basketball never sleeps

Chapter 283 Let them be quiet.

"This series is not over. San Antonio will never, ever give up! We will not give up a whole year's efforts just because of two losses."

"Parker's suspension is a fatal blow to us. Everyone knows that we can't beat the Supersonics by relying on defense alone, not to mention that we lost Bowen. I still can't understand why my children are suspended when they are the real victims?"

At the post-game press conference, Popovich deliberately downplayed the Spurs' weakness on the court, while secretly putting pressure on the league.

In fact, the league's penalties in this series have been relatively fair, and from the Spurs' away perspective, it can even be said to be almost absolutely fair.

But after two games, even with vibranium dentures, the Spurs had to admit the gap in strength between the two teams.

In fact, Popovich already knows in his heart that the series is too far away, but it is not his character to lie down.

On May 5, the SuperSonics landed in San Antonio, and the league also announced other awards for this season in the morning.

Hill won the Coach of the Year award without any suspense, although everyone knows that Hill is most likely a scumbag like Van Gundy. The best example is that the team's record did not improve after he took over the Supersonics in the middle of last season.

But who can blame him for his good fortune in meeting Mo Wen?

Mo Wen cannot handle the doubled winning record and the undefeated home record by himself. If even a little bit of it leaks out, it will be enough for old Hill to build a golden body.

Logically speaking, Nelson, who led the Warriors back to the finals after 13 years, and Sloan, who took seven years to rebuild the Jazz, are also very competitive, but Nelson already has three best head coach awards, while Sloan was unable to win in a head-to-head matchup with the Jazz and the Supersonics.

When evaluating Hill, Barkley also brought up NBA legend, O'Neal's grandmother.

——Even Shaq's grandmother could win the best coach of the year just by wearing a suit and sitting on the sidelines of the Supersonics.

This year's Most Improved Player award went to the Kings' Kevin Martin.

Historically, this award would have been given to Monta Ellis, but Yao Ming took away a lot of the ball after joining the Warriors, causing Ellis's statistics to drop a lot. Kevin Martin had more ball possession due to Bibby's departure, and his statistics in the second half also rose accordingly.

The most important thing is that the King defeated Mo Wen this year, which directly raised Martin's impression points to the maximum.

Interestingly, in the voting for this honor, Ray Allen ranked seventh, which is very unusual, because Ray Allen's statistics have obviously shrunk, and the reason he was voted was his improvement on the defensive end. People began to include him in the category of an offensive and defensive player.

The Best Manager Award, which no one paid much attention to in previous years, has become the most suspenseful individual award this year, including Rick Sander, who recruited gost (Greatest Of Some Time), Pat Riley, who made the Heat seamlessly strengthened, and Danny Ferry's godly move on the trade deadline.

Rick Sander originally planned to take the money and leave after the performance, but he didn't expect that there might be an unexpected surprise.

Licking the dog, licking the dog, will he get everything in the end?
But the result still disappointed him, the award was finally given to Danny Ferry. Although the news that Mo Wen joined the team with the "draft pick" as the target was not made public, after one season, many people were able to find out about this news.

When the Sonics were discussing this award internally, people joked that the award should be given to "Manager Mo". If nothing unexpected happens, this year's personnel changes will most likely depend on Mo Wen's wishes, because Mo Wen has already proved that he can make good use of the players he chooses.

Like previous years, this season's best team caused widespread controversy as soon as it was announced.

The best team: Mo Wen, Kobe, Nowitzki, Duncan, Yao Ming;
Best Second Team: Nash, Arenas, James, Milicic, Stoudemire;
The best third team: Wade, Ray Allen, McGrady, Melo, Garnett;

Many people like to laugh at the fans who are fighting to the death for the C position of "Ge Ge" which has nothing to do with themselves, but as the saying goes, a piece of glass reflects two sides and no one can escape.

"Where's Shaq? Shaq can't even get a third team? Well, the center era is really over. There is only one legitimate center on the entire list, and he's a foreigner. Hahahaha, is this the NBA now?"

"Last year, the Eastern and Western Conferences had 50-50 players, but this year, there are only three? If nothing else, isn't Warcraft more worthy of being on the All-NBA Team than Milicic, the King of Fighters?"

"The media and experts who voted are definitely idiots who only know how to look at data. Even a strong team like the Pistons doesn't have a single player on the list. Isn't Billups' guaranteed Eastern Conference Finals every year much better than Nash being a wimp?"

"What a shabby list! If the alliance doesn't want to include Xiao Ai in the award selection, we Xiao Ai don't have to participate!"

Among the many controversies, the loudest one is the issue of the number of players in the best lineups in the East and West.

The Eastern Conference has won the championship for three consecutive years, one of which was against the popular F3, and the other two years were when they easily swept the Western Conference championship. Just when the fans were unconsciously puffing out their chests, how come when they woke up, not only was there no one in the first team, but only three people were picked from the second and third teams?

The league is also helpless about this. The specific voting results are announced in the league's waiting room. What can we do if your Eastern experts and media don't vote for their own people?

Bill Walton explained it this way in his column:

"This is to be expected, given the dominant play of the Pistons and Heat over the past three years that has stifled the activity of other Eastern Conference teams.

Imagine that two gangs in the neighborhood both got heavy weapons. Would anyone still live in that neighborhood, or to be more precise, that battlefield?

Many people say that Ray and Milicic do not deserve their current positions, but everyone who has watched the Supersonics games knows that their progress and strength cannot be reflected in the data. Coincidentally, because of the Supersonics' century-long bet, quite a few people watched their games.

The change in aesthetics has made everyone gradually tired of the Eastern Conference games that are full of positional offense and tough defense. In any case, one thing is clear: most Eastern Conference teams have reached the point where they must change. "

When they learned that they were selected into the best team, Milicic and Ray Allen were surprised and happy. They didn't expect that such ordinary statistics of theirs could also attract the attention of the media.

Ray Allen always thought that his statistics were declining and he would slowly fade out of the public eye, but he did not expect to experience a resurgence in popularity thanks to the exposure of the Supersonics.

There is no trophy for the best team, but this honor is an important evaluation criterion for the Hall of Fame. This is undoubtedly a great gift for Ray Allen, who is over 30 years old.

Milicic was also very happy, but the honor of the best second team only accounted for half of his happiness. The other half was because with this honor he had the confidence to ask the team for a maximum salary.

Bosh, who flew over with them, was jealous of Milicic's boasting. This idiot can do everything he can, so what's wrong with him? Why can he only enjoy a miserable life in Toronto? This guy even made it to the All-NBA Second Team?
Is there any killer? It’s urgent. Waiting online!

It was undoubtedly a blessing to win the first team and the first defense again, but having had this experience once, Mo Wen could no longer smile as happily as he did last time.

His recognition of his self-worth has gradually been removed from the public's perspective, because he knows that all these honors are natural when he averages 30+10 per game.

If he hadn't had the potential to win the Grand Slam this season, the public might not have been talking about him as much as last year.

After handing over the press release and operational matters to the team, Mo Wen quickly turned his attention back to this round of series.

He had a feeling that the next two away games would be extremely difficult.

The truth was just as he thought.

In Game 3, the SuperSonics encountered a tenacious counterattack from the Spurs at the AT&T Arena.

Not to mention the Spurs' adjustments.

In just the first six minutes of the first quarter, each player on the Supersonics committed a foul.

It seems that the entire Spurs team has become naturalized Indians, either the "holy and noble" Brahmins or the untouchable Dalits.

The referee on duty in this game could not be said to be biased because he was standing on the Spurs' shoulders.

Popovich did not try to solve the "Mo Wen problem" but instead adopted the same style of play he used against the Supersonics during the regular season when Ray Allen was injured, which was to rely on the home court advantage and honestly take the victory first.

After all, if we lose this game, everything will be over.

The pain of the Spurs' lack of offensive points last time fell on the Sonics this time. Milicic, who won the All-Second Team, was particularly active today, hitting two three-pointers at the start, and then nothing happened.

The cooperation between the Spurs players and referees, coupled with their poor emotional management, successfully allowed Milicic to achieve the achievement of graduating at the speed of 25 minutes.

Mo Wen and Hill each called a timeout to try to help Milicic adapt, but this level of difficulty obviously cannot be solved in a few words.

Not only Milicic, but Tyson Chandler also encountered considerable trouble. He was the one most affected by Milicic's troubles. Facing the DPOY made him feel at a loss in all aspects. To be decent, he accumulated a lot of experience.

The same goes for the rookies who performed well in the regular season. After all, this is the championship in history. The energy burst out by the Spurs standing on the edge of the cliff is not something that the inexperienced rookies can catch.

Because of his status, Mo Wen can still enjoy normal penalties, but it is too difficult for him to win the game by himself since his teammates cannot find any opportunities.

The Spurs couldn't defend him, but he couldn't play 1 vs 8 when his three-point shooting was average.

At the end of the game, the score was 88:99, a rare double-digit loss for the Supersonics.

莫闻全场上场42分钟，28投15中，三分9中3，罚球10中10，砍下43分8篮板8助攻2抢断。

Among the remaining players of the Supersonics, only Milicic scored 14 points, and no one else scored in double digits.

The Spurs scored across the board, with Duncan scoring 27 points and 13 rebounds, Parker scoring 24 points, and Ginobili scoring 21 points.

"They did perform better than us tonight. This is the playoffs and no one can take it lightly. My teammates are all excellent, but growth doesn't happen overnight. This defeat is a very valuable experience for us, and believe me, no one can beat us twice in a row."

In the post-match interview, Mo Wen did not express too many negative emotions. His post-match complaints only revealed his incompetence and weakness.

Biased whistles and the like are an objective reality, because the benefits of extending the series are obvious. With millions of dollars in profits involved in each game, it would be abnormal if there were no shady operations.

In the first two years of the Heat, few people mentioned the problems of biased whistles and penalties because they had the strength to crush everything. Most people believed that as a strong team they should accept more hardships and unfair tests - you can understand this somewhat stupid tolerance as arrogance.

The success in Game 4 has re-inspired the San Antonio people. Ray Allen still has one game left to be suspended. Now it seems that it will not be difficult to maintain the same style of play and win Game . When the series is dragged into the decisive stage, it will be time for the Spurs to use their experience.

"Why don't you, Rudy, shave your head and wear a black mask? When the game enters the second half, let Allen put on your jersey and mask and play for you?" Millsap joked in the hotel.

Gay, who was full of enthusiasm before the series, has already used up 10 minutes of his playing time. His sharp cuts in the past have repeatedly hit a wall under the Spurs' tight defense, and even his jump shot accuracy, which he was proud of, has dropped to less than %.

"Shut up Paul, I'm just adapting. Once I'm adapted, those old guys won't be able to stop me with my strength!" Guy retorted stubbornly.

"I believe you have the ability, my brother. I'm just not sure when you can adapt."

"Fuck." Gay grabbed Millsap's neck and made a scene.

What is quite rare is that the atmosphere within the Supersonics team did not change after the loss.

"Okay, let's watch the video. The next game will most likely be at this level. If you can't adapt, then be prepared to watch the water dispenser, right?"

The teaching assistant pulled the two back to the TV.

Mo Wen and Old Hill both knew the advantages of the Supersonics. If the Spurs won the next game and the battle became a protracted one, they might really pay the price under the pressure.

Historically, the Kings in 02, the Rockets in 05 and the Mavericks in 06 are all examples. Stern wanted to get the game back on track at the last minute, but these teams couldn't hold on after suffering injustice and were directly blacklisted.

Just as the Supersonics were actively preparing for the game, good news came from next door. The Lakers finally rose up and won G3, regaining a point.

This was a game whose process could be guessed by looking at the statistics, as the Warriors' rebounding was blown up.

The 32:45 rebounding difference allowed the Lakers to make up for the lack of firepower.

However, the rebounding problem was not Yao Ming, but the Warriors' forwards who were running like crazy.

Not only did they fail to grab offensive rebounds, they also didn't even position themselves for defensive rebounds in order to fast break. There were several stupid incidents where someone attacked but the rebound was intercepted. It must be said that this Warriors really lacks a James...

Baron Davis is good at controlling the rhythm, but he was too excited and made all kinds of three-pointers. He just played as he pleased and did not treat the Lakers or Yao Ming as human beings.

May 5th, series G15.

The Spurs' lineup remained unchanged, while the Supersonics made significant adjustments.

Damien returned to the starting lineup, Earl Watson was moved up to the starting spot, and the other positions remained unchanged.

Mo Wen also changed his playing style to that of a man like Na, and he kept speeding up from the first quarter. All kinds of fancy back passes made the whole stadium feel nervous and fearful.

"In the bottom corner, a three-pointer from Wilkins, the curve is very high... straight into the basket, beautiful! So where did he steal the basketball from?"

"Steal the ball. God, how did Mo do that? Parker passed through from behind him. Did he really have a camera implanted in the back of his head?"

"Both sides' actions were a bit intense. It's hard for Mo to pass the ball this time... Ah, it happened again, Mo's signature arc pass. Tim fouled decisively. What a pity for this wonderful pass."

"No, the Spurs' double-team on Mo is too strong. Isn't this just giving Mo a free assist?"

Only half the game had passed, and Mo Wen had already made 13 assists, which made the Spurs players recall the fear of being dominated by Mo Wen's assists in the finals.

However, even though the Sonics players regained their form and Mo Wen turned into a master of making baskets, the gap between the two teams still did not widen.

In order to prevent the foul trouble from happening again, the two inside players of the Supersonics did not "take it too seriously" today, which also led to the Spurs' extremely high success rate in inside offense.

It was only after entering the third quarter that Ginobili, who had been performing mediocrely before, exploded.

Under the care of the referee, he developed a good touch, made three consecutive three-pointers, two direct drives to the basket and free throws, and scored 3 points in 8 minutes.

The Supersonics also planned to score something in the third quarter, but things did not go as planned, and everyone, including Mo Wen, always had a little bit of shooting problems.

Mo Wen controlled the tempo and prevented the game from being completely derailed, but the team's morale was visibly declining.

In the fourth quarter, Mo Wen knew it was time for him to step up.

Taking over the tactical board from the gloomy-faced old Hill, Mo Wen calmly told his teammates about the targets they needed to defend next and the tactical moves that might be used.

"What about you?" Old Hill noticed that Mo Wen didn't mention much about his position in the tactics.

"I'm responsible for keeping them quiet."

Mo Wen wiped the sweat beads that fell on his ears. The rednecks in Texas were really noisy.

(End of this chapter)