NBA M3 - Chapter 583: Against the Thunder, Justin.tv NBA Goes Live (Patreon)

4:00 p.m.

At the Suns' practice facility, the players headed to the lounge after training. George, Klay, and a few others brought over sports drinks and towels.

"Hey, did you guys watch the Thunder play the Bulls last night?" George asked while handing water to his teammates.

"I watched the highlights and caught up on the news this morning," Curry said. "The Thunder were on fire. They practically steamrolled the Bulls.

"Kevin, Russell, and Harden have all taken another step forward since last year. Those guys are scary good."

"Thanks." Yao Ming accepted a drink from Klay and joined in. "All three are incredibly talented, and they improve so quickly every season.

"This year, they've really come into their own. Last season, the 'Thunder Trio' already made Oklahoma City a dark horse and a serious threat in the West.

"Now they're even stronger. They're fourth in the conference, only half a game behind the third-place Spurs, and they just demolished the Bulls, the top team in the East. That should tell you how dangerous they are."

"Exactly," Nash agreed as he wiped away his sweat. "The Thunder Trio has improved again, but there's more to them than those three.

"Ibaka is a pretty impressive power forward on both ends of the floor. Calling them a 'four-star' team wouldn't be much of an exaggeration."

"You've got a point." Carter leaned back in his chair, his expression serious. "The Thunder are a real problem this year, and they're our next opponent. Even with fifteen straight wins, we can't afford to take them lightly."

"Right." Nash, Curry, and the others nodded. Even Blake gave a small nod of agreement.

Most people saw the Thunder Trio's improvement this season and concluded that Oklahoma City had become a stronger team. Blake, however, knew more than they did.

In his original world, this very Thunder team had fought past the Western Conference's strongest contenders and reached the Finals to face the Heat. They were the real deal.

If Chris Paul hadn't joined the Lakers, Oklahoma City might well have been Phoenix's greatest competition in the West this season. But Paul's arrival only made the Lakers more dangerous.

It hadn't diminished the Thunder's strength in the slightest. Oklahoma City was still capable of competing for a championship, and even Blake intended to take this matchup seriously.

...

After the Thunder Trio, or Thunder Quartet, had crushed the East-leading Bulls, anticipation for their meeting with Phoenix two days later climbed even higher. Fans everywhere were looking forward to the showdown.

Before the game, however, some troublemaking critics took another shot at Yao Ming online. They argued that although the Suns kept winning, often so easily that the starters could check out early, Yao's individual performances had been mediocre.

In their eyes, he didn't deserve to start at center for a championship team, much less earn the $10 million annual salary Phoenix had given him.

The reaction was divided. Some fans pointed out that Yao had missed consecutive seasons because of injuries, and simply being healthy enough to play again was already an accomplishment.

They thought expecting too much from him was unfair. Others insisted that he was playing terribly.

The constant criticism eventually caught Coach Gentry's attention, planting a small seed of doubt in his mind. He had signed off on bringing Yao to Phoenix because he trusted Blake's judgment.

Yet fifteen games into the season, despite the Suns remaining undefeated, it was hard to argue that Yao had been a major reason for their success.

Even when opponents feared Phoenix's 'Twin Towers,' everyone knew it was Blake, not Yao, who made that pairing so intimidating.

Still, the Suns had won all fifteen games. Whatever reservations Gentry might have developed, he wasn't about to voice them while the team was winning.

Of course, those were only the opinions of fans and the coach. Yao himself had endured a difficult offseason and years of painful injuries.

Those experiences had taught him exactly what he was doing now and what he needed to do next. Outside criticism didn't concern him at all.

...

Two days later, at 8:00 p.m., one hour before tip-off, US Airways Center was already packed. After days of promotion, the arena was buzzing with excitement.

"BOOM!"

Cheers rolled through the stands as fans waved their flags and eagerly awaited the Suns' clash with the Thunder.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, Mike Breen and Van Gundy were chatting with viewers in the Justin.tv NBA live stream as they prepared to broadcast the game.

That's right. Justin.tv's NBA section had officially launched that very day. After nearly a month of intense promotion, the NBA stream's popularity score topped one million almost as soon as it went live, and that figure kept climbing.

Its popularity had already surpassed the previous record for any individual Justin.tv streamer.

Inside the broadcast room, Mike Breen glanced at the astonishing figures on his laptop and marveled at how thoroughly the internet age had arrived.

He was also struck by how much enthusiasm Blake had generated among fans back home, not just for himself but for the NBA as a whole.

"Hehe!" Mike Breen smiled into the camera and said brightly, "Welcome to the Justin.tv NBA live stream!"