basketball never sleeps

Chapter 286 New Tea Arrives
"We have done well enough. The boys played at the expected rhythm, controlled the mistakes, and everyone played well. I can honestly tell you that we have been preparing for this series since the end of the season, but as you can see, they are the better team."

"No one could have imagined what Mo would do in the final quarter of Game 3. I always believed that basketball is a team game, but he destroyed everything with an epic performance. I think I began to understand people's views on McDunk ten years ago. Unfortunately, McDunk was 35 years old at that time, and Mo was only 23 years old."

"He keeps making shots that shouldn't be made. He always finds opportunities to shoot. I have a feeling that he seems to be using my players as sparring partners. Damn, I suggest that the league take Mo to check his eyes. My players are standing in front of him. How can he turn a blind eye?"

At the post-match press conference, Popovich did not mention the conflict during the series and simply admitted defeat.

He has used up all his ammunition in one round of the series. It would be really shameful if he didn't even understand the difference in strength and still insisted on being stubborn.

He had pure resentment and disgust towards Mo Wen, but at this moment he had to boast about Mo Wen's strength. Only if the enemy was strong enough would his failure seem less of a failure.

"The Sonics are undoubtedly capable of competing for the championship. They have too much talent, an undisputed MVP, one of the top five shooters in the league, a top rim protector, and Webber who can shoot three-pointers.

The most important thing is that except for Ray, they are all so young. I seem to see the Celtics in the past. Who knows how long they can dominate the league? "

"The Spurs will definitely adjust their lineup next season. Tim is still young and our era is not over yet. When I return, I will discuss with Buford the lineup construction for next season and the next few seasons. A temporary failure will only make us more hungry..."

The Spurs' current lineup is very stable. Duncan's contract will last until 2010. Ginobili and Parker also signed long-term contracts last year and the year before. But after one round of series, Popovich has figured out that GDP and defense alone are not enough in the current environment.

The defense they are proud of is greatly reduced in front of a player like Mo Wen who is both a magic bird and a genius. Coupled with the Sonics' group of talented and tireless beasts, it is foreseeable that the outcome of this series will not change even if the game is played a hundred times.

Like most Western Conference team leaders, Popovich hopes Milicic can make big money quickly in the summer, otherwise they can't imagine how strong the Supersonics will be after another year of running-in.

However, even if Milicic leaves in the summer, his ideas about subsequent trades and transformations will not change. G4 has proved that if the matchup problem of Mo Wen cannot be solved, there is no need to think about winning the championship. Just like the need to stockpile meat shields to fight against O'Neal, the days of relying on ordinary outside talents to conquer the world are over.

Bowen's defense is still "sharp", but Bowen is old.

Judging from the current news, this year's offseason may be even more lively than last year. Whether it was the previous Heat Big Three or this year's strong Supersonics, Warriors and Cavaliers, they all started their rise by introducing big-name stars.

People's calls for loyalty are getting louder and louder, but the camera only cares about what style of suits successful people wear.

The value of the “One Person, One City” award keeps rising, but more and more smart people have come to their senses and realized that no matter how valuable this thing is, there is no market for it!
On the contrary, a championship ring can still be worth tens of thousands of dollars even after you go bankrupt.

On the other side, Mo Wen in front of the camera did not show much excitement. When the Spurs were eliminated at the beginning, he was still a little proud and excited, but that emotion was digested by him in the player tunnel. Now he is Mo·Humble·Wen.

"Of course I am a better player than Thiem because I am only 23 years old and Thiem is already 31. Of course, I am not saying how old Thiem is. At least he still has eight or nine years to find a way to beat me. The future... is his."

"This is only our first match. We have learned a lot of successful experiences from the Spurs. I think the Spurs can also gradually get used to the feeling of failure. I believe they will be more calm and relaxed next time they face this situation."

"No, no, no, the Spurs definitely have a chance to reach the finals again - as long as they are willing to move or be moved to the East. You have to ask the president about this."

The flash lights in front of Mo Wen kept flashing. Mo Wen's unconscious smile now has always been the most popular article for major magazines.

It is no exaggeration to say that Mo Wen is definitely the star with the most exposure in North America this year. The scene of Mo Wen leading the Supersonics into the playoffs even overshadowed Comrade Guan Hai who was running for elections in various places and was featured on the cover of Time magazine.

"If this was last year and he was still an American, he could definitely run for the White House. Unfortunately, all the money goes to Arnold now." A golden-haired old man shook his head at the TV with regret, but while shaking his head, he noticed something strange about his daughter out of the corner of his eye.

"My princess, you haven't had a boyfriend for a long time, right? Why are you like this now? Could it be that you have also fallen in love with this Chinese man?"

The princess didn't blush, but nodded openly. "Of course, there are few girls in North America who can resist his charm. He is rich, handsome, strong, mysterious, and can...sustainably perform well. Even my stepmother probably can't refuse such a man, right?"

"No, your stepmother will definitely choose me... because I'm richer." Lao Deng was not annoyed. His daughter had never liked her stepwife, and he was also very confident in himself.

"Money... I heard that Mo not only made the Supersonics popular recently, but also brought a lot of tourists to Seattle. Dad, if Mo can stay in Seattle, how about building a building there?"

"As expected of my daughter, you have a keen sense of smell. However, that is the Hilton family's territory, so it would be a bit hasty to just talk about it. If you have time, you can go and take a look. Compared to building a building, I think it would be easier for you to poach Governor Arnold's people."

"Then I have to spend more money to hire a bodyguard, otherwise, if T800 takes action, I might not even get a single shot." The eldest princess stretched out her hand naturally.

The so-called American independence is actually only applicable to families below the middle class. Due to the prevalence of pre-consumption, most families cannot afford to support those who rely on their parents for support. As for the truly wealthy families, they do not mind their children's continued dependence, because for the family, obedient children are much less destructive than those who like to make trouble.

The princess took the bank card as a matter of course and began to plan her itinerary. She had been tortured badly the previous few times, so this time she could just call the sisters she met when she was a model. She wanted to see where this man's limit was.

……

The SuperSonics were not the first to advance to the conference finals. The first to advance were the Eastern Conference Heat's opponent... the Pistons.

The Heat, who stumbled into the second round by stepping on the Wizards without Arenas and Larry Hughes, were packaged as a championship team with the empowerment of the media.

Wade gradually adapted to playing with injuries, O'Neal regained his dominance in the low post, Cassell and Peja were comparable to the second-year Mo Wen, Haslem was more mature, Finley was in his contract year, and Mourning was more touching...

Just looking at the media publicity, Miami fans really feel like the glory days are back.

Miami Champions!
Three consecutive!
Let them experience the heat of fire!

At the same time, the league also used the gimmicks of "old king" and "new king" in its pre-match publicity to whet the appetite of the audience.

According to TV station statistics, viewers are even more willing to watch this series than the game between the Supersonics and the Spurs.

After all, the Spurs only have one low-key Slowpoke, and unless you are a heavy viewer, you generally can't recognize their entire rotation roster.

(Historically, it was only after James became famous for shaving his head in the Spurs finals this year that a lot of Spurs fans emerged in China, and they felt that the Spurs' game was a tactical team that was out of the reach of low-level talent.)
The ratings for the series were really high at first, but then they flatlined.

The Pistons, who were badly beaten by the Big Three last year, came out and beat the Heat to the ground.

The shoulder injury couldn't stop Wade from breaking through, but it also prevented him from getting into too many confrontations. His own doctor also strictly forbade him to continue using the life-threatening style of play like the "Wade fall," and outside shooting has never been Wade's strong point.

Wade was not very willing to break through, Prince did not switch defense, and Peja, who was defending head-on, only scored 3 points in the first half. As for Cassell, he had long lost the spirit of the championship point guard. Just like Wiggins after winning the championship, he was worthy of his career and salary, and would not discuss more.

The 330-pound O'Neal still has an absolute advantage in the interior, but his 40% free throw rate offsets all his advantages.

Overall, the Heat's playing style has changed from using the stars' abilities to attract double-teaming and then passing the ball to using the stars' personal abilities to take turns shooting from mid-range and long-range.

The game was like Barrett's shotgun, ugly. If it weren't for the familiar jerseys and faces, old fans would hardly recognize that this was still the Heat.

Riley's slapping of the tactical board and his shampoo-like speeches were all to no avail. Peja, Cassell and Tim Thomas were all thinking about winning the championship. Wade's injury and O'Neal's aging made them see no hope, and no amount of encouragement would do the trick.

On the contrary, Finley and Mourning are still working diligently, but they only play as substitutes and do not have the ball, so they cannot influence the results.

In just halftime, the Heat were already trailing by 25 points.

The DJ was playing exciting electronic music, but not many of the usually lively audience members were willing to interact.

In the camera, a little boy in the front row was crying sadly, and then the sad emotion seemed to be contagious, and more and more fans were covering their faces and eyes in the camera.

The good news: Miami fans are genuinely attached to the Heat.

Bad news: The relationship broke down.

Coming back in the second half, Wade, who had received some education on loving the team and paying attention to responsibility, showed a spirit of sacrifice and planned to lead his brothers in another charge.

With the help of the referee, the Heat scored a 12:2 climax, but before Wade could continue his heroic dream, he fell to the ground after a confrontation and left the court flat on his back again.

Cassell's presence prevented the Heat from being unable to score without Wade, but the Heat, without a clear direction, eventually created the biggest score difference in this year's playoffs, 42 points.

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The only good news is that after treatment and examination after the game, Wade can still play... with a closed injection.

Mo Wen suggested that Wade respect objective facts and stay put, because he knew that historically Wade missed three seasons after winning the championship because he did not take injuries as an excuse.

This is even considered good. Almost every year, the NBA can find geniuses who are forced to play for temporary gains and losses and then are ruined by injuries.

It was just that the pressure of the cheating incident, the dream of three consecutive championships, the burden of the championship team, and the disappointed eyes of the fans made it impossible for Wade to choose the best solution.

Fortunately, Wade met a kind person, and the Pistons successfully solved the torture of the Heat players with four crushing victories.

After this series, the happiest person was not the Pistons players, but Anthony.

The Pistons failed to beat the Heat by "58", but after the entire series, the difference between the two teams was a terrifying 116 points, exactly twice 2.

Double the satisfaction!
Melon: Hehehe, you have come to this day too!
The Heat were eliminated, and Mo Wen was covered in gold again.

Now no one doubts that Mo Wen is the real core of the Heat's two consecutive championships.

In other words, the Heat were lucky to encounter the Wizards' self-destruction and maintained basic dignity. Otherwise, the Heat would most likely be eliminated directly in the first round, and it would be hard to say whether they could win a single game.

The highly favored Cavaliers failed to end the battle quickly. Kidd broke Bird's record of 3 playoff triple-doubles with three consecutive triple-doubles, becoming the playoff triple-double king second only to Magic, and also dragged the game into G10.

In fact, it is not difficult for the Cavaliers to play against the Nets. The problem lies on their defense.

The presence of two old players, Big Z and Webber, has put a lot of pressure on the rotation of the Cavaliers, and James is unwilling to do the dirty work of blue-collar workers. Originally, Larry Hughes had enough size to lead the defense, but now Mike Bibby, who is leading the outside defense, is obviously not big enough.

Moreover, the Nets have the league's best outside rebounding combination, making the Cavaliers' two inside players who almost play while walking even less competitive.

The series was dragged into Game 6, and the Cavaliers ultimately won the series with their overwhelming lineup.

Kidd lost his ability to develop positional offense after his knee injury, and Richard Jefferson's ball-handling offense was relatively ordinary, so the pressure fell on Carter. However, Carter's explosiveness declined seriously with his age, and his score per round in singles was less than 0.8 points. However, the Nets' positional offense was very dependent on his singles.
Similar to the fans of the SuperSonics, the fans of K-Village also felt like it was New Year's Day.

The Sonics at least won the championship, but this is the second time in the history of the Cavaliers to reach the Eastern Conference Finals... The first time was in 92, and the core was a white shooter Mark Price who was dimmed by Danzi's brilliance. (Danzi was the three-point king in the three-point contest with 5 points)
As for the last pair, the Warriors and the Lakers unexpectedly went to a Game 7.

The Lakers, who had previously had fewer free throws than their opponents because they did not have many drives to the basket, got a good deal of the reward thanks to the fair penalties of the "excellent referee" Donaghy.

Yao Ming was fouled out after two games, and the hot-tempered Wu Sheng was suspended for one game because of two technical fouls.

Nelson also paid a total of $3 for insulting the referee at a press conference.

Even though domestic fans have seen many "misjudgments" at critical moments in the CBA and have developed enough resistance, they were still very angry at these referees.

Mo Wen did not go to the media to criticize like the angry young people. After all, the NBA is an American sports league. Chinese fans will definitely be happy if two Chinese core players compete in the Western Conference Finals, but when it comes to the divisional finals, the feelings of local fans will definitely be given priority.

The Warriors' experience can be called legendary, but their outside stars are far inferior to Mo Wen. In comparison, veteran stars like Kobe are definitely more stable and more eye-catching.

If Yao Ming wants to meet him at the top, he must "overcome the tribulation".

Fortunately, Stern still had some dignity and did not interfere too much in the penalty decision of the seventh game.

一直憋着气的大姚在G7给夸梅布朗爆了个干净，35分钟的时间就砍下了30分16篮板2盖帽，如果不是罚球6中6，科比还以为是见到了故人。

And with the "Martial Saint", Richardson and Harrington swiping their shots one after another, Kobe couldn't find his aim, making only 24 of 9 shots. His efficiency was not high, but it wasn't particularly bad either. The main reason was that the referee tightened the whistle, and he couldn't maintain his touch, so he could only display the Mamba spirit.

Paul, who had the advantage of speed, and Byron Davis, who had the advantage of tonnage, fought against each other. Both sides used their integrity to swipe at each other, wasting time, but the score did not change much.

Other role players hardly played and had few roles.

In the end, the Warriors took a 9-point lead and won the seventh game.

The Warriors, who had not made the playoffs for 12 years, not only made it to the playoffs and completed the black seven, but also made it to the Western Conference Finals. It has to be said that this is also a miracle.

Since then, all four teams in the divisional finals have finally qualified: Warriors, Supersonics, Cavaliers, and Pistons.

On May 5, two days before the draft lottery, Seattle finally had new tea on the shelves.

……

(End of this chapter)