Rookie against Jordan, I became the god of basketball

Chapter 144 Big Bird's Last Dance

The game between the Sonics and the Warriors was not played on the day of the opening game of the second round of the playoffs, but the day after the opening game.

The two games on the opening day of the second round were the Bulls against the Celtics and the Blazers against the Jazz.

On a clear morning, in the North Shore Garden Arena, Bird frowned, because Lester, the team doctor and trainer in front of him, was sternly explaining the results of his new re-examination to him.

"Larry, I have already said that no matter what, I will not allow you to continue playing!

Don't you understand? If you keep fighting, even if it's just one game, you'll spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair. I won't let this happen! "

Bird knew the seriousness of the situation, and also understood that no matter who was replaced, it was impossible to choose to continue to come back.

With only two hours left before the starting roster reporting time required for the second round of the playoffs, the Celtics are still struggling with whether or not to play, Bird feels absurd.

Lewis, the team's second leader, moved his throat, trying to persuade Bird not to make a forced comeback. He contributed his best youth to the Green Army, so there is no need to continue to work hard at this time.

But in the end he couldn't say this, not only because he didn't have the qualifications, but also because he knew very well in his heart that without Bird, he couldn't lead the team to defeat the Bulls led by Jordan.

Not to mention defeating the Bulls. Without Bird, the Celtics almost lost to the Trail Blazers. At this moment, Lewis deeply felt his own lack of strength. Compared with Bird and Jordan, he was simply not enough to be called Be a superstar.

Bird raised his eyebrows, looked at the basketball court where he had struggled for so many years, and waved to Lester impatiently: "Impossible, no one can stop me from continuing to play, I don't want to be praised all my life, in A coward's title at the end of his career!

I'm Larry Bird, and Larry Bird will never let go of his pride! "

Seeing Bird's tough attitude, those who want to stop him from playing are very helpless. At this time, Bird has an absolute position in the Celtics. Unable to interfere with any of his decisions, this is the power Auerbach gave Bird before leaving.

Just when the crowd didn't know how to persuade Bird, an old man in plain clothes walked into the arena slowly...

"Larry, you're still the same..."

Hearing the familiar voice in his ear, Byrd couldn't help but look back, his serious expression finally showed a slight shake.

"You have not been defeated by injuries, you are still the Larry I brought back with my own hands, confident, brutal, proud, and... never bow your head!
I am glad and relieved to see you remain the same, child.

but……"

The person here is naturally the real emperor of the Green Army - Reid Auerbach!
Auerbach patted Bird on the shoulder lightly and said, "Larry, your time is over, just like mine, you should know.

I didn't expect Larry to come to my funeral in a wheelchair that even an old guy like me had never touched.

You've done enough, boy, take a break. "

Bird's throat couldn't help surging, and he wanted to say something, but when he finally said it, it became:
"Why are you dressed like this? It's not like you, Reed, to be so indecently dressed."

Auerbach smiled, straightened his round-neck shirt easily, and said, "I've retired a long time ago, you can't ask too much of a retired old man, can you?"

Afterwards, Auerbach looked at the other Celtics players and said relaxedly: "Don't worry about this savage bumpkin, when he loses his temper, he's more difficult to deal with than a Texas bison, I know that very well.

How to employ people, Ford and Leicester, you two can decide for yourself. If Larry is not suitable for playing, let him rest! "

Bird frowned, but in the end he had no choice but to accept the result.

On the day of the opening game, the game between the Jazz and the Trail Blazers started first. The game was played very calmly, without any exciting moments.

With a score of 88:113, the Blazers easily had the last laugh.

The Blazers' plan at the beginning was to double-team Malone all the way. As a result, at the beginning of the game, the opponent failed to grab a rebound and hit his foot. After one game, he only scored 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, and only took 6 shots. , scoring all by hitting the inside and making fouls and free throws.

Malone was accidentally injured, and the Blazers could double-team Stockton unscrupulously. Stockton is almost the best defender in the league in basic skills, but his athletic ability is almost the worst in the league. He was severely targeted. , and only scored 11 points, 1 rebound and 9 assists.

Malone and Stockton couldn't play, Jeff Malone had to carry the banner of the team, but because Malone and Stockton didn't play, he was also affected, and finally only scored 15 points and 2 assists, without rebounds.

Jeff Malone's 15 points are already the Jazz's highest score. Malone and Stockton's 11 points tied for second in the team's scoring. With Jazz's performance, the Blazers naturally won easily.

It is worth mentioning that Draxler, who is the third in the MVP list predicted by several major media, only scored 10 points, 3 rebounds and 8 assists in this game.

Looking at the data alone, some people will definitely think that Draxler played very selflessly, but he is actually the one who took the most shots in the Trail Blazers. He scored less and simply thought that his shooting percentage was too low. He only made 14 goals in 4 shots.

Terry Porter, Peternovich, Jeremy Kersey, Kevin Duckworth and Danny Ainge all took fewer shots than him and scored more points than him.

Among them, Terry Porter and Petronovich even scored 20+ points.

Six of the Blazers scored in double figures, and only four of the Jazz scored in double figures. The two players with the highest score in the Blazers all scored 6+ points, and the highest score of the Jazz team was only 4 points. disappointment.

Then it's the finale game between the Celtics and the Bulls. Although in the eyes of the fans, this will still be a game where the Bulls will crush the Bulls from the beginning to the end, but the fans don't care about it. They only care about Jordan's performance in this game. how many points.

After the 2-hour game, the fans failed to see Jordan scoring high scores. The reason is very simple. Jordan only played two and a half quarters of the game, and never played again after that.

The Celtics without Bird are not weak, and even without Bird, there are still two Hall of Famers, McHale and Parish, but except for Lewis, the Celtics are too old , After the tiebreaker in the first round and then play against the Bulls, who are known for their defense, everyone couldn't last halftime.

"Michael, congratulations to you for winning the game. You played very easily in this game. Do you think this will be the series and you can sweep and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals?"

Jordan smiled indifferently, tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders, and said: "It's not just this round of the series, maybe we can sweep the opponent before the finals, after all, there is no second Michael in this world. Isn't Jordan?"

In the locker room after the Celtics game, a group of people bowed their heads, and no one took the initiative to speak... This is what Bird saw when he entered the Celtics locker room.

Seeing his teammates who were devastated, Bird couldn't help feeling angry. Thinking of Jordan's arrogant statement that he wanted to sweep the Celtics, Bird couldn't help being angry, and directly cursed:

"God, quietly what did I see, is this still the Celtics who are invincible?
You must be ostriches who have signed a contract with Satan, and you are all like this. Why don't you find a place to bury your head according to your habits? "

Lewis looked up at Bird, trying to explain something, but remembering that he was only scored 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists by Jordan alone, he finally lowered his head helplessly.

Lewis didn't expect that when he faced Jordan in the playoffs, he would be so vulnerable, and his performance was not even as good as some role players.

Bird noticed Lewis's actions, and said directly to Lewis: "Reggie, didn't you raise your head up, why did you lower it again?
What about the guarantee you gave me back then, have you forgotten all of it? "

Lewis moved his lips, wanting to explain something, but at this moment his brain was completely confused, and finally said inexplicably: "Larry, I'm just an ordinary first-round pick, almost not even a first-round pick... ..."

Bird's eyes widened, and he couldn't believe what Lewis said. The reason why the team saw him as Bird's successor was because of his diamond-like self-confidence.

He never expected that in just one playoff game, Lewis' self-confidence would be shattered by Jordan.

This kind of thing seems normal to Bird. After all, the so-called geniuses he labeled as "cowards" are only a lot more than Jordan. It is really normal for Lewis to collapse because of this.

The playoffs can be a paradise or a purgatory for young players. Countless future stars in the regular season have completely sunk after playing the playoffs, falling from stars to role players, and even faded out of the NBA.

If you know it, you know that Bird must still be upset if he is upset. He is bullied by his younger brother and Jordan, and Bird cannot ignore the other party's arrogance.

Bird curled his lips, looked at the helpless Ford and said directly: "Let me play in the next game. I have never been swept in my life, and I don't want to feel the feeling of being swept when I am about to retire."

Lester wanted to step forward to persuade Bird not to be impulsive, but Bird directly raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't talk about Leicester, you are also a part of the team. Apart from Reed and me, you are the one who cares most about the team. I don't believe you are willing to see us lose to Michael. Back then we But it swept him twice!"

Lewis remembered that Bird had always treated Jordan as a toy before he was injured, but he was nothing to Jordan, and became even more ashamed. He felt ashamed to face Bird and the rest of the team, let alone help stop Bird .

Leicester was able to stay with the Celtics for 33 years as a team doctor and assistant coach and entered the Hall of Fame. Of course, he had his own persistence. Seeing that he couldn't persuade Bird at all, he threatened: "If you really want to do this, I can only let Li De is back, Larry, you know, we all want you to retire well, no one in Boston wants to see a half-crippled Larry Bird."

Bird said indifferently: "You can find anyone, it doesn't matter who comes!
As long as I am still on the Celtics roster for one day, this is my team. I will not allow anyone to humiliate the Celtics in front of me, and neither can Michael! "

Then Bird looked at the others disdainfully, and continued: "Just based on these people, how much difficulty do you think they can cause Michael, when I don't want to retire, all the fans who come to the scene are scolding me.

Don't you guys want to go through Russell's lesson again? "

Seeing that Bird had made up his mind and even threatened not to participate in the retirement ceremony, Leicester had no choice but to shut up.

But afterwards he did what he said and called Auerbach that night.

To Lester's surprise, Auerbach didn't agree directly, but asked Lester back: "What did the kid say, Lester, please repeat it to me."

Leicester didn't know why, but Bird didn't say anything particularly excessive except scolding his teammates for not being up to date, so he didn't add embellishments when he recounted.

After listening to Lester's talk about the scene, Auerbach sighed helplessly on the phone, and a hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone:
"Let him go. It's Larry's own choice. I know that kid's character. No one can change his mind when he makes up his mind. Neither can I.

There are too many people in my life who have been sorry, Russell, Jones, Hondo... I don't want to leave even Larry, this is the last time he will be willful, let him go..."

Lester lowered his head helplessly, and he didn't know Bird's stubbornness, but as the Celtics who knew Bird's physical condition best, he really didn't want to see Bird ruin himself like this.

"Lester, protect Larry. I hope he can retire standing up and take over my job standing up...Old man, this is the last mission I give you, don't let me down."

Lester was silent, and finally said lightly: "I will, no one is better at this than me, isn't it?"

The Celtics' humiliating loss to the Bulls aroused the anger of Boston fans. They finally couldn't bear it and turned all their blades on Reggie Lewis who led the team.

Boston is the area with the worst racial discrimination in the world. Even in the 90s, their "tradition" still maintained, and the wave of development of the times could not hold the stubborn Bostonians at all.

"Lewis is a waste, trade him away, he doesn't deserve to wear the Celtics jersey! "

For Bird, Boston fans didn't mention a word. Celtics fans know what Bird is like in the past few years. It is very interesting that he can make a forced comeback in the first round.

All kinds of parades deepened Lewis' self-blame. Lewis, who was far away in Chicago, could indirectly know the situation in Boston. He couldn't believe what the local Boston fans would look like.

But just when Lewis was autistic because of this, Byrd held a press conference...

"Reggie did a good job. It wasn't his fault that he lost. It was me who asked for a break. Now I'm rested...

Yes, I'll be back for the next game, and everyone knows it's going to be my last season.

Fortunately, I am familiar with the Bulls. When Michael first entered the league, I blocked him from the first round of the playoffs for two years! "

Leaving aside other people's reactions, knowing that Bird is about to come back, Celtics fans instantly feel inspired, even if the opponent is the Bulls, they can touch it.

On the other side of the Bulls, Jordan was also very excited when he learned that Bird was coming back.

I was swept by Bird twice, and after waiting for so many years, I haven't encountered any revenge. Bird didn't wait to retire, but jumped out at this time...

"I have a lot of admiration for Larry, and it's hard for me to imagine what it's like to play with an injury like his.

But Larry should know that he is no longer the No.1 in the league that dominated the league, and now is the era of Michael Jordan!

So I still insist that we can sweep the opponent, whether it is home or away, the Celtics can't take any victory from the Bulls! "

(End of this chapter)