NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 555 The Shipwrights' Third Battle

In another Western Conference matchup, the Warriors also defeated the Nuggets 4-1, setting up a third consecutive series between them and the Clippers. The two teams had each won one of their previous two meetings, making them arguably the ultimate rivals.

Clippers vs. Warriors – this is the ultimate showdown that fans have been eagerly anticipating! The series will undoubtedly garner the most attention this year, and it's no exaggeration to say it will surpass the NBA Finals.

Whether the Clippers will defeat the Warriors again to advance to the Finals for the second consecutive year, or the Warriors will avenge their loss to the Clippers and return to the Finals, these are all points worth paying close attention to.

One thing that everyone is concerned about is whether the Clippers will DNP Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell like they did in the series against the Rockets. You know, in last season's Western Conference Finals, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell played, even when the opponent used the "death lineup," they still played, it's just that their playing time decreased in the later stages.

Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell had already expressed their dissatisfaction at the time, but since the team was winning, they couldn't openly show it. Besides, they weren't playing well; they weren't given absolutely no playing time, just less, so they couldn't publicly express their discontent.

This time it was different. After being repeatedly rejected by the team, they felt that if they didn't give a clear answer, the team would look down on them and think they were easy to bully. So from the moment they were notified that they would be rejected, they took a tough stance and refused to give anyone a friendly look.

This is essentially a game of strategy; they are playing against the team, and if they lose, they risk being marginalized.

Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell both signed contract extensions with their teams last summer, but neither was a long-term deal. If it's confirmed they won't perform well in the playoffs, their next contracts won't be much better. Williams is getting older and his career is nearing its end, so the impact might be less significant. But Harrell is only 25, and his current contract ends at 27. He doesn't want to miss out on a satisfactory contract during his prime.

On May 9th, Jia Fei and Art Mayor went for massages. On their way home, Jia Fei received a call from head coach Budenholzer, inviting him to discuss something.

“Coach Buden must have invited you to talk about the Western Conference Finals!” Art Mayor said confidently. “He’s always been very cautious and serious. For such an important game, he definitely wants to hear your opinion.”

Jia Fei nodded: "Possibly."

"Do you think the Warriors will go straight into Game 1 with their 'death lineup'?" Art Mayork asked.

"It's very likely. Our two teams have no secrets from each other anymore, so it's normal for us to go straight for the kill instead of testing each other," Jia Fei said.

Shortly after Jia Fei returned home, his coach Budenholzer arrived. The two chatted briefly about Coach Budenholzer before discussing the match.

Just as Art Mayok guessed, Coach Buden did ask about the Warriors' starting lineup.

"Jia, do you think we need to start a big man?" Coach Buden asked.

Jia Fei shook his head: "They don't have the leverage to test us, and neither do we. Let's just lay our cards on the table!"

Coach Buden saw the look in Jia Fei's eyes and had already made up his mind.

May 14, Western Conference Finals Game 1, Staples Center, Los Angeles.

Although the Clippers lost one game in the previous round, ending their perfect run, their dominance, adaptability, and superstar talent displayed in the playoffs still inspire great confidence in their title defense. The Warriors, on the other hand, will be their strongest opponent, both theoretically and practically.

Before the match, both coaches had already made some jinxing predictions; the jinxing hadn't even started yet.

The Staples Center was naturally packed with people, but there were no firecrackers or drums.

Clippers vs. Warriors – this is an incredibly high-profile matchup. These two teams currently hold the top two regular-season records in league history. It's hard to imagine that these two teams would be from the same era, and be such direct rivals.

Many celebrities were present at the Staples Center to watch the game. The most attention-grabbing for basketball fans were Kobe Bryant and his family, as well as the Running Man family.

Kobe's wife, Vanessa, is stunningly beautiful, but she's currently six months pregnant and likely less than two months away from giving birth. She's already given birth to three daughters for the league's all-time leading scorer in missed shots. Considering the tendency for shooting accuracy to revert to its mean, the probability of her going 1-for-4 is still higher than 0-for-4. Most Kobe fans still hope she can give him a son to end his embarrassing 3-for-3 shooting streak.

The Running Man family: Gloria, the mother of the Running Man member, looks about the same age as him, which shows how old he looks; his wife, Savannah (I almost mistook her for Sharapova's Neinei), is also curvaceous and has a hot figure, but in terms of looks, she's still not as good-looking as Vanessa, who has two Ibakas; unlike Kobe, he's 2-for-3 (with two sons and one daughter). Those familiar with him know that he's best at fast break layups with traveling violations, so it's normal that his shooting percentage is higher than Kobe's, who often uses his signature "three-pointers" (referring to his tendency to miss shots). After all, it's common knowledge that an uncontested dunk has a higher success rate than a forced shot!

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is now a regular at Staples Center. He enjoys attending games there because the team often surprises him.

Pelicans' star Anthony Davis has also arrived. The whole world knows about his potential Lakers-Running Man team-up, but his current team just won't let him have it. It seems he'll have to wait until his contract expires to leave the Pelicans. Of course, the Pelicans might trade him this offseason to avoid him ending up with nothing after his contract expires.

In the home team's locker room before the game, Clippers head coach Mike Budenholzer announced the game plan. After he finished speaking, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell looked even uglier, almost ready to explode on the spot. But seeing the looks in Jia Fei's eyes, they swallowed their anger.

This match was broadcast live on Tencent, with commentators Wang Meng and guest Yang Yi providing commentary.

"Mr. Yang, the Western Conference Finals have started. The Rockets were eliminated by the Clippers, and now the Clippers are facing the Warriors. What do you think of this series?" Wang Meng said.

Yang Yi twirled his pen and smacked his lips: "That's right, this series is like Cao Cao versus Yuan Shao, the Battle of Guandu, exceptionally brutal. Don't think I'm exaggerating, this series is really that tough, both sides have superstars, it's just a matter of who can beat whom!"

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced.

The Clippers' starting lineup, playing at home, remained the same as in Game 4 of their previous game against the Rockets: Jia Fei, Beverley, Dillon, George, and Gallinari.

The Warriors' starting lineup for the away game is Curry, Klay Thompson, Iguodala, Durant, and Draymond Green.