"Knock, knock, knock!"
Before long.
After a burst of knocking.
Production Manager Leviton pushed open the office door and walked in. Seeing Wagner's expression, he smiled faintly and said, "Manager Wagner, you seem to be in a good mood."
"Hehe!"
Wagner smiled and gestured for him to sit.
In a good mood?
Of course he was in a good mood.
"Is it because of Blake Su? That rising star has once again shown incredible strength and popularity on the NBA stage?"
Leviton asked with a smile.
"Of course."
Wagner nodded without denying it and said with a faint smile, "The youngest and first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Blake Su's popularity has already exploded.
"And now.
"In this Western Conference semifinal series, the Suns have taken a 2-0 lead and hold absolute control of the series. They only need to win two more games.
"Then they'll advance to the Western Conference Finals!
"Blake Su, a rookie, will lead a bottom-feeding team that was once ready to tank at the start of the season all the way to the highest stage in the West.
"When that happens.
"Blake Su's popularity will definitely skyrocket again.
"Hahaha, just thinking about it gets me a little excited."
"Hehehe."
Leviton smiled as well and said, "So you called me over this time because you want me to ramp up production again?
"To make more 'Blake Su Generation' sneakers?"
"Bingo!"
Wagner snapped his fingers and laughed. "The more, the better. As many as possible. Even if we have to pay a little more in overtime, it doesn't matter.
"Because.
"We'll definitely earn it back."
Leviton nodded, then asked, "Then how far do you think we should take it? Or rather, when do you think we should open pre-sales?"
"Uh..."
Wagner thought for a moment and said, "Given Blake Su's current popularity and ability, along with the team's playoff record.
"No matter when we open pre-sales.
"We'll make a fortune. After all... once he got past the hurdle of 'coming back from three down to win four straight,' Blake Su had already raised Adidas's profile along with him.
"So.
"There's no rush for now. I'll keep watching and wait for the perfect opportunity."
"Sounds good to me. I'll leave finding the right timing to you. A rough guy like me will just handle the production line and do everything I can to make sure we produce as many 'Blake Su Generation' sneakers as possible."
"Okay."
...
That night.
The playoff conference semifinals continued.
First.
In the matchup between the Heat and the Celtics, the Celtics had regrouped and looked ready to reclaim their pride tonight and tie the series.
But.
Don't forget, tonight was still the Heat's home court, the home court of the villains.
LeBron, Wade, and Bosh. Those three guys standing together on the court were enough to make plenty of people panic.
Strong!
Visibly strong!
Especially in the playoffs, especially on this stage known for "superstars," the "Heat Big Three" became even more formidable.
Meanwhile, the "Celtics Big Four," who were gradually aging, still had the heart to compete for a championship, but no longer had the bodies to match. Their offense remained extremely difficult.
It wasn't a slaughter.
But the Heat still controlled the game from the very beginning and carried that advantage all the way into the final quarter.
In the end.
The Heat won by 7 points, steadily overpowering the Celtics and taking another victory with ease.
The Heat also led the series 2-0.
Next came the matchup between the Mavericks and the Spurs.
After the Spurs lost the previous game, Popovich took the initiative to meet with "GDP" and had a long talk with them, making sure they understood.
Their opponent was merely a team led by a lone core, Nowitzki. They were not that strong. He hoped the three carriages of "GDP" would play aggressively.
And win the game.
"Oh!"
"GDP" was full of confidence.
But... in the end, they still underestimated what the Mavericks were capable of.
First and foremost, Nowitzki's "One-Legged Fadeaway" was even more unstoppable than it had been in the regular season. The key was his height and footwork.
Ordinary players really couldn't guard it.
Second.
The role players worked hard on defense.
At the same time... they also had a "wild card" helping them. "The Jet" Jason Terry, who averaged only 2.1 threes per game.
Tonight.
After going 0-for-2 from three in the first half, he went 5-for-8 in the second half, scoring 20 points by himself after halftime. Together with Nowitzki, he finished off the game.
In the end.
The Mavericks once again took down the Spurs, this time by a comfortable 11-point margin.
The series score was also 2-0.
After the game.
Van Gundy said, "Don't underestimate a single-core team. Their roster is honestly perfect. They have Nowitzki, whose one-on-one isolation offense is unstoppable.
"They have defense.
"They have interior rebounding.
"They also have sharpshooters from three, along with Jason Kidd's brilliant passing. From offense to defense, this team is strong across the board."
"Yeah."
Mike Breen nodded and said, "When a team has almost no weak spots, they gain a huge advantage in the playoffs.
"Right now.
"That's exactly the situation the Mavericks are in.
"Of course, the source of all this is still 'The German Wunderkind' Nowitzki. His incredibly powerful and unstoppable individual offense is driving the entire team.
"You have to say it, Nowitzki has played really well this season, especially in the playoffs, where he has pushed his ability as the Mavericks' leader.
"To the absolute limit."
"..."
The next day.
Online discussion about last night, or rather... about the direction of the semifinals, was extremely heated.
"35 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists. 'The German Wunderkind' Nowitzki's performance was simply flawless. Absolutely perfect!"
"As a big man, he can create endless mismatches on the perimeter, and his offense is highly efficient. Add in the 'One-Legged Fadeaway,' and there's a reason Nowitzki is unstoppable."
"Hey, if that counts as unstoppable, then Blake Su, who's also a big man and dropped 49 points, must have become a god, right?"
"Whoa... bro upstairs, I didn't even notice until you mentioned it.
"Blake Su scored 49 points last game. He was only one point away from becoming a 50-point playoff scorer, and definitely the youngest 50-point playoff scorer in NBA history."
"Ah, now that you put it that way, that really is a shame."
"Unstoppable Nowitzki, unstoppable Blake Su. Both of them are big men too. Could it be... the league is moving from the Small-ball era back to the era of big centers?"
"No, no, no!"
"Both of them shoot from the perimeter, especially Blake Su. Even though he's a center, those absurd three-pointers of his are exactly the offensive style of the Small-ball era."
"The center era isn't coming back anytime soon."
"Exactly. Even if Blake Su has the height of a center, this still isn't the center era. But with his height, shooting threes like that.
"It's extremely unusual.
"I think the era is still the Small-ball era, but for Blake Su, maybe it's a unique big man's 'Small-ball era' that belongs only to him."
"Exactly!"
"Hehehe, isn't it still a little too early to be talking about what era we're in?"
"Right. Instead of discussing that, we might as well talk about the playoff picture, about the Eastern and Western Conference semifinals that are gradually becoming clearer."
...
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