Under the defense of the reigning MVP, "The Beard," Raymond made another pull-up shot. After scoring the basket, the crowd gave Raymond another round of applause, which undoubtedly inflicted 10,000 damage to the mentality of"The Beard." This was far worse than receiving boos from the entire crowd. It was then that "The Beard" initiated his next attack. He switched up his technical movement a bit, but the result of the play was another rebound for the Clippers.

Shuuuu!

The ball flew to the other side of the court.

Raymond had already started moving. He received the ball on the other side of the court and immediately made a tomahawk-style slam dunk.

Raymond used to be a slam dunk compet.i.tion partic.i.p.ant. Back in the day, his 360-dunk was considered a cla.s.sic moment in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. With his natural fitness and personal ability, his tomahawk-style slam dunk was undoubtedly a combination of violence and art.

The reporters on the side of the court quickly snapped many pictures as they did their best to record every movement in Raymond's dunk. As for the automated camera fixed behind the basket, it also made continuous clicking sounds. It took a dozen or so shots per second, so there was no way of missing any exciting moments.

"Kuang!" Raymond slammed the ball into the basket. The entire basket shook at the impact.

"Ohhhhhhh!" The crowd went wild. It lit up the entire stadium.

The moment caused sadness to fill the heart of "The Beard." Everyone knew that home games for the Rockets did not have an energetic atmosphere. The fans in the Toyota Center were always very selfish when it came to cheering for their home team. Even when it came to critical games during the playoffs, visiting fans generally would not feel too much pressure from the home fans.

It was fine that the fans did not want to put pressure on the visitors; however, cheering for the opponents was a bit much.

"Just who is playing at home right now!" The Beard grumbled, irritated.

...

Raymond returned to his prime in that overtime without any warning and helped the Clippers defeat the Rockets.

For the Clippers, who had just been on a five-game losing streak, defeating the Rockets, who were first place in the Western Conference, was a confidence booster. Both the players and the coaching team regained their confidence overnight. The fans also became more hopeful.

In the next four games, the Clippers had three home matches and one away. They achieved victory in all four. Including the match they won against the Rockets, the Clippers managed to go on a five-game winning streak.

The previous five-match losing streak had dropped the Clippers to the ninth place in the Western Conference, which had dropped them out of the playoff zone. Now, after a five-match winning streak, the Clippers quickly moved up to sixth place in the Western Conference. They were only one win away from being the fifth-placed team in the Western Conference.

Sixth place was not a safe rank to be in in the Western Conference. In this current season, only the bottom two teams in the conference were trying to tank. The other weaker teams of previous seasons were starting to benefit from playing their talent and were achieving decent results. Under such circ.u.mstances, not even the top-ranked team in the Western Conference, let alone the sixth-placed team, could say that their qualification for the playoffs was guaranteed.

Raymond's addition to the Clippers clearly strengthened the team. Any team that obtained an additional superstar would improve significantly overall. Importantly, the Clippers did not have any tactical system, they depended on their superstars, so an additional star really meant additional strength.

Raymond had been the scoring king of the NBA for two seasons. There was no need to doubt his ability to play one-on-one which, coincidentally, suited the Clippers' superstar strategy. They just needed to pa.s.s the ball to him, and any cooperation or tactics no longer mattered; he had a myriad of methods to score points.

There were two attributes one needed to become the scoring king of the NBA. The first was to excel at all kinds of scoring methods. Only after mastering all methods of scoring could one score anywhere on the offensive side of the court. If one, for example, failed to master the turn-around jumper or the pull-up jumper, it would be difficult for the person to become the scoring king of the NBA. As such, if a person lacked mastery of a method, the person had one less position to shoot from and missed out on opportunities.

It was because of this that, in the 21st century, no center had ever become the scoring king of the NBA. The continuous development of basketball significantly increased the importance of three-point shots, and centers were generally bad at three-point shots. Without the mastery of such an important scoring method, it was naturally very difficult for centers to become the scoring king.

In truth, since the implementation of the three-pointer system in 1979, only two centers had ever obtained the glory of being the scoring king. Even then, their points-per-game average did not even exceed 30 points. When guards obtained the scoring king t.i.tle, their average points generally exceeded 32 points.

The other prerequisite for becoming the scoring king was being so good at one scoring method that no one could solve or defend against it. Looking at the scoring kings of previous seasons, it was a given that each of them had at least one ultimate move, a move that opponents could not defend against even if they tried. If a player did not have an ultimate move, it was easy to be targeted by defenders. A player that could be defended by players did not deserve the t.i.tle of scoring king.

Raymond's ultimate move was the pull-up shot. In truth, the essence of his pull-up shot was understood by everyone; even a lot of amateurs and non-professionals understood it thoroughly. The important thing was that no one could imitate his move.

Although previously the Clippers had had the so-called "Three giants," they did not have any clear advantage when playing against a sophisticated tactical system.

After all, basketball was a sport that consisted of five players. It required cooperation between all of them. A mature tactical system could synergize five players and make them even more formidable than they are when they are not cooperating.

Although the Clippers had "Giants," they did not have a tactical system. They relied on the individual abilities of star players. When put against a sophisticated tactical system, this playstyle was naturally a disadvantage. History had proven countless times that a well thought-out system could beat a team of fantastic star players.

It was like a war in ancient times. No matter how amazing a martial artist was when it came to fighting, it was impossible for him or her to defeat the entire army of the government. These martial artists did not know how to cooperate. It was a given that a martial artist could defeat a solder. If there were ten martial artists, they might be able to reach a draw against ten soldiers. When 100 martial artists went up against 100 soldiers, eight or nine times out of ten the soldiers would win. The soldiers did not fight alone, they knew how to work together and to form battle formations.

Teamwork, however, had its limits. If the individual strength of the opponent was too much, even the best teamwork would be ineffective. For example, 100 soldiers could defeat 100 powerful martial artists with their battle formations. If, however, they were going up against 100 Zhang Feis, then, even if all 100 of these Zhang Feis did not work together and fought alone, it would still be easy for them to cut down the soldiers.

The Clippers were currently like 100 Zhang Feis. The previous three giants would still be at a disadvantage when facing sophisticated tactical systems but, with the addition of a scoring king of the NBA, their strength had clearly surpa.s.sed the level that the tactical systems of the other teams could handle. As such, the Clippers became considered a very strong team.

...

The next opponent of the Clippers was the Sacramento Kings. The two teams were both in the Pacific region. As such, they played against each other four times per season. The two teams had already played each other this season, so this was the second time the two teams met.

The Kings had had terrible results in the past few years. Due to this, they had obtained better draft picks. The team was filled with a bunch of young and talented players. The only problem was that these players wouldn't reach their full potential for another couple of seasons.

Apart from the young players, the Kings had veterans that had been playing for several years. Among them were players who used to be superstars, but they were all old now, and could only manage to play as rotational bench players.

Good players in their prime would definitely join a team trying to make the playoffs, but who would want to join a tanking team? Therefore, the Kings tried to win.

The game had no suspense at all, the talented Kings still could not stop the stars of the Clippers.

In this match, another player on the Clippers had recovered. This player was Osef.

The Clippers'' fans did not put too much hope on Osef. The other teams did not bother themselves too much with Osef's return. This was due to Osef's self-destructive past and that he used to be a drug addict.

As long as an athlete was a.s.sociated with drugs, he or she was considered obsolete. This was especially true in the NBA, where physical battles were fierce. A body damaged by drugs could never withstand the intensity of an NBA match.

Dai Li, however, believed in Osef. More accurately, he was confident in his training.

In this game, Osef played eight minutes and contributed three points, two rebounds, one a.s.sist, and got another turnover. For a subst.i.tute, these stats were alright. They were not terrible, but also not exceptional.

Osef also needed time to adapt to the game. Although he had successfully detoxified, his body was still not ready to withstand playing for a long time.

Over the next few games, Osef's game time gradually increased. He went from playing eight to nine minutes to playing more than ten minutes. He then played around 15 minutes, and then finally played 17 to 18 minutes.

Playing 17 to 18 minutes per game was already enough to be considered a main rotational player.

Osef's game statistics also continued to grow. Unfortunately, he still did not manage to produce any breathtaking performances. His points per game stayed around seven to eight, averaging around four to five rebounds and two to three a.s.sists per game. Overall, he was considered a 7+4+2 player.

Rotation players with 17 to 18 minutes game time getting stats of 7+4+2 were considered fine.

Osef's contribution to the team was not limited to game stats. He was a player who could play all positions in a game. When such a versatile player acted as a team's subst.i.tute, he could fill in the gap for any position of the team.

There are 82 games in an NBA season. With the addition of the playoffs, this was an intense schedule. It forced teams to create a rotational rhythm. For example, in the first quarter, after a certain number of minutes, the first team players would be subbed out and rotation players would subst.i.tute for the first team players.

Each game was different, however, so there was absolutely no way for things to go as planned all the time. Unplanned foul acc.u.mulations or sudden injuries were variables that always messed with the rhythm of the plans set by coaches.

When a team that had a versatile subst.i.tute who could play any position in, a coach would save tens of thousands of brain cells in such situations. Being able to subst.i.tute players without thinking was a major advantage.

...

Game schedules in December were very congested. Every team would begin to feel tense and this would continue until All-Star Weekend, only then could players relax a little bit.

In early January, the Clippers played four consecutive away games. Playing so many away games in a row was very tiring for the players but, when looking at it from the overall scheduling perspective, it was a good thing. Playing several away games in one go was better than going back and forth between home and away matches.

Try and imagine going to Los Angeles for a game one day and flying to New York the following day, then heading back to Los Angeles only to fly to Boston the next day before going back to Los Angeles again. There could be a lot of suffering from going back and forth between the East and West coast. Even if one were to enjoy the private jets and the s.p.a.cious business cla.s.s seats, the constant noise of the plane's engine alone could increase a player's fatigue.

Compared with that, staying in Los Angeles and being able to head back home every day, eating at home and relaxing at home, seemed nice. The luxuries of travel did not matter as much when one had to play game after game. It was much more comfortable staying at home than flying everywhere to play.

That was why most teams preferred playing several away matches in a row to avoid running around everywhere. Consecutive away games were not really that scary. Some teams utilized consecutive away games as a way to rest their key players. Since there were 82 games in a season, it did not matter if they lost a couple of away games. The health of their key players was more important.

The first opponent of the Clippers' consecutive away matches was the Cavaliers.

The Clippers and the Cavaliers did not have a grudge against each other, but it was a different story for the players. The recently recovered Osef had a grudge with the center of the Cavaliers.

Back in the day, Osef was cheated on by his wife. The male in that story was the center of the Cavaliers. Back when Osef had not yet divorced his now ex-wife, his ex-wife had already had the other guy's child. After Osef's divorce, his ex-wife also married this guy.

More importantly, in an interview, she told the media that when it came to doing embarra.s.sing things, Osef was far worse than the center of the Cavaliers.

It was one thing to be cheated on, but he was also said to be impotent. What man could endure such a thing?

It was because of this that, when Osef was being self-destructive, he had promiscuous s.e.xual behavior. It could have been said that he wanted to prove that he could function without a problem. He ended up using many drugs, but not the tiny blue pill.

If Osef did not return to the court, perhaps things would have ended right there. Osef would have continued to deteriorate and, perhaps one day, he would have died in the hands of a woman. Perhaps he would have died from a drug overdose. His ex-wife would have continued to live a happy life filled with shameless acts with the center of the Cavaliers.

Today, however, Osef had returned to the court. He was going to play against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He had to face his ex-wife, who had not only cheated on him but had also said that he was impotent. He had to get on the court and compete against this guy.

Perhaps, on the court, the two of them would not only compete in terms of basketball techniques but also start fist-fighting.

As the saying goes, when enemies face off against each other, their eyes turn red. The hate and animosity that comes from killing one's father and taking one's wife also applied to Americans. These were two huge men who were both at least six and a half feet tall. No matter how one interpreted it, they did not seem like people who settled things with their words instead of their fists.

...

On the bus heading towards the home stadium of the Cavaliers, Ca.s.sel moved to Dai Li's side.

"Do you think they will start a fight?" Ca.s.sel whispered softly.

"I don't know." Dai Li shook his head.

"How about we don't put Osef on the court this match?" Ca.s.sel suggested.

"Do you think that's possible? He is a professional. The team pays his salary, so he has to play," Dai Li answered.

"I'm worried that they won't hit the basketball." Ca.s.sel knew that his suggestion was not a very good one. He hesitated briefly and asked, "If they really start to fight, what should we do?"

Dai Li was silent for a few seconds. "Let's see who wins!"

"Umm…" Ca.s.sel did not expect such an answer.

"What if Osef wins the fight?" Ca.s.sel asked patiently.

"Our player won the fight. Of course, that's the best outcome!" Dai Li answered.

"What if Osef loses?" Ca.s.sel asked.

"Then we'll ask him if he needs help!" Dai Li looked like he was there to enjoy a show and did not think it was a big deal.