Chapter 429: Chapter 341, West Semifinals G1
"The Youngest MVP in History is Born - Zeng Xingyang!"
"Achieving MVP in his sophomore year, he is proving to be better than Jordan."
"Surpassing the divine steps, he is becoming the best player of all time."
"Zeng Xingyang becomes the NBA’s first yellow-skinned MVP, Asian MVP!"
"The Yellow Flash is shaking the NBA!"
"This season, the Nuggets have reaped huge rewards, and they deserve this praise."
"Zeng Xingyang leads the Nuggets to shout for the championship!!"
...
After waiting for 4 days, the Nuggets finally met their second-round opponent - the Los Angeles Clippers!
The Clippers eliminated the Jazz with a 4 to 2 series score!
Paul this year must solve the stumbling block of the Nuggets if he wants to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
The entire Clippers team flew to Denver the same night they defeated the Jazz.
In the 2016-17 season, the Los Angeles Clippers were in the late stages of the "Lob City" era, with the core lineup still featuring Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan. However, injuries and lineup aging issues began to emerge, and the team finished the regular season in 4th place in the West.
The Clippers’ advantage is obvious: their lineup is very reasonably matched.
Then the combination of Paul and Griffin is still a top duo in the league, capable of finishing games at critical moments.
Under Paul’s coordination, their offense is very diverse, with pick and roll, lob pass, outside three-pointers (Redick, Crawford), and low-post isolation plays (Griffin). Their offensive efficiency remains at the forefront of the league.
Of course, their flaws are also obvious: lack of lineup depth, with no reliable scorers and defenders on the bench except Crawford. When key players are off the court, their efficiency notably drops, and the overall lineup is aging, with an average age of nearly 30 years old.
Hotel.
In Paul’s room, Paul is repeatedly studying the Nuggets’ matchup against the Grizzlies.
The more he studies, the more overwhelmed he feels.
The Nuggets have set plays, counters, three-pointers, and most importantly, they boast the number one defense in the league!
The Clippers have very few ways to break through the defense.
During the regular season, the Clippers were swept by the Nuggets, and now in the playoffs, the Nuggets are only going to be tougher to deal with.
Paul rubbed his eyes and looked out the window.
Is the Western Conference Finals court really that hard to touch?
The Western Conference Semifinals game has a more concentrated focus than previous games.
More media have arrived in Denver.
Pre-game news interviews.
Zeng Xingyang was intercepted by numerous reporters.
"Zeng, how does it feel to become the youngest MVP in NBA history?" a reporter asked.
How does it feel?
Of course, it feels great and wonderful.
Zeng Xingyang smiled and said, "You know, I still feel excited to this day. It’s a dream many people have from their youth, and I achieved it. I will strive to perform well in the upcoming games to repay the fans who support me."
"The Clippers have strong capabilities, are you worried about advancing?"
"Perhaps they should be worried. We have nothing to worry about."
It seems this is indeed the case.
The Nuggets are now the team everyone in the league fears.
During interviews, the Clippers players were very low-key and didn’t dare to boast.
.....
.....
Game 1 started quickly.
Clippers starters: Paul, Redick, Bamot, Griffin, Little Jordan.
In Zeng Xingyang’s impression, Griffin seemed to be out for the season, but his participation appeared to have a butterfly effect.
But it doesn’t matter. Whoever comes will be defeated.
Nuggets starters: Zeng Xingyang, Butler, Pope, Gordon, Jokic.
After the game started, both teams were engaging in set plays, playing in an orderly manner.
On the Nuggets’ side, Jokic was mainly initiating offense, while Zeng Xingyang was primarily diverting the Clippers’ defense,
The two sides were tied in the first half of the quarter.
to 10.
Clippers’ offense.
Paul dribbled to the frontcourt.
Zeng Xingyang stepped up to defend.
Facing this season’s MVP, Paul felt a lot of pressure.
Paul spun continuously, using his body to shield the ball, and then passed the ball to Griffin on the right low post.
Griffin backed down Gordon.
This point was seen by the Clippers’ coaching staff as a breakthrough point.
After all, although Gordon is talented, he is not a traditional power forward and has a weight disadvantage.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
After colliding with Gordon several times, Griffin chose not to go to the basket but instead took a turnaround step-back long two-pointer.
Griffin has increasingly used mid-range jump shots to finish.
"Bang!"
"Swish!"
The basketball bounced off the rim once before going in.
to 10.
After scoring, Griffin pumped his fist emphatically, celebrating!
Nuggets’ offense.
Zeng Xingyang dribbled to the frontcourt.
Paul proactively stepped up to defend; Paul had many small pulling moves, but the referee didn’t call any.
Zeng Xingyang didn’t complain but passed the ball to Jokic, who then directed the players to spread out.
Creating a one-on-one opportunity between Zeng Xingyang and Paul.
On the right side, Jokic passed the ball to Zeng Xingyang.
Faced with Paul’s defense, Zeng Xingyang began probing with the ball.
Paul followed closely; Xingyang made a step to the right, then stepped back and pulled the ball back.
After creating a little space, he confidently took a three-point jumper.
Paul tried hard to block, but his height was still too short.
"Swish!"
A direct hit!
Paul didn’t cause much disturbance to Zeng Xingyang.
to 13.
This was the hard disadvantage of height, and Paul couldn’t do anything about it.
Fans in the venue shouted loudly.
Zeng Xingyang was relatively low-key today; this was his first score tonight.
Clippers’ offense.
Paul’s expression was a bit grim, being so harshly countered by Zeng Xingyang, he wanted to strike back.
After organizing the ball movement, he encountered an opportunity to mismatch against Jokic.
Jokic was quite wary of such small-player isolations, so Mike Malone’s tactic was to let Jokic boldly step out while the perimeter provided help defense.
Paul used a rhythm change to get past Jokic, and then, when faced with Pope’s help defense, he passed the ball to Bamot in the corner.
This is where the Nuggets are terrifying. When the Clippers thought there was an open position, their athletic ability quickly covered this point.
Gordon rushed to defend Bamot.
Bamot took a three-pointer.
"Bang!"
The basketball pounded heavily on the rim.
Jokic extended his long arms to grab the rebound.
Zeng Xingyang was already sprinting down the court.
Jokic passed the ball to Zeng Xingyang.
Paul quickly tried to catch up to foul Zeng Xingyang.
But Zeng Xingyang anticipated it and accelerated past him on the right side.
Driving into the lane.
In the paint, only Redick was back under the basket. Zeng Xingyang, undaunted, grabbed the basketball single-handedly and slammed it down over Redick with a tomahawk dunk.
Redick could only step aside.
The basketball was forcefully slammed into the basket by Zeng Xingyang.
"Boom!"
to 15.
After hanging on the rim for a moment, Zeng Xingyang landed and then pounded his chest towards the camera in celebration.