. One excelled at three-point shots while the other excelled at breakthroughs. Both had their unique skills, so it was hard to say who was stronger or weaker.

In the shooting guard position, both players were fantastic scorers. One of them was the best three-point shooter in the league while the other was also accurate when it came to three-pointers. One of them had a pull-up jumper that could not be defended. At least in terms of mobility, the shooting guard of the Clippers was stronger.

In the small forward position, both players were top-class superstars. Both superstars excelled at the pull-up shooter. One jumped high enough while the other had a longer hang-time. Neither could defend against the other, so it was impossible to tell who was stronger. One thing was certain, however, they were among the best when it came to getting points.

In the power forward position, both teams had players who could create space. They also both had an excellent natural physique. They had uncommon scoring and rebounding abilities and they were both adaptable On top of that, the power forward of the Clippers was slightly taller.

As for the center position, the center of the Warriors used to be the number one center in the NBA. As for the Clippers, the center was very talented with a skill that appeared once every three decades. The lineup of both teams did not depend on points from the paint. After all, they had the best scorers in the league in every other position, so the two centers mainly focused on getting rebounds and passing to others. They did not have many opportunities for one-on-one battles.

Nicholas thought carefully for a moment and suddenly realized the starting five players of the Warriors were actually slightly weaker than the starting five players of the Clippers. The current lead of four points for the Warriors was the contribution of the bench players. Compared to the starters, the substitutes of the Warriors were more willing to follow the tactics. It was an undeniable truth that the Warriors possessed an amazing tactical system. Just from the efforts of the substitutes alone, the Warriors had managed to get a lead on the Clippers.

A gap of four points was nothing to the stars on the court. By the fourth quarter, the starters had to be substituted back in. Among the starters on both teams, there were more than a few players who could score over a dozen points in less than a minute. A mere four points could be regained through a simple offense and defense transition.

Nicholas did not want to play superstar basketball against the Clippers. It was the same as discarding the system of the Warriors, throwing away their strongest weapon. When the star players of the opponents were not weaker than theirs, it would come down to luck. When it came down to luck, it meant that the head coach had lost control of the game.

For a coach who had won the NBA championship, losing control of a game was, without a doubt, a disaster.

…

The lights surrounding the basket lit up and the number displayed on the timer turned to zero, but the basketball was still flying in the air.

Everyone was focused on the ball.

Swish.

The basketball flew inside the basket.

“It’s in! A comeback! The Warriors won!” The commentator shouted.

The score on display was 128 against 127. The Warriors had won by a one-point margin. Nicholas let out a sigh of relief.

Although he had won the game, Nicholas could not make himself smile. The reason the Warriors had won the game was not their tactic, they had been luckier. If the last shot had missed, then they would have lost.

Some people said that luck was also part of one’s strength but, to the head coach of an NBA team that was fighting for the championship, it was unsettling to rely on their luck to win games!

On the opposite bench, Dai Li was not frustrated. He encouraged the players with a gentle smile and consoled them. He said, “Don’t mind it. We were only a little unlucky tonight.”

Dai Li said this out loud but, in truth, he was reflecting.

The last few plays were too chaotic, Dai Li concluded.

In the last two minutes of the game, both sides had been closely matched and the game had entered its climax. They fouled each other, made free throws, called timeouts, the referees checked replays, and the last two minutes turned into half an hour.

In this stage, the play of both teams had been too chaotic.

There were too many stars on both teams. Every player on the court had the ability to end the game and every player also felt that they were the one who could end the game. It ended up making a mess of the game.

In NBA basketball culture, star players were the ones who stood up and took on responsibility in crucial moments. There was only one ball, however. If everyone stood out, it would be a miracle if things didn’t turn chaotic.

Sometimes, it was vexing to have too many stars.

If something like this happens in the future, we can’t play like this. If everyone wants to be the one to end the game, the game will become chaotic. We should define our offensive core, Dai Li thought.

…

The game between the Warriors and the Clippers was a game that caught the attention of a lot of people. To the fans, it was an excellent battle between superstars. A high scoring game that neared the 130-point mark meant that both teams had a smooth offense. With star players, smooth offense meant great entertainment.

The game influenced the ongoing all-star voting process. At the moment, there was less than a month left before All-Star Weekend. The all-star voting process had entered into its climactic stage. Many stars intentionally showed off in the hopes of getting into the lineup.

All-star voting was always beneficial to big shots. Many famous stars, even if they had below par stats, could still make it into the all-star lineup, or even the starting lineup, just from the support of their large fanbase.

Because of this, the players of the Clippers had an advantage. After all, the team had several veteran star players. They had a lot of fans. When these veteran stars recovered, they had naturally brought along a sense of nostalgia. As long as they had passable stats, the fans would vote for them based on their emotions.

The Clippers had returned several veteran superstars to the game. It increased the competition for the all-star lineup in the Western Conference. Some of the emerging young stars were unlucky. Some young stars managed 20+ stats, but their support did not compare to the veteran superstars, who had slightly worse stats.

Before the weekend, it was a peak period for teams to make trades.

Under normal circumstances, the transfer deadline in the NBA was the first Thursday after All-Star Weekend. A lot of teams that performed worse than expected would make trades during this period to make a final attempt at the playoffs.

This year, the competition in both the Eastern and Western Conference was a lot fiercer. The number of teams that tried to make the playoffs had increased. The number of tanking teams had decreased. This also made it so that more teams hoped to adjust their lineups through good trades. So, as the weekend drew near all kinds of transfer rumors popped up. The truth behind those rumors gradually came to light.

…

At a particular luxury condominium in Sacramento, a man in his late 30s packed his luggage while talking to his daughter on the phone.

“My dear, I’ll visit you over All-Star Weekend in a few days… Yeah. I will be able to rest for a week. Do you want to go on a vacation in Miami…”

After he ended the call with his daughter, he threw the phone on the sofa before continuing to pack his luggage.

“Three consecutive away games. This is tough!” The man sighed.

At that moment, his ringtone sounded. The man picked up the phone and saw that it was his agent calling. He chose to answer the call.

“Hey, Lamar, I finally got through. I kept getting a busy signal,” his agent said.

“Sorry, I was talking to my daughter just now. I was also packing,” the man answered.

“In preparation for the away games?” His agent paused and continued, “I don’t think there’s a need to do that anymore. I just received a notice from the Kings, they decided to trade you!”

“What!? I’m being traded?” The man exclaimed in surprise.

“I did not expect this. You shouldn’t be traded, but this trade requires an equal salary and your salary for this season is three million, so you were used as a bonus,” his agent explained.

“Damn it! I shouldn’t have chosen the Kings! I’m the bonus of a trade deal? This is simply a humiliation!” The man scolded. His face looked terrible.

“Calm down. The NBA has always been a business. You’ve been playing for over a decade, you should understand,” his agent advised.

The man took several deep breaths in resignation. After he calmed down, he asked, “Then where’s my next stop?”

“The Boston Celtics.” His agent let out a long sigh and continued, “The Celtics have tons of players in the shooting guard and small forward positions. In my opinion, even if you were to go to Boston, you won’t have an opportunity to play.”

The man nodded. The Celtics not only had an abundance of talent in the shooting guard and small forward positions, but they also had too many that it was a problem! Among them were star players, potential stars, and players in their prime. An old veteran like him had no standing at the Celtics.

On the other side of the phone, his agent continued, “I already started talking to the management of the Celtics. If they don’t plan on using you, I will try to negotiate with them and buy out your clause. That way, at least you can still look for your next team before the trade deadline.”

“Alright, that’s all we can do.” The man let out a long sigh. He hung up the phone and sat on the sofa, depressed. His face was filled with sorrow.

“A bonus to a trade deal? I never would have imagined that me, Lamar Vincent, would sink to this level!”

…

The training ground of the Clippers

Players and coaches were sweating like crazy. Only Dai Li sat on the side and staring at the tablet in his hands.

Assistant Coach Cassel snuck up behind Dai Li and glanced down. He noticed that Dai Li was looking at the trade rumors from the day before.

“Why are you looking at this? Nine out of ten of these rumors are fake. Most of them are fake news intentionally leaked,” Cassel asked.

“I want to see if any potential trades are happening,” Dai Li said.

“It’s rare for you to care about the transfer of players from other teams,” Cassel said, complaining.

“No, I want to see if I can pick up some good scraps,” Dai Li said, smiling.

As Dai Li finished speaking, a new notification appeared on Dai Li’s tablet. Dai Li opened the notification without hesitation.

“Hehe, another trade. It’s the Kings and the Celtics,” Dai Li said, pointing at the tablet.

“I heard about that. The Kings and the Celtics began negotiation a few days ago. They finally came to an agreement!” Cassel lowered his head and looked at the tablet. “Let me see. Yup, four for two, and also a draft pick.”

“This is the key, Lamar Vincent. I never would have thought that the Kings would use him as a trade bonus. They sure are disrespectful. He used to be called ‘Half man, half God.’ He has actually become just a trade bonus due to the equal salary clause! How cold,” Dai Li said, shaking his head.

“The NBA has always been a business. The Celtics, however, have more than enough shooting guards and small forwards. It is even a problem for them. Giving game time to players is difficult. If the old man, Vincent, goes to the Celtics, he definitely won’t have a chance to play. Do you think he’s going to retire? After all, he’s 38 years old,” Cassel asked.

Ding! Another notification appeared.

“The Celtics announced that after the trade was completed, they would buyout Vincent!” Dai Li said.

Cassel frowned and thought for a moment. He said, “The Celtics have been kind enough. Since they will not use Vincent, they might as well buy him out. This way, Vincent has a chance to find a new home over the weekend. Perhaps a lot of teams need his experience. His age will make a lot of teams hesitate though.”

Dai Li did not reply. Instead, he stood up and prepared to leave.

“Coach, where are you going?” Cassel asked.

“To Johnson’s office,” Dai Li turned around and answered. “I want to sign Vincent! He’s going to become a piece of the puzzle to win the championship!”