Chapter 15: The Continuation of the Playoffs

For the Warriors, there were still many matters to handle, such as the contract renewals for Curry and Cairns. Although Curry was no longer a starting guard, he was fully deserving of a maximum mid-level contract, while Cairns's rookie contract was set to expire this season, forcing the Warriors to spend a top-tier mid-level exception to retain him. Furthermore, with the salaries of both Ace and Jobs reaching tens of millions next season, the Warriors might find it difficult to sustain such a high payroll. For the Warriors, this season might represent their greatest opportunity, as next season would likely bring significant roster changes.

The Warriors' season opener was set against the Thunder, the team they had eliminated the previous season. The Thunder's dynamic duo was maturing day by day, yet they clearly had not achieved the corresponding results. Reaching the Western Conference Finals at best was far from enough for superstars. Moreover, the matchups between Lin Fei and Westbrook, as well as the scoring duel between Lin Fei and Durant, added extra excitement—especially when Lin Fei erupted in the final moments to snatch the scoring title right out of Durant's hands. Just thinking about it made one's blood boil.

The slogan shouted by the Warriors for the new season was: It's Time. Indeed, after so many years, it was finally the Warriors' turn.

Season ticket sales for the Warriors had completely sold out, setting a league record and reflecting from another angle just how high the expectations were for the team.

The starting lineup remained unchanged: Lin Fei, Cairns, Ace, Jobs, and Claudeson. The sixth man role would naturally be handled by Curry. Lin Fei and Cairns were entering their prime years, Ace and Jobs were right in their absolute primes, and Claudeson was at the tail end of his prime.

As the preseason began, the Warriors largely refrained from using their starting players, playing them for at most a dozen minutes or so. Yet the Warriors did not fall behind in their games against the Spurs and the Mavericks. The fast-paced style advocated by the Warriors was executed by the bench players to such an extent that it caught their opponents completely off guard. Although the Warriors' final record was less than ideal, Nelson undoubtedly saved his surprises for the regular season. Everyone knew the preseason was just for play and hardly reflected true strength.

The showdown was imminent. Nelson told his disciples that after this season, he might consider stepping down from coaching the Warriors, given that he was already in his seventies. He was already a thousand-win coach, but he had yet to secure a championship, and his run-and-gun system had never truly been validated by an NBA title.

The words "Championship" and "Sentiment" would undoubtedly become the two most powerful driving forces for the Warriors' players.

The first game was played at the Warriors' home arena. The commentator started the broadcast by roasting the Thunder: "Do you still remember the taste of being eliminated last year?" "Oh! Dear Ms. Durant (evidently mocking Durant's playing style), do you remember how your scoring title was stolen by the Time Machine?" The reference to the "Time Machine" was the exact nickname given by O'Neal, and it certainly spread fast!

The Thunder were instantly fired up.

At the tip-off, the Thunder secured the possession. Westbrook brought the ball up and immediately converted a high-difficulty reverse layup, scoring the Thunder's first points of the season.

The Warriors showed no weakness, immediately launching a fast break. Lin Fei penetrated to the free-throw line and kicked the ball out to Ace trailing at the 45-degree angle behind the three-point line. Ace received the ball, used a swift dodge to evade Durant, drove into the paint, and also finished with a layup.

Next, the Thunder surged with energy for a fast break, where Durant and Westbrook naturally became the protagonists. Westbrook dribbled rapidly while trying to physically overpower Lin Fei, but Lin Fei cut off Westbrook's floater lane. Westbrook passed to Durant on the perimeter, who drained a pull-up jumper right in his face. This youngster's terrifying pull-up jumpers were looking more and more like Tracy McGrady's, and the potency of this move was already surpassing even peak McGrady.

Witnessing such an aggressive Durant directly ignited Lin Fei's scoring desire. Lin Fei took the dribble, continuously shaking off the Thunder's defensive players as he charged toward mid-court. From the overhead camera angle, Lin Fei looked like a sharp dagger piercing into the Thunder's frontcourt. Every Thunder player knew that Lin Fei's most terrifying weapon was his three-point shooting, especially from just past the half-court line. At this moment, both Durant and Westbrook were still in pursuit when Lin Fei elevated directly while still drifting in mid-air and released a three-pointer. This was practically Lin Fei's signature move. The ball lingered in Lin Fei's hands for a split second with a distinct pause before release. The fans hadn't witnessed such an exquisite arc in a long time. The ball created subtle ripples in the air, striking deep into everyone's hearts. Swish. It was a shot that hit home. The arena erupted into applause that had been missing for ages, undoubtedly announcing the return of Lin Fei.

As the game progressed, the Thunder began adjusting their tactics, focusing their offense through Perkins in the interior. After all, players' stamina was finite. Although they were pounding the paint now, they undoubtedly needed a strong perimeter threat to provide cover. The Warriors were forced to use Claudeson in single coverage against Perkins. Seizing the opportunity, Perkins backed Claudeson down right to the rim and hooked it in.

Seeing this situation unfold, Nelson knew his chance had arrived. He knew that after losing to the Warriors last season, Thunder coach Scott Brooks must have spent the entire time searching for a way to beat them. Ultimately, this boiled down to the Thunder strengthening their help defense and double-teaming on Lin Fei on the defensive end, while emphasizing inside-out collaboration on offense and no longer relying excessively on the individual brilliance of their dynamic duo.

From a tactical philosophy standpoint, the Thunder were undoubtedly correct, but they were facing the Warriors—a team that appeared "loose." On the surface, player movements and passing lanes seemed scattered, but their offensive cohesion never fell apart. Analogously in literature, it was "loose in form, but tight in spirit." Their offense was similar to the Nine-Yang Sword Manual, relying on the "sword intent" rather than the sword techniques themselves. There was no technique in the world that could not be broken; once one possessed the "intent," it naturally flowed from the heart, where having no specific form surpassed having form.

The reason Nelson knew the opportunity had arrived was precisely because the Thunder's tactical shift exposed a fatal flaw. Once the Thunder focused their primary attack on the interior, their pace would inevitably slow down. Whether the shot went in or not, by the next Warriors possession, the Thunder's interior players would be deep in the paint, leading to a sluggish recovery on defense. Meanwhile, the Warriors' greatest strength was that every single one of their forwards and guards was a master of the fast break. If the Thunder had maintained an integrated perimeter-interior defense, the Warriors—pursuing speed—would typically settle for perimeter shots; but the moment the Thunder slowed down even a fraction, the Warriors could unleash an inside-out fast break.

Sure enough, after the Thunder shifted their focus to the interior, the Warriors executed three consecutive possessions where perimeter players held the ball and assisted interior players for easy layups, exposing the holes in the Thunder's defense without reservation.

Relying on this explosive stretch, the Warriors seized the initiative and built a 10-point lead. The Thunder, who had come in eager to exact revenge and wash away their past humiliation, were completely stunned, finally realizing the true gap between themselves and the Warriors.

Despite the initial stumble, the Thunder possessed a superstar duo and would certainly not give up—especially since the first quarter had not even ended yet. The ultimate weapon for many teams was to initiate the superstar's individual isolation mode, and the Thunder were no exception.

Scott Brooks realized that the more you tried to systematically defend the Warriors, the more your defense would look like Swiss cheese. It was better to revert to a conventional defensive strategy: one-on-one, the simplest approach, which often yielded the best results.

Westbrook was still assigned to guard Lin Fei. It was predictable that these two players would lock horns sooner or later. Originally, Westbrook, Rose, and Wall were considered the representative figures of the league's new generation of attacking point guards, and in terms of strength, they were evenly matched. But with the emergence of Lin Fei, evaluations of point guards had been thrown into disarray, all seemingly revolving around Lin Fei. Yet Westbrook would never bow his head to Lin Fei.

Lin Fei controlled the ball, and Westbrook simply hugged him tightly. Everyone knew this kind of physical contact easily drew fouls from opponents, but perhaps this was the only way to prevent Lin Fei from shaking off his defense easily.

Lin Fei kept his cool. Normally averse to heavy physical contact, he simply forced a aggressive drive this time. However, Westbrook placed his hand near Lin Fei's waist, gently resisting him. Unable to drive past, Lin Fei executed a spin move. Seeing this, Westbrook stepped forward to pressure him tightly. Lin Fei spun again, creating a slight separation from Westbrook, and executed a change of direction, yet still failed to shake him off. Lin Fei followed up with a half-spin—moving his shoulders while his body remained largely stationary, essentially a head-fake. Westbrook fell for it, and Lin Fei seized the opportunity to blow past him, leaving Westbrook staring at his retreating back. Lin Fei then drove straight into the paint. By this time, the Warriors were no longer in a fast-break rhythm; Lin Fei took a long-strided spin move in the lane to evade the Thunder's interior rim protection, stepped just inside the baseline three-point arc, executed a second consecutive spin, and drained a pull-up jumper.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

In a single possession, Lin Fei had executed dribbling past an opponent, driving, and spinning with absolute perfection.

Shouldn't they make a totem out of this guy's shooting and spinning moves? It was truly necessary.