Dilemma

Afternoon.

"Hey, hey, hey! Avril, where are we going?" Li Chen asked in surprise from the passenger seat.

"Hehehe! I'll take you to a great place," she said mysteriously.

More than an hour later, Li Chen finally found out where Avril wanted to go: the racetrack.

Seeing this, Li Chen asked in surprise, "You... you still like racing?"

"Why not?" Avril playfully wrinkled her little nose at Li Chen, looking quite adorable.

A moment later, a middle-aged man in racing gear said with a smile, "Oh, Avril, it's been a long time."

Avril smiled and said, "Jay, long time no see." Then, pointing to Li Chen, Avril said, "Jay, this is my boyfriend, Chen."

After Li Chen shook hands with the racetrack manager, Avril said, "Chen, today, Jay, will you show us what it feels like to fly?" Avril seemed quite eager to try it out.

Li Chen thought for a moment and said, "Avril, this sport is very dangerous."

"Oh! Chen, believe me, I used to be a professional competitor," Jay assured him.

In order to make Avril aware of the dangers of this sport, Li Chen decided to discourage the young girl from trying it.

A moment later, Avril gripped the overhead handle on the passenger side with her right hand, and asked uncertainly, "Chen, are you sure you can do it? Don't push yourself, or something bad will really happen."

"Hey! Don't ask a man if he can do it, it's very impolite."

Avril rolled her eyes at Li Chen. "I'm serious."

"I'm taking it very seriously too," Li Chen said without turning his head.

At that moment, Jay, standing by the driver's side window, said, "Chen, this is your first time driving a race car, so please be careful."

Li Chen made an OK sign.

Although he is not a professional race car driver, racing tests a person's reaction speed and coordination, and he has these basic qualities, so he feels that he can handle this race car very well.

A moment later, the car engine roared, and the race car's rear wheels spun wildly, screeching as they rubbed against the ground.

Immediately afterwards, the race car shot off like an arrow.

The race car sped faster and faster, rushing past like the wind, leaving a blurry trail of light in its wake.

Everything before my eyes blurred in an instant, leaving me in disbelief.

The scene was like a thrilling nightmare, with the race car exceeding all imagined speed limits in the blink of an eye.

The scenery on both sides of the track flashed by quickly, like blooming flowers and abstract paintings, captivating the viewer.

Jay stared in disbelief, thinking, "Avril said her boyfriend is a basketball player? She's not kidding, is she?!"

So... no matter how he looks at it, he seems like a professional race car driver.

Inside the car, Avril watched the scenery rushing past, her arms unconsciously outstretched. "Wow! Chen, you're amazing! You're such a good driver too!"

Immediately afterward, Avril screamed excitedly, "Chen, faster, faster!"

Next, Li Chen drove the race car, drifting continuously on the track.

Half an hour later, the car slowly pulled up beside Jay.

Avril opened the car door, but she was no longer as excited as before. She was now swaying unsteadily, as if she were drunk.

At this moment, her face contorted in pain, her lips trembling, she whispered, "I... I'll never play... play... play again..."

As she spoke, she ran to the side and vomited.

Li Chen felt a little embarrassed. He had been driving quite aggressively while driving, which was why he had been driving so recklessly.

Li Chen hurriedly went over to support Avril and kept rubbing her back.

Five minutes later, Avril leaned weakly against Li Chen and said listlessly, "Bastard, I'm never riding in your car again."

"Wow! Chen, I can't believe you're a basketball player."

Li Chen smiled and said, "I never expected racing to be so exciting."

"Chen!" Jie asked tentatively.

"What?" Li Chen looked at Jie in surprise.

"I don't think you should play basketball..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Chen knew what he was going to say. He waved his hand, interrupting him, and said seriously, "I like basketball, that's why I play basketball, just like you like racing."

Jay was taken aback at first, then said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous."

"Fine."

On the way back, Avril lay sprawled across the back seat, looking as if she had been thoroughly played with.

When we got back to the villa, the girl had fallen asleep without us even realizing it.

Li Chen smiled helplessly, then carried her out of the car and took her back to her room. He carefully placed her on the bed, covered her with a thin blanket, and then left.

As Li Chen turned around, Avril's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

A few days later, the Eastern Conference Finals were decided, with the Pistons winning two straight games to eliminate the Pacers, who were vying for the championship, with a 4-2 series victory.

Meanwhile, with the 2003-2004 NBA NBA Finals approaching, the battle between offense and defense once again became a hot topic.

On June 3, the NBA NBA Finals tipped off at the Staples Center Los Angeles.

In the TNT broadcast room.

"I never imagined the Clippers would make it to the NBA Finals this season with such an invincible Western Conference performance," Kenny Smith remarked.

"Haha! I've never doubted that, Kenny, you know what I'm expecting?"

"What?" Kenny Smith asked, feigning ignorance.

"Of course, I'm looking forward to seeing how many points the Clippers can score in this game," Barkley said with a smile.

Kenny Smith laughed and said, "Actually, I'm really looking forward to it too. You know, the Pistons held the Pacers to under 100 points on defense!"

"I really hope the Clippers can give us a fantastic NBA Finals. Okay, let's take a look at the starting lineups for both teams tonight."

The Pistons' starting lineup is:

Billups (Point Guard)

Hamilton (Shooting Guard)

Prince (Small Forward)

Ben Wallace (Power Forward)

Rasheed Wallace (center)

The Clippers' starting lineup is:

Li Chen (Point Guard)

Korver (Shooting Guard)

Corey Maggette (Small Forward)

Elton Brand (Power Forward)

Karl Malone (center)

Following a series of opening ceremonies, Game 1 of the NBA NBA Finals began.

It's worth mentioning that Avril was also in attendance to watch the Clippers' game today.

Li Chen's random S-rank Skill in this match is [Feeling Barometer].

Li Chen had randomly drawn this skill once during a match against the Lakers.

This skill has advantages, but it also has significant disadvantages.

The advantages are obvious: he can always tell whether his shooting touch is good or bad, and thus choose the best time to shoot.

However, it also has a significant drawback: if the energy bar is in a normal green state, Li Chen will subconsciously hesitate, causing him to miss excellent scoring opportunities.

In order to improve his shooting accuracy, Li Chen tried to choose skills that increased his shooting percentage during this game.

Thus, [unrestrained], [Miracle Shot], [Divine Shooter], [Pull-up Jumper], [Mid-range King].

He thought for a moment and then switched off the [Divine Shooter] skill, because he figured the Pistons were known for their defense, so they would likely score very few points. The Divine Shooter skill wouldn't be able to unleash its full potential.

With that in mind, he switched to the [Fake Accident] skill, which he didn't particularly like.

There's no other way. Since the Pistons aren't playing basketball properly and aren't going to play defense with them, I'll just play the flopping game and commit fouls. Then we'll see who has the last laugh.

It's worth mentioning that the head referee for the NBA Finals was none other than the unreliable bald Joey Crawford.

At the start of the first quarter, the Clippers faced complete dominance from the Pistons. The Pistons' defensive intensity in the Playoffs is truly incomparable to that in the regular season.

Even Li Chen and Old Malone felt the pressure.

The Pistons are proficient in all aspects of defense, including single-player defense, help defense, double-teaming, and stealing.

The Pistons' high-intensity defense caused the Clippers a great deal of trouble.

Elton Brand and others made frequent mistakes, and Karl Malone, as if he were sleepwalking.

Even Li Chen's touch was ice-cold today; he was always on edge whenever he looked at the energy bar of his Feeling Barometer before each shot.

There's no way around it, it's just too awful. Every time it's just a gray blur, with barely any green areas, let alone any red areas.

Fortunately, he switched to the "extortion" skill, although it was only B-rank, it still had a 20% chance of successfully committing an accident.

However, this 20% chance of triggering a staged accident can be triggered frequently.

This is also why the Clippers haven't collapsed.

However, despite the Pistons seemingly having the upper hand, Li Chen kept breaking through and frequently drew fouls from the Pistons.

At the end of the first quarter, both of the Pistons' Wallace had three fouls.

Seeing this, Larry Brown immediately complained to the referee, relying on his seniority.

Unsurprisingly, the referee issued him a technical foul.

After the first quarter, the Clippers trailed the Pistons 19-22 by three points.

In the TNT broadcast room.

"The Pistons' formidable defense indeed caused the Clippers a great deal of trouble. In this game, Li Chen made only 2 of 9 shots, a shooting percentage of just around 22%, setting a new low for his shooting percentage in the first quarter of this season's Playoffs."

"But..."

Kenny Smith then added, "However, Li Chen scored 12 points in the first quarter."

"Although Chen is my idol, I have to say something fair for the Pistons. The referees were way too biased towards the Clippers in this game."

"Charles, you can't say that. After all, the referee did nothing wrong. You saw it yourself. Although this referee, Mr. Joey Crawford, intervened frequently, each slow-motion replay proved that his decisions were correct."

"Kenny, I really don't know, I really don't understand, how Joey Crawford can make such accurate calls."

"Charles, this is not only a question in your mind, but also a question in mine."

Clippers' rest area.

After a moment's thought, Alvin Gentry laid out the tactics for the second quarter.

In the second quarter, Alvin Gentry decided to tighten his defense.

Yes, the Clippers, like other teams, chose to play defense against the Pistons.

Although Alvin Gentry knew his mentor was a defensive mastermind, the Clippers would be suicidal if they tried to play defense against them.

However, the Clippers' shooting percentage is really disappointing right now, even Li Chen is struggling with it, so this is the best they can do for now.

As for offense, we can only let Li Chen fight one-on-one.

In the second quarter, Alvin Gentry substituted Korver and Malone for Wang Zhizhi Kenyon Doolin.

The second quarter began with intense competition on the court. The Clippers players gave their all, engaging in fierce battles with the Pistons time and time again. They ran, jumped, and tackled the ball relentlessly, hoping to change the unfavorable situation in the game.

However, the Pistons' offense should not be underestimated. They are very consistent and patient, ensuring the success of every attack.

Clippers fans watched the Clippers intently as they faced an unprecedented crisis, cheering loudly for their team.

Although the Clippers players' jerseys were soaked with sweat, they could only watch as the Pistons gradually widened the score gap.

2 points, 4 points, 8 points... the Pistons kept widening the score gap.

The fans on the sidelines were also deeply engrossed in the game. Every time the Clippers managed to make a hard-fought basket, they encouraged their players with 100% enthusiasm, but this did nothing to change the fact that the Clippers trailing.

With two minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Clippers trail the Pistons 35-48, a 13-point deficit.

Seeing this, Li Chen smiled bitterly to himself. At this moment, he felt a sense of the impermanence of life; it turned out that even cheat codes weren't invincible.

At this point, Alvin Gentry couldn't sit still anymore; the Clippers hadn't scored for quite some time. So he called a timeout.

In the TNT broadcast room.

"This series was a tough one for the Clippers. If they made it through, they are the champions, and Li Chen will become a true superstar. If they lost, they will just be the backdrop."

"Sigh! Chen is still too young," Barkley said with some regret.

"The Pistons are undoubtedly the champions this season; no one can break down their defense," Barkley said regretfully.

Kenny Smith thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement with Barkley's statement.

In the Clippers' rest area.

Alvin Gentry sternly reprimanded, "Chen, don't feel guilty. Your job is to shoot, keep shooting, understand?"

Li Chen smiled wryly, thinking to himself, "If there's even the slightest chance of making a shot, I'll try. But right now, my touch is just not good enough to make a basket!"

But he nodded and said, "Coach Alvin, I understand."

Shortly after, the timeout ended and the players from both sides began to enter the field.

Elton Brand inbounds the ball.

Li Chen received a pass from Elton Brand, and when he Pull-up Jumper, Li Chen almost burst into tears. He finally saw the energy bar of his "Feeling Barometer" change color, although it was only green. Even so, Li Chen was extremely excited.

Without hesitation, he took a Pull-up Jumper.

Swish! The basketball goes through the net cleanly.

The score was changed to 38-48.

However, this is not the end; it is only the beginning.

Although the Pistons tried to slow down the pace of the game and strengthen their defense against Li Chen still managed to make three Pull-up Jumper in the final two minutes.

Li Chen scored 9 consecutive points, signaling his strong comeback.

At the same time, when fans witnessed Li Chen's beautiful Pull-up Jumper reappear, they couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

At that moment, the Staples Center was instantly filled with cheers from the fans, everyone immersed in this long-awaited joy.

Their captain is back! Their Los Angeles captain is finally back!

When Li Chen was having a slump, Clippers fans were worried for him.

They watched every shot he took, hoping to see him regain his confidence and accuracy.

Now, as they see Li Chen sinking the ball into the basket time and time again, the fans feel an indescribable surge of excitement.

They couldn't help but shout out slogans in unison.

Captain...

Captain...

Captain...

They screamed at the top of their lungs to express their overwhelming excitement.