"Looks like 2018 LeBron showed up early."
Chen Yilun stroked his chin and muttered to himself. "Makes sense, really. The Eastern Conference right now is even crazier than it was in the original 2018 timeline."
Because of Chen Yilun's presence, the NBA timeline had shifted to a certain extent. Many injuries that would have reshaped the league never happened, and as a result, this year's playoff field was stacked—every team was frighteningly strong.
"But it doesn't really matter."
After watching for a bit, Chen Yilun slipped his phone back into his pocket.
"Let him be strong if he's strong—the breeze still brushes the mountain ridge. Let him be fierce if he's fierce—the bright moon still shines over the great river."
He tilted his head and swayed slightly as he spoke.
No matter how earth-shattering things became outside, at least for now, Chen Yilun firmly held his team's competitive edge in his own hands.
"So how's it looking?"
Chen Yilun glanced up at the scoreboard. The Kings were already up by nearly thirty points. Both head coaches, almost in tacit agreement, had begun rotating in their bench players, clearly preparing to wind things down.
"Even easier than expected,"
Malone said from the sideline, arms crossed.
Before the game, he'd joked that beating the Timberwolves would be effortless, but in reality, he'd taken their first-round opponent very seriously.
After all, the Timberwolves were packed with young players. If they suddenly caught fire, an upset wouldn't be impossible.
In truth, Minnesota making the playoffs this year was partly due to the extreme polarization in the Western Conference. With star talent heavily concentrated at the top, the gap between strong and weak teams had grown enormous—and among the weaker teams, the Timberwolves managed to stand out.
Another key factor was drafting Fox. With his arrival, the Timberwolves finally stopped playing as a collection of individuals. Fox absorbed the ball-handling duties that Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns had never quite figured out, at least getting the offense moving.
But that was as far as it went.
After all, for a car, being able to move is one thing. Being able to get onto the track and actually race is another entirely.
"That Fox kid is really good."
After the game, Rose wiped sweat from his face and spoke casually. "He's a rookie, right?"
"Yeah. He entered the league last summer,"
Dejounte Murray replied, quickly handing Rose a bottle of water.
"Really impressive," Rose said with clear approval. "Plays with confidence, has a good head on his shoulders, and isn't afraid to go at people."
Afterward, Rose looked at Dejounte Murray with interest.
"You guys have had quite a few promising guards come through these past two years. Dejounte, you're going to have plenty of competition."
"I'm not worried,"
Murray said without hiding his ambition. "I'll step on every one of them."
Watching Murray's aggressive confidence, Chen Yilun smiled and shook his head.
He wasn't entirely sure whether drafting Dejounte Murray had been the right decision.
There was no doubt Murray had All-Star gatekeeper potential. His ability to break down defenses and shoulder offensive responsibility was excellent.
But among all the young players on the roster, Murray was the most ambitious. If positional conflicts cropped up down the line, would he explode?
And there was another major issue—his passing.
This "average" passing wasn't about accuracy or court vision. It was a bad habit. Murray loved attacking the paint and then passing after picking up the ball—or even while already in the air. Those kinds of passes were easy for defenses to anticipate and carried a low success rate.
All he could hope for was that Rose's mentorship would help rein him in.
A few days later, all teams had completed their first playoff games.
Out West, things played out pretty much as expected. The Kings needed no explanation. The Warriors, powered by their Big Four, cruised past the Jazz. The Spurs initially struggled against Portland's new backcourt duo, taking some damage from Lillard early on.
But the battle-hardened Spurs quickly adjusted, using tempo control to drag Lillard and Mitchell into the mud of half-court offense, comfortably securing Game One.
As for the Rockets versus the Thunder—
After a full season of chemistry-building, the new Thunder Big Three finally clicked.
Westbrook's drive-and-kick game paired with Anthony's perimeter firepower, plus Griffin's occasional interior assaults, left the bearded D'Antoni momentarily at a loss as he tried to implement his Magic Ball approach.
Fortunately, this Rockets team wasn't yet the future extreme Magic Ball version that would run Covington at center. With Capela anchoring the paint, Houston still had real interior presence.
In the end, the Rockets came out on top.
No lower seeds pulled off an upset in the West.
The East, however, was complete chaos.
The eighth-seeded Wizards, led by Cousins and Beal—and especially Cousins, who was in a contract year and playing for his next big deal—nearly blew up the Celtics' interior all by himself.
Power dunks, brutal post-ups, crafty footwork—he had Horford suffering possession after possession.
The Celtics eventually won thanks to their depth, but it was anything but easy.
The second-seeded Raptors had a much smoother time against a Pacers team without George. Since Paul George never followed history to the Thunder, the Pacers lacked the Oladipo–Sabonis twin core. A lone North Carolina Blackhawk wasn't nearly enough, and the Northern Brothers handled them with ease.
The third-seeded 76ers, meanwhile, were pressed hard all game by Miami in their playoff opener.
With Fultz lost for the season, new addition LeVert perfectly filled the gap he left behind. Covington's departure was also offset by this year's rookie Collins.
Even so, this seemingly flawless roster was controlled by the Heat from start to finish.
Undrafted guard Tyler Johnson, acquired from the Kings, turned into a perimeter flamethrower, drilling threes to keep the score tight. And Wade, already nearing the end of his career, gave everything he had to push the team further. The lead changed hands repeatedly.
The game went down to the final minute. After Porziņģis mishandled a rebound, Simmons grabbed an offensive board and finished a layup for a near-buzzer-beater win.
Despite the 76ers escaping with the victory, Coach Brown wore a deep frown. The Heat's toughness far exceeded his expectations. This series was going to be a grind.
The real highlight, though, was the clash between the Cavaliers and the Bucks.
The bone-crunching duel between two generations of muscle-bound monsters—James and the Greek Freak—had fans roaring. After an overtime battle, the Cavaliers barely secured the opening win.
James played over forty minutes, nearly the entire game.
He posted an outrageous triple-double: 46 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds.
"This year's Eastern Conference is going to be fun,"
Chen Yilun said with a laugh as he sat in his office, reading the report.
"LeBron, oh LeBron. I've been quietly boosting the East's competitiveness here and there for years. Three years later—it's finally paying off."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser