Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 721 - 254: Be a Person Who Doesn’t Play the "Hindsight Sage" (First Update!)

The distant interaction between Brown and O'Neal became a hot topic after Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

Online, many hecklers even supported Brown by saying, "Kwame is right, Shaq is in no position to evaluate this legendary center!"

Although, any fan who watched the games knows why O'Neal used to fear the Warriors back then.

But in this era filled with hecklers and online fans, who cares about the truth?

Now, this group of hecklers just wants to see Brown and O'Neal have a big fight in the octagon.

"Shaq wants to challenge me? Fine, let him come at me!" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The next day, Brown responded to O'Neal's wish to decide victory and death with him.

However, Qin Yue looked worried and said, "Are you sure you can beat Shaq?"

Qin Yue was well aware that O'Neal was quite bad at fighting.

But...

Brown might also be no better in this aspect.

To Qin Yue's concern, Brown said, "You don't understand, this is called hype marketing. Even if I played for another twenty years, there's no way I could challenge Shaq, but now, the fans have elevated me to a level that isn't even mine just for entertainment."

"So?"

"Even if I end up just getting beaten up by Shaq, it doesn't matter," Brown said, "At least after this challenge, people will remember why Kwame Brown had a big fight with Shaquille O'Neal."

Qin Yue realized that Brown intended to walk down the path of abstraction until the end.

And...

In this era not yet as abstract as later generations, Brown might even become the founder of the abstract in the American internet celebrity world.

And O'Neal?

On TNT TV Station, after learning that Brown had agreed to settle the score through a free fight, O'Neal, who calmed down, immediately recognized the commercial potential behind this challenge.

An angry O'Neal might want to kill Brown.

But a rational O'Neal clearly cared more about the profits.

What is the underworld?

This is the underworld.

Where does the underworld have so much fighting and killing?

So, in response to Brown's request to live broadcast this challenge nationwide, O'Neal said, "He better clean his neck and wait for me! I'll definitely kill him then!"

O'Neal and Brown set the challenge time during the off-season.

And as this challenge garnered widespread attention in the basketball world, the ever-alert capitalists smelled the scent of money.

TNT TV Station immediately invested heavily to buy the broadcasting rights for this challenge.

Meanwhile, the MGM Grand Hotel in Gambling City Las Vegas would host the event.

Plus various sponsorships.

Even Qin Yue, this transmigrator, didn't expect that Brown could unintentionally open up a lucrative path.

Especially after The New York Times revealed that this challenge would likely earn Brown and O'Neal more than tens of millions of US Dollars...

Within the Warriors team, even Big Ben, who always looked down on Brown, wanted to join him in the fight.

"How many US Dollars? Just one fight can earn tens of millions of US Dollars?"

In fact, tens of millions of US Dollars was an understatement.

If Qin Yue remembered correctly, about three years later, the fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Hotel was set to generate over 600 million US Dollars in revenue.

Although the challenge between Brown and O'Neal couldn't compare to that historic battle,

in this highly developed internet era, those purely eager to see whether Brown and O'Neal would end up killing each other already gave this life and death battle unimaginable attention.

"The most significant fight showdown of 2012 will happen in July in Las Vegas!" — ESPN News Headline

"Two giants from the basketball world will face off in the octagon!" — The Los Angeles Times

Before the much-anticipated Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, external parties had even started opening bets in the bookmakers' offices for this event.

Moreover, the odds offered by these bookmakers could only be described as bizarre.

For instance, there were bets on who could knock out the other, as well as who among O'Neal and Brown would get their face broken by the opponent first.

In short, the economic benefits directly or indirectly generated from this challenge were destined to far exceed public expectations.

"You're a fucking genius!"

At Oracle Arena, during the pre-game warm-up of the fifth Western Conference finals match, Big Ben, who had taken the initiative to carry bags and shoes for Brown, regretted not recognizing him as his big brother sooner.

What?

You're saying Big Ben is indeed older than Brown; why would Big Ben call Brown his big brother?

Of course, it's because Brown agreed to hire Big Ben as his fight coach and would provide him with a considerable income.

In this world, everyone has their price.

Big Ben is no exception.

If the former Big Ben was unyielding in front of Brown,

Now, in front of Brown, Big Ben had already become a docile and obedient number one follower.

However, contrary to people's imagination.

As a key player in this life-and-death battle, Brown didn't really take this arranged fight between him and O'Neal to heart.

"This is just business."

"Since I'm a basketball player, regardless of how much income this business brings me, my current primary task is to play the next game well."

Brown was well aware of why this arranged fight with O'Neal had generated such astonishing traffic.

Simply put, in the current era, Brown is indeed one of the top-ranked centers.

Otherwise, the Warriors wouldn't have offered him that five-year, fifty million US Dollar renewal contract back then.

"If I were just an unknown, would Shaq really be angry because of this?"

"So, only by playing well in the upcoming games can I continue to seek fame and fortune off the court."

Anyone who achieves great things must be able to recognize themselves clearly and timely.

Obviously, the increasingly insightful Brown had long seen the essence behind the traffic.

"I don't care about being infamous or going down in history," Brown instructed Big Ben, "because as long as I can become a big shot, why should I care about others' opinions of me?"

Brown's words shocked Big Ben immensely.

However, on the night of the game at Oracle Arena, the Lakers, who were trailing 3-1, drew the focus of this series back to the court by going all out.

During the game, seeing that his teammates were in great form, Kobe easily switched into magician mode, making only 10 attempts in the entire game, and scored a total of 15 points with 11 rebounds and 12 assists.

Paul, who did not falter in the fifth game, made 8 out of 14 shots, including 4 out of 6 from three-point range, and 4 out of 4 from free throws, scoring a total of 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists.

On the court, the frequent spacing out by the Gasol Brothers determined the outcome of the game.

That night, the Gasol Brothers tested 15 shots from the outside, hitting 9 three-pointers.

Meanwhile, the young Klay was 7 out of 9, including 6 out of 8 from three-point range, totaling 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.

At the final whistle, the score was 121 to 116.

The tenacious Lakers successfully brought the already tight Western Conference Finals back to Los Angeles.

After the game, Qin Yue, who scored 47 points, with 12 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 blocks in vain, said in an interview, "I have nothing to say about this game."

Even before the Western Conference Finals started this year, Qin Yue had mentally prepared himself for a full seven-game series with the Lakers.

In this G5, the Lakers were in surprisingly good form as a whole.

Coupled with the collective underperformance of the Warriors' substitutes, who excelled in the last game, Qin Yue, who had previously led the Warriors to an error-tolerant performance, clearly focused more on the upcoming G6 battle to be held in Los Angeles.

If possible, Qin Yue wanted his team to end this series in the sixth game.

Because if the series were dragged into a game seven by the Lakers, it would not be impossible for the Warriors to be reversed by the Lakers by then.

"Oh no, am I being tested?" After the fifth game, Mike Malone, the Warriors' head coach who just finished his suspension, couldn't help but complain about himself.

Hearing this, veteran coach Hollins laughed and said, "Mike, maybe you should resign and let me manage this Warriors team instead."

"Shut up! You damn old thing!" Malone said, "It's just one game; next game, I will certainly show you where the coaching gap between us lies."

"In these two games, the Lakers are testing our shooting ability by using zone defense more frequently," Hollins suddenly shifted the topic and said to Malone.

Malone nodded, "At this high level of physical confrontation, whoever's shooters can withstand the test has a greater chance of laughing last."

"You know that's not what I mean, Mike," Hollins said.

Malone smiled, "I know that's not what you mean. Moreover, I've noticed that the Lakers' strategy to win now is to find a way to turn the game into a shooting contest."

"So?"

"So, of course, we can't let them have their wish."

Malone knew very well that if the game turned into a contest of who could shoot more accurately, even though the Warriors were pioneers in this aspect in the current era, there was still a considerable probability that the Warriors could lose this Western Conference Finals.

Therefore, the Warriors must increase their methods to break the zone defense.

So, how can the Warriors increase their methods to break the zone defense on the court?

Malone gave his answer before the team headed to Los Angeles.

"I'm planning to let Messiah play at the five in the sixth game and employ Antoine Jamison, who has a better shooting ability, as the team's three."

"Who are you planning to put at the four?"

"Gerald Wallace."

After five matches, Malone knew very well why the Gasol Brothers were unsolvable. The most important thing was that this brother duo always had one who could move outside and create a mismatch opportunity for the other inside.

Therefore, Malone planned to go against the norm in the sixth game.

"Gerald's lateral movement ability ensures that he can always charge to the outside, thereby allowing Messiah to stay inside and take over the defense against the Gasol Brothers. This is indeed a genius idea, but Mike, why did you only think of this in the sixth game?" Hollins said to Malone.

Seeing this, after giving Hollins a sidelong glance, due to his familiarity with Chinese culture because of Qin Yue, Malone said, "Old thing, do you know there's an old saying in China?"

"What?"

"One must never be a hindsight hero."

...

PS: First update! Asking for monthly votes!